EP3603978B1 - Tête d'éjection de liquide et module d'éjection de liquide - Google Patents

Tête d'éjection de liquide et module d'éjection de liquide Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3603978B1
EP3603978B1 EP19189003.7A EP19189003A EP3603978B1 EP 3603978 B1 EP3603978 B1 EP 3603978B1 EP 19189003 A EP19189003 A EP 19189003A EP 3603978 B1 EP3603978 B1 EP 3603978B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
liquid
flow passage
flow
ejection
inflow port
Prior art date
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Active
Application number
EP19189003.7A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3603978A1 (fr
Inventor
Yoshiyuki Nakagawa
Akiko Hammura
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Canon Inc
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Canon Inc
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/14032—Structure of the pressure chamber
    • B41J2/1404—Geometrical characteristics
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/14032—Structure of the pressure chamber
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/14233—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/1433—Structure of nozzle plates
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/21—Ink jet for multi-colour printing
    • B41J2/2103—Features not dealing with the colouring process per se, e.g. construction of printers or heads, driving circuit adaptations
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2002/14169—Bubble vented to the ambience
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
    • B41J2/14233—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
    • B41J2002/14266—Sheet-like thin film type piezoelectric element
    • 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
    • B41J2002/14306—Flow passage between manifold and chamber
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
    • B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
    • B41J2202/11—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads characterised by specific geometrical characteristics
    • 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
    • B41J2202/12—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads with ink circulating through the whole print head
    • 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
    • B41J2202/20—Modules
    • 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
    • B41J2202/21—Line printing

Definitions

  • This disclosure is related to a liquid ejection head.
  • JP H06 305143 A discloses a configuration to retain a liquid serving as an ejection medium and a liquid serving as a bubbling medium in a state separated from each other with an interface defined in between inside a liquid flow passage that communicates with an ejection port, and to cause the bubbling medium to generate a bubble by using a heat generation element, thus ejecting the ejection medium from the ejection port.
  • JP H05 169663 A discloses an alternative configuration in which the liquid serving as the ejection medium and the liquid serving as the bubbling medium are stored in a two-layer structure with an interface therebetween.
  • US 2002/0012026 A1 discloses a configuration using a movable separation diaphragm, so that the liquid serving as the ejection medium is completely isolated from the liquid serving as the bubbling medium.
  • US 6 151 049 A discloses a cantilevered, movable member acting as a border between the liquid serving as the ejection medium and the liquid serving as the bubbling medium.
  • This disclosure provides a liquid ejection head as specified in claims 1 to 14.
  • JP H06 305143 A lacks a detailed description of a shape of an inflow portion for a liquid to a liquid flow passage.
  • aspects of the interface significantly vary depending on the shape of the inflow portion.
  • the interface may be formed such that the first liquid and the second liquid are arranged in a height direction of the liquid flow passage (a pressure chamber) or the interface may be formed such that the first liquid and the second liquid are arranged in a width direction of the liquid flow passage (the pressure chamber).
  • the embodiments of this disclosure stabilizes ejection performances of the liquids by arranging the first liquid and the second liquid in the height direction of the liquid flow passage and of the pressure chamber.
  • Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid ejection head 1 in this embodiment.
  • the liquid ejection head 1 of this embodiment is formed by arranging multiple liquid ejection modules 100 (an array of modules) in an x direction.
  • Each liquid ejection module 100 includes an element board 10 on which ejection elements are arranged, and a flexible wiring board 40 for supplying electric power and ejection signals to the respective ejection elements.
  • the flexible wiring boards 40 are connected to an electric wiring board 90 used in common, which is provided with arrays of power supply terminals and ejection signal input terminals.
  • Each liquid ejection module 100 is easily attachable to and detachable from the liquid ejection head 1. Accordingly, any desired liquid ejection module 100 can be easily attached from outside to or detached from the liquid ejection head 1 without having to disassemble the liquid ejection head 1.
  • liquid ejection head 1 formed by the multiple arrangement of the liquid ejection modules 100 (by arranging multiple modules) in a longitudinal direction as described above, even if a certain one of the ejection elements causes an ejection failure, only the liquid ejection module involved in the ejection failure needs to be replaced. Thus, it is possible to improve a yield of the liquid ejection heads 1 during a manufacturing process thereof, and to reduce costs for replacing the head.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a liquid ejection apparatus 2 usable in the embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • a CPU 500 controls the entire liquid ejection apparatus 2 in accordance with programs stored in a ROM 501 while using a RAM 502 as a work area.
  • the CPU 500 performs prescribed data processing in accordance with the programs and parameters stored in the ROM 501 on ejection data to be received from an externally connected host apparatus 600, for example, thereby generating the ejection signals for causing the liquid ejection head 1 to eject liquid.
  • the liquid ejection head 1 is driven in accordance with the ejection signals while a target medium for depositing the liquid is moved in a predetermined direction by driving a conveyance motor 503.
  • the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head 1 is deposited on the deposition target medium for adhesion.
  • the liquid ejection head 1 serving as an inkjet printing head ejects inks while the conveyance motor 503 conveys a printing medium in order to move the printing medium relative to the liquid ejection head 1.
  • a liquid circulation unit 504 is a unit configured to circulate and supply the liquid to the liquid ejection head 1 and to conduct flow control of the liquid in the liquid ejection head 1.
  • the liquid circulation unit 504 includes a sub-tank to store the liquid, a flow passage for circulating the liquid between the sub-tank and the liquid ejection head 1, pumps, a flow rate control unit for controlling a flow rate of the liquid flowing in the liquid ejection head 1, and so forth.
  • the liquid circulation unit 504 controls these mechanisms such that the liquid flows in the liquid ejection head 1 at a predetermined flow rate.
  • Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the element board 10 provided in each liquid ejection module 100.
  • the element board 10 is formed by stacking an orifice plate 14 on a silicon (Si) substrate 15.
  • the orifice plate 14 ejection port forming member
  • arrays of multiple ejection ports 11 for ejecting liquid are formed in the x direction.
  • ejection ports 11 arranged in the x direction eject the liquid of the same type (such as a liquid supplied from a common sub-tank and a common supply port).
  • Fig. 3 illustrates an example in which the orifice plate 14 is also provided with liquid flow passages 13.
  • the element board 10 may adopt a configuration in which the liquid flow passages 13 are formed by using a different component (a flow passage forming member) and the orifice plate 14 provided with the ejection ports 11 is placed thereon.
  • Pressure generation elements 12 are disposed, on the silicon substrate 15, at positions corresponding to the respective ejection ports 11. Each ejection port 11 and the corresponding pressure generation element 12 are located at such positions that are opposed to each other. In a case where a voltage is applied to the pressure generation element 12 in response to an ejection signal, the pressure generation element 12 applies a pressure to the liquid in a z direction orthogonal to a flow direction (a y direction) of the liquid. Accordingly, the liquid is ejected in the form of a droplet from the ejection port 11 opposed to the pressure generation element 12.
  • the flexible wiring board 40 (see Fig. 1 ) supplies the electric power and driving signals to the pressure generation elements 12 via terminals 17 arranged on the silicon substrate 15.
  • the substrate 15 may be formed from a different member. Meanwhile, if the substrate 15 is made of the silicon substrate, then an oxide film (layer), an insulating film (layer), and the like provided to the silicon substrate will be collectively referred to as the substrate (the silicon substrate).
  • the multiple liquid flow passages 13 which extend in the y direction and are connected respectively to the ejection ports 11 are formed between the silicon substrate 15 and the orifice plate 14 on the substrate (the silicon substrate 15). Liquids flowing in each of the liquid flow passages 13 includes a first liquid and a second liquid to be described later flow.
  • the liquid flow passages 13 arranged in the x direction are connected to a first common supply flow passage 23, a first common collection flow passage 24, a second common supply flow passage 28, and a second common collection flow passage 29 in common. Flows of liquids in the first common supply flow passage 23, the first common collection flow passage 24, the second common supply flow passage 28, and the second common collection flow passage 29 are controlled by the liquid circulation unit 504 in Fig. 2 .
  • the pump is controlled such that the first liquid flowing from the first common supply flow passage 23 into the liquid flow passages 13 is directed to the first common collection flow passage 24 while the second liquid flowing from the second common supply flow passage 28 into the liquid flow passages 13 is directed to the second common collection flow passage 29.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates an example in which the ejection ports 11 and the liquid flow passages 13 arranged in the x direction, and the first and second common supply flow passages 23 and 28 as well as the first and second common collection flow passages 24 and 29 used in common for supplying and collecting inks to and from these ports and passages are defined as a set, and two sets of these constituents are arranged in the y direction.
  • Figs. 4A to 5B are diagrams for explaining detailed configurations of each liquid flow passage 13 and of each pressure chamber 18 formed in the element board 10.
  • Fig. 4A is a perspective view from the ejection port 11 side (from a +z direction side) and Fig. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the IVB-IVB line shown in Fig. 4A .
  • Fig. 5A is a perspective view of the liquid flow passage 13 in Fig. 4A
  • Fig. 5B is an enlarged diagram of the neighborhood of the ejection port 11 in Fig. 4B .
  • the silicon substrate 15 corresponding to a bottom portion (wall portion) of the liquid flow passage 13 includes a second inflow port 21 , a first inflow port 20, a first outflow port 25, and a second outflow port 26, which are communicate with the liquid flow passage 13 and are formed in this order in the y direction.
  • the pressure chamber 18 including the ejection port 11 and the pressure generation element 12 is located substantially at the center between the first inflow port 20 and the first outflow port 25 in the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the second inflow port 21 is connected to the second common supply flow passage 28, the first inflow port 20 is connected to the first common supply flow passage 23, the first outflow port 25 is connected to the first common collection flow passage 24, and the second outflow port 26 is connected to the second common collection flow passage 29 (see Fig. 3 ).
  • the first inflow port 20 causes the first liquid 31 to flow from an upstream side in a direction of flow of the liquid in the liquid flow passage 13 into the liquid flow passage 13 (to the inside of the liquid flow passage 13) in a direction crossing (which is orthogonal to in this example) the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the first inflow port 20 is located at a position closer to the pressure chamber 18 than the second inflow port 21 is.
  • the first liquid 31 supplied from the first common supply flow passage 23 through the first inflow port 20 flows into the liquid flow passage 13 as indicated with an arrow A1 and then flows inside the liquid flow passage 13 in the direction of arrows A. Specifically, the first liquid 31 flows in the liquid flow passage 13 toward the pressure chamber 18.
  • the first liquid 31 passes through the pressure chamber 18 and flows out of the first outflow port 25 as indicated with an arrow A2. Then, the first liquid 31 is collected by the first common collection flow passage 24 (see Fig. 5A ).
  • the second inflow port 21 is located at a position upstream of the first inflow port 20 in the direction of flow of the liquid in the liquid flow passage 13 (on a side more remote from the pressure chamber 18 than the first inflow port 20 is).
  • the second liquid 32 supplied from the second common supply flow passage 28 through the second inflow port 21 flows into the liquid flow passage 13 as indicated with an arrow B1 and then flows inside the liquid flow passage 13 in the direction of arrows B. Specifically, the second liquid 32 also flows in the liquid flow passage 13 toward the pressure chamber 18.
  • the second liquid 32 passes through the pressure chamber 18 and flows out of the second outflow port 26 as indicated with an arrow B2. Then, the second liquid 32 is collected by the second common collection flow passage 29 (see Fig. 5A ). Both of the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 flow in the y direction in a section of the liquid flow passage 13 between the first inflow port 20 and the first outflow port 25. In this instance, inside the pressure chamber 18, the first liquid 31 comes into contact with an inner surface of the pressure chamber 18 (a bottom surface on a lower side in Fig. 5B ) of the pressure chamber 18 where the pressure generation element 12 is located. Meanwhile, the second liquid 32 forms a meniscus at the ejection port 11.
  • the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 flow in the pressure chamber 18 such that the pressure generation element 12, the first liquid 31, the second liquid 32, and the ejection port 11 are arranged in this order.
  • the second liquid 32 flows above the first liquid 31 and these liquids are in contact with each other.
  • the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 flow in a laminar state.
  • the first liquid 31 is pressurized by the pressure generation element 12 located below and at least the second liquid 32 is ejected upward from the bottom. Note that this up-down direction corresponds to a height direction of the pressure chamber 18 and of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • a flow rate of the first liquid 31 and a flow rate of the second liquid 32 are adjusted in accordance with physical properties of the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 such that the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 flow in contact with each other in the pressure chamber as shown in Fig. 5B .
  • the first and second liquids in the first embodiment and first, second and third liquids in a second embodiment to be described later form parallel flows flowing in the same direction, the embodiments are not limited to this mode.
  • the second liquid may flow in a direction opposite to the direction of flow of the first liquid.
  • flow passages may be provided such that the flow of the first liquid crosses the flow of the second liquid. The same applies to the second embodiment to be described later.
  • the pressure generation element 12 may still be driven in the case where it is possible to maintain the state where at least the first liquid flows mainly on the pressure generation element 12 side and the second liquid flows mainly on the ejection port 11 side.
  • the following description will be mainly focused on the example where the flow inside the pressure chamber is in the state of parallel flows and in the state of laminar flows.
  • the Reynolds number Re to represent a ratio between viscous force and interfacial force has been generally known as a flow evaluation index.
  • a density of a liquid is defined as p
  • a flow velocity thereof is defined as u
  • a representative length thereof is defined as d
  • a viscosity is defined as ⁇ .
  • the laminar flows are more likely to be formed as the Reynolds number Re becomes smaller.
  • flows inside a circular tube are formed into laminar flows in the case where the Reynolds number Re is smaller than some 2200 and the flows inside the circular tube become turbulent flows in the case where the Reynolds number Re is larger than some 2200.
  • a height H [ ⁇ m] of the flow passage (the height of the pressure chamber) in the vicinity of the ejection port in the liquid flow passage (the pressure chamber) is in a range from about 10 to 100 ⁇ m.
  • the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18 of this embodiment have rectangular cross-sections as shown in Fig. 4A , the heights and widths of the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18 in the liquid ejection head are sufficiently small.
  • the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18 can be treated like in the case of the circular tube, or more specifically, the heights of the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18 can be treated as the diameter of the circular tube.
  • a distance from the silicon substrate 15 to an opening surface (ejection port surface) of the ejection port 11 of the orifice plate 14, that is, a height of the pressure chamber 18 is defined as H [ ⁇ m].
  • a distance between the ejection port surface and an interface (liquid-liquid interface) between the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 (a phase thickness of the second liquid) is defined as h 2 [ ⁇ m].
  • a distance between the interface and the silicon substrate 15 (a phase thickness of the first liquid) is defined as h 1 [ ⁇ m].
  • velocities of the liquids on wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18 are assumed to be zero. Moreover, velocities and shear stresses of the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 at the interface are assumed to have continuity.
  • ⁇ 1 represents the viscosity of the first liquid
  • ⁇ 2 represents the viscosity of the second liquid 32
  • Q 1 represents the flow rate (volume flow rate [um 3 /us]) of the first liquid
  • Q 2 represents the flow rate (volume flow rate [um 3 /us]) of the second liquid 32.
  • the parallel flows of the first liquid and the second liquid in the liquid flow passage 13 or at least in the pressure chamber 18.
  • the first liquid and the second liquid are only involved in mixture due to molecular diffusion on the liquid-liquid interface therebetween, and the liquids flow in parallel in the y direction virtually without causing any mixture.
  • the flows of the liquids do not always have to establish the state of laminar flows in a certain region in the pressure chamber 18.
  • the stable parallel flows are formed regardless of the immiscibility as long as the (formula 2) is satisfied. Meanwhile, even in the case of oil and water, if the interface is disturbed due to a state of slight turbulence of the flow in the pressure chamber, it is preferable that at least the first liquid flow mainly on the pressure generation element and the second liquid flow mainly in the ejection port.
  • the first liquid is not limited to water
  • the "phase thickness ratio of the first liquid” will be hereinafter referred to as a "water phase thickness ratio”.
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r becomes lower as the flow rate ratio Q r grows higher. Meanwhile, at each level of the flow rate ratio Q r , the water phase thickness ratio h r becomes lower as the viscosity ratio ⁇ r grows higher. Therefore, the water phase thickness ratio h r (corresponding to the position of the interface between the first liquid and the second liquid) in the liquid flow passage 13 (the pressure chamber) can be adjusted to a prescribed value by controlling the viscosity ratio ⁇ r and the flow rate ratio Q r between the first liquid and the second liquid. In addition, in the case where the viscosity ratio ⁇ r is compared with the flow rate ratio Q r , Fig. 6A teaches that the flow rate ratio Q r has a larger impact on the water phase thickness ratio h r than the viscosity ratio ⁇ r does.
  • condition A, condition B, and condition C in Fig. 6A represent the following conditions:
  • Fig. 6B is a graph showing flow velocity distribution in the height direction (the z direction) of the liquid flow passage 13 (the pressure chamber) regarding the above-mentioned conditions A, B, and C.
  • the horizontal axis indicates a normalized value Ux which is normalized by defining the maximum flow velocity value in the condition A as 1 (a criterion).
  • the vertical axis indicates the height from a bottom surface in the case where the height H [ ⁇ m] of the liquid flow passage 13 (the pressure chamber) is defined as 1 (a criterion).
  • the position of the interface between the first liquid and the second liquid is indicated with a marker.
  • the position of the interface varies depending on the conditions such as the position of the interface in the condition A being located higher than the positions of the interface in the condition B and the condition C.
  • the reason for this is that, in the case where the two types of liquids having different viscosities from each other flow in parallel in the tube while forming the laminar flows, the interface between those two liquids is formed at a position where a difference in pressure attributed to the difference in viscosity between the liquids balances a Laplace pressure attributed to interfacial tension.
  • a liquid level (the liquid-liquid interface) is formed at a position corresponding to the viscosity ratio ⁇ r and the flow rate ratio Q r therebetween (corresponding to the water phase thickness ratio h r ). If the liquids are successfully ejected from the ejection port 11 while maintaining the position of the interface, then it is possible to achieve a stable ejection operation.
  • the condition 1 makes it possible to eject the liquids stably while retaining the given position of the interface. This is due to a reason that an ejection velocity (several meters per second to ten something meters per second) of a droplet in general is faster than flow velocities (several millimeters per second to several meters per second) of the first liquid and the second liquid, and the ejection of the liquids is affected little even if the first liquid and the second liquid are kept flowing during the ejection operation.
  • the condition 2 also makes it possible to eject the liquids stably while retaining the given position of the interface. This is due to a reason that the first liquid and the second liquid are not mixed immediately due to a diffusion effect on the liquids on the interface, and an unmixed state of the liquids is maintained for a very short period of time. Accordingly, at the point immediately before ejection of the liquids, the interface is maintained in the state where the flows of the liquids are stopped to remain at rest, so that the liquids can be ejected while retaining the position of the interface.
  • the configuration 1 is preferable because this configuration can reduce adverse effects of mixture of the first and second liquids due to the diffusion of the liquids on the interface and it is not necessary to conduct advanced control for flowing and stopping the liquids.
  • a proportion of the first liquid contained in droplets of the second liquid ejected from the ejection port (ejected droplets) can be changed by adjusting the position of the interface (corresponding to the water phase thickness ratio h r ).
  • Such ejection modes of the liquids can be broadly categorized into two modes depending on types of the ejected droplets:
  • the mode 1 is effective, for example, in a case of using a liquid ejection head of a thermal type that employs an electrothermal converter (a heater) as the pressure generation element 12, or in other words, in a case of using a liquid ejection head that utilizes a bubbling phenomenon that depends heavily on properties of a liquid.
  • This liquid ejection head is prone to destabilize bubbling of the liquid due to a scorched portion of the liquid developed on a surface of the heater.
  • the liquid ejection head also has a difficulty in ejecting some types of liquids such as non-aqueous inks.
  • the first liquid if a bubbling agent that is suitable for bubble generation and is less likely to develop scorch on the surface of the heater is used as the first liquid and any of functional agents having a variety of functions is used as the second liquid by adopting the mode 1, it is possible to eject the liquid such as a non-aqueous ink while suppressing the development of the scorch on the surface of the heater.
  • the mode 2 is effective for ejecting a liquid such as a high solid content ink not only in the case of using the liquid ejection head of the thermal type but also in a case of using a liquid ejection head that employs a piezoelectric element as the pressure generation element 12.
  • the mode 2 is effective in the case of ejecting a high-density pigment ink having a large content of a pigment being a coloring material onto a printing medium.
  • a printing medium such as plain paper
  • a resin emulsion (resin EM)
  • resin EM resin emulsion
  • an increase in solid component such as the pigment and the resin EM tends to develop agglomeration at a close interparticle distance, thus causing deterioration in dispersibility.
  • the pigment is especially harder to disperse than the resin EM. For this reason, the pigment and the resin EM are dispersed by reducing the amount of one of them, or more specifically, by setting an amount ratio of the pigment to the resin EM to about 4/15 wt% or 8/4 wt%.
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r is equal to 1.
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r becomes lower (the phase thickness h 1 of the first liquid becomes smaller and the phase thickness h 2 of the second liquid becomes larger).
  • the state of the flow of the first liquid only transitions to the state of the first liquid and the second liquid flowing in parallel while defining the interface.
  • Fig. 8A shows a state before a voltage is applied to the pressure generation element 12.
  • Fig. 8B shows a state where application of the voltage to the pressure generation element 12 has just been started.
  • the pressure generation element 12 of this embodiment is an electrothermal converter (a heater).
  • the pressure generation element 12 rapidly generates heat upon receipt of a voltage pulse in response to the ejection signal, and causes film boiling of in the first liquid in contact via the inner wall of the liquid flow passage.
  • Fig. 8B shows the state where a bubble 16 is generated by the film boiling.
  • the interface between the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 moves in the z direction whereby the second liquid 32 is pushed out of the ejection port 11 in the z direction.
  • Fig. 8C shows a state where the voltage application to the pressure generation element 12 is continued. A volume of the bubble 16 is increased by the film boiling and the second liquid 32 is further pushed out of the ejection port 11 in the z direction.
  • Fig. 8D shows a state where the voltage application to the pressure generation element 12 is further continued whereby the grown bubble 16 communicates with the atmosphere.
  • Fig. 8E shows a state where a droplet (ejected droplet) 30 is ejected.
  • the liquid having ejected from the ejection port 11 at the timing of the communication of the bubble 16 with the atmosphere as shown in Fig. 8D breaks away from the liquid flow passage 13 due to its inertial force and flies in the z direction in the form of the ejected droplet 30.
  • the liquid in the amount consumed by the ejection is supplied from two sides of the ejection port 11 by capillary force of the liquid flow passage 13 whereby the meniscus is formed again at the ejection port 11.
  • the parallel flows of the first liquid and the second liquid flowing in the y direction are formed again as shown in Fig. 8A .
  • the ejection operation as shown in Figs. 8A to 8E takes place in the state where the first liquid and the second liquid are flowing as the parallel flows.
  • the CPU 500 circulates the first liquid and the second liquid in the liquid ejection head 1 by using the liquid circulation unit 504 while keeping the constant flow rates of these liquids. Then the CPU 500 applies the voltage to the respective pressure generation elements 12 arranged in the liquid ejection head 1 in accordance with the ejection data while maintaining the above-mentioned control.
  • the flow rate of the first liquid and the flow rate of the second liquid may not always be constant.
  • This embodiment shows the configuration in which the bubble 16 communicates with the atmosphere in the pressure chamber 18.
  • the embodiment is not limited to this configuration.
  • the bubble 16 may communicate with the atmosphere on the outside (the atmosphere side) of the ejection port 11.
  • the bubble 16 may be allowed to disappear without communicating with the atmosphere.
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r is incremented by 0.10 whereas the water phase thickness ratio h r is incremented by 0.50 from the state in Fig. 9F to the state in Fig. 9G . Note that each of the ejected droplets in Figs.
  • 9A to 9G is illustrated based on a result obtained by conducting a simulation while setting the viscosity of the first liquid to 1 cP, the viscosity of the second liquid to 8 cP, and the ejection velocity of the droplet to 11 m/s.
  • Fig. 12 is a graph representing a relation between the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H and the water phase thickness ratio h r in the case where a ratio R of the first liquid 31 contained in the ejected droplet 30 is fixed to 0%, 20%, and 40%. In any of the ratios R, the allowable water phase thickness ratio h r becomes higher as the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H is larger.
  • the ratio R of the first liquid 31 contained represents a ratio of the liquid flowing in the liquid flow passage 13 as the first liquid 31 is contained in the ejected droplet. In this regard, even if each of the first liquid and the second liquid contains the same component such as water, the portion of water contained in the second liquid is not included in the aforementioned ratio.
  • the relation between the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H [ ⁇ m] and the water phase thickness ratio h r is indicated with a solid line in Fig. 12 .
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r needs to be adjusted to 0.20 or below in the case where the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H [ ⁇ m] is equal to 20 ⁇ m. Meanwhile, the water phase thickness ratio h r needs to be adjusted to 0.36 or below in the case where the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H [ ⁇ m] is equal to 33 ⁇ m. Furthermore, the water phase thickness ratio h r needs to be adjusted to nearly zero (0.00) in the case where the flow-passage (pressure-chamber) height H [ ⁇ m] is equal to 10 ⁇ m.
  • the water phase thickness ratio h r is set too low, it is necessary to increase the viscosity ⁇ 2 and the flow rate Q 2 of the second liquid relative to those of the first liquid. Such increases bring about concerns of adverse effects associated with an increase in pressure loss.
  • the flow rate ratio Q r is equal to 5 in the case where the viscosity ratio ⁇ r is equal to 10.
  • the above-mentioned (formula 3), (formula 4), and (formula 5) define the numerical values applicable to the general liquid ejection head, namely, the liquid ejection head with the ejection velocity of the ejected droplets in a range from 10 m/s to 18 m/s.
  • these numerical values are based on the assumption that the pressure generation element and the ejection port are located at the positions opposed to each other and that the first liquid and the second liquid flow such that the pressure generation element, the first liquid, the second liquid, and the ejection port are arranged in this order in the pressure chamber.
  • a first pressure difference generation mechanism to set a pressure at the first outflow port 25 lower than a pressure at the first inflow port 20 has only to be prepared in order to adjust a flow rate Q 1 of the first liquid in the liquid flow passage 13 and the pressure chamber 18. In this way, it is possible to generate the flow of the first liquid 31 directed from the first inflow port 20 to the first outflow port 25 (in the y direction).
  • a second pressure difference generation mechanism to set a pressure at the second outflow port 26 lower than a pressure at the second inflow port 21 has only to be prepared. In this way, it is possible to generate the flow of the second liquid 32 directed from the second inflow port 21 to the second outflow port 26 (in the y direction).
  • the first pressure difference generation mechanism and the second pressure difference generation mechanism are controlled while keeping a relation defined in the following (formula 6): P2 in ⁇ P1 in > P1 out ⁇ P2 out
  • P1 in is the pressure at the first inflow port 20
  • P1 out is the pressure at the first outflow port 25
  • P2 in is the pressure at the second inflow port 21
  • P2 out is the pressure as the second outflow port 26.
  • the bubbling medium (the first liquid) of this embodiment is required to cause the film boiling in the bubbling medium in the case where the electrothermal converter generates the heat and to rapidly increase the size of the generated bubble, or in other words, to have a high critical pressure that can efficiently convert thermal energy into bubbling energy.
  • Water is particularly suitable for such a medium. Water has the high boiling point (100°C) as well as the high surface tension (58.85 dynes/cm at 100°C) despite its small molecular weight of 18, and therefore has a high critical pressure of about 22 MPa. In other words, water brings about an extremely high boiling pressure at the time of the film boiling.
  • an ink prepared by causing water to contain a coloring material such as a dye or a pigment is suitably used in an inkjet printing apparatus designed to eject the ink by using the film boiling.
  • the bubbling medium is not limited to water.
  • Other materials can also function as the bubbling media as long as such a material has a critical pressure of 2 MPa or above (or preferably 5 MPa or above).
  • the bubbling media other than water include methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. It is also possible to use a mixture of water and any of these alcohols as the bubbling medium.
  • a material prepared by causing water to contain the coloring material such as the dye and the pigment as mentioned above as well as other additives As a consequence, the pressure is applied to the above-described bubbling medium (the first liquid) by the action of the pressure generation element, and the ejection medium (the second liquid) is thus ejected from the ejection port.
  • the ejection medium (the second liquid) of this embodiment is not required to satisfy physical properties for causing the film boiling unlike the bubbling medium. Meanwhile, adhesion of a scorched material onto the electrothermal converter (the heater) is prone to deteriorate bubbling efficiency because of damaging flatness of a heater surface or reducing thermal conductivity thereof. However, the ejection medium does not come into contact with the heater, and therefore has a lower risk of scorch of its components. Concerning the ejection medium of this embodiment, conditions of the physical properties for causing the film boiling or avoiding the scorch are relaxed as compared to those of an ink for a conventional thermal head. Accordingly, the ejection medium of this embodiment enjoys more freedom of the components to be contained therein. As a consequence, the ejection medium can more actively contain the components that are suitable for purposes after being ejected.
  • the ejection medium it is possible to actively contain as the ejection medium a pigment that has not been used previously because the pigment was susceptible to scorching on the heater. Meanwhile, a liquid other than an aqueous ink having an extremely low critical pressure can also be used as the ejection medium in this embodiment. Furthermore, it is also possible to use various inks having special functions, which can hardly be handled by the conventional thermal head such as an ultraviolet curable ink, an electrically conductive ink, an electron-beam (EB) curable ink, a magnetic ink, and a solid ink, can also be used as the ejection media.
  • an ultraviolet curable ink an electrically conductive ink
  • an electron-beam (EB) curable ink a magnetic ink
  • a solid ink can also be used as the ejection media.
  • the liquid ejection head of this embodiment can also be used in various applications other than image formation by using, for example, any of blood, cells in culture, and the like as the ejection media.
  • the liquid ejection head is also adaptable to other applications including biochip fabrication, electronic circuit printing, and so forth.
  • the second liquid since there are no restrictions regarding the second liquid, the second liquid may adopt the same liquid as one of those cited as the examples of the first liquid. For instance, even if both of the two liquids are inks each containing a large amount of water, it is still possible to use one of the inks as the first liquid and the other ink as the second liquid depending on situations such as a mode of usage.
  • the mode of using water or a liquid similar to water as the first liquid (the bubbling medium) and a pigment ink having a higher viscosity than that of water as the second liquid (the ejection medium), and ejecting only the second liquid is one of effective usages of this embodiment.
  • the necessity of causing the two liquids to flow in the liquid flow passage (the pressure chamber) in such a way as to form the parallel flows may be determined based on the critical pressure of the liquid to be ejected.
  • the second liquid may be determined as the liquid to be ejected while the bubbling material serving as the first liquid may be prepared only in the case where the critical pressure of the liquid to be ejected is insufficient.
  • Figs. 13A and 13B are graphs representing relations between a water content rate and a bubbling pressure at the time of the film boiling in the case where diethylene glycol (DEG) is mixed with water.
  • the horizontal axis in Fig. 13A indicates a mass ratio (in percent by mass) of water relative to the liquid, and the horizontal axis in Fig. 13B indicates a molar ratio of water relative to the liquid.
  • the bubbling pressure at the time of the film boiling becomes lower as the water content rate (content percentage) is lower.
  • the bubbling pressure is reduced more as the water content rate becomes lower, and ejection efficiency is deteriorated as a consequence.
  • the molecular weight of water (18) is substantially smaller than the molecular weight of diethylene glycol (106). Accordingly, even if the mass ratio of water is around 40 wt%, its molar ratio is about 0.9 and the bubbling pressure ratio is kept at 0.9. On the other hand, if the mass ratio of water falls below 40 wt%, the bubbling pressure ratio sharply drops together with the molar concentration as apparent from Figs. 13A and 13B .
  • the necessity of forming the parallel flows in the flow passage can be determined based on the critical pressure of the liquid to be ejected (or on the bubbling pressure at the time of the film boiling).
  • a preferable composition of an ultraviolet curable ink that can be used as the ejection medium in this embodiment will be described as an example.
  • the ultraviolet curable inks can be categorized into a 100-percent solid type ink formed from a polymerization reaction component without a solvent, and an ink containing either water being of a solvent type or a solvent as a diluent.
  • the ultraviolet curable inks actively used in recent years are 100-percent solid ultraviolet curable inks formed from non-aqueous photopolymerization reaction components (which are either monomers or oligomers) without containing any solvents.
  • Such an ultraviolet curable ink contains monomers as a main component, and also contains small amounts of other additives including a photopolymerization initiator, a coloring material, a dispersant, a surfactant, and the like.
  • the components of this ink include the monomers in a range from 80 to 90 wt%, the photopolymerization initiator in a range from 5 to 10 wt%, the coloring material in a range from 2 to 5 wt%, and other additives for the rest.
  • the first liquid is a clear ink and the second liquid is cyan ink (or magenta ink)
  • the first liquid is yellow ink and the second liquid is magenta
  • a range of color reproduction expressed on a printed medium can be expanded more than the related art by appropriately adjusting the mixing ratio.
  • the configuration of this embodiment is also effective in the case of using two types of liquids that are desired to be mixed together immediately after the ejection instead of mixing the liquids immediately before the ejection.
  • image printing where it is desirable to deposit a high-density pigment ink with excellent chromogenic properties and a resin EM excellent in image robustness such as abrasion resistance on a printing medium at the same time.
  • a pigment component contained in the pigment ink and a solid component contained in the resin EM tend to develop agglomeration at a close interparticle distance, thus causing deterioration in dispersibility.
  • the high-density EM is used as the first liquid of this embodiment while the high-density pigment ink is used as the second liquid thereof and the parallel flows are formed by controlling the flow velocities of these liquids based on (formula 2), then the two liquids are mixed with each other and agglomerated together on the printing medium after being ejected.
  • the two liquids are mixed with each other and agglomerated together on the printing medium after being ejected.
  • this embodiment exerts an effect of generating the flows of the two liquids in the pressure chamber regardless of the mode of the pressure generation element.
  • this embodiment also functions effectively in the case of a configuration to use a piezoelectric element as the pressure generation element, for instance, where the limitation in the critical pressure or the problem of the scorch is not concerned in the first place.
  • the stable interface can be formed at the time of ejecting the liquids. If the liquids are not flowing during the ejection operation of the liquids, the interface is prone to be disturbed as a consequence of generation of the bubble, and the printing quality may also be affected in this case.
  • driving the pressure generation element 12 while allowing the liquids to flow as described in this embodiment it is possible to suppress the turbulence of the interface due to the generation of the bubble. Since the stable interface is formed, the content rate of various liquids contained in the ejected liquid is stabilized and the printing quality is also improved, for example.
  • the liquids are caused to flow before driving the pressure generation element 12 and to flow continuously even during the ejection, it is possible to reduce time for forming the meniscus again in the liquid flow passage (the pressure chamber) after the ejection of the liquids.
  • the flows of the liquids are created by using a pump or the like loaded in the liquid circulation unit 504 before the driving signal is inputted to the pressure generation element 12. As a consequence, the liquids are flowing at least immediately before the ejection of the liquids.
  • Fig. 14A is a top plan view of the first inflow port 20 section
  • Fig. 14B is a cross-sectional view taken along the XIVB-XIVB line in Fig. 14A
  • Fig. 14C is a cross-sectional view (an enlarged diagram of the pressure chamber) taken along the XIVC-XIVC line in Fig. 14A
  • a length of the first inflow port 20 in a direction orthogonal to the direction of flow of the liquid in the pressure chamber and a direction of ejection of the liquid from the ejection port (hereinafter also referred to as a width direction of the liquid flow passage) will be defined as L.
  • a length (a width) of the liquid flow passage above the first inflow port 20 will be defined as W.
  • L > W holds true in Figs. 14A and 14B .
  • the first inflow port 20 extends across the entire region in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the first inflow port 20 of this embodiment linearly extends in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 (the direction orthogonal to the direction of flow (the y direction)) and the length L of the first inflow port 20 is larger than the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • two end portions of the first inflow port 20 are located outside upper and lower wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 in Fig. 14A .
  • one of the two end portions of the first inflow port 20 may be located at the same position as the corresponding wall surface of the liquid flow passage 13 while the other end portion may be located outside the corresponding wall surface of the liquid flow passage 13. In this case, L > W holds true.
  • not only the length in the width direction of the first inflow port 20, but also the lengths in the width direction of the second inflow port 21, the first outflow port 25, and the second outflow port 26 in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 are larger than the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • at least the length L of the first inflow port 20 needs to be equal to or larger than the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13. In other words, at least the first inflow port 20 has to satisfy L ⁇ W.
  • the first liquid 31 is fed into the entire region in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 from the above-described inflow port 20.
  • the parallel flows of the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 stacked in the height direction (a direction from the pressure generation element toward the ejection port) of the liquid flow passage 13 are formed as shown in Fig. 14C .
  • the second liquid 32 flows above and along the first liquid 31.
  • the interface between the first liquid 31 and second liquid 32 is formed well in the height direction of the liquid flow passage 13. Inside the pressure chamber, the first liquid 31 flows at a position on the pressure generation element 12 side while the second liquid 32 flows at a position on the ejection port 11 side.
  • the second liquid 32 it is possible to use water that is apt to cause bubbling as the first liquid 31 and to use the pigment ink having a high viscosity and a large amount of solid components such as the pigment as the second liquid 32, for example.
  • the second liquid 32 it is possible to eject the second liquid 32 stably by bubbling the first liquid 31.
  • the second liquid 32 is the ink, it is possible to print a high-quality image.
  • Fig. 15A is a top plan view of the first inflow port 20 section of a comparative example
  • Fig. 15B is a cross-sectional view taken along the XVB-XVB line in Fig. 15A
  • Fig. 15C is a cross-sectional view taken along the XVC-XVC line in Fig. 15A
  • L' the length of the first inflow port 20 in the direction orthogonal to the direction of flow of the liquid in the pressure chamber and the direction of ejection of the liquid from the ejection port
  • W the length (the width) of the liquid flow passage above the first inflow port
  • the first liquid 31 flows from the first inflow port 20 into a limited region at the center in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13, and the second liquid 32 flows along the right and left wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 as shown in Fig. 15C .
  • interfaces between the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 are formed along the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 do not form parallel flows stacked in the height direction of the liquid flow passage 13, but the first liquid flows in the pressure chamber in such a way as to be located on the pressure generation element 12 side and the ejection port 11 side, respectively. Since the first liquid 31 is located on the ejection port 11 side in Fig. 15C , it is difficult to mainly eject the second liquid 32.
  • a shape of a junction part of the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 (a shape of the first inflow port 20 relative to the flow passage above the first inflow port 20) has a large effect on the formation of the interface.
  • the effect of the shape of the junction part on the formation of the interface will be described further in detail.
  • Fig. 16A is an explanatory diagram of a velocity vector v1 of the first liquid 31 on a cross-section similar to that of Fig. 14B .
  • the vector v1 has a distribution in which the velocity at each wall surface of the inflow port 20 is zero while the velocity becomes largest at a central part of the inflow port 20.
  • the first liquid 31 having the aforementioned velocity distribution flows into the liquid flow passage 13 while changing the direction of the flow. Accordingly, the velocity distribution of the first liquid 31 at a portion through which the first liquid 31 flows into the liquid flow passage 13 becomes more uniform as a difference between the velocity at a point P in Fig. 16A representing a position of each wall surface of the liquid flow passage 13 and the velocity at the central part of the liquid flow passage 13 is smaller.
  • Fig. 16A representing a position of each wall surface of the liquid flow passage 13 and the velocity at the central part of the liquid flow passage 13 is smaller.
  • 16B is an explanatory diagram of a velocity distribution u1 of the first liquid 31 at an initial stage which flows from the inflow port 20 into the liquid flow passage 13, and a velocity distribution u2 of the second liquid 32 flowing in the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the second liquid 32 is less likely to enter between the first liquid 31 and the wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 as the velocity distribution v1 and the velocity distribution u1 are more uniform, whereby the second liquid 32 is more likely to flow in a manner that the second liquid 32 is stacked on the first liquid 31 in the height direction of the liquid flow passage 13 as shown in Fig. 14C .
  • the formation of the interface as shown in Fig. 14C becomes more difficult as the velocity distributions v1 and u1 are less uniform even though L > W holds true.
  • the length L larger than the length (the width) W so as to set the shape of the inflow port 20 and the velocity distributions v1 and u1 as uniform as possible.
  • the velocity distribution v1 in the inflow port 20 becomes more uniform as an aspect ratio determined based on the length L as a long side is larger, and the velocity distribution u1 of the flow out to the liquid flow passage 13 also becomes more uniform likewise.
  • the two end portions of the inflow port 20 linearly extending in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 are located at the same positions as the corresponding wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • Fig. 16D there are no portions between the wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 and the inflow port 20 where the flow of the first liquid 31 is not generated. Accordingly, the first liquid 31 can flow in the region across the entire width of the liquid flow passage 13 so that the interface like the one in Fig. 14C can be formed.
  • the velocity of the velocity vector u1 becomes zero at each wall surface.
  • Fig. 17A is an explanatory diagram of a velocity vector v'1 of the first liquid 31 on a cross-section similar to that in a comparative example of Fig. 15B .
  • the vector v'1 has a distribution in which the velocity at each wall surface of the inflow port 20 is zero while the velocity becomes largest at a central part of the inflow port 20.
  • Fig. 17B is an explanatory diagram of a velocity distribution u'1 of the first liquid 31 at an initial stage which flows from the inflow port 20 into the liquid flow passage 13 and a velocity distribution u'2 of the second liquid 32 flowing in the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the comparative example has been described above by using the example in which the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 are not stacked in the height direction in the case where L' ⁇ W holds true.
  • the first liquid and the second liquid are formed into the parallel flows stacked in the height direction depending on the flow rates and viscosities thereof even in the case where L' ⁇ W holds true.
  • Fig. 18A is a top plan view of the first inflow port 20 section of this embodiment
  • Fig. 18B is a cross-sectional view taken along the XVIIIB-XVIIIB line in Fig. 18A .
  • a side portion (a first side portion; a side portion between a point C1 and a point C1') of the inflow port 20 located on the most upstream side in the y direction larger than the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13 as shown in Fig. 18A .
  • a side portion a first side portion; a side portion between a point C1 and a point C1'
  • W the length of the liquid flow passage 13
  • the first liquid flows from the inflow port 20 into the liquid flow passage 13 as shown in Fig. 18C .
  • the second liquid nearly squashes the first liquid above the inflow port 20.
  • the first liquid is almost in the state of flowing into the liquid flow passage 13 from a downstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20, whereby the junction point of the first liquid and the second liquid in the liquid flow passage 13 is located at a position on the downstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20.
  • the shape of the interface between the liquids is largely influenced by a shape on the downstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20.
  • the flow rates of these liquids may be set to satisfy Q 1 ⁇ Q 2 such that a layer thickness of the first liquid becomes smaller than a layer thickness of the second liquid.
  • the lengths (L for both) of the first side portion and the second side portion located on the upstream side and the downstream side in the y direction are larger than the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13, and the two side portions of each of the side portions are located outside the corresponding wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the first inflow port 20 only needs to have a portion that satisfies L ⁇ W as mentioned above and does not always have to extend linearly in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13. In the meantime, the first inflow port 20 does not always have to satisfy L ⁇ W at the entire portion of the first inflow port 20.
  • Figs. 19A and 19B are explanatory diagrams of various modified examples of the first inflow port 20.
  • the inflow port 20 in Fig. 19A has a flat surface shape which projects to the downstream side in the y direction while the inflow port 20 in Fig. 19B has a flat surface shape which projects to the upstream side in the y direction.
  • Figs. 19C and 19D are explanatory diagrams of other modified examples in which the projecting parts in the flat surface shapes of the inflow ports 20 in Figs. 19A and 19B are changed to triangular shapes. In the case where the flow rates of the first and second liquids satisfy Q 1 ⁇ Q 2 , the shapes in Figs.
  • the shapes in Figs. 19B and 19D in which the second side portion of the inflow port 20 located on the downstream side in the y direction is larger than the length (the width) W are preferred as described previously.
  • the first side portion on the upstream side and/or the second side portion on the downstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20 do not always have to be straight.
  • the side portions may be formed into curves as shown in Fig. 19E .
  • the inflow port 20 may be formed into such a shape that the side portions of the inflow port 20 extend so as to form a certain angle ⁇ ( ⁇ ⁇ 90°) relative to the direction of extension of the liquid flow passage 13 (the y direction) as shown in Fig. 20A .
  • ⁇ angle
  • the liquid flow passage 13 can keep the second liquid from entering between the first liquid and the wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage and can form the horizontal interface therebetween, since the length L in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 is equal to or above the length (the width) W of the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the second liquid may enter between the first liquid and the wall surfaces of the liquid flow passage 13 in the case where the flow rates satisfy Q 1 ⁇ Q 2 and the first liquid mainly flows into the liquid flow passage 13 from the downstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20 as described earlier.
  • Fig. 20B is a cross-sectional view taken along the XXB-XXB line in Fig. 20A , which shows the case where the aforementioned phenomenon takes place.
  • the second liquid is prone to enter the upstream side in the y direction of the inflow port 20 and at least one end side out of the right and left sides of the liquid flow passage 13 in Fig. 20B may be occupied by the second liquid.
  • the interface may fail to form the horizontal shape but is formed into such a shape corresponding to the flow velocity distribution.
  • the interface has this shape, it is still possible to eject the second liquid mainly from the ejection port 11 since the first liquid is mainly located on the pressure generation element 12 side and the second liquid is located on the ejection port 11 side.
  • This embodiment also uses the liquid ejection head 1 and the liquid ejection apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 3 .
  • Figs. 21A to 21C are diagrams showing a configuration of the liquid flow passage 13 of this embodiment.
  • the liquid flow passage 13 of this embodiment is different from the liquid flow passage 13 described in the first embodiment.
  • a third liquid 33 is allowed to flow in the liquid flow passage 13 in addition to the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32.
  • the third liquid 33 can also form a parallel flow in state of laminar flow in addition to the parallel flows in the state of laminar flow by the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 in the above-described first embodiment as shown in Figs. 21B and 21C .
  • the second inflow port 21, a third inflow port 22, the first inflow port 20, the first outflow port 25, a third outflow port 27, and the second outflow port 26 are formed in this order in the y direction.
  • the pressure chamber 18 including the ejection port 11 and the pressure generation element 12 is located substantially at the center between the first inflow port 20 and the first outflow port 25 in the liquid flow passage 13.
  • the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32 flow from the first and second inflow ports 20 and 21 into the liquid flow passage 13, then flow in the y direction through the pressure chamber 18, and then flow out of the first and second outflow ports 25 and 26.
  • the third liquid 33 flows from the third inflow port 22 into the liquid flow passage 13, then flows in a direction of an arrow C in the liquid flow passage 13 through the pressure chamber 18, and then flows out of the third outflow port 27.
  • the first liquid 31, the second liquid 32, and the third liquid 33 flow together in the y direction between the first inflow port 20 and the first outflow port 25.
  • the first liquid 31 is in contact with the inner surface of the pressure chamber 18 (an upper surface 15A of the silicon substrate 15) where the pressure generation element 12 is located. Meanwhile, the second liquid 32 forms the meniscus at the ejection port 11 and the third liquid 33 flows between the first liquid 31 and the second liquid 32.
  • the length of the first inflow port 20 in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 is set equal to or above the width of the liquid flow passage 13 and the length of the second inflow port 21 in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13 is also set equal to or above the width of the liquid flow passage 13 as with the above-described first embodiment.
  • At least the length L of each of the first and second inflow ports 20 and 21 needs to be equal to or above the length (the width) W (L ⁇ W). In this way, by forming the second inflow port 21 as with the first inflow port 20, the second liquid 32 flows into the entire region in the width direction of the liquid flow passage 13, so that the respective interfaces between the first liquid 31, the second liquid 32, and the third liquid 33 can be formed horizontally as a consequence.
  • the CPU 500 controls the flow rate Q 1 of the first liquid 31, the flow rate Q 2 of the second liquid 32, and a flow rate Q 3 of the third liquid 33 by using the liquid circulation unit 504, and causes the three liquids to form three-layered parallel flows steadily as shown in Fig. 21C . Then, in the state where the three-layered parallel flows are formed as described above, the CPU 500 drives the pressure generation element 12 of the liquid ejection head 1 and ejects the droplet from the ejection port 11. Even if the position of each interface is disturbed along with the ejection operation described above, the three-layered parallel flows of the three liquids are recovered in a short time so that the next ejection operation can be started right away. As a consequence, it is possible to execute the good ejection operation of the droplet containing the first, second, and third liquids at the predetermined ratio and to obtain a fine output product with their droplets deposited.
  • the first liquid and the second liquids flowing in the pressure chamber may be circulated between the pressure chamber and an outside unit. If the circulation is not conducted, a large amount of any of the first liquid and the second liquid having formed the parallel flows in the liquid flow passage and the pressure chamber but having not been ejected would remain inside. Accordingly, the circulation of the first liquid and the second liquid with the outside unit makes it possible to use the liquids that have not been ejected in order to form the parallel flows again.
  • the liquid ejection head and the liquid ejection apparatus in the embodiments are not limited only to the inkjet printing head and the inkjet printing apparatus configured to eject an ink.
  • the liquid ejection head and the liquid ejection apparatus in the embodiments are applicable to various apparatuses including a printer, a copier, a facsimile equipped with a telecommunication system, and a word processor including a printer unit, and to other industrial printing apparatuses that are integrally combined with various processing apparatuses.
  • various liquids can be used as the second liquid, the liquid ejection head and the liquid ejection apparatus are also adaptable to other applications including biochip fabrication, electronic circuit printing, and so forth.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Geometry (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)

Claims (14)

  1. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1), comprenant :
    un substrat (15) ;
    un passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) ménagé dans le substrat (15) et configuré pour permettre un écoulement intérieur d'un premier liquide (31) et d'un second liquide (32), le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) comprenant une chambre de pression (18) ;
    un élément de génération de pression (12) configuré pour appliquer une pression au premier liquide (31) dans la chambre de pression (18) ; et
    un orifice d'éjection (11) configuré pour éjecter le second liquide (32), où
    le substrat (15) comprend
    un premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) configuré pour permettre un écoulement du premier liquide (31) dans le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) dans un sens (z) coupant le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13), et
    un second orifice d'écoulement en entrée (21) configuré pour permettre un écoulement du second liquide (32) dans le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13),
    le premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) est situé à une position plus proche de la chambre de pression (18) que ne l'est le second orifice d'écoulement en entrée (21),
    le premier liquide (31) et le second liquide (32) s'écoulant dans le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) s'écoulent dans le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) en direction de la chambre de pression (18),
    une interface sur laquelle le premier liquide (31) et le second liquide (32) sont en contact l'un avec l'autre est formée dans le passage d'écoulement de liquide (13),
    dans un cas dans lequel une longueur du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) est définie en tant que L et une longueur du passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) au-dessus du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) est définie en tant que W, dans un sens (x) orthogonal à un sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31) dans la chambre de pression (18) et à un sens (z) d'éjection du second liquide (32) à partir de l'orifice d'éjection (11), la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) comprend une partie qui satisfait à une relation définie telle que L ≥ W, et
    dans un cas dans lequel le sens (z) d'éjection du second liquide (32) est un sens allant du bas vers le haut, le second liquide (32) s'écoule au-dessus du premier liquide (31).
  2. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon la revendication 1, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) étant configurée pour amener le premier liquide (31) et le second liquide (32) à former des écoulements laminaires dans la chambre de pression (18).
  3. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon la revendication 1 ou 2, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) étant configurée pour amener le premier liquide (31) et le second liquide (32) à former des écoulements parallèles dans la chambre de pression (18).
  4. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 3, dans laquelle
    dans le sens (x) orthogonal au sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31) dans la chambre de pression (18) et au sens (z) d'éjection du second liquide (32) à partir de l'orifice d'éjection (11), (i) deux parties d'extrémité du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) sont situées aux mêmes positions que des surfaces de paroi du passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) au-dessus du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20), (ii) les deux parties d'extrémité du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) sont situées à l'extérieur des surfaces de paroi du passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) au-dessus du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20), ou (iii) l'une des deux parties d'extrémité est située à la même position que la surface de paroi correspondante du passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) au-dessus du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) et l'autre partie d'extrémité est située à l'extérieur de l'autre surface de paroi correspondante du passage d'écoulement de liquide (13) au-dessus du premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20).
  5. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans laquelle le premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) s'étend dans un sens (z) orthogonal au sens d'écoulement (y) du premier liquide (31).
  6. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) comprenant une partie satisfaisant à une relation définie telle que L > W par rapport à la longueur L et à la longueur W.
  7. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, dans laquelle
    dans un cas dans lequel un débit du premier liquide (31) est Q1 et un débit du second liquide (32) est Q2, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) est configurée pour amener les débits à satisfaire une relation définie telle que Q1 ≤ Q2,
    le premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) comprend une première partie latérale située d'un côté amont dans le sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31) et une seconde partie latérale située d'un côté aval dans le sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31), et
    au moins la seconde partie latérale parmi les première et seconde parties latérales satisfait à la relation définie telle que L ≥ W.
  8. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, dans laquelle
    dans un cas dans lequel un débit du premier liquide (31) est Q1 et un débit du second liquide (32) est Q2, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) est configurée pour amener les débits à satisfaire à une relation définie telle que Q1 > Q2,
    le premier orifice d'écoulement en entrée (20) comprend une première partie latérale située d'un côté amont dans le sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31) et une seconde partie latérale située d'un côté aval dans le sens (y) d'écoulement du premier liquide (31), et
    au moins la première partie latérale parmi les première et seconde parties latérales satisfait à la relation définie telle que L ≥ W.
  9. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon la revendication 7 ou 8, dans laquelle au moins l'une de la première partie latérale et de la seconde partie latérale est rectiligne.
  10. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 9, dans laquelle l'élément de génération de pression (12) et l'orifice d'éjection (11) sont en regard l'un de l'autre, la chambre de pression (18) étant interposée entre eux.
  11. Tête d'éjection de liquide (11) selon la revendication 10, la tête d'éjection de liquide (1) étant configurée pour amener la chambre de pression (18) à satisfaire à une relation définie telle que h 1 / h 1 + h 2 ≤ − 0,1390 + 0,0155 H ,
    Figure imgb0009
     où H [µm] correspond à une hauteur de la chambre de pression, h1 correspond à une épaisseur de phase du premier liquide (31), et h2 correspond à une épaisseur de phase du second liquide (32).
  12. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 11, dans laquelle le premier liquide (31) s'écoulant dans la chambre de pression (18) est mis en circulation entre la chambre de pression (18) et une unité extérieure.
  13. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 12, dans laquelle l'interface sur laquelle le premier liquide (31) et le second liquide (32) sont en contact l'un avec l'autre est formée à une position située entre l'orifice d'éjection (11) et l'élément de génération de pression (18).
  14. Tête d'éjection de liquide (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 13, comprenant en outre :
    un premier orifice d'écoulement en sortie (25) configuré pour permettre un écoulement du premier liquide (31) en sortie de la chambre de pression (18) ; et
    un second orifice d'écoulement en sortie (26) configuré pour permettre un écoulement du second liquide (32) en sortie de la chambre de pression (18).
EP19189003.7A 2018-07-31 2019-07-30 Tête d'éjection de liquide et module d'éjection de liquide Active EP3603978B1 (fr)

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JP7551331B2 (ja) * 2020-05-13 2024-09-17 キヤノン株式会社 液体吐出ヘッド、液体吐出装置、液体吐出モジュールおよび液体吐出ヘッドの製造方法

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JP3095842B2 (ja) * 1991-12-26 2000-10-10 株式会社リコー インクジェット記録装置
JPH06305143A (ja) 1993-04-23 1994-11-01 Canon Inc 液体吐出方法、液体吐出ユニットおよびインクジェット記録装置
JP3542460B2 (ja) * 1996-06-07 2004-07-14 キヤノン株式会社 液体吐出方法及び液体吐出装置
JPH1024582A (ja) * 1996-07-12 1998-01-27 Canon Inc 液体吐出ヘッド並びに該液体吐出ヘッドの回復方法及び製造方法、並びに該液体吐出ヘッドを用いた液体吐出装置
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JP2001225492A (ja) * 2000-02-18 2001-08-21 Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd インクジェット記録方法および装置
JP5169663B2 (ja) 2008-09-16 2013-03-27 株式会社リコー 画像形成装置、情報処理装置、情報処理システム、情報処理方法、プログラム、及び記録媒体
US8770722B2 (en) 2012-03-28 2014-07-08 Eastman Kodak Company Functional liquid deposition using continuous liquid
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JP7330741B2 (ja) 2023-08-22
KR102530985B1 (ko) 2023-05-11

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