JPH10181023A - Recording head, apparatus and method for recording using the recording head, method for controlling recording, and recording head cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording head which can be adapted to a variety of recording apparatus, e.g. a recording apparatus of a low recording density and a recording apparatus of a high recording density, and can record to match the performance of the apparatuses. SOLUTION: There are arranged at the side of a recording head a judging circuit 24 for judging a type of a recording apparatus to which the recording head is loaded, and switches SW1, SW2 for selecting based on a judgement result of the judging circuit 24 a method for driving the recording head which can be executed by the recording apparatus. When the recording head is mounted to a recording apparatus capable of recording with 360dpi, one recording dot of the recording density 360dpi is substantially expressed by four recording dots of 720dpi recording density. On the other hand, when the recording head is mounted to a recording apparatus capable of recording with 720dpi recording density, one recording dot is expressed by one recording dot of 720dpi recording density.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording head, a recording apparatus using the recording head, a recording method, a recording control method, and a recording head cartridge, and more particularly, to a recording head compatible with various recording apparatuses and a recording head. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a recording method, a recording control method, and a recording head cartridge using the recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus in which a recording head is detachable and a plurality of recording heads are replaceable, a discriminating terminal or a discrimination terminal for allowing the recording head to discriminate the type of the recording head. The recording device side identifies the type of the mounted recording head on the recording apparatus side.

[0003] The ink jet recording method is characterized in that the generation of noise at the time of recording is extremely small to a negligible level, that high-speed recording is possible, and that so-called plain paper can be used. Since this recording method has various advantages such as no special processing is required, it has attracted great interest recently.

Among them, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-5183
No. 7, No. 2,843,064 discloses another ink jet recording method in that thermal energy is applied to a liquid to obtain a driving force for discharging droplets. Has a different feature.

That is, according to the recording method disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, the liquid subjected to the action of thermal energy undergoes a state change accompanied by a sharp increase in volume, and the recording is performed by a force generated based on the state change. The liquid is ejected from the orifice at the tip of the head to form flying droplets, and the droplets adhere to the recording medium to form pixels and perform recording.

[0006] In particular, the recording method disclosed in DOLS2843064 is not only very effectively applied to so-called drop-on-demand recording, but also the recording width of a recording head is comparable to the width of a recording medium. Since a full-line type high-density multi-orifice recording head that is as long as the width can be easily realized, there is an advantage that a high-resolution and high-quality image can be obtained at a high speed.

A recording head to which such a recording method is applied includes an orifice provided for discharging liquid,
A nozzle having a liquid flow path that is part of a thermal action part that communicates with the orifice and applies thermal energy for discharging liquid droplets to the liquid, and electrothermal conversion as a means for generating thermal energy And a base provided with a body (heating element).

In recent years, on a substrate of such a recording head, not only a plurality of heating elements are mounted on a substrate, but also a driver for driving each heating element and an image signal input serially are transferred in parallel to the respective drivers. A shift register capable of storing image signals of the same number of bits and a logic circuit such as a latch circuit for temporarily storing data output from the shift register can be mounted on the same substrate. It has become.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a logic circuit of a recording head capable of recording at a conventional recording density of 360 dpi and having 32 heating elements (recording elements).

In FIG. 14, reference numeral 400 denotes a base, 401 denotes heating elements (H1 to H32), 402 denotes a power transistor, 403 denotes a 32-bit latch circuit, and 404 denotes a 32-bit shift register. 415 is a heating element 401.
A sensor for monitoring the resistance value of the substrate 400 and the temperature of the substrate 400, and a heater for keeping the substrate 400 warm. A plurality of these sensors and heaters may be mounted. 405
414 are input / output pads. In these input / output pads, reference numeral 405 denotes a clock input pad for inputting a clock (CLK) for operating the shift register 404, 406 denotes an image data input pad for inputting image data (DATA) serially, and 407 denotes a latch circuit 403.
A latch clock (LT) for holding image data at
CLK), a drive signal input pad 408 for inputting a heat pulse (HEAT) for turning on the power transistor 402 to externally control a drive time by energizing the heating element 401, and a reference numeral 409. A drive power supply input pad for inputting a drive power supply (3 to 8 V, generally 5 V) for a logic circuit, 410 is a GND terminal, 411
Is a heating element power input pad for inputting power for driving the heating element 401, and 412 is a latch 403 and a shift register 40.
4 is a reset input pad for inputting a reset signal (RST) for initializing 4.

Also, reference numerals 413-1 to 413-8 denote block selection signals (BLK1 to BLK1) for performing block selection when time-divisionally driving the 32 heating elements 401 into eight blocks.
BLK8) input block selection signal input pad, 4
Reference numerals 14-1 to 414-n denote monitor signal output pads and control signal input pads for driving the sensor and the heater.

Next, a driving sequence of the recording head having the above-described configuration will be described. Here, the image data (DATA) is binary data of one bit per pixel.

First, when the printing apparatus main body equipped with a print head serially outputs image data (DATA) in synchronization with a clock (CLK), the data is taken into a shift register 404. Next, the captured image data (DATA) is temporarily stored in the latch circuit 403,
ON / O according to the value of image data (“0” or “1”)
The FF output is output from the latch circuit 403.

In such a state, the block selection signal (B
LK1 to BLK8), and when the output from the latch circuit 403 is ON and a heat pulse (HEAT) is input, the heat pulse (HEAT) is input.
During the period when AT) is ON, the corresponding power transistor 402 is driven, and a current flows through the corresponding heating element 401 to heat the ink, thereby discharging ink droplets.

FIG. 15 shows that the number of heating elements is 32 (H1, H2).
2,..., H32), and four of these (H1 to H2)
, H5 to H8,..., H29 to H32), divided into eight blocks, and block selection signals (BLK1 to BLK8)
6 is a time chart showing driving timings when the driving is time-division driven. The waveform shown here is only the block selection signal for time division and the heat pulse (HEAT) for determining the time for driving the heating element 401 among the signals sent from the printing apparatus main body.

With such a control signal, the latch circuit 4
When the output from the switch 03 is ON, all the heating elements are driven at a timing slightly shifted at a rate of once per block per cycle. By such time-sharing control, the number of simultaneously driven heating elements is reduced, the capacity of the driving power supply is reduced, or noise generated at the time of driving is reduced.

[0017]

In the future, recording apparatuses and recording heads will be diversified and improved in order to respond to various needs such as the ability to express complicated images with higher image quality and higher resolution or to reduce the cost. In addition, instead of using a dedicated recording head for each recording device, it is required that various types of recording heads can be mounted on various types of recording devices. For this reason, the diversification of recording heads has been conventionally attempted by using a common connection unit and the like between the recording apparatus and the recording head.
However, the recording apparatus merely determines what kind of recording head is mounted.

In addition, reflecting the recent trend toward higher quality of recorded images, the recording density of the recording head, which is the main object of development and production, has been increased from 300/360 dpi to 600/72.
It has shifted to 0 dpi and the like. Therefore, a new configuration of the recording head is required which differs from the arrangement pitch of the heating elements, the driver, the logic circuit, and the like in the conventional recording head described above so far.

On the other hand, on the other hand, even in the case of a recording head with a certain recording density which has been produced and sold in the past, even if the production of a recording apparatus using the conventional recording head is stopped, the recording head itself becomes a consumable part. Therefore, it is necessary to continue producing the recording head, and the number of types of recording heads to be manufactured increases steadily.

Such a tendency is extremely inefficient from the viewpoint of the production efficiency of the recording head, and causes a problem that the production cost is increased. In addition, when the user of the apparatus purchases a replacement recording head, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to determine which type of recording head may be selected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and has as its object to provide a recording head which can be used in various kinds of recording apparatuses.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus which outputs a signal to a recording head discriminating means for use.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a recording head cartridge having the recording head and an ink tank holding ink to be supplied to the recording head.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a recording method for performing recording using the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a conventional recording apparatus having a low recording density and also to the latest recording apparatus having a high recording density, and can perform recording at a recording density suitable for the performance of the recording apparatus. It is still another object to provide a printhead that can be used and a printing apparatus using the printhead.

[0026]

To achieve the above object, a recording head according to the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, a recording head which performs recording by discharging ink in accordance with an ink jet system, and a discriminating means for discriminating a type of a recording apparatus on which the recording head is mounted; Selecting means for selecting a driving method according to the printing apparatus.

With the above configuration, the recording head of the present invention
The type of the recording apparatus on which the recording head is mounted is determined, and based on the result of the determination, an operation is performed to select a driving method according to the recording apparatus.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head which can be used in a plurality of recording devices having different recording resolutions, wherein the discriminating means determines which one of the plurality of recording devices is used; According to the determination means by
Drive control means for controlling drive so as to perform printing in accordance with the printing resolution of a printing apparatus to which the printing head is mounted.

The recording head includes N recording elements, N driving circuits for energizing and driving the N recording elements,
M latch circuits for latching (N / M) -bit image data, a shift register for storing (N / M) -bit image data, and dividing the N printing elements into L blocks L block selection signal input terminals for inputting L block selection signals for driving, and recording at a first recording density or a second recording density that is M times the first recording density Further comprising: a recording density selection signal terminal for inputting a recording density selection signal for instructing to perform the operation; and a control circuit for controlling the latches of the M latch circuits in accordance with the recording density selection signal. Each of the N driving circuits may be driven M times in one cycle of the selection signal.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus using the recording head having the above-described configuration, wherein: a transmitting unit that transmits the recording density selection signal to the recording density selection signal terminal; Transferring means for transferring image data M times (N / M) bits to the shift register, and transferring a latch signal each time the transfer means transfers the image data by (N / M) bits; And a latch control means for controlling the N-bit image data to be latched by the M latch circuits in M transfers.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, for example, when the recording apparatus is mounted on a recording apparatus capable of recording at the first recording density, which is a low recording density, the same data is latched in the M latch circuits and the L data is latched. When the block selection signals are sequentially input,
In the input cycle of the block selection signal, the N drive circuits are driven M times each so as to perform recording.

Further, by such recording, one recording dot having the first recording density is substantially expressed by using a plurality of recording dots having the second recording density.

On the other hand, when the recording apparatus is mounted on a recording apparatus capable of recording at a second recording density, which is a high recording density, image data is transferred and input to the shift register in (N / M) bits at a time.
A latch signal is input each time, and N-bit image data is latched in M latch circuits by M transfers.

[0035]

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

<Schematic Description of Apparatus Main Body> FIG. 1 shows an ink jet printer IJ which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.
It is an external appearance perspective view showing the outline of composition of RA. It is assumed that the printer IJRA can perform recording at a recording density of 720 dpi. In FIG. 1, a drive motor 501 is provided.
Driving force transmission gears 5009 to 50 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of
The carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 rotating via the pin 11 has a pin (not shown), and is supported by the guide rail 5003 and reciprocates in the directions of arrows a and b. On the carriage HC, an integrated type ink jet cartridge IJC containing a recording head IJH and an ink tank IT is mounted. 5
Reference numeral 002 denotes a paper pressing plate, which presses the recording paper P against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage HC. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photocouplers, which are home position detectors for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this region and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the print head IJH. Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction device that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the print head through an opening 5023 in the cap. 5017 is a cleaning blade, 5019 is a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction,
These are supported by the main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form and a known cleaning blade can be applied to this example. Also, 5021
Is a lever for starting suction for recovery of suction, moves with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by a known transmission mechanism such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired processing can be performed at the corresponding position by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the area on the home position side. If a desired operation is performed at the timing, any of the embodiments can be applied.

Further, the ink jet printer IJRA having the above-described configuration is provided with an automatic recording paper feeder (not shown).
Is provided to automatically feed the recording paper P.

The ink jet cartridge IJC
The recording head IJH and the ink tank IT may not be of an integrated type but may be of a separable configuration.

FIG. 2 shows the recording head IJH and the ink tank I.
Ink cartridge I having a structure that can be separated from T
It is a perspective view showing the appearance of JC.

The ink jet cartridge I shown in FIG.
In JC, a print head IJ having a plurality of ejection ports 600
H and an ink tank IT holding ink to be supplied to the recording head IJH can be separated at the boundary K. The ink jet cartridge IJC is provided with an electric contact for receiving an electric signal from the carriage HC when the ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC.
JH is driven. On the other hand, a fibrous or porous ink absorber is provided inside the ink tank IT, and the ink is held by these ink absorbers.

<Description of Control Structure> Next, a control structure for executing the recording control of the above-described apparatus will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit of the ink jet printer IJRA. In the figure showing a control circuit, 1700 is an interface for inputting image signals, 1701 is an MPU, 1702 is an MPU 170
ROM for storing a control program to be executed by PC 1, 170
Reference numeral 3 denotes a DRAM for storing various data (such as the image signal and image data supplied to the recording head IJH). Reference numeral 1704 denotes a gate array (GA) for controlling supply of image data to the print head IJH, and includes an interface 1700, an MPU 1701, and a RAM 1703.
It also controls data transfer between them. 1710 is a recording head IJ
A carrier motor for transporting H, and 1709 a transport motor for transporting the recording paper. 1705, a head driver for driving the recording head IJH, 1706, 1707
Are the transport motor 1709 and the carrier motor 171 respectively.
0 is a motor driver for driving 0.

The operation of the above control configuration will be described. When an image signal enters the interface 1700, the gate array 17
The recording signal is converted into image data for printing between the MPU 04 and the MPU 1701. Then, the motor driver 17
06 and 1707 are driven, and the head driver 1
Print head IJH according to the print data sent to
Is driven, and recording is performed.

Next, several embodiments in which the recording apparatus having the above configuration is used as a common apparatus will be described.

<First Embodiment> [Detailed Configuration of Printhead (FIGS. 4 and 5)] Next, the detailed configuration of the printhead will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of a drive circuit board of a recording head on which a heating element is mounted. This circuit board has a multilayer structure, and wiring from an element in one layer to an element in another layer is possible through through holes provided in each layer. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the nozzle portion of the recording head.

Although there are various types of recording heads, in the following description, two types of heating elements are provided in one ink channel for ejecting ink, and 64 ink channels and 64 A recording head having a plurality of ink ejection nozzles will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 4, of the two types of heating elements, the main heating element R ejects large ink droplets, and the sub-heating element r ejects ink droplets smaller than the main heating element R. is there. One end of the lead line 3 of the main heating element R is connected to the lower heating element power supply line 1 through the through hole 2. The other end of the lead line 3 is connected to a drive driver 6. On the other hand, one end of the lead line 4 of the sub heating element r is also connected to the lower heating element power supply line 1 through the same through hole 2, and the other end of the lead line 4 is connected to the drive driver 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are arranged, for example, in the nozzle 5. When a predetermined voltage is applied to the main heating element R and / or the sub-heating element r in a state where the inside of the nozzle 5 is filled with the ink, since the sizes of the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are different, foaming occurs. The size of the bubble to be changed changes the amount of ink discharged from the nozzle 5. That is, only the main heating element R is driven,
By selectively using three driving methods, such as driving only the sub-heating element r and driving the main and sub-heating elements R and r at the same time, three stages of large ink drops, medium ink drops, and small ink drops are used. An ink drop is obtained. Further, since the drive driver 6 is provided with two heat enable terminals, the main and sub heating elements R and r can be driven independently of each other, and the amount of the ejected ink droplet and the ejection speed can be set to desired values. Similarly, when the main and sub heating elements R and r are simultaneously driven to obtain even larger ink droplets, they can be driven independently of each other, so that the degree of bubbling can be delicately controlled, and the amount and speed of the discharged ink droplets can be reduced. It can be set to a desired value.

The recording head IJ according to this embodiment
H is a heat generation amount or a heat generation amount such that an ink ejection amount when the main and sub heating elements R and r are simultaneously driven is substantially equal to an ink ejection amount in a conventional recording head provided with one heating element for each nozzle. The contact area of the heating element with the ink is adjusted.

[Print Head Driving Circuit (FIGS. 6 to 8)]
Next, the detailed configuration of the drive circuit of the recording head will be described. FIG. 6 is a drive circuit diagram of the recording head. FIG.
7 is an operation timing chart of the circuit shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the power supply VH is connected to the main heating element R
It is connected to a heating power supply line 1 for applying a voltage by energizing a heating element group 7 including 1 to R64 and sub-heating elements r1 to r64. The heating element group 7 has 64 main heating elements R and 64 sub-heating elements r, and is connected to an output terminal of a driving driver 6 for driving a total of 128 heating elements R and r. And
By outputting pulses from the 128 gate circuits 8 connected to the input terminals of the drive driver 6 and turning them on, the heating element group 7 can be turned on.

Now, the recording head IJH of this embodiment
(1) a case in which one or both of the 64 main and sub heaters are mounted on a printing apparatus capable of controlling the driving of one or both of them;
(2) When mounted in a printing apparatus originally designed to drive only 64 (main) heaters to perform printing, the operation differs. Therefore, the following (1)
(2) The operation will be described separately.

(1) When the main and sub 64 heaters are mounted on a printing apparatus capable of controlling one or both of them, the printing apparatus equipped with the print head IJH sends a signal to a discrimination circuit described below. It is assumed that the carriage HC is provided with a signal supply terminal so that the signal can be supplied. In this case, the operation is performed so that the function of the recording head IJH can be sufficiently brought out.

First, the recording apparatus transfers the reset signal (RESET) to the reset terminal 20, thereby causing the first and second 6
The serial data latched in the 4-bit latches 11 and 12 is reset by. Then, the serial data (DATA) corresponding to each nozzle of the main heating elements R1 to R64 generated based on the image data is supplied to the data input terminal 21 of the 64-bit shift register 10 as shown in FIG. Input in synchronization with a clock pulse (CLK) input to the 64-bit shift register 10, the data D1
Is taken in. The data D1 is latched by the first latch 11 based on a latch signal (LATCH1) input to the latch terminal 18. Similarly, the serial data (DATA) corresponding to each nozzle of the sub-heating elements r1 to r64 is written as shown in FIG.
When input to the data input terminal 21 of the 64-bit shift register 10 in synchronization with the clock pulse (CLK) input to the clock terminal 22, the 64-bit shift register 10
Is loaded with data D2. The data D2 is latched by the second latch 12 based on the latch signal (LATCH2) input to the latch terminal 19.

On the other hand, if all the heating elements R and r are driven at the same time, a large current is required and it is not practical. Therefore, the heating element group 7 is divided by the block selecting circuit 9 into predetermined blocks B1 to B8.
The heating elements R and r are time-divisionally driven for each division.
Therefore, the block selection circuit 9 has a block enable terminal 15 for selecting any one block,
As shown in FIG. 7, the levels of the block enable signals (BLOCK ENB1, BLOCK ENB2, BLOCK ENB3) input to the block enable terminals 15, 16, 17 are set as shown in FIG. One of the block selection signals (B1 to B8) is set to a high level according to the combination, and the drive block of the heating elements R and r is selected.

The discrimination circuit 24 is provided to detect what kind of device the recording device is. For example, in a recording device as in (1), a predetermined signal is input from the recording device via the determination terminal 23. The output of the determination circuit 24 is input to control signal input terminals of the switches SW1 and SW2. The switch SW1 connects the terminal c to the terminal a or the terminal b according to the output signal from the determination circuit input to the control signal input terminal. Thus, when the terminal c is connected to the terminal b, the heat enable signal (HEAT
ENB1) drives the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r simultaneously. When the terminal c is connected to the terminal a, the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are independently driven by the heat enable signals (HEAT ENB1, HEAT ENB2) input to the heat enable terminals 13 and 14, respectively. You. Switch SW2
Connects the terminal c ′ to the terminal a ′ or the terminal b ′ according to the output signal from the discrimination circuit input to the control signal input terminal. Thereby, when the terminal c ′ is connected to the terminal b ′, the latch signal (LA
TCH1), the data corresponding to the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are simultaneously latched by the first and second 64-bit latches 11 and 12. When the terminal c ′ is connected to the terminal a ′, the latch signals (LATCH1 and LATCH2) input to the latch terminals 18 and 19 respectively cause the first 64-bit latch 11 and the first 64-bit latch 11 to shift from the 64-bit shift register 10 to the first 64-bit latch 11. Data is separately latched into two 64-bit latches 12.

In this embodiment, when a high-level determination signal (Det) is input to the determination terminal 23, the determination circuit 2
4, switches SW1 and SW2 connect terminals c and c 'to terminals a and a', respectively, and the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are mutually independent heat enable signals (HEAT ENB1 and HEAT EN
B2) and the latch signal (LATCH1, LATCH2). In addition, a low-level determination signal (De
When t) is input, the determination circuit 24 switches the switch SW1,
SW2 connects terminals c and c 'to terminals b and b', respectively, and the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are simultaneously driven and controlled by one heat enable signal (HEAT ENB1) and a latch signal (LATCH1). Will be.

Here, in the printing apparatus equipped with the print head IJH, a terminal for supplying a determination signal (Det) to the determination terminal 23 is provided on the carriage HC, but the carriage HC not provided with such a terminal is provided on the carriage HC. Recording head IJH
Is mounted, the determination terminal 23 becomes non-conductive. In this case, the switches SW1 and SW2 are unconditionally connected to the terminal c,
Connect c 'to terminals b and b'.

Therefore, in this drive circuit, the drive block of the heating element is selected by the block selection circuit 9, and the heat enable terminal 13 selected by the switch SW1 is selected.
Alternatively, by inputting a predetermined drive waveform to the heat enable terminal 14 and / or the heat enable terminal 14, ink droplets of a desired amount and a discharge speed can be obtained from a desired nozzle.

(2) When mounted in a printing apparatus designed to perform printing by driving only 64 (main) heaters Here, the printing apparatus having the print head IJH is determined by the determination circuit 24. It is assumed that the device does not have a function of supplying a signal (Det) as in the related art. Therefore, even if the recording head IJH is mounted on the carriage HC of such an apparatus, the determination terminal 23 is in a non-conductive state, and the switches SW1, S2
W2 unconditionally connects terminals c and c 'to terminals b and b'.

Therefore, in this case, the driving circuit of the recording head IJH is substantially equivalent to the driving circuit shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the power supply VH is composed of heating elements R1 to R64.
The heating element group 7 ′ is connected to a heating power supply line 1 for applying a voltage by energizing the heating element group 7 ′. The heating element group 7 ′ is an output terminal of a 64-bit drive driver 6 ′ for driving 64 heating elements R. It is connected to the. Then, a pulse is output from the 64 gate circuits 8 'connected to the input terminals of the 64-bit drive driver 6' and turned on, whereby the heating element group 7 'can be turned on. In FIG. 8, the same components as those of the circuit shown in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Now, regarding the operation of the recording head IJH,
Explaining by comparing FIG. 6 with FIG. 8, the heat enable terminal 14 and the latch input terminal 19 do not function due to the connection state of the switches SW1 and SW2, and the heat enable signal (input from the heat enable terminal 13) HEAT ENB1) and the latch signal (LATCH1) input from the latch input terminal 18 alone, the main heating element R and the sub-heating element r are simultaneously driven to generate heat. That is, ink droplets are ejected under the same conditions as when the drive circuit shown in FIG. 8 is operated while using the drive circuit shown in FIG.

Therefore, according to the embodiment described above,
If the printing apparatus equipped with the print head IJH has a function of supplying two types of heat enable signals, two types of latch signals, and a determination signal (Det) to the determination terminal 23, the print head is provided for each nozzle. The main and sub heating elements are controlled to be driven separately and / or separately to control the amount of ink ejection, thereby enabling printing with high gradation expression.
A discrimination signal (D) is supplied to a recording apparatus equipped with a recording head IJH.
In the case where a function of supplying the data of the main heating element and the sub-heating element is not provided, recording can be performed by automatically setting both the main and sub heating elements to be simultaneously driven by one heat enable signal.

As described above, when the recording head IJH is used by being mounted on a high-performance and high-performance recording apparatus, it operates so that its performance and functions can be fully exhibited. There is also compatibility so that recording can be performed according to the performance of the device. In particular, when the apparatus is used by being mounted on a conventional apparatus, even if the apparatus does not have a special interface, the inside of the recording head is automatically set to match the signal interface and operates normally.

<Second Embodiment> In this embodiment, FIG.
Is equipped with a recording head IJH having a configuration described later and has a recording density of 720 dp.
It is assumed that recording can be performed with i. Further, since the recording head IJH is driven to perform recording at a recording density of 720 dpi, the inkjet printer IJRA can supply an STA signal (described later) and two latch clock signals (LTCLK1, LTCLK2) via a head driver 1705. It has a configuration. Further, the recording head IJH
Transfer of image data (odd-numbered dots) to the odd-numbered heating elements among all the heating elements provided in the recording head IJH, and then to the even-numbered heating elements. Control is performed to transfer data (even-numbered dots).

<Internal Structure of Recording Head IJH> FIG. 9 is a partially broken perspective view showing the internal structure of the recording head IJH.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 100 denotes a base on which a logic circuit, which will be described in detail below, is mounted; 600, a discharge port (orifice) for discharging ink; 601, an ink liquid path; and 602, a plurality of ink liquid paths. 603, an ink supply port for supplying ink from an ink tank (not shown); 604, a top plate;
Reference numeral denotes a flow path wall member that forms the ink liquid path 601 together with the top plate 604, reference numeral 606 denotes a heating element, and reference numeral 607 denotes a wiring connecting the logic circuit and the heating element 606.

The logic circuit, the heating element 606, and the wiring 607
A top plate 604 formed on the base 100 using a semiconductor manufacturing process, to which an ink supply port 603 is attached, and a flow path wall member 605 are attached to form a recording head IJH. Then, the ink injected from the ink supply port 603 is stored in the internal common ink liquid chamber 602 and supplied to each liquid path 601, and the heating element 606 is driven in this state to discharge the ink from the discharge port 600. You.

<Structure of Logic Circuit of Printhead IJH> FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a structure of a logic circuit according to this embodiment of printhead IJH. In FIG. 10, the same components and signals as those of the conventional recording head described with reference to FIG. 14 are referred to by the same reference numerals or symbols, and description thereof will not be repeated.

The recording head IJH described here is 360
a printer capable of recording at a recording density of dpi;
The printer is mounted on a printer capable of recording at a recording density of pi, and recording can be performed at each recording density (360 dpi / 720 dpi). The ink ejection amount per dot of the recording head IJH is about 20 ng. The recording head IJH has 64 heating elements (H1 to H64), and its recording width is the same as that of the conventional recording head having 32 heating elements described with reference to FIGS. Same as the recording width. On the other hand, when the recording density is 360 dpi, FIGS.
In the recording head shown in FIG. 5, the ink ejection amount per dot is about 80 ng.
R circuit 102 is a 32-bit shift register (the same as the conventional shift register 404 shown in FIG. 14);
3 to 104 are 32-bit latch circuits, 105 is a recording device recognition unit, 106 is an STA signal input pad, 107 to 1
Reference numeral 08 denotes a latch clock input pad for supplying a latch clock (LTCLK1, LTCLK2) to the latch circuits 103 and 104, respectively. Also, 109-1, 109-
, 109-8 are block selection signal input pads for inputting eight block selection signals (BLK1, BLK2,..., BLK8), respectively.

Now, comparing the configuration shown in FIG. 10 with the conventional print head described with reference to FIG. 14, in the conventional print head, one block selection signal (BLK1-BLK) is used.
8) selects a heating element for one block, whereas in the present embodiment, the same block selection signal is used to select a heating element for two blocks during one recording cycle.

Specifically, the latch clock input pad 1
Block selection signal (BLK1) input from the bit line 09-1
Selects heating elements H1 to H8 and heating elements H33 to H40,
The block selection signal (BLK2) input from the latch clock input pad 109-2 selects the heating elements H9 to H16 and H41 to H48, and the block selection signal (BLK) input from the latch clock input pad 109-3.
3) selects the heating elements H17 to H24 and H49 to H56, and the block selection signal (BLK4) input from the latch clock input pad 109-4 is selected from the heating elements H25 to H25.
H32 and the heating elements H57 to H64 are selected, and the block selection signal (BLK5) input from the latch clock input pad 109-5 receives the heating elements H33 to H40 and the heating elements H1 to H1.
H8 and the latch clock input pad 109-6.
The block selection signal (BLK6) input from the CPU selects the heating elements H41 to H48 and the heating elements H9 to H16. The block selection signal (BLK7) input from the latch clock input pad 109-7 is output from the heating elements H49 to H56. The heating elements H17 to H24 are selected, and the block selection signal (B) input from the latch clock input pad 109-8 is selected.
LK8) are heating elements H57 to H64 and heating elements H25 to H3.
Select 2.

That is, in this embodiment, when the heating element is divided into blocks and time-division driving control is performed, when the block selection signal is sequentially supplied from BLK1 to BLK8, each heating element is switched at the recording cycle of the recording head. It is driven twice. By configuring the logic circuit of the print head in this way, the number of times the heating element is selected per print cycle is increased, and ink can be ejected twice from one nozzle in one cycle.

The output of each bit of the shift register 102 is connected one-to-one to the latch circuit 403 of the conventional print head described with reference to FIG. , 104 respectively. That is, the output of each bit of the shift register 102 is connected to the latch circuits 103 and 104 on a one-to-two basis. This is because the number of heating elements (64) is shown in FIG.
To the number of heating elements (3
This is because the data memory for holding image data needs to be doubled in order to perform recording at a recording density of 720 dpi. in this way,
Even though the data capacity of the shift register is the same, the data is used twice or more times, and the latch operation is individually performed each time, so that the data having twice the capacity can be stored in correspondence with the number of heating elements. Can hold.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the output of the latch circuit 103 is output from the heating elements H1, H3, H5,.
3 is used to drive the heating elements H2, H4, H6,..., H64.

Here, the detailed configuration of the recording device recognition unit 105 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a detailed configuration of the recording device recognition unit 105.

The recording device recognition unit 105 includes a recording head IJ
H is a device corresponding to a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 360 dpi, or 72
It recognizes whether the device is compatible with a printhead capable of printing at a recording density of 0 dpi.

A device corresponding to a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 720 dpi is a recording device recognition unit 105.
STA signal input pad 106 is low true (“Low”).
True ") STA signal can be output, and the latch clock (L
TCLK2) can be output.
An apparatus corresponding to a printhead capable of printing at a recording density of 0 dpi has a STA even when the printhead IJH is mounted.
It does not have a function of outputting a signal or a latch clock (LTCLK2), has no interface with the STA signal input pad 106 or the latch clock input pad 108, and assumes that these pads are open. Another latch clock (LTCLK1) is input to the latch clock input pad 107, and the latch clock (LTCLK1) is the same as the conventional latch clock (LCLK).
TCLK).

Accordingly, the recording head I is provided in an apparatus corresponding to a recording head capable of recording at a conventional recording density of 360 dpi.
When JH is mounted, the latch clock input pad 107
And the interface with the device is established, and a latch clock (LTCLK) is supplied. Then, the latch clock (LTCLK) is input from the latch clock input pad 107.
Alternatively, when LTCLK1) is supplied, the image data is held by the latch circuit 103. Further, as is apparent from the configuration shown in FIG. 11, in this case, the STA signal becomes “High”, and the latch clock (LTCLK or LTCLK1) is also supplied to the latch circuit 104.
As a result, the same data is latched in the latch circuits 103 and 104 by one latch clock. With such a configuration, the latch circuit 103 and the latch circuit 104
, H3 and H4, H5 and H6, H5 and H6,..., H63
And H64 are driven by the same data.

On the other hand, when the recording head IJH is mounted on a device corresponding to a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 720 dpi, an interface between the latch clock input pad 108 and the device is established, and the latch clock (L
When TCLK2) is supplied, the image data is held by the latch circuit 104.

In this embodiment, when the recording head IJH is mounted on an apparatus corresponding to a conventional recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 360 dpi, the STA signal input pad 106 is opened based on the above premise. hand,
The STA signal input pad 106 is pulled up so that the STA signal is automatically set to a high level so that the recording head IJH recognizes that the apparatus is compatible with a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 360 dpi in the related art. The circuit is configured. On the other hand, the latch clock input pad 10
Reference numeral 8 is connected to GND via a resistor. As a result, when the connection of the latch clock input pad 108 is open, occurrence of a problem in a circuit using a CMOS semiconductor is prevented.

It is needless to say that the configuration in which the STA signal input pad 106 is pulled up may be a configuration in which the STA signal input pad 106 is pulled down, and a circuit configuration in which the logic of the subsequent stage is inverted.

Next, the recording head IJ having the above configuration is described.
H when (1) a conventional recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 360 dpi is attached to the apparatus for recording, and (2) 720 dpi as shown in FIGS.
FIG. 12 to FIG. 1 show the operation when recording is performed by attaching the recording head to an apparatus corresponding to a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of FIG.
3 will be described.

(1) When Recording is Performed by Attachment to a Conventional Apparatus Compatible with a Recording Head that Can Print at a Recording Density of 360 dpi In this case, the STA signal goes high, and as described above, one latch clock ( LTCLK or LTCLK
In 1), the same data is held in the latch circuits 103 and 104. In this state, when the block selection signal is sequentially supplied from BLK1 to BLK8, 64 heating elements of the print head IJH are driven twice in one cycle of the printing operation.

Therefore, when the block selection signal is supplied from BLK1 to BLK4 (one half of one recording operation)
All of the 64 heating elements are given an opportunity to be driven once. At this time, the two adjacent heating elements are driven by the same data, so that the same recording dots are recorded side by side in the direction of the recording width of the recording head at a recording density of 720 dpi. .

Subsequently, the remaining block selection signal (B
When LK5 to BLK8) are supplied (at the remaining half cycle of one recording operation), all 64 heating elements are given an opportunity to be driven again. At this point, since the same data used for the previous recording is held in the latch circuits 103 and 104, the recording operation is performed with the same data. Now, the printing apparatus moves the carriage on which the print head is mounted in the scanning direction at a printing density of 360 dp.
i, the dots recorded by the ink ejection performed by the remaining block selection signals (BLK5 to BLK8) are placed next to the dots recorded by the previous block selection signals (BLK1 to BLK4). They are formed side by side in the scanning direction of the carriage.

The recording dots obtained in this manner have a structure as shown in FIG.

This is performed by mounting the conventional recording head having a recording density of 360 dpi (see FIGS. 14 and 15) shown in FIG. 12A on a recording apparatus capable of recording at a conventional recording density of 360 dpi. Compared with the recording dots formed in the recording area of FIG. 12, in the recording area of the same area, in the case of FIG.
In the case of FIG. 12B, printing is performed with four printing dots using the same data. As a result, substantially the same recording is performed in FIGS. 12A and 12B.

(2) When Recording is Performed by Attachment to an Apparatus Corresponding to a Recording Head that is capable of Recording at a Recording Density of 720 dpi In this case, the STA signal goes low, and the two latch clocks (LTCLK1, LTCLK1, LTCLK
In 2), the data is individually latched by 32 bits in the latch circuit 103.
And 104 are held.

As shown in FIG. 13, of the 64 bits corresponding to the recording width of the recording head IJH, first, the image data of odd bits (b1, b3,... After transmitting to the shift register 102, a latch clock (LTCLK1) is transmitted and latched by the latch circuit 103. Thereafter, the print head IJH transmits the remaining 32 bits of even-numbered bits (b2, b4,..., B64) of image data to the 32-bit shift register 102 of the print head IJH, and further supplies a latch clock (LTCLK2). Then, the even-bit data is latched by the latch circuit 104. Thus, 64-bit data is stored in the latch circuits 103 and 104.

Next, the printer sends the block selection signal (BL)
When K1 to BLK4) are sequentially transmitted, the heating element corresponding to the odd-numbered bit data which is the latched data is driven to perform recording. As described above, each heating element is given an opportunity to be driven once by the block selection signal (BLK1 to BLK4), and the heating element corresponding to the image data that is ON is driven. Thereafter, a reset signal (RST) is sent from the printer to the printhead IJH, and the 32-bit shift register 102 and the latch circuit 10 are sent.
3 and 104 are reset, and thereafter the same operation is repeated.

The recording dots recorded in this way are:
The result is as shown in FIG.

As described above, when recording is performed at a recording density of 720 dpi, the 32-bit shift register 1
02 is performed twice, and the latches 103 and 104 individually hold 32-bit image data to perform high-density recording.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, 720
The recording head IJH capable of recording at a recording density of dpi is 36
When attached to a recording device capable of recording at 0 dpi,
The same recording data sent from the recording apparatus is used twice in the recording width direction of the recording head and twice in the moving direction of the recording head, that is, four times in total, and substantially 360 dpi at four recording dots of 720 dpi. Is recorded so as to form one recording dot at a recording density of .mu.m. On the other hand, when the recording device is mounted on a recording device capable of recording at 720 dpi, image data of twice the capacity of the shift register is used by using a shift register twice. Latching enables high-density image recording.

In this embodiment, the recording density 720
Although a recording head capable of recording at a recording density of 720 dpi was used while a recording density of a conventional recording head and a recording device of 360 dpi was described, the present invention is not limited to this. A recording density other than that described in the embodiment, for example, a recording density of a conventional recording head or a recording apparatus may be 300 dpi, and a recording density of a recording head or a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied may be 600 dpi. Further, the number of heating elements mounted on the recording head is not limited to those described in the embodiment. In other words, the configuration is such that the heating element is driven a plurality of times in the cycle of one printing operation of the print head, and the printing operation can be performed using the same data a plurality of times.

In the above description, the ratio of the ink ejection amount per nozzle between the recording head IJH and the recording head shown in FIGS.
However, other ratios may be used. However, in consideration of image quality and high-density recording, high-density recording may not be meaningful due to the size of the recording dots unless the amount of ink ejected per dot of the conventional recording head is set to half or less. Is understood empirically.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the explanation has been made using the logic circuit formed simultaneously with the heating element in the base in the head. However, an IC may be formed in the head separately from the base of the heating element. However, since it is a separate part, it is desirable to integrate it with the heating element in terms of cost.

In the above description, an example in which the substrate of the recording head is applied to an ink jet recording head has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to a substrate for a thermal head that performs recording according to another recording method, for example, a thermal transfer method.

However, the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. By using a method in which a change in the state of the ink is caused by energy, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path in which Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting surface is arranged in a bent region, is also included in the present invention.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition to the cartridge type recording head in which the ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself described in the above embodiment, the recording head is electrically connected to the apparatus main body by being mounted on the apparatus main body. A replaceable chip-type recording head, which enables a simple connection and supply of ink from the apparatus main body, may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like to the configuration of the printing apparatus described above, since the printing operation can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof. It is also effective to provide a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection that is different from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a single recording head or a combination of plural recording heads. Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid. However, even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or lower, the ink that softens or liquefies at room temperature is used. Or, in the ink jet method, generally, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range.
It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, the temperature is positively prevented.
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0111] In addition to the above, the recording apparatus according to the present invention may be provided not only as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer but also integrally or separately, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a transmission / reception apparatus. It may take the form of a facsimile machine having functions.

The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), and can be applied to a single device (for example, a copier, a facsimile). Device). Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention is also applied to a case where the object of the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0113]

As described above, according to the present invention, 1
A wide variety of recording devices can be supported for one recording head, for example, from inexpensive devices with simple functions to expensive recording devices with high functions, or from widespread types to high-quality, high-resolution types There is an effect that can be made.

Further, the discrimination of a popular type recording apparatus is also made inside the recording head and the driving method is automatically selected, so that the recording apparatus can be used without providing a special interface. Become.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, image data is transferred and input to the shift register in (N / M) bits at a time, and a latch signal is input each time, and transferred to M latch circuits by M transfers. Since a total of N bits of image data are latched, there is an effect that one recording head can be applied to both a recording apparatus having a low recording density and a recording apparatus having a high recording density.

Thus, from the manufacturer's point of view,
There is an advantage that it is not necessary to increase the types of recording heads manufactured according to the recording density, and this contributes to mass production of one type of recording head, so that the cost can be reduced.

In addition, from the user's point of view, there is an advantage that when purchasing a recording head, there is no need to be confused about what kind of recording head to select and purchase.

[0118]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the configuration of a printing apparatus that performs printing according to an ink jet system, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an ink cartridge IJH having a configuration in which an ink tank and a recording head can be separated.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of a drive circuit board of a recording head on which a heating element is mounted.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a nozzle portion of the recording head.

FIG. 6 is a drive circuit diagram of a recording head.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart of the circuit diagram shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a drive circuit diagram of a print head of 64 nozzles in which one heater is arranged for one nozzle.

9 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the internal structure of a recording head mounted on the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a logic circuit of a printhead mounted on the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a recording device recognition unit 105.

12 is a diagram showing a comparison between a conventional print head and print dots printed by the print heads shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.

FIG. 13 is a time chart of various signals when recording is performed at a recording density of 720 dpi.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a logic circuit of a conventional printhead.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing control signals for driving the recording head having the configuration shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 power supply line for heat generation 2 through hole 3 lead line on main heating element side 4 lead line on sub-heating element side 5 nozzle 6 128-bit drive driver 7 heating element group 8 gate circuit 9 block selection circuit 10 64-bit shift register 11 for main heating element 64-bit latch circuit 12 64-bit latch circuit for sub-heating element 13 Heat enable terminal for main heating element 14 Heat enable terminal for sub-heating element 23 Judgment terminal 24 Judgment circuit 101 Board 102 OR circuit 102 32-bit shift register 103, 104 32 bits Latch circuit 105 Recording device recognition unit 106 STA signal input pad 107, 108 Latch clock input pad

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ichiro Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshimori Miyakoshi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within non-corporation (72) Inventor Mochizuki selfless Within Canon Inc. 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo

Claims (32)

[Claims] 1. A recording head that performs recording by discharging ink, comprising: a discriminating unit that discriminates a type of a recording device on which the recording head is mounted; And a selecting means for selecting a driving method. 2. The printhead according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit has a determination terminal for inputting a predetermined signal for determining the type of the printing apparatus from the printing apparatus. 3. The printhead according to claim 2, wherein the determination terminal receives a high-level or low-level signal from the printing apparatus. 4. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 2. The recording head according to Item 1. 5. A first thermal energy generator for ejecting large ink droplets and a second thermal energy generator for ejecting small ink droplets in each of a plurality of ink flow paths for ejecting ink. The recording head according to claim 4, further comprising a body. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selection means selects a control method for simultaneously driving said first and second heat energy generators when there is no signal input to said determination terminal. 6. The recording head according to 5. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first drive signal input terminal and a second drive signal input terminal for inputting drive signals for separately driving the first and second thermal energy generators. Item 6. The recording head according to item 5. 8. A recording apparatus using the recording head according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs a signal to the determination unit. 9. A printhead cartridge comprising: the printhead according to claim 1; and an ink tank holding ink to be supplied to the printhead. 10. The printhead cartridge according to claim 9, wherein said printhead and said ink tank are integrated. 11. The printhead cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the printhead and the ink tank are separable. 12. A discriminating step of discriminating a type of a recording apparatus on which a recording head is mounted inside the recording head; a selecting step of selecting a driving method according to the recording apparatus based on a discrimination result in the discriminating step; A recording step of performing recording by driving the recording head by the driving method selected in the selecting step. 13. A recording head usable in a plurality of recording devices having different recording resolutions, wherein said discriminating means determines which one of said plurality of recording devices is used, and Drive control means for controlling the drive so as to perform printing in accordance with the printing resolution of a printing apparatus to which the print head is mounted. 14. N print elements, N drive circuits for energizing and driving the N print elements, M latch circuits for latching (N / M) -bit image data, / M) shift register for storing bit image data; and L block selection signal input terminals for inputting L block selection signals for driving the N printing elements by dividing them into L blocks. A recording density selection signal terminal for inputting a recording density selection signal for instructing to perform recording at a first recording density or a second recording density which is M times the first recording density; A control circuit for controlling the latches of the M latch circuits in accordance with a recording density selection signal;
14. The recording head according to claim 13, wherein each of the driving circuits is driven M times. 15. The recording head according to claim 14, wherein M is an integer of 2 or more. 16. The ratio between the first and second recording densities is as follows:
The recording head according to claim 15, wherein the ratio is 1: 2. 17. The recording head according to claim 16, wherein the N recording elements are arranged so that recording can be performed at the second recording density. 18. When recording at the first recording density,
15. The recording head according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit controls the M latch circuits to latch the same data. 19. When recording at the first recording density,
15. The recording head according to claim 14, wherein one recording dot at the first recording density is substantially represented by a plurality of recording dots recorded at the second recording density. 20. The recording head according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit automatically determines a recordable recording density of a recording apparatus to which the recording head is attached according to the recording density selection signal. 21. When the recording device is mounted on a recording device capable of recording at the first recording density, the recording density selection signal terminal is not connected to the recording device and is electrically open. Item 21. The recording head according to item 20, 22. The control circuit pulls up or pulls down the recording density selection signal terminal. Even when the recording density selection signal terminal is electrically open,
22. The recording head according to claim 21, wherein a recording density selection signal corresponding to the pull-up or pull-down can be input. 23. The N recording elements, the N drive circuits, the M latch circuits, the shift register, the L block selection signal input terminals, and the recording density selection signal. The recording head according to claim 14, wherein the terminal is mounted on one circuit board. 24. The recording head according to claim 13, wherein the recording head is an ink jet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink. 25. A recording head for discharging ink using thermal energy, wherein the recording head includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Item 25. The recording head according to item 24. 26. The recording head according to claim 24, wherein an ink ejection amount per one ink ejection per recording element is about 20 ng. 27. A recording apparatus using the recording head according to claim 14, wherein transmission means for transmitting the recording density selection signal to the recording density selection signal terminal and (N / N)
A transfer unit for transferring the image data M times M bits at a time; and transferring a latch signal each time the transfer unit transfers the image data for each N / M bits.
And a latch control unit for controlling the N-bit image data to be latched by the M latch circuits in each transfer. 28. The recording apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the recording apparatus performs recording at the second recording density. 29. A recording head cartridge comprising: the recording head according to claim 13; and an ink tank holding ink to be supplied to the recording head. 30. The recording head cartridge according to claim 29, wherein the recording head and the ink tank are integrated. 31. The printhead cartridge according to claim 29, wherein the printhead and the ink tank are separable. 32. A recording control method using a recording head that can be used in a plurality of recording devices having different recording resolutions, wherein a discriminating step of discriminating which of the plurality of recording devices is performed; A drive control step of performing drive control so as to perform printing in accordance with the printing resolution of a printing apparatus to which the printing head is mounted, according to the determination means in (1).