United States Patent [19]
Tachihara
[54] LIQUID JET RECORDING HEAD HAVING A PLURALITY OF HEATING ELEMENTS AND LIQUID JET RECORDING APPARATUS HAVING THE SAME
[75] Inventor: Masayoshi Tachihara, Atusgi, Japan
[73] Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo,
Japan
[21] Appl. No.: 355,812
[22] Filed: Dec. 14,1994
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 45,310, Apr. 12,1993, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 742,549, Aug. 8, 1991, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 434,576, Nov. 13, 1989, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 137,337, Dec. 23, 1987, abandoned.
[30] Foreign Application Priority Data
Dec. 25, 1986 [JP] Japan 61-307931
[51] Int. CI.6 B41J 2/05
[52] U.S. CI 347/62; 347/64; 347/206;
347/15
[58] Field of Search 347/62, 15, 58,
347/206, 64, 57
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 4,251,824 2/1981 Hara 347/57
[li] Patent Number: 5,481,287 [45] Date of Patent: Jan. 2, 1996
4,339,762 7/1982 Shirato 347/64
4,345,262 8/1982 Shirato 347/57
4,458,256 7/1984 Shirato 347/58 X
4,492,966 1/1985 Seki et al. .
4,514,741 4/1985 Meyer 347/62
4,590,489 5/1986 Tsumura 347/206
4,602,261 7/1986 Matsuda 347/58
4,623,901 11/1986 Nagashima 347/206
4,646,110 2/1987 Dceda et al. .
4,723,129 2/1988 Endo 347/56
4,940,999 7/1990 Dceda 347/58
Primary Examiner—Joseph W. Hartary
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper &
Scinto
[57] ABSTRACT
A liquid jet recording head includes a liquid path communicating with a discharge opening through which a liquid is discharged; a plurality of heating elements disposed in the liquid path, each of the heating elements having a different minimum power requirement for enabling the liquid to be discharged; and electrodes for allowing electric power to be simultaneously supplied to the plurality of heating elements. This invention further provides a liquid jet recording apparatus having a liquid jet recording head constructed in the above-described manner. The power density of each heating element is varied by the application of a drive voltage, thereby enabling stable step control over the gradation of an image recorded without the need for complicated wiring.
14 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
