EP2803486B1 - Inkjet head and method for leading out wiring line of inkjet head - Google Patents
Inkjet head and method for leading out wiring line of inkjet head Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2803486B1 EP2803486B1 EP14167447.3A EP14167447A EP2803486B1 EP 2803486 B1 EP2803486 B1 EP 2803486B1 EP 14167447 A EP14167447 A EP 14167447A EP 2803486 B1 EP2803486 B1 EP 2803486B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- ink chamber
- substrate
- forming member
- chamber forming
- Prior art date
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Images
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
- B41J2/14209—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
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14491—Electrical connection
-
- 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
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
- B41J2202/18—Electrical connection established using vias
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an inkjet head, and more particularly to an inkjet head which is provided with a wiring line for electrically leading out an individual electrode arranged on one side of an ink chamber forming member to the outside of the ink chamber forming member by using a substrate provided on the one side of the ink chamber forming member.
- An inkjet head gives discharge energy to an ink in an ink chamber and discharges ink drops.
- means for giving the discharge energy there have been conventionally known means using a piezoelectric element such as a PZT that is mechanically displaced by application of a voltage, means for generating air bubbles in an ink by energizing a heater arranged in an ink chamber and utilizing a breaking operation of the air bubbles, and others.
- a shearing mode type inkjet head that has drive walls formed of piezoelectric elements and narrow-groove-like ink chambers alternately arranged therein, shear-deforms each drive wall by applying a voltage to a drive electrode formed on the drive wall, and discharges an ink in each ink chamber from a nozzle has an advantage that densification is easy, for example.
- an inkjet head having an ink chamber forming member with a so-called harmonica structure in which opening portions of each inkjet chamber are arranged in a front end face and a rear end face that face each other and the ink chamber is formed into a straight type hexahedral shape has many ink chamber forming members taken from one wafer and is thus superior in productivity.
- Patent Literatures 1 and 2 As a technique for electrically leading the drive electrode in the ink chamber to the outside of the ink chamber forming member, techniques described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 have been conventionally known.
- a first individual electrode electrically connected to a drive electrode in an ink chamber and a second individual electrode arranged at an end portion of a rear end face of the ink chamber forming member are separately provided on the rear end face, these individual electrodes are electrically connected through a wiring line having an insulator layer, a separate substrate is bonded to this rear end face, and one end of a wiring line formed on this substrate is electrically connected to the second individual electrode, whereby the drive electrode in the ink chamber is electrically led to an end portion of the substrate.
- an individual electrode electrically connected to a drive electrode in an ink chamber is arranged on a rear end face of an ink chamber forming member, a separate substrate is bonded to this rear end face, wiring lines formed on this substrate are used to electrically lead the drive electrode in the ink chamber to an end portion of the drive electrode.
- the wiring lines on the substrate are allocated to front and back surfaces of the substrate in accordance with each ink chamber column, and the wiring line on the back surface of the substrate has one end electrically connected to the individual electrode and the other end led to the back surface side via a through electrode formed on the substrate.
- This substrate is larger enough to cover the substantially entire rear end face of the ink chamber forming member, and a through hole for an ink channel individually corresponding to each ink channel is formed in a region of the ink chamber corresponding to an opening portion of the ink chamber from which an ink is discharged.
- US 2010/156997A discloses an inkjet head which includes an inlet channel that receives ink from an ink supply system through a via structure formed in the circuit carrying substrate.
- the ink flows into an ink pressure or pump chamber that is bounded on one side by a flexible diaphragm.
- An electromechanical piezoelectric transducer is attached to the flexible diaphragm and overlies the pressure chamber.
- a contact element of an interconnect structure electrically connects the electromechanical transducer to a contact pad on the circuit carrying substrate. Electrical actuation of the electromechanical transducer causes ink to flow from the pressure chamber to a drop forming nozzle or orifice, from which an ink drop is emitted toward a receiver medium.
- the via structure is configured to conduct electrical signals to the electromechanical transducer, and also to convey liquid from one side of the circuit carrying substrate to the other side.
- the via structure comprises an electrically conductive layer disposed in an opening in the circuit carrying substrate so as to extend from a first side to second side of the circuit carrying substrate.
- the wiring lines having the insulator layer do not have to be formed on the rear end face of the ink chamber forming member, the wiring lines for each column of the ink chambers are formed on both sides of the substrate, and hence there is an advantage that the wiring lines are hard to be short-circuited even if density of the ink chamber is increased.
- the present invention provides an inkjet head with the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the inkjet head are defined in the dependent claims.
- the inkjet head that enables electrically leading the individual electrode corresponding to the ink chamber provided in the ink chamber forming member to the outside of the ink chamber forming member by using the substrate bonded to the ink chamber forming member without lowering strength of the substrate.
- FIG. 1 is a horizontal exploded cross-sectional view showing an example of an inkjet head for explaining an outline of an inkjet head and a method for leading out a wiring line of an inkjet head according to the present invention.
- reference numeral 1 denotes an ink chamber forming member; 2, a nozzle plate; and 3, a substrate.
- the ink chamber forming member 1 has an ink chamber 11 from which an ink is discharged.
- opening portions 11a and 11b of the ink chamber 11 are arranged on a front end face 1a and a rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 is shown.
- One opening portion 11a is an opening portion on an outlet side that communicates with a nozzle 21 formed in the nozzle plate 2 and allows the ink in the ink chamber 11 to be discharged from the nozzle 21.
- the other opening portion 11b is an opening portion on an inlet side and also an ink inlet that allows the ink to enter the ink chamber 11.
- the ink chamber forming member 1 has an individual electrode 12 provided on the rear end face 1b. Therefore, the ink chamber forming member 1 has the opening portion 11b as the ink inlet and the individual electrode 12 arranged on the rear end face 1b that is one side thereof. In the ink chamber forming member 1, a voltage for providing the ink in the ink chamber 11 with discharge energy is applied to this individual electrode 12.
- the substrate 3 has a through hole 31 (a first through hole) formed at a position corresponding to the opening portion 11b of the ink chamber 11 and also has a front face wiring portion 32a of a wiring line 32 formed on a front surface 3a that is a surface on the ink chamber forming member 1 side.
- the substrate 3 has its front surface 3a arranged and provided on the rear end face 1b side of the ink chamber forming member 1.
- the opening portion 11b as the ink inlet of the in chamber forming member 1 communicates with the through hole 31 in the substrate 3 and forms an ink channel through which the ink is supplied to the ink chamber 11, and the front surface wiring portion 32a of the wiring line 32 is electrically connected with the individual electrode 12.
- This wiring line 32 is led out from the front surface 3a of the substrate 3 to a back surface 3b, which is a surface on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member 1, through the substrate 3, and the wiring line 32 in the present invention is led out to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 via the through hole 31 constituting the ink channel by utilizing this through hole 31.
- Reference numeral 32b denotes a back surface wiring portion of the wiring line 32 led out to the back surface 3b via the through hole 31.
- the wiring line 32 that is electrically connected with the individual electrode 12 arranged on the end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 is led out to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 via the through hole 31 formed in the substrate 3 to supply the ink to the ink chamber 11, an additional through hole configured to pull out this wiring line 32 to the back surface 3b does not have to be separately provided. Therefore, the number of steps for machining through holes in the substrate 3 can be reduced, and the individual electrode 12 can be electrically led to the outside of the ink chamber forming member 1 without causing a reduction in strength of the substrate 3 due to an increase in number of through holes.
- the front surface wiring portion 32a and the back surface wiring portion 32b may be electrically connected via the through hole 31 by using a metal wire or the like.
- a metal wire or the like it is preferable to form the wiring line 32 along an inner peripheral surface 31a of the first through hole 31 and an inner peripheral surface 32a of a second through hole 34 in a tight contact manner by forming the wiring line 32 based on, e.g., an evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a plating method, and lead out the wiring line 32 to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 through the inner peripheral surface 31a.
- using both the evaporation method and an electrolytic plating method or using both the sputtering method and the electrolytic plating method is notably preferable since a metal film with a uniform thickness can be formed over the full length of the through hole 31.
- Reference numeral 32c in FIG. 1 denotes a through hole wiring portion that is formed along the inner peripheral surface 31a of the through hole 31 and connects the front surface wiring portion 32a with the back surface wiring portion 32b.
- the through hole 31 can function as an ink channel without substantially changing its shape, and hence a flow of the ink as the ink channel is not obstructed.
- the through hole wiring portion 32c provided along the inner peripheral surface 31a of the through hole 31 can be made of the same material with substantially the same thickness as the front surface wiring portion 32a and the back surface wiring portion 32b formed on the front surface 3a and the back surface 3b of the substrate 3, electric resistance is not increased in a region of the of the through hole wiring portion 32c.
- a material used for the substrate 3 is not restricted in particular as long as it can insulate the wiring line 32, there are glass, silicon, ceramics, plastic, and others. Among others, using a glass substrate is preferable since a dimension change due to heat is hardly observed, its price is low, and processing is easy.
- the substrate 3 is not restricted to a single-layer substrate, and it may be formed by laminating a plurality of layers 3.
- the plurality of respective layers may be all made of the same material or made of different materials.
- the substrate 3 is not restricted to bonding to the ink chamber forming member 1 through an adhesive alone.
- additional intermediate members that connect the opening portion 11b with the through hole 31 or electrically connect the individual electrode 12 with the wiring line 32 may be interposed, respectively.
- the through hole 31 forming the ink channel may have the same opening area as an opening area of the opening portion 11b that serves as the ink inlet of the ink chamber 11 or may have a different opening area. If the through hole 31 has a different opening area, the through hole 31 may be larger than the opening portion 11b or smaller than the opening portion 11b. The through hole 31 smaller than the opening portion 11b is allowed to function as a restriction hole that narrows the ink channel. Further, if the ink can be circulated, the center of the through hole 31 may be arranged to deviate from the center of the opening portion 11b.
- An opening shape of the through hole 31 is not restricted in particular, and it may be an arbitrary shape such as a square shape or a circular shape.
- the cross-sectional shape is not restricted to a straight shape formed along a flow direction of the ink as shown in the drawing, and it may be a tapered shape in which a diameter is expanded on an inlet side of the ink channel (a right-hand side in FIG. 1 ).
- the wiring line 32 is electrically connected to a non-illustrated external wiring member in order to apply a drive signal of a predetermined voltage from a non-illustrated drive signal generation circuit to the individual electrode 12. It is preferable for the other end side of the wiring line 32 to be drawn to the end portion of the substrate 3 for connection with this external wiring member.
- the substrate 3 having an area larger than the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 is used, at least one end portion of the substrate 3 has a projecting portion 33 projecting toward a lateral side (a lower side in the drawing) of the ink chamber forming member 1, and a front surface 3a side or a back surface 3b side of this projecting portion 33 forms a connecting region with respect to the external wiring member.
- the other end side of the wiring line 32 extends to the back surface 3b side of the projecting portion 33 and is arranged on this projecting portion 33. Since the large connecting region can be assured by forming the connecting region with respect to an external wiring member with the use of the projecting portion 33 that projects to the lateral side of the ink chamber forming member 1 in this manner, a connecting operation for the external wiring member can be easily performed.
- the wiring line 32 led out to the back surface 3b of the substrate can be again pulled back to the front surface 3a of the substrate 3. As a result, a degree of freedom of a wiring route can be further improved.
- FIGS. 2 show the substrate 3 in a mode that the wiring line 32 is pulled back to the front surface 3a. Since portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 represent portions having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of FIG. 1 will be cited for any other explanation, thereby omitting the description.
- FIG. 2(a) shows a mode that a through hole 34 (a second through hole) different from the through hole 31 constituting the ink channel is formed in the projecting portion 33 of the substrate 3.
- the wiring line 32 led to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 runs along an inner peripheral surface 34a of the other through hole 34 and is pulled back from the back surface 3b to the front surface 3a, whereby a second surface wiring portion 32d is formed on the front surface 3a.
- This second front surface wiring portion 32c is arranged on the front surface 3a side of the projecting portion 33.
- the through hole 34 must be provided separately from the through hole 31 constituting the ink channel, the number of machining the through holes in the substrate 3 can be reduced since an additional through hole used for leading out the wiring line 32 from the front surface 3a to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 is not required, and hence a reduction in strength of the substrate 3 can be suppressed.
- a through electrode made of a conductive material can be used in the through hole like the prior art.
- the back surface wiring portion 32b and the second front surface wiring portion 32d can be electrically connected with the use of a metal wire or the like via the through hole 34.
- the through hole wiring portion 32c in the through hole 31 when a through hole wiring portion 32e is formed by allowing it to run along the inner peripheral surface 34a of the through hole 34, an operation for allowing penetration of the wiring line 32 is facilitated, and electrical resistance is not increased in a region of the through hole wiring portion 32e.
- the other end side of the wiring line 32 is arranged on the front surface 3a side of the projecting portion 33, electrical connection with an external wiring member can be achieved on the front surface 3a side of this substrate 3.
- an external wiring member connecting operation is performed after providing the substrate 3 on the end face 1b side of the ink chamber forming member 1, the external wiring member can be connected from the upper side of the projecting portion 3a, i.e., from the ink chamber forming member 1 side in a state that the back surface 3b side of the substrate 3 which serves as a flat surface is mounted on a work table, and hence the connecting operation can be performed in a stable state.
- FIG. 2(b) shows a mode that the through hole 34 is not used at the time of pulling back the wiring line 32 to the front surface 3a.
- the wiring line 32 led out to the back surface 3b of the substrate extends from the through hole 31 toward the end portion of the substrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing. Additionally, the wiring line 32 runs on the end face 3c of the substrate 3 on the projecting portion 33 side and is pulled back to the front surface 3a, thereby forming the second surface wiring portion 32d of the front surface 3a.
- the second front surface wiring portion 32d extends toward the upper side from the end face 3c and is arranged on the front surface 3a side of the projecting portion 33.
- the through hole 34 configured to again pull back the wiring line 32 to the front surface 3a of the substrate 3 is not required. Therefore, the number of machining through holes in the substrate 3 can be reduced, and a reduction in strength of the substrate 3 can be suppressed.
- the external wiring member connecting operation can be performed in a stable state.
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a first embodiment
- FIG. 4 is a view showing an ink chamber of an ink chamber forming member from a rear end face side
- FIG. 5 is a view showing the inkjet head from a back surface side of a substrate
- FIG. 6 is a horizontal exploded view of a cross section taken along a line (vi)-(vi) in FIG. 5
- FIG. 7 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (vii)-(vii) in FIG. 5 .
- This embodiment shows an example of the inkjet head adopting the wiring lead-out structure depicted in FIG. 2 .
- a manifold member 4 that stores an ink that is supplied to each ink chamber 11 in an ink chamber forming member 1 is bonded to a back surface 3b of a substrate 3, and an FPC 5 is bonded to a front surface 3a of the substrate 3.
- the FPC 5 is an example of an external wiring member.
- FIG. 3 shows a horizontally developed state between the ink chamber forming member 1 and the substrate 3.
- a plurality of drive walls 13 each of which is formed of a piezoelectric element are aligned, and the ink chambers 11 each of which is formed between a pair of drive walls 13 and 13 adjacent to each other and the drive walls 13 are alternately arranged.
- a column of the ink chambers 11 is formed by aligning the plurality of ink chambers 11.
- the number of the ink chambers 11 in each column is not restricted at all.
- each drive wall 13 is formed of a piezoelectric element, providing the piezoelectric element on at least part of the drive wall 13 can suffice.
- opening portions 11a and 11b of each ink chamber 11 are arranged in a front end face 1a and a rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1.
- One opening portion 11a is an opening portion on an ink outlet side communicating with each nozzle 21, and the other opening portion 11b is an ink inlet from which the ink is supplied.
- Each ink chamber 11 is formed into a straight shape extending from the opening portion 11b as the ink inlet arranged in the rear end face 1b to the opening portion 11b on the outlet side arranged in the front end face 1a.
- a drive electrode 14 formed of a metal film of Ni, Au, Cu, Al, or the like is formed on a front surface of each drive wall 13 facing each ink chamber 11.
- the drive electrodes 14 are formed to be connected from the entire front surfaces of the respective drive walls 13 and 13 facing the ink chambers 11 to at least any one wall surface (here, a wall surface on the lower side in FIG. 4 ) adjacent to these drive walls 13 and 13.
- This ink chamber forming member 1 is a so-called harmonica type ink chamber forming member formed of a hexahedron, and each drive wall 13 is operated to deform when a drive signal of a predetermined voltage is applied from a non-illustrate drive signal generation circuit (a drive IC) to each of the drive electrodes 14 on both surfaces of each drive wall 13.
- a drive IC non-illustrate drive signal generation circuit
- this drive wall 13 is operated to deform, a capacity of the ink chamber 11 varies, a pressure for discharging the ink supplied to the inside of the ink chamber 11 is thereby changed, and the ink is discharged from each nozzle 21.
- an end face on a side where the nozzles 21 are arranged and from which the ink is discharged is defined as a "front end face”, and an end face opposite to this end face is defined a “rear end face”.
- a direction that is parallel to the front end face 1a and the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 and also a direction away from the ink chamber forming member 1 is defined as a "lateral side" of the ink chamber forming member.
- All the ink chambers 11 in each column in the ink chamber forming member 11 described in this embodiment are ink chambers that discharge the ink when the ink is supplied thereto.
- Individual electrodes 12 electrically connected with the drive electrodes 14 in the respective ink chambers 11 in the column A and individual electrodes 12 electrically connected with the drive electrodes 14 in the respective ink chambers 11 in the column B are individually led out on the rear end face 1b, which is one side of the ink chamber forming member 1, via the opening portions 11b of the respective ink chambers 11 in accordance with each of the ink chambers 11.
- a voltage used for providing the ink in the ink chambers 11 with discharge energy is first applied to the individual electrodes 12 and transmitted to the respective drive electrodes 14 via the individual electrodes 12.
- each individual electrode 12 extends from each opening portion 11b in the same direction. Here, it extends toward the lower side in the drawing that is a direction orthogonal to a column direction of the ink chambers 11, but each of the individual electrodes 12 of the ink chambers 11 in the column A stops just before the column B without intersecting with the column B.
- the substrate 3 has a larger area than the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 and is bonded to the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 through an adhesive.
- a projecting portion 33 of the substrate 3 that largely projects toward the lower lateral side of the ink chamber forming member 1 in the drawing forms a connecting region with respect to the FPC 5.
- Through holes 31 that form ink channels through which the ink in a later-described common ink chamber 41 of the manifold member 4 is supplied to the respective ink chambers 11 in the column A through the opening portions 11b and through holes 35 forming ink channels through which the ink is supplied to the respective ink chambers 11 in the column B are individually formed in the substrate 3 at positions corresponding to the opening portions 11b of the respective ink chambers 11 in the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1 in accordance with each of the ink chambers 11.
- Column B wiring lines 36 electrically connected with the individual electrodes 12 in the column B of the ink chamber forming member 1 are individually formed on the front surface 3a of the substrate 3. Ends of the column B wiring lines 36 on one side are arranged near the through holes 35, and ends of the same on the other side extend to the end portion of the substrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing and aligned on the front surface 3a side of the projecting portion 33 serving as the connection region with respect to the FPC 5 at the same pitch as that of the ink chambers 11 in the column B.
- column A wiring lines 32 electrically connected with the individual electrodes 12 in the column A of the ink chamber forming member 1 are likewise individually formed on the front surface 3a.
- Each column A wiring line 32 corresponds to a "wiring line” led out to the surface on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member in the present invention.
- a first front surface wiring portion 32a of each column A wiring line 32 which is provided on the front surface 3a of the substrate 3 to be electrically connected with each individual electrode 12, is arranged near each through hole 31.
- each column A wiring line 32 is electrically connected with the individual electrode 12 through this first surface wiring portion 32a.
- Each column A wiring line 32 runs along an inner peripheral surface 31a of the through hole 31, is led out to the back surface 3b, and forms a back surface wiring portion 32b.
- the back surface wiring portion 32b further extends toward the projecting portion 33 of the substrate 3 from the through hole 31 and runs between the through holes 35 and 35 aligned in accordance with the ink chambers 11 in the column B, thereby straddling the column B on the back surface 3b.
- the column A wiring lines 32 do not cross the ink chambers 11 in the column B or the drive walls 13 on the front surface 3a of the substrate 3 that is in contact with the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1, there is no fear of a short circuit with the drive electrodes 14 exposed from the opening portion 11b of the respective ink chambers 11 in the column B or the individual electrodes 12.
- the respective drive electrodes 14 can be electrically led out to the end portion of the substrate 3 through the individual electrodes 12 without concern about a short circuit.
- the through holes 34 as the second through holes are individually formed in the projecting portion 33 that is placed on the lower side of a bonding region 30 of the ink chamber forming member 1 to be equal with the through holes 31 in number and pitch.
- the back surface wiring portion 32b of each column A wiring line 32 extends from the through hole 31 to the corresponding through hole 34, runs along the inner peripheral surfaces 34a of the through holes 34, is pulled back to the front surface 3a of the substrate 3, and forms the second front surface wiring portion 32d.
- the second front surface wiring portions 32d extend to the end portion of the substrate 3 on the lower side of the drawing which is an opposite direction of a direction extending from the through holes 34 toward the through holes 31, and they are aligned on the front surface 3a side of the projecting portion 33 as the connecting region with respect to the FPC 5 at the same pitch as that of the ink chambers 11 in the column A. Therefore, on the projecting portion 33, the second front surface wiring portions 32d of the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36 are alternately aligned. Therefore, on the front surface 3a side of this projecting portion 33, an operation for connecting one FPC 5 with the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36 can be easily performed in a stable state.
- the manifold member 4 is an example of ink supplying means for supplying the ink to the respective ink chambers 11 through the first through holes 31 and the through holes 35, and it is formed into an opened box shape having one surface large enough to surround all the ink chambers 11 formed in the ink chamber forming member 1 and bonded to the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 through an adhesive.
- the inside of the manifold member 4 serves as a common ink chamber 41 that stores the ink that is supplied to the respective ink chambers 11 in the column A and the column B in common, and the ink in this common ink chamber 41 is supplied to the respective ink chambers 11 through the respective through holes 31 and 35 in the substrate 3 and the respective opening portions 11b as the ink inlets.
- the manifold member 4 surrounds all of the respective through holes 31 and 35 of the substrate 3, it is formed with such a size as that the through holes 34 are not surrounded. Therefore, the through holes 34 of the substrate 3 are arranged outside the manifold member 4 bonded to the substrate 3, and the ink in the common ink chamber 41 does not leak from the through holes 34.
- the FPC 5 is connected to the projecting portion 33 of the substrate 3 through an anisotropic conducive film or the like and applies a drive signal of a predetermined voltage from a non-illustrated drive signal generation circuit to each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36 aligned on the projecting portion 33.
- the drive signal applied to each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36 is transmitted through each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36, and applied to the drive electrode 14 in each ink chamber 11 through each individual electrode 12 of the ink chamber forming member 1, thereby deforming each drive wall 13.
- the drive IC may be mounted on the FPC 5.
- the column A wiring lines 32 are led out to the back surface 3b by using the through holes 31 in the substrate 3 constituting the ink channels, the number of steps for machining the through holes in the substrate 3 can be reduced, and a decrease in strength of the substrate 3 due to an increase in number of the through holes can be suppressed.
- the protective film a film made of paraxylylene and its derivative (which is called a parylene film) is preferable.
- the parylene film is a resin film made of a polyparaxylylene resin and/or its derivative resin, and it is made based on a chemical vapor deposition method (a CVD method) using a solid diparaxylylene dimer or its derivative as a deposition source. That is, a paraxylylene radical generated when the diparaxylylene dimer is vaporized and pyrolytically decomposed is absorbed to the front surface of the ink chamber forming member 1 and shows a polymerization reaction, thereby forming a film.
- CVD method chemical vapor deposition method
- parylene film there are various parylene films, and various parylene films, a parylene film having a multilayer configuration obtained by laminating the various parylene films, or the like can be applied as a desired parylene film.
- the drive electrodes 14 in the respective ink chambers 11 as well as the respective wiring lines on the substrate 3 can be protected against the ink by using the parylene film.
- a film thickness of such a parylene film is 1 ⁇ m to 10 ⁇ m.
- FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a second embodiment
- FIG. 9 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted in FIG. 8 from a back surface side of a substrate
- FIG. 10 is a horizontal exploded view of a cross section taken along a line (x)-(x) in FIG. 9 . Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description.
- This inkjet head H2 is equal to the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment in that column A wiring lines 32 are led out to a back surface 3b from a front surface 3a of a substrate 3 via through holes 31 constituting ink channels and led back to the front surface 3a via through holes 34 but different from the same in that positions of the through holes 34 are placed near an end portion of the substrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing.
- second front surface wiring portions 32d of the column A wiring lines 32 led back to the front surface 3a of the substrate 3 via the through holes 34 upwardly run from the through holes 34 and extend to a position just before a bonding region 30 with respect to an ink chamber forming member 1, and the second front surface wiring portions 32d and column B wiring lines 36 are alternately aligned on the front surface 3a side of a projecting portion 33 that can serve as a connecting region for an FPC 5.
- a size of a manifold member 4 can be increased to reach a position near the through holes 34, a capacity of a common ink chamber 41 can be thus increased as compared with the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment.
- FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a third embodiment
- FIG. 12 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted in FIG. 11 from a back surface side of a substrate
- FIG. 13 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (xiii)-(xiii) in FIG. 12 . Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description.
- column A wiring lines 32 are led back to a front surface 3a through an end face 3c of a substrate 3 like the mode in FIG. 2(b) without forming through holes 34 as second through holes in the substrate 3.
- the second through holes used for leading the column A wiring lines 32 back to the front surface 3a are not required, a reduction in strength of the substrate 3 can be suppressed. Further, since there is no concern about leakage of an ink due to omission of the second through holes, a size of a manifold member 4 can be equal to that of the substrate 3, and a capacity of a common ink chamber 41 can be increased to the maximum level. Furthermore, if the size of the manifold member 4 is equal to those of inkjet heads H1 and H2, the substrate 3 can be reduced in size due to omission of the second through holes.
- FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a fourth embodiment
- FIG. 15 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted in FIG. 14 from a back surface side of a substrate. Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description.
- a column A and a column B are constituted by alternately aligning ink chambers 111 from which an ink is discharged when the ink is supplied thereto and dummy chambers 112 to which the ink is not supplied and from which the ink is not discharged through each drive wall 13 formed of a piezoelectric element.
- Through holes 31 and 35 are individually pierced and formed in a substrate 3 only at positions corresponding to the ink chambers 111 in the respective columns A and B, and the dummy chambers 112 are air chambers to which the ink is not supplied by closed with the substrate 3.
- a drive electrode in each dummy chamber 112 is electrically connected with a common electrode 15 provided in accordance with each of the columns A and B.
- the common electrode for the column A on the upper side in the drawing is arranged on the opposite side of the column B to sandwich the column A on a rear end face 1b of an ink chamber forming member 1 and extends along a column direction.
- the common electrode 15 for the column B on the lower side in the drawing extends between the column A and the column B along the column direction on the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1.
- common electrode wiring lines 37 and 37 which are electrically connected with the common electrodes 15 and 15, respectively when they are bonded to the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1, are formed on a front surface 3a of the substrate 3.
- One end side of each of the common electrode wiring lines 37 and 37 is arranged in a bonding region 30 with respect to the ink chamber forming member 1 to be electrically connected to each of the common electrodes 15 and 15 on the rear end face 1b of the ink chamber forming member 1, and the other end side of the same extends to the outside of the bonding region 30, runs toward an end portion of the substrate 3 on the lower side of the drawing, and is aligned on a front surface 3a side of a projecting portion 33 like column A wiring lines 32 and column B wiring lines 36.
- the dummy chambers 112 are electrically connected to the common electrodes 15, and individual wiring on the substrate 3 is not required, thus realizing high density of the wiring lines.
- the through holes 31 and 35 are formed in the substrate 3 only at positions corresponding to the respective ink chambers 111, a reduction in strength of the substrate 3 can be suppressed.
- each drive wall 13 between the ink chambers 11 adjacent to each other or each drive wall 13 between the ink chamber 111 and the dummy chamber 112 adjacent to each other is formed of a piezoelectric element and which provides a pressure for discharging the ink into the ink chambers 11 or 111 based on deformation of the drive wall 13
- a specific structure for discharging the ink is out of the question in the present invention.
- FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inkjet head according to a fifth embodiment, and a description will be given on an example of an inkjet head in which one wall surface of an ink chamber is constituted of a diaphragm so that an ink in the ink chamber is provided with discharge energy by vibrating this diaphragm based on expansion and contraction movement of a piezoelectric element.
- An inkjet head H5 has an ink chamber forming member 6 and a substrate 7 that is provided on one side of this ink chamber forming member 6 (the upper side in the drawing).
- the ink chamber forming member 6 is constituted of a laminated substrate and has a nozzle plate 61 formed of an Si (silicon) substrate, an intermediate plate 62 formed of a glass substrate, a pressure chamber plate 63 formed of an Si (silicon) substrate, and a diaphragm 64 formed of an SiO 2 thin film.
- a nozzle 611 is opened in the nozzle plate 61.
- An ink chamber 631 that contains an ink to be discharged is formed in the pressure chamber plate 63.
- An upper wall of the ink chamber 631 is formed of the diaphragm 64, and a lower wall of the same is formed of the intermediate plate 62.
- An ink inlet 632 from which the ink is supplied into the ink chamber 631 is formed in the diaphragm 64, and it is opened in an upper surface of the ink chamber forming member 6.
- a communication path 621 that allows the inside of the ink chamber 631 to communicate with the nozzle 611 is pierced and formed in the intermediate plate 62.
- a piezoelectric element 65 is formed of a thin film PZT and sandwiched between an individual electrode 651 provided on an upper surface thereof and a common electrode 652 provided on a lower surface thereof.
- the common electrode 652 is formed on a front surface of the diaphragm 64, and the piezoelectric element 65 and the individual electrode 651 on the upper surface thereof are individually laminated on this common electrode 652 so as to associate with the ink chamber 631 on a one-to-one basis.
- a bump 653 made of gold or the like is formed to protrude on the individual electrode 651.
- a substrate 7 has a through hole 71.
- the through hole 71 communicates with the ink inlet 632 in the ink chamber 631 with the use of a channel member 8 that is an intermediate member interposed between the ink chamber forming member 6 and the substrate 7, thereby forming an ink channel.
- a lower surface wiring portion 72a of a wiring line 72 that is electrically connected with the individual electrode 651 is formed on a lower surface 7a of the substrate 7 facing the ink chamber forming member 6.
- a bump 721 is formed to protrude on the lower surface wiring portion 72a, this bump 721 is electrically connected with the upper bump 653 as an intermediate member, and the wiring line 72 is electrically connected with the individual electrode 651.
- this wiring line 72 runs along an inner peripheral surface of the through hole 71 forming the ink channel, is led out to the upper surface 7b of the substrate 7, and forms the upper surface wiring portion 72b.
- This upper surface wiring portion 72b is electrically connected with a non-illustrated external wiring member such as an FPC at an end portion of the substrate 7.
- the ink inlet 632 and the individual electrode 651 are arranged on one side of the ink chamber forming member 6.
- the wiring line 72 formed on the substrate 7 passes through the through hole 71 forming the ink channel and is led out from a lower surface 7a facing the ink chamber forming member 6 to the upper surface 7b facing the lower surface 7a. Therefore, an additional through hole in which the wiring line 72 is inserted does not have to be formed in the substrate 7, and the individual electrode 651 corresponding to the ink chamber 631 can be electrically led to the outside of the ink chamber forming member 6 without a reduction in strength of the substrate 7.
- the number of columns of the ink chambers 11 or 111 included in the ink chamber forming member 1 may be one, i.e. , the column A alone.
- adopting the same wiring lead-out structure as that of the column A wiring lines 32 in each of the inkjet heads H1 to H4 enables providing an effect of easily leading the wiring line to the back surface of the substrate by using the ink channel without a reduction in strength of the substrate.
- the number of columns of the ink channels 11 may be three or more.
- the ink chamber forming member 1 and the nozzle plate 2 are formed to be symmetrical in an up-and-down direction orthogonal to the columns of the ink chambers 11 in each of the inkjet heads H1 to H4, the inkjet head having four columns of the ink chambers 11 can be easily configured.
- the through hole 31 in the substrate 3 corresponding to the ink chambers 11 in the column A are individually formed in accordance with the respective ink chambers 11, the through hole 31 may be one slot-like through hole that extends along the column direction of the ink chambers 11 in the column A and has a size including all the ink chambers 11 in the column A. Further, the through hole 31 may be divided into a plurality of through holes large enough to include the plurality of ink chambers 11, respectively.
- the through holes 34 are all arranged outside the manifold member 4, the through holes 34 may be closed by additionally using a filling member such as an insulating tape so that the ink cannot leak from the through holes 34 after forming the column A wiring lines 32, whereby the through holes 34 can be thereby arranged in the common ink chamber 41 of the manifold member 4.
- a filling member such as an insulating tape
- the column A wiring lines 32 led out to the back surface 3b via the through holes 31 may be aligned on the back surface 3b of the substrate 3 as they are so that the wiring lines can be distributed on the front surface 3a and the back surface 3b of the substrate in accordance with the respective columns and can be electrically connected with external wiring members on the respective surfaces.
- the wiring lines in the respective columns are not adjacent to each other, a possibility of short circuits can be further reduced, and higher density can be achieved.
Landscapes
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Description
- The present invention relates to an inkjet head, and more particularly to an inkjet head which is provided with a wiring line for electrically leading out an individual electrode arranged on one side of an ink chamber forming member to the outside of the ink chamber forming member by using a substrate provided on the one side of the ink chamber forming member.
- An inkjet head gives discharge energy to an ink in an ink chamber and discharges ink drops. As means for giving the discharge energy, there have been conventionally known means using a piezoelectric element such as a PZT that is mechanically displaced by application of a voltage, means for generating air bubbles in an ink by energizing a heater arranged in an ink chamber and utilizing a breaking operation of the air bubbles, and others.
- Among others, a shearing mode type inkjet head that has drive walls formed of piezoelectric elements and narrow-groove-like ink chambers alternately arranged therein, shear-deforms each drive wall by applying a voltage to a drive electrode formed on the drive wall, and discharges an ink in each ink chamber from a nozzle has an advantage that densification is easy, for example. In such shearing mode type inkjet heads, an inkjet head having an ink chamber forming member with a so-called harmonica structure in which opening portions of each inkjet chamber are arranged in a front end face and a rear end face that face each other and the ink chamber is formed into a straight type hexahedral shape has many ink chamber forming members taken from one wafer and is thus superior in productivity.
- To apply a drive signal from a drive signal generation circuit to a drive electrode facing each ink chamber, it is necessary to electrically lead the drive electrode to the outside of such an ink chamber forming member having the harmonica structure and facilitate achieving electrical connection between the ink chamber forming member and an external wiring member such as an FPC.
- As a technique for electrically leading the drive electrode in the ink chamber to the outside of the ink chamber forming member, techniques described in
Patent Literatures - In an inkjet head described in
JP 2008-143167A - In an inkjet head described in
JP 2009-274327A -
US 2010/156997A discloses an inkjet head which includes an inlet channel that receives ink from an ink supply system through a via structure formed in the circuit carrying substrate. The ink flows into an ink pressure or pump chamber that is bounded on one side by a flexible diaphragm. An electromechanical piezoelectric transducer is attached to the flexible diaphragm and overlies the pressure chamber. A contact element of an interconnect structure electrically connects the electromechanical transducer to a contact pad on the circuit carrying substrate. Electrical actuation of the electromechanical transducer causes ink to flow from the pressure chamber to a drop forming nozzle or orifice, from which an ink drop is emitted toward a receiver medium. The via structure is configured to conduct electrical signals to the electromechanical transducer, and also to convey liquid from one side of the circuit carrying substrate to the other side. For this purpose the via structure comprises an electrically conductive layer disposed in an opening in the circuit carrying substrate so as to extend from a first side to second side of the circuit carrying substrate. - In recent years, to enable high-definition recording with the use of an inkjet head, further densification of an ink chamber has been demanded, this demand for densification produces a new problem in the conventional inkjet head.
- That is, in the inkjet head described in
JP 2008-143167A - On the other hand, according to the inkjet head described in
JP 2009-274327A - Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet head according to
claim 1. - Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
- The present invention provides an inkjet head with the features of
claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the inkjet head are defined in the dependent claims. - According to the present invention, it is possible to provide the inkjet head that enables electrically leading the individual electrode corresponding to the ink chamber provided in the ink chamber forming member to the outside of the ink chamber forming member by using the substrate bonded to the ink chamber forming member without lowering strength of the substrate.
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FIG. 1 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section of an inkjet head for explaining the concept of the present invention; -
FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are cross-sectional views of a substrate showing a mode that wiring lines are led back to a front surface; -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a first embodiment; -
FIG. 4 is a view showing ink chambers of an ink chamber forming member from a rear end face side; -
FIG. 5 is a view showing a state that the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 3 is seen from a back surface side of a substrate; -
FIG. 6 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (vi)-(vi) inFIG. 5 ; -
FIG. 7 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (vii)-(vii) inFIG. 5 ; -
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a second embodiment; -
FIG. 9 is a view showing a state that the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 8 is seen from a back surface side of a substrate; -
FIG. 10 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (x)-(x) inFIG. 9 ; -
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a third embodiment; -
FIG. 12 is a view showing a state that the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 11 is seen from a back surface side of a substrate; -
FIG. 13 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (xiii)-(xiii) inFIG. 12 ; -
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a fourth embodiment; -
FIG. 15 is a view showing a state that the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 14 is seen from a back surface side of a substrate; and -
FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inkjet head according to a fifth embodiment. - Embodiments according to the present invention will now be described hereinafter.
- Before explaining specific embodiments according to the present invention, an outline of the present invention will be described.
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FIG. 1 is a horizontal exploded cross-sectional view showing an example of an inkjet head for explaining an outline of an inkjet head and a method for leading out a wiring line of an inkjet head according to the present invention. - In the drawing,
reference numeral 1 denotes an ink chamber forming member; 2, a nozzle plate; and 3, a substrate. - The ink
chamber forming member 1 has anink chamber 11 from which an ink is discharged. Here, an example where openingportions ink chamber 11 are arranged on afront end face 1a and arear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 is shown. One openingportion 11a is an opening portion on an outlet side that communicates with anozzle 21 formed in thenozzle plate 2 and allows the ink in theink chamber 11 to be discharged from thenozzle 21. The otheropening portion 11b is an opening portion on an inlet side and also an ink inlet that allows the ink to enter theink chamber 11. - The ink
chamber forming member 1 has anindividual electrode 12 provided on therear end face 1b. Therefore, the inkchamber forming member 1 has theopening portion 11b as the ink inlet and theindividual electrode 12 arranged on therear end face 1b that is one side thereof. In the inkchamber forming member 1, a voltage for providing the ink in theink chamber 11 with discharge energy is applied to thisindividual electrode 12. - The
substrate 3 has a through hole 31 (a first through hole) formed at a position corresponding to theopening portion 11b of theink chamber 11 and also has a frontface wiring portion 32a of awiring line 32 formed on afront surface 3a that is a surface on the inkchamber forming member 1 side. - The
substrate 3 has itsfront surface 3a arranged and provided on therear end face 1b side of the inkchamber forming member 1. As a result, theopening portion 11b as the ink inlet of the inchamber forming member 1 communicates with the throughhole 31 in thesubstrate 3 and forms an ink channel through which the ink is supplied to theink chamber 11, and the frontsurface wiring portion 32a of thewiring line 32 is electrically connected with theindividual electrode 12. - This
wiring line 32 is led out from thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 to aback surface 3b, which is a surface on the opposite side of the inkchamber forming member 1, through thesubstrate 3, and thewiring line 32 in the present invention is led out to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 via the throughhole 31 constituting the ink channel by utilizing this throughhole 31.Reference numeral 32b denotes a back surface wiring portion of thewiring line 32 led out to theback surface 3b via the throughhole 31. - According to the present invention, as described above, since the
wiring line 32 that is electrically connected with theindividual electrode 12 arranged on theend face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 is led out to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 via the throughhole 31 formed in thesubstrate 3 to supply the ink to theink chamber 11, an additional through hole configured to pull out thiswiring line 32 to theback surface 3b does not have to be separately provided. Therefore, the number of steps for machining through holes in thesubstrate 3 can be reduced, and theindividual electrode 12 can be electrically led to the outside of the inkchamber forming member 1 without causing a reduction in strength of thesubstrate 3 due to an increase in number of through holes. - To insert the
wiring line 32 through the throughhole 31, if the ink can be circulated, the frontsurface wiring portion 32a and the backsurface wiring portion 32b may be electrically connected via the throughhole 31 by using a metal wire or the like. However, as shown in the drawing, it is preferable to form thewiring line 32 along an innerperipheral surface 31a of the first throughhole 31 and an innerperipheral surface 32a of a second throughhole 34 in a tight contact manner by forming thewiring line 32 based on, e.g., an evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a plating method, and lead out thewiring line 32 to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 through the innerperipheral surface 31a. In particular, using both the evaporation method and an electrolytic plating method or using both the sputtering method and the electrolytic plating method is notably preferable since a metal film with a uniform thickness can be formed over the full length of the throughhole 31. -
Reference numeral 32c inFIG. 1 denotes a through hole wiring portion that is formed along the innerperipheral surface 31a of the throughhole 31 and connects the frontsurface wiring portion 32a with the backsurface wiring portion 32b. - As a result, the through
hole 31 can function as an ink channel without substantially changing its shape, and hence a flow of the ink as the ink channel is not obstructed. Moreover, since the throughhole wiring portion 32c provided along the innerperipheral surface 31a of the throughhole 31 can be made of the same material with substantially the same thickness as the frontsurface wiring portion 32a and the backsurface wiring portion 32b formed on thefront surface 3a and theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3, electric resistance is not increased in a region of the of the throughhole wiring portion 32c. - A material used for the
substrate 3 is not restricted in particular as long as it can insulate thewiring line 32, there are glass, silicon, ceramics, plastic, and others. Among others, using a glass substrate is preferable since a dimension change due to heat is hardly observed, its price is low, and processing is easy. - The
substrate 3 is not restricted to a single-layer substrate, and it may be formed by laminating a plurality oflayers 3. The plurality of respective layers may be all made of the same material or made of different materials. - It is satisfactory to provide the
substrate 3 on one side of the inkchamber forming member 1 so that formation of the ink channel and electric connection with theindividual electrode 12 can be achieved, and thesubstrate 3 is not restricted to bonding to the inkchamber forming member 1 through an adhesive alone. For example, additional intermediate members that connect theopening portion 11b with the throughhole 31 or electrically connect theindividual electrode 12 with thewiring line 32 may be interposed, respectively. - The through
hole 31 forming the ink channel may have the same opening area as an opening area of theopening portion 11b that serves as the ink inlet of theink chamber 11 or may have a different opening area. If the throughhole 31 has a different opening area, the throughhole 31 may be larger than the openingportion 11b or smaller than the openingportion 11b. The throughhole 31 smaller than the openingportion 11b is allowed to function as a restriction hole that narrows the ink channel. Further, if the ink can be circulated, the center of the throughhole 31 may be arranged to deviate from the center of theopening portion 11b. - An opening shape of the through
hole 31 is not restricted in particular, and it may be an arbitrary shape such as a square shape or a circular shape. Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape is not restricted to a straight shape formed along a flow direction of the ink as shown in the drawing, and it may be a tapered shape in which a diameter is expanded on an inlet side of the ink channel (a right-hand side inFIG. 1 ). - The
wiring line 32 is electrically connected to a non-illustrated external wiring member in order to apply a drive signal of a predetermined voltage from a non-illustrated drive signal generation circuit to theindividual electrode 12. It is preferable for the other end side of thewiring line 32 to be drawn to the end portion of thesubstrate 3 for connection with this external wiring member. Here, since thesubstrate 3 having an area larger than therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 is used, at least one end portion of thesubstrate 3 has a projectingportion 33 projecting toward a lateral side (a lower side in the drawing) of the inkchamber forming member 1, and afront surface 3a side or aback surface 3b side of this projectingportion 33 forms a connecting region with respect to the external wiring member. - In
FIG. 1 , the other end side of thewiring line 32 extends to theback surface 3b side of the projectingportion 33 and is arranged on this projectingportion 33. Since the large connecting region can be assured by forming the connecting region with respect to an external wiring member with the use of the projectingportion 33 that projects to the lateral side of the inkchamber forming member 1 in this manner, a connecting operation for the external wiring member can be easily performed. - The
wiring line 32 led out to theback surface 3b of the substrate can be again pulled back to thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3. As a result, a degree of freedom of a wiring route can be further improved. -
FIGS. 2 show thesubstrate 3 in a mode that thewiring line 32 is pulled back to thefront surface 3a. Since portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those inFIG. 1 represent portions having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description ofFIG. 1 will be cited for any other explanation, thereby omitting the description. -
FIG. 2(a) shows a mode that a through hole 34 (a second through hole) different from the throughhole 31 constituting the ink channel is formed in the projectingportion 33 of thesubstrate 3. Thewiring line 32 led to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 runs along an innerperipheral surface 34a of the other throughhole 34 and is pulled back from theback surface 3b to thefront surface 3a, whereby a secondsurface wiring portion 32d is formed on thefront surface 3a. This second frontsurface wiring portion 32c is arranged on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33. - In this mode, although the through
hole 34 must be provided separately from the throughhole 31 constituting the ink channel, the number of machining the through holes in thesubstrate 3 can be reduced since an additional through hole used for leading out thewiring line 32 from thefront surface 3a to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 is not required, and hence a reduction in strength of thesubstrate 3 can be suppressed. - At the time of allowing the
wiring line 32 to penetrate through thesubstrate 3 to be pulled back from theback surface 3b to thefront surface 3a, a through electrode made of a conductive material can be used in the through hole like the prior art. Furthermore, the backsurface wiring portion 32b and the second frontsurface wiring portion 32d can be electrically connected with the use of a metal wire or the like via the throughhole 34. However, like the throughhole wiring portion 32c in the throughhole 31, when a throughhole wiring portion 32e is formed by allowing it to run along the innerperipheral surface 34a of the throughhole 34, an operation for allowing penetration of thewiring line 32 is facilitated, and electrical resistance is not increased in a region of the throughhole wiring portion 32e. - Moreover, the other end side of the
wiring line 32 is arranged on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33, electrical connection with an external wiring member can be achieved on thefront surface 3a side of thissubstrate 3. Although an external wiring member connecting operation is performed after providing thesubstrate 3 on theend face 1b side of the inkchamber forming member 1, the external wiring member can be connected from the upper side of the projectingportion 3a, i.e., from the inkchamber forming member 1 side in a state that theback surface 3b side of thesubstrate 3 which serves as a flat surface is mounted on a work table, and hence the connecting operation can be performed in a stable state. -
FIG. 2(b) shows a mode that the throughhole 34 is not used at the time of pulling back thewiring line 32 to thefront surface 3a. - That is, the
wiring line 32 led out to theback surface 3b of the substrate extends from the throughhole 31 toward the end portion of thesubstrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing. Additionally, thewiring line 32 runs on theend face 3c of thesubstrate 3 on the projectingportion 33 side and is pulled back to thefront surface 3a, thereby forming the secondsurface wiring portion 32d of thefront surface 3a. The second frontsurface wiring portion 32d extends toward the upper side from theend face 3c and is arranged on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33. - In this mode, even though the
substrate 3 is configured in such a manner that the wringline 32 is again pulled back to thefront surface 3a, the throughhole 34 configured to again pull back thewiring line 32 to thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 is not required. Therefore, the number of machining through holes in thesubstrate 3 can be reduced, and a reduction in strength of thesubstrate 3 can be suppressed. - Further, since the other end side of the
wiring line 32 is arranged on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33, the external wiring member connecting operation can be performed in a stable state. - A specific embodiment of the inkjet head to which the present invention is applied will now be described. To facilitate understanding of the embodiment, like reference numerals denote parts having like configurations corresponding to
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a first embodiment,FIG. 4 is a view showing an ink chamber of an ink chamber forming member from a rear end face side,FIG. 5 is a view showing the inkjet head from a back surface side of a substrate,FIG. 6 is a horizontal exploded view of a cross section taken along a line (vi)-(vi) inFIG. 5 , andFIG. 7 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (vii)-(vii) inFIG. 5 . - This embodiment shows an example of the inkjet head adopting the wiring lead-out structure depicted in
FIG. 2 . - In this inkjet head H1, a
manifold member 4 that stores an ink that is supplied to eachink chamber 11 in an inkchamber forming member 1 is bonded to aback surface 3b of asubstrate 3, and anFPC 5 is bonded to afront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3. TheFPC 5 is an example of an external wiring member. - It is to be noted that
FIG. 3 shows a horizontally developed state between the inkchamber forming member 1 and thesubstrate 3. - In the ink
chamber forming member 1, a plurality ofdrive walls 13 each of which is formed of a piezoelectric element are aligned, and theink chambers 11 each of which is formed between a pair ofdrive walls drive walls 13 are alternately arranged. Here, a column of theink chambers 11 is formed by aligning the plurality ofink chambers 11. The number of theink chambers 11 in each column is not restricted at all. Here, there is provided an illustrative example that two columns of theink chambers 11, which are a column A as a first column and a column B as a second column are arranged in parallel. Further, although each drivewall 13 is formed of a piezoelectric element, providing the piezoelectric element on at least part of thedrive wall 13 can suffice. - As shown in
FIG. 6 andFIG. 7 , openingportions ink chamber 11 are arranged in afront end face 1a and arear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1. Oneopening portion 11a is an opening portion on an ink outlet side communicating with eachnozzle 21, and theother opening portion 11b is an ink inlet from which the ink is supplied. Eachink chamber 11 is formed into a straight shape extending from theopening portion 11b as the ink inlet arranged in therear end face 1b to theopening portion 11b on the outlet side arranged in thefront end face 1a. - As shown in
FIG. 4 , adrive electrode 14 formed of a metal film of Ni, Au, Cu, Al, or the like is formed on a front surface of eachdrive wall 13 facing eachink chamber 11. Thedrive electrodes 14 are formed to be connected from the entire front surfaces of therespective drive walls ink chambers 11 to at least any one wall surface (here, a wall surface on the lower side inFIG. 4 ) adjacent to thesedrive walls - This ink
chamber forming member 1 is a so-called harmonica type ink chamber forming member formed of a hexahedron, and each drivewall 13 is operated to deform when a drive signal of a predetermined voltage is applied from a non-illustrate drive signal generation circuit (a drive IC) to each of thedrive electrodes 14 on both surfaces of eachdrive wall 13. When thisdrive wall 13 is operated to deform, a capacity of theink chamber 11 varies, a pressure for discharging the ink supplied to the inside of theink chamber 11 is thereby changed, and the ink is discharged from eachnozzle 21. - Here, in this ink
chamber forming member 1, an end face on a side where thenozzles 21 are arranged and from which the ink is discharged is defined as a "front end face", and an end face opposite to this end face is defined a "rear end face". Additionally, a direction that is parallel to thefront end face 1a and therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 and also a direction away from the inkchamber forming member 1 is defined as a "lateral side" of the ink chamber forming member. - All the
ink chambers 11 in each column in the inkchamber forming member 11 described in this embodiment are ink chambers that discharge the ink when the ink is supplied thereto. -
Individual electrodes 12 electrically connected with thedrive electrodes 14 in therespective ink chambers 11 in the column A andindividual electrodes 12 electrically connected with thedrive electrodes 14 in therespective ink chambers 11 in the column B are individually led out on therear end face 1b, which is one side of the inkchamber forming member 1, via the openingportions 11b of therespective ink chambers 11 in accordance with each of theink chambers 11. In this inkchamber forming member 1, a voltage used for providing the ink in theink chambers 11 with discharge energy is first applied to theindividual electrodes 12 and transmitted to therespective drive electrodes 14 via theindividual electrodes 12. - The other end of each
individual electrode 12 extends from each openingportion 11b in the same direction. Here, it extends toward the lower side in the drawing that is a direction orthogonal to a column direction of theink chambers 11, but each of theindividual electrodes 12 of theink chambers 11 in the column A stops just before the column B without intersecting with the column B. - The
substrate 3 has a larger area than therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 and is bonded to therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 through an adhesive. A projectingportion 33 of thesubstrate 3 that largely projects toward the lower lateral side of the inkchamber forming member 1 in the drawing forms a connecting region with respect to theFPC 5. - Through holes 31 (first through holes) that form ink channels through which the ink in a later-described
common ink chamber 41 of themanifold member 4 is supplied to therespective ink chambers 11 in the column A through the openingportions 11b and throughholes 35 forming ink channels through which the ink is supplied to therespective ink chambers 11 in the column B are individually formed in thesubstrate 3 at positions corresponding to the openingportions 11b of therespective ink chambers 11 in therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 in accordance with each of theink chambers 11. - Column
B wiring lines 36 electrically connected with theindividual electrodes 12 in the column B of the inkchamber forming member 1 are individually formed on thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3. Ends of the column B wiring lines 36 on one side are arranged near the throughholes 35, and ends of the same on the other side extend to the end portion of thesubstrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing and aligned on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33 serving as the connection region with respect to theFPC 5 at the same pitch as that of theink chambers 11 in the column B. - Further, column A wiring lines 32 electrically connected with the
individual electrodes 12 in the column A of the inkchamber forming member 1 are likewise individually formed on thefront surface 3a. Each columnA wiring line 32 corresponds to a "wiring line" led out to the surface on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member in the present invention. - A first front
surface wiring portion 32a of each columnA wiring line 32, which is provided on thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 to be electrically connected with eachindividual electrode 12, is arranged near each throughhole 31. When thesubstrate 3 is bonded to therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1, each columnA wiring line 32 is electrically connected with theindividual electrode 12 through this firstsurface wiring portion 32a. As a result, since theindividual electrode 12 and the columnA wiring line 32 can be electrically connected between therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1 and thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 that face each other, an operation for electrical connection is easy. - Each column
A wiring line 32 runs along an innerperipheral surface 31a of the throughhole 31, is led out to theback surface 3b, and forms a backsurface wiring portion 32b. The backsurface wiring portion 32b further extends toward the projectingportion 33 of thesubstrate 3 from the throughhole 31 and runs between the throughholes ink chambers 11 in the column B, thereby straddling the column B on theback surface 3b. - As described above, since the column A wiring lines 32 do not cross the
ink chambers 11 in the column B or thedrive walls 13 on thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 that is in contact with therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1, there is no fear of a short circuit with thedrive electrodes 14 exposed from theopening portion 11b of therespective ink chambers 11 in the column B or theindividual electrodes 12. As a result, even in case of the inkchamber forming member 1 that has high density due to an increase in number of theink chambers 11 or in number of columns of the inkchamber forming member 1, therespective drive electrodes 14 can be electrically led out to the end portion of thesubstrate 3 through theindividual electrodes 12 without concern about a short circuit. - The through holes 34 as the second through holes are individually formed in the projecting
portion 33 that is placed on the lower side of abonding region 30 of the inkchamber forming member 1 to be equal with the throughholes 31 in number and pitch. The backsurface wiring portion 32b of each columnA wiring line 32 extends from the throughhole 31 to the corresponding throughhole 34, runs along the innerperipheral surfaces 34a of the throughholes 34, is pulled back to thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3, and forms the second frontsurface wiring portion 32d. - The second front
surface wiring portions 32d extend to the end portion of thesubstrate 3 on the lower side of the drawing which is an opposite direction of a direction extending from the throughholes 34 toward the throughholes 31, and they are aligned on thefront surface 3a side of the projectingportion 33 as the connecting region with respect to theFPC 5 at the same pitch as that of theink chambers 11 in the column A. Therefore, on the projectingportion 33, the second frontsurface wiring portions 32d of the column A wiring lines 32 and the columnB wiring lines 36 are alternately aligned. Therefore, on thefront surface 3a side of this projectingportion 33, an operation for connecting oneFPC 5 with the column A wiring lines 32 and the columnB wiring lines 36 can be easily performed in a stable state. - The
manifold member 4 is an example of ink supplying means for supplying the ink to therespective ink chambers 11 through the first throughholes 31 and the throughholes 35, and it is formed into an opened box shape having one surface large enough to surround all theink chambers 11 formed in the inkchamber forming member 1 and bonded to theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 through an adhesive. The inside of themanifold member 4 serves as acommon ink chamber 41 that stores the ink that is supplied to therespective ink chambers 11 in the column A and the column B in common, and the ink in thiscommon ink chamber 41 is supplied to therespective ink chambers 11 through the respective throughholes substrate 3 and the respective openingportions 11b as the ink inlets. - Here, although the
manifold member 4 surrounds all of the respective throughholes substrate 3, it is formed with such a size as that the throughholes 34 are not surrounded. Therefore, the throughholes 34 of thesubstrate 3 are arranged outside themanifold member 4 bonded to thesubstrate 3, and the ink in thecommon ink chamber 41 does not leak from the through holes 34. - The
FPC 5 is connected to the projectingportion 33 of thesubstrate 3 through an anisotropic conducive film or the like and applies a drive signal of a predetermined voltage from a non-illustrated drive signal generation circuit to each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the columnB wiring lines 36 aligned on the projectingportion 33. The drive signal applied to each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the column B wiring lines 36 is transmitted through each of the column A wiring lines 32 and the columnB wiring lines 36, and applied to thedrive electrode 14 in eachink chamber 11 through eachindividual electrode 12 of the inkchamber forming member 1, thereby deforming eachdrive wall 13. The drive IC may be mounted on theFPC 5. - According to this inkjet head H1, since the column A wiring lines 32 are led out to the
back surface 3b by using the throughholes 31 in thesubstrate 3 constituting the ink channels, the number of steps for machining the through holes in thesubstrate 3 can be reduced, and a decrease in strength of thesubstrate 3 due to an increase in number of the through holes can be suppressed. - It is to be noted that, since the column A wiring lines 32 led out to the
back surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 are arranged in thecommon ink chamber 41 of themanifold member 4, they directly come into contact with the ink. Therefore, after bonding thesubstrate 3 to the inkchamber forming member 1 and before bonding themanifold member 4, it is preferable to form a protective film that protects the column A wiring lines 32 against the ink. - As the protective film, a film made of paraxylylene and its derivative (which is called a parylene film) is preferable. The parylene film is a resin film made of a polyparaxylylene resin and/or its derivative resin, and it is made based on a chemical vapor deposition method (a CVD method) using a solid diparaxylylene dimer or its derivative as a deposition source. That is, a paraxylylene radical generated when the diparaxylylene dimer is vaporized and pyrolytically decomposed is absorbed to the front surface of the ink
chamber forming member 1 and shows a polymerization reaction, thereby forming a film. - As the parylene film, there are various parylene films, and various parylene films, a parylene film having a multilayer configuration obtained by laminating the various parylene films, or the like can be applied as a desired parylene film.
- When the parylene film is formed on the ink
chamber forming member 1 and thesubstrate 3 after bonding the inkchamber forming member 1 and thesubstrate 3 and before bonding thenozzle plate 2 and themanifold member 4, thedrive electrodes 14 in therespective ink chambers 11 as well as the respective wiring lines on thesubstrate 3 can be protected against the ink by using the parylene film. - It is preferable to set a film thickness of such a parylene film to 1 µm to 10 µm.
-
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a second embodiment,FIG. 9 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 8 from a back surface side of a substrate, andFIG. 10 is a horizontal exploded view of a cross section taken along a line (x)-(x) inFIG. 9 . Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted inFIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description. - This inkjet head H2 is equal to the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment in that column A wiring lines 32 are led out to a
back surface 3b from afront surface 3a of asubstrate 3 via throughholes 31 constituting ink channels and led back to thefront surface 3a via throughholes 34 but different from the same in that positions of the throughholes 34 are placed near an end portion of thesubstrate 3 on the lower side in the drawing. Therefore, second frontsurface wiring portions 32d of the column A wiring lines 32 led back to thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 via the throughholes 34 upwardly run from the throughholes 34 and extend to a position just before abonding region 30 with respect to an inkchamber forming member 1, and the second frontsurface wiring portions 32d and columnB wiring lines 36 are alternately aligned on thefront surface 3a side of a projectingportion 33 that can serve as a connecting region for anFPC 5. - Consequently, as shown in
FIG. 9 , a size of amanifold member 4 can be increased to reach a position near the throughholes 34, a capacity of acommon ink chamber 41 can be thus increased as compared with the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment. - Besides, the same effect as that of the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment can be provided.
-
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a third embodiment,FIG. 12 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 11 from a back surface side of a substrate, andFIG. 13 is a horizontal exploded view showing a cross section taken along a line (xiii)-(xiii) inFIG. 12 . Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted inFIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description. - In this inkjet head H3, column A wiring lines 32 are led back to a
front surface 3a through anend face 3c of asubstrate 3 like the mode inFIG. 2(b) without forming throughholes 34 as second through holes in thesubstrate 3. - Since the second through holes used for leading the column A wiring lines 32 back to the
front surface 3a are not required, a reduction in strength of thesubstrate 3 can be suppressed. Further, since there is no concern about leakage of an ink due to omission of the second through holes, a size of amanifold member 4 can be equal to that of thesubstrate 3, and a capacity of acommon ink chamber 41 can be increased to the maximum level. Furthermore, if the size of themanifold member 4 is equal to those of inkjet heads H1 and H2, thesubstrate 3 can be reduced in size due to omission of the second through holes. - Besides, the same effect as that of the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment can be provided.
-
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a fourth embodiment, andFIG. 15 is a view showing the inkjet head depicted inFIG. 14 from a back surface side of a substrate. Since parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment depicted inFIG. 3 to FIG. 7 represent parts having the same structures, different structures alone will be described here, and the description of the first embodiment will be cited for any other explanation to omit the description. - In this inkjet head H4, a column A and a column B are constituted by alternately aligning
ink chambers 111 from which an ink is discharged when the ink is supplied thereto anddummy chambers 112 to which the ink is not supplied and from which the ink is not discharged through eachdrive wall 13 formed of a piezoelectric element. Throughholes substrate 3 only at positions corresponding to theink chambers 111 in the respective columns A and B, and thedummy chambers 112 are air chambers to which the ink is not supplied by closed with thesubstrate 3. - Although an
individual electrode 12 in eachink chamber 111 is electrically connected with a drive electrode in eachink chamber 111, a drive electrode in eachdummy chamber 112 is electrically connected with acommon electrode 15 provided in accordance with each of the columns A and B. The common electrode for the column A on the upper side in the drawing is arranged on the opposite side of the column B to sandwich the column A on arear end face 1b of an inkchamber forming member 1 and extends along a column direction. Moreover, thecommon electrode 15 for the column B on the lower side in the drawing extends between the column A and the column B along the column direction on therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1. - On the other hand, common
electrode wiring lines common electrodes rear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1, are formed on afront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3. One end side of each of the commonelectrode wiring lines bonding region 30 with respect to the inkchamber forming member 1 to be electrically connected to each of thecommon electrodes rear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1, and the other end side of the same extends to the outside of thebonding region 30, runs toward an end portion of thesubstrate 3 on the lower side of the drawing, and is aligned on afront surface 3a side of a projectingportion 33 like column A wiring lines 32 and column B wiring lines 36. - In this inkjet head H4, since the column A wiring lines 32 straddle the
ink chambers 111 and thedummy chambers 112 in the column B and thecommon electrode 15 for the column B on aback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3, they do not intersect with these members on thefront surface 3a of thesubstrate 3 that is in contact with therear end face 1b of the inkchamber forming member 1, and there is no fear of short circuits withdrive electrodes 14 in therespective ink chambers 111 and thedummy chambers 112 in the column B,individual electrodes 12, and thecommon electrode 15. - Additionally, the
dummy chambers 112 are electrically connected to thecommon electrodes 15, and individual wiring on thesubstrate 3 is not required, thus realizing high density of the wiring lines. - Further, since the through
holes substrate 3 only at positions corresponding to therespective ink chambers 111, a reduction in strength of thesubstrate 3 can be suppressed. - It is to be noted that, in this inkjet head H4, the wiring lead-out structure that is completely the same as that of the inkjet head H1 is adopted for the column A wiring lines 32, a wiring lead-out structure that is completely the same as those of the respective column A wiring lines 32 in the inkjet heads H2 and H3 may be adopted.
- Besides, the same effect as that of the inkjet head H1 according to the first embodiment can be provided.
- Although the example of the shearing mode type ink
chamber forming member 1 in which each drivewall 13 between theink chambers 11 adjacent to each other or eachdrive wall 13 between theink chamber 111 and thedummy chamber 112 adjacent to each other is formed of a piezoelectric element and which provides a pressure for discharging the ink into theink chambers drive wall 13 has been given as the inkchamber forming member 1 in the above description, a specific structure for discharging the ink is out of the question in the present invention. -
FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inkjet head according to a fifth embodiment, and a description will be given on an example of an inkjet head in which one wall surface of an ink chamber is constituted of a diaphragm so that an ink in the ink chamber is provided with discharge energy by vibrating this diaphragm based on expansion and contraction movement of a piezoelectric element. - An inkjet head H5 has an ink
chamber forming member 6 and a substrate 7 that is provided on one side of this ink chamber forming member 6 (the upper side in the drawing). - The ink
chamber forming member 6 is constituted of a laminated substrate and has anozzle plate 61 formed of an Si (silicon) substrate, anintermediate plate 62 formed of a glass substrate, apressure chamber plate 63 formed of an Si (silicon) substrate, and adiaphragm 64 formed of an SiO2 thin film. Anozzle 611 is opened in thenozzle plate 61. - An
ink chamber 631 that contains an ink to be discharged is formed in thepressure chamber plate 63. An upper wall of theink chamber 631 is formed of thediaphragm 64, and a lower wall of the same is formed of theintermediate plate 62. Anink inlet 632 from which the ink is supplied into theink chamber 631 is formed in thediaphragm 64, and it is opened in an upper surface of the inkchamber forming member 6. Furthermore, acommunication path 621 that allows the inside of theink chamber 631 to communicate with thenozzle 611 is pierced and formed in theintermediate plate 62. - A
piezoelectric element 65 is formed of a thin film PZT and sandwiched between anindividual electrode 651 provided on an upper surface thereof and acommon electrode 652 provided on a lower surface thereof. Thecommon electrode 652 is formed on a front surface of thediaphragm 64, and thepiezoelectric element 65 and theindividual electrode 651 on the upper surface thereof are individually laminated on thiscommon electrode 652 so as to associate with theink chamber 631 on a one-to-one basis. Abump 653 made of gold or the like is formed to protrude on theindividual electrode 651. - A substrate 7 has a through
hole 71. The throughhole 71 communicates with theink inlet 632 in theink chamber 631 with the use of achannel member 8 that is an intermediate member interposed between the inkchamber forming member 6 and the substrate 7, thereby forming an ink channel. - A lower
surface wiring portion 72a of awiring line 72 that is electrically connected with theindividual electrode 651 is formed on alower surface 7a of the substrate 7 facing the inkchamber forming member 6. Abump 721 is formed to protrude on the lowersurface wiring portion 72a, thisbump 721 is electrically connected with theupper bump 653 as an intermediate member, and thewiring line 72 is electrically connected with theindividual electrode 651. - Furthermore, the other end side of this
wiring line 72 runs along an inner peripheral surface of the throughhole 71 forming the ink channel, is led out to theupper surface 7b of the substrate 7, and forms the uppersurface wiring portion 72b. This uppersurface wiring portion 72b is electrically connected with a non-illustrated external wiring member such as an FPC at an end portion of the substrate 7. - In the inkjet head H5 having such a configuration, likewise, the
ink inlet 632 and theindividual electrode 651 are arranged on one side of the inkchamber forming member 6. Moreover, thewiring line 72 formed on the substrate 7 passes through the throughhole 71 forming the ink channel and is led out from alower surface 7a facing the inkchamber forming member 6 to theupper surface 7b facing thelower surface 7a. Therefore, an additional through hole in which thewiring line 72 is inserted does not have to be formed in the substrate 7, and theindividual electrode 651 corresponding to theink chamber 631 can be electrically led to the outside of the inkchamber forming member 6 without a reduction in strength of the substrate 7. - Although the example of the ink
chamber forming member 1 having the two columns of theink chambers chamber forming member 1 in each of the inkjet heads H1 to H4, the number of columns of theink chambers chamber forming member 1 may be one, i.e. , the column A alone. In this case, adopting the same wiring lead-out structure as that of the column A wiring lines 32 in each of the inkjet heads H1 to H4 enables providing an effect of easily leading the wiring line to the back surface of the substrate by using the ink channel without a reduction in strength of the substrate. - Additionally, in the inkjet heads H1 to H4, the number of columns of the
ink channels 11 may be three or more. For example, when the inkchamber forming member 1 and thenozzle plate 2 are formed to be symmetrical in an up-and-down direction orthogonal to the columns of theink chambers 11 in each of the inkjet heads H1 to H4, the inkjet head having four columns of theink chambers 11 can be easily configured. - In the inkjet heads H1 to H3, although the through
holes 31 in thesubstrate 3 corresponding to theink chambers 11 in the column A are individually formed in accordance with therespective ink chambers 11, the throughhole 31 may be one slot-like through hole that extends along the column direction of theink chambers 11 in the column A and has a size including all theink chambers 11 in the column A. Further, the throughhole 31 may be divided into a plurality of through holes large enough to include the plurality ofink chambers 11, respectively. - Furthermore, in the inkjet heads H1, H2, and H4, although the through
holes 34 are all arranged outside themanifold member 4, the throughholes 34 may be closed by additionally using a filling member such as an insulating tape so that the ink cannot leak from the throughholes 34 after forming the column A wiring lines 32, whereby the throughholes 34 can be thereby arranged in thecommon ink chamber 41 of themanifold member 4. As a result, even though the throughholes 34 are formed in thesubstrate 3, themanifold member 4 can be increased in size, and a capacity of thecommon ink chamber 41 can be thereby increased. - Moreover, in the inkjet heads H1 to H4, although the other end of each of the
wiring lines front surface 3a of thesubstrate 3, the column A wiring lines 32 led out to theback surface 3b via the throughholes 31 may be aligned on theback surface 3b of thesubstrate 3 as they are so that the wiring lines can be distributed on thefront surface 3a and theback surface 3b of the substrate in accordance with the respective columns and can be electrically connected with external wiring members on the respective surfaces. As a result, since the wiring lines in the respective columns are not adjacent to each other, a possibility of short circuits can be further reduced, and higher density can be achieved. -
- H1-H5 : inkjet head
- 1 : ink chamber forming member
- 1a: front end face
- 1b: rear end face
- 11: ink chamber
- 11a,11b: opening portion
- 111: ink chamber
- 112: dummy chamber
- 12: individual electrode
- 13: drive wall
- 14: drive electrode
- 15: common electrode
- 2: nozzle plate
21: nozzle - 3: substrate
- 3a: front surface
- 3b: back surface
- 3c: end face
- 30: bonding region
- 31: through hole (a first through hole)
31a: inner peripheral surface - 32: wiring line (column A wiring line)
- 32a: front surface wiring portion (first surface wiring portion)
- 32b: back surface wiring portion
- 32c: first through hole wiring portion
- 32d: second surface wiring portion
- 32e: second through hole wiring portion
- 33: projecting portion
- 34: through hole(second through hole)
34a: inner peripheral surface - 35: through holes
- 36: column B wiring lines
- 37: common electrode wiring lines 4: manifold member
- 41: common ink chamber
- 5: FPC (external wiring member)
- 6: ink chamber forming member
- 61: nozzle plate
611: nozzle - 62: intermediate plate
621: communication path - 63: pressure chamber plate
- 631: ink chamber
- 632: ink inlet
- 64: diaphragm
- 65: piezoelectric element
- 651: individual electrode
- 652: common electrode
- 653: bump
- 61: nozzle plate
- 7: substrate
- 7a: lower surface
- 7b: upper surface
- 71: through hole
- 72: wiring line
- 72a: lower surface wiring portion
- 72b: upper surface wiring portion
- 721: bump
- 8: channel member
Claims (11)
- An inkjet head comprising:an ink chamber forming member (1;6) that has an ink inlet (11b;632) of an ink chamber (11;111;631) from which an ink can be discharged and an individual electrode (12;651) to which a voltage for providing the ink in the ink chamber (11;111;631) with discharge energy is to be applied arranged on one side thereof; anda substrate (3;7) provided on the one side of the ink chamber forming member (1;6),wherein a first through hole (31;71) that communicates with the ink inlet (11b;632) of the ink chamber forming member (1;6) to form an ink channel is provided in the substrate (3;7), and one end side of a wiring line (32;72) which is electrically connected with the individual electrode (12;651) is led out to a surface (3b;7b) of the substrate (3;7) on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member (1;6) via the first through hole (31;71),wherein the one end side of the wiring line (32;72) is formed on a surface (3a;7a) of the substrate (3;7) on the ink chamber forming member side and is electrically connected with the individual electrode (12;651) on the surface (3a;7a), characterized in that the substrate (3;7) has a projecting portion (33) that protrudes toward a lateral side of the ink chamber forming member (1;6) and is arranged to be electrically connected with an external wiring member (5), andwherein the other end side of the wiring line (32;72) extends to the projecting portion (33).
- The inkjet head according to claim 1,
wherein the wiring line (32;72) runs along an inner peripheral surface (31a) of the first through hole (31;71). - The inkjet head according to claim 2,
wherein a material of the wiring line (32;72) which runs along the inner peripheral surface (31a) of the first through hole (31) is the same as the material of a front surface wiring portion (32a;72a) which is formed on the surface (3a;7a) of the substrate (3;7) on the ink chamber forming member side and a back surface wiring portion (32b;72b) which is formed on the surface (3b;7b) of the substrate (3;7) on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member (1;6). - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the substrate (3) has a second through hole (34) different from the first through hole (31) which is provided in the projecting portion (33), and
the wiring line (32) is led back to the surface (3a) of the substrate (3) on the ink chamber forming member side from the surface (3b) of the substrate (3) on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member (1) via the second through hole (34). - The inkjet head according to claim 4,
wherein the wiring line (32) runs along an inner peripheral surface (43a) of the second through hole (34). - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the wiring line (32) is pulled back to the surface (3a) of the substrate (3) on the ink chamber forming member side from the surface (3b) of the substrate (3) on the opposite side of the ink chamber forming member (1) through an end face (3c) of the substrate (3) on the projecting portion side. - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
wherein the ink chamber forming member (1) has a configuration that drive walls (13), each of which is at least partially formed of a piezoelectric element, and the ink chambers (11), each of which is formed of a space between a pair of the drive walls (13) adjacent to each other, are alternately arranged, and a drive electrode (14) is formed on a surface of each drive wall (13) facing the ink chamber (11), wherein a pressure used for discharging an ink supplied to each ink chamber (11) can be given by applying a voltage to each drive electrode (14) and deforming the drive wall (13) to thereby discharge the ink from a nozzle (21), and
the individual electrode (12) is electrically connected to each drive electrode (14) through the ink inlet (11b). - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
wherein the ink chamber forming member (1) has a configuration that the ink chambers (111) from which the ink is to be discharged and dummy chambers (112) from which the ink is not to be discharged are alternately arranged through each drive wall (13) that is at least partially formed of a piezoelectric element, and a drive electrode is formed on a surface of the drive wall (13) facing the ink chamber (111), wherein a pressure used for discharging the ink supplied to each ink chamber (111) can be given by applying a voltage to each drive electrode and deforming the drive wall (13) to thereby discharge the ink from a nozzle (21),
the wiring line (32) is electrically connected to the individual electrode (12) electrically connected to the drive electrode of each ink chamber (111) through the ink inlet, and
the drive electrode formed on the surface of the drive wall (13) facing the dummy chamber (112) is electrically connected to a common electrode (15) formed on one surface of the ink chamber forming member (1). - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
wherein the substrate (3) has a larger area than a rear end face (1b) of the ink chamber forming member (1). - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
wherein glass is used as the material for the substrate (3) . - The inkjet head according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
wherein the external wiring member (5) is a FPC.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2013105654A JP2014226790A (en) | 2013-05-17 | 2013-05-17 | Inkjet head and wiring drawing-out method for inkjet head |
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EP2803486A1 EP2803486A1 (en) | 2014-11-19 |
EP2803486B1 true EP2803486B1 (en) | 2019-10-16 |
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EP14167447.3A Active EP2803486B1 (en) | 2013-05-17 | 2014-05-07 | Inkjet head and method for leading out wiring line of inkjet head |
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JP6613580B2 (en) | 2015-03-10 | 2019-12-04 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Electronic device, liquid ejecting head, and liquid ejecting apparatus |
JP2017087532A (en) * | 2015-11-09 | 2017-05-25 | エスアイアイ・プリンテック株式会社 | Production method for liquid jet head, liquid jet head, and liquid jet device |
JP6582962B2 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2019-10-02 | コニカミノルタ株式会社 | Inkjet head and inkjet recording apparatus |
JP6993212B2 (en) | 2017-12-22 | 2022-02-15 | 東芝テック株式会社 | Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge device |
JP2024015797A (en) * | 2022-07-25 | 2024-02-06 | 東芝テック株式会社 | liquid discharge head |
CN117621657A (en) * | 2022-08-26 | 2024-03-01 | 东芝泰格有限公司 | Liquid ejection head |
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US5646661A (en) * | 1993-11-11 | 1997-07-08 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Ink ejecting device having alternating ejecting channels and non-ejecting channels |
JP5056309B2 (en) | 2006-11-16 | 2012-10-24 | コニカミノルタIj株式会社 | Inkjet head |
JP5304021B2 (en) * | 2008-05-14 | 2013-10-02 | コニカミノルタ株式会社 | Inkjet head manufacturing method |
US8079667B2 (en) * | 2008-12-18 | 2011-12-20 | Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated | Drop generating apparatus |
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JP2014226790A (en) | 2014-12-08 |
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