JPH08216435A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To carry out high speed printing by means of an ink jet printer by providing jet nozzles on head tips all at equal interval without overlapping in the carrying direction of a recording medium. CONSTITUTION: Ink filled in ink cartridges 22a-22d is passed through ink feed lines of a head cartridge 21 and fed to ink flow paths of head tips by capillary force, and flowed into the end faces of jet nozzles. Power energy is supplied from a path connecting means to an ink jet means of the head tips in compliance with jet signals from the printer main body side. After that, sudden pressure variation is generated by an ink jet means, which is utilized as a jet energy, and ink is jetted out. After jetting, ink is filled to the end faces of the jet nozzles by the capillary force of the jet nozzles to make a system ready for the following printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serial type ink jet printer which prints on an output terminal such as a computer device while moving a recording means in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as the amount of information has increased, the amount of information output from computer equipment has increased, and there has been a demand for high-speed, high-quality output terminals. Against this background, non-impact inkjet printers are capable of high-speed printing with low noise, and color output can be achieved relatively easily compared to other serial-type printing devices. Has been done. A conventional inkjet printer capable of color output will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional ink jet printer. 1 is a head cartridge in which a print head is mounted, 2a to 2d are ink cartridges containing ink to be supplied to the head cartridge 1, and 3 is a head cartridge 1. And a carriage 4 for mounting the ink cartridges 2a to 2d.
The carriage shaft is guided by the arrow X) and is housed in the main body case 5. Reference numeral 12 is a recording sheet conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (arrow Y in the figure), 6 is a power source on, o
Switch and LED for operating and displaying ff, print mode, etc.
It is a control panel where is arranged.

Next, the operation will be briefly described. When a print signal is sent from a computer device or the like, the carriage 3
The ink in the recording paper 1 while moving the
When the recording paper 12 is ejected onto the recording sheet 2 and the printing of the designated printing width is completed, the recording paper 12 is conveyed by a designated width by a platen (not shown) or the like to prepare for printing of the next printing width. By repeating this cycle, predetermined printing is performed on the recording paper 12.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the conventional head cartridge and ink cartridge, and FIG. 6B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on the head chip. In FIG. 6A, the head cartridge 1 includes head chips 8a to 8 provided with a nozzle plate for arranging a nozzle row of a plurality of nozzles 7 and an ink ejection unit corresponding to the nozzle plate.
d, an electrical connection means 9 that is electrically connected to the head chips 8a to 8d and transfers and receives electrical energy from the printer.
Supporting the head substrate 10, the head chips 8a to 8d, and the head substrate 10, the ink cartridges 2a to 2
and a head chip 8a to 8a.
The head cartridge housing 11 is provided with an ink supply unit up to d.

In FIG. 6 (b), head chips 8a ...
When the head cartridge 1 is mounted on the carriage 3, the 8d nozzle rows are arranged in parallel at equal pitches in the main scanning direction and on the same line in the sub scanning direction. ing. In addition, each nozzle 7 in the nozzle row
Are arranged at exactly the same pitch. For example, when performing color output, first, ink is ejected from the nozzle row of the head chip 8a corresponding to the data allocated to that color. Next, inks of different colors are ejected from the head chip 8b at arbitrary intervals. Ink is also ejected from the head chips 8c and 8d at the same intervals. In this way, a color image is formed by overlapping dots formed by inks of different colors. In the case of the configuration as described above, before the dots formed on the recording medium by the ejected ink are not completely dried, the next different color ink is ejected, and the image quality is deteriorated due to the color mixture, and the problem of speeding up the printer Has become.

FIG. 7 is an array diagram of nozzle rows of another conventional color head cartridge. The ink ejecting means (not shown) of different colors is formed integrally with the head chip 8e, but the ink flow path has an independent structure from the ink tank to the tip of the nozzle so as not to mix colors. A feature of this conventional example is that, unlike the arrangement of the nozzle example described with reference to FIG. 6, the nozzle rows of the respective colors are displaced in the sub-scanning direction. In the configuration of FIG. 7, the distance D between the lowermost end nozzle 7a and the uppermost end nozzle 7b of the adjacent nozzle rows is determined by the resolution in the sub-scanning direction of the printer because the ink supply channels are independently arranged.
That is, it is larger than the pitch between nozzles in the sub-scanning direction of the nozzle row.

[0008]

However, the above conventional configuration has the following problems. That is, in the type in which the head chips shown in FIG. 6 are arranged in parallel for a plurality of colors, the print quality is deteriorated due to color mixture of dots of different colors that cannot be completely dried when attempting to achieve high speed. For example, the development of quick-drying ink and the widening of the head cartridge can be considered. However, the former will cause clogging of nozzles and the like due to ink when not in use, and the latter will bear the problem of increasing the size of the printer.

Even when a plurality of nozzle rows of a plurality of colors are arranged on one head chip shown in FIG. 7, if the distance between the nozzle rows and the adjacent nozzle rows is too large, the print data for that portion is stored. Manufacturing costs will increase due to the need for memory and larger head chips.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer capable of printing at high speed.

[0011]

In order to achieve this object, the ink jet printer of the present invention is one in which the nozzle rows arranged on a plurality of head chips are arranged displaced in the sub-scanning direction. The amount of deviation is equal to the printing resolution of the printer, that is, the pitch between the nozzles in the nozzle row.

[0012]

With this structure, the printing speed can be improved without degrading the printing quality, and the range of ink selection can be expanded. Also, in the case of a printer that replaces and replenishes only the tanks, the printing speed for a single color can be dramatically improved by mounting only a plurality of ink tanks for the colors that are most frequently used.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
2A is a perspective view of the same head cartridge and ink cartridge, FIG. 2B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on the same head chip, and FIG. 2C is an ink ejection portion of the same head chip. FIG. In FIG. 1, a head cartridge 21 and ink cartridges 22a to 22d are housed inside a main body case 5. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 22a to 22d denote ink cartridges containing ink for ejection and printing. After the ink inside is exhausted, only the ink cartridges are replaced. 23
a to 23d are ink ejection holes 36 which are ink ejection means,
It is a head chip including a nozzle plate 37 having discharge nozzles 24a to 24d. A voltage is applied to the ink ejection hole 36 to energize the ink to eject the ink. Figure 2
As shown in (b), head chips 23a to 23d of each color
Are arranged so as to be displaced in the sub-scanning direction. The shift amount is the print resolution in the sub-scanning direction of the printer, as indicated by A in the figure, that is, the ejection nozzles 24a to 24d of the nozzle row.
It is equal to the pitch P between them. When A <P, or the nozzle rows of adjacent head chips of different colors overlap (A
Is negative), as described above, the print quality is poor due to the color mixture of ink during high-speed printing. When A> P, problems such as insufficient memory for storing print data occur. In this embodiment, the head chips 23a, 2
3c and the head chips 23b and 23d are arranged in two rows in a staggered manner. The distance between the two rows is an integral multiple of the resolution in the main scanning direction of the printer. 25 is a head chip 23
a wire bonding section 26 mounting a to 23d,
And a head substrate having an electrical connection means 27 for transmitting and receiving electric energy from the printer, which is a multi-layer FPC. The head chips 23a to 23d are fluidly connected to the ink supply flow path provided in the head cartridge, and are electrically connected to the head substrate 25 using a wire bonding technique. Discharge nozzles 24a to 24d
Since the electrical junctions in the vicinity cause a circuit short circuit due to ink adhesion and the like, they are sealed with silicone, UV resin or the like.

The mechanism of the head cartridge 21 and the ink cartridges 22a to 22d configured as described above will be described below. Ink cartridge 2
The ink filled in 2a to 22d is supplied to the ink flow paths (not shown) of the head chips 23a to 23d by the capillary force through the ink supply path (not shown) of the head cartridge 21, and the ejection nozzle 24a. It flows to the end face of ~ 24d. According to the ejection signal from the printer main body side, the electrical connection means 27 is connected to the head chips 23a-23.
Electric energy is supplied to the ink ejecting means of d. After that, abrupt pressure fluctuation is generated by the ink ejecting means, and the ink is ejected using this as ejection energy.
After ejection, the ink is filled up to the end faces of the ejection nozzles 24a to 24d by the capillary force of the ejection nozzles 24a to 24d.
Prepare for the next print. As the ink ejection means, an electrothermal conversion element that converts electric energy into heat energy to generate bubbles in the ink, an electrostrictive element that is deformed by the electric energy, or the like is used.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the head cartridge and the ink cartridge of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 6B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on the same head chip. In this embodiment, the cartridge has a print head and an ink tank integrated with each other. 28a-28d
Is a head chip provided with an ink ejection means and arranged with ejection nozzles, 29a to 29d are head substrates made by FPC technology, 30a to 30d are head chips 28a to 28d,
It is a head / tank integrated cartridge that supports the head substrates 29a to 29d and has an ink tank built therein. The mechanism is the same as that described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3B shows a positional relationship when the head / tank integrated cartridges 30 a to 30 d are mounted on the carriage 3.
8a to 28d are arranged substantially on an oblique straight line. As for the relative positions of the head chips 28a to 28d, the nozzles at the lowermost end and the nozzles at the uppermost end of the adjacent head chips are separated by one nozzle pitch in the sub-scanning direction, as described with reference to FIG. The distance D between adjacent head chips in the main scanning direction is separated by an integral multiple of the resolution of the printer in the main scanning direction. For example, if the resolution is 300 dpi,
If it is 150 times that, the pitch between head chips is 1
It becomes 2.7 mm. By arranging them substantially obliquely as shown in the figure, even when ink leaks unnecessarily from the nozzles, it is possible to prevent color mixing and to sufficiently prevent color mixing during blading.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a head cartridge and an ink cartridge according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which is a cartridge in which a print head and an ink tank are integrated. Reference numeral 31 is a head / tank integrated cartridge containing only ink for monochrome printing, 32 is a head / tank integrated cartridge containing ink for three-color printing, and 33b to 33d are ink ejecting means for three colors. A color head chip having ejection nozzles 34b to 34d. The amounts of misalignment between the lowermost nozzles of the color head chips 33b to 33d and the uppermost nozzles of the monochrome head chip 35 in the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction are as described above. Similarly, the relative positions of the nozzles of the respective colors in the color head chips 33b to 33d are the same, and the adjacent bottommost nozzle and topmost nozzle are one nozzle pitch in the sub-scanning direction and the printer prints in the main scanning direction. It is an integral multiple of the resolution. Here, it is not necessary to set the distance between the monochrome nozzle and the color nozzle closest to monochrome and the distance between the three color nozzles to be equal.

In the cartridge as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, all the inks supplied are the same, so that the print width of 4 times the width of the conventional one can be printed in one scan in the sub-scanning direction. It is possible to easily obtain a very high-speed monocolor printer. For example, in the case of the cartridge type as shown in FIG. 2, the ink cartridge 22b filled with the same ink as the ink used in the head chip 23a.
When .about.22d is attached to the place shown in the drawing and printing is performed, a high-speed monocolor printer having a print width four times as large as that of the nozzle row is obtained.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, each nozzle array arranged on a plurality of head chips maintains a printing resolution of the printer in the sub-scanning direction, that is, a distance equal to the pitch between nozzles of the nozzle array. By doing so, it is possible to realize a printer with high speed and good print quality. Further, it is possible to easily realize a very high-speed monocolor printer simply by replacing the cartridge.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a head cartridge and an ink cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on a head chip according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing of the ink discharge part of the head chip of 1st Example of invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a head cartridge and an ink cartridge of a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on a head chip of a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a head cartridge and an ink cartridge according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional inkjet printer.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a conventional head cartridge and an ink cartridge. FIG. 6B is a positional relationship diagram of nozzles mounted on a conventional head chip.

FIG. 7 is an array diagram of nozzle rows of another conventional color head cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 head cartridge 22a-22d ink cartridge 23a-23d head chip 24a-24d ejection nozzle

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhide Sonoda 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet print comprising: a plurality of head chips having ink ejecting means for ejecting ink from a discharge nozzle onto a recording medium; and ink containing means for containing ink to be supplied to the ink ejecting means. An ink jet printer characterized in that the discharge nozzles on the head chip are all arranged at equal intervals without overlapping in the transport direction of the recording medium. 2. The discharge nozzle on the head chip,
2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet printer is arranged at a distance that is an integral multiple of the printing resolution of the printer in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium. 3. A plurality of head chips provided with ink ejection means for ejecting ink from ejection nozzles, electrical connection means for exchanging electrical energy necessary for the ink ejection means from a printer body, and the ink ejection means. A head cartridge including a joint with an ink containing means for containing the ink to be supplied is provided, and the relative position of the ejection nozzles on the head chip does not overlap with the transport direction of the recording medium, and so on. An inkjet printer characterized by being arranged at intervals. 4. The discharge nozzle on the head chip,
The ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the ink jet printer is arranged at a distance that is an integral multiple of the printing resolution of the printer in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium. 5. A plurality of head chips provided with an ink ejecting means for ejecting ink from an ejecting nozzle, an electrical connecting means for exchanging electric energy necessary for the ink ejecting means from a printer body, and the ink ejecting means. A head / ink tank integrated cartridge including an ink containing means for containing the ink to be supplied is provided, and the relative positions of the ejection nozzles on the head chip do not overlap with the transport direction of the recording medium, and so on. An ink jet printer characterized by being arranged at intervals. 6. The discharge nozzle on the head chip,
6. The ink jet printer according to claim 5, wherein the ink jet printer is arranged at a distance that is an integral multiple of the printing resolution of the printer in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium.