Injection head and injection device

Abstract

An injector head comprises: a plurality of injector modules, each comprising an injector driver element and an injector heater, the injector heater being connectable to the injector driver element; a plurality of circulator modules each arranged in pairs with the injector module and including a circulator driver element and a circulator heater connectable with the circulator driver element; a group selection circuit configured to select at least one injector group from among injector groups divided by a predetermined number of the plurality of injector modules, and select at least one circulator group from among circulator groups divided by the predetermined number of the plurality of circulator modules; and a control unit configured to determine whether to enable each of the selections by the group selection circuit based on an operation mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] One aspect of the embodiments relates to a nozzle and spraying device for spraying liquid while circulating the liquid. Background Technology

[0002] In conventional circulating liquid jetting devices that circulate liquid (also known as ink), a type of liquid jetting device is known in which a circulator driver element, in addition to an ejector driver element for ejecting ink, circulates the ink in a circulation channel communicating with the ejection orifice. International Publication No. WO2018 / 190872 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) discloses a technique for freely and individually selecting each of the ejector driver element and the circulator driver element. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of an embodiment, a nozzle head includes: an injector module including an injector driver element and an injector heater, the injector heater being connectable to the injector driver element; a circulator module arranged in pairs with the injector module and including a circulator driver element and a circulator heater, the circulator heater being connectable to the circulator driver element; a group selection circuit configured to select at least one injector group from a plurality of injector modules divided into a predetermined number of injector groups, and to select at least one circulator group from a plurality of circulator modules divided into the predetermined number of circulator groups; and a control unit configured to determine, based on an operating mode, whether to enable each of the selections made by the group selection circuit.

[0004] The disclosed features will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of embodiments is by way of example. Attached Figure Description

[0005] Figure 1A This is a schematic perspective view of a liquid jetting device, in which a main ink tank, serving as a liquid reservoir, is located outside the liquid jetting head.

[0006] Figure 1B This is a schematic perspective view of a liquid jetting device, in which an auxiliary tank is positioned directly above the liquid jetting head;

[0007] Figure 2A This is an exploded perspective view of the liquid jet head in Figure 1.

[0008] Figure 2B This is a view showing an example of a sprayer element plate formed by four colors.

[0009] Figure 2C This is a view showing an example of a sprayer element plate formed by two colors.

[0010] Figure 2D This is a view showing an example of each color forming a plate of injector elements.

[0011] Figure 3 It is shown Figures 2A to 2D A diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the injector component board.

[0012] Figure 4A It is shown Figure 3 A diagram illustrating an example of the internal wiring configuration in the control data supply circuit.

[0013] Figure 4B It is shown Figure 4A Examples of circuit configurations for circulator group selection circuits and Figure 4A A diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration for the injector group selection circuit.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a plan view of the injector component plate.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a plan view of the injector component plate.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a plan view of the injector component plate.

[0017] Figure 8 This is a plan view of the injector component plate. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The disclosed embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are necessarily required for the disclosed solutions. Throughout this document, the same constituent elements will be indicated by the same reference numerals.

[0019] (Overview)

[0020] In liquid ejector heads, for example, in some cases, the ink in the ejection orifice thickens due to the evaporation of volatile components from the orifice. This thickening can alter the ink ejection velocity and other parameters, leading to ejection defects, including reduced ink landing accuracy. In particular, during prolonged pauses in ink ejection operation, the ink viscosity increases significantly, and solid components adhere to the interior of the orifice, resulting in increased ink flow resistance and making ejection defects more likely.

[0021] As one solution to this liquid thickening phenomenon, a method for supplying fresh liquid to the injection orifices in the liquid chamber is known. As a means of supplying the liquid, a pump located on the main body side, separate from the fluid mold used to perform the injection, is used to generate a pressure differential, thereby causing the liquid to circulate within the head. As another means, a method is known in which the fluid mold itself includes a circulator element for circulating the liquid. Regarding the circulator element of the fluid mold itself, a method is also known that uses a heating element to generate bubbles, thereby circulating the liquid (referred to as Case 1). For Case 1, a structure has been disclosed in which the fluid mold includes a flow energy generating element (hereinafter also referred to as a circulator driver element), and causes the liquid to circulate in each of the channels extending through the array of injection orifices, while simultaneously causing the liquid to flow between the two ends of each channel through each of the injection orifices in the array.

[0022] In Case 1, address lines are assigned to each of the jet energy generating element (hereinafter also referred to as the injector driver element) and the circulator driver element. If an address is simply assigned to each driver element, each driver element may require driving data, and the amount of data increases with the number of driver elements. As an example of a solution to this, there is a conceivable configuration for automatically selecting the circulator driver element based on a bit selection for the injector driver element. Specifically, when using both an injector heater on selection signal and a time-division selection signal, if the injector heater on selection signal is "1", the above configuration selects the injector heater, and if the signal is "0", the pump heater (hereinafter also referred to as the circulator heater) is selected. However, as a result of the inventors' research, it has been found that this configuration inevitably selects the circulator driver element while driving the injector driver element, and therefore cannot drive one of these elements independently.

[0023] To address this problem, this disclosure includes a group selection circuit that selects at least one injector group from a predetermined number of injector groups comprised of multiple injector modules. Additionally, the group selection circuit selects at least one circulator group from a predetermined number of circulator groups comprised of multiple circulator modules. Then, it is determined whether to enable each selection made by the group selection circuit based on the operating mode. According to this control, either the injector driver element or the circulator driver element can be driven independently. This disclosure will be described in detail below.

[0024] (Liquid jetting equipment 50)

[0025] Figure 1A and Figure 1B This is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall structure of the liquid injection device 50. Figure 1AThis is a schematic perspective view of a liquid jetting device 50, in which the main ink tank 2, which serves as a liquid reservoir, is disposed outside the liquid jetting head 1. Figure 1B This is a schematic perspective view of a liquid jetting device 50, in which a secondary ink tank 54 is positioned directly above the liquid jetting head 1. First, the description... Figure 1A and Figure 1B The commonalities.

[0026] The liquid jetting apparatus 50 includes a liquid jetting head 1 and transport rollers 55, 56, 57, and 58. The liquid jetting head 1 is capable of scanning along a direction X intersecting the direction Y in which the jet receiving medium P is transported. The liquid jetting head 1 is mounted on a carriage 60. The carriage 60 reciprocates along a guide shaft 51 in the main scanning direction (also referred to as direction X). The transport rollers 55, 56, 57, and 58 transport the jet receiving medium P in a secondary scanning direction (also referred to as the transport direction Y) intersecting (or orthogonal in this embodiment) the main scanning direction. In other words, the liquid jetting apparatus 50 constitutes a serial inkjet liquid jetting apparatus by jetting liquid from the liquid jetting head 1 onto the jet receiving medium P being transported along the transport direction Y while simultaneously scanning along direction X. It should be noted that the disclosed applications are not limited to serial inkjet liquid jetting apparatuses. Using a longer linear head (page-width head) in the page-width direction of the jet receiving medium P, this disclosure can be applied to page-width inkjet liquid jetting equipment to jet liquid onto the jet receiving medium P being conveyed along the transport direction Y. Figure 1A and Figure 1B In this context, direction Z indicates the vertical direction. Specifically, direction Z is the direction that intersects (or is orthogonal in the embodiment) the XY plane specified by direction X and transport direction Y.

[0027] The liquid ejector head 1 is capable of ejecting four types of ink: black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) ink. The liquid ejector head 1 can print full-color images by ejecting these four types of ink. It should be noted that the ink ejected from the liquid ejector head 1 is not limited to the four types mentioned above. For example, this disclosure can be applied to a liquid ejector head 1 that ejects another type of ink (such as spot color ink). In general, the type and quantity of ink ejected from the liquid ejector head 1 are not limited.

[0028] Next, we will describe Figure 1A and Figure 1B The different parts between them. In Figure 1AIn this configuration, a secondary ink tank 54 is mounted on the liquid jet head 1. Four ink supply lines (liquid communication paths) 59 are attached to the secondary ink tank 54. The liquid jetting device 50 also includes an ink tank 2 and an external pump 21. The ink tank 2 stores ink. The ink stored in the ink tank 2 is supplied to the secondary ink tank 54 via the four ink supply lines 59 by the driving force of the external pump 21. On the other hand, in Figure 1B In this configuration, the auxiliary ink tank 54 is positioned directly above the liquid injection head 1. Figure 1B In, with Figure 1A The difference is that the ink tank 2 is not located outside the liquid ejector head 1, and therefore the four ink supply pipes 59 and the external pump 21 are not provided. Figure 1A and Figure 1B In both configurations, the liquid ejector head 1 can be integrally formed with the auxiliary ink tank 54, and can be mounted on and detached from the carriage 60. Conversely, in another possible configuration, the liquid ejector head 1 can be integrally formed with the carriage 60, such that only the auxiliary ink tank 54 can be mounted on and detached from the liquid ejector head 1. This will be achieved through the use of... Figure 1A The following description is given based on the structure in the text.

[0029] (Liquid jet head 1)

[0030] Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C and Figure 2D This is a view showing an example of the basic structure of the liquid jet head in Figure 1. Figure 2A This is an exploded perspective view of the liquid jet head 1 in Figure 1.

[0031] Figures 2B to 2D yes Figure 2A An overall view of the ejector element plate 100. The liquid ejector head 1 includes a housing 53, a secondary ink tank 54, and an ejector element unit 500. The secondary ink tank 54 is housed within the housing 53. The ejector element unit 500 is disposed at the bottom portion of the housing 53. Four connectors, though not shown, are provided on the wall surface of the housing 53; these four connectors will be connected to four ink supply tubes 59 for four corresponding types of ink. In other words, a separate ink supply path is provided for each type of ink.

[0032] The ejector element unit 500 includes a first support member 505, a second support member 503, an ejector element plate 100, and an electrical wiring member 501. The first support member 505 is provided with an ink supply port and an ink collection portion. The second support member 503 is provided with an opening. The ejector element plate 100 is fixed to the first support member 505 with adhesive. The first support member 505 is fixed to the second support member 503 with adhesive. The second support member 503 holds the electrical wiring member 501 and the ejector element plate 100, such that the electrical wiring member 501 and the ejector element plate 100 are electrically connected to each other. The electrical wiring member 501 applies electrical signals for ink ejection and for ink circulation to the ejector element plate 100. The electrical signals for ink ejection and for ink circulation will be described in detail later.

[0033] Figure 2B An example is shown where each of the four colors forms a single injector element plate 100. These four colors are, for example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and separate arrays are formed for each color. Each array extends along the transport direction Y and is arranged at intervals in the direction X. The plurality of injection orifices included in each array are arranged at fixed intervals along the Y direction. The injection orifices in each array can be arranged in a single row along the Y direction without any gaps in the X direction. Alternatively, a total of five arrays can be arranged for the four colors: two arrays for black; and three arrays for the other three corresponding colors. Figure 2C An example is shown where each pair of colors forms one injector element plate 100. Two injector element plates 100 can be mounted on one liquid nozzle 1. Alternatively, two liquid nozzles 1 can be prepared, with one injector element plate 100 mounted on each nozzle. Figure 2D An example is shown where each color forms one injector element plate 100. Four injector element plates 100 can be mounted on one liquid nozzle 1. Alternatively, four liquid nozzles 1 can be prepared, with one injector element plate 100 mounted on each nozzle. Figure 2C and Figure 2D In the case of preparing multiple inkjet element boards 100 as shown, the lengths of the inkjet element boards 100 can be different. Furthermore, any of the various combinations of colors can be applied to the inkjet element boards 100, and this also applies to cases where more than four colors are used in total. Below, the reference circuit configuration will be described in detail for the electrical signals used for ink jetting and for ink circulation.

[0034] (Injector component board 100)

[0035] Figure 3 It is shown Figures 2A to 2DA diagram illustrating an example of the circuit configuration of the injector component board 100 is shown. Various signals are supplied to the injector component board 100 from the main board 200. The main board 200 is disposed within the body of the liquid injection device and includes a controller 201 and a power supply circuit 202. The controller 201 includes ROM, RAM, and a CPU as its main components and controls the liquid injection head 1 by supplying various electrical signals to the injector component board 100. The controller 201 supplies the injector component board 100 with an enable signal HE, a clock signal CLK, a data signal DATA, a latch signal LT, an injection flag signal FLAG1, and a cycle flag signal FLAG2. These signals will be described in detail later. The power supply circuit 202 applies a power supply voltage VH to the injector component board 100. The power supply circuit 202 and the injector component board 100 are connected to each other via GNDH. GNDH serves as ground potential.

[0036] (Overview of cabling)

[0037] The injector component board 100 includes multiple injector modules 101, multiple circulator modules 102, and a control data supply circuit 103. Each circulator module 102 is arranged in pair with an injector module 101. Therefore, the number of circulator modules 102 is the same as the number of injector modules 101. Injector group selection signal wiring 106, circulator group selection signal wiring 107, and time-division selection signal wiring 108 are routed between the multiple injector modules 101 and the control data supply circuit 103. Injector group selection signal wiring 106, circulator group selection signal wiring 107, and time-division selection signal wiring 108 are also routed between the multiple circulator modules 102 and the control data supply circuit 103.

[0038] (Injector Module 101)

[0039] Each injector module 101 includes an injector heater RhA, an injector driver element MD1, and an injector logic circuit AND1. The injector heater RhA is formed, for example, by an electrothermal transducer element. When a voltage is applied to the injector heater RhA from the power supply voltage VH, current flows into the injector heater RhA if the injector driver element MD1 is in the on state. The injector driver element MD1 is formed, for example, by a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Alternatively, the injector driver element MD1 can be formed by elements other than a MOSFET. For example, the injector driver element MD1 can be formed by a bipolar transistor. Alternatively, the injector driver element MD1 can also be formed by an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). The injector logic circuit AND1 selectively drives the injector driver element MD1. An enable signal HE, an injector group selection signal, and an injector time-division selection signal are input to the input side of the injector logic circuit AND1. The enable signal HE is transmitted from the controller 201. The enable signal HE controls the current pulse width of the injector driver element MD1, or more specifically, the duration for which current continues to flow between the drain and source of the injector driver element MD1 after the drain and source of the injector driver element MD1 becomes on. The enable signal HE is used to adjust the current pulse width to generate the desired thermal energy while taking into account various manufacturing deviations. These various manufacturing deviations include, for example, manufacturing deviations between the resistance values ​​of the injector heater RhA mounted on the injector element board 100, and manufacturing deviations in the power supply circuit 202. Additionally, these various manufacturing deviations also include voltage drops in the power supply side wiring during the simultaneous driving of multiple heaters (such as injector heater RhA and circulator heater RhB). The heaters to be driven simultaneously, as mentioned herein, are injector heater RhA and circulator heater RhB, with the circulator heater positioned in a location not paired with the aforementioned injector heater RhA. The enable signal HE can be transmitted from the controller 201 via an external connection terminal (not shown) provided to the injector element board 100. An injector group selection signal is supplied from injector group selection signal wiring 106. The time-division selection signal is supplied from time-division selection signal wiring 108. The output side of the ejector logic circuit AND1 is connected to the gate of the ejector driver element MD1. Therefore, when all signals input from the input side of the ejector logic circuit AND1 are 1, a voltage is applied to the gate of the ejector driver element MD1, and the drain-source of the ejector driver element MD1 becomes on. If the drain-source of the ejector driver element MD1 is on, current flows into the ejector heater RhA, and the ejector heater RhA generates heat. Through this series of operations, ink is bubbled and then ejected, allowing ink to be ejected onto the ejection receiving medium P.Although the example described above of an ejector heater RhA being formed from an electrothermal transducer element is described, the ejector heater RhA is not particularly limited thereto. For example, the ejector heater RhA can be formed from a piezoelectric element.

[0040] (Circulator Module 102)

[0041] Each circulator module 102 includes a circulator heater RhB, a circulator driver element MD2, and a circulator logic circuit AND2. The circulator heater RhB is formed, for example, by an electrothermal transducer element. When a voltage is applied to the circulator heater RhB from the power supply voltage VH, current flows into the circulator heater RhB if the circulator driver element MD2 is in the on state. The circulator driver element MD2 is formed, for example, by a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Alternatively, the circulator driver element MD2 can be formed by a transistor other than a MOSFET. For example, the circulator driver element MD2 can be formed by a bipolar transistor. Alternatively, the circulator driver element MD2 can also be formed by an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). The circulator logic circuit AND2 selectively drives the circulator driver element MD2. An enable signal HE, a circulator group selection signal, and a circulator time-division selection signal are input to the input side of the circulator logic circuit AND2. The enable signal HE is emitted from the controller 201. The enable signal HE controls the current pulse width of the circulator driver element MD2, or more specifically, the period of time during which current continues to flow between the drain and source of the circulator driver element MD2 after the drain and source of the circulator driver element MD2 becomes on. The enable signal HE is used to adjust the current pulse width to generate the desired thermal energy while taking into account various manufacturing deviations. These various manufacturing deviations include, for example, manufacturing deviations between the resistance values ​​of the circulator heater RhB mounted on the injector element board 100, and manufacturing deviations in the power supply circuit 202. Additionally, these various manufacturing deviations also include voltage drops in the power supply side wiring during the simultaneous driving of multiple heaters (such as the circulator heater RhB and the injector heater RhA). The enable signal HE can be emitted from the controller 201 via an external connection terminal (not shown) provided to the injector element board 100. A circulator group selection signal is supplied from circulator group selection signal wiring 107. A time-division selection signal is supplied from time-division selection signal wiring 108. The output side of the circulator logic circuit AND2 is connected to the gate of the circulator driver element MD2. Therefore, when all signals input from the input side of the circulator logic circuit AND2 are 1, a voltage is applied to the gate of the circulator driver element MD2, and the drain-source of the circulator driver element MD2 becomes on. If the drain-source of the circulator driver element MD2 is on, current flows into the circulator heater RhB, and the circulator heater RhB generates heat. Through this series of operations, ink bubbles grow, allowing a circulating flow to be generated in the ink circulation channel. Although the example of the circulator heater RhB being formed by an electrothermal transducer element has been described above, the circulator heater RhB is not particularly limited to this. For example, the circulator heater RhB can be formed by a piezoelectric element.

[0042] Here, regarding the aforementioned enable signal HE, in order to reduce the number of signal terminals, a single enable signal HE is shared for both injection and circulation purposes. This means that the current pulse width cannot be independently controlled for either injection or circulation. Therefore, assuming that the injector heater RhA and the circulator heater RhB are manufactured in the same batch of semiconductor manufacturing processes and with the same manufacturing tolerance (the amount of deviation of the resistance value from the ideal value), the current pulse width can be adjusted using a single enable signal HE.

[0043] (Control data supply circuit 103)

[0044] Figure 4A and Figure 4B It is shown Figure 3 A diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the control data supply circuit 103. Figure 4A It is shown Figure 3 A diagram illustrating an example of the internal wiring configuration in the control data supply circuit 103. Figure 4B It is shown Figure 4A Example of circuit configuration for circulator group selection circuit 113 and Figure 4A A diagram illustrating an example circuit configuration of the injector group selection circuit 112 is shown. The control data supply circuit 103 includes shift registers 120a and 120b, latch circuits 121a and 121b, a decoder circuit 122, a circulator group selection circuit 113, and the injector group selection circuit 112. The control data supply circuit 103 is provided with external connection terminals. A clock signal CLK, a data signal DATA, a latch signal LT, an injection flag signal FLAG1, and a circulator flag signal FLAG2 are supplied from the controller 201 to the control data supply circuit 103 via these external connection terminals. The clock signal CLK is used for serial data transmission of the data signal DATA to the shift registers 120a and 120b. The data signal DATA contains selection information for the injector module 101 and the circulator module 102. The latch signal LT is used by the latch circuits 121a and 121b to acquire and retain the information stored in the shift registers 120a and 120b respectively during the latching cycle. The decoder circuit 122, the circulator group selection circuit 113, and the ejector group selection circuit 112 will be described in detail later.

[0045] (Drive control of injector heater RhA)

[0046] A description of the drive control of ejector heaters RhA based on ejector heater array 109 will be given. Ejector heater array 109 comprises m groups. Each group comprises n ejector heaters RhA. Each ejector heater RhA is arranged directly below the ink ejection orifice. When a group is selected, the n ejector heaters RhA in that group operate one after another in a time-division manner. Here, a description of the drive control of ejector heaters RhA arranged at a density of 600 dpi per inch (n = 16 heaters) × (m = 40 groups) in the ejector heater array will be given.

[0047] (Time-division control within a group)

[0048] Injector heaters RhA are included in each injector module 101, as described above. A group includes n injector heaters RhA. Therefore, a group includes n injector modules 101. Since n is assumed to be equal to 16, the 16 injector modules 101 are driven in a time-division manner according to the time-division selection signal. Time-division driving means controlling the division of a time period of one injection cycle into n = 16 time units and sequentially selecting one injector module 101 in each divided time unit. Here, two or more injector modules 101 in the same group are not selected simultaneously. All injector modules 101 included in the same group are selected once in one injection cycle. In this time-division driving, in one embodiment, one line of the time-division selection signal wiring 108 is selected. Therefore, the configuration of the decoder circuit 122 included in the control data supply circuit 103 makes it possible to further reduce the amount of data serially transmitted from the motherboard 200.

[0049] (Decoder circuit 122; Time-division control)

[0050] Decoder circuit 122 is used to expand q-bit input data to 2. q The circuit for outputting 16-bit data. Specifically, if 4-bit input data is input to the decoder circuit 122, the decoder circuit 122 converts the 4-bit input data into 16-bit (=2 to the power of 4) output data. Here, the output data of the decoder circuit 122 is output as 1 bit of 16 bits enabled information. This allows time-division driving to be performed. Here, in one embodiment, unless for a specific purpose, all lines of the time-division selection signal wiring 108 from the decoder circuit 122 to its output data are used for time-division selection signals in terms of input data utilization efficiency. As the amount of data to be serially transmitted increases, faster serial transmission may be required in one embodiment. Since such faster serial transmission leads to an increase in cost and size of signal transmission circuits, signal receiving circuits, and transmission lines in the motherboard 200 and injector component board 100, the amount of data is minimized as much as possible in one embodiment.

[0051] (Group selection control)

[0052] The control data supply circuit 103 outputs an m-bit injector group selection signal for selectively driving any one of the m groups. When selecting one group from the m groups, n injector modules 101 included in that group can be selected simultaneously. The motherboard 200 serially transmits m-bit information, where m equals the number of groups. As described above, in response to inputting the enable signal HE, the injector group selection signal, and the time-division selection signal to the injector logic circuit AND1, the injector module 101 is selected and controlled, causing current to flow into the injector heater RhA located at the corresponding position. Although an example assuming n = 16 and m = 40 is described in the embodiment, the disclosure is not particularly limited thereto. For example, n = 8 and m = 80 can be set. Alternatively, the nozzle length can be different from the nozzle length in the embodiment, and n = 32 and m = 40, etc., can be set. However, since n specifies the number of time divisions, in one embodiment n is expressed as a value that is a power of 2 (n = 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, ...) so that the output signal from the decoder circuit 122 can be used as a selection signal.

[0053] (Drive control of circulator module 102)

[0054] A description of the drive control of the circulator heaters RhB based on the circulator heater array 110 will be given. Similar to the injector heater array 109, the circulator heater array 110 comprises m groups. Also similar to the injector heater array 109, each group comprises n circulator heaters RhB. Each circulator heater RhB is arranged in pairs near the injector heaters RhA. When a group is selected, the n circulator heaters RhB in that group operate one after another in a time-division manner. Here, a description of the drive control of the (n = 16 heaters) × (m = 40 groups) circulator heaters RhB will be given.

[0055] (Time-division control within a group)

[0056] A circulator heater RhB is included in each circulator module 102, as described above. A group includes n circulator heaters RhB. Therefore, a group includes n circulator modules 102. Since n is assumed to be equal to 16, 16 circulator modules 102 are driven in a time-division manner according to the time-division selection signal, wherein the number of time divisions is the same as in the injector module 101. A decoder circuit 122 is included in the control data supply circuit 103 to reduce the amount of data that will be serially transmitted from the motherboard 200 as a time-division selection signal.

[0057] (Group selection control)

[0058] The control data supply circuit 103 outputs an m-bit circulator group selection signal for selectively driving any one of the m groups. When selecting one group from the m groups, n circulator modules 102 included in that group can be selected simultaneously. The motherboard 200 serially transmits m bits of information, the same number as the number of groups. As described above, in response to inputting the enable signal HE, the circulator group selection signal, and the time-division selection signal to the circulator logic circuit AND2, the circulator module 102 is selected and controlled, causing current to flow into the circulator heater RhB located at the corresponding position. The circulator group selection signal is transmitted from the circulator group selection circuit 113 via the circulator group selection signal wiring 107. The circulator group selection circuit 113 is included in the control data supply circuit 103.

[0059] (Circulator group selection circuit 113)

[0060] The circulator group selection circuit 113 generates a circulator group selection signal based on the selection information in the group selection generation signal. For example... Figure 4B As shown, the circulator group selection circuit 113 includes a NOT circuit and an AND circuit. The result of a logical AND operation between the NOT circuit (which inverts the group selection generation signal obtained from the group selection generation signal wiring 105) and the circulator flag signal FLAG2 obtained from the circulator flag signal wiring 115) is processed as follows: Specifically, the result of the logical AND is output to the circulator group selection signal wiring 107 as the circulator group selection signal. Therefore, when the injector module 101 is selected, the circulator module 102 is not selected. On the other hand, when the injector module 101 is not selected and the circulator flag signal FLAG2 is high, the circulator module 102 is selected. The group selection generation signal obtained from the group selection generation signal wiring 105 is a signal obtained from the latch circuit 121b. The information held in the latch circuit 121b is information obtained from the shift register 120b. The information held in the shift register 120b is information obtained from the data signal DATA. In other words, the data signal DATA contains the selection information from the group selection generation signal.

[0061] (Injector group selection circuit 112)

[0062] The injector group selection circuit 112 generates an injector group selection signal based on the selection information in the group selection generation signal. For example... Figure 4BAs shown, the injector group selection circuit 112 includes an AND circuit. The result of a logical AND operation between the group selection generation signal obtained from the group selection generation signal wiring 105 and the injection flag signal FLAG1 obtained from the injection flag signal wiring 114 is processed as follows. Specifically, the result of the logical AND operation is output to the injector group selection signal wiring 106 as an injector group selection signal. Therefore, injector module 101 is selected when injector module 101 is selected and the injection flag signal FLAG1 is high. On the other hand, injector module 101 is not selected even if injector module 101 is selected but the injection flag signal FLAG1 is low. In other words, injector module 101 is not selected based on the group.

[0063] Here, the liquid jetting device can be controlled as in the following use case.

[0064] (First use case)

[0065] As a first use case, consider an operating mode that performs normal jetting operations without ink circulation. In this first use case, with the circulation flag signal FLAG2 low (in other words, disabled), selection of the circulator module 102 can be disabled. For example, an operating mode in which the circulator group selection circuit 113 disables selection of the circulator module 102 and the jetter group selection circuit 112 enables selection of the jetter group is set as the first mode. The liquid jetting device can be operated based on the first mode.

[0066] (Second use case)

[0067] As a second use case, consider an operating mode that performs ink cycling without ink ejection. In this second use case, with the ejection flag signal FLAG1 low (in other words, disabled), selection of the ejector module 101 can be disabled. For example, the operating mode in which the ejector group selection circuit 112 disables selection of the ejector group and the circulator group selection circuit 113 enables selection of the circulator module 102 is set as the second mode. The liquid ejection device can be operated based on the second mode.

[0068] (Third use case)

[0069] As a third use case, consider an operating mode that simultaneously performs ink ejection and ink circulation. In this third use case, simultaneous ink ejection and ink circulation are permitted when both the ejection flag signal FLAG1 and the circulation flag signal FLAG2 are high (in other words, enabled). For example, the operating mode in which the circulator group selection circuit 113 enables the selection of the circulator module 102 and the ejector group selection circuit 112 enables the selection of the ejector group is set as the third mode. The liquid ejection device can be operated based on the third mode. In one embodiment, the ejection flag signal FLAG1 and the circulation flag signal FLAG2 are serially transmitted from the body of the liquid ejection device via external connection terminals.

[0070] In this embodiment, a common power supply voltage VH (e.g., 24V) as the power supply voltage and a common ground potential GNDH as the ground potential are connected to the injector module 101 and the circulator module 102. However, to further reduce the fluctuations in injection energy caused by voltage drops during the operation of the injector heater RhA and the circulator heater RhB, the following measures can be taken. Specifically, for each of the power supply voltage and ground potential, the injector component board 100 may be provided with dedicated power supply wiring and external connection terminals for each of the groups consisting of the injector module 101 and the circulator module 102. In other words, the power supply circuit 202 mounted on the main board 200 can supply the power supply voltage and ground potential separately to each of the aforementioned groups.

[0071] Generally, driver elements are operated at voltages higher than those used for logic circuits. Therefore, circuit boards using both high-voltage and standard driver elements are employed. In an embodiment, the injector driver element MD1 and the circulator driver element MD2 can be formed from double-diffused MOSFET (DMOS) transistors, which are high-voltage MOS transistors. Logic circuitry such as the injector logic circuit AND1, the circulator logic circuit AND2, the circulator group selection circuit 113, and other shift registers 120a and 120b, latch circuits 121a and 121b, and the decoder circuit 122 can be formed from low-voltage MOS transistors.

[0072] (Circuit area)

[0073] The drive current for the circulator heater RhB generates heat to circulate the ink in a dedicated channel. When the drive current for the circulator heater RhB is less than the drive current for the ejector heater RhA, which is used to eject the receiving medium, the DMOS transistor used as the circulator heater RhB can have a low-current drive capability. Therefore, in one embodiment, the configuration is such that the area of ​​the circulator driver element MD2 is smaller than the area of ​​the ejector driver element MD1, because it is not necessary for the area of ​​the circulator driver element MD2 to be larger than the area of ​​the ejector driver element MD1.

[0074] (First case of circuit layout)

[0075] Figure 5 This is a plan view of the injector component plate 130. Figure 5 In the example, the two mechanisms of the control data supply circuit 103, each used to selectively control the injector heater array 109 and the circulator heater array 110, are arranged in a point-symmetric manner with respect to the center of the injector element plate 130. Figure 5 In this configuration, three ink supply port arrays 150, each extending along the transport direction Y, are arranged at certain intervals along the direction X. Between two adjacent ink supply port arrays 150, an ejector heater array 109 and a circulator heater array 110 are arranged along the transport direction Y. In each of the regions to the left of the left ink supply port array 150 and to the right of the right ink supply port array 150, the following components are arranged: Specifically, an ejector driver element MD1, a circulator driver element MD2, an ejector logic circuit AND1, a circulator logic circuit AND2, an ejector group selection signal wiring 106, a circulator group selection information wiring 107, and a time-division selection signal wiring 108 are arranged.

[0076] External connection terminals are arranged along direction X at both the upper and lower ends of the injector element plate 130 in the transport direction Y. A control data supply circuit 103 is arranged in each of the areas between the external connection terminals and the ink supply port array 150. Since the area between the external connection terminals and the ink supply port array 150 exists in two locations—an upper position and a lower position in the transport direction Y—two control data supply circuits 103 are arranged at two positions in the transport direction Y, namely, the upper position and the lower position.

[0077] like Figure 5As shown, the ejector element board 130 is configured such that the external connection terminals and the control data supply circuit 103 are arranged at both ends in the delivery direction Y, as described above, and therefore the board size of the ejector element board 130 in the direction X can be made smaller. Assuming that the above-described layout configuration of the ejector element board 130 is considered as a unit, multiple layout configurations defined above can be arranged side by side along the direction X, so that multiple mechanisms for various types of ink can be mounted on one ejector element board 130, although not shown.

[0078] (Second case of circuit configuration)

[0079] Figure 6 This is a plan view of the injector component plate 131. Figure 6 In the diagram, group selection circuit 140 represents a combination of injector group selection circuit 112 and circulator group selection circuit 113. Control data supply circuit 103 is arranged in two locations, namely, the right and left ends of injector element board 131 in the X direction. Figure 5 Compared to the examples in, Figure 6 The injector element plate 131 can be arranged to have a slightly larger plate size in the X direction but a smaller plate size in the Y direction of transport. Additionally, with... Figure 5 Compared to the example in the previous example, the area of ​​the injector element board 131 can be made smaller.

[0080] (Third case of circuit layout)

[0081] Figure 7 This is a plan view of the injector component plate 132. Figure 7 In the injector component plate 132, with Figure 6 Compared to the injector element board 131, the external connection terminals are arranged on a corner side. This layout configuration allows for a reduction in the board size in the Y direction. In the case of a liquid injection head in which multiple chips of the injector element board 132 are mounted along the nozzle array direction, the configuration of not providing external connection terminals on the extension of the nozzle array allows the distance between the injector element boards to be smaller than in other cases, thereby enabling a reduction in the size of the liquid injection head.

[0082] (Fourth case of circuit layout)

[0083] Figure 8 This is a plan view of the injector component plate 133. Figure 8Each unit, including a control data supply circuit 103, an ink supply port array 150, an ejector heater array 109, a circulator heater array 110, and the ink supply port array 150, is arranged side-by-side along the X-direction. This configuration is such that, assuming different types of ink are to be supplied to the ink supply port array 150 in the ejector element board 133, the ink supply port array 150 in one unit is positioned away from the ink supply port array 150 in the other unit. This configuration prevents color mixing of different types of ink during ejection.

[0084] <Other Embodiments>

[0085] The foregoing has presented and described various examples and embodiments of the disclosure, but the spirit and scope of the disclosure should not be limited to the specific descriptions given herein. The disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be modified or altered in various ways. The disclosure can be implemented by combining some features from the above embodiments.

[0086] (Modification 1)

[0087] For example, the above embodiments are described based on the example of injector driver element MD1 and circulator driver element MD2 being formed by DMOS transistors, but the disclosure is not particularly limited thereto. For example, at least one of injector driver element MD1 or circulator driver element MD2 may be formed by silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs.

[0088] (Revised 2)

[0089] Additionally, an example of supplying injection flag signal FLAG1 and cycle flag signal FLAG2 from controller 201 to injector component board 100 is described, but the disclosure is not particularly limited thereto. For example, both injection flag signal FLAG1 and cycle flag signal FLAG2 can be extracted by an internal process in decoder circuit 122. Specifically, decoder circuit 122 may include an injection flag extraction filter and a cycle flag extraction filter. For example, the data signal DATA to be input to decoder circuit 122 is extended in data length and has a flag region. This flag region holds both injection flag signal FLAG1 and cycle flag signal FLAG2. Injection flag signal FLAG1 and cycle flag signal FLAG2 can be extracted from data signal DATA by injection flag extraction filter and cycle flag extraction filter. For example, the cycle flag signal FLAG2 extracted as above can be transmitted to circulator group selection circuit 113 via wiring not shown. For example, the injection flag signal FLAG1 extracted as above can be transmitted to injector group selection circuit 112 via wiring not shown. The transmission timing can be adjusted by using latch signal LT or clock signal CLK.

[0090] The disclosed embodiments can also be implemented by a computer that reads and executes computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more fully referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform the functions of one or more embodiments described above and / or includes one or more circuits (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) for performing the functions of one or more embodiments described above, and by methods executed by the computer of the system or device, such as by reading and executing computer-executable instructions from a storage medium to perform the functions of one or more embodiments described above and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more embodiments described above. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read and execute the computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or a storage medium. Storage media may include one or more of the following: hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), memory of a distributed computing system, optical disc (such as compact disc (CD), digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or Blu-ray disc (BD)™), flash memory device, memory card, etc.

[0091] Other embodiments

[0092] Embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by providing software (including computer program products of computer programs) that performs the functions of the above embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessor unit (MPU) of the system or device) reads and executes the computer program.

[0093] While the disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The scope of the appended claims shall be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

[0094] According to the disclosure, the injector driver element or the circulator driver element can be driven independently.

Claims

1. A spray head, comprising: An injector module, comprising an injector driver element and an injector heater, the injector heater being connectable to the injector driver element; A circulator module, arranged in pairs with the injector module, and including a circulator driver element and a circulator heater, the circulator heater being connectable to the circulator driver element; A group selection circuit is configured to select at least one injector group from a plurality of injector modules divided into a predetermined number of injector groups, and to select at least one circulator group from a plurality of circulator modules divided into the predetermined number of circulator groups. as well as A control unit configured to determine, based on an operating mode, whether to enable each selection made by the group selection circuitry.

2. The injection head according to claim 1, wherein The operating mode includes at least one of the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode. The first mode is a mode that disables the selection of the circulator module by the group selection circuit and enables the selection of the injector module by the group selection circuit. The second mode is a mode that disables the selection of the injector module by the group selection circuit and enables the selection of the circulator module by the group selection circuit. The third mode is a mode that enables the selection of the circulator module by the group selection circuit and also enables the selection of the injector module by the group selection circuit.

3. The injection head according to claim 1, wherein... The group selection circuit includes an injector group selection circuit. The injector group selection circuit includes injectors and circuitry, and The injector and circuit receive inputs of a group selection generation signal and a spray indicator signal, the group selection generation signal specifying the selection of at least one injector group from the injector groups, and the spray indicator signal specifying whether the selection specified in the group selection generation signal is enabled.

4. The injection head according to claim 1, wherein The group selection circuit includes a circulator group selection circuit. The circulator selection circuit includes a circulator and a circuit. The circulator and circuitry receive inputs of a group selection generation signal and a cycle flag signal, the group selection generation signal specifying the selection of at least one circulator group from the circulator groups, and the cycle flag signal specifying whether the selection specified in the group selection generation signal is enabled.

5. The spray head according to claim 3, further comprising: External connection terminals; as well as A shift register, configured to receive and hold the injection mark signal from the external connection terminal, wherein... The injector and circuitry receive an input of the injection flag signal held by the shift register.

6. The spray head according to claim 4, further comprising: External connection terminals; as well as A shift register, configured to receive and hold the cycle flag signal from the external connection terminal, wherein... The circulator and circuitry receive an input of the cyclic flag signal held by the shift register.

7. The injector head of claim 1 further includes a decoder circuit configured to expand the input bits in the input data to the output bits of the output data, wherein the output bits are equal to a number obtained by exponentiation using 2 as the base and the input bits as the exponent, the output bits being used as the number of time divisions to be applied to both the injector driver element and the circulator driver element.

8. The injector head of claim 7, further comprising a second control unit configured to drive the injector driver element in each group of the injector groups according to the number of time divisions, and to drive the circulator driver element in each group of the circulator groups according to the number of time divisions.

9. The injector head of claim 3, further comprising a decoder circuit configured to expand the input bits of the input data to the output bits of the output data, wherein the output bits are equal to a number obtained by exponentiation using 2 as the base and the input bits as the exponent, the output bits serving as the number of time divisions to be applied to both the injector driver element and the circulator driver element, wherein The decoder circuit ensures that the output data retains the injection mark signal extracted from the input data.

10. The injector head of claim 4, further comprising a decoder circuit configured to expand the input bits of the input data to the output bits of the output data, wherein the output bits are equal to a number obtained by exponentiation using 2 as the base and the input bits as the exponent, the output bits serving as the number of time divisions to be applied to both the injector driver element and the circulator driver element, wherein The decoder circuit ensures that the output data retains the loop flag signal extracted from the input data.

11. The injector head according to claim 1, wherein a common power supply voltage and a common ground potential are connected to the injector heater and the circulator heater.

12. The injector head according to claim 1, wherein the injector heater and the circulator heater are manufactured in the same batch of a semiconductor manufacturing process.

13. The injector head according to claim 1, wherein the injector heater and the circulator heater are formed of the same material.

14. A spraying device, comprising: Spray head; A carriage, the carriage being configured to mount the injection head thereon and to reciprocate in the main scanning direction; as well as A conveyor roller, disposed below the carriage and configured to convey the jet receiving medium in the sub-scanning direction, wherein The injection head includes - An injector module, comprising an injector driver element and an injector heater, the injector heater being connectable to the injector driver element. - A circulator module, arranged in pair with the injector module, and including a circulator drive element and a circulator heater, the circulator heater being connectable to the circulator drive element. A selection circuit, configured to select at least one injector group from a plurality of injector modules divided into a predetermined number of injector groups, and to select at least one circulator group from a plurality of circulator modules divided into the predetermined number of circulator groups, and - A control unit configured to determine, based on the operating mode, whether to enable each selection among the selections made by the group selection circuit.

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