EP1005987B1 - Tintenstrahldruckkopf und Verfahren zur Herstellung - Google Patents

Tintenstrahldruckkopf und Verfahren zur Herstellung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1005987B1
EP1005987B1 EP99123858A EP99123858A EP1005987B1 EP 1005987 B1 EP1005987 B1 EP 1005987B1 EP 99123858 A EP99123858 A EP 99123858A EP 99123858 A EP99123858 A EP 99123858A EP 1005987 B1 EP1005987 B1 EP 1005987B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
piezoelectric base
piezoelectric
base plate
base plates
ink
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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.)
Expired - Lifetime
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EP99123858A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP1005987A3 (de
EP1005987A2 (de
Inventor
Shinichi C/O Konica Corporation Nishi
Katsuaki C/O Konica Corporation Komatsu
Takao c/o Konica Corporation Yamaguchi
Kunihiro c/o Konica Corporation Yamauchi
Yoshio c/o Konica Corporation Takeuchi
Kunio c/o Konica Corporation Ito
Hiroyuki C/O Konica Corporation Nomori
Takemasa c/o Konica Corporation Namiki
Shozo Kikugawa
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Konica Minolta Inc
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Konica Minolta Inc
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Publication of EP1005987A2 publication Critical patent/EP1005987A2/de
Publication of EP1005987A3 publication Critical patent/EP1005987A3/de
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Publication of EP1005987B1 publication Critical patent/EP1005987B1/de
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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
    • B41J2/1623—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
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/14209—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of finger type, chamber walls consisting integrally of piezoelectric material
    • 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
    • B41J2/1609—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements of finger type, chamber walls consisting integrally of piezoelectric material
    • 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
    • B41J2/164—Manufacturing processes thin film formation
    • B41J2/1642—Manufacturing processes thin film formation thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
    • 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
    • B41J2/1643—Manufacturing processes thin film formation thin film formation by plating
    • 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

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an ink jet head which jets ink from a nozzle hole by applying an electric voltage to an electrode to deform the shape of the space making up an ink chamber, to a method of manufacturing the ink jet head, to an ink jet printer and to a method of manufacturing the ink jet printer.
  • an ink jet head having a large number of nozzle holes arrayed in a line is required.
  • an ink jet head having a large number of nozzles arrayed in a line from the view point of practical use, it is desired one that has a high driving efficiency, a light weight, a low price, a good workability, and a high strength.
  • a polarized piezoelectric ceramic plate has a limit in length for reasons of manufacturing, it has been practiced that a plurality of ink chambers are formed by partition walls in a polarized piezoelectric ceramic plate, and a plurality of such polarized piezoelectric ceramic plates having a plurality of ink chambers are put side by side and bonded by an adhesive; however, in connecting a plurality of polarized piezoelectric plates, it is difficult to adjust the positions of them to keep the intervals between adjacent ink chambers at the connecting portions equal to one another, which makes it difficult to obtain a high-precision ink jet head.
  • This invention has been done in view of the above-described points, and it is an object of it to provide an ink jet head and an ink jet printer which is capable of carrying out a high-speed and high-quality image recording and is of low cost and of high precision and a method of manufacturing them.
  • this invention proposes the method of claim 1.
  • the ink jet head in which the positional precision of the ink chamber can be improved further more, can be manufactured.
  • a piezoelectric base plate comprising at least two layers of a piezoelectric material which have different polarizing directions opposite to each other is laminated on a non-piezoelectric base plate
  • the piezoelectric base plate is machined so as to form grooves, and thereafter another non-piezoelectric base plate is provided on the piezoelectric base plates so that a plurality of ink chambers which are partitioned by partition walls are provided, ink chambers can be formed without deviation of grooves in the piezoelectric base plates, a high-precision long-sized line head can be obtained at a low cost.
  • the piezoelectric base plates is made of a non-metallic material, the ink jet head in which the partition walls of the ink chamber can be deformed more reliably, can be manufactured.
  • the ink jet head in which the piezoelectric base plates can be reliably supported even if the partition walls of an ink chamber are deformed, can be manufactured.
  • the ink jet head since a surface roughness of the bonded surfaces between the non-piezoelectric base plate and the piezoelectric base plates is not larger than 1.0 ⁇ m, the ink jet head in which it is possible to prevent a soft high molecular adhesive (for example, epoxy resin) from entering into the concave portions on the bonded surfaces, the film thickness of the adhesive is practically limited to a minimum, and it is possible to avoid the lowering of sensitivity and the rise of the electric voltage owing to the lowering of the driving force of the piezoelectric base plates, can be manufactured.
  • a soft high molecular adhesive for example, epoxy resin
  • a surface roughness of the bonded surfaces between piezoelectric materials of the piezoelectric base plates having at least two layers of the piezoelectric materials is not larger than 1.0 ⁇ m
  • the ink jet head in which it is possible to prevent a soft high molecular adhesive (for example, epoxy resin) from entering into the concave portions on the bonded surfaces, the film thickness of the adhesive is practically limited to a minimum, and it is possible to avoid the lowering of sensitivity and the rise of the electric voltage owing to the lowering of the driving force of the piezoelectric base plates, can be manufactured.
  • the ink jet head in which organic contaminants can be cleaned and removed and wetting ability of the surfaces for the adhesive is improved over the whole surface to eliminate poor bonding such as minute bubble remains, and owing to it, poor driving for the piezoelectric base plates can be eliminated, can be manufactured.
  • the ink jet head in which organic contaminants can be cleaned and removed and wetting ability of the surfaces for the adhesive is improved over the whole surface to eliminate poor bonding such as minute bubble remains, and owing to it, poor driving for the piezoelectric base plates can be eliminated, can be manufactured.
  • Fig. 1 to Fig. 11 show an ink jet head;
  • Fig. 1 is a perspective view,
  • Fig. 2 is the front view, and
  • Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view.
  • An ink jet head 101 of this embodiment jets ink from nozzle hole 108 by applying an electric voltage to the electrode to deform the shape of the space making up the ink chamber 102.
  • the ink chamber 102 is formed by being surrounded by the two piezoelectric base plates 103 which have been given polarization and face each other and the two non-piezoelectric base plates 104 facing each other otherwise.
  • each of these piezoelectric base plates 103 On both inner and outer surfaces of each of these piezoelectric base plates 103, electrodes 105 and 106 are provided respectively; these piezoelectric base plates 103 have a structure such that each of them is composed of two layers of piezoelectric material 103a and 103b, the border surface between the layers is approximately parallel to the non-piezoelectric base plates 104, and the directions of polarization of these layers made of a piezoelectric material 103a and 103b are opposite to each other.
  • the direction of polarization is, generally speaking, the direction in which a material polarizes when an electric field is applied to it, and the direction of polarization of a piezoelectric material is determined when it has been polarized by applying to it polarization processing beforehand.
  • the piezoelectric base plates 103, 103 are formed by pasting two layers 103a, 103b.
  • gluing thermally hardening, thermoplastic, thermally U.V. hardening
  • melting layer forming
  • Electrodes 105, 106 are provided on both obverse and reverse surfaces of the piezoelectric base plates 103, 103.
  • electrode 105 is provided on an inner surface of a non-piezoelectric base plate.
  • the electrodes 105 and 106 are provided on the piezoelectric base plates 103 by vacuum deposition, sputtering, plating, or others. By vacuum deposition and sputtering, they can be formed in high purity and to a high-function film; by plating, they can be formed at a low cost and on detailed minute portions.
  • the electrodes gold, silver, aluminum, palladium, nickel, tantalum, and titanium can be used, and in particular, from the view points of electrical property and workability, gold and aluminum is desirable; the electrodes are formed by plating, vapor deposition, or sputtering.
  • an electrode can be provided also on one of the non-piezoelectric base plates 104; owing to this, the electrical connection to the electrodes 105 and 106 on the piezoelectric base plates 103 can be made through the electrode(s) on the plate(s) of non-piezoelectric material, which makes the electrical connection to the external power source easy, and improves the efficiency of operation.
  • an electrode may be provided on the other non-piezoelectric base plate 104 opposite to the one of the non-piezoelectric base plates 104.
  • ink is supplied to the ink chamber 102 through the ink supply opening 107, which is formed at the position opposite to the nozzle hole 108.
  • the piezoelectric base plates 103, 103 have a structure such that each of them is made up of at least two lamination layers 103a, 103b of a piezoelectric material and the lamination layer surface is approximately parallel to the non-piezoelectric base plates 104, 104 and the polarizing directions of these two lamination layers 103a, 103b of the piezoelectric material are opposite to each other, and an electrode 105 is provided on the surface of each of the piezoelectric base plates 103, 103 and the one of the non-piezoelectric base plates 104 facing the ink chamber 102; in comparison with the case that an electrode is provided only to the piezoelectric base plates 103, 103 without being provided to the non-piezoelectric base plates 104, the work to provide the
  • this ink chamber 102 is formed by sticking the plate 103 having at least two layers of piezoelectric material 103a and 103b on the non-piezoelectric base plate 104 (Fig. 4(a)), working the piezoelectric base plate 103 which has been stuck to provide a groove (Fig. 4(b)), and sticking the upper non-piezoelectric base plate 104 onto this piezoelectric base plate which has been worked to provide a groove (Fig. 4c).
  • an electrode 105 On each surface of the piezoelectric base plate 103 and the non-piezoelectric base plate 104 which faces the ink chamber 120, there is provided an electrode 105 before another non-piezoelectric base plate 104 is pasted.
  • the ink chamber 102 can be formed at a low cost and with a high precision owing to the ease of positional adjustment of the ink chamber.
  • the ink chamber 102 is formed by providing a groove in the piezoelectric base plate 103 after it is put superposed on the non-piezoelectric base plate 104; however, in providing this groove, it is appropriate to make the groove in a manner such that the non-piezoelectric base plate 104 is exposed, or it is also appropriate to form the groove in a manner such that a part of the piezoelectric base plate 103 is left on the non-piezoelectric base plate 104.
  • the ink chamber 102 can be formed by sticking the piezoelectric base plate 103 having at least two layers of piezoelectric material 103a and 103b on the non-piezoelectric base plate 104 (Fig. 5(a)), and sticking another non-piezoelectric base plate 104 after sticking the plate 103 (Fig. 5(b)).
  • the ink chamber can be formed at a low cost and the efficiency of assembling is high.
  • an electrode 105 on each surface of the piezoelectric base plate 103 and the non-piezoelectric base plate 104 which faces the ink chamber 102, there is provided an electrode 105 before another non-piezoelectric base plate 104 is pasted.
  • the ink jet head 101 can have the ink chamber 102 formed in multiple stages, by which it is made to have multiple nozzles, and it can carry out a high-speed and high-quality image recording and improve the resolution of the image.
  • the ink chambers 102 in the first stage, are formed at the both sides of the air chamber 120; in the second stage too, the ink chambers 102 are formed at the both sides of the air chamber 120 in the same way, that is, the ink chambers are formed at the corresponding positions.
  • the ink chamber 102 in the first stage, is formed between the air chambers 120; in the second stage, the ink chambers are formed at the both sides of the air chamber 120, that is, the ink chambers are formed at the positions corresponding to those of the air chambers 120 in the first stage, which improves the resolution of image higher.
  • the air chamber 120 is a chamber which is separated from the ink chamber and no ink enters in; in the case where the ink chambers are provided at the both sides of it, the partition walls of the both sides can be driven independently to make it possible for the ink chambers at the both sides to jet ink, which makes it possible to cope with high-speed driving.
  • the ink jet head 101 has the piezoelectric base plates 103 formed in the shape of a plane; however, the plates 103 can also be formed in the shape of a curved surface as shown in Fig. 7.
  • the piezoelectric base plates 103 are plane-shaped as shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 6, the head can be made at a low cost.
  • the plates are curved-surface-shaped as shown in Fig. 7, they are deformed from the state shown in Fig. 7(a) to the state shown in Fig. 7(b), which means that the amount of deformation of the shape of the space making up the ink chamber 102 is made larger; thus, the ink jet head can carry out a high-speed and high-quality image recording.
  • the ink jet head 101 has the piezoelectric base plates 103 formed in a manner such that the two layers 103a and 103b have different lengths L1 and L2 (layer thickness or height of wall) in the direction of layer stacking respectively. Owing to the different lengths L1 and L2 in the layer stacking direction of the two layers 103a and 103b, the shape of the space making up the ink chamber 102 can be deformed in accordance with the position of the nozzle hole 108, and it can jet ink more efficiently from the nozzle hole 108.
  • L1 and L2 layer thickness or height of wall
  • each of the two piezoelectric base plates 103 has three layers 103e, 103f, and 103g, among which the layers 103e and 103g are made of a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material and the layer 103f is made of a nonmetallic inorganic non-piezoelectric material, and as shown in Fig. 9(a), the layers 103e and 103g have the directions of polarization which are opposite to each other as shown by the arrow marks and the two plates are deformed in such a manner as shown in Fig. 9(b).
  • the material of the layer 103f is not limited to a nonmetallic inorganic non-piezoelectric material, but a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material or an organic material may be used.
  • each of the two piezoelectric base plates 103 has four layers 103h, 103i, 103j, and 103k, each of which is made of a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material and has the direction of polarization which is alternately opposite to its neighbors as shown by the arrow marks in Fig. 10(a), and the two plates are deformed in such a manner as shown in Fig. 10(b).
  • the material of the layers 103i and 103j is not limited to a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material, but a nonmetallic inorganic non-piezoelectric material or an organic material may be used.
  • each of the two piezoelectric base plates 103 has four layers 1031, 103m, 103n, and 103o, each of which is made of a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material and has the direction of polarization which is opposite to or the same as the others in such a manner as shown by the arrow marks in Fig. 11(a), and the two plates are deformed in such a manner as shown in Fig. 11(b).
  • the material of the layers 103m and 103n is not limited to a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material, but a nonmetallic inorganic non-piezoelectric material or an organic material may be used.
  • the two piezoelectric base plates 103 have three or more layers, and among these three or more layers, the inner layers are made of any one of a nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material, a nonmetallic inorganic non-piezoelectric material, and an organic material, and by deforming the shape of the space making up the ink chamber 102 variously, ink can be jetted from the nozzle hole.
  • Fig. 12 is a drawing showing an ink jet head of the chevron type; Fig. 12(a) shows the state in which a piezoelectric base plate is bonded to a non-piezoelectric base plate, Fig. 12(b) shows the state in which a piezoelectric base plate is worked to provide grooves, and Fig. 12(c) shows the state in which ink chambers and air chambers are formed.
  • the ink jet head 1 of this embodiment has two piezoelectric base plates 3 which have the directions of polarization opposite to each other in a layered structure bonded to one another on the long-sized substrate of non-piezoelectric material (Fig. 12(a)), and after the bonding, a plurality of grooves 3a are formed through at least two layers with a predetermined interval to provide a plurality of ink chambers 4 and air chambers 5 which are partitioned by partition walls 3b made up of two layers and positioned alternately (Fig. 12(b)).
  • the grooves 3a are formed at the connecting portions 20 at which each edge of these piezoelectric base plates 3 comes to face other edge, in other words, a connecting portion 20 is a joint section between two piezoelectric base plates 3 placed side by side.
  • the non-piezoelectric base plates 2, 8 show a single sheet, but a plurality of sheets may be used.
  • the electrodes 6, and 7 are provided on the whole surface over upper and lower portions of both sides of each of the partition wall 3b.
  • the non-piezoelectric base plate 8 is bonded to the upper surfaces of the partition walls 3b to cover the ink chambers 4 and the air chambers 5; then, on one side of the ink chambers 4, a nozzle plate in which nozzle holes are formed is stuck, and on the other side of the ink chambers 4, the ink supply openings 10 are formed (Fig. 12(c)).
  • Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink jet head of the chevron type, and Fig. 14 shows an ink jet head of the chevron type in the driven state; Fig. 14(a) shows the state before being deformed, and Fig. 14(b) shows the ink chamber in the deformed state, and Fig. 12(c) shows the state after being released from deformation.
  • ink is supplied from the ink supply openings 10 into the ink chambers 4, and the ink supply openings 10 are formed at the opposite positions of the nozzle holes 9.
  • the partition walls 3b which partition the ink chambers 4 are deformed to jet ink in the ink chambers 4 out of the nozzle holes 9.
  • the ink jet head 1 has two layers of piezoelectric material 3 which are formed of a plurality of block shaped pieces connected with one another and have the directions of polarization opposite to each other in a stacked layer structure bonded to one another on the long-sized substrate of non-piezoelectric material, and is provided with the plural ink chambers 4 which are partitioned by the partition walls 3b which are made of two stacked layers and formed by forming the plural grooves 3a with a predetermined interval; hence, even though the length of one piece of the piezoelectric base plate has a limit for reasons of manufacturing, the ink chambers can be formed without lowering positional precision at the connecting portions 20 of the plural polarized piezoelectric base plate 3, because the plural pieces of the polarized block-shaped piezoelectric base plates 3 are worked to provide the grooves after they are put side by side on the long-sized substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 to be bonded; thus, it is possible to obtain a high-precision long-sized line head
  • the plural piezoelectric base plates 3 having two block-shaped polarized layers is put side by side on the long-sized substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 shown in Fig. 15(a), and even if a minute clearance 21 is present at any one of the connecting portions of these block shaped polarized piezoelectric base plates 3 as shown in the enlarged drawing of the connecting portion in Fig. 15(b), the ink chambers can be formed without lowering positional precision by forming the grooves 3a at these connecting portions 20 (Fig. 15(c)).
  • Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are drawings showing the modes in which the directions of polarization of the two layers made of a piezoelectric material of an ink jet head of the chevron type are opposite to each other.
  • the polarization in the layers 203a and 203b are formed in the directions which are perpendicular to both of the non-piezoelectric base plate 8 and the substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 and facing each other, and in the other mode shown in Fig. 16(b), the polarization in the layers 203a and 203b are formed in the directions which are perpendicular to both of the non-piezoelectric base plate 8 and the substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 and going away from each other.
  • the ink chamber 4 is formed being surrounded by the piezoelectric base plates 203 having two layers which are given polarization and facing each other and the two non-piezoelectric base plates 2 and 8 facing each other in another way, and the two electrodes 6 and 7 are provided on the both inner and outer sides of the piezoelectric base plate 203 respectively.
  • the polarization in the layers 203a and 203b are formed in the directions which are parallel to both of the non-piezoelectric base plate 8 and the substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 and opposite to each other, and in the other mode shown in Fig. 17(b), the polarization in the layers 203a and 203b are formed in the directions which are parallel to both of the non-piezoelectric base plate 8 and the substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2 and reverse to the directions in Fig. 17(a).
  • the electrode 7 is provided between the layers 203a and 203b; further, the electrode 6 is provided between the layer 203a and the substrate of non-piezoelectric material 2, and the electrode 6 is also provided between the layer 203b and the non-piezoelectric base plate 8.
  • the material of the base plate is not limited, a base plate made of organic material may be used, however, a base plate made of a nonmetallic piezoelectric material is desirable; as for this plate made of a nonmetallic piezoelectric material, for example, a ceramic plate formed through the processes such as forming and burning, or a plate formed without the necessity of forming and burning may be cited.
  • a base plate made of organic material for example, a ceramic plate formed through the processes such as forming and burning, or a plate formed without the necessity of forming and burning may be cited.
  • organic material organic polymer or a hybrid material of organic polymer and inorganic material may be used.
  • the ceramic material PZT (PbZrO 3 -PbTiO 3 ) and PZT with a third additive can be cited, and as for the third additive, Pb(Mg 1/2 Nb 2/3 )O 3 , Pb( Mn 1/2 S 2/3 )O 3 , and Pb(CO 1/2 Nb 2/3 )O 3 can be cited.
  • the ceramic plate can also be formed using BaTiO 3 , ZnO, LiNbO 3 , LiTaO 3 , and so forth.
  • the plate formed without the necessity of forming and burning for example, a plate formed by such as a sol-gel method, or a method of coating a substrate by layer stacking can be cited.
  • the sol-gel method the sol is prepared by adding water, an acid, or an alkali into a uniform solution having a predetermined chemical composition to induce a chemical reaction such as a hydrolysis. Further, by applying the process such as vaporization of the solvent and cooling, it is prepared the sol which has micro-particles of the objective composition or the precursors of the non-metallic inorganic micro-particles dispersed in it, and the plate can be made.
  • a compound having a uniform chemical composition can be obtained by this method; for the starting material, a water-soluble metallic salt such as a sodium silicate or a metallic alkoxide is used.
  • a metallic alkoxide is a compound which is expressed by a general formula M(OR) n , is easily hydrolyzed because the OR radical has a strong basic property, and is varied into a metallic oxide or a hydrate of it through a condensation process as an organic high molecular compound.
  • the methods preparing a ceramic plate from the vapor phase are classified into two kinds of methods which are vapor deposition methods by physical means and methods by a chemical reaction in the vapor phase or on the surface of the plate. Further, the physical vapor deposition methods are further classified into the vacuum deposition method, the sputter method, the ion plating method, etc., and as for the chemical methods, the chemical vapor deposition method (CVD), the plasma CVD method, etc. can be cited.
  • CVD chemical vapor deposition method
  • the vacuum deposition method as a physical deposition method is a method wherein the objective material is heated in vacuum to evaporate and the vapor is solidified to deposit on the surface of a substrate
  • the sputtering method is a method utilizing the sputtering phenomenon in which high-energy particles are let to collide with the objective material (target) and the atoms or molecules on the target surface exchange momentum with the collided molecules to be sprung out from the surface.
  • ion plating method is a method in which the vapor deposition is carried out in an ionized gas environment.
  • the compound which includes the atoms, molecules, or ions to make up the objective film is vaporized and introduced into the reaction region by a suitable carrier gas, where they are made to react with or to deposit by reaction on a heated substrate to form a film; in the plasma CVD method, the vapor phase state is generated by the energy of a plasma, and a film is deposited by a vapor phase chemical reaction in a comparatively low temperature range of 400 to 500 °C.
  • the material of the base plate is not limited, a base plate made of organic material may be used, however, a base plate made of a nonmetallic non-piezoelectric material is desirable; as for this plate made of a nonmetallic non-piezoelectric material, for example, a material selected from alumina, aluminum nitride, zirconia, silicon, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, and quartz may used.
  • this non-piezoelectric base plate there are a ceramic plate which is formed through the processes such as forming and burning, a plate which is formed without the necessity of forming and burning, and so forth.
  • a ceramic plate formed through the processes such as burning for example, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , mixture of these, and fused mixture of them, and further, ZrO 2 , BeO, AlN, SiC, etc. can be used.
  • organic material organic polymer or a hybrid material of organic polymer and inorganic material may be used.
  • the density [g/cm 2 ] of the piezoelectric base plate should desirably be 3 to 10, and the density [g/cm 2 ] of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 0.8 to 10.
  • the Young's modulus or the coefficient of elasticity [GPa] of the piezoelectric base plate should be 50 to 200, and the Young's modulus [GPa] of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 100 to 400.
  • the thermal expansion coefficient [ppm/deg] of the piezoelectric base plate should be 7 to 8, and the thermal expansion coefficient [ppm/deg] of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 0.6 to 7.
  • the thermal conductivity [W/cm•deg] of the piezoelectric base plate should be 0.005 to 0.1, and the thermal conductivity [W/cm•deg] of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 0.03 to 0.3.
  • the dielectric constant of the piezoelectric base plate should be 1000 to 4000, and the dielectric constant of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 4 to 100.
  • the hardness [Hv1.0/GPa] of the piezoelectric base plate should be 2 to 10
  • the hardness [Hv1.0/GPa] of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 2 to 20.
  • the strength [Kgf/cm 2 ] against bending of the piezoelectric base plate should be 5000 to 2000, and the strength [Kgf/cm 2 ] against bending of the non-piezoelectric base plate [Kgf/cm 2 ] should be 3000 to 9000.
  • the volume resistivity of the piezoelectric base plate [ ⁇ •cm] should be 0.5 to 10, and the volume resistivity of the non-piezoelectric base plate should be 7 to 10.
  • the surface roughness Ra of the surfaces to be bonded at the portion between the non-piezoelectric base plate and the piezoelectric base plate should desirably be not larger than 1.0 ⁇ m, more desirably be not larger than 0.3 ⁇ m, still more desirably be not larger than 0.1 ⁇ m.
  • the surface roughness Ra is obtained in such a manner that the non-piezoelectric base plate and the piezoelectric base plate are peeled off, a surface roughness is measured for each peeled surface of the non-piezoelectric base plate and the piezoelectric base plate and the surface roughness Ra is obtained as an average value of the measured values.
  • the soft high molecular adhesive for example, an epoxy resin
  • the soft high molecular adhesive enters between the surfaces to be bonded, which makes the driving force of the plate of nonmetallic inorganic piezoelectric material decrease, and brings about the lowering of sensitivity and the rise in electric voltage; this is not desirable.
  • Table 1 Ra of piezoelectric ceramic plate [ ⁇ m] Ra of non-piezoelectric ceramic plate [ ⁇ m].
  • AA indicates the case where no soft high molecular adhesive (for example, an epoxy resin) enters into the concave portions on the bonded surfaces, the driving voltage is low, and electric power saving is accomplished
  • A indicates the case where a small amount of the adhesive enters
  • C indicates where a large amount of the adhesive enters.
  • the surfaces to be bonded of the non-piezoelectric base plate and the piezoelectric base plate are subjected to plasma processing or UV processing.
  • the plasma processing is a processing in which a non-piezoelectric base plate or a piezoelectric base plate is placed in a vacuum chamber, and any one or a mixed gas of the two or more of Ar, N 2 , and O 2 is introduced, and brought into the state of plasma by an electromagnetic field applied by an outside power source, and a fluorinated hydrocarbon gas such as a CF 4 gas may be suitably used in order to enhance the etching performance of the surface.
  • UV processing is doing a process in which the ultraviolet ray from a UV emitting lamp is applied directly onto the non-piezoelectric base plate or the piezoelectric base plate, and it may suitably be done in the atmosphere of O 2 in order to produce the cleaning effect by ozone.
  • an ink chamber and an air chamber are formed alternatively on a polarized piezoelectric element by forming grooves, and electrodes are provided on the sides of both walls on each of the ink chamber and the air chamber, the electrode surface is insulated, and voltage is impressed on each electrode so that walls of the ink chamber are subjected to shear deformation to jet ink from an orifice.
  • this pressurizing chamber and ink chamber are made solidly by piezoelectric ceramics, the structure of the head is extremely simple.
  • the ink chamber is made of ceramics, it is not damaged by ink, the strength of the ink chamber is high, and the structure is simple and strong, resulting in an ink jet head suitable for high density.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)

Claims (7)

  1. Verfahren zum Herstellen eines Tintenstrahlkopfs, bei dem Tinte aus einem Düsenloch durch Anlegen einer elektrischen Spannung an eine Elektrode, so dass jede von durch eine Trennwand unterteilten Tintenkammern (4) verformt wird, ausgestoßen werden kann, wobei es die Schritte in der folgenden Reihenfolge umfasst:
    Bereitstellen mehrerer piezoelektrischer Basisplatten (3) mit gegebener Polarisierung Seite an Seite auf einer ersten, nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatte (2),
    Herstellen mehrerer Rillen bzw. Nuten (3a) auf den mehreren piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3), und
    Anbringen einer zweiten, nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatte (8) auf den mehreren piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3), um die mehreren Nuten bzw. Rillen (3a) zu abzudecken, so dass die von einer Trennwand unterteilten Tintenkammern (4) gebildet werden,
    wobei die Nuten bzw. Rillen (3a) mindestens an Verbindungsabschnitten (20) unter den mehreren piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3) ausgebildet sind, und zwar derart, dass die Tintenkammern (4) von der ersten nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatte (2), den piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3) und der zweiten nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatte (8) umgeben sind.
  2. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Schritt des Bereitstellens mehrerer piezoelektrischer Basisplatten (3) das Aufeinanderschichten der piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3) mit mindestens zwei Laminierungsschichten, die aus piezoelektrischen Materialien hergestellt sind, deren Polarisierungsrichtungen einander entgegengesetzt sind, auf der ersten nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatte (2), umfasst.
  3. Verfahren nach Anspruch 2, wobei eine Oberflächenrauhigkeit von Oberflächen, durch die die Laminierungsschichten des piezoelektrischen Materials miteinander verklebt werden, nicht größer als 1,0 µm ist.
  4. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, 2 oder 3, wobei die piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3) aus einem nichtmetallischen Material hergestellt werden.
  5. Verfahren nach Anspruch 4, wobei das nichtmetallische Material aus mindestens einem der aus Tonerde, Aluminiumnitrit, Zirkonium, Silizium, Siliziumnitrid, Siliziumkarbid und Quartz ausgewählten Stoffe hergestellt wird.
  6. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, wobei eine Oberflächenrauhigkeit von Oberflächen, durch die die nicht-piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (2,8) und die piezoelektrischen Basisplatten (3) miteinander verklebt werden, nicht größer als 1,0 µm ist.
  7. Verfahren nach Anspruch 3 oder 6, wobei die zu verklebenden Oberflächen einer Plasmabehandlung oder einer UV-Behandlung unterzogen werden.
EP99123858A 1998-12-04 1999-12-01 Tintenstrahldruckkopf und Verfahren zur Herstellung Expired - Lifetime EP1005987B1 (de)

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CN100398322C (zh) 2001-12-11 2008-07-02 株式会社理光 液滴排放头及其制造方法
JP7292998B2 (ja) * 2019-06-24 2023-06-19 東芝テック株式会社 インクジェットヘッド及びインクジェットプリンタ

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GB9025706D0 (en) * 1990-11-27 1991-01-09 Xaar Ltd Laminate for use in manufacture of ink drop printheads
US5245244A (en) * 1991-03-19 1993-09-14 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Piezoelectric ink droplet ejecting device
US5543009A (en) * 1991-08-16 1996-08-06 Compaq Computer Corporation Method of manufacturing a sidewall actuator array for an ink jet printhead
JP2798845B2 (ja) * 1992-03-26 1998-09-17 株式会社テック インクジェットプリンタヘッドの製造方法
JPH06226973A (ja) * 1993-02-01 1994-08-16 Brother Ind Ltd インク噴射装置
US5435060A (en) * 1993-05-20 1995-07-25 Compaq Computer Corporation Method of manufacturing a single side drive system interconnectable ink jet printhead
KR970009117B1 (en) * 1993-05-31 1997-06-05 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Ink-jet print head
JP3082540B2 (ja) * 1993-10-27 2000-08-28 ブラザー工業株式会社 インクジェットヘッドの駆動装置
JPH10230600A (ja) * 1997-02-18 1998-09-02 Brother Ind Ltd プリンタのインクジェット式フルライン記録ヘッド

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