JPH1110867A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the prevention of the occurrence of shut-down phenomena a at large number of nozzles by a constitution wherein an energy for not discharging ink is given to the energy generating means of a non-driven nozzle by the same timing as that, by which an energy for discharging ink drops is given to the energy generating means of a driven nozzle. SOLUTION: When an ink discharging driving waveform is applied to a piezoelectric element, in which a channel (n) is a non-driven nozzle and the driven nozzles of a channel (n-1) and a channel (n+1), which locate on both sides of the channel (n) and are adjacent to each other, an ink drop non- discharging driving waveform is applied to the piezoelectric element of the channel (n) by the same timing. Thus, the volumes of the liquid chambers of the channels (n-1) and (n+1) decrease so as to discharge inks from the nozzles. While, though the volume of the liquid chamber of the channel (n) decreases, no ink is discharged dependendently of a driving energy. Then, through the slight rising of a nozzle plate occurs and the volume of its liquid chamber increases, the increasing amount cancles the above-mensioned decrease, resulting in returning to a steady state or no increase occurs and no sucking-in of air in the liquid chamber develops.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet head having a plurality of nozzles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet recording apparatus used as an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, etc., a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink droplets, an ink liquid chamber communicating with each nozzle, and an ink liquid in each ink liquid chamber are provided. Using an ink jet head having an energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer or an electrothermal transducer for generating energy for discharging ink droplets from the nozzles by applying pressure to the head, the energy generating means of the head converts print data into print data. By driving in accordance with this, an ink droplet is ejected from a required nozzle to record an image.

[0003] A conventional ink jet head has a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink droplets and a plurality of ink liquid chambers communicating with the nozzles, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-142324. It is known that an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle by driving the energy generating means corresponding to each nozzle to change the volume of the liquid chamber via a diaphragm. In this specification, driving the energy generating means (electromechanical transducer) is also referred to as "driving the nozzle" or "driving the channel".

[0004]

When the above-described ink jet head is driven according to print data,
For example, when the nozzle of interest is not driven, and the nozzles on both sides adjacent to each other are driven, the nozzle forming member is slightly pushed up by the electromechanical transducer of the driving nozzle pressurizing the ink liquid chamber. As a result, the internal volume of the ink liquid chamber of the non-drive nozzle slightly increases, and the ink meniscus of the non-drive nozzle is drawn into the inside.If this is performed continuously, air is accumulated in the ink liquid chamber of the non-drive nozzle. May be done.

[0005] When air is accumulated in the ink liquid chamber in this manner, a down phenomenon occurs in which ink droplets are not ejected even if the ink liquid chamber is pressurized by the energy generating means, resulting in deterioration of image quality or poor printing. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to prevent a down phenomenon when an ink jet head having a large number of nozzles is used.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a driving nozzle for driving an ink jet head; A configuration is adopted in which driving energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected is applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the patterns are matched by referring to a driving or non-driving pattern of one or more nozzles adjacent to the non-driving nozzle. In addition, a configuration is adopted in which driving energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected is applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, a plurality of the patterns to be referred to are provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, a pattern for performing a logical operation by a logical sum of driving nozzles is provided as the reference pattern.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the third or fourth aspect,
The reference pattern includes a pattern for performing a logical operation with a logical product of the driving nozzles.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the reference pattern is always non-driven irrespective of driving or non-driving of one or more adjacent nozzles. A structure for providing a driving energy to the energy generating means of the nozzle so as not to eject the ink droplet is provided.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, wherein a pattern to be used is selected in accordance with an environmental temperature.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the driving energy applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle is changed according to the environmental temperature. did.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of FIG.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, a carriage 5 is moved in a main scanning direction (indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 2) by a guide rod 3 and a guide plate 4 which are laid between left and right side plates 1 and 2 (see FIG. 2).
Direction), a recording head 6 composed of an inkjet head is mounted on the lower surface side of the carriage 5 with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward, and the recording head 6 is mounted on the upper surface side of the carriage 5 for each color. An ink tank (ink cartridge) 7 for supplying ink is mounted.

The recording head 6 ejects a yellow (Y) ink, a magenta (M) ink, a cyan (C) ink, and a black (Bk) ink. The head is arranged in the main scanning direction. The carriage 5 is connected to a timing belt 18 stretched between a driving pulley 16 and a driven pulley 17 which are rotated by a main scanning motor 15 composed of a stepping motor, and controls the driving of the main scanning motor 15 to control the carriage 5. That is, the recording head 6 is moved in the main scanning direction.

On the other hand, a platen roller (hereinafter simply referred to as "platen") 21 for transporting the paper 20 in the sub-scanning direction (the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 2), and the paper 20 is disposed by being pressed against the peripheral surface of the platen 21. The paper feed rollers 22 and 23 and the pinch roller 24 for defining the paper feed angle, the guide plate 25 facing the recording head 6, the paper discharge roller 26 downstream of the recording head 6 in the paper transport direction, and the paper discharge roller 26 And a paper pressing spur roller 27 which is pressed and abutted.

The rotation of the sub-scanning motor 28, which is a stepping motor, is transmitted to the platen 21 via the gears 29 to 31 and the platen gear 32, and the platen 21 is driven to rotate.
0 is sent between the recording head 6 and the guide plate 25 via the platen 21, the paper feed rollers 22 and 23, and the paper pressing roller 24, and the paper 20 is moved to the platen gear 32 while the paper 20 is moved in the sub-scanning direction by the platen 21. Meshing gear 34
The paper 20 is ejected by the paper ejection roller 26 and the paper holding spur roller 27 which are rotated through the sheet (the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 2).
To send out.

In the recording apparatus thus configured, the paper 20 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction while moving and scanning the recording head 6 (carriage 5) in the main scanning direction. The required color image (including the black image) is recorded on the paper 20 by ejecting the ink droplets of the color (1).

In this recording apparatus, a reliability maintenance / recovery mechanism (subsystem) 35 for the recording head 6 is disposed on the right side of the main scanning area of the carriage 5 so that the host 5 is in a print standby state. When the print data is not transferred for a predetermined period of time, or at a predetermined time interval, a reliability maintenance / recovery operation such as removal of stains on the nozzle surface and nozzles of the recording head 6 is performed.

Next, an example of the ink-jet head constituting the recording head will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet head, FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the head in a direction orthogonal to a channel direction (nozzle arrangement direction), and FIG. It is.

This ink jet head includes a drive unit 41, a liquid chamber unit 42, and a head cover 43. The drive unit 41 includes a ceramic substrate,
For example, a plurality of laminated piezoelectric elements 45 as energy generating means are arranged and joined in two rows on an insulating substrate 44 made of, for example, barium titanate, alumina, or forsterite. Frame member (support) 46 made of resin, ceramic, or the like surrounding the periphery of 45
Are bonded by an adhesive 47.

The plurality of piezoelectric elements 45 are provided between piezoelectric elements (hereinafter referred to as "driving units") 48 to which driving pulses for applying ink to droplets and flying are provided, and driving units 48, 48. A piezoelectric element (hereinafter, referred to as a “non-driving unit”) that serves as a liquid chamber support member that simply fixes the liquid chamber unit 42 to the substrate 44 without being provided with a driving pulse.
9 are alternately configured.

Here, as the piezoelectric element 45, a laminated piezoelectric element having ten or more layers is used. This laminated piezoelectric element has a thickness of 10 to 50 μm / 1, for example, as shown in FIG.
Layer of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) 50 and thickness of several μ
Although the internal electrodes 51 made of silver / palladium (AgPd) of m / 1 layer are alternately laminated, the material used for the piezoelectric element is not limited to the above, and other electromechanical conversion elements may be used. Can also.

The internal electrodes 51 of each piezoelectric element 45 are left and right end face electrodes 52 and 53 made of AgPd every other layer (the opposing face sides of the two piezoelectric element rows are end face electrodes 52, and the non-opposing face sides are end face electrodes). 53). On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Each pattern of the common electrode 54 and the selection electrode 55 is provided by Au plating, AgPt paste printing, AgPd paste printing, or the like.

The opposite end electrodes 52 of the piezoelectric elements 45 in each row are connected to the common electrode 54 via a conductive adhesive 56.
On the other hand, the non-opposing end face electrodes 53 of the piezoelectric elements 45 in each row are connected to the selection electrodes 55 via the conductive adhesive 56 in the same manner. Thereby, the driving unit 48
By applying a drive voltage (drive energy) to
An electric field is generated in the stacking direction, and a displacement in the stacking direction (displacement in the direction d33) is generated in the driving unit 48. In addition,
The common electrode 54 is connected to the frame member 4 as shown in FIG.
By filling the conductive adhesive 56 in the hole 46a provided in the 6, the pattern connected to each piezoelectric element is conducted.

On the other hand, the liquid chamber unit 42 is formed of a diaphragm 57 having a multilayer structure composed of a laminate of metal thin films and a photosensitive resin layer composed of a dry film resist (DFR).
A liquid chamber partition member 58 having a layered structure and a nozzle plate 59 made of metal, resin or the like are sequentially laminated and formed by heat fusion. By each of these members, one piezoelectric element 45
(Drive unit 48), a diaphragm 60 corresponding to the one piezoelectric element 45, a pressurized liquid chamber 61 pressurized through each diaphragm 60, and both sides of the pressurized liquid chamber 61. Common liquid chambers 62, 62 for introducing ink to be supplied to the pressurized liquid chamber 61, and the pressurized liquid chamber 61 and the common liquid chambers 62, 62.
Ink supply paths 63 and 6 which also serve as fluid resistance portions
3 and a nozzle 64 communicating with the pressurized liquid chamber 61.
One channel is formed, and a plurality of the channels are provided in two rows.

The diaphragm 57 is made of a nickel plating film having a two-layer structure, and is formed integrally with the diaphragm portion 60 corresponding to the driving portion 48 and at the center of the diaphragm portion 60 for joining with the driving portion 48. Island-shaped convex portion 65, beam 66 to be joined to non-drive portion 49 and frame member 4
6 and a peripheral thick portion 67 to be joined.

The liquid chamber partition member 58 is formed by first coating a dry film resist on the vibration plate 57 side, exposing it using a required mask, and developing it to form a first liquid chamber pattern.
The photosensitive resin layer 68 and the second photosensitive resin layer 69 having a predetermined liquid chamber pattern formed by applying a dry film resist in advance on the nozzle plate 59 side, exposing with a required mask, and developing to form a predetermined liquid chamber pattern are heated. It is joined by crimping.

In the nozzle plate 59, a large number of nozzles 64, which are fine discharge ports for ejecting ink droplets, are formed. The internal shape (inner shape) of this nozzle 64 is
It is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, a substantially frustum shape, a horn shape, or the like.
The diameter of the nozzle 64 is about 25 to 35 μm in diameter on the ink droplet outlet side. The ink ejection surface (nozzle surface side) of the nozzle plate 59 is a water-repellent surface 70 that has been subjected to a water-repellent surface treatment as shown in FIG. For example, PTFE-Ni eutectoid plating, electrodeposition coating of fluororesin, vapor-deposited coating of evaporable fluororesin (for example, pitch fluoride), baking after solvent application of silicon-based resin or fluororesin, etc. A water-repellent treatment film selected according to the physical properties of the ink is provided to stabilize the ink droplet shape and flying characteristics and to obtain high-quality image quality. The periphery of the nozzle plate 59 is a non-water-repellent surface 71 on which no water-repellent film is formed.

After the drive unit 41 and the liquid chamber unit 42 are separately processed and assembled, the vibration plate 57 of the liquid chamber unit 42 and the piezoelectric element 45 and the frame member 46 of the drive unit 41 are bonded with an adhesive. It is joined at 72.

Then, the substrate 44 is supported and held on a spacer member (head holder) 73 serving as a head support member, and the head driving I
A PCB board having C or the like is connected to each electrode 54, 55 connected to each piezoelectric element 45 (drive unit 48) of the drive unit 41 via FPC cables 74, 74.

A nozzle cover (head cover) 43
Is formed in a box shape to cover the periphery of the nozzle plate 59 and the side surface of the head. An opening is formed corresponding to the water-repellent surface 70 of the nozzle plate 59, and is left at the periphery of the nozzle plate 59. It is bonded to the non-water-repellent surface 71 with an adhesive. Further, in order to supply ink from an ink cartridge (not shown) to the liquid chamber, the ink supply holes 75 are provided in the spacer member 73, the substrate 44, the frame member 46, and the vibration plate 57, respectively.
To 78 are provided.

In this ink jet head, by applying a drive waveform (pulse voltage of 10 to 50 V) to the drive section 48 in accordance with a recording signal, a displacement in the laminating direction occurs in the drive section 48, and the vibration plate 57 Diaphragm part 6
The pressure of the pressurized liquid chamber 61 is increased through the pressure 0, and the pressure is increased, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 64. At this time, the ink supply paths 63 and 6 communicating from the pressurized liquid chamber 61 to the common liquid chamber 62 are provided.
Although ink flow also occurs in three directions, the ink supply path 6
By reducing the cross-sectional area of 3, 63, it functions as a fluid resistance part to reduce the flow of ink to the common liquid chambers 62, 62, thereby preventing a drop in ink ejection efficiency.

Then, with the end of the ink droplet ejection, the ink pressure in the pressurized liquid chamber 61 decreases, and a negative pressure is generated in the pressurized liquid chamber 61 due to the inertia of the ink flow and the discharge process of the drive pulse. To the ink filling process. At this time, the ink supplied from the ink tank flows into the common liquid chambers 62, 62, and from the common liquid chambers 62, 62 to the ink supply paths 63, 6.
After that, it is filled into the pressurized liquid chamber 61. Then, the vibration of the ink meniscus surface near the outlet of the nozzle 64 is attenuated,
When the ink is returned to the vicinity of the outlet of the nozzle 64 by the surface tension (refill) and reaches a stable state, the operation shifts to the next ink droplet ejection operation.

Next, an outline of a control section of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit includes a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a “CPU”) 80 for controlling the entire recording apparatus, a ROM 81 storing necessary fixed information, a RAM 82 used as an image memory, a working memory, and the like. A parallel input / output (PIO) port 83, an input buffer 84, a character generator 85, a line feed counter 86, a direct memory access controller (DMAC) 87,
An output buffer 88 and a gate array (GA) or parallel input / output (PIO) port 89 are provided.

The control unit includes a common (Com) driver 90 for applying a drive waveform to a common electrode of energy generating means (piezoelectric element) corresponding to each nozzle of the recording head 6, and each of the recording heads 6. A driver 91 for providing a selection signal for selecting an energy generating means corresponding to a nozzle in accordance with a recording signal, a motor driver 92 for controlling the driving of the main scanning motor 15 and the sub-scanning motor 28, and the like are provided. And an operation panel (operation panel) 93 is connected. Note that the CPU 80, the common driver 90, and the driver 91 constitute a part for performing drive control according to the present invention.

Here, various instructions and selection signals given from the operation panel 93 are input to the PIO 83, and various display signals and the like are output from the PIO 83 to the operation panel 93. The PIO 83 receives image data, paper type data indicating the type of paper, and other data from the host, and outputs various signals to the host via the PIO 83. In addition, PIO83 has
A detection signal from a paper presence / absence sensor for detecting the start and end of the paper, a signal from various sensors such as a home position sensor for detecting the home position (reference position) of the carriage 5, and the like are input.

The input buffer 84 temporarily stores print data received from the host via the PIO 83. The character generator 85 converts the printing data into image data when receiving the printing data as code data.
The line feed counter 86 counts the number of line feeds. DMAC
87 reads out the print data temporarily stored in the input buffer 84, converts the print data into image data by the character generator 85 if necessary, and transfers the print data to the output buffer 88.

Further, the recording data stored in the output buffer 88 is read out at a required timing and
Is transmitted as a printing signal to the driver 9 from the PIO 89.
1 and sent to the recording head 6 from the driver 91 as a drive signal (selection signal). Also, PIO8
A drive control signal is output to the motor driver 92 via the scanner 9, and the carriage 5 is moved and scanned in the main scanning direction, and the platen 21 is rotated to convey the sheet 20 by a predetermined amount.

Next, a portion (hereinafter, referred to as a "head drive circuit") of the control section relating to head drive control will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that FIG. 2 shows only a portion related to drive control of one head. Here, as described above, the ink jet head H constituting the recording head 6 has a plurality of (here, 64) nozzles 6.
4 has 64 piezoelectric elements PZT, which are energy generating means, one electrode of each piezoelectric element PZT is shared to be a common electrode Com, and the other electrode is each piezoelectric element PZT.
The selection electrode SEL is individualized for each ZT. In addition,
Actually, since the nozzles 64 are provided in two rows, the nozzles 64 have 128 nozzles 64.

On the other hand, a head driving circuit for controlling the driving of the head is composed of the control signal generating unit 1 including the CPU 80 and the data generating unit 100 for generating printing data and the like.
01 and a head driving unit 102 corresponding to the above-mentioned common (Com) driver 90 and driver 91 for driving the inkjet head H.

The head drive section 102 receives the reference timing pulse STB from the control signal generation section 101 and generates and outputs a drive waveform. The output of the waveform generation circuit 103 (drive waveform P) Is output to the common electrode Com of the inkjet head H, and the selection signals Do1 to Do2 to the plurality of piezoelectric elements PZT of the inkjet head H based on the print data signal DI and the like from the control signal generator 101. D
and a channel (ch) selection circuit 105 for providing o64.

The waveform generation circuit 103 includes, for example, a ROM, a D
/ A converter or other pulse generation circuit and calculus circuit,
It can be composed of a waveform deformation circuit such as a clip circuit and a clamp circuit. The waveform generation circuit 103 includes a reference timing signal STB that determines a timing for generating and outputting the drive waveform P from the control signal generation unit 101, and a drive waveform P
, A Vp control signal SVp for selecting the drive voltage (voltage value) Vp, a tr control signal Str for selecting the rising time constant tr of the drive waveform P, and the like are also input, and the drive energy is changed by these control signals. be able to. The low-impedance output circuit 104 includes a buffer amplifier, SEPP (Single Ended Push Pull).
l) A low-impedance amplifier configured as described above.

Here, an example of the waveform generation circuit 103 and the low impedance output circuit 104 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the waveform generation circuit 103 receives a reference timing pulse STB, generates a drive waveform P, and supplies the generated drive waveform P to the low impedance output circuit 104, and the Vp control signal SVp Control section 107 for generating and outputting voltage Vth for determining voltage Vp of drive waveform P of drive waveform generating section 106
7. It should be noted that the driving waveform generator 106 and the low impedance output circuit 104 constitute a constant voltage driving circuit.

As shown in FIG. 9, the drive waveform generator 106 and the low impedance output circuit 104 connect the input terminal IN to which the reference timing pulse STB is supplied from the control signal generator 101 (CPU 80) to the control signal IN1.
(Tr control signals Str1 to Tr3) are connected to respective bases of the transistors Tr11 to Tr13 via gate circuits G1 to G3 and buffers B1 to B3 each having the other input, and a power supply is connected to the collector of each of the transistors Tr11 to Tr13. A voltage Vpp is applied, and each transistor Tr
The emitters of 11 to Tr13 have charging resistors Ra1 respectively.
To Ra3 to connect these charging resistors Ra1 to Ra3.
Are connected in series to the diode D1 to form a tr control circuit 108 that controls the rise time constant tr of the drive waveform.

The input terminal IN to which the reference timing pulse STB is applied is connected to the base of the transistor Tr2 via the gate circuit G4 and the inverter I which receive the control signal IN2 from the reference signal generation unit 101 as the other input. The emitter of Tr2 is grounded, and the collector of transistor Tr2 is connected to discharge resistor Rb and diode D2.
Are connected in series. Then, the cathode side of the diode D1 and the anode side of the diode D2 are connected, and a capacitor Ck is connected between the connection point a and the ground, so that a selected one of the charging resistors Ra1 to Ra3 and the capacitor Ck are connected. A time constant circuit at the time of charging is constituted by Ck, and a time constant circuit at the time of discharging is constituted by the discharge resistor Rb and the capacitor Ck. Further, the voltage Vth from the Vp control unit 67 is applied to the connection point a via the diode Dk.

The connection point a is connected to the transistors Tr3 to Tr3.
The base of the transistor Tr3 which is the input side of the low impedance output circuit 64 composed of the transistor Tr6 and the transistor Tr
The head H is connected to the common electrode Com of each piezoelectric element PZT between the emitter of the transistor Tr5 and the collector of the transistor Tr6 on the output side.

In this circuit, the control signal generator 10
When any of the tr control signals Str1 to Str3 from “1” goes to “H” level, the corresponding gate circuits G1 to G
3 is in the open state, and the control signal IN2 from the control signal generation unit 101 goes to “H” level, so that the gate circuit G4 is in the open state.

For example, when the gate circuit G1 is opened, the reference timing pulse ST is input to the input terminal IN.
When B is input, the "H" level is input to the buffer B, the buffer B1 outputs a voltage level lower than the power supply voltage Vpp, and the transistor Tr11 is turned on, while the inverter I becomes "L". Transistor Tr2
Is turned off, charging of the capacitor Ck is started with a charging time constant determined by the charging resistor Ra1 and the capacitor Ck by the power supply voltage Vpp.

Similarly, when the gate circuit G2 is opened, the transistor Tr12 is turned on, so that charging of the capacitor Ck is started with a charging time constant determined by the charging resistor Ra2 and the capacitor Ck. If the circuit G3 is opened, the transistor T3
Since r13 is turned on, charging of the capacitor Ck is started with a charging time constant determined by the charging resistor Ra3 and the capacitor Ck. The tr control signals Str1 to Str3 are:
Since the signal is a 3-bit signal, by increasing the number of bits to be set to “H” at the same time, eight kinds of charging resistance values can be selected depending on the combination.

When the capacitor Ck is charged as described above, the voltage Vth is applied to the connection point a via the diode Dk (drop voltage Vd), so that the charging voltage of the capacitor Ck is equal to the power supply voltage. Vpp, and the voltage Vp (Vp = Vth +
Vd), and the voltage Vp becomes the maximum value of the drive waveform P.

Thereafter, when the reference timing pulse STB is no longer input to the input terminal IN, for example, the gate circuit G
1 is in the open state, the "L" level is input to the buffer B1, and the output of the buffer B1 changes to the power supply voltage Vpp.
And the transistor Tr11 is turned off. On the other hand, the output of the inverter I becomes "H", so that the transistor Tr11 is turned off and at the same time the transistor Tr2 is turned off.
Is turned on, and the capacitor C charged to the voltage Vp with a discharge time constant determined by the discharge resistor Rb and the capacitor Ck.
The discharge of k is started. The gate circuit G2 or G
The same applies when 3 is open.

Therefore, by changing the voltage Vth applied to the drive waveform generator 106, the drive voltage Vp of the drive waveform P can be variably controlled. Also,
Tr control signals Str1 to S from control signal generator 101
The start time constant tr is set to be tr1, tr2, by tr3.
It is possible to select and generate and output three types of driving waveforms that are any of tr3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the Vp control unit 107 includes a three-terminal regulator 109 and a resistance selection circuit 11.
It consists of 0. The three-terminal regulator 109 supplies the constant voltage source to the voltage input terminal Vin,
A voltage corresponding to a resistor R1a connected between adj and the voltage output terminal Vout and a resistance value R2 of the resistor selection circuit 110 connected between the adjustment terminal adj and the ground are output from the voltage output terminal Vout. Made of L
M317T (trade name) or the like can be used. Therefore, the output voltage Vout from the three-terminal regulator 109 is, for example, Vout = 1.25 × (1 + R2 / R
It will be determined in 1).

The resistor selection circuit 102 is formed by connecting in series a parallel circuit of a resistor Rs, a resistor Rp, and resistors R21 to R23 selected by switching transistors Q1 to Q3. For example, SN740 manufactured by Texas Instruments
6 (product name) or the like. The resistance selection circuit 110 includes the control signal generator 10 described above.
1 from the control signal IN3 (Vp control signals SVp1 to SVp1).
p3) is input to the bases of the transistors Q1 to Q3, respectively.

Therefore, while supplying the power supply voltage Vpp to the three-terminal regulator 109, the Vp control signal generator 6
By providing the Vp control signals SVp1 to SVp3 of 1 to 3 bits to the resistor selection circuit 110, the output voltage Vout of the three-terminal regulator 109 can be changed at up to eight levels, and this output voltage Vout is controlled by the above-described driving. By inputting the voltage as the voltage Vth of the waveform generation unit 106, the drive voltage Vp of the drive waveform can be set to a predetermined value.

The generation of the different voltage Vth is performed, for example, by using a voltage dividing circuit in which a resistor and a parallel circuit of a variable resistor and a capacitor are connected in series and the voltage between both ends of the capacitor is output as a voltage Vout. Thus, the variable resistance can be changed, and the D / A
The voltage Vth can also be changed by using a converter. Further, the control signal generator 101 (CPU 80)
The control signal I is referenced by referring to a table stored in a ROM or the like in advance.
N1 to IN3 are output.

Next, the channel selection circuit 105 will be described with reference to FIG. This channel selection circuit 1
Reference numeral 05 denotes a 64-bit shift register 111 having the same number of bits or more as the number m of nozzles (here, m = 64) for taking in the serial input SI with the clock CLK, and the register value of the shift register 111 as a latch signal / LAT
(Note that the sign “/” means inversion.) A 64-bit latch circuit 112 for latching with
Of each of the piezoelectric elements PZ having one input as an input and the other input as a reference timing signal / STB via a knot circuit NG.
Gate circuit group 113 including gate circuits G corresponding to T
And a transistor array 114 composed of a transistor Q corresponding to each piezoelectric element PZT and turned on / off by the output of each gate circuit G, and a diode array 115 composed of a diode D connected to each transistor Q. .

Then, the print data (serial data) SD input to the serial input terminal according to the clock signal CLK is taken into the shift register 111, and the latch circuit 1
At 12, the latched signal of the shift register 111 at that time is latched by the latch signal / LAT, and the required gate circuit G is opened by the reference timing signal / STB from the control signal generator 101 to turn on the transistor Q. A selection signal Don (n = 1 to 64) is output, and the driving waveform P from the low impedance output circuit 104 is output to the piezoelectric element PZT.
And drive.

The serial data, clock signal, and latch signal to be supplied to the channel selection circuit 105 are created by the data creation unit 100 of the control signal generation unit 101. A specific example of the data creation unit 100 will be described later in detail.

Next, the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in order to clarify the driving control according to the present invention, as a general driving method, a driving method in which a driving waveform is given only to the energy generating means of the driving nozzle and a driving waveform is not given to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle. This will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the center channel among a plurality of adjacent channels is a non-drive nozzle and the channels on both sides are drive nozzles, FIG.
To (c), the piezoelectric elements 45n-1,
A drive waveform is given to 45n + 1, and the piezoelectric element 4 of the non-drive nozzle
No driving waveform is given to 5n. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the piezoelectric elements 45n-1, 45n + 1 to which the drive waveforms are given extend (displace) by about 0.1 mm and the diaphragm of the diaphragm 57 is lifted. g) to (i)
As shown in (2), the volumes of the liquid chambers 61n-1 and 61n + 1 are reduced (reduced), and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 64n-1 and 64n + 1.

When this mechanism is performed, the liquid chamber partition member 58 (the first photosensitive resin layer 68 and the second photosensitive resin layer 69) is slightly lifted, so that the nozzle plate 59 is moved to the nozzle indicated by a virtual line. It is pushed up like a plate 59 '. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 13D to 13F, the nozzle plate 59 starts to be displaced after a delay time td due to the pressure propagation time of the parts from the start of the application of the drive waveform, and the drive channel n-1. , N + 1 are pushed up by the displacement amount y1, and the portion of the non-drive channel n is pushed up by the displacement amount y2. According to the experiment, the nozzle plate 59 has a displacement of 1 of the piezoelectric element 45.
A displacement of about / 4 was observed.

As described above, the target nozzle (non-drive nozzle)
By driving the piezoelectric elements of the drive nozzles on both the left and right sides of the nozzle plate portion n of the liquid chamber 61n of the non-drive nozzle
Can be lifted uniformly, but the piezoelectric element 4 of the non-drive nozzle
Since no drive waveform is applied to 5n, the diaphragm of the corresponding diaphragm 57 is not deformed. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
n is increased, and the ink meniscus surface of the non-drive nozzle is drawn into the inside by that amount,
When this is repeated, air may be drawn into the liquid chamber 61n.

As a result, even if a driving waveform is applied to the piezoelectric element 45n when the non-driving nozzle shifts to the driving nozzle, defective ejection of ink droplets occurs due to the drawn air.

Therefore, in the present invention, the driving energy for not discharging the ink droplets is also supplied to the energy generating means for the non-driving nozzles at the timing when the driving energy for discharging the ink droplets is supplied to the energy generating means for the driving nozzles. ing.

That is, referring to FIG. 14, when channel n of interest is a non-drive nozzle and channels n−1 and n + 1 adjacent to channel n on both sides are drive nozzles, FIGS. ), The driving channel n
When a drive waveform for ejecting ink droplets is applied to the −1 and n + 1 piezoelectric elements, the same timing is applied to FIG.
As shown in (1), a driving waveform (non-ejection driving waveform) that does not eject ink droplets is also applied to the piezoelectric element of the non-driving channel n. The drive waveform that does not eject ink droplets applied to the non-drive channel may be a drive waveform having an energy level equal to or less than the limit at which ink droplets are not ejected. It should be noted that giving such a large amount of electric energy (driving energy) to the energy generating means that ink droplets are not ejected is referred to as “non-ejection drive”. )

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 7G and 7I, the volume of the liquid chamber in the drive channels n-1 and n + 1 is reduced, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles. Then, as shown in FIG. 9H, the volume of the liquid chamber in the non-driving channel n also decreases, but ink droplet ejection is not performed due to the driving energy. Thereafter, when the delay time t1 elapses from the start of the application of the drive waveform, the nozzle plate is slightly lifted and the volume of the liquid chamber starts to increase as shown in FIGS. Since the volume of the liquid chamber is reduced as described above, the increase is canceled and the state returns only to a substantially steady state, and does not increase. Therefore, the ink meniscus surface of the non-drive channel n is drawn into the liquid chamber. No air is drawn in.

As described above, the driving energy that does not cause the ink droplets to be ejected is also applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzles at the timing of applying the driving energy to eject the ink droplets to the energy generating means of the driving nozzles. Thus, no air is drawn in due to the meniscus being drawn in, so that a discharge failure does not occur when the non-drive nozzle is changed to a drive nozzle.

There are various possible ways to give a driving waveform (non-ejection driving energy) that does not eject ink droplets to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzles. When the driving and non-driving patterns (referred to as “reference patterns”) as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 are matched between the channels (nozzles) of FIG. This is referred to as “non-ejection drive”.)

Each of patterns 1 and 2 shown in FIG. 15 is a pattern (logical product type pattern) in which a non-driven nozzle of interest is driven by non-ejection driving when the nozzle adjacent to the nozzle of interest is a driving nozzle. Pattern 1 sets the non-drive nozzles to non-ejection drive when both the left and right nozzles n-1 and n + 1 of the target nozzle n are drive nozzles, and Pattern 2 sets the two nozzles n on the left and right of the target nozzle n -2,
When n-1, n + 1, and n + 2 are all drive nozzles, the non-drive nozzles are set to non-ejection drive. This logical product type pattern is suitable when the ambient temperature is room temperature.

In patterns 3 and 4 shown in FIG. 16, when the nozzle adjacent to the target nozzle n is the non-drive nozzle, the nozzle adjacent to the target nozzle n as the drive nozzle is driven by the non-ejection drive. The pattern 3 is a logical sum pattern. The pattern 3 has one non-driving nozzle n-1 and n + 1 on the left and right sides of the target nozzle n in non-ejection drive, and the pattern 4 has two nozzles n- left and right on the target nozzle n. 2, n-
1, n + 1 and n + 2 are non-ejection drives. This OR pattern is suitable when the ambient temperature is relatively high.

Further, in addition to the logical product type pattern and the logical sum type pattern, a drive waveform that does not eject ink droplets is always given to non-drive nozzles regardless of whether they are non-drive or drive. A non-ejection drive pattern (this is referred to as a “constant pattern”) can also be used. This fixed pattern is suitable when the ambient temperature is relatively low.

As described above, by providing a plurality of reference patterns,
By switching this in accordance with the environmental temperature, optimal printing can be stably performed.

Next, the operation of the channel selection circuit 105 for performing such non-ejection driving will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the normal case, FIG.
As shown in (a), a drive waveform P is applied to the common electrode com of the head in accordance with the reference timing signal STB, and m-bit serial data is clocked as shown in FIG. After that, by activating the latch signal as shown in FIG.
The m-bit data of the shift register is simultaneously latched by the latch circuit, and it is determined whether or not a drive waveform is applied to the piezoelectric element PZT.

When the above-mentioned channel n of interest is not driven and the channels n-1 and n + 1 on both sides are driven, the output of the bit of the channel n of interest is "0" and the transistor is in an open (non-conductive) state. Channel n
When the output of the -1 and n + 1 bits is "1", the transistor is closed (conductive).

On the other hand, in the present invention, the data creation unit 1
00, non-ejection drive data as well as print data and clock signals and latch signals necessary for transferring and latching them are created as serial data, and the drive waveform P is applied to the common electrode com of the head as shown in FIG. Is applied in accordance with the reference timing signal STB, non-ejection data is transferred as shown in FIG. 2B, and the shift register 111 latches the data from the shift register 111 with the latch signal shown in FIG. The drive waveform is applied to the non-drive channel n and the drive channels n−1 and n + 1 as shown in FIGS.

At the same time, the print data is transferred to the shift register 111 at the timing after the non-ejection data is latched by the latch circuit 112 as shown in FIGS. From the shift register 1 by the latch signal at the timing when the delay time td has passed since
11 is latched by the latch circuit 112.
At this time, the bit of the non-drive channel n of the non-ejection drive data changes to “0” according to the printing data.

For this reason, in the non-drive channel n, the switch transistor is closed by the non-ejection drive data and the switch transistor is opened while the drive waveform rises as shown in FIG. Then, the potential V1 of the drive waveform at that time is held as it is, and when the drive waveform falls thereafter, discharging is performed by the diode in parallel with the transistor, and a gradually decreasing waveform is given.

Therefore, a specific example of the data creation unit 100 and its operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
9 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of the data creation unit 100. The data creation unit 100 creates and outputs non-ejection drive data according to the AND pattern 1 in FIG.

That is, the data creation unit 100 includes m-bit parallel-serial conversion means 121 for performing parallel-to-serial conversion of the printing data loaded from the image memory by the load signal LOAD1, and this parallel-serial conversion means 121.
, A non-ejection drive data creating means 122 comprising a logic circuit for creating non-ejection drive data based on each bit data 1d, 2d,.
Non-ejection drive data output from the load signal LOA
M-bit parallel-serial conversion means 123 which is loaded at D2 and performs parallel-to-serial conversion.

The parallel-serial conversion means 12
The serial data (printing data) SD1 output from the serial clock SCLK1 from 1 and the serial data (non-ejection drive data) SD2 output from the parallel-serial conversion means 123 by the serial clock SCLK2 via the OR circuit 124. And outputs the shift clocks SCLK1 and SCLK2 as a serial clock via the OR circuit 125. The latch signal LAT1 for latching the print data and the latch signal LAT2 for latching the non-ejection drive data are output. It is output as a latch signal via the OR circuit 126.

The non-ejection drive data generating means 122 is composed of a plurality of knot circuits 127 and AND circuits 128. The data obtained by inverting the data of channel n by the knot circuit 127 and each of the channels n-1 and n + 1 on both sides of channel n. A logical product of the data and the AND circuit 128 is obtained. For example, regarding the channel of the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data, the data obtained by inverting the data 5d and the bit b
Since the logical product of each of the data 4d and 6d of 4 and b6 is calculated,
Data 5d of bit b5 of printing data SD1 is "0"
(Non-drive channel), bits b4 and b on both sides
If the data 4d, 6d of No. 6 is "1" (drive channel), "1" is loaded into the bit b5 of the non-ejection drive data SD2, and the drive is performed without ejecting ink droplets to the non-drive channel corresponding to the bit b5. A waveform will be provided.

The timing of each part of the data creating section 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 20. The printing data read from the image memory as shown in FIG.
The load signal LOAD1 shown in FIG. 9 loads the parallel-serial conversion means 121, and the load signal LOAD2 shown in FIG.
, The corresponding bit of the parallel-serial conversion unit 123 is replaced by the non-ejection drive data creation unit 122 according to the pattern 1 in FIG.

Therefore, the parallel-serial conversion means 12 uses the serial clock SCLK2 shown in FIG.
3 to the non-ejection drive data SD2 as shown in FIG.
Is transferred to the shift register 111 of the channel selection circuit 105, and then, as shown in FIG.
2 is output and the latch circuit 1 of the channel selection circuit 105 is output.
12 latches the non-ejection drive data SD2.

Next, the parallel-serial conversion means 12 is controlled by the serial clock SCLK1 shown in FIG.
After transferring the printing data SD1 to the shift register 111 of the channel selection circuit 105 as shown in FIG. 1H, the latch signal LAT1 is output as shown in FIG. The print data SD1 is latched by the latch circuit 112.

Next, second to fourth examples of the data creation unit 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 21 is a main part block diagram illustrating a second example of the data creation unit 100. In this data creation unit 100, the AND of FIG.
The non-ejection drive data according to the mold pattern 2 is created and output.

That is, the non-ejection drive data creating means 12
2 is composed of a plurality of knot circuits 127 and AND circuits 128. Data obtained by inverting the data of channel n by the knot circuit 127 and each of two channels n-1, n-2, n + 1, n + 2 on both sides of channel n. A logical product of the data and the AND circuit 128 is obtained. For example, regarding the channel of the data 5d of the bit b5 of the print data, the data obtained by inverting the data 5d and the bits b3, b4, b6, b
7 and the respective data 3d, 4d, 6d, 7d, the two bits b3, b4 on both sides when the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data SD1 is "0" (non-drive channel). , B6, b7 data 3d, 4d, 6
If both d and 7d are “1” (drive channel), “1” is loaded into bit b5 of non-ejection drive data SD2, and non-ejection not ejecting ink droplets to the non-drive channel corresponding to bit b5. A drive waveform will be given.

FIG. 22 is a main block diagram showing a third example of the data creation unit 100. As shown in FIG. The data creation unit 100 creates and outputs non-ejection drive data according to the OR pattern 3 in FIG. That is, the non-ejection drive data creation means 122 is composed of a plurality of OR circuits 129, and the channel n-1 and n + 1, n + 1
Is ORed by the OR circuit 129 with each of the data. For example, regarding the channel of the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data, since the logical sum of the data 5d and the data 4d and 6d of the bits b4 and b6 is obtained, the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data SD1 is "1". "(Drive channel), the data 4d and 6d are both replaced with" 1 "even if the bits b4 and b6 on both sides are non-drive channels, and ink droplets are placed on the non-drive channels corresponding to the bits b4 and b6. , A non-ejection drive waveform that does not eject.

FIG. 23 is a main block diagram showing a fourth example of the data creation unit 100. As shown in FIG. The data creation unit 100 creates and outputs non-ejection drive data according to the OR pattern 4 in FIG. That is, the non-ejection drive data creation means 122 is composed of a plurality of OR circuits 129, and the two channels n-2,
The data of n-1, n + 1, n + 2 and the OR circuit 129
And is ORed. For example, regarding the channel of the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data, the data 5d and the data 3d, 4d, 6 of the bits b3, b4, b6, and b7
When the data 5d of the bit b5 of the printing data SD1 is "1" (driving channel), the two bits b3, b4, b6, and b7 on both sides are non-driving channels. Even if there is data 3d, 4d, 6d, 7
d is replaced with “1”, and bits b3, b4, b
A non-ejection drive waveform that does not eject ink droplets is given to the non-drive channels corresponding to 6 and b7.

Next, an embodiment in which the plurality of reference patterns are provided and switching is performed in accordance with the environmental temperature will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a signal from the thermistor 131 that detects the environmental temperature is input to the control signal generator 101, and the control signal generator 101 follows pattern 1 (and / or pattern 2) based on the detected environmental temperature. A data creation unit 132 for creating non-ejection drive data, a data creation unit 133 for creating non-ejection drive data in accordance with pattern 3 (and / or pattern 4), and a data creation unit for directly using print data as non-ejection drive data 134 is selected.

The non-ejection drive data generators 132 and 13 output from the control signal generator 101 based on the environmental temperature.
A non-ejection level setting signal for setting a non-ejection drive level (the voltage V1 of the above-described drive waveform) is output to 3, 134 to change the timing of a latch signal for latching printing data. . When the rising time constant of the drive waveform is changed in accordance with the environmental temperature, the non-ejection drive level changes in accordance with the environmental temperature even if the timing of the latch signal for latching the print data is the same.

The configuration and the drive waveform of the head drive circuit are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, as long as ink droplets can be stably ejected.
Any shape such as a (sine) waveform may be used. Also,
The present invention can also be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet head using an electrothermal converting element as an energy generating element instead of an electromechanical converting element such as a piezoelectric element.

[0096]

As described above, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the energy of the non-driving nozzle is supplied to the energy generating means of the driving nozzle of the ink jet head at the timing of applying the driving energy for discharging the ink droplet. Non-discharge driving energy that does not discharge ink droplets is given to the generating means, so that the increase in the ink liquid chamber in the non-drive channel can be canceled to prevent defective ink droplet discharge due to the drawing in of bubbles, and stable printing. Can be performed to improve image quality.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 2, in the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 1,
With reference to the driving and non-driving patterns of one or more nozzles adjacent to the non-driving nozzle, if the patterns match, the non-ejection driving energy that does not cause the energy generation means of the non-driving nozzle to eject ink droplets Because of the provision, the increase of the ink liquid chamber in the non-drive channel can be canceled to prevent the ink droplet ejection failure due to the drawing in of the air bubbles, and the stable printing can be performed, and the image quality is improved.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect,
Since a configuration having a plurality of patterns to be referred to is adopted, it is possible to cope with a change in environmental temperature.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 4, in the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 3,
Since the configuration is provided with a pattern that performs logical operation with the logical sum of the driving nozzles, stable printing can be performed when the ambient temperature is relatively high, the head rigidity and ink viscosity are soft, and bubbles are likely to enter. Image quality is improved.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 5, in the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 3,
A configuration is provided with a pattern that performs logical operation with the logical product of the driving nozzles, so stable printing can be performed when the ambient temperature is relatively low, head rigidity and ink viscosity are high, and air bubbles are difficult to enter. Image quality is improved.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 6, in the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 3,
A pattern is provided for always providing a driving energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle regardless of driving or non-driving of one or more adjacent nozzles. When the ink viscosity is standard, stable printing can be performed, and the image quality is improved.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the seventh aspect, in the ink jet recording apparatus of any one of the third to sixth aspects, the pattern to be referred to is selected in accordance with the environmental temperature. Non-ejection driving energy can be given in an optimum pattern, stable printing can be performed, and image quality is improved.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of claim 8, in the ink jet recording apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, the driving energy applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle is changed according to the environmental temperature. With this configuration, it is possible to provide the optimal non-ejection driving energy according to the environmental temperature, to perform stable printing, and to improve the image quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a mechanism section of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet head used for a recording head of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an essential part of the head in a direction orthogonal to a channel direction.

FIG. 5 is an essential part cross-sectional view of the head in a channel direction.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control unit of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a head drive circuit of the control unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a waveform generation circuit of the head drive circuit.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a driving waveform generator and a low impedance output circuit of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a Vp control unit in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a channel selection circuit of the head drive circuit.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for describing an increase in the volume of an ink liquid chamber between adjacent channels by a general driving method;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a change in each unit when a general driving method is used.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a change in each part when the head driving method according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining reference patterns having different non-drive / drive nozzles.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another different reference pattern of the non-drive / drive nozzle.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram provided for describing a general operation of a channel selection circuit;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for describing an operation of a channel selection circuit when a drive waveform that does not eject ink droplets is given to a non-drive channel.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a data creation unit.

20 is an explanatory diagram serving to explain the operation of the data creation unit in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a main part block diagram showing a second example of the data creation unit;

FIG. 22 is a main part block diagram showing a third example of the data creation unit.

FIG. 23 is a main part block diagram showing a fourth example of the data creation unit;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 carriage, 6 recording head, 15 main scanning motor, 21 platen, 28 sub scanning motor, 45 piezoelectric element, 57 diaphragm, 59 nozzle plate, 61 pressurized liquid chamber (ink liquid chamber) ), 64: nozzle, 100: data generator, 101: control signal generator, 102: head driver, 103: waveform generator, 104: low impedance output circuit, 105: channel selector, 121: print data Parallel-serial conversion means, 122: non-ejection drive data creation means, 123: parallel-serial conversion means for non-ejection drive data.

Claims (8)

[Claims] A plurality of nozzles for discharging ink droplets; and a plurality of liquid chambers communicating with the respective nozzles. The energy generating means corresponding to each nozzle is driven to change the volume of the liquid chamber. In an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles, an energy generating means for a non-driving nozzle is provided at a timing at which driving energy for ejecting ink droplets is applied to an energy generating means for a driving nozzle of the ink jet head. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a driving energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected is applied to the recording medium. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pattern of one or a plurality of nozzles adjacent to the non-drive nozzle is referred to as a drive / non-drive pattern. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a driving energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected is applied to an energy generating means. 3. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of said reference patterns are provided. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a pattern for performing a logical operation by a logical sum of driving nozzles as the reference pattern. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a pattern for performing a logical operation by a logical product of driving nozzles as the reference pattern. 6. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reference pattern is always applied to the energy generation means of the non-drive nozzles irrespective of the drive or non-drive of one or more adjacent nozzles. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a pattern for providing a drive energy that does not cause ink droplets to be ejected. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a pattern to be used is selected according to an environmental temperature. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving energy applied to the energy generating means of the non-driving nozzle is changed according to the environmental temperature. .