Method for controlling driving of inkjet head, and inkjet recording apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023226816-A1
Application number	US-202018002046-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 29, 2020
Priority date	Jun 29, 2020
Publication date	Jul 20, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

There is provided a method for controlling driving of an inkjet head including recording elements each including a nozzle and a driving element. The method includes a pulse width setting step. In this step, when a predetermined number of ink droplets ejected according to the predetermined number of driving pulses are made to land in the same pixel range, the predetermined number of first driving pulses each having a pulse width longer than a reference pulse width and the predetermined number of second driving pulses each having a pulse width shorter than the reference pulse width are combined for each of the recording elements and obtained combinations are respectively output to the recording elements. The predetermined number is two or more.

First claim

1 . A method for controlling driving of an inkjet head including a plurality of recording elements each including a nozzle through which ink is ejected and a driving element that applies a pressure fluctuation to ink supplied to the nozzle according to an applied driving pulse,
wherein a reference pulse width of the driving pulse that maximizes a predetermined characteristic value related to ink droplets ejected by each of the recording elements according to the driving pulse applied to the driving element with respect to a change in pulse width of the driving pulse has a variation equal to or greater than a predetermined standard, and the driving control method includes a pulse width setting step in which, when a predetermined number (two or more) of ink droplets ejected according to the predetermined number of driving pulses are made to land in the same pixel range, the predetermined number of first driving pulses each having a pulse width longer than the reference pulse width and the predetermined number of second driving pulses each having a pulse width shorter than the reference pulse width are combined for each of the plurality of recording elements and obtained combinations are respectively output to the plurality of recording elements.

2 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the pulse width setting step, the first driving pulse having a pulse width longer than any of the reference pulse widths related to the plurality of recording elements and the second driving pulse having a pulse width shorter than any of the reference pulse widths are set.

3 . The driving control method according to claim 2 ,
wherein, in the pulse width setting step, the pulse width of the first driving pulse and the pulse width of the second driving pulse are commonly set for the plurality of recording elements.

4 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the pulse width setting step, an order of the first driving pulse and the second driving pulse is set such that a pulse width closer to the reference pulse width corresponding to a minimum one of the maximum characteristic values related to the plurality of recording elements becomes a last driving pulse.

5 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the predetermined characteristic value is a droplet speed of ejected ink.

6 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the predetermined characteristic value is an amount of ink droplets to be ejected.

7 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the predetermined standard for the variation is 3%.

8 . The driving control method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the predetermined number is an even number, and in the pulse width setting step, the first driving pulse and the second driving pulse are set so as to be alternately output.

9 . An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising:
an inkjet head including a plurality of recording elements each including a nozzle through which ink is ejected and a driving element that applies a pressure fluctuation to ink supplied to the nozzle according to an applied driving pulse; and a hardware processor that controls an output of the driving pulse applied to the driving element to each of the recording elements, wherein a reference pulse width of the driving pulse that maximizes a predetermined characteristic value related to ink droplets ejected by each of the recording elements according to the driving pulse applied to the driving element with respect to a change in pulse width of the driving pulse has a variation equal to or greater than a predetermined standard, and when a predetermined number (two or more) of ink droplets ejected according to the predetermined number of driving pulses are made to land in the same pixel range, the hardware processor combines the predetermined number of first driving pulses each having a pulse width longer than the reference pulse width and the predetermined number of second driving pulses each having a pulse width shorter than the reference pulse width with each other for each of the plurality of recording elements and outputs obtained combinations to the plurality of recording elements, respectively.

Assignees

• Konica Minolta Inc

Inventors

• Shibata Takuma
• Kuki Takakazu

Classifications

• B41J2/04508

  aiming at correcting other parameters · CPC title

• B41J2/155

  for line printing · CPC title

• B41J2/04541 Primary

  Specific driving circuit · CPC title

• B41J2/04595

  Dot-size modulation by changing the number of drops per dot · CPC title

• B41J2/04591

  Width of the driving signal being adjusted · CPC title