EP0495649A1 - Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Farbstrahlaufzeichnungskopfes - Google Patents

Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Farbstrahlaufzeichnungskopfes Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0495649A1
EP0495649A1 EP92300353A EP92300353A EP0495649A1 EP 0495649 A1 EP0495649 A1 EP 0495649A1 EP 92300353 A EP92300353 A EP 92300353A EP 92300353 A EP92300353 A EP 92300353A EP 0495649 A1 EP0495649 A1 EP 0495649A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
discharging
ink
manufacturing
ink jet
discharging ports
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP92300353A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0495649B1 (de
Inventor
Kazuaki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Masuda
Takashi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Watanabe
Akira C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Goto
Motoaki c/o Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Sato
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Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from JP03043555A external-priority patent/JP3095795B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP4367291A external-priority patent/JP2791228B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP3043659A external-priority patent/JP2791227B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP3043658A external-priority patent/JP2791226B2/ja
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Publication of EP0495649A1 publication Critical patent/EP0495649A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0495649B1 publication Critical patent/EP0495649B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/1433—Structure of nozzle plates
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1601—Production of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/1604—Production of bubble jet print heads of the edge shooter type
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1606—Coating the nozzle area or the ink chamber
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/162—Manufacturing of the nozzle plates
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1623—Manufacturing processes bonding and adhesion
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1631—Manufacturing processes photolithography
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1632—Manufacturing processes machining
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1632—Manufacturing processes machining
    • B41J2/1634—Manufacturing processes machining laser machining
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1637—Manufacturing processes molding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/164—Manufacturing processes thin film formation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2002/14475—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads characterised by nozzle shapes or number of orifices per chamber

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and a method for manufacturing the recording head. More particularly, the invention relates to a recording head having a discharging port formation member (herein-after also referred to as "orifice plate”) with discharging ports formed therein.
  • a discharging port formation member herein-after also referred to as "orifice plate”
  • the ink jet apparatus which discharges ink from its recording head to perform a desired recording
  • an ink jet recording apparatus which utilizes thermal energy to cause the state of ink to be changed and discharges ink by the pressure which is exerted at that time.
  • the head used for this apparatus has many numbers of discharging ports for discharging ink, ink passes connected to be respective discharging ports, and a common ink chamber which reservoirs ink to be supplied to the ink passes.
  • the recording head is formed by coupling a plate member called a discharging port plate with the discharging ports formed therein and the head main body in which the ink passes are arranged by positioning each of the ink passes and each of the discharging ports.
  • the discharging ports are formed in the discharging port plate by a perforative press or perforative etching or by utilizing a photosensitive resin.
  • the discharging port formation method hitherto adopted can no longer be employed. Therefore, a method for forming the discharging ports by utilizing a laser light is proposed by the applicant hereof. With such a method proposed anew, it is possible to produce all the discharging ports uniformly just by a one-time laser irradiation. Moreover, there is no need of the complicated positioning. Thus, with this method, the manufacturing process becomes easier and more suitable for a large scale production.
  • the surface of the discharging port plate should desirably be provided with ink repellency against the discharging ink.
  • the discharged ink adheres to the circumference of the discharging ports and remains solidified thereon or the discharging orientation of the discharged ink is deviated due to the aggregated ink around the discharging ports.
  • a problem of the kind must be solved for an improved operation, thus necessitating the design of the ink repellency on the plate surface.
  • the surface of the discharging port plate is formed with a water repellent material so that on the discharging port formation plane or at least around the discharging ports, the water repellency is provided.
  • a water repellent resin is coated over the orifice plate. Then, the resin coating is hardend by a photo or thermal treatment to form a water repellent layer on the discharging port formation plane.
  • a material layer is formed by evaporating by a thermal treatment the solvent which dissolves the particular material or the dispersion medium which disperses it to produce the water repellent layer on the face plane. In such a case of thermal treatment, heating is given at temperatures higher than the glass transition point Tg or fusion point Tmp.
  • the structure is arranged so that the discharging port formation member itself is produced by a material having a water repellency.
  • This water repellence treatment is performed as a preperatory process before the laser perforation to be given because there is a possibility that if the perforation process is given after this water repellence treatment, the water repellent agent used for the treatment is allowed to get into the discharging ports thus formed and clog them or change the diameter of the discharging ports.
  • the water repellence treatment layer 20 to be formed for the ink jet recording head should be not only effective enough in the water repellency, but also good enough in the durability of the water repellence treatment layer itself when a usual ink jet recording is performed. Otherwise, it cannot be employed in practice. Hereunder, the description will be made of its durability.
  • the circumferential portion of the orifice is always in contact with the recording liquid even if the water repellence treatment is given to the circumferential portion of the orifice. Accordingly, the orifice surface is generally wiped by an abosobent such as polyurethane foam to absorb the ink which has adhered thereto as a normal recovery operation. Therefore, the water repellence treatment layer is required to have an abrasion resistance and other properties good enough to maintain its adhesiveness even if rubbed by the abosobent or not allow the layer to be damaged thereby. If this resistivity is not sufficient, the water repellence treatment layer is gradually ripped or dropped off to loose its water repelling effect while the head is in use although it works properly in the initial stage. As a result, a stable discharging printing can no longer be expected.
  • an abosobent such as polyurethane foam
  • the water repellence treatment layers formed by the conventional water repellent agents have not been effective enough in some cases.
  • the machining of the discharging ports by laser is performed in such a way that a laser beam is irradiated onto the orifice plate having the water repellency over its discharging port plane by the above-mentioned treatment, and then the discharging ports are formed.
  • a laser beam is irradiated onto the orifice plate having the water repellency over its discharging port plane by the above-mentioned treatment, and then the discharging ports are formed.
  • it is found in reviewing the manufacturing method for the ink jet recording head that when the discharging ports are formed on the orifice surface by the application of the laser beam, there occurs a phenomenon that a by-product due to the orifice machining adheres to the vicinity of the discharging ports.
  • the material when the laser beam is irradiated to remove the portion of the material where the discharging ports are formed, the material is dissolved and a part thereof becomes carbon, for example, and is deposited on the circumference of the irradiated portion.
  • the ceiling plate thus prepared, the recording heads are fabricated. Then, various printing durability tests are conducted with the results that in some cases, the aforesaid carbon layer is striped off the ceiling plate to fly, and eventually, the discharging ports are clogged by the carbon particles to cause the defective discharging or disabled discharging, leading to defective printings.
  • the surface of the discharging port plate should desirably be even so that unnecessary ink puddles are not present thereon.
  • the ink puddles exist in the circumference of the discharging ports where the deposit substance ispresent in the recording head processed by the laser machining. Because of an ink puddle of the kind, the flying orientation is not stable liquidly, which makes it impossible to perform a desirable printing. Also, if the ink puddles become great, the droplet discharging becomes disabled to cause the recording to be discontinued eventually.
  • a manufacturing method for an ink jet head having discharging ports ink passes connected to the discharging ports, and energy generating members arranged in the ink passes to generate the energy which is utilized for discharging ink
  • it is still another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for a head including the steps of processes to give an oxidation treatment to the surface of the discharging port formation side of the workpiece which constitutes the discharging ports, to provide an intermediate layer having a coupling agent containing Si on the oxidized surface of the discharging port formation side, and to provide a layer having a polymer containing a fluorine-containing heterocyclic structure in its principal chain on the upper layer of the aforesaid intermediate layer for giving a water repellency.
  • a manufacturing method for an ink jet head having discharging ports ink passes connected to the discharging ports, and energy generating members arranged in the ink passes to generate the energy which is utilized for discharging ink
  • it is a further object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for a head including the steps of processes to give an oxidation treatment to the surface of the discharging port formation side of the workpiece which constitutes the discharging ports, to provide an intermediate layer containing an organometallic compound on the oxidized surface of the discharging port formation side, and to provide a layer having a polymer containing a fluorine-containing heterocyclic structure in its principal chain on the upper layer of the aforesaid intermediate layer for giving a water repellency.
  • a manufacturing method for an ink jet head having discharging ports ink passes connected to the discharging ports, and energy generating members arranged in the ink passes to generate the energy which is utilized for discharging ink
  • a manufacturing method for an ink jet head having discharging ports ink passes connected to the discharging ports, and energy generating members arranged in the ink passes to generate the energy which is utilized for discharging ink
  • it is still another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for a head including the steps of processes to give an oxidation treatment to the surface of the discharging port formation side of the workpiece which constitutes the discharging ports, to provide an intermediate layer having an aluminum hardening resin on the oxidized surface of the discharging port formation side, and to provide a layer having a polymer containing a fluorine-containing thermal plastic resin in its principal chain on the upper layer of the aforesaid intermediate layer for giving a water repellency.
  • the adhesiveness is enhanced to secure a long-time stability of the water repellency, thereby to attain a better durability against the cleaning performed by a blade or the like for the improvement of the discharging characteristics.
  • the present invention is designed to solve the above-mentioned problems present in the conventional art, and it is an object thereof to provide a recording head capable of preventing the degradation of the printing quality and a manufacturing method therefor in such a manner that subsequent to having performed an orifice machining by irradiating a pulse laser onto the orifice plate which has a water repellence layer on its discharging port surface or which is itself composed of a water repellent agent, the by-product having strong hydrophilic property, which has deposited adhesively on the vicinity of the orifice, are removed or a predetermined process is given thereto in order to recover the water repellency around the orifice, thus preventing the ink adhesion to the vicinity of the orifice.
  • an object of the present invention to provide a head having a recovered water repellency in the vicinity of the orifice by giving the following treatments to the orifice plate which has a water repellence layer on its discharging port surface or the orifice plate which is composed itself of a water repellent material after having removed the by-product adhesively deposited on the vicinity of the discharging ports when they are machined by irradiating a pulse laser or for an orifice plate having the by-product part adhesively deposited on the circumference of the discharging ports when the discharging ports are machined:
  • the present invention is designed on the basis of the knowledge that the prevention of the adhesion of the adhesives is possible in machining the orifice by the use of an assist gas blowing together with the irradiation of laser light when the discharging ports are machined.
  • the present invention is designed on the basis of the above-mentioned knowledge, and in the manufacturing method for an ink jet recording head provided with a substrate having energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a ceiling plate having concavities for the formation of the ink passes in the locations where the aforesaid energy generating elements are arranged by coupling it to the aforesaid substrate, and a discharging port formation member formed discharging ports thereon for discharging ink by connecting them conductively with the aforesaid ink passes, it is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for a head which forms the aforesaid discharging ports by providing processes to irradiate an excimer laser light and blow a helium gas for the aforesaid discharging port formation member.
  • an ink jet re-recording head provided with a substrate having energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a ceiling plate having concavities for the formation of the ink passes in the locations where the aforesaid energy generating elements are arranged by coupling it to the aforesaid substrate, and a discharging port formation member formed discharging ports thereon for discharging ink by connecting them conductively with the aforesaid ink passes
  • an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for a head including the steps of processes to form a film at least on a part of the integral member produced by the aforesaid ceiling member and discharging port formation member, to form the aforesaid discharging ports by irradiating a laser light, and to remove the aforesaid film.
  • the aforesaid ceiling plate has concavities for the formation of the aforesaid liquid passes, and it is possible to form the aforesaid discharging ports by irradiating an excimer laser light from the aforesaid concavity side.
  • the aforesaid part prefferably includes the location where the carbon adheres by the aforesaid discharging port formation process by the laser light.
  • aforesaid film is made of a material having a liquid repellency, and the film made of such a material should be formed at least in the aforesaid location and in the circumference of the surface where the aforesaid discharging ports are arranged. Then, in the aforesaid removal process, only the film in the aforesaid locations can be removed selectively.
  • the deposition layer of the carbon generated by the irradiation of the excimer laser for example, can be removed completely by providing the film removal process. Therefore, there is no dropping off of the carbon particles in using the recording head, thereby to make it possible to provide an ink jet head which satisfies a long-term reliability because there are no ink discharge and others affected by such a clogging caused thereby.
  • a manufacturing method for a head comprising: a process to give a hydrophilic property to the discharging port formation side of the workpiece which constitutes the aforesaid discharging ports; a process to provide an intermediate layer having a coupling agent containg Si on the plane to which the aforesaid hydrophilic property is given; a process to provide a water repellence layer for givining a water repellency to the upper layer of the aforesaid intermediate layer; a process to form discharging ports by irradiating a pulse laser beam; and a process to give a heat treatment to the by-product deposited adhesively on the circumference of the discharging ports at
  • An ink jet recording head shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a recording head main body (not shown) which is structured by combining a ceiling plate having concavities (hereinafter referred to as grooves) constituting ink passes and a common liquid chamber, which is further formed integrally with an orifice plate 10, with a substrate (hereinafter referred to as heater board) on which electro-thermal converting elements (hereinafter referred to as discharging heater) and AI wirings for supplying electric signals to the discharging heaters are , formed on an Si substrate.
  • a recording head main body which is structured by combining a ceiling plate having concavities (hereinafter referred to as grooves) constituting ink passes and a common liquid chamber, which is further formed integrally with an orifice plate 10, with a substrate (hereinafter referred to as heater board) on which electro-thermal converting elements (hereinafter referred to as discharging heater) and AI wirings for supplying electric signals to the discharging heaters are , formed
  • a reference numeral 600 designates a sub-ink tank which is arranged adjacent to the recording head main body.
  • This sub-ink tank 600 and the aforesaid main body are supported by a cover 300.
  • reference numeral 1,000 designates a cartridge main body and 1,100, a covering member of the cartridge main body.
  • an ink tank is incorporated to supply ink to the sub-ink tank 600 appropriately.
  • Fig. 2 is a view schematically showing a structural example of the grooved ceiling plate integrally formed with a discharging plate (hereinafter referred simply to as ceiling plate in some cases) 7 which constitutes the aforesaid head.
  • the ceiling plate 7 has ink pass grooves 14 and ink discharging ports 11 formed on an orifice plate 10 corresponding to the ink pass grooves in a number as desired (in Fig. 2, two pieces being shown for simplification), and is structured with a discharging port plate 10 which is integrally arranged with the ceiling plate.
  • the ceiling plate 7 is molded integrally with the orifice plate 10 simultaneously in a metallic mold using a resin having an excellent ink resistivity such as polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene oxide, and polypropylene.
  • the description will be made of a method for forming the ink pass grooves 14 and orifice 11.
  • a resin which is formed by a method using a technique to cut the fine grooves having a pattern opposite to the ink pass grooves or the like, thus enabling the formation of the liquid pass grooves 14 on the ceiling plate 7.
  • the discharging ports on the orifice plate of the ceiling plate 7 can be formed as given below.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates a state where the orifice is being machined by irradiating an excimer laser light from the ink pass side to the orifice plate which is formed integrally with the ceiling plate, in which the same reference signs are given to the same elements appearing in Fig. 1.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates a state where the orifice is being machined by irradiating an excimer laser light from the ink pass side to the orifice plate which is formed integrally with the ceiling plate, in which the same reference signs are given to the same elements appearing in Fig. 1.
  • a reference numeral 1 designates a laser oscillator for oscillating KrF excimer laser light; 2, a pulse laser beam having a wavelength of 248 nm or 365 nm with a pulse width of approximately 15 nsec emitted from the laser oscillator 1; 3, a synthesized quarts lens for converging the laser beam 2; and 4, a projection mask which shields the laser beam 2 with a deposition of aluminum and constructs an orifice pattern with a plurality of holes of 133 ⁇ m diameter arranged at pitches of 212 ⁇ m.
  • a hydrophilic oxidation treatment layer is produced at least on the circumference of a portion where the orifice is expected to be formed on the ceiling plate having the aforesaid orifice plate by the oxidation using an oxidizing agent or by cleaning with UV/O3 or the like.
  • this ceiling plate is dipped in an amino silane coupling agent (for example, Alll0 ⁇ - aminopropyl trimetoxylen: Nippon Unika -). Then, excessive silane coupling agent is removed in a pure water to form a single molecular layer of silane coupling agent on the orifice circumference uniformly.
  • an amino silane coupling agent for example, Alll0 ⁇ - aminopropyl trimetoxylen: Nippon Unika -.
  • a water repellence treatment is given.
  • a water repellence treatment agent there is used a dilution prepared by diluting the solution (5 weight %) of CTX-805A (Asahi Glass Inc.) and CTX-105A (Asahi Glass Inc.) by CT-Solve 100:CT-Solve 180 (boiling point being 100°C and 180°C respectively: this ceiling plate is dipped by Asahi Glass Inc.) in a ratio of 4 : 1.
  • CTX-805A Asahi Glass Inc.
  • CT-105A Asahi Glass Inc.
  • this ceiling plate is dipped by Asahi Glass Inc.
  • As to the density while it is possible to adopt a range of 0.01 weight % to 5.0 weight %, particularly, the range of 0.1 to 0.7 weight % is best suited.
  • a brush coating, casting method, or the like can be adopted as a method for coating the agent to the head. Then, a thermal drying treatment is given for an hour at 150°C. Subsequently, a laser perforation is performed to form the discharging orifice, and a substrate having discharging pressure generating elements is bonded thereto adhesively.
  • the head thus fabricated is prepared as sample 1.
  • a fluorine-containing heterocyclic agent As an example of the water repellent agent used for the present invention, a fluorine-containing heterocyclic agent can be named.
  • the fluorine-containing heterocyclic structure means an organic substance of five to eight rings containing one to two heteroatoms in a chemical constitution formula.
  • the heteroatoms are the atoms other than carbon (C). More specifically, oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), phosphorus (P), and others are used. Particularly, oxygen (O) is suitably used from the viewpoint of its chemical stability and safety.
  • the fluorine-containing polymer having the heterocyclic structure should have a fluorine content ratio of 10 weight % or more from the viewpoint of the ink repellency (contact angle), and it should preferably be 25 weight % or more and further preferably be 50 weight % or more.
  • the ratio of the cyclic structure in the principal chain should be 10% or more in consideration of the strength of an object film or its solvency to the solvent or from the viewpoint of its adhesiveness to the substrate or the like, and it should preferably be 20% or more and further preferably be 30% or more.
  • the present invention is preferably to use particularly a noncrystalline polymer among the fluorine-containing polymers having the heterocyclic structure.
  • the noncrystalline polymer is excellent in its film strength, adhesiveness to the substrate, film uniformity, and the like. Therefore, with this polymer, the effects of the present invention can be more prominently displayed.
  • fluorine-containing polymer having the heterocyclic structure in the principle chain in the present invention it is preferable to use those disclosed in the specification of the U.S. Patent No. 3,418,302, the specification of the U.S. Patent No. 3,978,030, Japanese Patent LaidOpen Application No. 63-238111, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 63-238115, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 1-131214, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 1-131215, and others, for example.
  • Futhermore in order to enhance the adhesiveness to the substrate or to control the solubility to Tg and solution, it may be possible to introduce the following structure into the principal chain: (where R3, R4, and R5 are H, F, Cl, and Rf (fluorine-containing alkyl), and X is H, F, Cl, Rf3, and Rf4.
  • Rf3 is a fluorine-containing organic substituent having acid, ester, alcohol, amine, amide, and other functional group at its terminal
  • Rf4 is a fluorine-containing alkyl and fluorint-containing ether.
  • CF2 CF-O-CF2CF(CF3)-O-CF2CF2SO2F
  • CF2 CF-O-CF2CF2CF2COOCH3
  • CF2 CF-CF2CF(CF3)-O-CF2CF2SO2F
  • a head fabricated without cleaning in a pure water is prepared as sample 2.
  • a head fabricated with the wavelength of laser being 365 nm is prepared as sample 3 .
  • An ink jet recording head is fabricated in the same manner as the first embodiment except that no treatment with silane coupling agent is performed.
  • a head of the kind is prepared as sample 4.
  • Friction durability tests are conducted as given below on the samples 1 through 4 of the ink jet recording heads fabricated in the embodiments 1, 2, and 3, and the comparison example 1.
  • Figs. 4A and 4B are a perspective view and a plan view to illustrate respectively such a friction durability testing briefly.
  • the surface treatment layer 20 of the ink jet recording head 1 is slidably rubbed by the silicone rubber plate 21 under a pressure of approximately 10g/cm2. Also, in order to condition the slidable rubbing as close as to the actual state in use, the ink droplets 25 of a water color ink are sprayed from an ink spraying device 24 over the portion slidably rubbed.
  • each of the marks appearing in the Table 1 indicates the printing condition which has been obtained, and a mark ⁇ shows desirable printing condition, ⁇ , ordinary printing condition, and X, inferior printing condition, respectively.
  • the desirable or inferior printing condition is determined both by measuring the amount of the deviated dots from the impact points and an organoleptic test by eye-sight. The averaged evaluation for each of the samples tested is stated in Table 1.
  • the recording head (Sample 4) fabricated by the comparison example 1 shows an inferior printing condition at 5,000 slidable rubbings. This is caused by the separation of the surface treatment layer.
  • the heads (Samples 1, 2, and 3) fabricated by the embodiments 1, 2, and 3 show the desirable or ordinary printing conditions until 20,000 slidable rubbings.
  • the quality of the samples 1 and 3 is stable after 20,000 slidable rubbings because of the water treatment given to each of them.
  • the present invention it may be possible to attain a strong bonding state between the substrate and water repellent agent by providing a layer containing not only Si coupling agent as an intermediate layer but an organometallic compound, amine resin, amine hardening resin also as the intermediate layer.
  • the grooved ceiling plate integrally formed with the discharging port plate, for which a water repellence treatment has been processed by the method shown in the embodiment 3, is mounted on a laser perforation apparatus shown in Fig. 3 (manufactured by L'Monix) to from discharging ports by irradiating a laser light of 365 nm (for two seconds) with 200 pulses per second.
  • a reference numeral 2 designates an excimer laser beam; 10, an orifice plate; 6, a water repellence layer; 11, the dischanging opening formed by the discharging port machining device shown in Fig. 2; and 8, the by-product generated by the orifice machining, which has adhered to the vicinity of the discharging port.
  • the incidence of the laser beam 2 is given to form the discharging opening 11 from the plane of the discharging port plate 10 where no water repellence layer has been provided.
  • the discharging plate with the adhesive deposition of the by-product on the vicinity of its discharging openings due to a discharging port machining of the kind is processed by heating under the conditions given below in order to obtain an optimal value of the heating treatment process.
  • the heating device used is a clean oven (Model No. Yamato DE-42).
  • the heating temperatures are set at 90°C ⁇ 2°C, 120°C ⁇ 2°C, 150°C ⁇ 2°C, and 170°C ⁇ 2°C.
  • the heating times are set for 0.5 hour, 1.0 hour, 2.0 hours, and 4.0 hours.
  • the grooved ceiling plates integrally formed with the discharging port plate which have been treated by the heating process, are immersed in an ink of 60°C (for an extremely short period of time or only dropping of ink droplets (represented as initial), 40 hours, and 100 hours) and then the ink wetting conditions around the , discharging ports are observed by a metallurgical microscope. Here, seven samples are observed for each. The results are stated in Table 2 given below.
  • the mark ⁇ in the Table 2 indicates that there are no wetting phenomenon around the discharging ports; ⁇ , slight wetting around the discharging ports; and X, conspicuous wetting around the discharging ports, respectively.
  • the numeral under each mark indicates the number ofthe samples showing the wetting phenomenon of the corresponding mark.
  • the ink wetting phenomenon is almost equal to or better than the results obtained in observing those processed at 150°C ⁇ 2°C.
  • the grooved ceiling plate integrally formed with the discharging plate is made of a polysulfone whose fusing point is 180°C.
  • the heating treatment temperature between 120°C or more and 165°C or less or more preferably between 140°C or more and 165°C or less.
  • 150°C can be selected as a most preferable temperature which produces no adverse effect on polysulfone.
  • this temperature depends on the material of the head and water repellent agent to be used. Hence, the heating temperature is arbitrarily selective by the materials to be used.
  • the heating time however, a sufficient effect is obtainable if only it is more than one hour.
  • the upper limit of the heating hour in the present embodiment is four hours, which is considered long enough, but it may be possible to make it longer.
  • the grooved ceiling plate formed integrally with the discharging port plate should be left in the oven for eight hours to twelve hours.
  • the temperature control must be carried out so that the ceiling plate is held for more than one hour at least at the optimal temperature of 150°C.
  • the oven which presents a temperature curve as shown in Fig. 7 is adopted in condition that the heating temperature is set at 150°C ⁇ 2°C for the heating time being one hour (at H in Fig. 7) with the oven temperature being at 153°C, and during the heating, the N2 flow rate is set for 20 l/min.
  • the material should be removed from the oven after the temperature is lowered to 80°C or less.
  • the water repellent agent is affected by the added heat to become fluid. Thus, it runs out to cover the by-product generated by the laser perforation, and eventually, the plate surface is entirely covered by the water repellent agent. In this way, it is possible to produce the grooved ceiling plate formed integrally with the discharging plate having a desirable water repellency.
  • a ultrasonic cleaning is given to the orifice plate having the adhesively adhering by-product on the circumference of the discharging ports.
  • a polyether sulfone film is used for the discharging port plate 10.
  • KP801 Product name: Shinetsu Kagaku Inc.
  • the heating treatment process is given at 150°C for one hour to form the water repellence layer 6.
  • the orifice is machined as above. Then, the ink jet recording head is fabricated with the orifice plate, the by-product deposited on which has been removed, and is mounted on a printer for the observation of the discharging droplets as well as for the recording onto a recording sheet. As a result, it is found that the discharging orientation of the flying droplets is stable as compared with the ink jet recording head fabricated with an orifice plate which is not given any ultrasonic cleaning, and that the resultant printing is also desirable.
  • the discharging ports are machined as above Then, the ink jet recording head is fabricated with the orifice plate, the by-product deposited on which has been removed, and is mounted on a printer for the observation of the discharging droplets as well as for the recording onto a recording sheet.
  • the discharging orientation of the flying droplets is stable as compared with the ink jet recording head fabricated with a discharging port plate which is not given any cleaning by the ultrasonic water flow, and that the resultant printing is also desirable.
  • the discharging port plate having the by-product adhesively deposited on the circumference of the discharging ports is cleaned by a high pressure water flow.
  • a polyether sulfone film is used for the discharging port plate 10.
  • Si-top Product name: Asahi Glass Inc.
  • the heating treatment process is given at 120°C for one hour to form the water repellence layer 6.
  • a KrF excimer laser beam is irradiated from the plane opposite to the plane where the water repellence layer 6 has been formed.
  • the discharging ports 11 are formed. Then, to the discharging ports 11 thus formed on the discharging port plate 10, a high pressure water flow produced by discharging a pure water continuously under a pressure of 200 kgf/cm2 from a sapphier nozzle of 50 microns is applied in the direction of the discharging ports. Then, as shown in Fig. 6, although the by-product 8 generated at the time of orifice machining in a location where the high pressure water flow has not reached cannot be removed sufficiently, the by-produce due to the laser machining which has adhered to the circumference of the discharging ports of the discharging port plate is removed.
  • the discharging ports are machined as above. Then, the ink jet recording head is fabricated with the orifice plate, the by-product deposited on which has been removed, and is mounted on a printer for the observation of the discharging droplets as well as for the recording onto a recording sheet. As a result, it is found that the discharging orientation of the flying droplets is stable as compared with the ink jet recording head fabricated with a discharging port plate which is not given any cleaning by the high pressure water flow, and that the resultant printing is also desirable.
  • the application and removal of cellophane tapes are repeated five times against the discharging port plate having the by-product adhesively deposited on the circumference of the discharging ports.
  • a polyimide film is used for the discharging port plate 10.
  • KP801 Product name: Shinetsu Kagaku Inc.
  • the heating treatment process is given at 150°C for one hour to form the water repellence layer 6.
  • the discharging ports are machined as above. Then, the ink jet recording head is fabricated with the orifice plate, the by-product deposited on which has been removed, and is mounted on a printer for the observation of the discharging droplets as well as for the recording onto a recording sheet. As a result, it is found that the discharging orientation of the flying droplets is stable as compared with the ink jet recording head fabricated with a discharging port plate for which no application and removal of the cellophane tapes are conducted, and that the resultant printing is also desirable.
  • an excimer laser light is irradiated from a laser device to the position where the orifice should be formed from the ink pass side of the orifice plate.
  • the resin is thus removed and evaporated so that the orifice 11 is produced.
  • helium is blown as an assist gas for machining.
  • a helium gas 50 of 99.9999% purity is continuously blown from a helium blowing nozzle 51 as shown in Fig. 8 during the machining by the laser irradiation.
  • the structure of the head and the devices to be used for forming the discharging ports are the same.
  • the blowing of the helium gas is conducted in the direction toward the laser light with the ceiling and orifice plates being sandwiched therebetween.
  • the helium gas is allowed to reach the surface of the orifice plate more efficiently.
  • the effect of the helium gas blowing is the same if it is blown just before the portion of the discharging ports to be formed is penetrated on the way of the machining by the laser light irradiation.
  • the structure of the head and the device used for forming the discharging ports are the same.
  • the ionized air is produced by a device which ionizes air.
  • a device which ionizes air.
  • Such a device is installed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments.
  • the ionized air is blown from the blowing nozzle. While this air is being blown, the excimer later light is irradiated onto the orifice plate of the ceiling plate to perform the discharging port formation machining.
  • the removals at the time of machining do not adhere to the surface of the orifice plate, either, as in the case of the previous embodiments.
  • the present embodiment is such that during the aforesaid fabricating process, a protection coating layer is produced before the performance of the laser perforation, and that the protection coating layer is removed after the laser perforation machining.
  • a protection coating layer is produced before the performance of the laser perforation, and that the protection coating layer is removed after the laser perforation machining.
  • the cross-sectional area of the orifice of a tapering shape presents a shape which is gradually reduced in the discharging direction.
  • the excimer laser is a laser capable of oscillating ultraviolet light and has a high intensity, an excellent monochromaticity, directivity, capability of short pulse oscillation, capability of making energy density extremely great by converging a lens, and other advantages.
  • the excimer laser oscillator is a device capable of oscillating a short pulse (15 to 35 ns) ultraviolet light by the discharge excitation of a rare gas and halogen mixture, and Kr-F, Xe-Cl, Ar-F lasers are often employed therefor.
  • the number of these oscillating energies is 100 mJ/pulse and the pulse repetition frequency is 30 to 1,000 Hz.
  • an ablative photodecomposition (APD) process is generated so that the irradiated portion is instantaneously dissolved and splashed with the accompanying plasma emission and impulsive sound. Hence, with this process, the polymer resin can be machined.
  • APD ablative photodecomposition
  • an SUS and other metals, opaque ceramics, Si, and others are not affected by an irradiation of the excimer laser in the aerial atmosphere. Therefore, these can be used as a mask material for the excimer laser machining. IV. Subsequently, the ceiling plate with the discharging ports thus provided is cleaned using an appropriate solvent and others in order to remove the carbon layer deposited on the coating layer. Both of the carbon layer and coating layer are removed together as if they are lifted off.
  • Fig. 9A there is schematically shown an adhesive state of the carbon layer at the time of the excimer laser machining subsequent to the coating of an organic solvent.
  • a reference numeral 16 designates the coating layer of an organic solvent and 17, the carbon layer deposited thereon.
  • the carbon layer is most thickly deposited on the circumference of the discharging ports 11 of the orifice plate 10 where the excimer laser light is directly irradiated, and that the deposition becomes thinner as it is further away therefrom.
  • a reference numeral 180 designates a cartridge shown in Fig. 1.
  • This cartridge 180 is fixed on the carriage 151 by a pressure member 181 so as to be shuttled in the longitudinal direction along a shaft 121.
  • the positioning of the carriage 151 is performed by the nibs provided in a cover 1,300 and dowels or the like arranged on the carriage 1 side.
  • the electrical connection can be made by coupling a connector of the carriage 151 to a connecting pad provided on a wiring board.
  • the discharged ink from the recording head reaches a recording medium 118, the recording surface of which is controlled by a platen 119 with a fine space provided between the platen and recording head, to form an image on the recording medium 118.
  • discharging signals corresponding to image data are supplied from an appropriate data supply source through a cable 116 and terminal connected therewith.
  • One or plural cartridges 180 (two in Fig. 11) can be provided in accordance with the color or colors of ink to be used and the like.
  • a positive type liquid resist used for the so-called photolithography for example, a 5% solution of OFPR-800 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Inc.
  • the ceiling plate material is immersed and dried naturally for 30 minutes after being lifted therefrom.
  • the ceiling plate member is formed in the aforesaid process (I) and polysulfone is used for its material.
  • the discharging ports are machined and in the process (IV), the discharging port plate is immersed in a development (for example, NMD3: Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Inc.) for a five-minute ultrasonic cleaning.
  • a development for example, NMD3: Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Inc.
  • a positive type liquid resist used for the so-called photolithography for example, a 5% solution of OMR 83 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Inc.
  • the ceiling plate material is immersed and dried naturally for 30 minutes after being lifted therefrom.
  • polypropylene is used for its material.
  • the discharging ports are machined and in the process (IV), the discharging port plate is immersed in xylene-for a five-minute ultrasonic cleaning.
  • a coating agent in the process (II) a polyvinyl alcohol (degree of polymerization 500 and saponification degree 80%) is employed to prepare a 0.5% water solution, and in such a solution, the ceiling plate material is immersed and dried naturally for 30 minutes after being lifted therefrom.
  • polysulfone is used for the material.
  • the discharging port plate is immersed in a water as the process (IV) for a five-minute ultrasonic cleaning.
  • polyether sulfone is used for the ceiling plate material.
  • aluminum (AI) is provided on the surface of the orifice plate for a thickness of approximately 0.3 to 0.5 ⁇ m by sputtering. Then, after the discharging ports are machined in the process (III), the discharging port plate is immersed in a phosphoric solution for a three-minute ultrasonic cleaning.
  • the polyether sulfone has a desirable chemical resistivity against phosphoric acid, and as there rarely occurs a crack in the ceiling plate, it is easier to remove the film.
  • a ceiling plate is obtained by machining discharging ports on the ceiling plate material which has been prepared through the process (I) but not through the process (II), subsequent to which, the plate is immersed in a water for a five-minute ultrasonic cleaning.
  • polysulfone is used for the ceiling plate material.
  • all the coating layer is removed in the cleaning process so that no residual carbon may remain at all.
  • the coating layer is removed or remain unremoved from a desired location selectively in the cleaning process by conducting a selective light irradiation before cleaning (for example, if a positive type resist is used, the cleaning should be given subsequent to the light irradiation locally to a portion where the removal is desired, or if a negative type resist is used, the cleaning should be given subsequent to the light irradiation locally to the portion where the coating is to remain unremoved).
  • a selective light irradiation before cleaning for example, if a positive type resist is used, the cleaning should be given subsequent to the light irradiation locally to a portion where the removal is desired, or if a negative type resist is used, the cleaning should be given subsequent to the light irradiation locally to the portion where the coating is to remain unremoved.
  • a liquid repellence treatment is given to the plane where the discharging ports are arranged (a discharging port arrangement plane or orifice plate surface in the above example) in some cases.
  • This treatment is given in consideration of the fact that if the wettability of the discharging port arrangement plane is high, a part of ink tends to remain on the discharging port arrangement plane when the meniscus is returned after the ink discharging operation, which results in drawing the ink to be discharged next time thereby to twist its discharging direction.
  • a resin having liquid repellency is coated in the process (II) in order to cope with such a situation as this, and before the process (IV), there is performed a light irradiation to or shield from the discharging port arrangement plane which corresponds to the resist.
  • Fig. 10 is a view showing the ceiling plate 5A which is obtainable after cleaning subsequent to the above processes and on the front face of the orifice plate 10, a film 16A remains to serve as a liquid repellence layer. According to the present embodiment, there is no need of providing a liquid repellence layer separately or any process in a recording apparatus that may perform an automatic coating or the like.
  • liquid repellence layer as in the present embodiment, it may be possible to cause only the required portion in the circumference of the discharging ports to remain or if desired, it may be possible to cause such a layer to remain in some other portion (a predetermined portion in the reverse side of the orifice plate or in the ink pass). In either case, it is possible to obtain remaining portions as desired by controlling the irradiation of light or shielding thereof.
  • the ceiling plate material is immersed in a resist solution.
  • the present invention is capable of defining the kinds of the functionable layer, the layer deposition or the location thereof as a matter of course and is not limited to the example set forth above.
  • the present invention is provided with means (for example, electrothermal converting element, laser light, or the like) for generating thermal energy as the energy which can be utilized for discharging ink because with the present invention not only it is possible to bring about an excellent effect in a recording head or a recording apparatus having such a method as generating a change of state for ink by the aforesaid thermal energy, but also it is possible to attain a higher density as well as a higher precision of recording by the use thereof.
  • means for example, electrothermal converting element, laser light, or the like
  • the formation of bubble is made efficiently in the recording liquid (ink) one to one in response to such a driving signal. Then, the recording liquid (ink) is discharged into the atmosphere through the discharging ports by the active force generated in the course of the growth and contraction of this bubble to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to produce this driving signal in the form of pulses. Then, the growth and contraction of the bubbles are appropriately effectuated instantaneously to implement the discharging of recording liquid particularly with an excellent responsibility.
  • the one such as disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Patent 4463359 and U.S. Patent 4345262 is suitably adoptable. In this respect, it is possible to perform such an excellent recording still better if the conditions referred to in the invention on the temperature rise for the above-mentioned thermo-active plane disclosed in the specification of U.S. Patent 4313124.
  • the present invention includes a combination of the discharging port, liquid pass, electrothermal converter (linear liquid pass or rectangular liquid pass) such as disclosed in each of the above-mentioned specifications as well as the structure having the thermo-active portion arranged in the bending region using the configuration disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Patent 4558333 and U.S. Patent 4459600.
  • the present invention is effective when its structure is arranged on the basis of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 59-123670 which discloses a structure whereby to make a common slit to be the discharging ports of the electrothermal converters or of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No.
  • 59-138461 which discloses a structure whereby to arrange the discharging ports in relation to the opening holes which absorb the pressurized waves of thermal energy. In other words, this is possible because according to the present invention, a recording can be performed assuredly and efficiently irrespective of the modes of the recording heads.
  • the present invention can also be adopted effectively.
  • a recording head there may be a structure made either by combining a plurality of recording heads or by an integrally constructed single recording head to attain such a recording length.
  • the present invention is effectively applicable either to the above-mentioned serial type recording head, the recording head fixed to the main body of the recording apparatus, a freely replaceable chip type recording head for which the electrical connection to the main body of the recording apparatus as well as the ink supply from the main body of the recording apparatus become possible when the chip is installed therein, or a cartridge type recording head having the ink tank integrally provided for the recording head itself.
  • a recovery means, preliminarily auxiliary means, and the like provided for the recording head are constituents of the recording apparatus according to the present invention because with these constituents, the effect of the present invention becomes more stable.
  • these constituents are a capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, compression or suction means, electrothermal converter or thermal element independent thereof or preliminary heating means provided by the combination thereof, and others. Also, it is effective to provide a preliminarydischarging mode which performs preliminary discharging besides the recording.
  • the kinds and numbers of the recording heads to be mounted it may be possible to adopt those having a plurality of recording heads for plural kinds of ink which are different in recording colors or densities in addition to the one having only one head for a single color ink, for example.
  • the present invention is extremely effective when applied to an recording apparatus provided with at least one of the respective recording modes for compound colors by different colors or full colors by color mixtures irrespective of whether the recording head is constructed integrally for a single head or by combination of plural heads for the recording mode of the apparatus which is not confined only to a major color such as black.
  • the ink which is a liquid it may be possible to use the ink which is solidified at room temperature or less if only such ink can be softened or liquefied at room temperature, or if only such ink can be liquefied when a signal to use for recording is given because in an ink jet method, it is generally practiced that ink itself is kept within a temperature range of 30°C or more and 70°C or less to maintain its viscosity in a range of stable discharging.
  • the temperature rise to be caused by the thermal energy is positively prevented by using such energy for changing the state of ink from solid to liquid, or for the prevention of ink evaporation, it may be possible to use the ink which is solidified when it is left intact but can be liquefied by heating.
  • the present invention is also applicable to the ink which is liquefied in response to the provision of the recording signals generated by the thermal energy for discharging such a liquefied ink, or the ink which has a property to be liquefied only by the provision of thermal energy and which already begins to be solidified just before reaching a recording medium or the like.
  • the mode which enables the implementation of the above-mentioned film boiling method is the most effective for each of the above-mentioned kinds of ink.
  • the mode of the ink jet recording apparatus there may be those used for copying machines in combination with readers, and facsimile apparatuses having transmitter and receiver, or the like in addition to the image output terminals for a computer or other information processing apparatuses.
EP92300353A 1991-01-18 1992-01-16 Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Farbstrahlaufzeichnungskopfes Expired - Lifetime EP0495649B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (10)

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JP4710/91 1991-01-18
JP471091 1991-01-18
JP43555/91 1991-03-08
JP43659/91 1991-03-08
JP43672/91 1991-03-08
JP03043555A JP3095795B2 (ja) 1991-01-18 1991-03-08 インクジェット記録ヘッドおよび該ヘッドの製造方法
JP4367291A JP2791228B2 (ja) 1991-03-08 1991-03-08 インクジェットヘッドの製造方法及びインクジェットヘッド
JP3043659A JP2791227B2 (ja) 1991-03-08 1991-03-08 インクジェット記録ヘッド及びその製造方法
JP43658/91 1991-03-08
JP3043658A JP2791226B2 (ja) 1991-03-08 1991-03-08 記録ヘッドの製造方法および記録ヘッド

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EP1072420A3 (de) * 1999-07-27 2001-06-13 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tintenstrahlaufzeichnungskopf und Verfahren zur Herstellung
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EP0585854A1 (de) * 1992-08-31 1994-03-09 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tintenstrahlkopfherstellungsverfahren mittels Bearbeitung durch Ionen und Tintenstrahlkopf
US5649359A (en) * 1992-08-31 1997-07-22 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet head manufacturing method using ion machining and ink jet head manufactured thereby
US5703630A (en) * 1992-08-31 1997-12-30 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet head manufacturing method using ion machining and ink jet head manufactured thereby
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Also Published As

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ATE157046T1 (de) 1997-09-15
CA2059617A1 (en) 1992-07-19
DE69221645D1 (de) 1997-09-25
DE69221645T2 (de) 1998-01-02
CA2059617C (en) 2001-04-03
EP0495649B1 (de) 1997-08-20

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