Claims
- 1. A print head mounted on a print apparatus for forming an image on a print medium, said head comprising:print elements provided on a substrate for forming the image on the print medium; print element driving means provided on the substrate for supplying signals corresponding to the image to said print elements and for driving said print elements; transmission/reception means provided on the substrate for receiving signals and for transmitting signals to control mechanical portions of the print apparatus; interface means provided on the substrate for receiving data to be used for printing from and transmitting data to an external apparatus connected to the print apparatus; storage means provided on the substrate for storing the data received by said interface means; and control means provided on the substrate for processing the data stored in said storage means, for controlling the mechanical portions by transmitting a signal for controlling the mechanical portions via said transmission/reception means, for controlling said interface means, and for controlling said print element driving means in accordance with processed data.
- 2. The head according to claim 1, wherein said print element driving means, said control means and said transmission/reception means are formed on a single substrate.
- 3. The head according to claim 1, further comprising:detection means provided on said substrate for detecting a temperature of said print head, wherein said control means controls said print element driving means in accordance with the temperature detected by said detection means.
- 4. The head according to claim 1, wherein said storage means further stores data used for controlling and a control program performed by said control means.
- 5. The head according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a processing device for processing control data for controlling formation of the image.
- 6. The head according to claim 1, wherein said print head comprises an ink-jet head having openings for discharging ink when said print elements are driven by said print element driving means.
- 7. The head according to claim 6, wherein said print elements comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy, and said ink-jet head discharges the ink by applying the thermal energy to the ink.
- 8. The head according to claim 1, wherein said print elements comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy in accordance with a supplied signal and said substrate comprises a device board having said thermal energy converters.
- 9. The head according to claim 1, wherein said print elements are formed on said substrate.
- 10. The head according to claim 9, wherein said print elements comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy in accordance with supplied signals.
- 11. The head according to claim 10, wherein said print element driving means, said control means and said transmission/reception means are formed on said substrate.
- 12. A printer apparatus for forming an image on a print medium, said apparatus comprising:mechanical portions; and a print head comprising print elements provided on a substrate of said print head for forming the image on the print medium, print element driving means provided on the substrate for supplying signals corresponding to the image to said print elements and for driving said print elements, transmission/reception means provided on the substrate for receiving signals and for transmitting signals to control said mechanical portions of said printer apparatus, interface means provided on the substrate for receiving data to be used for printing from and transmitting data to an external apparatus connected to said printer apparatus, storage means provided on the substrate for storing the data received by said interface means, and control means provided on the substrate for processing the data stored in said storage means and for controlling said mechanical portions by transmitting a signal for controlling said mechanical portions via said transmission/reception means, for controlling said interface means and for controlling said print element driving means in accordance with processed data.
- 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said print head comprises an ink-jet head having openings for discharging ink when said print elements are driven by said print element driving means.
- 14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said print elements comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy, and said ink-jet head discharges the ink by applying the thermal energy to the ink.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:detection means provided on said substrate for detecting a temperature of said print head, wherein said control means controls said print element driving means in accordance with the temperature detected by said detection means.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said print elements have thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy in accordance with a supplied signal and the substrate comprises a device board having said thermal energy converters.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said print element driving means, said control means and said transmission/reception means are formed on said device board.
- 18. A print head mounted on a printing apparatus, for forming an image on a recording medium, the printing apparatus comprising a motor for scanning the print head over the recording medium to form the image, said head comprising:interface means, connected to a host computer, for interfacing with the host computer which forwards image signals corresponding to an image; and controlling means for controlling driving of the motor and for driving print elements of the print head in accordance with the image signals received by said interface means.
- 19. The head according to claim 18, further comprising openings for discharging ink when said print elements are driven by print element driving means.
- 20. The head according to claim 19, wherein said print elements comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy, and the ink is discharged by applying the thermal energy to the ink.
- 21. A substrate for an ink-jet print head, used in a recording apparatus, having a plurality of elements for ejecting ink and a driving circuit for driving the plurality of elements, comprising:an interface for inputting and outputting data used for printing; data processing means for processing the data for printing; and busses for transferring data to the driving circuit, wherein data transmitted from an external apparatus connected to the recording apparatus is directly inputted into the substrate via said interface.
- 22. A substrate according to claim 21, wherein said interface inputs or outputs any one of image data, image control data and correction data as the data for printing.
- 23. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a memory for storing the data for printing.
- 24. A substrate according to claim 23, wherein the memory comprises a RAM for storing the data for printing and reading out stored data.
- 25. A substrate according to claim 24, wherein the memory has an array of n×m (m is a natural number) bits in correspondence to the number n of the plurality of elements.
- 26. A substrate according to claim 25, wherein a number of signal lines of said busses connecting the memory with the driving circuit is n.
- 27. A substrate according to claim 23, wherein the driving circuit, the data processing means and the memory are connected via the busses.
- 28. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a ROM for storing data and for being accessed by said data processing means.
- 29. A substrate according to claim 28, wherein the ROM stores a control program implemented by said data processing means.
- 30. A substrate according to claim 28, wherein the driving circuit, the data processing means and the memory are connected via the busses.
- 31. A substrate according to claim 28, wherein the ROM is a mask ROM.
- 32. A substrate according to claim 28, wherein the ROM is an EEPROM.
- 33. A substrate according to claims 28, wherein the ROM is a one time ROM.
- 34. A substrate according to claim 21, wherein said data processing means comprises a CPU.
- 35. A substrate according to claims 21, wherein said busses include an address bus, a data bus and a control bus.
- 36. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising:a ROM for storing a control program; a RAM for storing print data used for printing, wherein said data processing means processes the data stored in the RAM in accordance with the control program stored in ROM.
- 37. A substrate according to claim 36, wherein the data used for printing is transmitted to the driving circuit from the RAM via the busses by using said data processing means.
- 38. A substrate according to claim 36, wherein the data used for printing is directly transmitted to the driving circuit from the memory or the RAM via the busses without using said data processing means.
- 39. A substrate according to claim 21, wherein the data processing means decompresses compressed data received via said interface.
- 40. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising an oscillation circuit for generating a clock signal.
- 41. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a timer circuit for counting time.
- 42. A substrate according to claim 41, wherein said data processing means controls a driving time period of the elements in accordance with the time counted by the timer circuit.
- 43. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising drivers for driving an external unit provided externally of the substrate.
- 44. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising input/output terminals for inputting signals from and outputting signals to outside of the substrate.
- 45. A substrate according to claim 44, further comprising an A/D converter for converting an analog signal into a digital signal, which is inputted via the input/output terminal.
- 46. A substrate according to claim 44, further comprising a D/A converter for converting a digital signal into an analog signal, which is transmitted via the busses.
- 47. A substrate according to claim 44, further comprising an operational element.
- 48. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a light emitting device and a light receiving device.
- 49. A substrate according to claim 48, further comprising means for controlling a print timing based on a detection of a printing position by said light emitting device and said light receiving device.
- 50. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a magnetic sensor.
- 51. A substrate according to claim 50, further comprising means for controlling a print timing based on a printing position by said magnetic sensor.
- 52. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a status detecting device for detecting a status of the substrate.
- 53. A substrate according to claim 52, wherein said status detecting device is a temperature sensing device.
- 54. A substrate according to claim 52, wherein said status detecting device is a pressure sensing device.
- 55. A substrate according to claim 52, wherein said data processing means controls in feed back based on a detecting result by the status detecting means.
- 56. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a detecting device for detecting electromagnetic waves.
- 57. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a magnetic generating device.
- 58. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a pressure generating device.
- 59. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising a temperature generating device for generating temperature.
- 60. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising heat generating devices for heating ink to be ejected onto a recording paper by the elements for ejecting ink.
- 61. A substrate according to claim 21, further comprising nozzles for forming ink passages in correspondence to the plurality of elements for ejecting ink.
- 62. A print head having a substrate according to claim 21.
- 63. A substrate for an ink-jet head, used in a recording apparatus, having a plurality of elements for ejecting ink and a driving circuit for driving the plurality of elements, comprising:an interface for inputting and outputting print data; detecting means for detecting a status of the substrate; and processing means for processing relating to the driving of the plurality of elements in accordance with the print data, based on a detection result of said detecting means; wherein data transmitted from an external apparatus connected to the recording apparatus is directly inputted into said substrate via said interface.
- 64. A substrate according to claim 63, further comprising generation means for generating at least one of temperature, pressure and magnetism information, wherein said processing means controls said generation means based on a detecting result of said detecting means.
- 65. A substrate according to claim 63, wherein said processing means comprises a CPU.
- 66. A substrate according to claim 63, further comprising nozzles for forming ink passages in correspondence to the plurality of elements for ejecting ink.
- 67. A print head having a substrate according to claim 63.
- 68. A method for recording by driving a plurality of elements for ejecting ink, the plurality of elements being provided on a substrate of an ink-jet head mounted on a recording apparatus, comprising the steps of:directly inputting data to be used for recording into the substrate from an external device connected to the recording apparatus; processing the data inputted in said inputting step; and driving the plurality of elements based on the data processed in said processing step.
- 69. A method according to claim 68, wherein in said inputting step, the data is compressed data, and the compressed data is decompressed in said processing step.
- 70. A method according to claim 68, wherein in said processing step, the data is processed in accordance with a program stored in a ROM mounted an the substrate.
- 71. A method according to claim 68, wherein in said processing step, the data is processed by using a RAM mounted on the substrate as a work area.
- 72. A method according to claim 68, wherein the processing of the data includes arithmetic processing.
- 73. A method according to claim 68, wherein the data includes image data and said processing step effects image processing.
- 74. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the step of transmitting the data for driving the plurality of elements to a driving circuit mounted on the substrate under control of a CPU mounted on the substrate, wherein in said driving step, the driving circuit drives the plurality of elements in accordance with the transmitted data.
- 75. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the step of transmitting the data for driving the plurality of elements to a driving circuit from a ROM mounted on the substrate via busses, wherein in said driving step, the driving circuit drives the plurality of elements in accordance with the transmitted data.
- 76. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the step of transmitting the data for driving the plurality of elements to a driving circuit from a RAM mounted on the substrate via busses, wherein in said driving step, the driving circuit drives the plurality of elements in accordance with the transmitted data.
- 77. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the step of driving an external device or external elements connected to the substrate.
- 78. A method according to claim 77, wherein the external device or external elements include a motor.
- 79. A method according to claim 77, wherein the external device or external elements include a solenoid.
- 80. A method according to claim 77, wherein the external device or external elements include an external head.
- 81. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the step of detecting a status of the substrate by using a detecting element.
- 82. A method according to claim 81, wherein the status of the substrate includes temperature.
- 83. A method according to claim 81, wherein the status of the substrate includes pressure.
- 84. A method according to claim 81, further comprising the step of feeding back the status of the substrate for processing in said processing step.
- 85. A method according to claim 68, further comprising the steps of:detecting a printing position; and printing based on the printing position.
- 86. A method for recording by driving a plurality of elements for ejecting ink, the plurality of elements being provided on a substrate of an ink-jet head mounted on a recording apparatus, comprising the steps of:directly receiving data to be used for printing from an external device connected to the recording apparatus and inputting the data to the substrate; detecting a status of the substrate; processing the data received in said receiving step based on the status of the substrate; and driving the plurality of elements based on the data processed in said processing step, wherein in said processing step, the data is processed by a CPU provided on the substrate.
- 87. A method according to claim 86, wherein the status of the substrate includes temperature or pressure.
- 88. A method according to claim 86, wherein said processing step processes relating to a generation of at least one of temperature, pressure and magnetic information based on the status of the substrate.
- 89. A print head mounted on a recording apparatus, comprising:a substrate having a plurality of print elements for ejecting ink to form pixels on a print medium, a driving circuit for driving the plurality of print elements, an interface for inputting and outputting print data, and processing means for processing relating to the driving of the plurality of elements in accordance with the print data; control means for outputting a control signal to control at least a printer apparatus main body; print element driving means for driving said print elements in accordance with print data under control of said control means; communication means for communicating data with an external apparatus under the control of said control means; and driving means for driving a part of a mechanism of the printer apparatus main body in accordance with a control signal from said control means, wherein said control means processes data directly inputted into said substrate via said interface from the external apparatus connected to the recording apparatus via said interface.
- 90. A print head according to claim 89, wherein said print element driving means, said print elements, said control means, said communication means, and said driving means are formed on a single substrate.
- 91. A print head according to claim 89, further comprising detection means for detecting a status of said print head.
- 92. A print head according to claim 89, further comprising storage means for storing print data, control data; and a program to be executed by said control means.
- 93. A print head according to claim 92, wherein said control means is arranged to control formation of the pixels based on print data, control data, and an output from said detection means.
- 94. A print head according to claim 89, wherein said control means comprises a CPU for processing control data for controlling formation of the pixels.
- 95. A print head according to claim 89, wherein said print elements comprise ink-jet printing elements for performing printing by discharging an ink onto the print medium.
- 96. A print head according to claim 95, wherein said ink-jet printing elements discharge the ink by utilizing thermal energy, and comprise thermal energy converters for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink.
- 97. A print head according to claim 90, wherein said substrate comprises a heater board.
- 98. A printer apparatus for printing an image on a print medium comprising at least one print head, as claimed in claim 89, for printing an image on the print medium; a mounting unit for mounting the print head; and a mechanism for driving the mounting unit.
- 99. A printer according to claim 98, wherein said mechanism is driven by a control signal output from said control means of said print head.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
5-162786 |
Jun 1993 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/265,808 filed Jun. 27, 1994, abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (13)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 353 925 |
Feb 1990 |
EP |
0 394 910 |
Oct 1990 |
EP |
0 452 663 |
Oct 1991 |
EP |
54-56847 |
May 1979 |
JP |
57-125060 |
Aug 1982 |
JP |
59-123670 |
Jul 1984 |
JP |
59-138461 |
Aug 1984 |
JP |
60-71260 |
Apr 1985 |
JP |
61-27261 |
Feb 1986 |
JP |
63-156756 |
Oct 1988 |
JP |
2-134065 |
May 1990 |
JP |
4-135779 |
May 1992 |
JP |
6-134993 |
May 1994 |
JP |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/265808 |
Jun 1994 |
US |
Child |
08/996058 |
|
US |