JPH09267474A - Printer device and driving method for printing head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably prepare a beautiful photoprint by generating a driving signal based on frequency characteristics of a response displacement to the driving signal of one wall surface of a liquid chamber to control a pressurizing means in an apparatus which discharges a liquid from the liquid chamber via a nozzle by pressurizing one wall surface of the liquid chamber. SOLUTION: In printing, a signal processing control circuit 31 calculates a response displacement waveform of a diaphragm of a printing head 1 based on an input signal S10, and converts that into a frequency domain by Fourier conversion. By dividing the converted response displacement waveform by frequency responce characteristics of response displacement of the diaphragm to a driving signal 11, a frequency component of a pulse waveform of the driving signal S11 is calculated. Then, by reverse Fourier conversion of a pulse waveform of the frequency component, it is converted to a time domain to obtain the pulse form for obtaining response displacement waveform. By impressing the pulse form to the electrode via a driver 32 as the driving signal S11, printing is carried out by driving each sinking comb part of a laminated piezoelectric element.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Table of Contents] The present invention will be described in the following order. TECHNICAL FIELD The invention belongs to the related art (FIG. 13) Problem to be solved by the invention (FIG. 13) Means for solving the problem (FIGS. 8 to 13) Embodiment of the invention (1) First Example ( 1-1) Principle (FIGS. 1 to 7) (1-2) Configuration of the printer device according to the first embodiment (FIGS. 8, 9 and 13) (1-3) Operation and effect of the first embodiment ( 8 and 9) (2) Second embodiment (2-1) Configuration of printer device according to second embodiment (FIG. 8)
To FIG. 13) (2-2) Operation and effects of the second embodiment (FIGS. 8 to 13) (3) Other embodiments (FIGS. 8 to 13) Effects of the invention

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device and a method for driving a print head, and is suitable for application to, for example, an ink jet printer device and a "carrier jet" printer device.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a so-called on-demand type ink jet printer device, characters or figures can be recorded on a recording medium such as paper or film by ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle according to a recording signal. In recent years, the size and cost of the device can be reduced, and therefore it is rapidly spreading.

On the other hand, in recent years, especially in offices, document creation using a computer called desktop publishing has become popular, and along with this, not only characters and figures but also natural colors such as photographs are displayed. There is an increasing demand for outputting images. In order to print a high quality natural image, it is important to reproduce halftones.

By the way, in this type of jet printer apparatus, as a method of ejecting ink droplets, a method using a piezoelectric element such as a piezo element or a method using a heating element is widely used.

In practice, the method using a piezoelectric element applies a voltage to the piezoelectric element to deform it, thereby applying pressure to the ink filled in the ink chamber called a cavity, and thus applying this pressure to the outside via a nozzle. The discharge is performed by On the other hand, the method using the heating element is performed by heating and boiling the ink by the heating element and ejecting the ink to the outside by the pressure of bubbles generated at this time. Further, as a method of reproducing the halftone, a method of varying the voltage or pulse width applied to the piezoelectric element or the heating element and controlling the droplet size of the ejected ink to express the gradation by changing the printing dot diameter or For example, a method is used in which one pixel is formed by a matrix of, for example, 4 × 4 dots without changing the dot diameter, and gradation is expressed by using a so-called dither method in this matrix unit.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional printer head using a piezoelectric element as a method for ejecting ink droplets. As is apparent from FIG. 13, the printer head 1 of this type includes a cavity unit 2 and a piezoelectric element unit 3. In this case, the cavity unit 2 sequentially attaches the base 5 and the diaphragm 6 made of a flexible material such as a metal material (titanium, copper or the like), a resin material (polyimide or the like) or glass on the orientation plate 4. And a first concave portion 4AX formed along the Y direction (arrow y ₁ ) on one surface 4A of the orifice plate 4, and
An ink chamber 7 including a first opening 5A formed in the base 5 so as to communicate therewith is provided. Ink is supplied to the ink chamber 7 from an ink tank (not shown) via a flow path (not shown).

On one surface 4A of the orifice plate 4, a plurality of (for example, 16) second recesses 4AY are arranged in parallel along the first recess 4AX, and on the other surface 4B, each second recess 4AY is provided. A plurality of nozzles 4BX are bored along the Y direction so as to communicate with each other, and the base 5 is provided with a plurality of second openings so as to communicate with the corresponding second recesses 4AY of the orifice plate 4. A cavity 5B is formed.

Further, the base 5 is formed with a flow path (not shown) consisting of a plurality of elongated third openings so that the ink chamber 7 and each of the cavities 5B are individually communicated with each other. Ink supplied from the ink tank to the ink chamber 7 is passed through each of these flow paths to each cavity 5
B can be supplied. On the other hand, in the piezoelectric element unit 3, a laminated piezo element 10 formed by laminating a piezoelectric material and a conductive material alternately in sequence, and a support 11 for fixedly supporting one end of the laminated piezo element 10.
And a holder 12 for fixing the laminated piezoelectric element 10 and the support 11 to the cavity unit 2.

In this case, the laminated piezo element 10 is separated into comb teeth at the other end corresponding to the respective cavities 5B of the cavity unit 2, and at the other ends (hereinafter, these are separated). Each of them is called a comb tooth portion) and the corresponding cavity 5B of the cavity unit 2
Are supported by the support 11 so as to face each other via the diaphragm 6.

Further, the first electrode 13 is formed by plating one end of the laminated piezo element 10 with gold plating, and the other end is plated with gold at the tips of the comb teeth. A plurality of second electrodes 14 are formed by being applied, and the first electrode 13 is grounded.

As a result, in the printer head 1, by applying a voltage to the second electrode 14 formed on the desired comb tooth portion of the laminated piezoelectric element 10, the comb tooth portion is deformed. The vibrating plate 6 of the cavity unit 2 can be displaced to the inside of the cavity 5B by the portion, and thus the corresponding cavity 5B can be displaced accordingly.
By applying a pressure corresponding to the displacement amount of the vibrating plate 6 to the ink inside, the ink can be ejected to the outside through the corresponding nozzle 4BX of the orifice plate 4.

[0013]

By the way, in the conventional printer head 1 configured as described above, due to the existence of the resonance frequency of the cavity 5B, etc., the cavity 5B with respect to the drive voltage applied to the laminated piezo element 10 will be described. It may be difficult to follow the volume change of especially in the high frequency region,
As a result, for example, when a pulse is applied as a drive voltage to the laminated piezoelectric element 10, the displacement of the diaphragm 6 may not follow the pulse waveform.

In particular, when the resonance frequency of the cavity 5B exists in the frequency component of the drive voltage applied to the laminated piezoelectric element 10, the volume change of the cavity 5B causes an overshoot due to the transient response of the resonance frequency, resulting in the drive signal. There is a problem that it is difficult to perform stable and clean printing, such as not only one ink droplet but also a plurality of ink droplets ejected for one pulse. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a printer apparatus and a print head driving method capable of stably and beautifully printing.

[0015]

In order to solve such a problem, in a first aspect of the present invention, in a printer device, a frequency characteristic of a response displacement of a liquid chamber of which one wall surface is made of a flexible material to a drive signal of the one wall surface is determined. On the basis of the print data, a drive signal composed of a pulse having a waveform such that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as a response displacement of one wall surface of the liquid chamber is generated based on the drive signal. The drive control means for controlling the drive of the pressurizing means for pressurizing is provided.

In the second aspect of the invention, a pulse waveform is obtained such that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as a response displacement waveform of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber formed on the print head, the wall surface of which is made of a flexible material. Calculate, generate a drive signal consisting of the pulse of the waveform based on the supplied print data,
The pressurizing means for pressurizing one wall surface of the liquid chamber is driven based on the generated drive signal.

In this case, according to the first aspect of the invention, a drive signal composed of a pulse having a waveform such that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as a response displacement of one wall surface of the liquid chamber is generated based on the print data, and the relevant drive is performed. By controlling the drive of the pressurizing means based on the signal, the behavior of one wall surface of the liquid chamber can be stabilized, and thus the volume change of the liquid chamber with respect to the drive signal can be stabilized.

According to the second aspect of the invention, a pulse waveform is calculated so that a predetermined response displacement waveform can be obtained as a response displacement of one wall surface of the liquid chamber, and a drive signal composed of the pulse of the waveform is supplied to the printing image supplied. By generating based on the data and driving the pressurizing means based on the generated drive signal, it is possible to stabilize the behavior of one wall surface of the liquid chamber, as in the first invention. The volume change of the liquid chamber with respect to the drive signal can be stabilized.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Principle In the print head 1 of FIG. 13, in order to obtain a stable and clean print as described above, the laminated piezo element 10 is used.
It is necessary to stabilize the volume change of the cavity 5B with respect to the drive signal applied to the.

It has been confirmed that this is largely related to the stability of the behavior of the diaphragm 6, and by stabilizing the behavior of the diaphragm 6 accordingly, stable and clear printing can be performed. Conceivable. Here, the frequency characteristic of the response displacement of the diaphragm 6 with respect to the drive signal applied to the laminated piezoelectric element 10 was observed using a Doppler vibrometer utilizing the Doppler effect of light.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, when the driving signal applied to the laminated piezo element 10 has a low frequency, relatively flat characteristics are obtained, while it is found that a resonance point exists in a high frequency region. It was Therefore, the laminated piezoelectric element 10
It is expected that the response displacement of the diaphragm 6 does not change faithfully with respect to the drive signal when the drive signal of 1 has a high frequency component.

Actually, a triangular wave pulse P as shown in FIG.
When the drive signal S1 having L1 is applied to the laminated piezoelectric element 10 and the response displacement of the displacement of the diaphragm 6 at that time is observed by a Doppler vibrometer, the pulse width is 100 [μ
[s]], the response displacement waveform as shown in FIG. 3 (A) is obtained, whereas when the pulse width is 40 [μs], the response displacement waveform as shown in FIG. 3 (B) is obtained. Was given. The drive signal S1 causes the diaphragm 6 to be displaced in the direction of decreasing the volume of the cavity 5B at the first rise of the pulse PL1 to eject ink, and to supply the ink into the cavity 5B at the fall of the pulse PL1. It acts on the laminated piezoelectric element 10.

Therefore, as is clear from FIGS. 3A and 3B, the pulse PL1 of the drive signal S1 applied to the laminated piezoelectric element 10 is short in time (FIG. 3B). A transient response occurs due to the existence of the resonance point (from time t ₂
t _3), was divide that result ejection of the ink becomes unstable. However, normally, in the print head 1 configured as shown in FIG. 13, when the change in displacement of the diaphragm 6 is faster in time, a large acceleration is generated in the diaphragm 6 and a large force is applied to the ink, which is relatively stable. Ink ejection can be obtained. Therefore, as the pulse PL1 of the drive signal S1,
It is required to be short in time.

By the way, the drive signal S1 applied to the laminated piezo element 10 and the response waveform of the displacement of the diaphragm 6 at this time can be found by the Fourier transform method via the frequency characteristic of FIG. . That is, for example, the waveform (f (t)) of the drive signal S1 is Fourier transformed, and the frequency component (F (ω)) of the drive signal S1 thus obtained is
Next formula

[Equation 1] , The transfer function (H
The frequency component (G (ω)) of the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 with respect to the drive signal S1 is calculated by multiplying the frequency component (G (ω)) by inverse Fourier transform. Therefore, the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 with respect to the drive signal S1 can be obtained.

In practice, the above calculation is performed by the computer, and the drive signal S shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively.
As a result of calculating the respective response displacement waveforms of the diaphragm 6 for No. 1, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it was confirmed that the observation results (FIGS. 3A and 3B) were in good agreement. Therefore, it is considered that this can be used to obtain the waveform of the drive signal S1 for obtaining the desired waveform of the response displacement of the diaphragm 6 by performing the above inverse calculation.

Therefore, a desired response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 with respect to the drive signal S1 is shown in FIG.
The above inverse calculation is performed as a triangular wave of [μs], and the pulse waveform of the drive signal S1 for obtaining such a waveform (see FIG. 6).
(B)) is calculated, and at the same time, the drive signal S2 composed of pulses having such a waveform is actually generated to generate the laminated piezoelectric element 1
When the displacement of the diaphragm 6 at this time was observed by a Doppler vibrometer, an observed waveform as shown in FIG. 7 could be obtained as the response displacement of the diaphragm 6.

As is clear from FIG. 7, it can be seen that the diaphragm 6 at this time has no transient response and is stably displaced. Therefore, if the frequency characteristic of the response displacement of the diaphragm 6 with respect to the drive signal can be obtained, it is possible to accurately follow the drive signal as the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 even when the drive signal has a high frequency. .

(1-2) Configuration of Printer Device According to First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a serial type ink jet printer device 20 according to the first embodiment, which includes a motor 21, a pulley 22, a belt 23, and a belt 23. The drum 25 can be rotationally driven based on the rotational output given to the drum 25 via the pulley 24 in sequence. A paper presser 26 is arranged on the outer periphery of the drum 25 in parallel with the axial direction of the drum 25. The paper presser 26 presses the print paper 27, which is a material to be printed, wound around the drum 25 onto the drum 25. It is designed to be attached.

A feed screw 28 is arranged on the outer periphery of the drum 25 in parallel with the axial direction of the drum 25, and the print head 1 shown in FIG. 13 is screwed into the feed screw 28. By rotating 28, the print head 1 can be moved in the axial direction of the drum 25. Here, in the case of the serial type ink jet printer device 20, the motor 21, the drive motor (not shown) for the feed screw 28, and the print head 1 are all driven and controlled by the controller 30.

In practice, the control unit 30, as shown in FIG.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) or DSP (Digit
a signal processing control circuit 31 of a micro computer configuration including an al signal proccessor), and the signal processing control circuit 31 of the laminated piezo element 10 of the print head 1 is based on the input signal S10 composed of the supplied print data and control signal. The drive signal S11 to be given to each comb tooth portion is generated, and this is sent to the second electrode 14 of the corresponding comb tooth portion of the laminated piezo element 10 of the print head 1 via the driver 32. The print head 1 is driven and controlled.

At this time, the signal processing control circuit 31 outputs the print data obtained based on the input signal S10 to the memory 3 having a line buffer memory or a frame memory as necessary.
3, the print data is rearranged in the print order by appropriately reading the read data, and the correction data stored in the correction circuit 34 in the ROM (read only memory) map type is read as necessary to correct the correction data. Based on the data, γ correction of print data, color correction in the case of color, and the like are performed.

Further, the signal processing control circuit 31 uses the input signal S
1 to generate the control signals S12 and S13, and the control signals S12 and S13 are generated via the drive control unit 35, respectively.
4, corresponding motor 21 or feed screw 28 as S15
Of the motor 21
Alternatively, the drive motor of the feed screw 28 is drive-controlled, and thus the operations of the drum 25 and the feed screw 28 are controlled. Thus, in this serial type ink jet printer device 20, during operation, the drive motor of the feed screw 28 is driven based on the drive control signal S15 supplied from the control unit 30 to rotate the feed screw 28 at a predetermined angular velocity. Is used to move the print head 1 in the axial direction of the drum 25 at a constant speed, and at the same time, the print head 1 is driven based on the drive signal S11 supplied from the control unit 30 to move the print head 27 by one line. Print.

When the printing for one line is completed, the motor 21 supplies the drive control signal S1 supplied from the control unit 30.
4, the drum 25 is rotated by a predetermined angle to feed the print paper 27 by one line, and at this time, the drive motor of the feed screw 28 supplies the drive control signal S15 supplied from the control unit 30. The print head 1 is returned to the original position in the moving direction by driving the drive screw 28 to rotate the feed screw 28, and thereafter the same operation is repeated.

In this way, the serial type ink jet printer device 20 can print one line at a time based on the input signal S10 supplied to the control section 30, and thus can be obtained based on the input signal S10. Print paper 27 with characters, figures and images based on print data
It is designed to be able to print over the entire surface of the. In addition to this configuration, in the case of the serial type ink jet printer device 20, the signal processing control circuit 31 of the control unit 30 uses the diaphragm 6 of the print head 1 as the drive signal S11.
Is generated based on the input signal S10, and the print head 1 is drive-controlled based on the drive signal S10.

That is, the signal processing control circuit 3 of the control unit 30.
1 is a response displacement waveform of the vibrating plate 6 of the print head 1 having no transient response corresponding to an appropriate amount of ink for giving a specified gradation for each dot based on the input signal S10 (for example, FIG. 6A). ) Is calculated and Fourier transformed to convert it to the frequency domain, and the response displacement waveform converted to the frequency domain is used as a frequency response characteristic of the response displacement of the diaphragm 6 to the drive signal S11 input in advance. By dividing by, the frequency component of the pulse waveform of the drive signal S11 for obtaining the response displacement waveform is calculated.

Subsequently, the signal processing control circuit 31 transforms the pulse waveform of this frequency component into the time domain by performing an inverse Fourier transform. Thus, the signal processing control circuit 31
A pulse waveform (for example, FIG. 6B) for obtaining the above-mentioned response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 having no transient response is obtained, and this is used as a drive signal S11 via the driver 32 to transmit the laminated piezoelectric element 10 of the print head 1. By applying to the second electrode 14 provided on each corresponding comb-tooth portion, each comb-tooth portion of these laminated piezo elements 10 is driven.

(1-3) Operation and effects of the first embodiment With the above configuration, in the serial type ink jet printer device 20, during operation, the control unit 30 makes the diaphragm 6 of the print head 1 for each dot. Of the drive signal S that can provide a gradation specified based on the input signal S10 as a response waveform of the
The pulse waveform of 11 is calculated, and the drive signal S11 composed of the pulses thus obtained is sent to the print head 1 to drive the print head 1 based on the drive signal S11. Therefore, in this serial type ink jet printer device 20, even when the drive signal S11 has a high frequency, the diaphragm 6 of the print head 1 can be displaced almost certainly with a desired waveform with no transient response, and thus the printing can be performed. Since the behavior of the diaphragm 6 of the head 1 can be stably driven, the volume change of the cavity 5B can be stabilized.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the control unit 30 can obtain a waveform capable of giving a designated gradation and having no transient response as the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 6 of the pendant head 1 for each dot. By calculating the pulse waveform of the drive signal S11 and sending the drive signal S11 composed of the pulse having the waveform thus obtained to the print head 1 to drive the print head 1 based on the drive signal S11. Thus, the behavior of the diaphragm 6 of the print head 1 can be stably driven, and thus a serial type ink jet printer device capable of stably and beautifully printing can be realized.

(2) Second Embodiment (2-1) Configuration of Printer Device According to Second Embodiment FIG. 10 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 8 are designated by the same reference numerals is shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a "Carrier Jet" printer device 40, which has the same configuration as the serial type ink jet printer device 20 (FIG. 8) of the first embodiment except the configuration of the print head 41 and the control unit 42.

In practice, in this serial type "Carrier Jet" printer device 40, the print head 41
As shown in FIG. 11, the cavity unit 50,
The piezoelectric element unit 3 of FIG. 14 is composed of first and second piezoelectric element units 51 and 52 having the same structure. In this case, the cavity unit 50 includes a base 61 on one surface 60A of the orifice plate 60 and a diaphragm 62 made of a flexible material such as a metal material (titanium, copper, etc.), a resin material (polyimide, etc.) or glass. The first recess 60AX ₁ is formed by sequentially adhering it, and an elongated first recess 60AX ₁ is formed in the Y direction (arrow y ₂ ) on one end side of the one surface 60A of the orifice plate 60 in the width direction. There is provided an ink chamber 63 formed of a first opening portion 60A ₁ formed on the base 61 so as to face it. Ink chamber 6
Ink is supplied to 3 as needed from an ink tank (not shown).

One side 60A of the orientation plate 60
Is provided with a plurality of (for example, 16) second recesses 60AY ₁ along the ink chamber 63, and the other surface 60B is connected to the corresponding second recesses 60AY ₁ by Y.
A plurality of nozzles 60BX ₁ are formed along the direction, and a plurality of _first cavities formed of second openings are formed on the base 61 so as to correspond to the corresponding second recesses 60AY ₁ of the orifice plate 60. 61B ₁ is provided.

Further, in the base 61, a flow path (not shown) formed of a plurality of elongated third openings so that the ink chamber 63 and each first cavity 61B ₁ are individually communicated with each other.
The ink thus supplied from the ink tank to the ink chamber 63 can be supplied to the respective first cavities 61B ₁ via these respective flow paths.

As a result, in this printer head 41, a voltage is applied to the desired comb tooth portion of the laminated piezoelectric element 10A of the first piezoelectric element unit 511 via the second electrode 14A to deform the comb tooth portion. The vibration plate 62 to the first
Of Yotsute to be displaced inside the cavity 61B _1, the ink of the corresponding first cavity 61B ₁ can give pressure corresponding to the displacement of the vibrating plate 62, thus the ink orifice plate 60 Nozzle 6
It can be discharged to the outside through 0BX ₁ .

In the same manner as this, the unit 5
In the inside of 0, a long and thin third plate 60 is formed along the Y direction on the other end side of the one surface 60A of the orifice plate 60 in the width direction.
There is provided a diluting liquid chamber 64 including a concave portion 60AX ₂ and a fourth opening portion 61A ₂ formed in the base 61 so as to face the concave portion 60AX ₂ . The diluent chamber 64 is in communication with a diluent tank (not shown) via a flow path (not shown), and the diluent is sequentially supplied from the tank.

One side 60A of the orientation plate 60
Is provided with a plurality of third recesses 60AY ₂ corresponding to the respective second recesses 60AY _1, and the other surface 60B of the orifice plate 60 is connected to the corresponding third recesses 60AY _2. A plurality of second nozzles 60BX ₂ are formed along the Y direction, and the base 61
The third recess 60 corresponding to the orifice plate 60.
A plurality of second cavities 61B ₂ each having a fifth opening communicating with AY ₂ are provided.

Further, the base 61 is provided with a flow path formed of a plurality of elongated sixth openings so that the diluent chamber 64 and each of the second cavities 61B ₂ are individually communicated with each other. The diluting liquid supplied from the diluting liquid tank to the diluting liquid chamber 64 can be supplied to the respective second cavities 61B ₂ via the respective flow paths. As a result, in the print head 41, a voltage is applied through the second electrode 14B corresponding to the desired comb tooth portion of the laminated piezoelectric element 10B of the second piezoelectric element unit 52 to deform the comb tooth portion. By displacing the vibrating plate 62 in the downward direction, the corresponding second cavity 61B is formed.
A pressure corresponding to the amount of displacement of the vibrating plate 62 can be applied to the diluting liquid in ₂ and thus the diluting liquid can be discharged to the outside through the second nozzle 60BX ₂ of the orifice plate 60. .

In this case, as apparent from FIG. 11, each second nozzle 61BX ₂ has its opening close to the corresponding opening of the first nozzle 60BX ₁ , and 45
The orientation plate 60 is formed with an inclination of [°]. As a result, in the print head 41, the diluent discharged from the second nozzle 60BX ₂
Nozzle 60BX ₁ is mixed with the ink to be ejected toward the print paper 27. Thus, by adjusting the amount of the diluting liquid ejected from the second nozzle 60BX ₂ , one dot unit is obtained. It is designed so that it can have gradation.

On the other hand, the control section 42 has a signal processing control circuit 70 having a microcomputer configuration including a CPU or a DSP as shown in FIG. 12 in which the same parts as those in FIG. Based on the input signal S10 supplied from the control circuit 70, a first drive signal S20 for causing a predetermined amount of ink to be ejected is generated for each dot, and this is generated by the driver 32A to the first drive signal S20 of the print head 41. By sending to the first piezoelectric element unit 51, the drive control of the first piezoelectric element unit 51 is performed.

In this case, the signal processing control circuit 70 provides the drive pulse as the response waveform of the vibration plate 62 such that a response waveform without a transient response capable of ejecting a predetermined amount of ink (for example, FIG. 6A) is obtained. The waveform data of (for example, FIG. 6B) is given in advance, and thus the signal processing control circuit 7
0 is based on this waveform data and the input signal S10,
A first drive signal S20 that can control the transient response of the diaphragm 62 of the print head 41 is generated, and this is generated via the driver 32A in the laminated piezoelectric element 10A of the first voltage element unit 51 of the print head 41. The first piezoelectric element unit 5 is applied based on the drive signal S20 so as to be applied to the second electrode 14A formed on the corresponding comb tooth portion.
1 is controlled to be driven.

At this time, the signal processing control circuit 70
Calculates the liquid amount of the diluting liquid to be ejected from the second nozzle 60BX ₂ (FIG. 11) of the print head 41 in order to give the gradation specified for each dot, based on the input signal S10, and A second drive signal S21 for discharging a diluting liquid of a liquid amount is supplied to the second piezoelectric element unit 52 of the print head 41 via the driver 32B so that the second piezoelectric element unit 52 is driven and controlled. To do.

In this case, when generating the second drive signal S21, the signal processing control circuit 70 first drives the drive signal for each dot in the same manner as the signal processing control circuit 31 (FIG. 9) of the first embodiment. A desired response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 62 for S21 is calculated, and this is transformed into a frequency domain by performing a Fourier transform, and the response displacement waveform converted into the frequency domain is inputted in advance.
The pulse waveform in the frequency domain of the drive signal S21 for obtaining the desired response displacement waveform is calculated by dividing by the frequency response characteristic of the displacement.

Subsequently, the signal processing control circuit 70 transforms the pulse waveform in the frequency domain into the time domain by performing an inverse Fourier transform. Thus, the signal processing control circuit 70
A drive signal S21 having a waveform for obtaining a desired response displacement waveform of the vibration plate 70 is obtained, and this is sent to the second piezoelectric element unit 52 of the print head 41 via the second driver 32B.
Drive signal S is applied to the second electrode 14B formed on the corresponding comb tooth portion of the laminated piezoelectric element 10B.
The second piezoelectric element unit 52 is driven based on 21.

(2-2) Operation and effect of the second embodiment With the above-mentioned configuration, in the serial type "carrier jet" printer device 40, during operation, the control unit 42 prints for each dot based on the input signal S10. Head 41
First and second drive signals S2 such that a response displacement waveform without a transient response is obtained as the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 62 of FIG.
0, S21, and these are respectively generated by the corresponding first or second piezoelectric element unit 51 of the print head 41,
Then, the print head 41 is driven and controlled based on the first and second drive signals S20 and S21.

Therefore, in this serial type "Carrier Jet" printer device 40, the first and second drive signals S
Even when 20, S21 have a high frequency, the vibration plate 62 of the print head 41 can be displaced almost certainly with a desired response waveform with no transient response, thus stabilizing the behavior of the vibration plate 62 of the print head 41. The first and second cavities 61 can be driven by
The volume change of B ₁ and 61B ₂ can be stabilized.

According to the above construction, the first and second drive signals for obtaining a response displacement waveform having no transient response as the response displacement waveform of the diaphragm 62 of the print head 41 for each dot in the controller 42. Generate S20 and S21,
These are applied to the laminated piezo elements 10A, 10B of the corresponding first or second piezoelectric element units 51, 52 of the print head 41 so as to be applied to the print head 4, respectively.
By controlling the driving of No. 1, it is possible to stably drive the behavior of the diaphragm 62 of the print head 41, and thus it is possible to realize a serial type "carrier jet" printer device capable of stably and beautifully printing. .

(3) Other Embodiments In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the serial type print head has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be applied to a line type printer head.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the present invention is applied to the serial type ink jet printer device 20 or the serial type "carrier jet" having the print heads 1 and 41 configured as shown in FIG. 13 or 11.
The case where the invention is applied to the printer device 40 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that the liquid chamber whose one wall surface is made of a flexible material and the first nozzle that communicates the liquid chamber with the outside are provided. By forming the formed liquid chamber and pressing one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on the supplied drive signal to displace the one wall inside the liquid chamber, the ink or diluent filled in the liquid chamber is formed. Printer device having a print head having a pressurizing means for applying a pressure to eject the ink or diluent to the outside through a nozzle, and a drive control means for drivingly controlling the pressurizing means based on the supplied printing data If so, the invention can be applied to printer devices having various other configurations.

In this case, in the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the supplied drive signals S11, S20, S21.
The case where the laminated piezo elements 10, 10A, 10B are applied as the pressurizing means for pressurizing the vibrating plates 6, 62 based on the above is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various other pressurizing means. Can be applied. In addition, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the control units 30 and 42 are not shown in FIG.
Although the case where the configuration is made as described in 2 has been described,
The present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that a waveform with which a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as the response displacement of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber is obtained based on the frequency characteristic of the response displacement of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber to the drive signal. If it is possible to generate a drive signal composed of a pulse based on the print data and drive-control the pressurizing means for pressurizing one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on the drive signal,
Various other configurations can be applied to the configurations of the control units 30 and 42.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the present invention is a printer device adapted to control the droplet size of the ink ejected from the print head 1 so that the print dot diameter is made variable to express gradation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to other printers and the like that are adapted to perform gradation expression by the dither method.

Further, in the above-mentioned second embodiment, the present invention is applied to the printer device 40 adapted to perform gradation expression by making the ejected ink amount constant and the diluting liquid amount variable. I mentioned the case of
The present invention is not limited to this, the amount of ink ejected is variable,
The present invention can also be applied to a printer device that performs gradation expression while keeping the amount of diluent liquid constant.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, a liquid chamber whose one wall surface is made of a flexible material and a liquid chamber forming portion in which a nozzle for communicating the liquid chamber with the outside is formed, and a drive signal to be supplied. Pressurize one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on the above to displace the one wall surface inside the liquid chamber, thereby applying pressure to the ink filled in the liquid chamber and ejecting the ink to the outside through a nozzle. Means and a control means for controlling the pressurizing means on the basis of the supplied printing data, and the control means determines the one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on the frequency characteristic of the response displacement of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber to the drive signal. A drive signal composed of a pulse having a waveform capable of obtaining a predetermined response displacement waveform as the response displacement is generated based on the print data, and the drive signal is supplied to the pressurizing means to control the pressurizing means. By doing so, the liquid chamber One wall surface behavior can be stabilized, and thus can be stably realized printer device capable of performing a clean printing with.

Further, a liquid chamber forming portion having a liquid chamber whose one wall is made of a flexible material and a nozzle for communicating the liquid chamber with the outside, and one wall of the liquid chamber is pressurized based on a drive signal supplied. By displacing the liquid inside the liquid chamber by applying pressure to the liquid filled in the liquid chamber to discharge the liquid to the outside through the nozzle, A pulse waveform is calculated so that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as the response displacement of one wall surface, a drive signal composed of the pulses of the waveform is generated based on the supplied print data, and the generated drive signal is added. By driving the pressurizing means so as to supply it to the pressurizing means, the behavior of one wall surface of the liquid chamber can be stabilized, and thus a method of driving the print head capable of performing stable and clean printing. It can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a characteristic curve diagram showing frequency characteristics of response displacement of a diaphragm with respect to a drive signal.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram showing an example of a pulse waveform of a drive signal.

FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram for explaining displacement of the diaphragm with respect to a drive signal.

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram for explaining a pulse waveform of a drive signal and displacement of a diaphragm with respect to the pulse waveform.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram for explaining a pulse waveform of a drive signal and displacement of a diaphragm with respect to the pulse waveform.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram for explaining a displacement of the diaphragm and a pulse waveform of a drive signal for the displacement.

FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing a drive signal waveform and an observed waveform of displacement of the diaphragm with respect to the drive signal waveform.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a serial type ink jet printer device according to the first embodiment.

9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a serial type “Carrier Jet” printer device according to a second embodiment.

11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the print head of FIG.

12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a conventional print head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 41 ...... Print head, 2, 50 ...... Cavity unit, 4BX, 60BX ₁ , 60BX ₂ ...... Nozzle, 5B, 61B ₁ , 61B ₂ ...... Cavity, 6, 6
2 ... Vibration plate, 10, 10A, 10B ... Laminated piezo element, 20, 40 ... Printer device, 30, 42 ... Control unit, 31, 70 ... Signal processing control circuit, 32, 32A,
32B: driver, S10: input signal, S11, S
20, S21 ... Drive signal.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A liquid chamber forming section in which a liquid chamber whose one wall surface is made of a flexible material and a nozzle for communicating the liquid chamber with the outside are formed, and the one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on a drive signal supplied. By displacing the one wall surface to the inside of the liquid chamber by applying pressure, a pressure unit that applies pressure to the liquid filled in the liquid chamber and discharges the liquid to the outside through the nozzle is supplied. Drive control means for driving and controlling the pressurizing means based on the print data according to the print data, wherein the control means controls the liquid chamber based on the frequency characteristic of the response displacement of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber to the drive signal. Of the one wall surface is generated based on the print data as the drive signal composed of a pulse having a waveform such that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained, and the pressurizing means is drive-controlled based on the drive signal. Characterized by That the printer device. 2. The control means obtains a gradation specified as a response displacement waveform of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber for each dot on the basis of the print data, and has no transient response. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein a pulse waveform for obtaining a displacement waveform is calculated, and the drive signal is generated based on the calculation result. 3. A liquid chamber forming portion having a liquid chamber whose one wall surface is made of a flexible material and a nozzle for communicating the liquid chamber with the outside, and the one wall surface of the liquid chamber based on a drive signal supplied thereto. Drive the print head having a pressurizing means for applying pressure to the liquid filled in the liquid chamber to discharge the liquid to the outside through the nozzle by pressurizing the liquid inside the liquid chamber. In the method, a first step for calculating a pulse waveform such that a predetermined response displacement waveform is obtained as a response displacement waveform of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber, and the drive signal including the pulse of the waveform are supplied. A method of driving a print head, comprising: a second step generated based on print data; and a third step that drives and controls the pressing means based on the generated drive signal. 4. In the first step, a gradation specified as a response displacement waveform of the one wall surface of the liquid chamber is obtained for each dot based on the supplied print data, and 4. The printhead driving method according to claim 3, wherein a pulse waveform is calculated so as to obtain a response displacement waveform having no transient response.