JP2000211145A - Ink jet recording head and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet head excellent in bonding reliability and a production method thereof excellent in productivity by preventing adhesive from entering into an ejection opening or an ink channel when the adhesive is applied or an ejection opening plate is pasted thereby ensuring flatness on the surface of the ejection opening plate even when the adhesive is degassed. SOLUTION: In an ink jet head where an ejection opening plate having an ink ejection opening 530 is bonded to the face of a head body having an opening communicating with an ink channel, in a manufacturing method thereof, a recess for releasing adhesive is made in the bonding face side of the ejection opening plate or a through hole 650 is made on the surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, and more particularly to an on-demand type ink jet recording head for ejecting and recording ink only when necessary for recording characters and images, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for color recording, high gradation, and high image quality as well as miniaturization and low cost of an ink jet recording apparatus. Therefore, the inkjet recording head applied to the present apparatus also needs to meet not only the demand for miniaturization and cost reduction, but also the demand for color recording, high gradation, and high image quality. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional ink jet recording head, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view for explaining each component in FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 720 denotes a substrate on which the energy generating element 101 for discharging ink is provided.
Reference numeral 00 denotes a flow path forming portion 400 for forming an ink flow path corresponding to the substrate 720, the location where the energy generating element is provided, and ink supply to the ink path in communication with the flow path. A discharge port plate (discharge port forming member) 600 having a plurality of ink discharge ports 630 in communication with the flow path is provided on the substrate 720. And a contact surface with the joint surface with the flow path forming member 400. Then, an adhesive 200 (hatched portion) for fixing a joint portion of each of these components at a predetermined position is applied to each of these components. Reference numeral 100 (FIG. 8) is a support member for holding these components during assembly.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head of FIG. 8 taken as a center axis of a discharge port 630 from the side (A direction in FIG. 7) with respect to the discharge direction. FIG. 6B shows a substrate on which an energy generating element 101 for discharging ink is provided, and a flow path forming portion for forming an ink flow path corresponding to a portion where the energy generating element is provided. An adhesive 200 (hatched portion) for fixing each joint portion at a predetermined position is applied to a joint surface with the top plate 300 provided, and an ejection port plate 600 having ejection ports 630 corresponding to each ink flow path. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view before positioning and bonding. The adhesive 200 may be applied to the ejection port plate 600 side.

In the ink jet recording head, not only miniaturization and cost reduction but also discharge of a plurality of different ink colors accompanying color recording is performed.
Ink jet recording heads in which a plurality of 0s are formed and different inks are discharged from the corresponding discharge ports have also been devised. The discharge ports are finer, and the arrangement density of the plurality of discharge port arrays is high. Things are required.
For this reason, some kind of adhesive is used in the application of the above-mentioned adhesive and the bonding, but in this application of the adhesive, the adhesive is surely performed without flowing into the ink flow path, and the bonding is performed. At the time of alignment, excess adhesive,
It is important to prevent the ink from entering the ejection openings and the ink flow paths.

[0005]

However, in the case of misalignment with the discharge port plate or variation in the amount of applied adhesive and application position during bonding, excess adhesive is discharged from the discharge port. Or may enter the ink flow path. Further, in the first place, a substrate provided with an energy generating element for ejecting ink and a top plate provided with a flow path forming portion for forming an ink flow path corresponding to a portion where the energy generating element is provided are provided. It is not possible to assemble the joint surfaces completely flat. In the case of a top plate made by resin injection molding, there is a variation in component accuracy of about ± 3 μm, and in the case of a board made by cutting, there is a variation in component accuracy of about ± 1 μm. Since an assembly error of about ± 1 μm or more is further added thereto, there is a total step of about ± 5 μm. With this step, a gap is formed between the ejection port plate and the surface of the head body where the opening communicating with the ink path is formed,
Crosstalk occurs between the nozzles and the print quality deteriorates.

In order to prevent this, the step portion must be completely filled with an adhesive to eliminate the space and to prevent crosstalk between nozzles. For that purpose, it is necessary to create and bond an adhesive layer thicker than the maximum step. The level difference is not uniform in all the discharge port forming portions, but is large in some portions and small in some portions. Since the discharge port plate surface is required to be flat, if you try to apply it while maintaining the flatness, excess adhesive other than filling the gap will fill the discharge port or solidify with internal stress and it will be over time Or the discharge port plate is to be deformed to be convex. In the case of a heat-curable adhesive, a gas is generated during baking, and an attempt is made to deform the discharge port plate due to volume expansion. Amount of adhesive applied,
Adjusting the dispensing position to prevent these problems
It is virtually impossible. Further, when the adhesive enters the discharge port or the ink flow path, it has been proposed to remove the adhesive from the discharge side of the discharge port plate using a laser or the like. For example, when a low ink is used, it flows deep into the ink flow path, and it is difficult to reliably remove the ink. In addition, the number of manufacturing steps increases as in the case of the adhesive patterning method.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and prevents the adhesive from entering the discharge port, the ink flow path, etc. at the time of applying and bonding the adhesive. Even if degassing etc. occurs, the flatness of the discharge port plate surface is ensured, the reliability at the time of joining is high, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head having high productivity and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that an ink jet recording head and a method of manufacturing the same are configured as follows. That is, the inkjet recording head of the present invention is an inkjet recording head having a configuration in which an ejection port plate having ink ejection ports is bonded to a surface of an ink passage of a head body where an opening communicating with an ink path is formed. A recess for releasing the adhesive or a through hole to the surface is formed on the bonding surface side of the discharge port plate, or a concave for releasing the adhesive is formed on the surface of the head body to which the discharge plate is bonded. It is characterized by having.
Further, according to a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head of the present invention, an ink jet recording head is formed by bonding an ejection port plate having an ink ejection port to a surface of an ink passage of a head body where an opening communicating with an ink path is formed. A method of manufacturing a head, comprising: forming a recess for releasing adhesive, or a through hole to the surface, on the bonding surface side of the discharge port plate, and bonding the discharge port plate to the bonding surface of the head body; Alternatively, a recess for releasing the adhesive is formed on the surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate is bonded, and the discharge port plate is bonded to the surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate is bonded.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention attains the above-mentioned object of the present invention by the above-mentioned structure. More specifically, the discharge port plate of the present invention provides an energy generation for discharging ink. A substrate provided with elements, a flow path forming section for forming an ink flow path corresponding to a portion where the energy generating element is provided, and supplying ink to the ink path in communication with the flow path And a discharge plate (discharge port forming member) having a plurality of ink discharge ports provided corresponding to each of the bonding surfaces of the bonding portion. Inkjet recording head,
Or it is applied to the manufacturing method. Conventionally, if the discharge port plate is attached to the surface of the ink jet head body where the opening communicating with the ink path is formed while maintaining the flatness, extra adhesive other than filling the gap is used. It is difficult to maintain the flatness of the discharge port plate because it fills the discharge port or solidifies with internal stress and deforms over time, or tries to deform the discharge port plate to a convex shape. there were. However, in the present invention, a concave portion or a through hole to the surface for forming an adhesive escape is formed on the bonding surface side of the discharge port plate, or the adhesive escape surface is formed on the surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate is bonded. By forming the concave portion of
Excess adhesive or degassing generated during baking is guided to a concave portion for escape or a through hole to the surface, and clogging of the discharge port does not occur, so that the flatness of the discharge port plate can be easily maintained.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a discharge port plate with through holes according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged internal perspective view showing a cross-sectional portion (BB cross section) of FIG. The discharge port plate with through holes according to the present embodiment constitutes the discharge port plate 600 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In this embodiment,
A discharge port plate having a thickness of 15 μm was manufactured by using Ni electroforming. Here, the discharge port and the through hole for releasing the adhesive are formed by electroforming, but a method such as press punching or etching may be used. Further, 128 ejection ports having a diameter of 41 μm on both the front side and the bonding side were arranged at a pitch of 71 μm. The diameter of the through hole for releasing the adhesive was 78 μm on both the front surface side and the bonding surface side, and was disposed at a pitch of 98 μm from a position 78 μm apart from the discharge port row, and was arranged over the entire bonding range. An adhesive of 3 μm was applied to the discharge port plate. The adhesive may be applied to the surface of the head main body to which the discharge port plate is bonded. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 20 denotes an ink tank for storing ink to be discharged, and reference numeral 10 denotes a supply path for guiding the ink to an ink flow path, which communicates with an ink supply port (not shown) of a top plate. I have. Reference numeral 600 denotes a discharge port plate having a plurality of discharge ports 630, and reference numeral 100 denotes a holding member that supports these constituent members during assembly. Further, the cross-sectional portion (B-
In FIG. 5 which is an internal enlarged perspective view showing (B section), a substrate 720 on which an energy generating element for discharging ink is provided inside the discharge port plate 600 and a portion where the energy generating element is disposed are shown. A top plate 3 having a flow path forming part for forming an ink flow path and a common liquid chamber communicating with the flow path and supplying ink to the ink path;
00 are joined.

The respective ink flow paths on the joint surface and the respective discharge ports of the discharge port plate 600 corresponding thereto are bonded and fixed via an adhesive. As a comparative example, a completely similar discharge port plate was prepared except that there was no through hole for escape of the adhesive, and each ink flow path and each discharge port of the discharge port plate corresponding to the ink flow path were formed in the same manner. The ink-jet head was produced by bonding and fixing via. In the case of the comparative example, clogging of the discharge ports of the discharge port plate occurred about 30% of all the discharge ports, but in the case of the present example, no clogging occurred and all nozzles discharged well. If a through hole to the surface is formed in the discharge port plate as in the present embodiment, excess adhesive is guided to the through hole to the surface, so that clogging of the discharge port does not occur. Is kept flat.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a discharge port plate with a concave portion for escaping an adhesive in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a sheet thickness of 1 using Ni electroforming is used.
A 5 μm outlet plate was produced. The discharge port is on the front side,
128 objects having a diameter of 41 μm on both sides of the bonding surface were arranged at a pitch of 71 μm. The adhesive escape recess has a diameter of 78
It was arranged over the entire bonding area at a pitch of 98 μm from a position 78 μm away from the discharge port array at a depth of 7 μm and a depth of 7 μm. An adhesive of 3 μm was applied to the discharge port plate. The adhesive may be applied to the surface of the head main body to which the discharge port plate is bonded.

Next, an ink jet head was manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment. As a comparative example, a completely similar discharge port plate was prepared except that there was no through hole for escape of the adhesive, and each ink flow path and each discharge port of the discharge port plate corresponding to the ink flow path were formed in the same manner. The ink-jet head was produced by bonding and fixing via. In the case of the comparative example, clogging of the discharge ports of the discharge port plate occurred about 30% of all the discharge ports. In the case of this example, however, no clogging occurred and all nozzles discharged satisfactorily. As in this embodiment, if the adhesive layer of the discharge port plate has a concave portion for releasing the adhesive, the excess adhesive is guided to the concave portion for releasing the adhesive. Without this, the flatness of the discharge port plate is maintained.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a head with a concave portion for escaping the adhesive on the main body side in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the sheet thickness is 15 μm
Made the outlet plate. The discharge port is one with a diameter of 41 μm on both the front side and the adhesive side at 71 μm pitch.
28 were arranged. Apply 3 μm of adhesive to this discharge port plate
Applied. Next, a concave portion for escaping the adhesive was formed on the surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate was bonded, with a diameter of 78 μm and a depth of 3 μm.
From the position 78 μm away from the discharge port array, respectively.
Work was performed over the entire bonding area at a pitch of μm. Thereafter, even if the adhesive is applied to the surface of the head main body to which the discharge port plate is bonded, the same effect as when the adhesive is applied to the discharge port plate is obtained.

Next, an ink jet head was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1. As a comparative example, a completely similar discharge port plate was prepared except that there was no through hole for escape of the adhesive, and each ink flow path and each discharge port of the discharge port plate corresponding to the ink flow path were formed in the same manner. The ink-jet head was produced by bonding and fixing via. In the case of the comparative example, clogging of the discharge ports of the discharge port plate occurred about 30% of all the discharge ports. In the case of this example, however, no clogging occurred and all nozzles discharged satisfactorily. As in the present embodiment, when a concave portion for releasing the adhesive is formed on the surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate is bonded, excess adhesive is guided to the concave portion for releasing the adhesive. No clogging occurs, and the flatness of the discharge port plate is maintained.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a concave portion or a through hole to the surface of the discharge port plate is formed on the bonding surface side of the discharge port plate, or the discharge port plate of the head body is bonded to the discharge port plate. With the configuration in which the concave portion for escaping the adhesive is formed, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from entering the ejection port, the ink flow path, and the like at the time of applying and bonding the adhesive. Even if degassing or the like occurs, it is possible to secure the flatness of the discharge port plate surface, and to realize an inkjet recording head and a method of manufacturing the same that have high reliability at the time of joining and high productivity. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a discharge port plate with through holes according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a discharge port plate with a concave portion for escaping an adhesive according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a head with a concave portion for escaping an adhesive on a main body side according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged internal perspective view showing a cross section (BB cross section) of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the internal configuration of the conventional inkjet recording head of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional ink jet recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Ink supply path 20: Ink tank 100: Support member 101: Energy generating element 200: Main body side adhesive surface 300: Top plate 400: Flow path forming part 450: Common liquid chamber 600: Discharge port plate 630: Discharge port 650: Adhesive escape through hole 670: Adhesive escape recess 690: Body side adhesive escape recess 720: Substrate

Claims (4)

[Claims] A discharge plate having ink discharge ports,
An ink jet recording head having a configuration adhered to a surface of an ink passage of a head body where an opening communicating with an ink path is formed. An ink jet recording head having a through hole formed therein. 2. An ejection port plate having ink ejection ports,
An ink jet recording head having a configuration bonded to a surface of an ink passage of a head main body having an opening formed therein, wherein a concave portion for releasing an adhesive is formed on a surface of the head main body to which a discharge port plate is bonded. An ink jet recording head characterized in that: 3. An ejection port plate having ink ejection ports,
A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, which is bonded to a surface of an ink passage of a head body where an opening communicating with an ink path is formed, to form an ink jet recording head, comprising: A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, comprising: forming a recess or a through hole in a surface; and bonding the discharge port plate to an adhesive surface of the head body. 4. An ejection port plate having ink ejection ports,
A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head which forms an ink jet recording head by bonding to a surface of an ink passage of a head body where an opening communicating with an ink path is formed, wherein an adhesive escapes to a surface of the head body to which a discharge port plate is bonded. A method of forming an ink jet recording head, the method comprising: forming a concave portion for use in printing; and bonding the discharge port plate to a surface of the head body to which the discharge port plate is bonded.