JPH10250133A - Recorder, recording method, and recording medium storing recording procedure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit high quality and high-speed recording by controlling driving voltage applied to a recording head so as to keep it constant. SOLUTION: The maximum number n of simultaneous heating is set at N in a preliminary discharge in initial operation when the power is turned on (S2). The number n of simultaneous heating is performed (S3). It is confirmed whether Vh is a desired driving voltage value (S5). When there is a voltage deviation, a correction value is changed at S4, and S5 is repeated to compare voltage. The correction value is increased gradually from a value that lowers the driving voltage. When a desired voltage is obtained at S5, the number n of simultaneous heating and the then correction value are recorded (S6). Setting is made to the next n (S7), and correction values are obtained for all ns from the maximum number N of simultaneous heat to n=1 (S8).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a recording method, and a storage medium storing a recording procedure.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a recording apparatus for forming a visible image on a recording material by an arrangement of a plurality of dots, a recording method, and a storage medium storing a recording procedure.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a recording apparatus of this kind, a thermal printer or an ink jet recording apparatus for recording characters, images and the like by discharging ink onto a recording medium such as recording paper is known.

An ink jet recording apparatus used as an information output means of a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like performs recording by ejecting ink while moving a recording medium relative to an ink jet recording head. The control of the relative speed between the ink jet recording head and the recording medium, the control of the ejection timing associated therewith, the stability of the power supply to the recording head, and the like are factors that affect the image quality of the recording result.

[0005] Ink jet recording apparatuses are roughly classified into a so-called serial type and a full line type according to the type of the ink jet head used. Among them, the serial method is a method of performing recording by ejecting ink while moving an ink jet recording head, and is generally widely used.

[0006] Further, there are a recording head that discharges ink by ejecting ink by the operation of a piezoelectric element, and a recording head that discharges ink by pressure of bubbles generated by instantaneously boiling the ink. A recording head that discharges ink by boiling ink supplies electricity to a heater provided near an ink flow path near an ink discharge port to boil the nearby ink and supply discharge energy.

Energy for discharging ink is always supplied stably, and uniform ink droplets can be obtained by performing ink discharge under the same conditions, which keeps good image quality. Important above. However, in the printing operation, since the duty ratio varies depending on the image data, the number of heaters to be energized simultaneously varies.

[0008] For this reason, the driving conditions change due to the influence of the voltage fluctuation due to the output current difference of the power supply and the drop voltage difference due to the resistance of the transmission system.

Conventionally, the above-described ink ejection control has been used in a range satisfying the ejection conditions by devising such measures as increasing the accuracy of the power supply output voltage and reducing the loss of the transmission system as much as possible.

In addition, by controlling the number of simultaneous heats, the power supply voltage is changed in accordance with the number of nozzles to be heated, or the variable load provided in the power supply path to the head is controlled, thereby driving the head. There was an attempt to equalize the conditions.

[0011]

In recent years, there is a tendency that data to be processed and the speed of the data are becoming larger, for example, a color image can be easily handled by increasing the speed of a computer or the like. As an example, the speed of the ink jet recording operation can be increased by increasing the ejection frequency and increasing the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles.

Considering the case where the number of simultaneous ejections is increased to increase the speed, the necessity of actually ejecting ink among the nozzles prepared so as to enable simultaneous ejection naturally depends on the image to be recorded at that time. For example, when recording a solid black image, it is necessary to perform ejection for all the nozzles that can be ejected. On the other hand, in an image having a low duty ratio such as a ruled line, a necessary image is obtained by discharging ink from some nozzles.

As described above, the recording operation of the ink jet recording head in a certain system, that is, the ink ejection,
This is performed by heat generated by applying a current to the heater. Since a current is required for ink discharge, the required current increases in proportion to the increase in the number of nozzles that simultaneously discharge. Moreover, the required current value is not always constant, but changes in proportion to the number of nozzles ejected according to print data.

A line for supplying power for ejection to the ink jet recording head has some resistance due to the contact resistance of the connector and the wiring resistance of the line itself. As a result, the voltage applied to the head drops in proportion to the current value due to this resistance at the moment when the heater is energized.

Therefore, the voltage applied to the heater of the head changes depending on whether the number of simultaneous ejections is large or small, and there is a problem that ejection under the same condition is not performed.

Here, the change in the current value, that is, the voltage drop increases in proportion to the number of simultaneous ejections. Therefore, if the number of nozzles is increased for the purpose of speeding up the printing operation, the voltage fluctuation will also increase. The effect of the difference in the ejection conditions on the image quality is not negligible, which is an obstacle to speeding up the printing operation.

In other words, if the ejection control in which the ejection conditions are not changed by the print data is possible, the speed of the printing operation can be further increased.

In order to realize such discharge control,
Counting means for monitoring print data and managing the number of nozzles that actually perform ejection, and output voltage varying means for varying the output voltage of a power supply according to the count value, and power supply to a head 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image recording apparatus which is provided with a variable load unit capable of setting a resistance value in a path, and controls the setting of the resistance value of the variable load unit according to a count value of print data.

In the former image recording apparatus, there are disadvantages in that the output voltage varying means has a variation in characteristics, and that accurate driving voltage control cannot be performed due to a characteristic change due to a temporal change of the power supply system. .

In the latter image recording apparatus, for example, when the number of simultaneous ejections is large, the resistance value of the variable load means is reduced, and when the number of simultaneous ejections is small, the resistance value is increased. By controlling, the voltage applied to the heater at the time of discharge is kept constant and the discharge condition is adjusted by utilizing the voltage drop when the current flowing through the heater passes through the variable load means.

However, since the count value is a digital quantity, it can be easily managed. However, since there are variations in the characteristics of the variable load means and fluctuations due to various aging changes, it is not sufficient to perform a constant control based on the count value. Can not perform good control.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to store a recording apparatus, a recording method, and a recording procedure which enable control in consideration of these deviations or changes in characteristics and which can simultaneously realize high image quality and high speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved storage medium.

[0023]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for forming a visible image on a recording material by arranging a plurality of dots. Counting means for detecting, based on print data, the number N of elements to be driven simultaneously among a plurality of dot forming elements mounted on the head, a driving voltage applied to the recording head, and a reference voltage. A deviation value detecting means for detecting a deviation value between the correction means and a correction inserted in an energizing line to the recording head so that the deviation value becomes a predetermined value corresponding to the number N of elements detected by the counting means. Means.

In claim 2, the correction means is a variable resistance element.

In the third aspect, the variable resistance element is an FET, and the gate bias voltage of the FET is variably set in response to the deviation value.

According to a fourth aspect, the recording head comprises:
It is assumed that the thermal head is a thermal head for heating a thermal paper or a thermal transfer ribbon.

According to a fifth aspect, the recording head comprises:
It is assumed that the recording head is an ink jet head that performs recording by discharging ink.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the recording head comprises:
A head that ejects ink using thermal energy has a heating member that generates thermal energy to be applied to the ink.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, correction parameters of the correction means are stored in advance during the preliminary ejection operation of the ink jet head, and when the head is driven at the time of recording, the correction means reduces the number of simultaneously driven elements. Perform the corresponding correction operation.

According to the present invention, the correcting operation by the correcting means is executed by closed loop control while monitoring the head drive voltage.

According to the ninth aspect, when the supply of power to the recording head is stopped when the recording head is attached or detached, the supply of power is stopped using the correction means.

According to the tenth aspect, in arranging a plurality of dots on a recording material to form a visible image, of a plurality of dot forming elements mounted on the recording head, one of the elements to be driven simultaneously. The number N is detected based on the print data, and the recording is performed in accordance with the number N of elements so that a deviation value between a driving voltage applied to the recording head and a reference voltage becomes a predetermined value. Correction control is performed on the voltage drop value in the energizing line of the head.

In the eleventh aspect, the recording head is a thermal head for heating a thermal paper or a thermal transfer ribbon.

In the twelfth aspect, the recording head is an ink jet head that performs recording by discharging ink.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the correction control value at the time of the preliminary ejection operation is recorded, and at the time of the ejection operation at the time of recording, the correction control value corresponding to the simultaneous driving number of the heater included in the inkjet head is recorded. Is used to correct the head drive voltage.

In forming a visible image by arranging a plurality of dots on a recording material, of the plurality of dot forming elements mounted on the recording head, one of the plurality of dot forming elements to be driven simultaneously. The number N is detected based on the print data, and the recording is performed in accordance with the number N of elements so that a deviation value between a driving voltage applied to the recording head and a reference voltage becomes a predetermined value. The procedure for correcting and controlling the voltage drop value in the current supply line of the head is stored as a program.

[0037]

In one example of the embodiment of the invention] implementation described herein Overview embodiment mode, a counting means for managing the number of nozzles actually discharging counts the print data is performed, the driving voltage in accordance with the count value In addition to the voltage varying means acting so as to change, the reference voltage means not affected by the ejection operation, the voltage detection means capable of detecting the deviation between the drive voltage and the reference voltage when the ejection operation is actually performed, the detection A voltage correcting means for correcting the deviation, a storage means for storing a voltage deviation corresponding to the number of simultaneous ejections prior to actual printing, and a printing means for performing ejection based on the stored data.

In general, the recording head performs a preliminary ejection in order to maintain the nozzle state at the start of the operation and when a predetermined amount of printing is performed.

Therefore, at the time of the preliminary ejection operation before the start of printing, the voltage deviation is detected while sequentially changing the number of simultaneous ejections, and data is stored in the voltage deviation storage means.

In the subsequent recording operation, a correction operation is performed by referring to the correction voltage value stored in the storage means from the previously counted number of simultaneous heats.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 As shown in FIG. 7, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment has four ink jet recording heads for recording each color, a Bk (black) head 2-1 and a Y (yellow) head 2- 2, M (magenta) head 2-3,
A carriage 3 on which a C (cyan) head 2-4, ink tanks 1-1 to 1-4 integral with each other, and an optical home position sensor (hereinafter, referred to as an HP sensor) 8 are mounted is a carriage driving motor. 5 and is movably attached to a guide shaft 6 arranged in parallel to the scanning direction, and is connected to a part of the drive belt 4 for transmitting the drive force of the carriage 5. The reciprocating motion of the recording paper fed from a medium feeding device (not shown) over the entire width of the recording paper fed to the platen 7 disposed opposite to the ejection surface of the ink jet recording heads 2-1 to 2-4. Is recorded.

The above-described ink jet recording heads 2-1 to 2-1
2-4, a plurality of thin pipe-shaped head nozzle openings for ejecting ink are arranged side by side on an ejection surface facing the recording surface of the recording paper, and a further integrated ink tank 1-1 is provided.
A heater that gives ejection energy to the ink supplied from 1-4 is provided near the nozzle opening.

The nozzle openings of the recording heads 2-1 to 2-4 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 3, and four recording heads are arranged side by side in the carriage scanning direction. Have been.

The HP sensor 8 detects the reference position detecting projection 12 when the carriage 3 moves on the guide shaft 6 in the initial operation, thereby detecting the reference position (carriage home position) in the scanning direction of the recording operation. )
Is used to determine

The above-described ink jet recording apparatus receives image information, control commands, and other data input from an external host device or the like by a printing control unit (not shown) described later, and develops image data of each color in accordance with the received data. After that, data is transferred to the ink jet recording head, and the carriage 3 is scanned, and a series of recording operations for discharging ink at necessary timing are controlled.

The print controller and the carriage 3 are connected by a flexible cable 13 and receive various signals and supply of electric power required for ejection.

Next, the print control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

The print control unit 30 shown in FIG.
ROM 32 and RAM 33 as storage units, and an interface circuit 3 for a host device 41 as an external device.
4, a motor control circuit 35 for driving the carriage drive motor 5 and the LF motor 10, and a gate array 36 composed of a logic circuit for supplementing the operation of the CPU 31 and performing various controls. A head control block 37 for controlling the ejection timing and driving of the inkjet recording head 2 is configured in the gate array 36 described above.

A stepping motor is used for the carriage drive motor 5. The CPU 31 sends an operation signal of the carriage drive motor 5 to the motor control circuit 35 to move the carriage 3 and simultaneously manages the number of operation signals from the reference position in the scanning direction to determine the current position of the carriage 3. I also know. The carriage 3 moves, and the mounted recording head 2-
The head control block 37 controls so as to perform the ink discharge when the nozzles 1 to 2-4 reach the positions where the ink should be discharged.

In the present embodiment, the printing position in the scanning direction is detected by managing the driving pulses of the motor as described above. However, a recording device which is provided with a dedicated encoder to detect the position is also generally used. .

The CPU 31 controls the overall operation of the ink jet printing apparatus in accordance with a program (see FIG. 4) stored in the ROM 32 in advance or a control command input from the host device 41 via the interface circuit 34.

The ROM 32 stores programs for operating the CPU 31, various table data necessary for head control, character data for creating character data, and the like.

The interface circuit 34 is an interface unit for inputting and outputting control commands and control data from the host device 41 to the ink jet printing apparatus.

The RAM 33 includes a work area for the operation of the CPU 31 or the like, or a temporary storage area for recording data and control codes input from the host device 41 via the interface circuit 34. A print buffer for storing the print data after developing the print data into bit data corresponding to the nozzles of the head is also configured on the RAM 33.

Further, the ejection circuit and the ejection control of the ink jet recording head 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, four heads are mounted as described above, but since the operating principles are the same, the Bk head 2-1 will be described.

The data transfer circuit 37-1 in the head control block 37 sends a data signal 37-13, a clock signal 37-15, and a latch signal 37-14 to send ejection data to the head. Each signal is Bk
It is connected to the head 2-1.

The data signal 37-13 corresponds to the Bk head 2-1.
The data is sequentially stored in the above-configured shift register 2-101 in synchronization with the clock signal 37-15, and is used for selecting which nozzle among the configured nozzles performs ejection. When the transmission of the data for the number of nozzles is completed, the latch signal 37-14 is transmitted and the shift register 2-1 is transmitted.
The data stored in 01 is transferred to the register 2-102, and the data setting is completed.

When the data setting is completed, the carriage 3
Heat timing controller 37-
Two to three block selection signals 37-16 and a heat signal 37-12 are transmitted. In the present embodiment, nozzles of the same block are arranged every eight nozzles. The block selected by the three block selection signals 37-16 is a decoder 2-1 formed on the Bk head 2-1.
03 activates the input of the AND circuit 2-104 of the corresponding block.

A heat signal 37- is supplied to the nozzles for which data set and block selection have been performed according to the above procedure.
When 12 is input, the output conditions of the AND circuit 2-104 are matched, the drive transistor 2-105 connected to the heater resistor 2-106 of each nozzle operates, and a heat current flows. The heat signal 37-12 is used to control the actual heat time for temperature control and the like.

By a series of the operations described above, a series of recording operations is realized by discharging ink droplets to desired positions.

Here, the case where only one nozzle is heated in a certain block and the case where all the nozzles of the block are heated simultaneously will be described.

The supply of power required for ink ejection is performed from the power supply unit 9 through the Vhr-r line 9-1. At this time, as described above, when the N nozzles simultaneously discharge,
By the resistance r of the Vh-r line 9-1 and the heat current discharge current Iheat for one nozzle,

[0064]

ΔV = r × Iheat × N (1)

Therefore, the voltage applied to the heater resistor 2-106 changes in proportion to the number N of simultaneous heats, which results in an influence on the ejection operation.

Therefore, Vh-r is previously set higher than the required voltage by the voltage drop ΔVmax at the time of the maximum simultaneous driving, and a variable element 3-1 having a resistance is provided in the Vh-r line 9-1. The Vh line 3 during heating is provided by changing the resistance value in accordance with the number of simultaneous ejections.
2 to keep the voltage constant.

In the present embodiment, the variable resistance element 3-
For 1, an FET is used, and the gate bias voltage is controlled in accordance with the number of simultaneous ejections, thereby utilizing Vsat to obtain a voltage drop in this element.

Next, generation of the control signal 37-301 for the variable resistance element 3-1 will be described. As described in the section of the data transfer to the head, the recording data is sent from the data transfer circuit 37-1 in the head control block 37 to each head. At this time, the data counter circuit 37-4 provided in the head control block at the same time
7 count the print data of each color. The counting is performed separately for each heat block, so that the number of simultaneous heats for a certain block can be grasped.

The output of the data counter 37-4 is synchronized with the block selection signal 37-16 sent from the heat timing controller 37-2, and the ΔV control circuit 3
Sent to 7-10.

In the voltage deviation detecting circuit 37-9, the reference voltage V
h-r 9-1 is compared with a ΔV detection line 9-2 for monitoring the Vh line 3-2, and the ΔV control circuit 37-10 is passed through an AD conversion circuit 37-8.
To inform the voltage deviation.

The CPU 31 is configured to be able to grasp the number of simultaneous ejections and the voltage deviation at that time through these circuits.

In the present embodiment, the above-described voltage deviation is used when creating correction data (specifically, the gate bias voltage of the FET) in the initial operation described below.

Next, the creation of correction data will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the following operation is performed in the preliminary ejection in the initial operation when the power is turned on.

In step S2, N is set to the maximum simultaneous heat number n.

In step S3, n simultaneous heats are performed, and in step S5, it is checked whether Vh is a desired voltage value. If there is a voltage deviation, the correction value (gate bias voltage) is changed in step S4, and the process returns to step S5 again to perform voltage comparison. The correction value is changed so as to gradually increase from the setting in which the drive voltage decreases.

When a desired voltage is obtained in step S5,
In step S6, the number of simultaneous heats n and the correction value at that time are recorded.

In step S7, the next n is set, and correction values are obtained for all n from the maximum simultaneous heat number N to n = 1 (step S8).

Based on the correction value (gate bias voltage of FET) created in this way, the ΔV control circuit 37-10 uses the DA converter 37-3 based on the number of simultaneous heat nozzles in each block and the correction data. Then, a control signal 37-301 is generated to control the bias voltage of the variable resistance element 3-1.

The control signal 37-301 is reset every time the heat block is switched in synchronization with the output of the heat timing controller 37-2, and the FET (3
The resistance value of -1) changes. After this set is completed, that is, after the resistance value changes, the heat timing controller 3
A heat signal 37-12 is transmitted from 7-2.

When a heat current is generated, a current flows through the variable resistance element 3-1 which has been set to a resistance value corresponding to a preset bias voltage, and the voltage Vh applied to the heater 2-106 due to its own voltage drop. Acts to be constant.

When the supply of power to the recording head is stopped when the recording head is attached or detached, the power can be cut off by using the FET 3-1 itself.

As described above, in the first embodiment, it is possible to maintain the image quality without causing a deviation in the ejection condition due to the duty ratio of the print data, that is, the number of simultaneous heats.

Further, it is possible to absorb the variation in the characteristics of the output voltage varying means and the deviation due to the aging of the transmission system, and to sufficiently secure the driving accuracy in actual operation.

Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 1 described above, the correction of the voltage deviation is performed by reading the output of the deviation detecting means 37-9 through the A / D converter 37-8 at the time of ejection, and recording the correction data recorded at that time. Was read and used during actual recording. That is, a look-up table is created in the preliminary ejection operation, and open loop control is performed based on the data.

Therefore, in the second embodiment described here,
Instead of detecting the deviation only at the time of the preliminary ejection operation, a feedback loop is formed so that the deviation is always corrected, and a desired voltage is automatically obtained.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams of the second embodiment.

The basic operation in the printing operation is described in the first embodiment.
Is equivalent to The bias generation circuit 37-17 connected to the voltage deviation detection circuit 37-9 includes the bias generation circuit 37-17 of the voltage deviation detection circuit.
When a deviation occurs in the output of 7-9, the output signal level is changed to operate so that the voltage deviation approaches zero.

The bias generation circuit 37-17 is connected to the heat timing controller 37-2 and is configured to operate according to the heat timing.

When the end of the heating operation is detected by the output of the timing controller, the bias generation circuit 37-17 holds the immediately preceding value and prepares for the next heating timing.

As described above, in the second embodiment, it is possible to correct the voltage change in the actual operation without providing the preliminary ejection operation and the storage means.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration 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 is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. 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 a 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 configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electric connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body is attached to the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

Further, as for the type and number of the recording heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to the recording head having only one corresponding to a single color ink, it corresponds to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself 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. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start solidifying when it reaches 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 such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to those used as image output terminals of information processing equipment such as computers, copying apparatuses combined with readers and the like, and facsimile apparatuses having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or the apparatus, the system or the apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. Becomes

[0102]

As described above, according to the present invention, high-quality and high-speed recording can be performed by constantly controlling the driving voltage applied to the recording head.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a voltage deviation recording operation in preliminary ejection according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for forming a visible image on a recording material by arranging a plurality of dots, wherein the number N of elements to be driven simultaneously among a plurality of dot forming elements mounted on a recording head Counting means for detecting a deviation value between a driving voltage applied to the recording head and a reference voltage, and a number of elements detected by the counting means. And a correction unit inserted in a current supply line to the recording head so that the deviation value becomes a predetermined value corresponding to N. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correction means is a variable resistance element. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the variable resistance element is an FET, and the gate bias voltage of the FET is variably set in response to the deviation value. 4. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein:
A recording apparatus comprising a thermal head for heating a thermal paper or a thermal transfer ribbon. 5. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein:
A recording apparatus, which is an inkjet head that performs recording by discharging ink. 6. The recording head according to claim 5, wherein:
What is claimed is: 1. A recording apparatus, comprising: a head for ejecting ink using thermal energy, comprising a heating member for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein correction parameters of said correction means are stored in advance during a preliminary ejection operation of said ink-jet head, and said head is driven by a number of simultaneously driven elements during recording. A recording apparatus for performing a correction operation corresponding to the above. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction operation by the correction unit is performed by closed-loop control while monitoring a head drive voltage. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply to the recording head is stopped by using the correction means when the power supply to the head is stopped. 10. When arranging a plurality of dots on a recording material to form a visible image, among a plurality of dot forming elements mounted on the recording head, the number N of elements to be driven simultaneously is determined by: An energizing line of the recording head is detected in accordance with the number of elements N so that a deviation value between a driving voltage applied to the recording head and a reference voltage becomes a predetermined value. A correction method for controlling a voltage drop value in the recording method. 11. The recording method according to claim 10, wherein the recording head is a thermal head for heating a thermal paper or a thermal transfer ribbon. 12. The recording method according to claim 10, wherein the recording head is an inkjet head that performs recording by discharging ink. 13. A correction control value according to claim 12, wherein a correction control value in a preliminary ejection operation is recorded, and in the ejection operation during recording, a correction control value corresponding to the number of simultaneously driven heaters included in said inkjet head. A head driving voltage is corrected by using the recording method. 14. When arranging a plurality of dots on a recording material to form a visible image, among a plurality of dot forming elements mounted on a recording head, the number N of elements to be driven simultaneously is determined by: The energizing line of the recording head is detected in accordance with the number of elements N such that a deviation value between a driving voltage applied to the recording head and a reference voltage is detected based on print data and a predetermined value. A storage medium storing a recording procedure, wherein the procedure for correcting and controlling the voltage drop value in the above is stored as a program.