JPH07214764A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To embody the reduction of printing shift at a printing boundary part and the enhancement of printing quality by determining the driving sequence of nozzle groups on the basis of printing performed in the nozzle arranging direction with respect to a carriage scanning direction or only in the single direction or both directions with respect to the arranging direction. CONSTITUTION:In the case of single direction printing, the angle formed by a nozzle arranging direction Y and a carriage scanning direction X is changed and three printing scanning operations are performed in this state to print three longitudinal rules corresponding to three scanning widths. A carriage is driven in an A-direction and nozzle groups are successively driven in a B-direction. Next, since the longitudinal rules 1, 3 generate printing shift at a printing boundary part, printing quality is lowered. The longitudinal rule 2 generates inclination in the printing image within one scanning in the same way as the longitudinal rules 1, 3 but the connection of an image becomes smooth because no printing shift is generated at a printing boundary part and image quality deterioration can be improved. Therefore, in the case of single direction printing in nozzle driving sequence wherein the angle formed by the directions X, Y is 90 deg., a method performing driving in a reverse direction at every one scanning printing becomes optimum.

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 in which an ink jet head having a plurality of nozzles is mounted on a carriage that moves relative to a recording medium to perform print recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses have low noise and
Since high-speed printing and recording and high resolution are easy, its use is increasing year by year. In a normal printer form, the head has a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line, the heads are mounted on a carriage, and the carriage is scanned by the number of nozzles for printing. In carriage scanning printing, in the case of color printing, the color tone changes depending on how the colors are overlapped. Therefore, in general, color printing is performed in one direction with respect to the carriage scanning direction. Prints back and forth twice to realize high-speed processing.

By the way, when driving such nozzles, it is common to divide all nozzles into several nozzles and delay them by a predetermined time to perform divided and simultaneous driving for the purpose of downsizing the power supply. Is. Therefore, when printing is performed from one direction of the nozzle group, there is a drawback that the printed image is tilted. As a method for reducing such a problem on the image, JP-A-3-132355 and JP-A-3-234668.
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No.
A method of making a determination according to the carriage scanning direction has been proposed. Here, print width recording corresponding to the nozzle number range is performed by two times of reciprocating scan printing. In this forward / backward printing, by switching the driving sequence of the nozzle group, the rows of the print dots formed by the forward / backward printing are arranged in the raster direction.

Further, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-1389563 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-208656, this nozzle array is arranged at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction of the print scanning direction of the carriage on which the head is mounted. There are printers provided with θ ° within the range or a predetermined angle θ °. This θ ° is
It is determined by the relationship between the carriage scanning speed and the adjacent nozzle group printing cycle in which the nozzles are driven simultaneously for every several nozzles. By providing the angle of θ ° in this way, the printed image is not tilted and good image quality is obtained. I was able to get it.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-234668, the driving sequence of the nozzle groups is switched according to the carriage print scanning direction to arrange the rows in the raster direction of the image formed by two reciprocating prints. Can be done. However, in the case of such a driving sequence, there is a problem that a print shift occurs in the print boundary portion for each carriage print scan.
In this case, in order to eliminate the print misalignment at the boundary portion, JP-A-57-138953 and JP-A-3-208656.
In the publication, it is proposed to reduce the print misalignment by providing a predetermined angle θ ° in the nozzle row direction with respect to the vertical direction of the carriage scanning direction.

However, the part on which the head is mounted is
Due to the mechanical structure, a tolerance is always generated with respect to the predetermined angle θ °. Further, when the nozzle groups are not driven in sequence according to the variation in the set angle θ °, or when the detachable head cartridge is used, the above-mentioned tolerance is further increased, and the image quality is deteriorated. It was

Further, this tolerance is very small when a high resolution head is used, and the mechanical tolerance is such that the electrical printing timing can be corrected or the set angle θ ° can be changed. It is necessary to have a proper adjustment mechanism, and unless it has such a correction function,
It is not possible to reliably improve the above print misalignment. In the case of having a mechanical adjustment mechanism, there is a drawback that the adjustment mechanism is required for each head, and the carriage constituting section becomes large and expensive.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems by recognizing the angle formed by the nozzle arrangement direction of the recording head and the carriage scanning direction, setting the optimum nozzle drive sequence, and printing timing in accordance therewith. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of reliably reducing print misalignment at the print boundary portion and improving print quality by generating and controlling print.

[0009]

To this end, in an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, a recording head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line is mounted on a carriage that moves relative to a recording medium. Is divided into several nozzle groups, each nozzle in each nozzle group is driven at the same time, and each nozzle group is sequentially driven with a predetermined delay, thereby ejecting ink from the nozzles. In an ink jet recording apparatus that prints and records one line in the nozzle arrangement direction, the driving sequence of the nozzle group is determined by the nozzle arrangement direction with respect to the carriage scanning direction and the printing in only one direction or both directions with respect to the carriage scanning direction. It is characterized by being done.

As an embodiment, printing in only one direction,
When the nozzle array direction is at right angles to the carriage scanning direction, the method in which the driving sequence of the nozzle group is switched to the reverse direction for each scan printing scan, or only one direction of printing, and the nozzle array direction relative to the carriage scanning direction Is not a right angle, in all scan printing scans, the driving sequence of the nozzle group is fixed in one direction, or when printing in both directions and the nozzle array direction is at a right angle to the carriage scan direction, all scan print scans At
A method of fixing the driving sequence of the nozzle group in one direction, or when printing in both directions and the nozzle arrangement direction is not at right angles to the carriage scanning direction, every one scan printing scan,
A method of switching the driving sequence of the nozzle groups in the opposite direction can be mentioned.

[0011]

In the present invention, the print head mounting state is recognized from, for example, test printing, and based on the information, printing is performed by sequentially driving the nozzles during unidirectional / bidirectional printing and by correcting the print timing during bidirectional printing. It is possible to reduce print deviation at the boundary.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an inkjet recording device, 2 is a host computer, 3 is a CP
U, 4 is work RAM, 5 is font ROM, 6 is program ROM, 7 is EEPROM, 8 is interface, 9 is operation panel, 10 is memory controller, 11 is image RAM, 12 is head controller, 13 is recording head,
Reference numeral 14 is a motor control unit, 15 is a motor, 16 is an I / O control unit, 17 is a sensor, and 18 is a common bus.

The ink jet recording apparatus 1 is connected to the host computer 2 and exchanges data between them. CPU3 is work RAM4, font ROM
5, it is connected to the program ROM 6 and the EEPROM 7, and operates according to the program stored in the program ROM 6 while referring to the set values stored in the EEPROM 7, for example, correction data for improving image quality. Further, it is also connected to the common bus 18, and controls each unit in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 through the common bus 18.

The work RAM 4 is used as a work storage area of the CPU 3, and is also used to store information and the like in various systems. The font ROM 5 stores image format data of characters to be printed. The program ROM 6 stores a program for instructing the operation of the CPU 3. The EEPROM 7 is a non-volatile memory and retains its contents even when the power is cut off.
Correction data for improving image quality, various set values such as the operation mode of the system, and the like are stored. These data are
It may be set using the operation panel 9.

The interface 8 is connected to the common bus 18 and the host computer 2, and the host computer 2
Send and receive data directly with. The operation panel 9 is connected to the common bus 18, receives various inputs from the user, and displays various states and messages to the user. The memory controller 10 is an image RAM
11, the common bus 18 and the head controller 12 are connected to control the image RAM 11.

Data to be recorded is stored in the image RAM 11 in the form of an image. This image RAM
The inside of 11 can be divided into areas corresponding to the respective recording heads. The head controller 12 is connected to the recording head 13, the common bus 18, and the memory controller 10, and controls the recording head 13. Recording head 1
The control No. 3 includes at least control of ink ejection timing from each nozzle of each recording head, ink temperature, and the like.

The recording head 13 is composed of a plurality of heads having N nozzles. For example, in the case of color printing, it is composed of four recording heads of black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y.

The motor controller 14 is for the motor 1
5 and the common bus 18 to control the motor 15. The motor 15 relatively moves the carriage on which the recording head 13 is mounted and a recording medium, for example, recording paper. The I / O controller 16 includes various sensors 17
It is also connected to a common bus 18 and controls various sensors 17 and acquires sensor data. The sensor 17 has
For example, there are paper edge detection, paper width detection, and ink amount detection. The common bus 18 connects the CPU 3, the interface 8, the operation panel 9, the memory controller 10, the head controller 12, the motor controller 14 and the I / O controller 16 and transmits various data and control signals.

Although the above-mentioned configurations are functionally separated, the image RAM 11 and the work RAM 4 are the same RA.
Modifications such as M are also possible.

The operation of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described. CPU
3 operates in accordance with the program stored in the program ROM 6 while referring to the set values and the like stored in the EEPROM 7. At that time, the work RAM 4 is used if necessary. The setting values and the like stored in the EEPROM 7 are set using the operation panel 9. Also, C
The PU 3 is connected to the sensor 1 via the I / O controller 16.
The information from 7 is obtained, and it is checked whether or not recording is possible, or the motor controller 14 is instructed to move the carriage or convey the recording paper, and perform recording position adjustment or the like.

When data to be recorded, such as image information or character code, is sent from the host computer 2, the interface 8 receives the information and transfers the received data to the CPU 3. In the CPU 3, the image data which can record the received data according to the print format,
For example, it is converted into a bitmap. For example, if the received data is a character code, use the font ROM 5
Convert to the image data of the character. The converted image data is stored in the image RAM 11 via the memory controller 10.

When the image data is stored, the head drive pulse width and the drive operation mode are determined based on the temperature detected by the printer main body and the temperature detection element incorporated in each head, and various set values are set. To the head controller 12. Particularly, immediately before printing, if the head temperature is low, the ink ejection characteristics are adversely affected. Therefore, an operation of raising the temperature of the head to an optimum temperature range in which the ink ejection characteristics are relatively stable is performed.

Next, the CPU 3 requests the motor controller 14 to move the carriage and performs scanning. An encoder for generating print timing is attached to the carriage on which the recording head 13 is mounted,
The print timing according to the scanning speed of the carriage is CPU
3 and the head controller 12. CP
U3 determines the print position based on this print timing,
A gate signal for printing permission is supplied to the head controller 12.

The head controller 12 outputs a head drive signal to the recording head 13 in response to the print permission gate signal and the print timing signal. When this operation is continuously performed and printing of one scan is completed, an interrupt is generated from the memory controller 10 and is input to the CPU 3. Receiving this interrupt signal, the CPU 3 requests the motor controller 14 to convey the recording medium of the print recording width and to rescan the carriage. In this way, printing for one scan is performed a plurality of times until the print recording operation in the transport direction of the recording medium is completed. Here, the head temperature and the environmental temperature are detected and the head drive pulse and the drive operation mode are determined each time before the printing of one scan is started.

When the printing operation on one recording medium is completed in this way, the CPU 3 requests the motor controller 14 to discharge the recording medium, and at the same time, the cap for covering the nozzle portion for preventing the ink from drying. The carriage is moved to the position where the member is located, the cap operation is further performed, and the printer waits until the next printing operation. The printing operation on one recording medium is completed by the above series of operations.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and is a schematic configuration diagram of the periphery of a carriage. In the figure, 21 is a recording head unit, 22 is a carriage, 23 is a recording medium, 24 is a transport roller, 25 is a cap mechanism section, X is a carriage scanning direction,
Y is the recording medium feed direction. 1 for the carriage 22
One or a plurality of recording head units 21 are mounted. Each of the recording heads 21 or a plurality of recording heads 21 are integrally configured to be attachable to and detachable from the carriage 22. Further, the recording head unit 21 is provided with a plurality of nozzles. While scanning the carriage 22 left and right, ink is ejected from the nozzles to perform printing. In this printing, when a plurality of recording head units 21 are mounted on the carriage 22, ink is ejected from each recording head unit 21 and ink dots are overlapped to form an image. .

A color image can be formed by using, for example, four recording heads of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow as the plurality of recording head units 21. When one scan operation of the carriage 22 is completed, the transport roller 24 conveys the recording medium 23 by a predetermined amount. This operation is repeated to finish printing on one recording sheet. When the printing on one recording medium 23 is completed, the carriage 22 moves to the position of the cap mechanism portion 25 again, caps the recording head unit 21, and waits for the next printing.

In this example, the recording medium is moved in the vertical direction by moving it on the recording medium side, but it is also possible to move the carriage 22. Also, this movement amount is
It is possible to print only once for a print width or a predetermined line feed width, or batch for only blank scans.
Further, for example, when the recording medium is fed or when the recording medium is positioned when recording according to a predetermined format, the recording medium can be moved according to an instruction from the CPU 3, and the host computer 2 can transfer the recording medium. It is also possible to change the movement amount according to the instruction.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the recording head drive controller of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes an adjoining nozzle group printing cycle value storage means, 3
2 is an adjacent nozzle group print cycle setting counter, 33 is a print timing control section, 34 is a print drive pulse generating section, 35 is a print dot number counter, 36 is a print drive pulse width setting counter, and 37 is a print drive pulse width setting value storage. Means, 38
Is a print data processing unit. The recording head drive controller constitutes a part of the head controller 12 shown in FIG. In the present invention, the plurality of nozzles provided in the recording head are driven by dividing the plurality of nozzles into several nozzle groups, each nozzle in each nozzle group is driven simultaneously, and each nozzle group is , One of which is driven sequentially. In the explanation below,
This nozzle group will be referred to as a divided simultaneous drive nozzle group.

The adjacent nozzle group print cycle value storage means 31
The adjacent nozzle group printing cycle value corresponding to the time of driving between the groups of divided and simultaneously driven nozzles is held. This value is set by a signal WR when data is sent from the CPU 3 or the like. The adjacent nozzle group print cycle setting counter 32, based on the adjacent nozzle group print cycle value stored in the adjacent nozzle group print cycle value storage unit 31, according to the instruction of the print timing control unit 33, outputs a cycle time signal between adjacent nozzle groups. Is generated and input to the print timing control unit 33 and the print dot number counter 35. The print dot number counter 35 receives the cycle time signal from the adjacent nozzle group print cycle setting counter 32, and
The number of nozzle groups is counted, and when the total number of nozzles is reached, the print timing control unit 33 is notified of that fact.

The print timing control section 33 generates various timing signals. Clock signals and gate signals from other control units, cycle time signals from the adjacent nozzle group print cycle setting counter 32, print dot number counter 3
In response to the signal of the number of print nozzle groups from 5, the print driving pulse generator generates a count value fetch instruction and supplies a count clock to the adjacent nozzle group print cycle setting counter 32 and print driving pulse width setting counter 36. 34
Is instructed to start driving, and the print data processing unit 3
A print data transfer clock is supplied to 8 and the same signal is output to the recording head.

The print drive pulse generator 34 receives the drive start instruction from the print timing controller 33 and the count end signal of the print drive pulse width setting counter 36, and controls the drive pulse on / off of the print head. The print drive pulse width setting counter 36, based on the count clock supplied from the print timing control unit 33,
Counting is performed until the drive pulse width data is reached, and an end signal is supplied to the print drive pulse generator 34.

The print drive pulse width set value storage means 37 stores the drive pulse width data set in the print drive pulse width setting counter 36. This data is sent from the CPU 3 or the like and stored by the signal WR.

FIG. 4 shows an example of print drive pulse timings supplied to the recording head 13 with the above-described structure. Here, the adjacent nozzle group printing cycle is t _c (sec) and the nozzle drive pulse width is t _p (sec). At the H level of this drive pulse, the head heater is energized to form bubbles in the nozzles and eject ink. Then, the energization of the head heater is terminated at the L level, and one divided simultaneous nozzle group is driven. Such drive pulses are generated by the number of divided nozzle groups and drive all nozzles. Although FIG. 4 shows the case of driving from one end of the nozzle, it is also possible to drive from the opposite end. By performing such nozzle driving, image recording is performed in the nozzle array direction.

Next, since the carriage is moving even while the nozzles are being dividedly driven as described above, at the beginning and end of the divisional driving, the carriage is moved within the time required for driving the recording head. Only the printing will be tilted. Figure 5
(A) shows this printing example, and when the ink ejection sequential direction of the recording head 13 is Y and the carriage scanning direction is X, a print shift d occurs at the print boundary portion, leading to image quality deterioration. In order to improve this, as shown in FIG.
By making the nozzle arrangement direction Y have a predetermined angle θ with respect to the carriage scanning direction X, print misalignment disappears at the print boundary portion. However, in the case of high-speed printing and high-resolution recording heads, the set value of the predetermined angle becomes a very small value, and very high accuracy is required. For this reason, the cost of the carriage component is unavoidably increased.

The present invention has been invented in particular with respect to the above-mentioned points, and the accuracy of the carriage constituting portion is lowered, and even if the set value of the predetermined angle is deviated, the cost is not increased and the driving method is simple. This is to improve image quality deterioration.

Next, a specific example of printing will be described. Figure 6
(A), (b), (c) shows the case of one-way printing,
The angle formed by the nozzle arrangement direction Y and the carriage scanning direction X is changed, three print scan operations are performed in these states, and three vertical ruled lines of three scan widths are printed. Then, in each of them, the carriage is driven in the direction A in the drawing and the nozzle groups are sequentially driven in the direction B.

As can be seen from FIG. 6A, the vertical ruled line 1,
In No. 3, the print quality is deteriorated because the print shift occurs at the print boundary portion. The vertical ruled line 2 causes a tilt in the printed image within one scan as in the case of the vertical ruled lines 1 and 3, but since the print misalignment does not occur at the print boundary portion, the image connection becomes smooth and the image quality deterioration can be improved. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the angle between the nozzle array direction and the carriage scanning direction is 90 °, the nozzle drive sequence is reversed in the reverse direction for each scan print scan in the case of unidirectional printing. The driving method is the most suitable.

FIGS. 6B and 6C show the nozzle drive scanning direction and the carriage scanning direction when the angle with the perpendicular to the carriage scanning direction is ± θ °.
Here, ± θ ° is the print cycle of the adjacent nozzle group t _c (se
An optimum angle is taken as an example so that the printed image is not tilted when driven in c). As can be seen from FIG. 6B, in the case of unidirectional printing, the nozzle drive sequence for generating the vertical ruled line 1 can be said to be the optimum method. Here, the recording medium is driven in the feeding direction, that is, from the lower nozzle group in the drawing toward the upper nozzle direction. Similarly, in the case of unidirectional printing in (c), it can be said that the nozzle driving sequence for generating the vertical ruled line 3 is the most suitable method. Here, driving is performed in the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the recording medium, that is, from the upper nozzle group in the drawing toward the lower nozzle direction. From the above three methods, the mounting state of the head on the carriage and the drive operation mode can be determined depending on which vertical ruled line is selected.

FIG. 7 shows an example of test printing. In this case, the three vertical ruled lines are in the same nozzle driving sequence as shown in FIGS. Here, "2" which seems to be optimum is selected and input from the control panel 9. In this case, it is determined that the head is mounted in the same manner as in FIG. 6A, and the drive operation mode can be easily determined.

In the above embodiment, the nozzle angle at ± θ ° has been described. However, if the angle is within this range or more, the optimum image quality can be obtained by further changing and adjusting the value of the adjacent nozzle group printing cycle. It is also possible to do so. Further, the nozzle drive sequence for bidirectional printing can also be determined from the test printing results described above.

FIGS. 8A to 8C show a case of bidirectional printing, showing a head mounted state similar to FIG. 6 and a nozzle drive sequential direction. Also in this case, the nozzle drive sequence is selected so as to minimize the print deviation at the print boundary.
As shown in FIG. 8A, when the angle between the nozzle array direction and the carriage scanning direction is 90 °, the nozzle driving sequence is optimally fixed to one direction in all scan printing scans. In the case of (a), the nozzle driving sequence in the opposite direction may be used, and either one driving sequence may be selected.

FIGS. 8B and 8C show the nozzle drive scanning direction and the carriage scanning direction when the angle formed with the perpendicular to the carriage scanning direction is ± θ °.
In either case, the nozzle drive sequence is
The method of driving in the opposite direction for each one of the scan printing scans is optimal.

By the way, in the case of the bidirectional printing in FIG. 8, it is necessary to correct the print start timings in the forward and backward passes with respect to the reference timing in each of the states (a) to (c).

FIG. 9 shows the case of bidirectional printing shown in FIG. 8A. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the print start timing is the same at the forward and backward passes, a print deviation d occurs. . This deviation occurs due to the time when all the nozzles are simultaneously driven separately. Therefore, only this time is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the print timing on the return path can be reduced by generating the print start timing before the print reference timing on the forward path and supplying it to the head controller. In addition,
The same result can be obtained even if it is generated before the reference timing.

FIG. 10 shows the case of bidirectional printing in FIG. 8B. As shown in FIG. 10A, when the print start timings are the same at the forward and backward paths, the print misalignment occurs as described above. e is generated. This shift is a shift between both ends in the carriage scan direction caused by tilting the nozzle row. In this case as well, as shown in FIG.
The print start timing may be generated before the print timing for the return path before the print reference timing for the forward path. In this case, the time e may be set to the time required for the scan scan. Similarly to the above, the print timing on the outward path may be set earlier than the reference timing by this time.

FIG. 11 shows the case of bidirectional printing shown in FIG. 8C. As shown in FIG. 11A, when the print start timing is the same at the forward and backward passes, a print shift e occurs. . Also in this case, the timing may be generated as in the case of FIG. In this case, the time e may be set to the time required for the scan scan.

As described above, the print head mounting state is recognized from the test print, and based on the information, the nozzle drive is sequentially performed in one direction / both directions, and the print timing is corrected in both directions, so that the print boundary portion is detected. It has become possible to reduce print misalignment.

[0049]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the angle formed by the nozzle arrangement direction and the carriage scanning direction is recognized, the optimum nozzle scanning sequence is set, and the print timing corresponding to each is set. By generating and controlling the printing, it is possible to reliably reduce the printing misalignment at the printing boundary portion and improve the printing quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram around a carriage showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a head drive control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a drive timing chart of nozzle groups in the head of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a printing example in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a printing example in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a printing example in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a printing example in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining print timing in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining print timing in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining printing timing in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet recording device, 2 ... Host computer, 3 ... CPU 4 ... Work RAM, 5 ... Font ROM, 6 ... Program ROM 7 ... EEPROM, 8 ... Interface part, 9 ... Operation panel 10 ... Memory controller, 11 ... Image RAM 12 ... Head controller, 13 ... Recording head 14 ... Motor controller, 15 ... Motor 16 ... I / O controller, 17 ... Sensor, 18 ... Common bus 21 ... Recording head unit, 22 ... Carriage, 23 ...
Recording medium 24 ... Transport roller, 25 ... Cap mechanism section 31 ... Adjacent nozzle group printing cycle value storage means 32 ... Adjacent nozzle group printing cycle setting counter, 33 ... Printing timing control section 34 ... Printing drive pulse generating section, 35 ... Printing Dot number counter 36 ... Print drive pulse width setting counter, 37 ... Print drive pulse width set value storage means, 38 ... Print data processing unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A recording head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line is mounted on a carriage that moves relative to a recording medium, and the plurality of nozzles are divided into several nozzle groups.
Each nozzle in each nozzle group is driven at the same time, and each nozzle group is sequentially driven with a delay of a predetermined time, so that ink is ejected from the nozzles to print one line in the nozzle array direction. In the inkjet recording apparatus, the driving sequence of the nozzle group is determined by the nozzle arrangement direction with respect to the carriage scanning direction and the printing in only one direction or in both directions with respect to the carriage scanning direction. 2. When printing in only one direction and the nozzle array direction is at a right angle to the carriage scanning direction, the driving sequence of the nozzle group is switched to the opposite direction for each scan printing scan. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 3. When the printing is performed in only one direction and the nozzle array direction is not at right angles to the carriage scanning direction, the driving sequence of the nozzle groups is fixed in one direction in all scan printing scans. 1. The inkjet recording device according to 1. 4. When printing in both directions and the nozzle array direction is at a right angle to the carriage scanning direction, the driving sequence of the nozzle groups is fixed in one direction in all scan printing scans. The inkjet recording device according to item 1. 5. When printing in both directions and the nozzle array direction is not at right angles to the carriage scanning direction, the driving sequence of the nozzle group is switched to the opposite direction for each scan printing scan. The inkjet recording device according to item 1. 6. When printing in both directions, the printing is started before the reference print position on the forward pass by the time required to eject ink from all nozzles, or on the return pass by the above-mentioned time from the reference print position. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is controlled so as to start printing before. 7. When printing in both directions, the deviation between the two ends in the scan scanning direction, which is caused by the nozzle arrangement direction, is started before the reference print position in the forward path by the amount of time required for scan scanning, or in the backward path. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is controlled so that the printing is started before the reference printing position by the time period.