JP2000168083A - Printing apparatus and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus having an ink-jet device comprised of an ink-jet head fit to mass produce and its manufacture whereby diaphragms can be tightly bonded onto a substrate thereby improving a bonding yield, defects such as breaks of the diaphragms or the like are reduced thereby improving a production yield, a diaphragm drive area can be highly accurately secured with a necessary minimum length of grooves, a jet characteristic is maintained high, the ink-jet head can be small and cost can be reduced. SOLUTION: A plurality of grooves 3 are formed which constitute ink pressure chambers 2 of diaphragms 4 formed of a material having piezoelectric properties. A volume of the grooves 3 is changed by deflecting and deforming the diaphragms 4 by a shear mode of the material, whereby ink supplied to the grooves 3 is jetted as liquid drops from nozzle holes 9 set to one ends of the grooves 3 in an ink-jet head 1. The printing apparatus is provided with the ink-jet head 1 as an ink-jet device and includes a coat layer 7 of a thickness 8 of 200 μm with grooves in which channel bottom parts 6 are formed of the same material as the diaphragms 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variety of printing printers, recorders, facsimile machines, and printers for printing, forming images, etc. by ejecting ink as droplets from fine nozzle holes, or patterns in the printing and ceramic fields. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a high-precision, light-weight, small-sized inkjet head used for an ink ejecting apparatus or the like applied to forming and the like, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of multimedia, an ink ejecting device has been proposed as an interface for printing various types of small and lightweight information which is unnecessary for printing and is suitable for various kinds of small quantities, instead of the conventional impact type printer. Various non-impact type printing apparatuses using a thermal transfer apparatus and the like have been developed, and the use range of these apparatuses is expanding to various industrial fields.

[0003] Among such non-impact printers, the ink ejecting apparatus has attracted attention for its future potential because it is easy to increase the number of gradations and colors and the running cost is low.

[0004] The ink ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet head having a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzle holes and an ink pressurizing chamber for generating pressure for ejecting ink droplets as main components. In general, the ink-jet head is provided with a partition plate on a substrate to form a groove in order to eject ink droplets from, for example, each color through a nozzle hole of the nozzle plate. It is composed of a pressure chamber, an upper substrate and the like which serve as a lid for sealing the ink pressure chamber.

In the ink jet head, a drop-on-demand type in which only necessary ink droplets are ejected as a method of ejecting ink droplets by generating pressure in an ink pressurizing chamber is mainly used. Specifically, a Kaiser type or a thermal jet type is employed as a typical method.

[0006] In the Kaiser type, a thin wall is provided on at least a part of an upper substrate that seals an ink pressurizing chamber in which a plurality of parallel grooves are formed by partition walls, and the thin wall is deformed by a piezoelectric element or the like to apply ink. By changing the volume of the flow path of the pressure chamber, an internal pressure is generated in the ink pressurizing chamber to eject ink as droplets.

In the thermal jet type, a heating element is provided in a part of the ink pressurizing chamber, and the internal pressure is increased by utilizing the volume expansion of bubbles generated when the ink in the ink pressurizing chamber is boiled. That is, the ink is ejected as droplets.

However, in the Kaiser type, it is difficult to reduce the size of the ink jet head because a piezoelectric element or the like needs to be further provided on the surface of the upper substrate. In addition, the thermal jet type applies high heat to the ink. In addition, heat resistance is required for the ink itself, and there is a problem that response time is inferior because a selected area of the ink is narrowed and time is required for thermally expanding the ink.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a partition for forming a plurality of grooves arranged in parallel on a substrate made of a piezoelectric material, an electrode formed on a side surface of the partition, and a top portion of the partition are joined. A shearing mode comprising an ink pressurizing chamber comprising an upper substrate for sealing the groove, and an ink jet head having a structure in which a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole corresponding to the groove is joined to the open end side of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber. Type ink jetting devices have been proposed.

In this proposal, a driving voltage is applied to the electrode,
By using the shear mode deformation of the piezoelectric material to deform the partition walls that form the grooves of the ink pressurizing chamber and changing the volume of the grooves, the ink in the grooves is pressurized, and from the nozzle holes communicating with the grooves, This is for ejecting ink droplets.

The ink jet head constituting the proposed shear mode type ink ejecting apparatus does not require a piezoelectric element or the like to be provided on the surface of the upper substrate unlike a conventional Kaiser type or thermal jet type. Since heat resistance is not required, miniaturization is possible,
Moreover, it was notable for its excellent response and high-speed printing.

However, in the shear mode type ink ejecting apparatus, in order to form a groove in the ink pressurizing chamber of the ink jet head, a required number of stacked cutting tools such as a thin disk-shaped diamond blade are rotated from the piezoelectric material. Since the substrate is cut to form the groove, the end of the obtained groove has a shape obtained by transferring the curvature of the disk-shaped cutting tool.

Therefore, in order to obtain desired injection performance,
It is necessary to generate a sufficient internal pressure in the ink pressurization chamber by deforming the partition wall, and it is necessary to secure a sufficient partition driving area. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a long groove in consideration of the uncut portion. There is a disadvantage that the ink jet head itself becomes large and the material cost increases.

In forming a groove in the substrate, a cutting method using a cutting tool such as a thin disk-shaped diamond blade as described above is very difficult in terms of cutting conditions, and a feed rate, a cutting amount, and a rotation speed are reduced. If the numbers do not match,
There are various problems such as chipping of the partition walls and the like, and it has been difficult to say that the processing is suitable for mass production at a low yield and low cost.

Therefore, in order to further solve the above-mentioned problem, there has been proposed an exposure embedding method or the like in which no cutting chips are generated and a partition can be formed in a short time (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-30038).
No. 1).

[0016]

However, in the above-mentioned exposure and embedding method, the photosensitive resin composition is used as a photoresist layer on a substrate to form a pattern of the concave portions of the partition walls, and the obtained opening is formed of a ceramic material for the partition walls. After filling, since the pattern disappears, the obtained partition wall molded body, because the area of the partition wall formed body on the substrate is small, the partition walls are peeled off from the substrate, easily deficient, The exposure embedding method has a problem that it is not always a high-yield, low-cost manufacturing method.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a partition formed on a substrate to be firmly bonded, to improve the bonding yield, and Defects such as breakage of partition walls can be reduced, manufacturing yield can be improved, and a partition drive region can be secured with a minimum necessary groove length with high accuracy, thereby greatly reducing the size of an ink jet head without significantly deteriorating ejection characteristics. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus provided with an ink ejecting apparatus comprising an ink jet head suitable for mass production and a method for manufacturing the printing apparatus.

[0018]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventor has conducted intensive studies in view of the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, in a shear mode type ink jet apparatus, a coating layer made of the same material as the partition walls is formed at the bottom of the groove between the partition walls on the substrate. By integrally providing, the partition walls on the substrate can be firmly adhered to each other, and, in order to form the groove bottom and the partition walls between the partition walls on the substrate without using a tool such as cutting, a conventional method is used. The inventor has found that not only the uncut portion having the curvature in the processing method is not required and the partition driving region can be enlarged, but also the length of the groove can be minimized, and the present invention has been accomplished.

That is, in the printing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of grooves constituting the ink pressurizing chamber are formed by the partition walls made of the piezoelectric material, and the partition walls are formed by the shear mode of the piezoelectric material forming the partition walls. A deformation of the groove to change the volume of the groove, and a printing apparatus provided as an ink ejecting apparatus with an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied to the groove as droplets from nozzle holes communicating with the groove, wherein 5 to 200 μm of the same material as the partition walls at the bottom of the groove
Characterized in that the coating layer is applied.

In another printing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of grooves forming an ink pressurizing chamber are formed by partitions made of a piezoelectric material, and a shear mode of the piezoelectric material forming the partitions is provided. A printing apparatus comprising, as an ink ejecting apparatus, an ink jet head that ejects ink supplied to the groove as a droplet from a nozzle hole communicating with the groove by deforming and deforming the partition wall to change the volume of the groove. The bottom of the groove between the partitions is made of the same material as the partitions and has a thickness of 200
A coating layer having a thickness of at least one notch having a thickness of from μm to 500 μm is applied.

The method of manufacturing a printing apparatus according to the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a printing apparatus, comprising: After filling and solidifying a molding composition made of a material having properties, the mold is removed from the mold to obtain a molded body in which a coating layer forming a partition wall and a groove bottom is integrally molded, and then attached to a substrate. After that, the binder and the coating layer forming the bottom of the groove and the substrate are sintered and integrated by removing the binder and firing, and then the electrode is formed on the side surface of the partition, and then the upper substrate is joined to the top of the partition. A nozzle plate having a nozzle hole formed on the open end side of the groove is joined to form an ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus.

In particular, the molding composition applied to the production method preferably contains a polymerizable organic substance.

Another manufacturing method of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a printing apparatus, comprising: forming a piezoelectric element in a mold having a concave portion and a convex portion for forming a groove between the partition wall and a coating layer having a predetermined thickness forming a groove bottom portion; After filling the molding composition made of a material having a property and bringing the substrate into close contact to solidify the molding composition, the coating layer forming a partition and a groove bottom is formed by dissolving and removing the molding die by a chemical treatment. After obtaining a molded body formed integrally, the substrates are bonded to each other, and then the binder and the coating layer forming the bottom of the groove are sintered and integrated with the substrate by debinding and firing, or the partition and the partition A molding composition having a piezoelectric material is filled into a molding die having a concave portion forming a coating layer of a predetermined thickness forming a groove bottom portion and a convex portion for the groove, and the substrate is brought into close contact with the molding composition. After solidifying the composition, the mold is removed by a chemical treatment. The binder and the coating layer forming the partition and the bottom of the groove are sintered and integrated with each other by sintering or baking, or the recess and the groove for forming the coating layer of a predetermined thickness forming the groove bottom between the partition and the partition are formed. Is filled with a molding composition made of a material having piezoelectricity, the substrate is brought into close contact with the molding composition, and the molding composition is solidified. At the same time as the decomposition and removal, the coating layer and the substrate forming the partition and the bottom of the groove are sintered and integrated, then an electrode is formed on the side of the partition, and then the upper substrate is joined to the top of the partition and the open end side of the groove is formed. An ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus is formed by joining nozzle plates having perforated nozzle holes.

In particular, the mold used in the production method of dissolving or decomposing the mold by the chemical treatment or heat treatment is preferably formed of an organic resin that can be dissolved or decomposed by the chemical treatment or heat treatment. As a mold, a photosensitive organic film is adhered to a substrate, exposure and development are performed by matching a mask pattern of a predetermined shape, and this process is repeated while changing the mask pattern, and is laminated at a predetermined height to form a predetermined cross-sectional shape. It is most preferable that a convex portion for forming a coating layer having a predetermined thickness is formed on the bottom of the groove.

Still another method of manufacturing a printing apparatus according to the present invention is a screen printing method using a printing plate having a predetermined shape in which a paste-like molding composition made of a material having piezoelectricity is fitted on a substrate. The steps of printing, solidifying and laminating are repeated to form a molded body in which the coating layer forming the partition and the bottom of the groove is integrally formed on the substrate, and then the binder and the bottom of the partition are removed by debinding and firing. A nozzle plate in which a coating layer and a substrate are formed by sintering and integration, then an electrode is formed on the side surface of the partition, and then the upper substrate is joined to the top of the partition and a nozzle hole is formed on the open end side of the groove Are joined to form an ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus.

[0026]

According to the printing apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same of the present invention,
Since a coating layer of a predetermined thickness is formed on the bottom of the groove between the partitions on the substrate with the same material as the partition for forming the plurality of grooves constituting the ink pressurizing chamber, the base of the partition in contact with the substrate is formed. The partition area formed on the substrate can be firmly bonded by increasing the area to be adhered, and the bonding yield of the partition is improved, and furthermore, the partition driving area in the shear mode is secured, and the same ink jetting characteristics are obtained. In order to obtain, the groove can be shorter than before, the inkjet head itself is reduced in size and weight,
The material cost can be reduced, and the area occupied by the ink jet device including such an ink jet head at the time of assembling is significantly reduced, which also contributes to downsizing of the printing device itself.

Further, the reduction in size and weight of the ink jet head contributes to an increase in the moving speed of the ink jet head and an improvement in positioning accuracy.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a printing apparatus and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an essential part of the ink jet apparatus used in the printing apparatus of the present invention, which is an example of an ink jet head and is cut in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of a groove.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a partition wall 4 made of a piezoelectric material, which is formed on a surface of a substrate 5 and forms a plurality of parallel grooves 3 forming an ink pressurizing chamber 2, and a surface 1 of the substrate 5. Groove bottom 6 formed integrally with the partition 4
And a nozzle plate 10 having a nozzle hole 9 joined to the open end side of the groove 3 as a main part. An ink chamber ( (Not shown), an electrode 12 for applying a driving electric field is formed on a side surface of the partition wall 4, and the nozzle holes 9 are formed in a row in the nozzle plate 10 in correspondence with each groove 3. Has been drilled.

In this ink-jet head 1, the predetermined thickness 8 of the coating layer 7 is made of the same material as that of the partition 4 and is 5 to 200 μm, and the thickness 8 of the coating layer 7 is less than 5 μm. In the case of (2), the effect of improving the adhesive strength of the partition walls 4 to the substrate 5 and the adhesive yield is small.
When the thickness exceeds μm, the degree of shrinkage with the substrate 5 differs when the coating layer 7 and the substrate 5 forming the partition 4 and the groove bottom 6 described later are sintered and integrated by firing. The shrinkage in the coating layer 7 is hindered, and the width of the groove 3 varies.

Accordingly, in the present invention, the ink pressurizing chamber 2 is configured to satisfy the above conditions, and the partition wall 4 is deformed by the shear mode of the piezoelectric material to efficiently and accurately reproduce the partition wall. The cross-sectional shape may be any as long as the volume of 4 can be changed.

Next, another example of the ink jet head used in the ink ejecting apparatus constituting the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a partition wall 4 made of a piezoelectric material and formed on the surface of the substrate 5 to form a plurality of parallel grooves 3 constituting the ink pressurizing chamber 2; Groove bottom 2 formed integrally with the partition 4
6, and at least one notch groove 2 formed in each of the coating layers 27 forming the groove bottom 26.
3 and a nozzle plate 10 having a nozzle hole 9 joined to the open end side of the groove 3. The upper part of the partition 4 is an upper substrate 11 connected to an ink chamber (not shown). The electrode 12 for applying a driving electric field is formed on the side surface of the partition 4, and the nozzle holes 9 are formed in the nozzle plate 10 in rows corresponding to the respective grooves 3.

In this ink jet head 21,
The predetermined thickness 28 of the coating layer 27 is 200 μm to 500 μm in thickness made of the same material as the partition 4,
The coating layer 27 has at least one notch groove 23. By setting the thickness 28 of the coating layer 27 to be greater than 200 μm, a large adhesive force can be obtained as compared with the ink jet head 1 shown in FIG. Can improve the bonding yield,
The larger partition wall 4 can be joined on the substrate 5 and the notch groove 23 is provided, so that the partition wall 4 and the groove bottom 26 described later can be formed.
When the coating layer 27 and the substrate 5 are sintered and integrated with each other by sintering, the whole of the coating layer 27 is contracted. Therefore, even if the thickness 28 of the coating layer 27 is increased, the pitch between the partition walls 4 on the substrate 5 does not vary greatly, and high precision can be maintained.

In order to effectively obtain such an effect, it is preferable that the depth of the notch groove 23 be equal to or more than 1/3 of the thickness 28 of the coating layer 27, and that the strength of the partition wall 4 is not reduced. In order not to disturb the flow of the ink in the groove 3, the width of the notch groove 23 is preferably not more than 3/4 of the width of the groove 3, and any width within these dimensions is acceptable. It may have a cross-sectional shape.

The reason why the thickness 28 of the coating layer 27 forming the groove bottom 26 is set to 500 μm or less is that if the thickness is larger than this, the ink jet head itself becomes large, and miniaturization becomes difficult.

Also, in the ink jet head shown in FIG. 2, the ink pressurizing chamber 2 is configured to satisfy the above conditions similarly to the ink jet head 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the partition wall 4 is formed by the shear mode of the piezoelectric material. Any cross-sectional shape may be used as long as the volume of the partition wall 4 can be changed efficiently and accurately with good reproducibility by strain deformation.

In the ink jet heads 1 and 21 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nozzle plate 10 is joined to the open end of the groove 3. It is needless to say that a nozzle hole 9 may be formed, and the nozzle hole 9 may be changed and improved without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Next, a method of manufacturing a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 showing a manufacturing process of ink jet heads 1 and (21) constituting an ink ejecting apparatus which is a main part of the printing apparatus.

In FIG. 3, 1 and (21) denote an upper substrate 11 joined to the top of a partition 4 made of a piezoelectric material forming a plurality of parallel grooves 3 integrated with the substrate 5, This is an ink jet head comprising a nozzle plate 10 having a nozzle hole 9 perforated on the open end side.

As a method of manufacturing a printing apparatus according to the present invention, a molding composition 14 made of a material having piezoelectricity
In the method of forming the partition wall 4 by filling the recesses 3, the partition wall 4 is formed.
A concave portion corresponding to the coating layers 7 and (27) forming the groove bottom portions 6 and (26) and a molding die 13 forming a convex portion for the groove 3 are placed on the substrate 5, and the concave portion has piezoelectricity. A method comprising a step of filling a molding composition 14 made of a material; and having a concave portion corresponding to the partition layer 4 and the coating layer 7 (27) forming the groove bottom 6, (26) and a convex portion corresponding to the groove 3. Mold 13
Is prepared, and the concave portion is filled with a molding composition 14 made of a material having piezoelectricity, and then the substrate 5 is pressed against the molding composition 14.

When the notch 23 is formed in the coating layer 27 of the ink jet head shown in FIG. 2 in the manufacturing method shown in FIG.
A projection corresponding to 3 may be formed.

As a means for filling the molding die 13 with the molding composition 14, a known doctor blade method, roll coater method, printing method, injection molding method or the like can be adopted. It is desirable to perform a gas treatment or a degassing treatment after filling so that no air bubbles remain in the filling.

In order to bring the molding die 13 filled with the molding composition 14 into close contact with the substrate 5, the substrate 5 is brought into close contact with one side of the molding die 13 which is open on both sides, or The molding composition 14 may be filled in and adhered to a closed mold 13 in which a can be installed.

After that, depending on the resin contained in the molding composition 14, the solidification can be appropriately carried out by various means such as drying, cooling, heating, exposure, addition of a reaction accelerator and the like. As long as the shape of the partition walls 4 and the shape of the coating layers 7 and (27) forming the groove bottoms 6 and (26) can be maintained, the means for solidifying is not particularly limited.
When a polymerizable organic substance is solidified in the production method of demolding, it can be most effectively solidified by heating, exposure, addition of a reaction accelerator or the like. In addition,
A material layer having a uniform thickness having a piezoelectric property and formed on the substrate 5 is cut out by a sandblast method via a mask pattern, and the partition walls 4 and the groove bottoms 6 between the partition walls 4 and the coating layer 7 forming (26) are formed. , (27) can be formed as a substrate 5 on which a molded body 16 made of a material having piezoelectricity is integrally molded.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, another example of the manufacturing process of the ink-jet head is as follows. First, a paste-like molding composition 14 containing a material having a piezoelectric property is uniformly coated on a substrate 5 over the entire surface. Printing, and then printing plate 1
5 is repeated to form a molded body 16 on the substrate 5 in which the partition walls 4 and the coating layers 7 and (27) forming the groove bottoms 6 and (26) between the partition walls 4 are integrally formed from the same material. Can also be formed by adhesion.

In the production method shown in FIG. 4, when the notch groove 23 is formed in the coating layer 27 of the ink jet head shown in FIG. 2, a pattern corresponding to the notch groove 23 is formed in the printing plate 15 in advance. A paste-like molding composition 14 containing a material having piezoelectricity using the printing plate 15
Should be printed.

Thus, the groove bottom portions 6 between the partition walls 4
The substrate 5 on which the molded body 16 made of a material having piezoelectricity and formed integrally with the coating layer 7 and (27) forming (26) is subjected to a binder removal treatment under known conditions and then fired. By doing so, a constituent member of the ink pressurizing chamber 2 having the partition wall 4 integrated with the substrate 5 made of the same material or a different material and the coating layers 7 and (27) forming the flow bottom portions 6 and (26) is manufactured. be able to.

Further, if necessary, a small space for the lead electrode can be formed at the end of the groove 3 by machining.

Thereafter, a polarization process is performed in the base direction from the top end of the partition wall 4 to produce a constituent member of the ink pressurizing chamber 2 having a plurality of parallel grooves 3 integrated with the substrate 5.
An electrode 12 for applying a driving electric field and an extraction electrode (not shown) are provided in at least a part of the side surface and a small space provided at an end of the groove 3 by, for example, a sputtering method, a plating method, a vapor deposition method, an ion plating method. Or by a CVD method or the like.

Next, the nozzle plate 1 having the upper substrate 11 and the nozzle holes 9 perforated in the constituent members of the ink pressurizing chamber 2 thus obtained.
The ink jet heads 1 and (21) of the ink jetting apparatus constituting the printing apparatus according to the present invention are assembled by bonding each of the ink jet heads 0 with an epoxy adhesive or the like.
Can be obtained.

In the present invention, the substrate 5 may be made of the same material having the same piezoelectricity as that of the partition 4, and is not particularly limited as long as it can be integrated with the partition 4 after sintering. However, examples thereof include lead zirconate titanate-based ceramics, zirconia, and alumina.

Next, as described in detail above, the molding die 13 is provided with the partition walls 4 having a desired shape and the groove bottom portions 6 (2) between the partition walls 4.
Any material can be used as long as it can mold the coating layer 7 and (27) constituting 6). For example, various materials such as a metal mold, a ceramic mold, a resin mold, and a rubber mold can be used. When the mold is removed from the mold 13, a metal mold is optimal from the viewpoint of workability and dimensional accuracy of the mold 13, and there is no problem even if it is constituted by a split mold as well as an integral mold. It is also possible to constitute the molding die 13 with a material that can be dissolved and removed by a chemical treatment such as an alkaline solution, or a material that can be decomposed and removed by a heat treatment such as a binder removal treatment or baking. And an organic resin represented by a photosensitive organic resist are most suitable.

Further, for the purpose of improving the releasability on the surface of the mold 13, a release agent may be applied or a surface treatment may be performed.

On the other hand, the molding composition 14 is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having piezoelectricity, and can use various piezoelectric modes such as a piezoelectric sliding effect, a piezoelectric longitudinal effect, and a piezoelectric transverse effect. Any of these may be used, but among them, a lead zirconate titanate-based ceramic material is most suitable. The molding composition 14 is obtained by mixing a binder solution composed of a resin, a solvent, and the like, in addition to a material having piezoelectricity, and can also add various additives such as a dispersant and a thickener.

As the resin, it is possible to use thermoplastic waxes, acrylic resins, and butyral-based resins, and it is particularly preferable that the resin contains an organic material having polymerizability. For example, unsaturated polyester resins, phenol resins, epoxy resins, urethane resins, ultraviolet curable resins, and polymerizable monomers can be suitably used.

The means for preparing the molding composition 14 is not particularly limited, but for example, a ball mill, a bead mill, a three-roll, a planetary stirrer, a planetary stirrer and the like can be used. .

The material applicable to the electrode 12 is not particularly limited, but is preferably a metal material such as copper, silver, gold, platinum, tungsten or nickel, or a perovskite-based conductive ceramic material. Can be used for

On the other hand, the nozzle plate 10 has a nozzle hole 9 formed by drilling a predetermined size with a laser or the like, and any material such as various plastics, metals, and ceramics can be used. Can, for example, polyethylene terephthalate and polyimide, polyether imide, polyether ketone, polyether sulfone,
Plastics such as polycarbonate and cellulose acetate,
Alternatively, stainless steel or chromium molybdenum steel, metal such as aluminum, or alumina or zirconia, ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate, etc., in particular, from the viewpoint of ease of processing, made of polyethylene terephthalate or polyimide Plastic plates are preferred.

In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the ink to be ejected is mainly composed of a pigment and / or a dye and an aqueous solvent such as water or alcohol, or a non-aqueous solvent such as hexane or toluene. It can be applied to any of them.

[0062]

Next, the printing apparatus of the present invention and its manufacturing method were evaluated as follows.

(Example 1) First, the width of the concave portion corresponding to the partition is about 90 μm, the depth is about 500 μm, and the pitch is about 14 μm.
0 μm, the thickness of the concave portion corresponding to the coating layer forming the bottom of the groove between the partition walls is about 250 μm, and the width of the convex portion serving as the groove is 50 μm.
An open mold made of stainless steel and having a depth of 250 μm was prepared.

Next, a lead zirconate titanate-based ceramic powder, an unsaturated polyester resin, ethyl diglycol,
After mixing each raw material comprising a nonionic dispersant with a planetary stirrer, a molding composition was prepared through three rolls.

Then, after the defoamed molding composition was filled in the molding die, a lead zirconate titanate-based ceramic substrate having a thickness of about 300 μm was pressure-bonded to a predetermined position from the opening of the molding die.

Next, after being left at room temperature for 12 hours to solidify, the substrate is removed from the mold, and a substrate is obtained by applying a molded body integrally molded with a coating layer forming the partition and the bottom of the groove. Was.

Next, the molded body was subjected to a binder removal treatment together with the substrate at a temperature of 450 ° C., followed by firing at a temperature of 1200 ° C. for sintering and integration to produce the components of the ink pressurizing chamber. A space for an extraction electrode was formed at the end of the groove by slicing.

Thereafter, the partition was subjected to a polarization treatment, and a gold electrode was formed on the upper half of the side surface of the partition and the portion corresponding to the extraction electrode of the groove by a sputtering method.

On the other hand, holes for connecting ink chambers were formed in a lead zirconate titanate-based ceramic substrate having a thickness of about 300 μm by machining to produce an upper substrate.

Further, a nozzle plate was manufactured by piercing a nozzle hole with a laser on a polyimide plastic plate.

The members thus obtained were assembled by bonding with an epoxy-based adhesive to produce a shear mode ink jet head for evaluation.

First, in order to confirm the cross-sectional shapes of the partition wall and the coating layer forming the flow bottom, the components of the ink pressurizing chamber manufactured with the same specifications were cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the groove.
The cross section was observed with a scanning electron microscope, and the thickness of the coating layer forming the flow bottom was measured.

Next, the adhesion yield of the partition walls was determined by cutting the component members of the ink pressurizing chamber manufactured in the same specification in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the groove, and cutting the cross section by a scanning electron microscope. Observe the condition and count the number of non-defective products out of 10
The evaluation was made on a 00 minute basis.

Further, a signal voltage is loaded at 4 kHz, and A
An ejection experiment for solid printing on four-size plain paper was performed to evaluate the printing state.

As a result, the shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had an outer dimension of 2 mm in thickness and a depth of 1 mm.
2 mm, width 12 mm, the partition of the ink pressurization chamber,
The width is about 70 μm, the height of the partition is 400 μm, and the pitch is 1
40 μm, the coating layer forming the flow bottom has a shape with a thickness of 15 μm, and a short circuit with an adjacent ink pressurization chamber, that is,
No crosstalk was observed.

The end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicular to the partition wall from the bottom of the flow, the length of the end of the groove corresponding to the extraction electrode is 2 mm, and the end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed. The length of the groove was 10 mm, and the shape of the groove was completely rectangular.

Further, the state of adhesion between the partition walls and the substrate was satisfactory without any shape defects such as cracks and peeling, and the adhesion yield was 100%.

In the experiment of ejecting ink droplets, since the partition driving area can be sufficiently secured, the droplets can be ejected sufficiently, and the adhesion yield is good, so that the ink ejection speed is 20 ± 1.
It was confirmed that the ink jet head was stable at m / sec and a small inkjet head capable of achieving high definition was obtained.

(Example 2) In Example 1, the coating layer forming the groove bottom was replaced with a stainless steel open mold having a recess having a thickness of about 20 μm corresponding to the coating layer forming the flow bottom. A shear mode ink jet head for evaluation was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a stainless steel open mold having a thickness of a corresponding concave portion of about 200 μm was used.

As a result, the shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had an outer dimension of 2 mm in thickness, 12 mm in depth, and 12 mm in width. The partition of the ink pressurizing chamber had a width of about 70 μm, and the height of the partition. Is 400 μm, the pitch is 140 μm, and the thickness of the coating layer forming the bottom of the groove is 150 μm.
And no crosstalk between the adjacent ink pressurizing chambers was observed.

The end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicular to the partition wall from the bottom of the flow, the length of the end of the groove corresponding to the extraction electrode is 2 mm, and the end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed. The length of the groove was 10 mm, and the groove had a perfect rectangular shape.

Further, the state of adhesion between the partition walls and the substrate was not recognized as long as shape defects such as cracks and peeling were observed, the shape was good, the strength was sufficient, and the adhesion yield was 100%.

Further, in the experiment of ejecting ink droplets, the partition driving region can be sufficiently secured and the droplets can be ejected sufficiently. As in the first embodiment, the ink ejection speed is stable at 20 ± 1 m / sec. Thus, it was confirmed that a small-sized inkjet head capable of achieving high definition was obtained.

(Example 3) In Example 1, instead of the open mold, the width of the concave portion corresponding to the partition wall on which the substrate can be placed is about 90 μm, the depth is about 500 μm, and the pitch is about 1 μm.
40 μm, the thickness of the concave part corresponding to the coating layer forming the flow bottom is about 300 μm, the width of the convex part forming the groove is 30 μm, and the depth is 250 μm. In the same manner as in Example 1, a shear mode ink jet head for evaluation was prepared and evaluated.

As a result, the shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had an outer dimension of 2 mm in thickness, 12 mm in depth, and 12 mm in width. The partition of the ink pressurizing chamber had a width of about 70 μm and the height of the partition. Has a shape of 400 μm, a pitch of 140 μm, and a coating layer having a thickness of 22 μm,
No crosstalk with the adjacent ink pressurizing chamber was observed.

The end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicular to the partition wall from the bottom of the flow, and the length of the end of the groove corresponding to the lead electrode is 2 mm. The length of the groove was 10 mm, and the shape of the groove in the longitudinal direction was a perfect rectangular shape.

Further, the state of adhesion between the partition walls and the substrate was not recognized as long as shape defects such as cracks and peeling were observed, the shape was good, the strength was sufficient, and the adhesion yield was 100%.

In addition, since the ink droplets are jetted in a rigorous manner, a sufficient partition driving area can be secured and the liquid droplets can be jetted sufficiently, and the ink jetting speed is stable at 20 ± 1 m / sec. It was confirmed that a small-sized inkjet head capable of being manufactured was obtained.

Example 4 A shear mode type for evaluation was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a monomer having an acroyl group was used instead of the unsaturated polyester resin constituting the molding composition in Example 1. Was manufactured and evaluated.

As a result, the shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had an outer dimension of 2 mm in thickness, 12 mm in depth and 12 mm in width, and the partition wall of the ink pressurizing chamber had a width of about 70 μm and a height of the partition wall of about 70 μm. 390 μm, the pitch was 140 μm, and the coating layer had a thickness of 200 μm. Similar to Examples 1 to 3, no crosstalk was observed between the adjacent ink pressurizing chambers.

The end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicularly to the bottom from the flow bottom like the partition wall. The length of the end of the groove corresponding to the extraction electrode is 2 mm. The length of the groove was 10 mm, and the shape of the groove in the longitudinal direction was a perfect rectangular shape.

Furthermore, the bonding state between the partition walls and the substrate was free from shape defects such as cracks and peeling, had a good shape, had sufficient strength, and was 100% when the bonding yield was 100%. In the experiment of ejecting ink droplets, the partition driving area can be sufficiently secured, the droplets can be ejected sufficiently, and the same stable ejection speed as that of the first to third embodiments is exhibited. It was confirmed that the above-mentioned inkjet head was obtained.

(Example 5) In Example 1, the coating layer forming the flow bottom was replaced with an open mold made of stainless steel having a concave portion having a thickness of about 20 μm corresponding to the coating layer forming the flow bottom. Except for using a stainless steel open mold having a thickness of the corresponding concave portion of about 625 μm, a width of the convex portion forming the groove of 15 μm, a depth of 625 μm, and a projection on the top of the convex portion. In the same manner as in Example 1, a shear mode ink jet head for evaluation was prepared and evaluated.

As a result, the shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had an external dimension of a thickness of 2 mm, a depth of 12 mm, and a width of 12 mm, the partition wall of the ink pressurizing chamber had a width of about 70 μm, and the height of the partition wall. Is 400 μm, the pitch is 140 μm, the thickness of the coating layer is 500 μm, and the width of the groove is 2 μm.
It had a shape of 0 μm and a depth of 500 μm, and had one notch at the bottom of the groove, and no crosstalk with the adjacent ink pressurization chamber was observed.

The end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicular to the flow bottom from the bottom as well as the partition wall. The length of the end of the groove corresponding to the extraction electrode is 2 mm. The length of the groove was 10 mm, and the groove had a perfect rectangular shape.

The state of adhesion between the partition wall and the substrate was good without any shape defects such as cracks and peeling, and the strength was sufficient, and the bonding yield was 100%.

Further, in the experiment of ejecting ink droplets, it was possible to sufficiently secure the partition driving region and to sufficiently eject the droplets, and to stably maintain the ink ejection speed at 20 ± 1 m / sec as in the first embodiment. Thus, it was confirmed that a small-sized inkjet head capable of achieving high definition was obtained.

(Comparative Example) First, a lead zirconate titanate substrate having a thickness of about 800 μm was prepared, and a thickness of 500 μm was formed on the substrate.
A μm ultraviolet-curable dry film was laminated with a roller.

Next, a glass pattern mask having a groove width of about 90 μm and a pitch of about 140 μm corresponding to a partition was provided on the dry film, and further exposed to ultraviolet light from an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp.

Thereafter, the glass pattern mask was removed and developed with a 2% aqueous solution of sodium carbonate to form a concave portion for embedding a dry film on the substrate.

Next, a paste-like molding composition comprising a lead zirconate titanate-based ceramic powder, an acrylic binder and a higher alcohol was filled in the recess, and
After drying at a temperature of 0 ° C. for 15 minutes, a binder removal treatment was performed at a temperature of 450 ° C., followed by firing at a temperature of 1200 ° C. to perform sintering and integration to produce a component of an ink pressurizing chamber.

Hereinafter, electrode formation, polarization,
Assembling was performed, and a shear mode ink jet head for evaluation was produced and evaluated in the same manner.

As a result, the obtained shear mode ink jet head for evaluation had outer dimensions of 2 mm in thickness, 12 mm in depth, and 12 mm in width, and the partition wall of the ink pressurizing chamber had a width of about 70 μm, and The height of the groove is 400 μm, the pitch is 140 μm, and the end of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber is formed substantially perpendicular to the flow bottom from the flow bottom as well as the partition wall. The length of the groove of the ink pressurizing chamber was 10 mm.

However, many microcracks were generated at the interface where the base of the partition wall was in contact with the substrate, and some of the microcracks were connected to separate the partition wall from the substrate, crosstalk was also observed, and the adhesion yield was low. It was about 70%.

Therefore, in the experiment of ejecting ink droplets, the partition walls did not drive accurately, and printing defects such as streaks were observed on the paper surface. The dispersion was large and unstable at 21 m / sec.

As is clear from the above results, in the comparative example, the adhesion between the partition wall and the substrate is poor, the connection reliability is low, and a minute crack is generated due to insufficient adhesion to the substrate. On the other hand, in the present invention, it can be seen that the entire length of the groove can be secured without any defect, not only can a small inkjet head itself be formed, but also the ejection characteristics are excellent, the bonding yield is extremely high, and the connection reliability can be increased. .

Further, a sufficient partition driving area can be secured, ink droplets can be ejected with a sufficient pressure, and a long head such as a line printer head can be easily manufactured.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0108]

As described above, according to the printing apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same of the present invention, the flow bottom between the partitions on the substrate of the ink jet head constituting the shear mode type ink ejecting apparatus is made of the same material as the partitions. By forming with a coating layer composed of, it is possible to increase the adhesion area of the partition base in contact with the substrate, and it is possible to firmly join the partition on the substrate.

Further, by providing a groove in the coating layer forming the bottom of the groove, even if the thickness of the coating layer is increased, the positional accuracy of the partition does not vary, and the partition can be firmly joined to the substrate.

Thus, an ink jet head with high accuracy can be obtained.

Further, since the partition driving region can be sufficiently secured, the size and weight of the ink jet head itself can be reduced, the material cost can be reduced, and the area occupied by the ink jet device including such an ink jet head at the time of installation is greatly increased. Thus, the size of the printing apparatus itself can be reduced.

Further, since the ink jet head is reduced in size and weight, the moving speed of the ink jet head can be increased and the positioning accuracy can be improved. In addition, the ink jet head can be moved by increasing the substrate size. Unnecessary line printer heads can be easily manufactured, high-speed, high-resolution printing is possible, and required printing, images, patterns, etc. can be made more precise, and suitable for mass production. A printing device including an ink ejecting device including an inkjet head is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an example of an ink jet head used in an ink ejecting apparatus constituting a printing apparatus of the present invention, which is cut in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of a groove.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of another example of an ink jet head used in an ink ejecting apparatus constituting the printing apparatus of the present invention, which is cut in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of a groove.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of an ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus which is a main part of the printing apparatus, for explaining a manufacturing method of the printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating another example of the manufacturing process of the ink jet head constituting the ink ejecting apparatus which is a main part of the printing apparatus, for explaining the manufacturing method of the printing apparatus of the present invention.

[Tax of sign]

1:21 inkjet head 2: ink pressurization chamber
3: Groove 4: Partition wall 5: Substrate 6, 26: Flow bottom 7, 27: Coating layer 8,
28: thickness 9: nozzle hole 10: nozzle plate 11: upper substrate 1
2: Electrode 13: Mold 14: Molding composition 15: Printing plate
16: molded body

Claims (9)

[Claims] A partition for forming a plurality of grooves constituting an ink pressurizing chamber is made of a material having a piezoelectric property, and the partition walls are deformed and deformed by a shear mode of the material having a piezoelectric property to form a volume of the groove. A printing apparatus comprising, as an ink jetting device, an ink jet head for jetting ink supplied to the groove as a droplet from a nozzle hole communicating with the groove, wherein the same as the partition at the bottom of the groove between the partition. A printing apparatus, characterized in that a coating layer of a material having a thickness of 5 to 200 μm is applied. 2. A partition for forming a plurality of grooves constituting an ink pressurizing chamber is made of a material having a piezoelectric property, and the partition walls are deformed and deformed by a shear mode of the material having a piezoelectric property to form a volume of the groove. A printing apparatus comprising, as an ink jetting device, an ink jet head for jetting ink supplied to the groove as a droplet from a nozzle hole communicating with the groove, wherein the same as the partition at the bottom of the groove between the partition. A printing device comprising a material, having a thickness of 200 μm to 500 μm, and having a coating layer having at least one notch groove applied thereto. 3. A partition having a plurality of grooves forming an ink pressurizing chamber, the partition having electrodes on a side surface, a pair of opposed substrates held at predetermined intervals by the partition, and an open end of the groove. What is claimed is: 1. A method for manufacturing a printing apparatus comprising an ink jet head comprising a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole to be sealed as an ink ejecting apparatus, wherein a coating layer having a predetermined thickness forming a groove bottom between the partition walls is formed. After filling and solidifying a molding composition made of a piezoelectric material into a molding die having a concave portion and a convex portion for a groove, the molding die is removed, and a coating layer forming a partition wall and a groove bottom is integrated. After obtaining a molded product, the substrate is attached, and then the binder and the coating layer at the bottom of the groove are sintered and integrated with the substrate by binder removal and firing, and then an electrode is formed on the side surface of the partition. And then join the upper substrate to the top of the partition Together, the manufacturing method of a printing apparatus, and forming an ink jet head that constitutes the ink jet apparatus by bonding a nozzle plate bored nozzle holes on the open end side of the groove. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the molding composition contains a polymerizable organic substance. 5. A partition having a plurality of grooves forming an ink pressurizing chamber, the partition having an electrode on a side surface, a pair of opposed substrates held at predetermined intervals by the partition, and an open end of the groove. What is claimed is: 1. A method for manufacturing a printing apparatus comprising an ink jet head comprising a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole to be sealed as an ink ejecting apparatus, wherein a coating layer having a predetermined thickness forming a groove bottom between the partition walls is formed. After filling and solidifying a molding composition made of a piezoelectric material into a molding die having a concave portion and a convex portion for a groove, the molding die is removed by a chemical treatment to form a partition and a groove bottom. After obtaining a molded body in which the coating layer is integrally formed, the substrate is bonded, and then the binder and the coating layer on the bottom of the groove and the substrate are sintered and integrated by debinding and firing, and then on the side surface of the partition. Forming electrodes,
Then, an upper substrate is joined to the top of the partition wall, and a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole formed on the open end side of the groove is joined to form an ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus. Method. 6. A partition having an electrode on a side surface and forming a plurality of grooves forming an ink pressurizing chamber, a pair of opposed substrates held at predetermined intervals by the partition, and an open end of the groove. What is claimed is: 1. A method for manufacturing a printing apparatus comprising an ink jet head comprising a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole to be sealed as an ink ejecting apparatus, wherein a coating layer having a predetermined thickness forming a groove bottom between the partition walls is formed. A molding die having a concave portion and a convex portion for a groove is filled with a molding composition made of a material having piezoelectricity, a substrate is brought into close contact with the molding composition, and the molding composition is solidified. After removing the mold, the binder and the substrate are sintered and integrated by removing the binder and sintering, or the binder and the bottom of the groove are simultaneously decomposed and removed by heat treatment for binder removal and sintering. Coating layer After sintering and integrating the substrate, electrodes are formed on the side surfaces of the partition walls, and then the upper substrate is bonded to the top of the partition walls, and a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole formed on the open end side of the groove is bonded to eject ink. A method for manufacturing a printing apparatus, comprising forming an ink jet head constituting the apparatus. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the mold is made of an organic resin that can be dissolved or decomposed by chemical treatment or heat treatment. 8. The molding die repeats a process of bonding a photosensitive organic film on a substrate, aligning a mask pattern of a predetermined shape, and performing exposure and development while changing the mask pattern to a predetermined height at a predetermined height. The method for manufacturing a printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a convex portion for forming a coating layer having a predetermined thickness is attached to a groove bottom having a cross-sectional shape. 9. A partition having an electrode on a side surface and forming a plurality of grooves constituting an ink pressurizing chamber, a pair of opposed substrates held at predetermined intervals by the partition, and an open end of the groove. What is claimed is: 1. A method for manufacturing a printing apparatus, comprising: an ink jet device comprising an ink jet head comprising a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole to be sealed as an ink jetting apparatus, wherein a printing plate having a predetermined shape is combined on a substrate to have piezoelectricity by screen printing. After printing and solidifying the molding composition, changing the printing plate making the printing,
After forming the molded body in which the coating layer forming the partition and the groove bottom is integrally formed by repeating the solidification process, the binder and the coating layer of the partition and the groove bottom are sintered and integrated with the substrate by debinding and firing, and then An electrode is formed on the side surface of the partition wall, and then the upper substrate is bonded to the top of the partition wall, and a nozzle plate having a nozzle hole formed on the open end side of the groove is bonded to form an ink jet head constituting an ink ejecting apparatus. A method of manufacturing a printing apparatus.