EP0726152A2 - Procédé de fabrication d'une tête d'impression à jet d'encre - Google Patents

Procédé de fabrication d'une tête d'impression à jet d'encre Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0726152A2
EP0726152A2 EP96250101A EP96250101A EP0726152A2 EP 0726152 A2 EP0726152 A2 EP 0726152A2 EP 96250101 A EP96250101 A EP 96250101A EP 96250101 A EP96250101 A EP 96250101A EP 0726152 A2 EP0726152 A2 EP 0726152A2
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
chambers
plate
parts
areas
etching
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
EP96250101A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0726152A3 (fr
EP0726152B1 (fr
Inventor
Wolfgang Dr. Thiel
Stephan Günther
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Francotyp Postalia GmbH
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Francotyp Postalia GmbH
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of EP0726152A2 publication Critical patent/EP0726152A2/fr
Publication of EP0726152A3 publication Critical patent/EP0726152A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0726152B1 publication Critical patent/EP0726152B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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
    • B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
    • 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
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/14233—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
    • 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
    • B41J2/1607—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/161—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
    • 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
    • B41J2/164—Manufacturing processes thin film formation
    • B41J2/1646—Manufacturing processes thin film formation thin film formation by sputtering
    • 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
    • B41J2002/14362—Assembling elements of 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
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2002/14379—Edge shooter
    • 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
    • B41J2002/14387—Front shooter
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/42—Piezoelectric device making
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49401—Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a manufacturing method for an ink jet print head according to the type specified in the preamble of claim 1.
  • Such an ink jet printhead can be used in small, fast printers. These are used, for example, for franking machines for franking mail.
  • ink jet print heads are constructed according to the edge shooter or face shooter principle (First annual ink jet printing workshop, March 26-27, 1992, Royal Sonesta Hotel, Cambridge, Massachusetts). Efforts have been made to minimize the dimensions of the chambers to increase the nozzle density. The nozzle chambers have also been arranged in a concentrated manner towards the front edge. However, this principle only makes sense for inkjet modules with a few nozzles in a row and fails with a large number of nozzles.
  • a nozzle plate was then placed in front of a one-piece, multi-chamber ink jet printhead.
  • the chambers are no longer parallel to each other with the smaller chamber area, but now with the larger chamber area.
  • the piezo crystals form the chamber walls (shared wall concept, Ink Jet Printing Conference, November 11-13, 1991).
  • DE 34 45 761 A1 discloses a method for producing a transducer arrangement from a single plate of a transducer material. After coating the lower plate surface with a membrane layer, material is removed from the upper surface in order to produce separate areas which are arranged on the membrane above each pressure chamber (area 25.4 mm * 2.54 mm). This eliminates the need for an adhesive bond between the transducer material and the membrane and the uniformity of all distances is improved. The resulting nozzle spacing is, however, relatively large.
  • Such an offset arrangement of two rows of nozzles is also known for an edge shooter module - shown in FIG. 2 (First Annual Ink Jet Printing Workshop, March 26-27, 1992, Royal Sonesta Hotel, Cambridge, Massachusetts).
  • a module consists of a total of only three parts (glass pieces), a central part with openings and two side parts, each with a row of ink chambers and a row of nozzles on the front side of the respective side part.
  • the two rows of ink chambers and the rows of nozzles on the front of the respective side part are offset from one another, which again brings with it the disadvantages already mentioned when assembling the module and when actuating.
  • an ink jet print head having an in-line module with an edge ejection is proposed .
  • the process for manufacturing the inkjet printhead is based on the CAD development of a printhead design and a mask production for a photosensitive glass plate.
  • the masked glass plates are exposed at least once to radiation with a corresponding wavelength of UV light with subsequent heat treatment.
  • the areas to be removed are then removed (etched out) from the plate and then the individual parts for the middle part and the parts carrying the chambers are separated.
  • the duration of the etching bath determines the layer thickness of the removed material.
  • Three individual parts each consisting of two Chamber-bearing parts and a middle part, are aligned and tacked together and then annealed.
  • nozzle channels and the cavities (chambers) and the outer edge of the module are specially treated before the printhead is contacted and installed.
  • the invention is based on the fact that when the edges are ejected, the row of nozzles with a high number of nozzles can be accommodated in a side part of a module. For the first time, a higher nozzle density can be achieved in the manner according to the invention, completely independently of the dimensions of the ink chambers.
  • the dimensions of the ink chambers can now even be increased without reducing the nozzle density.
  • Such an inkjet print head can advantageously be constructed from a plurality of modules, only one of the modules carrying the row of nozzles or consisting of a multi-part module. It is furthermore provided that the end edge of the chamber-bearing part, which carries the row of nozzles, is arranged at the edge or in the middle of a module.
  • FIG. 1a shows the known principle of an edge shooter inkjet print head in a perspective view. It consists of a module with two rows of nozzles offset from one another in the y direction. A first group 101 of ink chambers belongs to the nozzle group 1.1 of the first row and a group 102 of ink chambers to the nozzle group 1.2 of the second row.
  • FIG. 1b shows the known principle of a face shooter ink jet ink jet print head in a perspective view. It consists of a module, in the base of which two nozzle groups 1.1 and 1.2 offset in the z direction lie in a row. A group of ink chambers 101 and 102 for the nozzle group 1.1 and for the offset nozzle group 1.2 is supplied with ink from a suction chamber 151 and 152, respectively.
  • FIG. 1 c shows a perspective view of the principle according to the invention of an edge shooter ink jet in-line print head (ESIJIL). It consists of a module, on the end face of which k ⁇ 2 nozzle groups 1.1, 1.2, etc., which are horizontally offset from one another, lie in a row.
  • the ink flow from the chamber groups 101-104 in the volume of the module is directed to the front edge of the first chamber-bearing part, which forms a side part of the module.
  • the chambers of a group 101-104 are staggered in the y direction and their associated outgoing ink channels are guided to the printing edge in such a way that they form nozzles 1.1-1.4 which are in a row but are nevertheless very close apart. This is achieved in FIG.
  • FIG. 2 The construction of a known two-row edge shooter ink jet module shown in FIG. 2 consists of 3 ceramic or glass parts.
  • a first part which bears a first chamber group on its left side, is connected via a middle part to a second part, which bears a second chamber group on its right side, in the y direction such that the chambers lie against the inside of the middle part and laterally to one another are offset (horizontally).
  • Each chamber is connected to a suction chamber via a first channel and to the front edge of the module via a second channel.
  • Each of the second channels forms a nozzle. It is relatively difficult to exactly maintain the distance between the two rows of nozzles.
  • the middle part has a first opening which connects the suction spaces of both outer parts to one another and to an ink supply opening. There are also openings for the fasteners.
  • An ink chamber group 101 and the suction space 15 are located on the left side of the first part 2, which is not visible in FIG. 3.
  • the part 4 containing the second chambers does not carry any nozzles but only the second ink chamber group 102, which is supplied with ink via the second openings 14 of the middle part 3.
  • the associated further nozzles are connected to the ink chambers of the second part 4 via the third openings in the middle part 3.
  • Parts 2 - 4 are assembled in the direction of the y-axis.
  • the x-ray image of the ESIJIL printhead module according to the invention shown in FIG. 4 in plan view illustrates the in-line arrangement of the nozzles and the lateral offset of the ink chamber groups 101 of the first chamber-bearing part 2 and the group 102 of the second chamber-bearing part 4 the position of the first opening 18 in the middle part 3 to the ink supply opening 16 and the suction space 15, the second openings 14 which are in communication with the suction space 15 and the third openings 9 which supply the ink to the nozzles of the second nozzle group 1.2. It is contemplated that the nozzles of nozzle group 101 alternate with the nozzles of nozzle group 102 within the row of nozzles.
  • FIG. 5a A detail of the X-ray image from FIG. 4 is shown enlarged in FIG. 5a.
  • the chambers 11 of the first chamber group 101 located in the first part 2 are assigned nozzles of the first nozzle group 1.1 in the same part 2.
  • the chamber 11 is supplied with ink from a suction chamber 15 via one of the channels 13.
  • a corresponding section on the line AA through the drawing in Figure 5a is shown in Figure 5b.
  • the chambers 12 of the second chamber group 102 located in the second part 4 are assigned nozzles of the second nozzle group 1.2 in the other chamber-carrying part 2, as can be seen from the section BB shown in FIG. 5c.
  • Ink passes from the suction chamber 15 located in the first chamber-bearing part 2 via a other of the channels 13 and via one of the second openings 14 located in the middle part 3 into the chamber 12 of the second chamber-bearing part 4. From the chamber 12 to the corresponding nozzle in the first chamber-bearing part 2 there is a connection via a respective one third opening 9 in the middle part 3.
  • FIG. 6a, b, c and d show a second variant of the solution according to the invention.
  • FIG. 6a shows a top view of a detail as an X-ray image
  • FIG. 6d shows a front view of a print head as an X-ray image. Sections C-C, D-D and E-E are superimposed on the x-ray image in the view in FIG. 6d. The position of the ink chamber groups 101, 102, 103 and 104 can be seen from this in connection with FIG. 6a.
  • FIG. 6b shows a superimposition of sections through the lines A-A and A1-A1 of FIGS. 6a and 6d.
  • FIG. 6c shows a superimposition of sections through the lines B-B and B1-B1 of FIGS. 6a and 6d.
  • a respective second nozzle group 1.2 in the first part is connected to a chamber 12 of the second chamber group 102 in the second chamber-carrying part, which is arranged offset with respect to a chamber 11 of the first chamber group 101 of the first chamber-carrying part 2, the second chamber group 102 passing through Openings 14 in the center piece 3 is supplied with ink.
  • second openings 14 in the center piece 3 for supplying the second nozzle group 1. 2 with ink.
  • openings 9 in the respective middle piece are openings 10 in the first chamber-carrying part and a connection of the second chambers supporting part for connecting the chambers of each second chamber group 102 with the nozzle channels of the second nozzle group 1.2 in the first chamber-carrying part.
  • the ink chambers 11, 12 are supplied in each of the first and second chamber-carrying parts from a common suction chamber 15 in the first chamber-carrying part.
  • the ink is supplied to the suction chamber 15 via an opening 16 in that part 2 which forms a side part of the print head, and via corresponding openings 18, 22 in the respective center piece and further openings 17, 19, 21 in the parts 2, 4, 6 carrying the chambers and an opening 20 in the spacer 5.
  • a piezoelectric element 31 serves as a well-known means for driving ink out of a chamber and can be arranged on the chamber surface or in the chamber in order to exert pressure on the flexible chamber wall when it is excited To exert ink liquid in the chamber, causing an ink jet to emerge from the nozzle connected to the chamber.
  • Such a piezoelectric element 31 is arranged on the chamber surface in FIGS. 6b, 6c and 6d.
  • the chamber 12 is separated from the element 31 by a thin layer 30 consisting of the material of the chamber-carrying part 4, which is so elastic that the bending energy of the element 31 is only insignificantly damped.
  • a spacer 5 has a corresponding recess 32 for the piezoelectric element 31.
  • an elongated opening in the chambers-carrying parts are each provided with a correspondingly rotated by 90 o in the elongated aperture Middle parts and spacers are connected.
  • An inkjet print head constructed from such individual modules has no tolerance problems when assembling.
  • the shape of the openings can be oval or an elongated hole, the small diameter of the openings determining the passage cross section for the ink flow. If there is a greater deviation from the round or rectangular cross section, the openings 9 and 10 can also be arranged in two rows on lines C-C and D-D.
  • a module is composed of 3 parts each and is provided with piezoelectric elements and contacted.
  • a second module is joined together with the first module via a spacer 5 to form an ESIJIL printhead, the second module with parts 6, 7, 8 not having any nozzles, but only corresponding openings which correspond to the openings provided in parts 2 , 3, 4 of the first module are connected.
  • an ESIJIL printhead is built from a single, multi-part module.
  • FIG. 7a shows a front view with the in-line nozzle row and
  • FIG. 7b shows an X-ray image of the front view or an overlay of the sections through the lines C-C and E-E. All third openings lie on this line C-C. There are no further openings on a line D-D. It can be seen that the nozzle dimensions alone determine the maximum number of nozzles in the row. If there is a need for enlarged chamber dimensions, only the volume of the print head would have to be increased. Of course, it is also possible, if required, to solve higher tolerance requirements by means of the measures with third openings on a line D-D explained in FIG. 6.
  • the spacer parts are in two parts and consist of the same material as the piezoelectric elements (marked in black). These elements are worked out from the piezoelectric material, which is arranged on the chamber surface, but the edge is retained and cavities 32 are formed only in the immediate vicinity of the elements 31. Ink supply openings as well as second and third openings are worked out in the edge. After the piezoelectric elements are worked out, these are contacted, conductor tracks also being able to run on the chamber bottom and / or outside on the layer 30.
  • FIG. 8 shows the individual steps for a manufacturing process for the ESIJIL printhead according to the invention.
  • the process for manufacturing the inkjet printhead is based on the CAD development of a printhead design and a mask production for a photosensitive glass plate.
  • a photosensitive plate made of amorphous glass is masked and exposed to UV radiation.
  • the irradiated areas can later be etched approximately 100 times faster than unirradiated areas. After heat treatment, UV radiation is repeated.
  • the masked glass plates are exposed at least once to radiation with a corresponding wavelength of UV light with subsequent heat treatment.
  • the areas to be removed are then removed (etched out) from the plate and then the individual parts for the middle part and the parts carrying the chambers are separated.
  • the parallel processing steps for several parts of a module include masking and then etching the through openings.
  • the duration of the Etching bath determines the layer thickness of the removed material.
  • the old mask layer is removed by fine grinding the surface of the chamber parts. The surface is then masked in the areas that should not be deep-etched. After the etching of the ink chambers, the individual parts are finely ground to a final dimension and then masked to produce the supply channels and the ink nozzle channels, which should have a lower depth than the chambers. The material is removed again by etching. In special cases, only the etching sensitivity of the UV-irradiated areas of the material is used and a mask can be omitted.
  • etchants with different concentrations are used for the three areas in order to be able to remove the corresponding areas with different depth accuracy, the depth accuracy when etching the areas for through bores being lower than when etching very flat areas for the channels in the parts carrying the chambers and first the through holes, then the chambers and then the nozzle channels are etched. It is further contemplated that the thickness of the bottom layer 30 is monitored as the chambers are etched and that the thickness of the bottom layer 30 of the chambers required to complete the manufacture of the chambers is achieved by fine grinding each of the parts carrying the chambers.
  • the individual parts are connected in a module, with the individual parts being aligned. After the individual parts have been tacked together, a module is created, which is then tempered. During tempering, a phase transition from amorphous to crystalline takes place in the glass material.
  • nozzle channels and the cavities (chambers) and the outer edge of the module are specially treated before the printhead is contacted and installed.
  • Rinsing with a first suitable commercially available liquid creates a hydrophilic inner coating.
  • a hydrophobic outer coating is achieved by treating the front edge with a second suitable liquid. After the top layer has hardened, the nozzles are finished.
  • the application of the electrical conductor tracks to the chamber surface, the application of the piezo crystals and the contacting are carried out in a manner known per se.
  • the piezo crystals can be glued on individually and then hardened.
  • a layer of piezoelectric material can also be applied to the chamber surface, which is then structured and contacted. Coating can be done by sputtering.
  • the individual parts can be carried out in one step. This requires that the UV exposure be repeated through different masks before the plate is etched. Another possibility is UV exposure with different intensities.
  • the plate then has a different sensitivity during etching in different areas.
  • the dividing line between the individual parts is also etched, which simplifies subsequent separation.
  • the mask to be applied contains recessed areas for the chambers and the bores at the same time. After the etching, fine grinding takes place to the final dimension when the thickness of the layer 30 on the chamber bottom is reached.
  • the production of the ink nozzles and the piezoelectric elements, as well as the edge production, is carried out in the known manner mentioned above. In this variant the bottom of the chamber is used for contacting. Then the plate is divided into individual parts, which are then assembled into a module.
  • piezoelectric elements are also fitted or contacted only or the back of the chamber surface.
  • the middle parts can also be provided with conductor tracks. This means that cables can be routed from the other layers to the upper layers of the module without crossing, even if a large number of elements have to be contacted.
  • the individual module parts are aligned and annealed, with a phase transition from amorphous to crystalline. It is envisaged that spacer parts lie between the modules or are additionally arranged and that the spacer parts are produced from the plate material or from a layer of piezoelectric material applied to the surface of the plate, structuring being carried out by etching.
  • a printhead can be assembled from several modules or consists of only one module that follows has externally guided conductor tracks that are contacted externally.
  • the printhead is then housed in a housing and can be tested for functionality to remove faulty copies.
  • the plate material or a part of the individual parts consists of a photosensitive ceramic. Glass parts and / or ceramic parts can also be connected to one another by an adhesive connection.
  • the invention is not limited to the present embodiment. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable which make use of the solution shown, even in the case of fundamentally different types.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
EP96250101A 1992-07-31 1993-01-12 Procédé de fabrication d'une tête d'impression à jet d'encre Expired - Lifetime EP0726152B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE4225799A DE4225799A1 (de) 1992-07-31 1992-07-31 Tintenstrahldruckkopf und Verfahren zu seiner Herstellung
DE4225799 1992-07-31
EP93250012A EP0581395B1 (fr) 1992-07-31 1993-01-12 Tête d'impression à jet d'encre

Related Parent Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP93250012A Division EP0581395B1 (fr) 1992-07-31 1993-01-12 Tête d'impression à jet d'encre
EP93250012.7 Division 1993-01-12

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0726152A2 true EP0726152A2 (fr) 1996-08-14
EP0726152A3 EP0726152A3 (fr) 1996-10-09
EP0726152B1 EP0726152B1 (fr) 2001-04-18

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP93250012A Expired - Lifetime EP0581395B1 (fr) 1992-07-31 1993-01-12 Tête d'impression à jet d'encre
EP96250101A Expired - Lifetime EP0726152B1 (fr) 1992-07-31 1993-01-12 Procédé de fabrication d'une tête d'impression à jet d'encre

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EP (2) EP0581395B1 (fr)
JP (2) JP3199917B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA2101683C (fr)
DE (3) DE4225799A1 (fr)

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JP2021088083A (ja) 2019-12-03 2021-06-10 セイコーエプソン株式会社 液体噴射ヘッドおよび液体噴射システム
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JP2001293866A (ja) 2001-10-23
EP0726152A3 (fr) 1996-10-09
EP0581395B1 (fr) 1997-03-19
JP3466577B2 (ja) 2003-11-10
EP0726152B1 (fr) 2001-04-18
US5592203A (en) 1997-01-07
EP0581395A2 (fr) 1994-02-02
JPH06155739A (ja) 1994-06-03
CA2101683A1 (fr) 1994-02-01
DE59310165D1 (de) 2001-05-23
CA2101683C (fr) 1998-11-24
DE4225799A1 (de) 1994-02-03
DE59305846D1 (de) 1997-04-24
US5802687A (en) 1998-09-08
EP0581395A3 (en) 1994-08-24
JP3199917B2 (ja) 2001-08-20

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