Liquid discharge apparatus and control method for liquid discharge apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10350883-B2
Application number	US-201715664291-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2017
Priority date	Aug 1, 2016
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharge head including a plurality of electrodes arranged in parallel, a common electrode positioned to face the liquid discharge head, and a control unit configured to control a voltage to be applied to each of the plurality of electrodes to control the plurality of electrodes as a discharging electrode, which is to discharge a liquid, or as a non-discharging electrode, which is to discharge no liquid, wherein the control unit adjusts a value of the voltage to be applied to the electrode that is to be driven as the non-discharging electrode, based on the voltage to be applied to the electrode adjacent to the electrode that is to be driven as the non-discharging electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
a liquid discharge head including a plurality of electrodes arranged in parallel;
a common electrode positioned to face the liquid discharge head; and
a control unit configured to control a voltage to be applied to each of the plurality of electrodes to control the plurality of electrodes as a discharging electrode, which is to discharge a liquid, or as a non-discharging electrode, which is to discharge no liquid,
wherein the control unit adjusts a value of the voltage to be applied to a target electrode among the plurality of electrodes, so that a potential difference between the target electrode and the common electrode is larger in a case where one of the two electrodes adjacent to the target electrode is the discharging electrode and the other one is the non-discharging electrode, than in a case where both of the two electrodes adjacent to the target electrode are the discharging electrodes.

2. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control unit determines based on print data whether each of the plurality of electrodes is to be driven as the discharging electrode or as the non-discharging electrode, and
wherein the control unit adjusts a value of the voltage to be applied to the electrode that is determined to be driven as the non-discharging electrode based on the voltage to be applied to the electrode adjacent to the electrode that is determined to be driven as the non-discharging electrode.

3. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control unit assigns in time division each of the plurality of electrodes as a printing electrode, which is to be driven as the discharging electrode or as the non-discharging electrode based on print data, or as an adjustment electrode, which is to be driven as the non-discharging electrode regardless of the print data, and
wherein the control unit adjusts a value of the voltage to be applied to the adjustment electrode based on the voltage to be applied to the electrode adjacent to the adjustment electrode.

4. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit adjusts the value of the voltage to be applied to the adjustment electrode so that an average value of potential differences between the adjustment electrode and the common electrode is larger in a case where one of the two electrodes adjacent to the adjustment electrode is the discharging electrode and the other one is the non-discharging electrode than in a case where both of the two electrodes adjacent to the electrode that is to be adjusted are the discharging electrodes.

5. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of electrodes includes a printing electrode, which is to be driven as the discharging electrode or as the non-discharging electrode based on print data, and an adjustment electrode, which is to be driven as the non-discharging electrode regardless of the print data, and
wherein the control unit adjusts a value of the voltage to be applied to the adjustment electrode.

6. The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the adjustment electrode projects farther toward the common electrode than the printing electrode.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Yamamoto Ryuji
• Okamoto Hideaki
• Yasuda Junji
• Inoue Koji

Classifications

• B41J2/04541 Primary

  Specific driving circuit · CPC title

• B41J2/04525

  reducing occurrence of cross talk · CPC title

• B41J2/06

  by electric or magnetic field · CPC title

• B41J2/04505 Primary

  aiming at correcting alignment · CPC title

• B41J2002/062

  by using a divided counter electrode opposite to ejection openings of an electrostatic printhead, e.g. for controlling the flying direction of ejected toner particles by providing the divided parts of the counter electrode with different potentials · CPC title