Printhead substrate, printhead, temperature control method of printhead, and printing apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorMasayuki Kyoshima
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention provides simpler, low-cost printhead temperature adjustment means without complicating the driver arrangement of a printhead substrate. In a printing apparatus to which this invention is applied, when printing by alternately driving two printheads having the same arrangement, if one of these printheads is in printing, a driving signal having a short pulse width insufficient to print is input to the other printhead to drive all printing elements.
Claims13
A printhead substrate having a plurality of printing elements, each including an electrothermal transducer, comprising:
- a selection circuit which selects, in accordance with an input control signal, a printing signal input via a signal line and a predetermined signal for driving the printing elements;
- and
- an input unit which inputs a driving signal for driving the plurality of printing elements,
- wherein in a case where printing operation by driving the plurality of printing elements in accordance with the printing signal is suppressed, said selection circuit selects the predetermined signal, and drives the printing elements on the basis of the predetermined signal by a short pulse signal insufficient to print.
A printhead using a first printhead substrate having a plurality of printing elements, each including an electrothermal transducer, and wherein said first printhead substrate further comprises:
- a selection circuit which selects, in accordance with an input control signal, a printing signal input via a signal line and a predetermined signal for driving the printing elements;
- and
- an input unit which inputs a driving signal for driving the plurality of printing elements,
- wherein in a case where printing operation by driving the plurality of printing elements in accordance with the printing signal is suppressed, said selection circuit selects the predetermined signal, and drives the printing elements on the basis of the predetermined signal by a short pulse signal insufficient to print.
A printhead temperature control method in a case where printing is performed by exclusively driving a first and second printhead substrates, of a printhead, with the same arrangement each of which has a plurality of printing elements, each including an electrothermal transducer, comprising the steps of:
- inputting a printing signal to the first printhead substrate via a signal line being shared with the second printhead substrate;
- inputting a control signal for selecting the printing signal to the first printhead substrate incorporating a selection circuit which selects the printing signal and a predetermined signal for driving all the printing elements;
- inputting a driving signal for driving the plurality of printing elements of the first printhead substrate, thereby printing;
- and
- inputting a control signal for selecting the predetermined signal to the second printhead substrate incorporating the selection circuit so as to drive the printing elements of the second printhead substrate in accordance with a driving signal having a short pulse width insufficient to print.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.