US 7,559,628 B2
Head substrate, recording head, head cartridge and recording apparatus therewith
Masataka Sakurai, Kawasaki (Japan)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Dec. 02, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/291,957.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-357183 (JP), filed on Dec. 09, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0125872 A1, Jun. 15, 2006
Int. Cl. B41J 2/05 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 347—57 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ink-jet recording head substrate which is mounted with electrothermal transducers producing thermal energy used for discharging ink and which drives the electrothermal transducers, comprising:
an input portion to which a first voltage is input;
a production unit configured to operate on the first voltage and produce a selection signal indicating driving or non-driving of the electrothermal transducer, wherein said production unit receives signals including image data through said input portion, and produces, as the selection signal, a block selection signal and a time-division selection signal for driving the electrothermal transducers;
a conversion unit configured to convert the block selection signal and the time-division selection signal produced by the production means into the block selection signal and the time-division selection signal of a second voltage higher than the first voltage;
a driving unit having a plurality of driving elements each of which is configured to operate on the second voltage and drive the electrothermal transducer in accordance with the block selection signal and the time-division selection signal of the second voltage;
a detection unit configured to detect a voltage input from said input portion as the first voltage and output a detection signal if the first voltage is not a predetermined voltage level for driving said conversion unit; and
a control unit configured to operate on the second voltage and keep the block selection signal or the time-division selection signal supplied to said driving unit under such a state as to indicate non-driving in a case where the detection signal is outputted, so that the block selection signal or the time-division selection signal output from said conversion unit is allowed to be supplied to said driving circuit only in a case where the first voltage is equal to or greater than the predetermined voltage level.