EP1078761B1 - Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur - Google Patents

Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1078761B1
EP1078761B1 EP20000202870 EP00202870A EP1078761B1 EP 1078761 B1 EP1078761 B1 EP 1078761B1 EP 20000202870 EP20000202870 EP 20000202870 EP 00202870 A EP00202870 A EP 00202870A EP 1078761 B1 EP1078761 B1 EP 1078761B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
diaphragm
channel
ink
channel plate
spacers
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.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP20000202870
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1078761A3 (de
EP1078761A2 (de
Inventor
Peter Joseph Hollands
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Production Printing Netherlands BV
Original Assignee
Oce Technologies BV
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Oce Technologies BV filed Critical Oce Technologies BV
Priority to EP20000202870 priority Critical patent/EP1078761B1/de
Publication of EP1078761A2 publication Critical patent/EP1078761A2/de
Publication of EP1078761A3 publication Critical patent/EP1078761A3/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1078761B1 publication Critical patent/EP1078761B1/de
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
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/14274—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of stacked structure type, deformed by compression/extension and disposed on a diaphragm

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a channel structure for an ink jet printhead comprising a channel plate having a plurality of substantially equidistant ink channels formed in one surface thereof, with dams being left between the adjacent channels, wherein each channel is covered by a portion of a diaphragm supported on said dams an deflectable into the channel by means of an actuator associated therewith.
  • ink jet printhead having such a channel structure is disclosed in EP-A-0 820 869 .
  • the ink channels are arranged side-by-side and are each connected to a nozzle, so that the nozzles form a linear array with constant spacings between adjacent nozzles.
  • an actuator associated with one of the ink channels is activated, the portion of the diaphragm engaged by this actuator is deflected into the ink channel, so that the liquid ink contained in this ink channel is pressurized, and an ink droplet's expelled from the nozzle.
  • the diaphragm portions covering the individual ink channels are formed by a continuous flexible plate which is superposed on the channel plate and is formed with bumps on the side facing away from the channel plate.
  • each bump should be disposed exactly in he widthwise center of the deflectable portion.
  • Applicants co-pending European patent application 98 200 190 relates to an ink jet printhead in which the diaphragm has a two-layer structure, and the bumps are interposed between the two layers.
  • the diaphragm has a smooth surface on the side facing the channel plate and is in face-to-face engagement with the top surfaces of the dams separating the individual ink channels.
  • the position and width of the deflectable portion of the diaphragm is determined by the shape and position of the ink channel in the channel plate.
  • EP 0 761 447 A discloses a channel structure for an ink jet printhead having the features of the preamble of claim 1.
  • the spacers need to be formed with high positional accuracy in order to ensure a correct positional relationship between these spacers and the actuators or the bumps.
  • the channel plate itself may be manufactured with greater tolerances and, accordingly, at lower costs.
  • the nozzles to which each ink channel is connected must be formed with high accuracy. This requirement can for example be fulfilled by forming the nozzles in a separate nozzle plate which is then attached to a front face of the channel plate. But even when the nozzles are formed in the channel plate itself, this does not mean, that the level of accuracy required for the nozzles must also be required for the ink channels in their entirety.
  • the ink channels may be formed as grooves cut into the surface of the channel plate with comparatively large tolerances and spaced away from the front face of the nozzle plate in which the nozzles are to be formed. Then, the nozzles may be formed with higher accuracy in a separate manufacturing step, e.g. by laser cutting or the like.
  • the spacers are formed in one piece with the diaphragm.
  • the diaphragms covering all the ink channels may be formed by a continuous metal foil in which a pattern of grooves and ridges is formed, e.g. by etching, so that the ridges form the spacers and the thinner bottom portions of the grooves form the flexible portions of the diaphragm.
  • bumps to be engaged by the actuators may be formed on the opposite side of the metal foil. Since the metal foil is relatively thin and, correspondingly, the amount of material to be removed by etching or the like is rather small, the increase in manufacturing costs caused by the processing of the metal foil is much smaller than the cost savings achieved in manufacturing the channel plate.
  • the spacers may also be formed by a separate grid-like member interposed between the diaphragm and the channel plate.
  • the spacers may also be formed in one piece with the channel plate.
  • the ink channels may at first be formed with a width slightly smaller than the nominal width, so that large tolerances can be allowed. Then, the top surfaces of the dams separating the ink channels may be processed in a more accurate second step in which only small amounts of material are removed from the edges of the dams, e.g. by laser cutting, in order to form the spacers.
  • a channel structure for an ink jet printhead 10 comprises a channel plate 12 made for example of ceramics, graphite, synthetic resin or the like. In case of a printhead for hot melt ink, the material of the channel plate should have a sufficient heat conductivity.
  • a plurality of ink channels 14 are formed in the top surface of the channel plate 12 by any suitable process such as cutting, milling, or, more preferably, by molding.
  • a dam 16 is left between each pair of adjacent ink channels 14.
  • a diaphragm 18 is disposed on the top surface of the channel plate 12, i.e. the surface defined by the top surfaces of the dams 16.
  • the diaphragm 18 may be formed for example by a metal foil such as a foil of Ni, Co. or the like or an alloy of these metals, or a sheet of silicon, plastic or glass or the like.
  • the lower surface of the diaphragm 18 facing the channel plate 12 is provided with a regular pattern of grooves 20 separated by downwardly projecting spacers 22.
  • the pattern of grooves 20 and spacers 22 corresponds to the pattern of ink channels 14 and dams 16, so that each spacer 22 is supported on the top surface of one of the dams 16.
  • An actuator block 24 made of piezoelectric ceramic is bonded to the top surface of the diaphragm 18 which, in this embodiment, is a flat surface.
  • the actuator block 24 has a comb structure of alternating support portions 26 and actuators 28 separated by relatively deep grooves 30.
  • the lower end of each support portion 26 is connected to a portion of the diaphragm 18 which is directly opposite to a spacer 22, and the lower end of each actuator 28 is bonded to the widthwise center of a thinner deflectable portion 32 of the diaphragm 18 defined between two adjacent spacers 22.
  • the ink channels 14 formed in the channel plate 12 are open at both ends, but a nozzle plate 34 is attached to the front face of the channel plate so as to block the open ends of the ink channels 14.
  • the nozzle plate 34 has a plurality of orifices which define a nozzle 36 within each of the ink channels 14.
  • the open opposite end of each ink channel is connected to an ink supply system which is not shown in the drawings.
  • each of the piezoelectric actuators 28 is provided with electrodes (not shown), and by energizing these electrodes, the actuator can be caused to expand and retract, so that the corresponding portion 32 of the diaphragm 18 is flexed into the associated ink channel 14 to pressurize the ink contained therein, and an ink droplet is expelled through the nozzle 36.
  • the ink droplets are deposited on an image recording medium, e.g., paper, so that an image can be printed by energizing the various actuators 26 in accordance with the image information.
  • an image recording medium e.g., paper
  • the ink droplets expelled from the various nozzles 36 all have the same volume and are ejected with the same velocity. In other words, the performance of the various channels in the drop generation process should be as uniform as possible.
  • a high-precision cutting process is utilized for cutting the grooves 30 into the actuator block 24 in order to form the support portions 28 and the actuators 28.
  • a high precision process e.g. an etching process, is utilized for forming the grooves 20 in the diaphragm 18 in the correct positions and with the correct dimensions.
  • the width dimensions of the various ink channels 14 do not determine the width of the deflectable portions 32 of the diaphragm, greater manufacturing tolerances can be allowed for the positions and width dimensions of the ink channels 14.
  • the positional accuracy with which the diaphragm 18 is disposed on the channel plate 12 does not need to be as high as the accuracy required for assembling the actuator block 24 and the diaphragm 18. It may therefore be advantageous in the manufacturing process that, in a first step, the actuator block 24 and the diaphragm 18 are bonded together and the assembly thus obtained is then disposed on the channel plate 12 in a second step.
  • bumps may be provided on the top surface of the diaphragm 18 at the widthwise center of each of the deflectable portions 32, so that the actuator portions 28 engage the diaphragm 18 only through these comparatively narrow bumps, as is described in EP-A-0 820 869 . Then, greater tolerances may even be allowed in the positional relationship between the actuator block 24 and the diaphragm 18.
  • Figures 3 to 5 show a modified embodiment in which the diaphragm 18 has a uniform thickness and the spacers 22' defining the width of the deflectable portions 32 of the diaphragm are formed integrally with the dams 16 of the channel plate 12.
  • the ink channels 14 are formed in the channel plate 12 with relatively poor accuracy.
  • the level of the top surfaces of the dams 16 corresponds to the level of the top surfaces of the spacers 22' in figure 3 .
  • the ends of the ink channels 14 adjacent to the nozzles 36 are closed by a wall portion 38 of the channel plate.
  • the spacers 22' are with high accuracy formed by removing material of the channel plate 12 from the top longitudinal edges of the dams 16, e.g. by laser cutting.
  • the nozzles 36 may be formed by removing material from the wall portions 38 in the same process.
  • channel used for the ink channels 14 should not be construed to exclude any specific geometric shape or length/width ratio of the ink channels.

Landscapes

  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)

Claims (3)

  1. Kanalstruktur für einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf (10), mit:
    einer Kanalplatte (12), die mehrere in einer Oberflläche derselben ausgebildete äquidistante Tintenkanäle (14) aufweist, die zwischen den benachbarten Tintenkanälen stehende Dämme (16) begrenzen,
    einer Membran (18), die über Abstandshalter (22; 22') so auf den Dämmen (16) abgestützt ist, dass jeder Tintenkanal (14) durch einen nicht abgestützten Teil (32) der Membran (18) bedeckt wird, wobei jeder nicht abgestützte Teil (32) mit Hilfe eines zugehörigen Aktors (28) in den betreffenden Kanal (14) auslenkbar ist,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
    nur ein Teil der Oberfläche der Dämme (16), im wesentlichen parallel zu der Membran und dieser zugewandt, die Membran (18) über Abstandshalter (22; 22') abstützt, die die genaue Breite und Position der auslenkbaren, nicht abgestützten Teile (32) bestimmen, und
    die Abstandshalter (22) in einem Stück mit der Membran (18) ausgebildet ist.
  2. Kanalstruktur nach Anspruch 1, bei der die Membran (18) durch eine Metallfolie gebildet wird, die mehrere Nuten (20) aufweist, die in der der Kanalplatte (12) zugewandten Oberfläche ausgebildet sind.
  3. Kanalstruktur nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, bei der die Kanalplatte (12) mit den darin gebildeten Tintenkanälen (14) ein geformter Keramikkörper ist.
EP20000202870 1999-08-27 2000-08-14 Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur Expired - Lifetime EP1078761B1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20000202870 EP1078761B1 (de) 1999-08-27 2000-08-14 Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP99202779 1999-08-27
EP99202779 1999-08-27
EP20000202870 EP1078761B1 (de) 1999-08-27 2000-08-14 Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1078761A2 EP1078761A2 (de) 2001-02-28
EP1078761A3 EP1078761A3 (de) 2001-06-06
EP1078761B1 true EP1078761B1 (de) 2008-10-29

Family

ID=26072604

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP20000202870 Expired - Lifetime EP1078761B1 (de) 1999-08-27 2000-08-14 Tintenstrahldruckkopfkanalstruktur

Country Status (1)

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EP (1) EP1078761B1 (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8106481B2 (en) * 2004-09-03 2012-01-31 Rao G R Mohan Semiconductor devices with graded dopant regions
KR101481577B1 (ko) * 2008-09-29 2015-01-13 삼성전자주식회사 잉크 젯 방식의 댐을 구비하는 반도체 패키지 및 그 제조방법

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE69601318T2 (de) * 1995-04-14 1999-08-26 Sony Corp Druckvorrichtung
EP0761447B1 (de) * 1995-09-05 2002-12-11 Seiko Epson Corporation Tintenstrahlaufzeichnungskopf und sein Herstellungsverfahren
JPH09141853A (ja) * 1995-11-24 1997-06-03 Fujitsu Ltd インクジェットヘッド
EP0820869B1 (de) 1996-07-18 2000-05-10 Océ-Technologies B.V. Tintenstrahldüsenkopf
JP3019845B1 (ja) * 1997-11-25 2000-03-13 セイコーエプソン株式会社 インクジェット式記録ヘッド及びインクジェット式記録装置

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Publication number Publication date
EP1078761A3 (de) 2001-06-06
EP1078761A2 (de) 2001-02-28

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