JP2000117989A - Manufacture of print head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a manufacturing method for print head in which resource efficiency can be enhanced significantly at the time of mass production. SOLUTION: In the manufacturing method for print head, a sheet of piezoelectric material is secured temporarily on one side of a substrate with reference to a positioning through hole 64H and subjected to separation machining into first shape corresponding to a piezoelectric element 55 while preventing one side of the substrate from being cut by abrasive grains being blown thereto at the time of etching. Since the substrate can be reused at the time of mass production, resource efficiency can be enhanced significantly in manufacturing a print head.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a print head, and particularly to a method suitable for application to an ink jet print head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink-jet printer, characters or graphics are printed on a recording medium by discharging ink droplets onto a recording medium such as paper or film in response to a recording signal. It is made to be able to do.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of a conventional ink jet print head 1 used in such an ink jet printer apparatus. The nozzle plate 4 is attached to the other surface 2B of the road board 2.

In this case, an arrow x is provided on one surface 2A side of the flow path plate 2.
_A plurality of recessed pressure chambers 2C for ink storage are arranged in parallel at a predetermined pitch along _one direction. Each of the pressure chambers 2C can be successively supplied with ink from an ink cartridge (not shown) via a common channel 2D.

[0005] throughway 2E which through the respective passage plate 2 to the distal end portion of the pressure chamber 2C in the thickness direction (arrow z ₁ direction) is bored, the nozzle plate 4 and the respective through passages 2E nozzle 4A respectively in correspondence consisting of a plurality of through holes are formed at a predetermined pitch along the arrow x ₁ direction.

On the other hand, the piezoelectric actuator 3 has a plurality of piezoelectric elements or the like on one surface of a vibration plate 5 made of a flexible material so as to face each pressure chamber 2C of the flow path plate 2 via the vibration plate 5. Are arranged along the direction of the arrow x ₁ , and the other surface of the vibration plate 5 is adhered or welded to the one surface 2 </ b> A of the flow passage plate 2. It is fixed to the plate 2.

[0007] while being polarized in this case the piezoelectric element 6 is a thickness direction, respectively (arrow z ₁ direction), and one surface and the other surface are respectively the upper and lower electrodes formed in the piezoelectric elements 6, thus by generating a potential difference between these upper and lower electrodes, it may deflect the piezoelectric element 6 in a direction for displacing the diaphragm 5 inside the corresponding pressure chamber 2C by bimorph effect (arrow z ₁ direction opposite) It has been made like that.

As a result, in this type of ink jet print head 1, a potential difference is generated between the upper electrode and the lower electrode of the piezoelectric element 6 to displace the diaphragm 5 to the inside of the corresponding pressure chamber 2C. A pressure corresponding to the amount can be generated in the pressure chamber 2C,
This pressure causes the ink in the pressure chamber 2C to pass through the passage 2.
The corresponding nozzle 4A can be discharged to the outside via E.

[0009]

In the ink jet print head 1, a plurality of piezoelectric elements 6 are collectively formed by separating a multi-layer board having conductor layers formed on both sides of a sheet made of a piezoelectric material at a predetermined pitch. After the piezoelectric elements 6 are formed in a predetermined positional relationship, the piezoelectric elements 6 are collectively attached on the vibration plate 5 which has been attached on one surface of the flow path plate 2 in advance.

In this case, in the step of separating and processing the multilayer plate at a predetermined pitch, as shown in FIG.
After a multilayer board 9 is attached to one surface 7A via an adhesive layer 8, a dry film 10 is attached so as to cover the multilayer board 9.

Next, the dry film 10 is exposed to a mask pattern for masking the shape of each piezoelectric element 6 and a mark for positioning with respect to the vibration plate 5 at a time, followed by development. As shown in FIG. 7, only the exposed portion 10M corresponding to the mask pattern in the dry film 10 remains.

Subsequently, by etching the surface 7A of the glass plate 7 using a method such as a sand blast method, portions of the dry film 10 other than the exposed portions 10M corresponding to the mask patterns 10 are removed.
As shown in (C), the remaining portion of the multilayer board 9 is formed as each piezoelectric element 6. The sand blasting method is a processing method in which abrasive grains having a particle size of about 25 to 100 [μm] are sprayed on the processed surface of the workpiece, and the abrasive grains are used to cut the processed surface of the workpiece. It is.

At this time, the area other than the exposed portion 10M of the dry film 10 is cut on the one surface 7A of the glass plate 7 by the sprayed abrasive grains. As a result, the positioning marks remaining on the one surface 7A are removed from the vibrating plate 5A. Are formed as positioning projections (hereinafter, referred to as positioning projections) 7AX.

Each of the piezoelectric elements 6 thus obtained is placed on one side 7 of the glass plate 7 so that the lower electrode faces the opposite side.
After positioning on the diaphragm 5 with reference to the positioning projections 7AX formed on the diaphragm A, the above-described inkjet print head 1 is attached by adhering each piezoelectric element 6 to the diaphragm 5 via an adhesive layer. Was to be made.

As described above, the multilayer plate 9 is separated and processed by the above-described sand blast method, and the one side 7 of the glass plate 7 is processed.
When the positioning projections 7AX are cut in A, it is very difficult to reuse the glass plate 7, and the glass plate 7 is actually used once and then discarded as it is. As a result, when mass-producing the ink jet print head 1, there is a problem that the resource efficiency is reduced by the amount of discarding the glass plate 7.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a method of manufacturing a print head capable of significantly improving resource efficiency in mass production.

[0017]

According to the present invention, a vibration layer is formed so as to cover a pressure chamber formed of a concave portion for storing ink formed on one surface of a flow path plate. The piezoelectric element attached on the vibration layer is flexed in response to the pressure, a pressure corresponding to the flexure is generated in the pressure chamber via the vibration layer, and the ink in the pressure chamber is applied based on the pressure. In a method of manufacturing a print head that discharges outside through a nozzle communicating with a pressure chamber,
A first step of temporarily fixing a sheet made of a piezoelectric material on one surface of a substrate having a through hole for positioning, and a second step of forming a photosensitive film on one surface of the substrate where the surface of the sheet is exposed; A third step of exposing and developing the photosensitive film so as to pattern a shape corresponding to the piezoelectric element based on the through hole of the substrate, and blowing abrasive grains on the surface of the sheet; By etching the part not covered by the patterned photosensitive film of
A fourth step of forming the piezoelectric element and a fifth step of peeling the piezoelectric element from the substrate after positioning and attaching the piezoelectric element to the vibration layer with reference to the through hole of the substrate are provided. .

According to this method of manufacturing a print head, a sheet made of a piezoelectric material is temporarily fixed to one surface of a substrate with reference to a positioning through hole, and one surface of the substrate is sprayed during etching. The sheet can be separated into the first shape corresponding to the piezoelectric element while avoiding cutting by the abrasive grains.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of Powder Beam Processing Apparatus In recent years, as one of the etching processing methods, a particle size of 1 to 20 [μ
m] to form a solid-gas two-phase flow by almost uniformly mixing the abrasive grains with the high-pressure air, and blowing the solid-gas two-phase flow onto the processing surface of the workpiece to solidify the processing surface. A processing method of etching by grinding using abrasive grains contained in the gas-two-phase flow (hereinafter referred to as a powder beam processing method)
Has been proposed.

According to such a powder beam processing method, since the particle size of the abrasive grains used is as small as 1 to 20 [μm], a fine pattern can be etched with high precision at high speed. Since the injection amount of the abrasive grains can be reliably controlled, there is an advantage that the etching processing amount can be accurately controlled.

FIG. 1 shows a processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a powder beam processing apparatus) 20 capable of performing an etching processing by such a powder beam processing method.

In this case, the powder beam processing device 20
In the above, the high-pressure air AIR ₁ output from the air compressor 21 passes through the regulating valve 22 and the solenoid valve 23 and is divided, and one of the divided high-pressure air (hereinafter referred to as the first
AIR _{2 is connected} to the first air supply pipe 2.
4. The air is spouted into the abrasive grain storage chamber 25B of the mixing tank 26 through an air chamber 25A and a filter 26 provided below the mixing tank 25 in order.

At this time, the abrasive grain storage chamber 25 of the mixing tank 25
In B, abrasive grains 27 having an average particle size of about 1 to 20 [μm] such as silicon carbide, alumina or glass are stored, and this is the first split flow jetted into the abrasive grain storage chamber 25B. It is blown up by the high-pressure air aIR _2.

The other divided high-pressure air (hereinafter, referred to as a second divided high-pressure air) AIR ₃ is connected to the regulating valve 2.
The gas is ejected into the delivery pipe 30 via the eighth and second air supply pipes 29 in order. As a result, a portion of the delivery pipe 30 that connects the connection portion 30A to the second air supply pipe 29 and the upper portion of the mixing tank 25 (hereinafter, this portion is referred to as a connection portion 30A of the delivery pipe 30). negative pressure by the air flow of the second shunt high pressure air aIR ₃ occurs.

The negative pressure causes the abrasive grains 27 in a state (solid-air state) to be blown up by the first divided high-pressure air AIR ₂ and diffused into the air in the abrasive grain storage chamber 25 B of the mixing tank 25. is sucked into the connecting portion 30B of the tube 30, the second second diverted high pressure air aIR ₃ and are substantially uniformly mixed solid-gas two-phase flow aIR ₄ at connecting portions 30A of the air supply pipe 29 the delivery tube 30 is Generated.

The solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ is then fixed to the tip of the arm 33 in the injection chamber 32 via the delivery pipe 30 and the nozzle 31 attached to the tip of the delivery pipe 30. It is sprayed at a predetermined angle onto the processing surface of the set workpiece 34.

[0028] In this manner, the powder beam processing device 20, so that it can be etched so as to cut the machined surface of the workpiece 34 by the abrasive grains 27 contained in the solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ Has been made.

At this time, the arm 33 can be freely moved in the front-rear and left-right directions (x ₂ y ₂ directions) by the drive unit 35 so that the working surface of the workpiece 34 can be moved. The entire surface can be etched by the solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ .

On the other hand, a solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ jetted into the injection chamber 32 so as to be sprayed on the processing surface of the workpiece 34.
Thereafter, the abrasive is supplied to the abrasive storage tank 38 integrally attached to the upper portion of the mixing tank 25 via the return pipes 36 and 37.

The abrasive grains 27 contained in the solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ are thereafter stored in an abrasive grain storage tank 38, and the high-pressure air forming the solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ is removed by the abrasive. The air is supplied to the air blower 41 via an exhaust pipe 39 and an electromagnetic valve 40 connected to the upper part of the particle storage tank 38, and is filtered and then discharged to the outside.

At this time, the abrasive grain storage tank 38 contains the abrasive grain storage tank 38 and the abrasive grain storage chamber 25 of the mixing tank 25.
B and a coil spring 4
The supply valve 43 is arranged so as to be urged upward (z2 direction) by the _second valve 2.

Thus, in the powder beam machining apparatus 20, when a predetermined amount of the abrasive grains 27 is accumulated in the abrasive grain storage tank 38, the weight of the supply valve 43 causes the supply valve 43 to move downward against the elastic force of the coil spring 42. , The abrasive grains 27 stored in the abrasive grain storage tank 27 can be supplied to the abrasive grain storage chamber 25B of the mixing tank 25.

In addition to this configuration, in the case of the powder beam processing apparatus 20, a stirring member 45 that rotates in the direction of arrow a based on the rotation output of the motor 44 is disposed in the abrasive grain storage chamber 25B of the mixing tank 25. I have.

Thus, the powder beam processing apparatus 2
0, the solid-air state of the abrasive grains 27 temporarily blown up by the first branch high-pressure air AIR _{2 is} changed to a stirring member 45.
To produce a solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ which always contains a certain amount of abrasive grains 27,
The solid-gas two-phase flow AIR ₄ enables the processing surface of the workpiece 34 to be etched with high accuracy.

(2) Ink jet print head 50
FIGS. 2 and 3 show an ink jet print head 50 according to the present embodiment.
The piezoelectric actuator 52 is fixed to the one surface 51A side, and the nozzle plate 53 is adhered to the other surface 51B side of the flow path plate 51.

[0037] On one surface 51A of the case flow path plate 51, the pressure chambers 51C formed of recesses for a plurality of ink storage at a predetermined pitch along the arrow x ₃ direction are juxtaposed. The pressure chambers 51C can be supplied with ink from an ink cartridge (not shown) through a common flow path 51D formed of a concave portion provided on the one surface 51A side of the flow path plate 51 and a corresponding ink introduction path 51E. Has been made.

Further are through passage 51F is drilled to penetrate through the respective flow channel plate 51 at the front end of the pressure chambers 51C in the thickness direction (arrow z ₃ direction), each of these in the nozzle plate 53 nozzles 53A comprising a plurality of through holes at a predetermined pitch respectively through passages 51F along the arrow x ₃ direction so as to communicate with are bored.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the piezoelectric actuator 52 is provided on one surface of a diaphragm 54 made of a flexible material.
The piezoelectric element 55 such as a plurality of piezoelectric elements so as to respectively with the pressure chambers 51C of the flow path plate 51 face each other through the vibration plate 54 is constituted by being disposed along the arrow x ₃ direction, The other surface of the vibration plate 54 is adhered to the one surface 51 </ b> A side of the flow path plate 51 via the adhesive layer 56 so as to be fixed to the flow path plate 51.

[0040] with this piezoelectric element 55 is polarized in its thickness direction (arrow z ₃ direction), and the upper electrode 58 and lower electrode 57 made of each electrode material one surface and the other surface is formed, thus these upper By generating a potential difference between the electrode layer 58 and the lower electrode layer 57, the piezoelectric element 55 is moved by the bimorph effect to the corresponding pressure chamber 51.
Directions for displacing the inside of A are adapted to be flexed (arrow z ₃ direction opposite to the direction).

As a result, in the ink jet print head 50, a potential difference is generated between the upper electrode layer 58 and the lower electrode layer 57 of the piezoelectric actuator 52, and the vibration plate 54 is integrally formed with the piezoelectric element 55 so as to correspond to the corresponding pressure chamber 51 C.
, A pressure corresponding to the amount of displacement can be generated in the pressure chamber 51C, and the ink in the pressure chamber 51C can be generated by the pressure via the corresponding nozzle 53A of the nozzle plate 53 by this pressure. It is configured to be able to discharge to the outside.

(2) Manufacturing Procedure of the Inkjet Printhead 50 According to the Present Embodiment
Can be manufactured by the following procedure shown in FIGS. 5A to 7C.

That is, first, the powder of the piezoelectric material, the binder, and the like are kneaded, and the obtained slurry is poured out in a thin film form, and then the binder is evaporated and dried, thereby obtaining FIG.
A sheet 60 having a thickness of 30 [μm] or less having flexibility and called a green sheet as shown in the figure is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, a conductive material is applied over the entire surface of the sheet 60 using a printing method, a plating method, a sputtering method, a vapor deposition method, or the like. The first and second conductor layers 61 and 62 are formed with a thickness of, for example, 2 [μm] or less.

In this case, the first and second conductor layers 61 and 62
When a printing method is used as a forming method, silver, silver palladium, platinum, nickel, copper or the like can be applied as a conductive material, and when a plating method is used, nickel or copper or the like is applied as a conductive material. can do. In the case of using a sputtering method or an evaporation method, gold can be used as a conductive material.

Subsequently, the multilayer board 63 composed of the first conductor layer 61, the sheet 60 and the second conductor layer 62 thus formed is sintered by heating at a predetermined temperature. 1 mm thick between the second conductor layers 61 and 62
By applying a voltage of several [kv] per
Is polarized in its thickness direction.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
A is attached to the flat surface of the glass plate 64 on the side of the one surface 64A, for example, a foamable thermal release sheet 65 such as Nippon Denko Riba Alpha (trade name). The multilayer plate 63 formed as described above is attached.

Here, the heat release sheet 65 has one surface 65 thereof.
An adhesive layer made of a thermofoamable adhesive is formed on the A side, and when heated, the adhesive layer foams and comes into a point contact state with the substance adhered to the adhesive layer, thereby easily peeling off the substance. It was made to get.

In the step of FIG. 5C, the other surface 65B of the heat-releasable sheet 65 is bonded to the multilayer plate 63, and the glass plate 64 is bonded to the adhesive layer on one surface 65A. 64 is attached to the multilayer board 63.

Actually, as shown in FIG. 6A, a through hole for positioning with respect to the diaphragm 54 (hereinafter referred to as a positioning hole) is formed in one surface 64A of the glass plate 64.
In a step of separating the multilayer board 63 at a predetermined pitch, a dry film 66 is first attached so as to cover the multilayer board 63.

On the dry film 66, regions other than the shape corresponding to each piezoelectric element 55 and the portion corresponding to the positioning hole 64H (hereinafter referred to as a hole mark) are collectively based on the positioning hole 64H. 6B, exposure is performed using a mask pattern that masks the substrate, followed by development to leave only the exposed portion 66M of the dry film 66 corresponding to the mask pattern, as shown in FIG. 6B.

Subsequently, the multi-layer plate 63 is separated from the one surface 64A side of the glass plate 64 by using the above-described powder beam processing method, and as shown in FIG. The region other than the exposed portion 66M of 66 is completely removed by the sprayed abrasive grains 27, and as a result, the remaining multi-layered plate 63 has the upper electrode 58 and the lower electrode 57 formed on one surface and the other surface, respectively. Processed as 55.

At the same time, on one surface 64A of the glass plate 64, a hole mark other than the exposed portion 66M of the dry film 66 is removed to form a hole 66H, and the blown abrasive grains 27 are formed in the hole 66H and the positioning hole. After passing through 64H, the glass plate 64 is discharged from the other surface 64B side.

Thereafter, by cleaning the entire surface 64A of the glass plate 64, the exposed portions 66M of the dry film 66 are removed, and FIG. 6 (D) and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, on one surface 64A of the glass plate 64, each piezoelectric element 55 in which an upper electrode 58 and a lower electrode 57 are formed on one surface and on the other surface at predetermined positions based on the positioning holes 64H, respectively, is processed. , The glass plate 64
Is stored in its original state without being cut.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5 (E), a film 67 made of a predetermined material such as a so-called Kapton film having an adhesive layer 56 formed in a separate process applied to one surface 56A is attached to the adhesive layer. After making contact with the upper electrode 58 formed on one surface of each piezoelectric element 55 so that the 56 side becomes the contact surface, the adhesive layer 56 is pressed by pressing the other surface 56B side using, for example, a roller or the like so that the upper electrode Adhere to 58.

By the way, when this adhesive layer 56 is formed,
First, an average particle size of 2 [μ
m] of conductive particles made of palladium (Pd)
%] And kneaded until the conductive particles are dispersed and completely defoamed. Subsequently, the obtained mud is coated on one side 6 of the film 67 by a so-called doctor blade method.
After flowing out into a thin film on 7A, under predetermined conditions (for example, 60
[° C.] and 20 [min]) to obtain FIG.
A sheet-like adhesive layer 46 having flexibility is formed on one surface 67A of the film 67 as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, a film 67 which is the uppermost layer of the laminate 68 thus formed is formed.
Is peeled off, and the adhesive layer 56 is transferred to each upper electrode 58.

On the other hand, the diaphragm 54 manufactured in a separate process is attached to the one surface 51A of the flow path plate 51, and the flow path plate 5
A nozzle plate 53 similarly manufactured in another process is positioned and adhered to the other surface 51B of one. At this time, when the vibration plate 54 is attached to the flow path plate 51, high-precision positioning is not required.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7B, the laminated body 68 from which the film 67 has been peeled is opposed to the diaphragm 54 with the adhesive layer 56 as the uppermost layer facing downward. The positioning hole 6 formed in the glass plate 64 is
After positioning on the diaphragm 54 with reference to 4H,
In this state, it is pasted on the diaphragm 54 via an adhesive layer 56.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (C), after the laminate 68 is stuck on the vibration plate 54 in this manner, the heat release sheet 65 is heated to foam one surface 65A side, and this Thereafter, the glass plate 64 is peeled off from the one surface 65 side of the thermal peeling sheet 65, whereby the ink jet print head 50 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be manufactured.

(3) Operation and effect of the present embodiment In the above configuration, the multilayer plate 63 is formed by laminating the first and second conductor layers 61 and 62 on both surfaces of the sheet 60 made of the piezoelectric material. After affixing a predetermined position on one surface 64A of the glass plate 64 with reference to the positioning holes 64H, a dry film 66 is adhered so as to cover the multilayer plate 63 and the area of the one surface 64A excluding the positioning holes 64H. Match.

Subsequently, the multi-layer plate 63 to which the dry film 66 is adhered is separated at a predetermined pitch according to the same pattern as the pattern of the pressure chambers 51C of the flow path plate 51 by using the powder beam processing method described above. I do.

Each piezoelectric element 5 having the upper electrode 58 and the lower electrode 57 formed on one surface and the other surface in this manner.
5 is positioned on the basis of the positioning holes 64 </ b> H of the glass plate 64 while the adhesive layer 56, which is the uppermost layer thereof, faces the vibration plate 54.
After sticking on the vibration plate 54, the glass plate 64 is detached by the peeling action of the thermal peeling sheet 65 to manufacture the ink jet print head 50.

Therefore, in the step of separating the multilayer plate 63, the sprayed abrasive grains 27 are blocked by the exposed portions 66M of the dry film 66, so that
4A can be prevented from being cut by the abrasive grains 27. At the same time, a part of the abrasive grains 27 sprayed passes through the positioning holes 64H and passes through the other surface 64B of the glass plate 64.
Is discharged from the side, the positioning hole 64H is
7 can be avoided from being cut.

Therefore, the ink jet print head 50
Is manufactured, the glass plate 64 removed in the manufacturing process is stored in the original state without being affected by the abrasive grains 27 sprayed during the powder beam processing. 50 can be reused during manufacture.

According to the above configuration, the positioning hole 64H
The multi-layer plate 63 affixed to one surface 64A of the glass plate 64 is masked so as to have the same pattern as the pattern of the pressure chambers 51C of the flow path plate 51 with the powder beam processing method as a reference. As a result, the glass plate 64 is
Of the glass plate 64 can be avoided, and as a result, the glass plate 64 can be reused many times during mass production. Thus, the resource efficiency is significantly reduced by not discarding the glass plate 64. A method of manufacturing the inkjet printer head 50 that can be improved can be realized.

(5) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the case where the glass plate 64 is applied as the substrate has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plate-like member having one flat surface is provided. If so, substrates made of various materials other than glass may be applied.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the dry film 66 is applied as a photosensitive film to one surface 64A of the glass plate 64 so as to cover the multilayer plate 63 and the through holes 64H. The present invention is not limited to this, and as the photosensitive film, a film made of various other photosensitive materials or a film formed by applying a liquid made of a photosensitive material in a film shape may be applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where two positioning holes 64H are formed in one surface 64A of glass plate 64 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of positioning holes 64H is not limited to this. One or three or more positioning holes 64H may be formed in various shapes. The through-holes 64H may be etched using a powder beam processing method in accordance with the mask pattern 66M formed on the dry film 66, instead of being bored in the glass plate 64 in advance.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, after the adhesive layer 56 applied to one surface 67A of the film 67 is adhered to the upper electrode 58 formed on each piezoelectric element 55, the film 67 is peeled off. Although the case where the laminated body 68 is formed has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the adhesive layer 56 may be applied to each of the upper electrodes 58 or adhered as a film.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the multilayer plate 63 is patterned by the powder beam processing so as to correspond to each pressure chamber 51C of the flow path plate 51, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the multilayer plate 63 may be patterned using various processing methods.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the vibration plate 54 is attached on one surface 51A of the flow path plate 51 and then the multilayer plate 63 is attached on the surface. The invention is not limited to this, and the multilayer plate 63 may be formed so as to include the vibration plate 54 by using a vibration layer made of a predetermined material, a second conductor layer made of a conductive material, a piezoelectric layer made of a piezoelectric material, and a first conductor made of a conductive material. It may be configured in a four-layer structure of layers, and this may be attached to one surface 51A of the flow path plate 51.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a case where the pressure chamber 51C and the nozzle 53A are formed separately (the flow path plate 51 in which the pressure chamber 51A is formed and the nozzle 53A).
The nozzle plate 53 formed with the nozzle plate 53 is separately described. The case where the present invention is applied to the ink jet print head 50 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if a print head is configured to generate pressure in a pressure chamber formed of a concave portion for discharging ink in the pressure chamber to the outside through a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber based on the pressure, for example, The present invention can be widely applied to various other types of print heads such as an ink jet print head in which the pressure chamber 51C and the nozzle 53A are integrally formed (that is, the pressure chamber and the nozzle are integrally formed in the flow path plate). .

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a method for manufacturing a print head, a sheet made of a piezoelectric material is temporarily fixed to one surface of a substrate with reference to a positioning through hole, and the substrate is etched during etching. The substrate is reused during mass production by separating the sheet into a first shape corresponding to the piezoelectric element while avoiding one surface of the sheet from being cut by the sprayed abrasive grains. As a result, it is possible to realize a method of manufacturing a printer head capable of significantly improving resource efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a powder beam processing apparatus used in manufacturing an ink jet print head according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a partial cross section of the configuration of the inkjet print head according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an inkjet print head according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a piezoelectric actuator.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for describing a manufacturing procedure of the piezoelectric actuator according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for describing a processing step of the piezoelectric element according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing procedure of the piezoelectric actuator according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a conventional inkjet print head.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional piezoelectric element processing step.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 powder beam processing device, 27 abrasive grains, 50
…… Inkjet print head, 51 …… Channel plate,
51A: one surface, 51B: the other surface, 51C: pressure chamber,
52 ... Piezoelectric actuator, 53 ... Nozzle plate, 53A ... Nozzle, 54 ... Vibrating plate, 55 ... Piezoelectric element, 56 ... Adhesive layer, 57 ... Lower electrode layer, 58 ...
Upper electrode layer, 60, sheet, 61, 62, conductor layer,
63 ... multilayer board, 64 ... glass plate, 64A ... one side,
64H: Positioning hole, 65: Thermal release sheet, 66
…… Dry film, 66M …… Mask pattern, 67
…… Film, 68 …… Laminate.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shota Nishi 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo F-term within Sony Corporation (reference) 2C057 AF93 AG12 AG44 AP02 AP14 AP25 AP32 AP75 AP77 AQ01 BA04 BA14

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vibration layer is formed so as to cover a pressure chamber formed of a concave portion for storing ink formed on one surface of a flow path plate, and a piezoelectric layer attached to the vibration layer corresponding to the pressure chamber. By causing the element to bend, a pressure corresponding to the bending is generated in the pressure chamber through the vibrating layer, and based on the pressure, the ink in the pressure chamber is supplied to the outside through a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber. A first step of temporarily fixing a sheet made of a piezoelectric material to one surface of a substrate provided with a through hole for positioning, the method comprising: A second step of forming a photosensitive film on one surface, and a third step of exposing and developing the photosensitive film so as to pattern a shape corresponding to the piezoelectric element with reference to the through hole of the substrate. The above A fourth step of forming the piezoelectric element by spraying abrasive grains on the surface of the sheet and etching a portion of the surface of the sheet that is not covered by the patterned photosensitive film, A print head comprising: positioning the piezoelectric element on the vibration layer with reference to the through hole of the substrate, attaching the piezoelectric element to the vibration layer, and peeling the piezoelectric element from the substrate. Manufacturing method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the third step, the photosensitive film is exposed and developed so as to mask an area excluding the through hole.
3. The method for manufacturing a print head according to claim 1. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the first step, the sheet is temporarily fixed to the one surface of the substrate via a heat-foamable adhesive layer. .