EP3848204B1 - Inkjet head and inkjet recording device - Google Patents
Inkjet head and inkjet recording device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3848204B1 EP3848204B1 EP18932811.5A EP18932811A EP3848204B1 EP 3848204 B1 EP3848204 B1 EP 3848204B1 EP 18932811 A EP18932811 A EP 18932811A EP 3848204 B1 EP3848204 B1 EP 3848204B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- flow path
- tank
- filter
- inkjet head
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Images
Classifications
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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
- B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
- B41J2/18—Ink recirculation systems
-
- 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
- B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
- B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
-
- 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
- B41J29/00—Details of, or accessories for, typewriters or selective printing mechanisms not otherwise provided for
- B41J29/377—Cooling or ventilating arrangements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14362—Assembling elements of heads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14403—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads including a filter
-
- 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
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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
- 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
- B41J2202/18—Electrical connection established using vias
-
- 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
- the present invention relates to an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device.
- an inkjet recording device in which ink is ejected from an opening of a nozzle provided on an ink ejecting surface of an inkjet head, and the ink is landed on a desired position to form an image.
- the inkjet head of the inkjet recording device includes an ink ejector which ejects the ink from the opening of the nozzle in response to operation of the operation element such as the piezoelectric element in which pressure in an ink storage in communication with the nozzle is changed.
- the inkjet head usually includes a driving substrate provided with a driving circuit to drive an operation element. (For example, Patent Literature 1).
- Patent Literature 2 discloses that a drive circuit for driving a recording head having a plurality of nozzle arrays for ejecting inks in a plurality of colors is mounted on a circuit board.
- the drive circuit is positioned at one end in an arrangement direction of a plurality of ink tanks for containing the inks in the plurality of colors.
- One end of a heat conductive plate is in contact with the drive circuit to be thermally conductive thereto and is extended to the arrangement direction of the ink tanks to be in contact with the bottom wall to be fixed thereto.
- the heat conductive plate has openings and the contact area of the ink tank which is far from the drive circuit is greater than that of the ink tank which is near the drive circuit so that the heat conductivities of the plurality of ink tanks are made to be uniform.
- Patent Literature 3 discloses a liquid discharge head including a plurality of nozzles from which a liquid is discharged, a plurality of individual-liquid-chambers that communicate with the plurality of nozzles, a supply-side common-liquid-chamber to supply the liquid to the plurality of individual-liquid-chambers, a plurality of drainage channels that communicate with the plurality of nozzles, a drainage-side common-liquid-chamber to drain the liquid in the plurality of drainage channels, a supply-side filter disposed upstream from the plurality of nozzles in a liquid flow direction in which the liquid flows through the liquid discharge head; and a drainage-side filter disposed downstream from the plurality of nozzles in the liquid flow direction.
- Patent Literature 4 discloses an inkjet head comprising a head chip including drive walls and channels juxtaposed alternately with a drive electrode being formed on the drive wall, and a nozzle plate wherein a connection electrode is formed on the rear surface of the head chip, a wiring board on which an electrode portion is formed is bonded to project from the head chip, and ink in the channel is ejected by causing shear deformation of the drive wall is further provided with a holding member disposed at a position covering the electrode portion and holding a portion of the wiring board projecting from the head chip, and an electrode portion protection member bonded between the holding member and the electrode portion using adhesive and having a thickness in the range of 0.01-0.5 mm at a part covering the electrode portion.
- the purpose of the present invention is to provide an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device which can effectively suppress decrease of image quality due to heat of the driving substrate.
- the following effect can be achieved, that is, the decrease of the image quality due to the heat of the driving substrate can be effectively suppressed.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the inkjet recording device 1 includes a conveyor 2 and a head unit 3.
- the conveyor 2 includes a ring shaped conveying belt 2c which is supported from the inner side by two conveying rollers 2a and 2b which rotate around a rotating axis extending in an X direction shown in FIG. 1 .
- the conveying roller 2a rotates in response to operation of a conveying motor (not shown) and the conveying belt 2c rotates in a state with the recording medium M placed on a conveying surface of the conveying belt 2c. With this, the recording medium M is conveyed in a moving direction (conveying direction, Y direction shown in FIG. 1 ) of the conveying belt 2c.
- the recording medium M can be sheet paper cut in a certain dimension.
- the recording medium M is supplied on a conveying belt 2c by a sheet feeding device (not shown) and after the ink is ejected from the head unit 3 and the image is recorded, the sheet is discharged from the conveying belt 2c to a predetermined sheet discharger.
- a rolled sheet can be used as the recording medium M.
- various media which can be used as the recording medium M include media in which ink landed on a surface can be fixed, examples including a cloth or a sheet shaped resin.
- the head unit 3 ejects ink at a suitable timing to a recording medium M conveyed by the conveyor 2 and records an image.
- the inkjet recording device 1 In the inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment, four head units 3 corresponding to each of the four colors of ink which are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are arranged to be aligned with a predetermined interval in between in the order of the color Y, M, C, K from an upstream side in a conveying direction of the recording medium M.
- the number of head units 3 can be 3 or less or 5 or more.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a head unit 3, and the diagram is a plane view viewing the head unit 3 from a side which faces the conveying surface of the conveying belt 2c.
- the head unit 3 includes a plate shaped supporter 3a and a plurality of inkjet heads 100 (here, 8), fixed to the supporter 3a in a state fitted to a penetrating hole provided in the supporter 3a.
- the inkjet head 100 is fixed to the supporter 3a in a state in which an ink ejecting surface 112 provided in an opening of a nozzle 111 is exposed in a -Z direction from a penetrating hole of the supporter 3a.
- each inkjet head 100 includes 4 rows of nozzles 111 (nozzle row) arranged in one dimension with an even interval in the X direction.
- the 4 nozzle rows are positioned with the positions in the X direction shifted from each other so that the positions of the nozzles 111 in the X direction do not overlap.
- the number of nozzle rows included in the inkjet head 100 is not limited to 4, and can be 3 or less or 5 or more.
- the 8 inkjet heads 100 in the head unit 3 are positioned in a hound's tooth pattern continuing in a positioning range in the X direction of the nozzle 111.
- the positioning range of the nozzle 111 in the X direction included in the head unit 3 covers the width in the X direction in the region in which the image can be recorded in the recording medium M conveyed by the conveying belt 2c.
- the head unit 3 is used with the position fixed when the image is recorded, and the ink is ejected from the nozzle 111 to each position with a predetermined interval (conveying direction interval) in between in the conveying direction in response to the conveying of the recording medium M. With this, the image is recoded in a single pass method.
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inkjet head 100.
- the inkjet head 100 includes an exterior member 51 in which the ink ejector 10 ( FIG. 4 ) including the ink ejecting surface 112 is stored inside, a cover member 52 which fits with the exterior member 51 in an upper edge of the exterior member 51, an ink tank 60 which is attached to a position which covers a portion of the outer side of the cover member 52, an inlet 71 (ink supply opening) in which ink is supplied from outside and an outlet 72 (ink discharge opening) from which ink is discharged outside.
- the exterior member 51 includes an orifice 511 ( FIG. 7 ) in which ink supplied to an ink inflow opening 101 ( FIG. 9 ) of the ink ejector 10 flows and an orifice 512 ( FIG. 7 ) from which ink flown out from an outflow opening 102 ( FIG. 9 ) of the ink ejector 10 is discharged.
- a plurality of attaching holes 513 are provided in the exterior member 51 to attach the inkjet head 100 to a supporter 3a of the head unit 3.
- the material for the exterior member 51 and the cover member 52 is not limited and various resins such as a PPS resin with high mechanical strength and high medical strength against ink, or metal, alloys and the like can be used.
- the inlet 71 and the outlet 72 are provided on both ends of the cover member 52 in the longitudinal direction. That is, the inlet 71 is provided in the +X direction side of the cover member 52 and the outlet 72 is provided in the -X direction side of the cover member 52.
- the ink tank 60 is connected to the inlet 71 at one end side and connected to the outlet 72 at the other end side.
- the ink tank 60 stores the ink flowing in from the inlet 71 and supplies the ink to the ink ejector 10 in the exterior member 51.
- the ink tank 60 is provided so that a plate shaped portion connecting the above one end side and the other end side (portion where the ink is mainly stored) covers the upper half of a surface on a front side of the cover member 52 (surface opposed in +Y direction side).
- the ink tank 60 includes a lid 602 included in the front side of the plate shaped portion (+Y direction side), a base 601 facing the lid 602, and a fixed portion 603 which extends downward from both ends in the X direction of the base 601 and which is fixed to the exterior member 51.
- the fixed portion 603 is fixed detachably to the exterior member 51 with a plurality of attaching screws 54 (attaching members). That is, the ink tank 60 can be detached from the inkjet head 100 and changed.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section along a YZ plane of the inkjet head 100 shown in FIG. 3 .
- the ink ejector 10 in which the bottom surface is the ink ejecting surface 112 a wiring member 40 connected to the ink ejector 10, and a driving substrate 30 to which the wiring member 40 is connected are stored in the inner space formed by the exterior member 51 and the cover member 52.
- a step is provided so that the upper half of the surface is shifted to the -Y direction side than the lower half, and the ink tank 60 is attached to be fit in this step.
- the ink tank 60 is provided to be stored within the range to the -Y direction side than the plane of the lower half among the plane on the front side of the cover member 52. According to such configuration, the ink tank 60 can be provided without increasing the width of the inkjet head 100 in the Y direction.
- the driving substrate 30 is provided on the opposite side of the ink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10 (that is, +Z direction side) along the direction intersecting with the ink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10 (according to the present embodiment, the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the ink ejecting surface 112, that is, +Z direction).
- the relative position with relation to the cover member 52 is fixed with the fixing member (not shown) so that the driving substrate 30 is positioned in the above direction and position.
- the driving substrate 30 is positioned so as to be covered by the cover member 52 with the exception of a portion of the upper end.
- the driving substrate 30 is a rigid substrate in which metal circuit wires are formed on the surface of a base material with insulation properties such as a glass epoxy substrate.
- the driving substrate 30 includes flexibility in a range so that it is possible to be stably fixed with relation to the cover member 52.
- the ink ejector 10 includes a nozzle substrate 11 (nozzle plate) in which the nozzles 111 are provided and which forms the ink ejecting surface 112, an actuator substrate 12 which is layered to the +Z direction side of the nozzle substrate 11 and in which an actuator (operation element) which performs the operation to eject ink from the opening of the nozzle 111 is provided, and a common ink chamber 13 (common liquid chamber) which temporarily stores ink supplied to the actuator substrate 12.
- the ink from the ink tank 60 flows in through the orifice 511 to the common ink chamber 13.
- FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross section diagram showing a configuration of the ink ejector 10.
- FIG. 5 shows a cross section including four nozzles 111 included in each of the four nozzle rows as shown in FIG. 2 .
- a head chip HC including the nozzle substrate 11 and the actuator substrate 12 is a configuration to eject ink from the nozzle 111, and a plurality of plate shaped substrates are layered and formed (here, 4 substrates).
- the substrate at the bottom of the head chip HC is the nozzle substrate 11.
- a plurality of nozzles 111 are provided in the nozzle substrate 11, and ink can be ejected substantially orthogonal to the exposed surface (ink ejecting surface 112) of the nozzle substrate 11 from the opening of the nozzle 111.
- a pressure chamber substrate 12a (chamber plate), a spacer substrate 12b and a wiring forming substrate 12c are formed attached and layered in order upward.
- the pressure chamber substrate 12a, the spacer substrate 12b and the wiring forming substrate 12c are included in the actuator substrate 12.
- the head chip HC is provided with an ink flow path in communication with the nozzle 111, and the ink flow path is open at the surface on the side where the wiring forming substrate 12c is exposed (upper side).
- a common ink chamber 13 is provided so as to cover all of the openings.
- the common ink chamber 13 includes a first common ink chamber 131 and a second common ink chamber 132 provided in a lower layer (-Z direction side) of the first common ink chamber 131 and from the above, the second common ink chamber 132 is in communication commonly with all of the openings of the ink flow path.
- the ink in the second common ink chamber 132 is supplied to each nozzle 111 from the opening of the wiring forming substrate 12c.
- a pressure chamber 121 is provided in the middle of the ink flow path.
- the pressure chamber 121 is provided penetrating the pressure chamber substrate 12a in the vertical direction, and the upper surface of the pressure chamber 121 is formed by a vibrating plate 122 provided between the pressure chamber substrate 12a and the spacer substrate 12b.
- a change in pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 121 due to the vibrating plate 122 (pressure chamber 121) deforming by the displacing (deforming) of a piezoelectric element 123 (actuator, operation element) in a housing unit 124 provided adjacent to the pressure chamber 121 with the vibrating plate 122 in between.
- the ink in the ink flow path is ejected from the nozzle 111 in communication with the pressure chamber 121 as liquid droplets.
- the holding substrate 133 is attached to the upper surface of the head chip HC, and the holding substrate 133 holds the common ink chamber 13.
- An opening with almost the same size and the same shape as the opening on the lower surface of the second common ink chamber 132 is provided in the holding substrate 133, and the ink in the second common ink chamber 132 is supplied to the upper surface of the head chip HC through the opening on the lower surface of the second common ink chamber 132 and the opening of the holding substrate 133.
- the wiring member 40 is a FPC (flexible printed circuits) and the wiring member 40 is connected to a wiring layer 127 on the surface of the wiring forming substrate 12c.
- the piezoelectric element 123 is displaced by the driving signal transmitted to the wiring 126 and connection 125 in the housing unit 124 through the wiring layer 127.
- One wiring member 40 is pulled out from each of the front side (+Y direction side) and back side (-Y direction side) of the head chip HC, penetrating the holding substrate 133. As shown in FIG.
- the pair of wiring members 40 is connected to the circuit wiring of the front surface of the driving substrate 30 and the circuit wiring of the back surface through the first connector 32 provided in each of the surface in the +Y direction side of the driving substrate 30 (hereinafter also described as the front surface) and the surface in the -Y direction side (hereinafter also described as the back surface).
- a driving element 31 and a second connector 33 are provided on the front surface of the driving substrate 30.
- the driving element 31 receives the control signal supplied from the controller 20 ( FIG. 11 ) of the inkjet recording device 1 and the driving control circuit 81 ( FIG. 11 ) of the head unit 3 through the second connector 33, and in response to an ink ejecting operation from the nozzles 111 or a non-ejecting operation, the suitable driving signals of the piezoelectric element 123 are output to the wiring on the driving substrate 30.
- the driving element 31 includes an IC (Integrated Circuit).
- various electronic components which are not shown connected directly or indirectly to the driving element 31 are provided in the driving substrate 30 by the circuit wiring. Such electronic components and driving element 31 are included in the "driving circuit" for driving the piezoelectric element 123 as the operation element.
- Most of the driving elements 31 and electronic components included in the driving circuit are provided on the front surface of the driving substrate 30. Some of the driving signals from the driving circuit are supplied to the first connector 32 on the front surface side through the circuit wiring provided on the front surface of the driving substrate 30. Some of the circuit wiring on the front surface side are conducted to the circuit wiring on the back surface side through the through hole, etc., and some of the driving signals from the driving circuit are supplied to the first connector 32 on the back surface side through the circuit wiring pulled to the back surface side.
- FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross-section of the inkjet head 100 along an XY flat surface at a position passing the driving element 31.
- the cover member 52 includes a flat surface portion 521 which is provided facing the front surface of the driving substrate 30 and which is provided along the front surface, a flat surface portion 522 which is provided facing the back surface of the driving substrate 30 and which is provided along the back surface, and a side surface portion 523 which connects the above flat surface portions 521 and 522 and which covers the side of the driving substrate 30.
- the cover member 52 covers a large portion of the driving substrate 30 with the exception of the portion near the second connector 33.
- the ink tank 60 is provided in the portion of the cover member 52 along the flat surface portion 521 which covers the front surface side of the driving substrate 30. That is, a facing surface 60a (surface facing -Y direction) (predetermined surface) which is on the outer surface of the ink tank 60 and which faces the cover member 52 is provided along the driving substrate 30.
- a sheet shaped heat dissipating member 53 in contact with the ink tank 60 and the cover member 52 is provided between the facing surface 60a of the ink tank 60 and the flat surface portion 521 of the cover member 52.
- the heat dissipating member 53 any material with a heat conductivity higher than air can be used.
- a material including high heat conductivity such as silicone or acrylic resin is used.
- the ink tank 60 is provided so that the heat dissipated from the driving substrate 30 is transmitted to the facing surface 60a through the cover member 52 and the heat dissipating member 53. That is, the ink tank 60 also functions as a heat sink which receives the heat of the driving substrate 30 and discharges the heat outside. Some of the heat transmitted from the driving substrate 30 to the ink tank 60 is discharged from the outer surface of the ink tank 60 to the external space, and is discharged to the supporter 3a of the head unit 3 through the external member 51 from the ink tank 60. Some of the heat transmitted to the ink tank 60 is transmitted to the ink in the ink tank 60 and the heat which passes through the later described ink flow path is discharged with the ink from the outlet 72.
- a cylinder shaped penetrating hole is provided at the edge on the +X direction side of the base 601 of the ink tank 60 and is provided extending in the +Z direction.
- Such penetrating hole is included in an ink supply flow path 711.
- An edge at one side of the ink supply flow path 711 is connected to the inlet 71 and an edge at the other side is connected to a later-described opening A1 ( FIG. 7 ).
- a cylinder shaped penetrating hole is provided at the edge on the -X direction side of the base 601 of the ink tank 60 and is provided extending in the +Z direction. Such penetrating hole is included in an ink discharge flow path 721. An edge at one side of the ink discharge flow path 721 is connected to the orifice 512 of the external member 51, and an edge at the other side is connected to the outlet 72.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an inkjet head 100 showing an internal structure of the ink tank 60.
- FIG. 7 is drawn so that the members included in the outer surface of the ink tank 60 are transparent.
- FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X1 shown in FIG. 7 .
- FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X2 shown in FIG. 7 .
- FIG. 8C is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X3 shown in FIG. 7 .
- FIG. 7 FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C , the flowing direction of the ink is shown with an arrow.
- the following are provided inside the ink tank 60, a plate shaped filter 61 (first filter, second filter) provided along the facing surface 60a, an upstream side ink chamber 62 and a downstream side ink chamber 63 divided by a filter 61, a pulling flow path 64 in communication with the downstream side ink chamber 63, and upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 and downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 divided by a filter 61 (second filter), a communicating flow path 67 in communication with the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66, an ink supply flow path 711 ( FIG. 6 ) in communication with the inlet 71, and an ink discharge flow path 721 in communication with the outlet 72.
- a plate shaped filter 61 first filter, second filter
- the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63 are ink chambers in a flat substantial rectangular parallelepiped shape along the facing surface 60a.
- the ink is able to move from the upstream side ink chamber 62 to the downstream side ink chamber 63 through the filter 61 provided in between.
- the upstream side ink chamber 62 is provided adjacent to the filter 61 in the -Y direction side (facing surface 60a side) and the downstream side ink chamber 63 is provided adjacent to the filter 61 in the +Y direction side.
- the filter 61 is a material for capturing foreign substances mixed in the ink and filtering the ink.
- the material of the filter 61 is not limited as long as a mesh structure with a size which can capture foreign substances is included. Examples such as a material weaved with stainless steel and a non-woven material including resin fiber such as polypropylene can be used.
- the portion in the filter 61 provided between the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63 is to be the "first filter".
- an opening A1 in communication with the ink supply path 711 is provided at a lower end of the side surface in the +X direction side in the upstream side ink chamber 62.
- ink flows in from the inlet 71 through the ink supply flow path 711 and the opening A1.
- an opening A2 in communication with the pulling flow path 64 is provided at an edge on the -X direction side on the upper surface (surface on +Z direction side) of the downstream side ink chamber 63.
- the ink flows from the upstream side ink chamber 62, passes the filter 61 and moves to the downstream side ink chamber 63 and the ink flows from the opening A1 toward the opening A2 in the +X direction and the +Z direction.
- the pulling flow path 64 includes a first portion extending in the +X direction above the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63, and a second portion extending in a downward direction (-Z direction) at a side on the +X direction side of the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63 from an edge in the +X direction side of the first portion.
- the edge of the second portion is connected to the orifice 511 provided in the exterior member 51.
- the orifice 511 is in communication with the common ink chamber 13 of the ink ejector 10.
- the pulling flow path 64 pulls the ink flowing from the downstream side ink chamber 63 in the +X direction (arrow a2 shown in FIG. 7 , FIG. 8A , and FIG. 8B ) and the -Z direction, and guides the ink to the orifice 511.
- An "in-tank flow path F1" ( FIG. 9 ) includes the above-described upstream side ink chamber 62, the downstream side ink chamber 63, and the pulling flow path 64.
- the ink flow direction in the in-tank flow path F1 from the upstream side ink chamber 62, through the downstream side ink chamber 63 and the pulling flow path 64, and to the orifice 511 corresponds to a "predetermined supplying direction”.
- the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided on the -X direction side of the upstream ink chamber 62 and the downstream ink chamber 63.
- the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 are ink chambers in a flat substantial rectangular parallelepiped shape along the facing face 60a, include the same thickness (length in Y direction) and the same height (length in Z direction) as the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63, and the width (length in X direction) is smaller than the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63.
- the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 is partitioned from the upstream side ink chamber 62 by a first partitioning member 681 provided as one with a base 601.
- the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 is partitioned from the downstream ink chamber 63 by a second partitioning member 682 provided as one with a lid 602.
- an opening A3 is provided in the upper edge of the first partitioning member 681. Therefore, among the ink flowing in the upstream side ink chamber 62, some of the ink flows in the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 through the opening A3 as shown by the arrow a3 in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8C before moving to the downstream side ink chamber 63 side.
- the ink which flows in the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 passes the filter 61 and moves to the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66.
- the portion provided between the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 is to be a "second filter".
- the "first filter” and the “second filter” provided between the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the downstream side ink chamber 63 compose a single filter 61. That is, the "first filter” and the “second filter” are provided as one.
- An opening A4 in communication with a communicating flow path 67 is provided in an edge of the -X direction side on the upper surface (surface on the +Z direction side) of the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66.
- the communicating flow path 67 is provided in a shape which bends in the -X direction side after extending in the +Z direction from the opening A4, and heads toward the -Z direction while meandering.
- the edge on the opposite side of the opening A4 of the communicating flow path 67 is connected to the ink discharge flow path 721.
- the ink flowing in the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 passes the filter 61, moves to the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66, passes the communicating flow path 67, and flows in to the ink discharge flow path 721.
- the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65, the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66, and the communicating flow path 67 are included in a "bypass flow path F2" ( FIG. 9 ) which connects the in-tank flow path F1 and the ink discharge flow path 721 without passing through the ink ejector 10.
- a check valve 73 is provided between a connecting position with the bypass flow path F2 in the ink discharge flow path 721 and the outlet 72.
- Such check valve 73 is a section which prevents reverse flow. The ink flows in the discharge direction toward the outlet 72 and does not flow in the direction opposite to the discharge direction.
- FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram describing the flow path of the ink in the inkjet head 100.
- FIG. 9 shows the filter 61 in the ink tank 60, the upstream side ink chamber 62, and the downstream side ink chamber 63 as a shape long in the horizontal direction.
- the ink flowing into the inlet 71 from outside passes the ink supply flow path 711, and flows into the upstream side ink chamber 62 in the ink tank 60 through the opening A1. Most of the ink flowing in the upstream side ink chamber 62 passes the above-described in-tank flow path F1 and flows into the inflow opening 101 of the ink ejector 10.
- a partitioning wall between the first common ink chamber 131 and the second common ink chamber 132 includes a member through which ink cannot pass (for example, resin).
- the ink flowing in the first common ink chamber 131 is guided as is to the outflow opening 102 of the ink ejector 10.
- Some of the ink flowing in the second common ink chamber 132 flows into the ink flow path of the actuator substrate 12 and is ejected outside as droplets from the nozzle 111 of the nozzle substrate 11.
- the ink which is not ejected from the nozzle 111 is guided to the outflow opening 102.
- the ink which is not ejected from the nozzle 111 flows into the first common ink chamber 131 and flows out from the outflow opening 102.
- the ink can be efficiently recirculated in the inkjet head 100. Therefore, bubbles in the ink can be discharged outside, and the heat transmitted to the ink from the driving substrate 30 can be discharged outside with the ink.
- the volume ratio between the first common ink chamber 131 and the second common ink chamber 132 is set so that the supply amount of ink from the second common ink chamber 132 to the nozzle 111 is secured, and the ink amount recirculated by the first common ink chamber 131 is a predetermined amount.
- the ink flowing out from the outflow opening of the ink ejector 10 passes the ink discharge flow path 721 and is discharged outside from the outlet 72 (exit of ink discharge flow path 721).
- the check valve 73 is provided between the connecting position in the ink discharge flow path 721 with the bypass flow path F2 and the outlet 72, the ink flowing reverse from the outlet 72 side to the ink ejector 10 can be prevented.
- the flow of the ink in the ink flowing path as shown in FIG. 9 can be generated by an ink circulating mechanism 9 included in the inkjet recording device 1.
- FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of the ink circulating mechanism 9.
- the ink circulating mechanism 9 includes a supplying sub-tank 91, a recirculating sub-tank 92, and a main tank 93.
- the supplying sub-tank 91 stores the ink supplied to the ink tank 60 of the inkjet head 100.
- the supplying sub-tank 91 is connected to the inlet 71 by the ink flow path 94.
- the recirculating sub-tank 92 is connected to the outlet 72 by the ink flow path 95, and the ink discharged from the outlet 72 is stored.
- the supplying sub-tank 91 and the recirculating sub-tank 92 are connected to the ink flow path 96. Then, the ink can be returned from the recirculating sub-tank 92 to the supplying sub-tank 91 using the pump 98 provided in the ink flow path 96.
- the main tank 93 stores the ink supplied to the supplying sub-tank 91.
- the main tank 93 is connected to the supplying sub-tank 91 by the ink flow path 97.
- the ink is supplied from the main tank 93 to the supplying sub-tank 91 by using the pump 99 provided in the ink flow path 97.
- the supplying sub-tank 91 is provided so that the liquid surface becomes a position higher than the ink ejecting surface 112 (hereinafter referred to as "position standard surface") of the ink ejector 10.
- the recirculating sub-tank 92 is provided so that the liquid surface becomes a position lower than the position standard surface. Therefore, pressure P1 by a water head difference between the position reference surface and the supplying sub-tank 91, and pressure P2 by a water head difference between the position reference surface and the recirculating sub-tank 92 are generated. As a result, the pressure of the ink in the inlet 71 is higher than the pressure of the ink in the outlet 72.
- the flow of ink from the inlet 71, passing through the ink tank 60 and the ink ejector 10 and heading to the outlet 72 occurs.
- the ink supply to the ink ejector 10 and the discharge of ink (recirculating) from the ink ejector 10 is performed.
- the ink amount in the sub-tanks and the position of the sub-tanks in the vertical direction are changed.
- the pressure P1 and the pressure P2 can be adjusted, and with this, a flow rate of the ink can be adjusted.
- FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the main functions in the inkjet recording device 1.
- the inkjet recording device 1 includes, the above-described head unit 3, a controller 20, a conveying driver 82, an input/output interface 83, and a bus 84.
- the head unit 3 includes a driving control circuit 81, and an inkjet head 100 provided with a driving element 31 and a piezoelectric element 123.
- the controller 20 includes a CPU 21 (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 22 (Random Access Memory), a ROM 23 (Read Only Memory), and a storage 24.
- CPU 21 Central Processing Unit
- RAM 22 Random Access Memory
- ROM 23 Read Only Memory
- the CPU 21 reads programs for various control and setting data stored in the ROM 23 and stores the above in the RAM 22.
- the CPU 21 executes the above program and performs various calculating processes.
- the CPU 21 centrally controls the entire operation of the inkjet recording device 1.
- the RAM 22 provides a memory space for work in the CPU 21 and stores temporary data.
- the RAM 22 may include a nonvolatile memory.
- the ROM 23 stores programs for various control and setting data executed by the CPU 21.
- a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (electrically erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory can be used.
- the storage 24 stores a print job input from an external apparatus 200 through the input/output interface 83 and the image data regarding the print job.
- a HDD Hard Disk Drive
- a DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory
- the driving control circuit 81 Based on a control signal from the controller 20, the driving control circuit 81 supplies various control signals and image data at a suitable timing to the driving element 31.
- the conveying driver 82 supplies a driving signal to the motor driving the conveying rollers 2a and 2b of the conveyor 2 and rotates the conveying rollers 2a and 2b at a predetermined speed and timing, and the conveying belt 2c is rotated.
- the input/output interface 83 mediates transmitting and receiving of data between the external apparatus 200 and the controller 20.
- the input/output interface 83 includes either various serial interfaces, various parallel interfaces, or a combination of the above.
- the bus 84 is a path to transmit and receive a signal between the controller 20 and other structure.
- the external apparatus 200 is a personal computer, for example, and supplies print jobs, image data, and the like to the controller 20 through the input/output interface 83.
- the inkjet head 100 includes, the ink ejector 10 in which the opening of the nozzle 111 which ejects ink is provided in the ink ejecting surface 112, and which includes a piezoelectric element 123 as the operation element which performs the operation to eject ink from the opening of the nozzle 111, the driving substrate 30 in which the driving circuit to drive the piezoelectric element 123 is provided, and an ink tank 60 in which the ink supplied to the ink ejector 10 is stored.
- the ink tank 60 is provided so that the facing surface 60a of the ink tank 60 is provided along the driving substrate 30 and the heat of the driving substrate 30 is transmitted to the facing surface 60a.
- the ink tank 60 is able to function as a heat sink which receives heat from the driving substrate 30 and discharges the heat to the outside. That is, some of the heat transmitted from the driving substrate 30 to the ink tank 60 is discharged from the outer surface of the ink tank 60 to the external space, and the heat can be discharged outside through the exterior member 51 where the ink tank 60 is attached. Some of the heat transmitted to the ink tank 60 is transmitted to the ink in the ink tank 60. Therefore, by guiding the ink outside the inkjet head 100 by a predetermined path, the heat of the driving substrate 30 can be discharged outside with the ink.
- the driving substrate 30 is provided on the opposite side of the ink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10 along the direction intersecting with the ink ejecting surface 112. According to such configuration, the driving substrate 30 can be positioned using the space on the side opposite of the ink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10. Therefore, it is possible to make the size of the inkjet head 100 in the direction parallel to the ink ejecting surface 112 small. Moreover, is possible to provide the driving substrate 30 in the inkjet head 100.
- the size of the inkjet head 100 in the direction parallel to the ink ejecting surface 112 can be made small, and the ink tank 60 can be provided in the inkjet head 100.
- the ink tank 60 is provided with the in-tank flow path F1 in which the ink supplied to the ink ejector 10 flows in a predetermined supply direction, and the filter 61 as the first filter 1 which is provided along the facing surface 60a in the in-tank flow path F1 and through which the ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 passes.
- the filter 61 as the first filter 1 which is provided along the facing surface 60a in the in-tank flow path F1 and through which the ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 passes.
- the back pressure to flow the ink can be made small in the range that the necessary flow rate of ink can be secured or the flow rate of ink can be increased when the back pressure is the same.
- the impurities mixed in the ink can be captured efficiently with the filter 61. Since the ink can flow efficiently, the heat of the driving substrate 30 and the bubbles in the ink can be easily discharged outside.
- the in-tank flow path F1 includes the upstream side ink chamber 62 adjacent to the filter 61 in the upstream side of the supply direction and the downstream side ink chamber 63 adjacent to the filter 61 in the downstream side of the supply direction.
- the upstream side ink chamber 62 is provided on the facing surface 60a side of the filter 61.
- the upstream side ink chamber 62 is provided on the side closer to the driving substrate 30.
- the ink flowing in the upstream side ink chamber 62 stays in the upstream side ink chamber 62 until the ink passes the filter 61 and moves to the downstream side ink chamber 62. Therefore, the flow rate of the ink in each portion of the upstream side ink chamber 62 tends to become low entirely. Therefore, the heat from the driving substrate 30 can be transmitted to the ink almost evenly and efficiently in each position of the upstream side ink chamber 62. With this, the heat from the driving substrate 30 can be discharged efficiently through the ink in the ink tank 60.
- the ink ejector 10 includes an outflow opening 102 through which some of the ink flowing in from the in-tank flow path F1 flows out, and the inkjet head 100 includes the ink discharge flow path 721 which guides the ink flowing out from the outflow opening 102 of the ink ejector 10 outside the inkjet head 100.
- the ink which is not ejected from the nozzle 111 is guided outside and then returned. With this, the amount of ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 of the ink tank 60 can be increased. With this, the heat of the driving substrate 30 transmitted to the ink and the bubbles in the ink can flow efficiently with the ink and can be discharged outside.
- the inkjet head 100 includes the bypass flow path F2 which connects the in-tank flow path F1 and the ink discharge flow path 721 without connecting the ink ejector 10 in between, the filter 61 as the second filter which is provided in the bypass flow path F2 and through which ink flowing in the bypass flow path F2 passes, and the check valve 73 which is provided between the connecting position with the bypass flow path F2 in the ink discharge flow path 721 and the exit (outlet 72) of the ink discharge flow path 721, and which does not pass ink in the direction opposite to the direction heading to the outlet 72.
- the heat transmitted from the driving substrate 30 can be discharged outside from the outlet 72 with the ink, and the bubbles in the ink can be discharged outside from the outlet 72.
- the discharge flow path of the ink passing the bypass flow path F2 has a short flow path length compared to the discharge path of the ink passing the ink ejector 10. With this, the pressure loss can be made small. Therefore, according to the ink discharge path passing the bypass flow path F2, it is possible to more efficiently discharge heat and remove bubbles than the discharge path of the ink passing the ink ejector 10.
- the check valve 73 by providing the check valve 73, the reverse flow of the ink to the ink ejector 10 from the outlet 72 side can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems occurring in the nozzle 111 and the ink flow path in communication with the nozzle 111 by the bubbles and the foreign substances mixed by such reverse flow of the ink.
- the bypass flow path F2 is provided in the ink tank 60 and the first filter and the second filter are provided as one. With this, the number of units included in the inkjet head 100 can be reduced and the rise in the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, the inkjet head 100 becoming smaller can be achieved.
- the inkjet head 100 includes an attaching screw 54 as the attaching member to detachably fix the ink tank 60. According to such structure to detachably fix the ink tank 60, when clogging and deterioration over time occurs in the filter 61, the filter 61 can be easily and cheaply be exchanged by exchanging the ink tank 60.
- the cover member 52 covering at least a portion of the driving substrate 30 is provided between the ink tank 60 and the driving substrate 30, and the heat dissipating member 53 in contact with the cover member 52 and the ink tank 60 is provided between the cover member 52 and the ink tank 60. With this, the heat of the driving substrate 30 can be more efficiently transmitted to the ink tank 60.
- the amount of heat dissipation from the front surface of the driving substrate 30 during operation of the driving circuit is larger than the amount of heat dissipation from the back surface of the driving substrate 30, and the ink tank 60 is provided in a side of the front surface of the driving substrate 30. With this, the heat of the driving substrate 30 can be efficiently transmitted to the ink tank 60 and discharged.
- the inkjet recording device 1 includes the inkjet head 100 and the decrease of image quality due to the heat of the driving substrate 30 in the inkjet head 100 can be efficiently suppressed.
- the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 are provided in the -Y direction side (facing surface 60a side) with relation to the filter 61, and the downstream side ink chamber 63 and the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided in the +Y direction side with relation to the filter 61.
- the relation of the positions of the above ink chambers with relation to the filter 61 is opposite.
- downstream side ink chamber 63 and the downstream side auxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided in the -Y direction side (facing surface 60a side) with relation to the filter 61, and the upstream side ink chamber 62 and the upstream side auxiliary ink chamber 65 are provided in the +Y direction side with relation to the filter 61.
- the downstream side ink chamber 63 is provided in the side close to the facing surface 60a, that is, the side close to the driving substrate 30. Therefore, after the ink moves from the upstream side ink chamber 62, passes the filter 61, and moves to the downstream side ink chamber 63, the ink easily receives the heat of the driving substrate 30.
- the ink which absorbed heat in the region R can be immediately discharged to the pulling flow path 64. Therefore, the heat discharge efficiency in the region R is enhanced (that is, the range of the region R can be intensively cooled). Therefore, by positioning a circuit component (for example, driving element 31) with a large amount of heat generation in the range of the driving substrate 30 overlapping with the region R viewed from the Y direction, the heat emitted from the circuit component can be absorbed efficiently, and the heat can be discharged outside with the ink.
- a circuit component for example, driving element 31
- the shape and the way of setting the ink tank 60 is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and can be any shape or way of setting as long as the range satisfies the condition of "the facing surface 60a is along the driving substrate 30 and the heat of the driving substrate 30 transmits to the facing surface 60a".
- the facing surface 60a and the surface on the opposite side (front surface side) of the facing surface 60a are both flat.
- the shape is not limited to the above, and the shape of the surface other than the facing surface 60a of the ink tank 60 can be any shape within the range which can be fitted in the head unit 3.
- the driving substrate 30 and the ink tank 60 face each other with the cover member 52 and the heat dissipating member 53 in between.
- the relation is not limited to the above, and the driving substrate 30 and the ink tank 60 can directly face each other.
- the heat of the driving substrate 30 can pass the opening and may be dissipated directly to the ink tank 60.
- the manner in which the facing surface 60a is along the driving substrate 30 can be a tilted manner with the facing surface 60a tilted in a slight angle (about a few degrees to 10 plus a few degrees) with relation to the driving substrate 30.
- the ink tank 60 can be fixed so as not to be detachable.
- the driving substrate 30 is provided to be vertical with relation to the ink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10, but the direction is not limited to the above, and the driving substrate 30 can be provided along any direction intersecting with the ink ejecting surface 112.
- the driving substrate 30 can be provided parallel with the ink ejecting surface 112.
- the amount of heat dissipation from the back surface side of the driving substrate 30 can be larger than the amount of heat dissipation from the front surface side (for example, the driving element 31 can be provided on the back surface side of the driving substrate 30), and the ink tank 60 can be positioned in the side of the back surface of the driving substrate 30.
- the configuration of the in-tank flow path F1 in the ink tank 60 according to the present embodiment is one example, and the in-tank flow path F1 can be any other configuration which can supply the ink flowing in from the inlet 71 to the ink ejector 10.
- the bypass flow path F2 is provided in the ink tank 60, but the configuration is not limited to the above, and the bypass flow path F2 can be provided outside the ink tank 60.
- the filter (second filter) separate from the filter 61 of the ink tank 60 is provided in the bypass flow path F2.
- the ink supply flow path 711 and the ink discharge flow path 721 are provided in the ink tank 60, but the configuration is not limited to the above and at least one of the ink supply flow path 711 and the ink discharge flow path 721 can be provided outside the ink tank 60.
- the piezoelectric element 123 is deformed and the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber is changed to eject the ink.
- This is the inkjet head 100 including the head chip with the vent mode but the configuration is not limited to the above.
- the piezoelectric member included in a wall of the pressure chamber can repeat displacement in a shear mode to change the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber and eject ink.
- Such inkjet head including the head chip in a shear mode can be applied to the present invention.
- the conveyor 2 including the conveying belt 2c conveys the recording medium M but the structure is not limited to the above.
- the conveyor 2 can hold the recording medium M on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating conveying drum and convey the recording medium M, for example.
- the present embodiment and the modification include an inkjet recording device 1 in a single pass method, but the present invention can be applied to the inkjet recording device which records the image while scanning the inkjet head 100.
- the present invention can be applied to an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device.
Landscapes
- Ink Jet (AREA)
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Description
- The present invention relates to an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device.
- Conventionally, there is an inkjet recording device in which ink is ejected from an opening of a nozzle provided on an ink ejecting surface of an inkjet head, and the ink is landed on a desired position to form an image. The inkjet head of the inkjet recording device includes an ink ejector which ejects the ink from the opening of the nozzle in response to operation of the operation element such as the piezoelectric element in which pressure in an ink storage in communication with the nozzle is changed. The inkjet head usually includes a driving substrate provided with a driving circuit to drive an operation element. (For example, Patent Literature 1).
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Patent Literature 2 discloses that a drive circuit for driving a recording head having a plurality of nozzle arrays for ejecting inks in a plurality of colors is mounted on a circuit board. The drive circuit is positioned at one end in an arrangement direction of a plurality of ink tanks for containing the inks in the plurality of colors. One end of a heat conductive plate is in contact with the drive circuit to be thermally conductive thereto and is extended to the arrangement direction of the ink tanks to be in contact with the bottom wall to be fixed thereto. The heat conductive plate has openings and the contact area of the ink tank which is far from the drive circuit is greater than that of the ink tank which is near the drive circuit so that the heat conductivities of the plurality of ink tanks are made to be uniform. -
Patent Literature 3 discloses a liquid discharge head including a plurality of nozzles from which a liquid is discharged, a plurality of individual-liquid-chambers that communicate with the plurality of nozzles, a supply-side common-liquid-chamber to supply the liquid to the plurality of individual-liquid-chambers, a plurality of drainage channels that communicate with the plurality of nozzles, a drainage-side common-liquid-chamber to drain the liquid in the plurality of drainage channels, a supply-side filter disposed upstream from the plurality of nozzles in a liquid flow direction in which the liquid flows through the liquid discharge head; and a drainage-side filter disposed downstream from the plurality of nozzles in the liquid flow direction. - Patent Literature 4 discloses an inkjet head comprising a head chip including drive walls and channels juxtaposed alternately with a drive electrode being formed on the drive wall, and a nozzle plate wherein a connection electrode is formed on the rear surface of the head chip, a wiring board on which an electrode portion is formed is bonded to project from the head chip, and ink in the channel is ejected by causing shear deformation of the drive wall is further provided with a holding member disposed at a position covering the electrode portion and holding a portion of the wiring board projecting from the head chip, and an electrode portion protection member bonded between the holding member and the electrode portion using adhesive and having a thickness in the range of 0.01-0.5 mm at a part covering the electrode portion.
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- Patent Literature 1:
JP 2014-004767 - Patent Literature 2:
JP 2007 090627 A - Patent Literature 3:
US 2018/072066 A1 - Patent Literature 4:
EP 2 261034 A1 - However, when the temperature of the driving substrate increases due to operation heat of the driving circuit, the heat of the driving substrate is transmitted to the ink in the ink ejector causing the viscosity of the ink decrease, and with this, ink ejection cannot be performed suitably. Moreover, the ink ejector expands due to the heat of the driving substrate and with this, the position of the nozzle is changed. Therefore, image quality of the recorded image decreases.
- The purpose of the present invention is to provide an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device which can effectively suppress decrease of image quality due to heat of the driving substrate.
- In order to solve the above problems, there is provided an inkjet head as set out in
independent claim 1, and an inkjet recording device as set out inclaim 10. Advantageous developments are defined in the dependent claims. - According to the present invention, the following effect can be achieved, that is, the decrease of the image quality due to the heat of the driving substrate can be effectively suppressed.
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FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording device. -
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a head unit. -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an inkjet head. -
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section along a YZ plane of the inkjet head. -
FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross section diagram showing a configuration of an ink ejector. -
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross section along a XY plane of the inkjet head. -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an inkjet head showing an inner configuration of an ink tank. -
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank along a YZ plane in a position X1 shown inFIG. 7 . -
FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank along the YZ plane in a position X2 shown inFIG. 7 . -
FIG. 8C is a diagram showing a cross section of the ink tank along the YZ plane in a position X3 shown inFIG. 7 . -
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram describing a flow path of ink in an inkjet head. -
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an ink circulating mechanism. -
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main function in the inkjet recording device. -
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow direction of ink in a downstream side ink chamber according to a modification. - Embodiments of the inkjet head and the inkjet recording device according to the present invention is described with reference to the drawings.
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FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of aninkjet recording device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. - The
inkjet recording device 1 includes aconveyor 2 and ahead unit 3. - The
conveyor 2 includes a ring shaped conveyingbelt 2c which is supported from the inner side by two conveyingrollers FIG. 1 . In theconveyor 2, the conveyingroller 2a rotates in response to operation of a conveying motor (not shown) and the conveyingbelt 2c rotates in a state with the recording medium M placed on a conveying surface of the conveyingbelt 2c. With this, the recording medium M is conveyed in a moving direction (conveying direction, Y direction shown inFIG. 1 ) of the conveyingbelt 2c. - The recording medium M can be sheet paper cut in a certain dimension. The recording medium M is supplied on a conveying
belt 2c by a sheet feeding device (not shown) and after the ink is ejected from thehead unit 3 and the image is recorded, the sheet is discharged from the conveyingbelt 2c to a predetermined sheet discharger. A rolled sheet can be used as the recording medium M. Alternatively, other than paper such as a normal sheet or a coated sheet, various media which can be used as the recording medium M include media in which ink landed on a surface can be fixed, examples including a cloth or a sheet shaped resin. - Based on the image data, the
head unit 3 ejects ink at a suitable timing to a recording medium M conveyed by theconveyor 2 and records an image. In theinkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment, fourhead units 3 corresponding to each of the four colors of ink which are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are arranged to be aligned with a predetermined interval in between in the order of the color Y, M, C, K from an upstream side in a conveying direction of the recording medium M. The number ofhead units 3 can be 3 or less or 5 or more. -
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of ahead unit 3, and the diagram is a plane view viewing thehead unit 3 from a side which faces the conveying surface of the conveyingbelt 2c. Thehead unit 3 includes a plate shapedsupporter 3a and a plurality of inkjet heads 100 (here, 8), fixed to thesupporter 3a in a state fitted to a penetrating hole provided in thesupporter 3a. Theinkjet head 100 is fixed to thesupporter 3a in a state in which anink ejecting surface 112 provided in an opening of anozzle 111 is exposed in a -Z direction from a penetrating hole of thesupporter 3a. - In the
inkjet head 100, the plurality ofnozzles 111 are each arranged with an even interval in a direction intersecting with a conveying direction of the recording medium M (width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction in the present embodiment, that is, the X direction). According to the present embodiment, eachinkjet head 100 include 4 rows of nozzles 111 (nozzle row) arranged in one dimension with an even interval in the X direction. The 4 nozzle rows are positioned with the positions in the X direction shifted from each other so that the positions of thenozzles 111 in the X direction do not overlap. The number of nozzle rows included in theinkjet head 100 is not limited to 4, and can be 3 or less or 5 or more. - The 8 inkjet heads 100 in the
head unit 3 are positioned in a hound's tooth pattern continuing in a positioning range in the X direction of thenozzle 111. The positioning range of thenozzle 111 in the X direction included in thehead unit 3 covers the width in the X direction in the region in which the image can be recorded in the recording medium M conveyed by the conveyingbelt 2c. Thehead unit 3 is used with the position fixed when the image is recorded, and the ink is ejected from thenozzle 111 to each position with a predetermined interval (conveying direction interval) in between in the conveying direction in response to the conveying of the recording medium M. With this, the image is recoded in a single pass method. -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of theinkjet head 100. - The
inkjet head 100 includes anexterior member 51 in which the ink ejector 10 (FIG. 4 ) including theink ejecting surface 112 is stored inside, acover member 52 which fits with theexterior member 51 in an upper edge of theexterior member 51, anink tank 60 which is attached to a position which covers a portion of the outer side of thecover member 52, an inlet 71 (ink supply opening) in which ink is supplied from outside and an outlet 72 (ink discharge opening) from which ink is discharged outside. - The
exterior member 51 includes an orifice 511 (FIG. 7 ) in which ink supplied to an ink inflow opening 101 (FIG. 9 ) of theink ejector 10 flows and an orifice 512 (FIG. 7 ) from which ink flown out from an outflow opening 102 (FIG. 9 ) of theink ejector 10 is discharged. A plurality of attachingholes 513 are provided in theexterior member 51 to attach theinkjet head 100 to asupporter 3a of thehead unit 3. - The material for the
exterior member 51 and thecover member 52 is not limited and various resins such as a PPS resin with high mechanical strength and high medical strength against ink, or metal, alloys and the like can be used. - The
inlet 71 and theoutlet 72 are provided on both ends of thecover member 52 in the longitudinal direction. That is, theinlet 71 is provided in the +X direction side of thecover member 52 and theoutlet 72 is provided in the -X direction side of thecover member 52. - The
ink tank 60 is connected to theinlet 71 at one end side and connected to theoutlet 72 at the other end side. Theink tank 60 stores the ink flowing in from theinlet 71 and supplies the ink to theink ejector 10 in theexterior member 51. Theink tank 60 is provided so that a plate shaped portion connecting the above one end side and the other end side (portion where the ink is mainly stored) covers the upper half of a surface on a front side of the cover member 52 (surface opposed in +Y direction side). - The
ink tank 60 includes alid 602 included in the front side of the plate shaped portion (+Y direction side), a base 601 facing thelid 602, and a fixedportion 603 which extends downward from both ends in the X direction of thebase 601 and which is fixed to theexterior member 51. Among the above, the fixedportion 603 is fixed detachably to theexterior member 51 with a plurality of attaching screws 54 (attaching members). That is, theink tank 60 can be detached from theinkjet head 100 and changed. -
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section along a YZ plane of theinkjet head 100 shown inFIG. 3 . - As shown in
FIG. 4 , theink ejector 10 in which the bottom surface is theink ejecting surface 112, awiring member 40 connected to theink ejector 10, and a drivingsubstrate 30 to which thewiring member 40 is connected are stored in the inner space formed by theexterior member 51 and thecover member 52. - On the front side surface of the
cover member 52, a step is provided so that the upper half of the surface is shifted to the -Y direction side than the lower half, and theink tank 60 is attached to be fit in this step. In detail, theink tank 60 is provided to be stored within the range to the -Y direction side than the plane of the lower half among the plane on the front side of thecover member 52. According to such configuration, theink tank 60 can be provided without increasing the width of theinkjet head 100 in the Y direction. - The driving
substrate 30 is provided on the opposite side of theink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10 (that is, +Z direction side) along the direction intersecting with theink ejecting surface 112 of the ink ejector 10 (according to the present embodiment, the orthogonal direction orthogonal to theink ejecting surface 112, that is, +Z direction). In detail, the relative position with relation to thecover member 52 is fixed with the fixing member (not shown) so that the drivingsubstrate 30 is positioned in the above direction and position. The drivingsubstrate 30 is positioned so as to be covered by thecover member 52 with the exception of a portion of the upper end. - The driving
substrate 30 is a rigid substrate in which metal circuit wires are formed on the surface of a base material with insulation properties such as a glass epoxy substrate. The drivingsubstrate 30 includes flexibility in a range so that it is possible to be stably fixed with relation to thecover member 52. - The
ink ejector 10 includes a nozzle substrate 11 (nozzle plate) in which thenozzles 111 are provided and which forms theink ejecting surface 112, anactuator substrate 12 which is layered to the +Z direction side of thenozzle substrate 11 and in which an actuator (operation element) which performs the operation to eject ink from the opening of thenozzle 111 is provided, and a common ink chamber 13 (common liquid chamber) which temporarily stores ink supplied to theactuator substrate 12. The ink from theink tank 60 flows in through theorifice 511 to thecommon ink chamber 13. -
FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross section diagram showing a configuration of theink ejector 10.FIG. 5 shows a cross section including fournozzles 111 included in each of the four nozzle rows as shown inFIG. 2 . - A head chip HC including the
nozzle substrate 11 and theactuator substrate 12 is a configuration to eject ink from thenozzle 111, and a plurality of plate shaped substrates are layered and formed (here, 4 substrates). The substrate at the bottom of the head chip HC is thenozzle substrate 11. A plurality ofnozzles 111 are provided in thenozzle substrate 11, and ink can be ejected substantially orthogonal to the exposed surface (ink ejecting surface 112) of thenozzle substrate 11 from the opening of thenozzle 111. On the opposite side of theink ejecting surface 112 of thenozzle substrate 11, apressure chamber substrate 12a (chamber plate), a spacer substrate 12b and awiring forming substrate 12c are formed attached and layered in order upward. Thepressure chamber substrate 12a, the spacer substrate 12b and thewiring forming substrate 12c are included in theactuator substrate 12. - The head chip HC is provided with an ink flow path in communication with the
nozzle 111, and the ink flow path is open at the surface on the side where thewiring forming substrate 12c is exposed (upper side). On the exposed surface of thewiring forming substrate 12c, acommon ink chamber 13 is provided so as to cover all of the openings. In detail, thecommon ink chamber 13 includes a firstcommon ink chamber 131 and a secondcommon ink chamber 132 provided in a lower layer (-Z direction side) of the firstcommon ink chamber 131 and from the above, the secondcommon ink chamber 132 is in communication commonly with all of the openings of the ink flow path. The ink in the secondcommon ink chamber 132 is supplied to eachnozzle 111 from the opening of thewiring forming substrate 12c. - A
pressure chamber 121 is provided in the middle of the ink flow path. Thepressure chamber 121 is provided penetrating thepressure chamber substrate 12a in the vertical direction, and the upper surface of thepressure chamber 121 is formed by a vibratingplate 122 provided between thepressure chamber substrate 12a and the spacer substrate 12b. A change in pressure is applied to the ink in thepressure chamber 121 due to the vibrating plate 122 (pressure chamber 121) deforming by the displacing (deforming) of a piezoelectric element 123 (actuator, operation element) in ahousing unit 124 provided adjacent to thepressure chamber 121 with the vibratingplate 122 in between. By applying the suitable change in pressure to the ink in thepressure chamber 121, the ink in the ink flow path is ejected from thenozzle 111 in communication with thepressure chamber 121 as liquid droplets. - The holding
substrate 133 is attached to the upper surface of the head chip HC, and the holdingsubstrate 133 holds thecommon ink chamber 13. An opening with almost the same size and the same shape as the opening on the lower surface of the secondcommon ink chamber 132 is provided in the holdingsubstrate 133, and the ink in the secondcommon ink chamber 132 is supplied to the upper surface of the head chip HC through the opening on the lower surface of the secondcommon ink chamber 132 and the opening of the holdingsubstrate 133. - For example, the
wiring member 40 is a FPC (flexible printed circuits) and thewiring member 40 is connected to awiring layer 127 on the surface of thewiring forming substrate 12c. Thepiezoelectric element 123 is displaced by the driving signal transmitted to thewiring 126 andconnection 125 in thehousing unit 124 through thewiring layer 127. Onewiring member 40 is pulled out from each of the front side (+Y direction side) and back side (-Y direction side) of the head chip HC, penetrating the holdingsubstrate 133. As shown inFIG. 4 , the pair ofwiring members 40 is connected to the circuit wiring of the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30 and the circuit wiring of the back surface through thefirst connector 32 provided in each of the surface in the +Y direction side of the driving substrate 30 (hereinafter also described as the front surface) and the surface in the -Y direction side (hereinafter also described as the back surface). - As shown in
FIG. 4 , in addition to thefirst connector 32, a drivingelement 31 and asecond connector 33 are provided on the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30. - The driving
element 31 receives the control signal supplied from the controller 20 (FIG. 11 ) of theinkjet recording device 1 and the driving control circuit 81 (FIG. 11 ) of thehead unit 3 through thesecond connector 33, and in response to an ink ejecting operation from thenozzles 111 or a non-ejecting operation, the suitable driving signals of thepiezoelectric element 123 are output to the wiring on the drivingsubstrate 30. The drivingelement 31 includes an IC (Integrated Circuit). In addition to the drivingelement 31, various electronic components which are not shown connected directly or indirectly to the drivingelement 31 are provided in the drivingsubstrate 30 by the circuit wiring. Such electronic components and drivingelement 31 are included in the "driving circuit" for driving thepiezoelectric element 123 as the operation element. - Most of the driving
elements 31 and electronic components included in the driving circuit are provided on the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30. Some of the driving signals from the driving circuit are supplied to thefirst connector 32 on the front surface side through the circuit wiring provided on the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30. Some of the circuit wiring on the front surface side are conducted to the circuit wiring on the back surface side through the through hole, etc., and some of the driving signals from the driving circuit are supplied to thefirst connector 32 on the back surface side through the circuit wiring pulled to the back surface side. - Most of the driving
elements 31 and the electronic components are provided on the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30, and with this, an amount of heat dissipation from the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30 during operation of the driving circuit becomes larger than the amount of heat dissipation from the back surface. -
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross-section of theinkjet head 100 along an XY flat surface at a position passing the drivingelement 31. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , thecover member 52 includes aflat surface portion 521 which is provided facing the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30 and which is provided along the front surface, aflat surface portion 522 which is provided facing the back surface of the drivingsubstrate 30 and which is provided along the back surface, and aside surface portion 523 which connects the aboveflat surface portions substrate 30. Thecover member 52 covers a large portion of the drivingsubstrate 30 with the exception of the portion near thesecond connector 33. - As shown in
FIG. 4 andFIG. 6 , theink tank 60 is provided in the portion of thecover member 52 along theflat surface portion 521 which covers the front surface side of the drivingsubstrate 30. That is, a facingsurface 60a (surface facing -Y direction) (predetermined surface) which is on the outer surface of theink tank 60 and which faces thecover member 52 is provided along the drivingsubstrate 30. - A sheet shaped
heat dissipating member 53 in contact with theink tank 60 and thecover member 52 is provided between the facingsurface 60a of theink tank 60 and theflat surface portion 521 of thecover member 52. As theheat dissipating member 53, any material with a heat conductivity higher than air can be used. Preferably, in order to transmit heat efficiently from thecover member 52 to theink tank 60, a material including high heat conductivity such as silicone or acrylic resin is used. - The
ink tank 60 is provided so that the heat dissipated from the drivingsubstrate 30 is transmitted to the facingsurface 60a through thecover member 52 and theheat dissipating member 53. That is, theink tank 60 also functions as a heat sink which receives the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 and discharges the heat outside. Some of the heat transmitted from the drivingsubstrate 30 to theink tank 60 is discharged from the outer surface of theink tank 60 to the external space, and is discharged to thesupporter 3a of thehead unit 3 through theexternal member 51 from theink tank 60. Some of the heat transmitted to theink tank 60 is transmitted to the ink in theink tank 60 and the heat which passes through the later described ink flow path is discharged with the ink from theoutlet 72. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , a cylinder shaped penetrating hole is provided at the edge on the +X direction side of thebase 601 of theink tank 60 and is provided extending in the +Z direction. Such penetrating hole is included in an inksupply flow path 711. An edge at one side of the inksupply flow path 711 is connected to theinlet 71 and an edge at the other side is connected to a later-described opening A1 (FIG. 7 ). - A cylinder shaped penetrating hole is provided at the edge on the -X direction side of the
base 601 of theink tank 60 and is provided extending in the +Z direction. Such penetrating hole is included in an inkdischarge flow path 721. An edge at one side of the inkdischarge flow path 721 is connected to theorifice 512 of theexternal member 51, and an edge at the other side is connected to theoutlet 72. - With reference to
FIG. 4 ,FIG. 6 ,FIG. 7 , andFIG. 8A toFIG. 8C , the internal structure of theink tank 60 and the flow path of the ink in the internal structure are described. -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of aninkjet head 100 showing an internal structure of theink tank 60.FIG. 7 is drawn so that the members included in the outer surface of theink tank 60 are transparent. -
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a cross section of theink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X1 shown inFIG. 7 . -
FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a cross section of theink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X2 shown inFIG. 7 . -
FIG. 8C is a diagram showing a cross section of theink tank 60 along the YZ plane at a position X3 shown inFIG. 7 . - In
FIG. 7 ,FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C , the flowing direction of the ink is shown with an arrow. - The following are provided inside the
ink tank 60, a plate shaped filter 61 (first filter, second filter) provided along the facingsurface 60a, an upstreamside ink chamber 62 and a downstreamside ink chamber 63 divided by afilter 61, a pullingflow path 64 in communication with the downstreamside ink chamber 63, and upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 and downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 divided by a filter 61 (second filter), a communicatingflow path 67 in communication with the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66, an ink supply flow path 711 (FIG. 6 ) in communication with theinlet 71, and an inkdischarge flow path 721 in communication with theoutlet 72. - As shown in
FIG. 4 ,FIG. 6 ,FIG, 7 , andFIG. 8 , the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 are ink chambers in a flat substantial rectangular parallelepiped shape along the facingsurface 60a. The ink is able to move from the upstreamside ink chamber 62 to the downstreamside ink chamber 63 through thefilter 61 provided in between. The upstreamside ink chamber 62 is provided adjacent to thefilter 61 in the -Y direction side (facingsurface 60a side) and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 is provided adjacent to thefilter 61 in the +Y direction side. - The
filter 61 is a material for capturing foreign substances mixed in the ink and filtering the ink. The material of thefilter 61 is not limited as long as a mesh structure with a size which can capture foreign substances is included. Examples such as a material weaved with stainless steel and a non-woven material including resin fiber such as polypropylene can be used. - The portion in the
filter 61 provided between the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 is to be the "first filter". - As shown in
FIG. 7 , an opening A1 in communication with theink supply path 711 is provided at a lower end of the side surface in the +X direction side in the upstreamside ink chamber 62. In the upstreamside ink chamber 62, ink flows in from theinlet 71 through the inksupply flow path 711 and the opening A1. - As shown in
FIG. 7 andFIG. 8B , an opening A2 in communication with the pullingflow path 64 is provided at an edge on the -X direction side on the upper surface (surface on +Z direction side) of the downstreamside ink chamber 63. - In the upstream
side ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63, as shown by the arrows a1 described inFIG. 7 ,FIG. 8A , andFIG. 8B , the ink flows from the upstreamside ink chamber 62, passes thefilter 61 and moves to the downstreamside ink chamber 63 and the ink flows from the opening A1 toward the opening A2 in the +X direction and the +Z direction. - As shown in
FIG. 7 ,FIG. 8A andFIG. 8B , the pullingflow path 64 includes a first portion extending in the +X direction above the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63, and a second portion extending in a downward direction (-Z direction) at a side on the +X direction side of the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 from an edge in the +X direction side of the first portion. The edge of the second portion is connected to theorifice 511 provided in theexterior member 51. Theorifice 511 is in communication with thecommon ink chamber 13 of theink ejector 10. As shown above, the pullingflow path 64 pulls the ink flowing from the downstreamside ink chamber 63 in the +X direction (arrow a2 shown inFIG. 7 ,FIG. 8A , andFIG. 8B ) and the -Z direction, and guides the ink to theorifice 511. - An "in-tank flow path F1" (
FIG. 9 ) includes the above-described upstreamside ink chamber 62, the downstreamside ink chamber 63, and the pullingflow path 64. The ink flow direction in the in-tank flow path F1 from the upstreamside ink chamber 62, through the downstreamside ink chamber 63 and the pullingflow path 64, and to theorifice 511 corresponds to a "predetermined supplying direction". - As shown in
FIG. 7 , the upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided on the -X direction side of theupstream ink chamber 62 and thedownstream ink chamber 63. The upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 are ink chambers in a flat substantial rectangular parallelepiped shape along the facingface 60a, include the same thickness (length in Y direction) and the same height (length in Z direction) as the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63, and the width (length in X direction) is smaller than the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63. The upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 is partitioned from the upstreamside ink chamber 62 by afirst partitioning member 681 provided as one with abase 601. The downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 is partitioned from thedownstream ink chamber 63 by asecond partitioning member 682 provided as one with alid 602. - As shown in
FIG. 7 andFIG. 8C , an opening A3 is provided in the upper edge of thefirst partitioning member 681. Therefore, among the ink flowing in the upstreamside ink chamber 62, some of the ink flows in the upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 through the opening A3 as shown by the arrow a3 inFIG. 7 andFIG. 8C before moving to the downstreamside ink chamber 63 side. - The ink which flows in the upstream side
auxiliary ink chamber 65 passes thefilter 61 and moves to the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66. - In the
filter 61, the portion provided between the upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 and the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 is to be a "second filter". - According to the present embodiment, the "first filter" and the "second filter" provided between the upstream
side ink chamber 62 and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 compose asingle filter 61. That is, the "first filter" and the "second filter" are provided as one. - An opening A4 in communication with a communicating
flow path 67 is provided in an edge of the -X direction side on the upper surface (surface on the +Z direction side) of the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66. - The communicating
flow path 67 is provided in a shape which bends in the -X direction side after extending in the +Z direction from the opening A4, and heads toward the -Z direction while meandering. The edge on the opposite side of the opening A4 of the communicatingflow path 67 is connected to the inkdischarge flow path 721. - Therefore, the ink flowing in the upstream side
auxiliary ink chamber 65 passes thefilter 61, moves to the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66, passes the communicatingflow path 67, and flows in to the inkdischarge flow path 721. - The upstream side
auxiliary ink chamber 65, the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66, and the communicatingflow path 67 are included in a "bypass flow path F2" (FIG. 9 ) which connects the in-tank flow path F1 and the inkdischarge flow path 721 without passing through theink ejector 10. - A
check valve 73 is provided between a connecting position with the bypass flow path F2 in the inkdischarge flow path 721 and theoutlet 72.Such check valve 73 is a section which prevents reverse flow. The ink flows in the discharge direction toward theoutlet 72 and does not flow in the direction opposite to the discharge direction. - Next, the ink flow path in the
entire inkjet head 100 including theink tank 60 is described. -
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram describing the flow path of the ink in theinkjet head 100. For the purpose of ease of description,FIG. 9 shows thefilter 61 in theink tank 60, the upstreamside ink chamber 62, and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 as a shape long in the horizontal direction. - As shown in
FIG. 9 , the ink flowing into theinlet 71 from outside passes the inksupply flow path 711, and flows into the upstreamside ink chamber 62 in theink tank 60 through the opening A1. Most of the ink flowing in the upstreamside ink chamber 62 passes the above-described in-tank flow path F1 and flows into theinflow opening 101 of theink ejector 10. - Some of the ink flowing in the
inflow opening 101 flows in the firstcommon ink chamber 131 in thecommon ink chamber 13, and the rest of the ink flows in the secondcommon ink chamber 132. A partitioning wall between the firstcommon ink chamber 131 and the secondcommon ink chamber 132 includes a member through which ink cannot pass (for example, resin). - The ink flowing in the first
common ink chamber 131 is guided as is to theoutflow opening 102 of theink ejector 10. - Some of the ink flowing in the second
common ink chamber 132 flows into the ink flow path of theactuator substrate 12 and is ejected outside as droplets from thenozzle 111 of thenozzle substrate 11. The ink which is not ejected from thenozzle 111 is guided to theoutflow opening 102. - As described above, the ink which is not ejected from the
nozzle 111 flows into the firstcommon ink chamber 131 and flows out from theoutflow opening 102. With this, the ink can be efficiently recirculated in theinkjet head 100. Therefore, bubbles in the ink can be discharged outside, and the heat transmitted to the ink from the drivingsubstrate 30 can be discharged outside with the ink. - The volume ratio between the first
common ink chamber 131 and the secondcommon ink chamber 132 is set so that the supply amount of ink from the secondcommon ink chamber 132 to thenozzle 111 is secured, and the ink amount recirculated by the firstcommon ink chamber 131 is a predetermined amount. - The ink flowing out from the outflow opening of the
ink ejector 10 passes the inkdischarge flow path 721 and is discharged outside from the outlet 72 (exit of ink discharge flow path 721). - Further, as described above, some of the ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 flows into the bypass flow path F2 from the opening A3, and the ink is guided to the ink
discharge flow path 721 without passing theink ejector 10. - Since the
check valve 73 is provided between the connecting position in the inkdischarge flow path 721 with the bypass flow path F2 and theoutlet 72, the ink flowing reverse from theoutlet 72 side to theink ejector 10 can be prevented. - The flow of the ink in the ink flowing path as shown in
FIG. 9 can be generated by anink circulating mechanism 9 included in theinkjet recording device 1. -
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of theink circulating mechanism 9. - The
ink circulating mechanism 9 includes a supplyingsub-tank 91, arecirculating sub-tank 92, and amain tank 93. - The supplying
sub-tank 91 stores the ink supplied to theink tank 60 of theinkjet head 100. The supplyingsub-tank 91 is connected to theinlet 71 by theink flow path 94. - The
recirculating sub-tank 92 is connected to theoutlet 72 by theink flow path 95, and the ink discharged from theoutlet 72 is stored. - The supplying
sub-tank 91 and therecirculating sub-tank 92 are connected to theink flow path 96. Then, the ink can be returned from therecirculating sub-tank 92 to the supplyingsub-tank 91 using thepump 98 provided in theink flow path 96. - The
main tank 93 stores the ink supplied to the supplyingsub-tank 91. Themain tank 93 is connected to the supplyingsub-tank 91 by theink flow path 97. The ink is supplied from themain tank 93 to the supplyingsub-tank 91 by using thepump 99 provided in theink flow path 97. - The supplying
sub-tank 91 is provided so that the liquid surface becomes a position higher than the ink ejecting surface 112 (hereinafter referred to as "position standard surface") of theink ejector 10. Therecirculating sub-tank 92 is provided so that the liquid surface becomes a position lower than the position standard surface. Therefore, pressure P1 by a water head difference between the position reference surface and the supplyingsub-tank 91, and pressure P2 by a water head difference between the position reference surface and therecirculating sub-tank 92 are generated. As a result, the pressure of the ink in theinlet 71 is higher than the pressure of the ink in theoutlet 72. According to such pressure difference, the flow of ink from theinlet 71, passing through theink tank 60 and theink ejector 10 and heading to theoutlet 72 occurs. With this, the ink supply to theink ejector 10 and the discharge of ink (recirculating) from theink ejector 10 is performed. The ink amount in the sub-tanks and the position of the sub-tanks in the vertical direction are changed. With this, the pressure P1 and the pressure P2 can be adjusted, and with this, a flow rate of the ink can be adjusted. -
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the main functions in theinkjet recording device 1. Theinkjet recording device 1 includes, the above-describedhead unit 3, acontroller 20, a conveyingdriver 82, an input/output interface 83, and abus 84. Among the above, thehead unit 3 includes a drivingcontrol circuit 81, and aninkjet head 100 provided with a drivingelement 31 and apiezoelectric element 123. Thecontroller 20 includes a CPU 21 (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 22 (Random Access Memory), a ROM 23 (Read Only Memory), and astorage 24. - The
CPU 21 reads programs for various control and setting data stored in theROM 23 and stores the above in theRAM 22. TheCPU 21 executes the above program and performs various calculating processes. TheCPU 21 centrally controls the entire operation of theinkjet recording device 1. - The
RAM 22 provides a memory space for work in theCPU 21 and stores temporary data. TheRAM 22 may include a nonvolatile memory. - The
ROM 23 stores programs for various control and setting data executed by theCPU 21. Instead of theROM 23, a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (electrically erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory can be used. - The
storage 24 stores a print job input from anexternal apparatus 200 through the input/output interface 83 and the image data regarding the print job. As thestorage 24, for example, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is used or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) can be additionally used. - Based on a control signal from the
controller 20, the drivingcontrol circuit 81 supplies various control signals and image data at a suitable timing to the drivingelement 31. - Based on a control signal supplied from the
CPU 21, the conveyingdriver 82 supplies a driving signal to the motor driving the conveyingrollers conveyor 2 and rotates the conveyingrollers belt 2c is rotated. - The input/
output interface 83 mediates transmitting and receiving of data between theexternal apparatus 200 and thecontroller 20. The input/output interface 83 includes either various serial interfaces, various parallel interfaces, or a combination of the above. - The
bus 84 is a path to transmit and receive a signal between thecontroller 20 and other structure. - The
external apparatus 200 is a personal computer, for example, and supplies print jobs, image data, and the like to thecontroller 20 through the input/output interface 83. - As described above, the
inkjet head 100 according to the present embodiment includes, theink ejector 10 in which the opening of thenozzle 111 which ejects ink is provided in theink ejecting surface 112, and which includes apiezoelectric element 123 as the operation element which performs the operation to eject ink from the opening of thenozzle 111, the drivingsubstrate 30 in which the driving circuit to drive thepiezoelectric element 123 is provided, and anink tank 60 in which the ink supplied to theink ejector 10 is stored. Theink tank 60 is provided so that the facingsurface 60a of theink tank 60 is provided along the drivingsubstrate 30 and the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 is transmitted to the facingsurface 60a. - According to the above configuration, the
ink tank 60 is able to function as a heat sink which receives heat from the drivingsubstrate 30 and discharges the heat to the outside. That is, some of the heat transmitted from the drivingsubstrate 30 to theink tank 60 is discharged from the outer surface of theink tank 60 to the external space, and the heat can be discharged outside through theexterior member 51 where theink tank 60 is attached. Some of the heat transmitted to theink tank 60 is transmitted to the ink in theink tank 60. Therefore, by guiding the ink outside theinkjet head 100 by a predetermined path, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 can be discharged outside with the ink. - With this, it is possible to suppress problems such as the ink not being able to be suitably ejected from the
nozzle 11 due to the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 transmitting to the ink in theink ejector 10 and the viscosity of the ink decreasing or theink ejector 10 expanding by the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 causing the position of thenozzle 111 to change. As a result, the decrease of the image quality of the recorded image due to the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 can be effectively suppressed. - The driving
substrate 30 is provided on the opposite side of theink ejecting surface 112 of theink ejector 10 along the direction intersecting with theink ejecting surface 112. According to such configuration, the drivingsubstrate 30 can be positioned using the space on the side opposite of theink ejecting surface 112 of theink ejector 10. Therefore, it is possible to make the size of theinkjet head 100 in the direction parallel to theink ejecting surface 112 small. Moreover, is possible to provide the drivingsubstrate 30 in theinkjet head 100. By positioning theink tank 60 so that the facingsurface 60a of theink tank 60 is along the drivingsubstrate 30 positioned as described above, the size of theinkjet head 100 in the direction parallel to theink ejecting surface 112 can be made small, and theink tank 60 can be provided in theinkjet head 100. - The
ink tank 60 is provided with the in-tank flow path F1 in which the ink supplied to theink ejector 10 flows in a predetermined supply direction, and thefilter 61 as thefirst filter 1 which is provided along the facingsurface 60a in the in-tank flow path F1 and through which the ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 passes. As described above, by providing thefilter 61 in theink tank 60 along the facingsurface 60a, the increase in the size of theinkjet head 100 can be suppressed to a minimum and thefilter 61 with a large area can be provided. With this, the pressure loss of ink when the ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 passes thefilter 61 can be made small. Therefore, the back pressure to flow the ink can be made small in the range that the necessary flow rate of ink can be secured or the flow rate of ink can be increased when the back pressure is the same. With this, the impurities mixed in the ink can be captured efficiently with thefilter 61. Since the ink can flow efficiently, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 and the bubbles in the ink can be easily discharged outside. - The in-tank flow path F1 includes the upstream
side ink chamber 62 adjacent to thefilter 61 in the upstream side of the supply direction and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 adjacent to thefilter 61 in the downstream side of the supply direction. The upstreamside ink chamber 62 is provided on the facingsurface 60a side of thefilter 61. - According to the above configuration, the upstream
side ink chamber 62 is provided on the side closer to the drivingsubstrate 30. The ink flowing in the upstreamside ink chamber 62 stays in the upstreamside ink chamber 62 until the ink passes thefilter 61 and moves to the downstreamside ink chamber 62. Therefore, the flow rate of the ink in each portion of the upstreamside ink chamber 62 tends to become low entirely. Therefore, the heat from the drivingsubstrate 30 can be transmitted to the ink almost evenly and efficiently in each position of the upstreamside ink chamber 62. With this, the heat from the drivingsubstrate 30 can be discharged efficiently through the ink in theink tank 60. - The
ink ejector 10 includes anoutflow opening 102 through which some of the ink flowing in from the in-tank flow path F1 flows out, and theinkjet head 100 includes the inkdischarge flow path 721 which guides the ink flowing out from theoutflow opening 102 of theink ejector 10 outside theinkjet head 100. As described above, among the ink supplied from theink tank 60 to theink ejector 10, the ink which is not ejected from thenozzle 111 is guided outside and then returned. With this, the amount of ink flowing in the in-tank flow path F1 of theink tank 60 can be increased. With this, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 transmitted to the ink and the bubbles in the ink can flow efficiently with the ink and can be discharged outside. - The
inkjet head 100 includes the bypass flow path F2 which connects the in-tank flow path F1 and the inkdischarge flow path 721 without connecting theink ejector 10 in between, thefilter 61 as the second filter which is provided in the bypass flow path F2 and through which ink flowing in the bypass flow path F2 passes, and thecheck valve 73 which is provided between the connecting position with the bypass flow path F2 in the inkdischarge flow path 721 and the exit (outlet 72) of the inkdischarge flow path 721, and which does not pass ink in the direction opposite to the direction heading to theoutlet 72. - According to such bypass flow path F2, the heat transmitted from the driving
substrate 30 can be discharged outside from theoutlet 72 with the ink, and the bubbles in the ink can be discharged outside from theoutlet 72. The discharge flow path of the ink passing the bypass flow path F2 has a short flow path length compared to the discharge path of the ink passing theink ejector 10. With this, the pressure loss can be made small. Therefore, according to the ink discharge path passing the bypass flow path F2, it is possible to more efficiently discharge heat and remove bubbles than the discharge path of the ink passing theink ejector 10. - Further, by providing the
check valve 73, the reverse flow of the ink to theink ejector 10 from theoutlet 72 side can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems occurring in thenozzle 111 and the ink flow path in communication with thenozzle 111 by the bubbles and the foreign substances mixed by such reverse flow of the ink. - The bypass flow path F2 is provided in the
ink tank 60 and the first filter and the second filter are provided as one. With this, the number of units included in theinkjet head 100 can be reduced and the rise in the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, theinkjet head 100 becoming smaller can be achieved. - The
inkjet head 100 includes an attachingscrew 54 as the attaching member to detachably fix theink tank 60. According to such structure to detachably fix theink tank 60, when clogging and deterioration over time occurs in thefilter 61, thefilter 61 can be easily and cheaply be exchanged by exchanging theink tank 60. - The
cover member 52 covering at least a portion of the drivingsubstrate 30 is provided between theink tank 60 and the drivingsubstrate 30, and theheat dissipating member 53 in contact with thecover member 52 and theink tank 60 is provided between thecover member 52 and theink tank 60. With this, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 can be more efficiently transmitted to theink tank 60. - The amount of heat dissipation from the front surface of the driving
substrate 30 during operation of the driving circuit is larger than the amount of heat dissipation from the back surface of the drivingsubstrate 30, and theink tank 60 is provided in a side of the front surface of the drivingsubstrate 30. With this, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 can be efficiently transmitted to theink tank 60 and discharged. - The
inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment includes theinkjet head 100 and the decrease of image quality due to the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 in theinkjet head 100 can be efficiently suppressed. - Next, the modification of the above embodiment is described.
- According to the above embodiment, in the
ink tank 60, the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 are provided in the -Y direction side (facingsurface 60a side) with relation to thefilter 61, and the downstreamside ink chamber 63 and the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided in the +Y direction side with relation to thefilter 61. According to the modification, the relation of the positions of the above ink chambers with relation to thefilter 61 is opposite. That is, according to the modification, the downstreamside ink chamber 63 and the downstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 66 are provided in the -Y direction side (facingsurface 60a side) with relation to thefilter 61, and the upstreamside ink chamber 62 and the upstream sideauxiliary ink chamber 65 are provided in the +Y direction side with relation to thefilter 61. - According to the above configuration, the downstream
side ink chamber 63 is provided in the side close to the facingsurface 60a, that is, the side close to the drivingsubstrate 30. Therefore, after the ink moves from the upstreamside ink chamber 62, passes thefilter 61, and moves to the downstreamside ink chamber 63, the ink easily receives the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30. - As shown in
FIG. 12 , in the downstreamside ink chamber 63, since the ink flows towards the opening A2 provided in the upper right of the drawing, the flow rate of the ink in the region R near the opening A2 is faster than the flow rate of the ink in the other regions. - Therefore, according to the configuration of the modification with the downstream
side ink chamber 63 provided on the facingsurface 60a side of thefilter 61, the ink which absorbed heat in the region R can be immediately discharged to the pullingflow path 64. Therefore, the heat discharge efficiency in the region R is enhanced (that is, the range of the region R can be intensively cooled). Therefore, by positioning a circuit component (for example, driving element 31) with a large amount of heat generation in the range of the drivingsubstrate 30 overlapping with the region R viewed from the Y direction, the heat emitted from the circuit component can be absorbed efficiently, and the heat can be discharged outside with the ink. - The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible.
- For example, the shape and the way of setting the
ink tank 60 is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and can be any shape or way of setting as long as the range satisfies the condition of "the facingsurface 60a is along the drivingsubstrate 30 and the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 transmits to the facingsurface 60a". - One example may be, according to the present embodiment, as the
ink tank 60, the facingsurface 60a and the surface on the opposite side (front surface side) of the facingsurface 60a are both flat. The shape is not limited to the above, and the shape of the surface other than the facingsurface 60a of theink tank 60 can be any shape within the range which can be fitted in thehead unit 3. - According to the present embodiment, the driving
substrate 30 and theink tank 60 face each other with thecover member 52 and theheat dissipating member 53 in between. The relation is not limited to the above, and the drivingsubstrate 30 and theink tank 60 can directly face each other. Specifically, by providing an opening in the portion of thecover member 52 covered by theink tank 60, the heat of the drivingsubstrate 30 can pass the opening and may be dissipated directly to theink tank 60. - In addition to the facing
surface 60a and the drivingsubstrate 30 being parallel, the manner in which the facingsurface 60a is along the drivingsubstrate 30 can be a tilted manner with the facingsurface 60a tilted in a slight angle (about a few degrees to 10 plus a few degrees) with relation to the drivingsubstrate 30. - Instead of the configuration providing the
ink tank 60 detachably, theink tank 60 can be fixed so as not to be detachable. - According to the above embodiment, the driving
substrate 30 is provided to be vertical with relation to theink ejecting surface 112 of theink ejector 10, but the direction is not limited to the above, and the drivingsubstrate 30 can be provided along any direction intersecting with theink ejecting surface 112. When the space for positioning the drivingsubstrate 30 and theink tank 60 can be secured, the drivingsubstrate 30 can be provided parallel with theink ejecting surface 112. - The amount of heat dissipation from the back surface side of the driving
substrate 30 can be larger than the amount of heat dissipation from the front surface side (for example, the drivingelement 31 can be provided on the back surface side of the driving substrate 30), and theink tank 60 can be positioned in the side of the back surface of the drivingsubstrate 30. - The configuration of the in-tank flow path F1 in the
ink tank 60 according to the present embodiment is one example, and the in-tank flow path F1 can be any other configuration which can supply the ink flowing in from theinlet 71 to theink ejector 10. - According to the present embodiment, the bypass flow path F2 is provided in the
ink tank 60, but the configuration is not limited to the above, and the bypass flow path F2 can be provided outside theink tank 60. In this case, preferably, the filter (second filter) separate from thefilter 61 of theink tank 60 is provided in the bypass flow path F2. - According to the present embodiment, the ink
supply flow path 711 and the inkdischarge flow path 721 are provided in theink tank 60, but the configuration is not limited to the above and at least one of the inksupply flow path 711 and the inkdischarge flow path 721 can be provided outside theink tank 60. - According to the present embodiment, the
piezoelectric element 123 is deformed and the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber is changed to eject the ink. This is theinkjet head 100 including the head chip with the vent mode but the configuration is not limited to the above. For example, the piezoelectric member included in a wall of the pressure chamber can repeat displacement in a shear mode to change the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber and eject ink. Such inkjet head including the head chip in a shear mode can be applied to the present invention. - According to the present embodiment and the modification, the
conveyor 2 including the conveyingbelt 2c conveys the recording medium M but the structure is not limited to the above. Theconveyor 2 can hold the recording medium M on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating conveying drum and convey the recording medium M, for example. - The present embodiment and the modification include an
inkjet recording device 1 in a single pass method, but the present invention can be applied to the inkjet recording device which records the image while scanning theinkjet head 100. - Various embodiments of the present invention are described above, but the scope of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described above, and the scope of the present invention includes the range of the invention as described in the attached claims.
- The present invention can be applied to an inkjet head and an inkjet recording device.
-
- 1 inkjet recording device
- 2 conveyor
- 3 head unit
- 9 ink circulating mechanism
- 10 ink ejector
- 101 inflow opening
- 102 outflow opening
- 11 nozzle substrate
- 111 nozzle
- 112 ink ejecting surface
- 12 actuator substrate
- 123 piezoelectric element
- 13 common ink chamber
- 131 first common ink chamber
- 132 second common ink chamber
- 20 controller
- 30 driving substrate
- 31 driving element
- 32 first connector
- 33 second connector
- 40 wiring member
- 51 exterior member
- 52 cover member
- 53 heat dissipating member
- 54 attaching screw
- 60 ink tank
- 60a facing surface
- 601 base
- 602 lid
- 603 fixed portion
- 61 filter
- 62 upstream side ink chamber
- 63 downstream side ink chamber
- 64 pulling flow path
- 65 upstream side auxiliary ink chamber
- 66 downstream side auxiliary ink chamber
- 67 communicating flow path
- 68 partitioning member
- 71 inlet
- 711 ink supply flow path
- 72 outlet
- 721 ink discharge flow path
- 73 check valve
- 100 inkjet head
- F1 in-tank flow path
- F2 bypass flow path
- HC head chip
- M recording medium
Claims (10)
- An inkjet head (100) comprising:an ink ejector (10) in which an opening of a nozzle (111) which ejects ink is provided in an ink ejecting surface (112) and which includes an operation element (123) which performs an operation to eject ink from the opening of the nozzle (111);an exterior member (51) in which the ink ejector (10) including the ink ejecting surface (112) is stored inside;a driving substrate (30) on which a driving circuit (30) is provided to drive the operation element (123);an ink tank (60) which stores ink supplied to the ink ejector (10);a cover member (52) which fits with the exterior member (51) in an upper edge of the exterior member (51) and which covers at least a portion of the driving substrate (30), the cover member (52) being provided between the ink tank (60) and the driving substrate (30); anda heat dissipating member (53) which comes into contact with the cover member (52) and the ink tank (60), the heat dissipating member (53) being provided between the cover member (52) and the ink tank (60),wherein, the ink tank (60) is provided with a predetermined surface positioned along the driving substrate (30) and facing the cover member (52), andthe ink tank (60) is provided in a manner that heat of the driving substrate (30) is transmitted to the predetermined surface.
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 1, wherein the driving substrate (30) is provided orthogonal to the ink ejecting surface (112) on a side opposite of the ink ejecting surface (112) of the ink ejector (10).
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,the ink tank (60) is provided with an in-tank flow path (F1) in which ink supplied to the ink ejector (10) flows in a predetermined supply direction, andthe ink tank (60) is provided with a first filter (61) which is provided along the predetermined surface inside the in-tank flow path (F1) and through which ink flowing in the in-tank flow path (F1) passes.
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 3, wherein,the in-tank flow path (F1) includes an upstream side ink chamber (62) adjacent to the first filter (61) on an upstream side in the supply direction,the in-tank flow path (F1) includes a downstream side ink chamber (63) adjacent to the first filter (61) on a downstream side in the supply direction, andthe upstream side ink chamber (62) is provided on the predetermined surface side of the first filter (61).
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 3, wherein,the in-tank flow path (F1) includes an upstream side ink chamber (62) adjacent to the first filter (61) on an upstream side in the supply direction,the in-tank flow path (F1) includes a downstream side ink chamber (63) adjacent to the first filter (61) on a downstream side in the supply direction, andthe downstream side ink chamber (63) is provided on the predetermined surface side of the first filter (61).
- The inkjet head (100) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,the ink ejector (10) includes an outflow opening (102) from which some of the ink flowing in from the in-tank flow path (F1) flow out, andthe inkjet head (100) includes an ink discharge flow path (721) which guides the ink flowing out from the outflow opening (102) of the ink ejector (10) outside of the inkjet head (100).
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 6, further comprising,a bypass flow path (F2) which connects the in-tank flow path (F1) and the ink discharge flow path (721) without passing through the ink ejector (10),a second filter (61) which is provided inside the bypass flow path (F2) and through which the ink flowing in the bypass flow path (F2) passes, anda backward flow preventer (73) which is provided between a connecting position with the bypass flow path (F2) in the ink discharge flow path (721) and an exit (72) of the ink discharge flow path (721), and which prevents ink flowing in a direction opposite to a discharge direction.
- The inkjet head (100) according to claim 7, wherein,the bypass flow path (F2) is provided inside the ink tank (60), andthe first filter (61) and the second filter (61) compose a single filter (61).
- The inkjet head (100) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, further comprising an attaching member (54) which detachably fixes the ink tank (60).
- An inkjet recording device (1) including the inkjet head (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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PCT/JP2018/033162 WO2020049710A1 (en) | 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 | Inkjet head and inkjet recording device |
Publications (3)
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EP3848204A1 EP3848204A1 (en) | 2021-07-14 |
EP3848204A4 EP3848204A4 (en) | 2021-08-25 |
EP3848204B1 true EP3848204B1 (en) | 2023-08-23 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP18932811.5A Active EP3848204B1 (en) | 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 | Inkjet head and inkjet recording device |
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EP (1) | EP3848204B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP7136213B2 (en) |
CN (1) | CN112672884B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2020049710A1 (en) |
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Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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JPH08252924A (en) * | 1995-03-17 | 1996-10-01 | Hitachi Koki Co Ltd | Ink tank of ink jet printer |
WO2007015230A2 (en) | 2005-08-04 | 2007-02-08 | Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing Ltd. | A method of cooling and servicing an inkjet print head array |
JP5044915B2 (en) * | 2005-09-28 | 2012-10-10 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Inkjet printer head |
US8292409B2 (en) * | 2008-03-27 | 2012-10-23 | Konica Minolta Ij Technologies, Inc. | Ink jet head |
JP5876382B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2016-03-02 | 京セラ株式会社 | Cover member for liquid discharge head, liquid discharge head with cover and recording apparatus using the same |
JP6139099B2 (en) | 2012-10-30 | 2017-05-31 | エスアイアイ・プリンテック株式会社 | Liquid ejecting unit, method of using liquid ejecting unit, and liquid ejecting apparatus |
JP2016129169A (en) * | 2015-01-09 | 2016-07-14 | キヤノン株式会社 | Electronic apparatus |
CN109070585B (en) * | 2016-04-18 | 2020-07-07 | 柯尼卡美能达株式会社 | Ink jet head, head module and ink jet recording apparatus |
US10105944B2 (en) * | 2016-09-14 | 2018-10-23 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, and liquid discharge apparatus |
-
2018
- 2018-09-07 EP EP18932811.5A patent/EP3848204B1/en active Active
- 2018-09-07 WO PCT/JP2018/033162 patent/WO2020049710A1/en unknown
- 2018-09-07 JP JP2020540964A patent/JP7136213B2/en active Active
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JPWO2020049710A1 (en) | 2021-08-12 |
JP7136213B2 (en) | 2022-09-13 |
CN112672884B (en) | 2022-05-10 |
CN112672884A (en) | 2021-04-16 |
EP3848204A1 (en) | 2021-07-14 |
WO2020049710A1 (en) | 2020-03-12 |
EP3848204A4 (en) | 2021-08-25 |
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