JP2001171130A - Forming method for ink-jet recording head, and ink-jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a forming method for an ink-jet recording head exerting a good adhesion to a heater board, a uniform nozzle shape and an inexpensive and high production stability without complicating a manufacture process, and an ink-jet recording head. SOLUTION: In the ink-jet recording head or in the forming method for forming the ink-jet recording head provided with a top plate where groove walls for constituting nozzles corresponding to a plurality of discharge openings respectively are formed and a substrate having discharge energy-generating elements arranged to positions corresponding to part of the nozzles by bonding the top plate and the substrate by an adhesive, a shape of an end part of the groove wall for forming the nozzles is controlled, thereby forming the uniform nozzle shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head for ejecting and flying a recording liquid generally called ink from a fine opening, and an ink jet recording head, and more particularly to realizing a uniform nozzle shape. It was done. The present invention also relates to paper, yarn, fiber,
For recording on a recording medium such as cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramics, a printer, a copier, a facsimile having a communication system, a device such as a word processor having a printer unit, and various processing devices. This is an invention that can be applied to an industrial recording device combined in a combined manner. Note that “recording” in the present invention means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, recording head and recording unit integrated with an ink tank, a recording unit utilizing thermal energy or an electromechanical transducer is known. In particular, an ink jet recording head that uses a thermal energy to discharge a recording liquid can perform high-resolution recording because the discharge ports for discharging ink can be arranged at high density. It has advantages such as easy downsizing and is already in practical use.

[0003] The ink jet recording head is provided with a liquid chamber for storing ink, ink discharge nozzles, and ink discharge ports so as to communicate with the ink discharge nozzles. Conventionally, various types of ink discharge nozzles have been proposed for the ink jet recording head. One known method is to form a nozzle groove by performing anisotropic etching on a silicon substrate. For example, (11)
There is a method of forming a groove by performing anisotropic etching on a silicon substrate having a 0) plane.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of an ink jet recording head using a member having these grooves formed thereon (hereinafter referred to as a top plate). Reference numeral 11 denotes a silicon chip on which a large number of heating elements (heaters) 12 are arranged, and is hereinafter referred to as a heater board. The top plate 13 and the heater board 11 are shown in FIG.
In the direction shown in FIG.
An elongated nozzle is formed on the surface of the heater board 4 and the heater board 11, and at this time, both are precisely adjusted so as to include the heater 12 inside the nozzle. The ink is supplied from an ink tank (not shown), guided to the ink liquid chamber 15, and then reaches the inside of the nozzle. The heater board 11 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown), and energizes each of the heaters 12 according to print data.

[0005] The control circuit may be either on the heater board or on a separate substrate. Since the control circuit is not related to the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The heater 12 energized according to the print data generates heat, and heats the ink in the nozzle. The heated ink boils above a certain critical temperature, generating bubbles.
The generated bubbles grow in a short time of several μs and give an impact force to the ink, so that a part of the ink is vigorously pushed out from the ejection port by the impact, and lands on a printed matter, for example, paper. When this is repeated, the print image is completed. still,
In addition to the method of forming a groove by performing anisotropic etching on the silicon substrate, a method of forming a fine groove by cutting or etching or the like on a substrate such as glass or metal, or a method of forming the top plate, A method of forming a groove wall by applying a photosensitive resin and performing exposure and development is also known. In addition, a method of forming the groove by molding or laser processing using a resin material for the top plate has already been put to practical use (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-121845).
No.).

When forming the nozzles by bringing the top plate into close contact with the heater board, the simplest method is to spray an adhesive. This is a method in which a resin-based adhesive whose viscosity has been adjusted with a diluent is mixed with compressed air and sprayed on the surface of the top plate in a mist state. This method is also useful when the material of the top plate is a material having low ink resistance. For example, when the silicon substrate is used as a top plate, since silicon has the property of dissolving in an alkaline solution, there is a problem that the nozzle dissolves and deforms when it comes into contact with an alkaline ink for an inkjet printer in recent years. By using a material with high chemical resistance such as polyether amide resin (HIMAL: Hitachi Chemical) as the adhesive material, the adhesive is applied on the groove wall of the top plate and at the same time a protective film is formed on the inner wall of the groove You can do it. In addition, if the method of spraying is used, patterning of the adhesive corresponding to the groove wall and the like are unnecessary, and the production process can be simplified. Therefore, the method of spraying the resin material in the form of a mist is a very effective method from the viewpoint of bonding the top plate, the heater board, and protecting the inner wall of the nozzle.

[0007]

However, as the image quality of the ink jet printer is improved, the width of the groove wall becomes narrower. For example, when the nozzle density becomes 360 dpi or more, the width of the groove wall becomes 40 μm or less. In this case, when the adhesive is applied by the above-described method using a spray, a liquid pool is formed at the end of the groove wall due to the surface tension of the resin material. FIG. 2 shows the state of the liquid pool, and the adhesive layer adhered to the upper portion of the groove wall is schematically shown by oblique lines. When two or more nozzles are arranged in the column direction, this liquid pool may occur in a non-uniform shape for each nozzle, resulting in a non-uniform nozzle shape and an unstable ink discharge state. Causes deterioration in the quality of printed matter.

Further, in a liquid discharge head, a method of providing a movable member having a valve function in a nozzle as a method for improving the liquid discharge efficiency, discharge force, discharge speed, and landing accuracy on a recording medium. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-11471, if a liquid pool occurs, the liquid pool contacts the movable member when the heater board and the top plate are joined, and the movable member is damaged or poor adhesion occurs. There is also a problem that the liquid pool hinders the operation of the movable member when the movable member operates.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides an ink jet recording head which has good adhesion to a heater board, has a uniform nozzle shape, is inexpensive and has high production stability without complicating the production process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method of the above and an ink jet recording head.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, comprising:
And the ink jet recording head is configured as follows. That is, in the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head of the present invention, a top plate on which a groove wall for forming a nozzle corresponding to each of a plurality of ejection ports is formed, and the top plate is disposed at a position corresponding to a part of the nozzle. And a substrate having a discharge energy generating element, and in a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head for forming an ink jet recording head by bonding these with an adhesive, controlling the end shape of a groove wall for forming the nozzle. Thus, a uniform nozzle shape is formed. Further, the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head according to the present invention is characterized in that the end shape of the groove wall is such that an end wall width is smaller than a central wall width in the wall width. Further, the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head of the present invention is characterized in that the end shape of the groove wall is such that the wall height at the end is lower than the wall height at the center at the wall height. I have. Further, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, the top plate is formed of a silicon substrate. Further, the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head according to the present invention is characterized in that a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed on the top plate by anisotropic etching. Further, the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head of the present invention is characterized in that the top plate is formed of any one of a resin, a mineral, a metal, and a glass material. Further, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head of the present invention, a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by irradiating the top plate with laser light. Further, the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head of the present invention is characterized in that a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by applying a photosensitive resin on a substrate and performing exposure and development. I have. Further, the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording head of the present invention is characterized in that a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by molding using a resin material as a material of the top plate. .

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention has the above-described structure, and only requires, for example, changing a nozzle pattern on a mask, without increasing the manufacturing cost as compared with the conventional top plate manufacturing process shown in FIG. It is possible to form a uniform nozzle shape on the top plate without increasing the time.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 FIG. 3 shows the shape of a top plate using a silicon substrate according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 3, a nozzle groove is first formed on the top plate so that the wall width is narrower than that of the center of the groove wall, as shown in FIG. 3. Next, a resin is applied to the top plate. Coating is a spray coating device (micro spray: made by Nordson)
The resin solution was mixed with air at a compressed air pressure of 3.0 kgf / cm ² , sprayed in a mist state, and sprayed on a top plate to a thickness of several μm. After the application, curing was performed on a hot plate at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes to dry the diluent.

In this embodiment, a polyether amide resin (HIMAL:
(Manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) was diluted with a mixture of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and butyl cellosolve acetate as a diluent to lower the viscosity to obtain a resin solution. The spray coating device is a device that sprays a coating material in a mist state by mixing and spraying air and a coating material, and the particle size of the droplets sprayed in a mist is less than μm order. The ejected droplets can enter the inside of the groove. In addition, the resin is in a liquid state because it is dissolved in the diluent during the application, so that a liquid pool is generated at the end of the groove wall due to the surface tension of the resin solution.

FIG. 5 shows the top plate after resin application. After application, the diluent is dried and the adhesive resin is solidified. In this embodiment, the curing is performed to shorten the drying time, but the resin solidifies even when left at room temperature. Also, when applying resin,
The top plate may be heated. When the top plate is fixed on a hot plate, heated to 80 ° C., and the resin solution is sprayed on the top plate using a spray device in the same manner as described above in a state where the heating is continued, the spray droplets are formed. Dries instantly when attached to the top plate,
The resin solidifies. Thus, even when the wall width is very thin, for example, several tens μm or less, the liquid droplets that have once adhered to the wall do not fall into the inside of the groove. Therefore, the resin can be applied thickly on the wall.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the wall width at the end portion is formed narrower than that at the center portion. The wall width including the resin after the resin application can be substantially equal, or the wall width at the end can be made smaller than that at the center. That is, the shape of the nozzle is not damaged and the nozzle is not made uniform.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the position of the heater board is adjusted and the heater board is overlaid. At this time, a load is applied vertically to the bonding surface of the top plate and the heater board, and the top plate is heated to 250 ° C. Then, the resin is softened due to the thermoplastic adhesive, and the resin adhered on the nozzle wall is brought into close contact with the heater board, particularly under load. Thereafter, when the top plate is returned to room temperature, the resin is cured again, and the top plate and the heater board are joined.

As described above, in the present invention, by controlling the wall width of the end portion, the wall width including the resin after application of the resin at the end portion can be arbitrarily controlled. The agent does not protrude greatly. Therefore, even after the joining, the nozzle shape is not made nonuniform due to damage. Also, in the case where a movable member having a valve function is provided in the nozzle, the movable member is not damaged at the time of joining, poor adhesion does not occur, and the operation of the movable member is not hindered. Therefore,
According to the present embodiment, without complicating the top plate forming process, eliminating the adverse effects caused by the liquid pool generated when applying the adhesive, producing a uniform nozzle shape, and having good adhesion between the top plate and the heater board. A top plate with excellent stability can be realized.

Although the resin used in this embodiment is a thermoplastic adhesive, other adhesives such as thermosetting and photocuring may be used. Furthermore, the present invention is effective even in the case of applying a resin to the top plate, not only with the adhesive, but also for obtaining other effects such as a protective film. In this embodiment, the top plate using a silicon substrate is described. However, a photosensitive resin is applied to a top plate or a substrate in which fine grooves are formed by cutting, etching, or the like on a glass or metal substrate, and exposure and development are performed. The present invention is effective in the case where resin is applied to a top plate having a groove wall, a top plate having a groove formed by molding or laser processing using a resin material, or other forms of top plate. It is.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 6 shows a shape of a top plate in which a groove is formed by laser processing on a resin according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the end of the groove wall is inclined lower in wall height than the center of the groove wall. In the processing of the inclined portion, once the groove portion is laser-processed, the mask may be changed, and the inclined portion may be formed by irradiating laser light only to the groove wall end portion, but in this embodiment, the groove portion is processed. Figure 7
By irradiating the resin with a laser beam using a mask as described above, a groove portion and an inclined portion were simultaneously formed.

That is, the laser beam transmittance of the mask corresponding to the grooved portion is approximately 100%, the laser beam transmittance of the mask corresponding to the wall portion is approximately 0%, and the laser beam transmittance of the inclined portion mask is an intermediate value. By doing so, the processing rate of the inclined portion decreases, and a shape as shown in FIG. 6 can be realized. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the top plate can be formed without increasing the manufacturing cost and extending the processing time only by changing the nozzle pattern on the mask.

Next, a resin is applied to the top plate in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Also in the present embodiment, the adhesive may be applied by heating the top plate. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the top plate after resin application. At the time of application, the adhesive tends to form a liquid pool due to surface tension, but since the end of the groove wall has a lower wall height than the center, it is drawn to the groove ceiling and has a gentle shape that cannot form a liquid pool. Become. Further, even if a liquid pool is generated, it is small and small, and the substantial wall width including the resin after application of the resin can be made substantially equal between the central portion and the end portion. Therefore, the shape of the nozzle is not damaged and the nozzle is not made non-uniform.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the position of the heater board is adjusted and the heater board is overlaid. At this time, a load is applied vertically to the bonding surface of the top plate and the heater board, and the top plate is heated to 250 ° C. Then, the resin is softened due to the thermoplastic adhesive, and the resin adhered on the nozzle wall is brought into close contact with the heater board, particularly under load. Thereafter, when the top plate is returned to room temperature, the resin is cured again, and the top plate and the heater board are joined. As described above, in this embodiment, since the amount of resin after application of the resin at the end can be controlled by the amount of inclination of the end, the adhesive does not protrude only at the nozzle end after joining. Therefore, even after joining,
It does not damage the nozzle shape and make it non-uniform. Also, when a movable member having a valve function is provided in the nozzle, the movable member may be damaged at the time of joining, or may cause poor adhesion,
There is no hindrance to the operation of the movable member. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, without complicating the top plate forming process, eliminating the adverse effects due to the liquid pool generated at the time of applying the adhesive, having a uniform nozzle shape, and improving the adhesion between the top plate and the heater board. A top plate with good manufacturing stability can be realized.

Although the resin used in this embodiment is a thermoplastic adhesive, other adhesives such as thermosetting and photocuring may be used. Furthermore, the present invention is effective even in the case of applying a resin to the top plate, even in order to obtain other effects such as a protective film irrespective of the adhesive. Further, in this embodiment, the explanation is made on the top plate obtained by subjecting the resin to laser processing, but the photosensitive resin is applied on the top plate or the substrate in which fine grooves are formed on the substrate such as glass or metal by cutting or etching. Other types of top plates, such as a top plate in which groove walls are formed by exposure and development, a top plate in which grooves are formed by molding using a resin material, and a top plate manufactured by etching using a silicon substrate. The present invention is effective when applying a resin or the like. Further, the shape of the inclined portion at the end of the groove wall may be a continuous inclined shape as shown in FIG. 8 or a discontinuous stepped shape as shown in FIG. If the height is lower than the height of the center of the groove wall, the same effect can be obtained.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the production process is not complicated, the adhesion to the heater board is good, the nozzle shape is uniform, the production cost is low, and the production stability is high. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording head can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ink jet recording head using a top plate on which grooves are formed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a liquid pool generated at an end of a groove wall.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a shape of a top plate of the inkjet recording head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a conventional silicon top plate manufacturing process.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a state of a top plate after resin application in Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a top plate shape of an inkjet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a laser mask for forming a groove wall of a top plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a state of a top plate after resin application in Example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another shape of the top plate of the inkjet recording head according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11: heater board 12: heating element 13: top plate 14: nozzle groove 15: liquid chamber 16: groove wall

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ken Ikegame 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroaki Mihara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Hiroki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 2C057 AF93 AG46 AP12 AP23 AP25 AP34 AP57 BA03 BA13

Claims (17)

[Claims] A top plate having a groove wall for forming a nozzle corresponding to each of a plurality of discharge ports; and a substrate having a discharge energy generating element disposed at a position corresponding to a part of the nozzle. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head in which these are joined by an adhesive to form an ink jet recording head, wherein a uniform nozzle shape is formed by controlling an end shape of a groove wall for forming the nozzle. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head. 2. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the end of the groove wall is such that the width of the end is smaller than the width of the center in the wall width. 3. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the end of the groove wall is such that the wall height at the end is lower than the wall height at the center at the wall height. Method. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said top plate is formed of a silicon substrate. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed on the top plate by anisotropic etching. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the top plate is formed of any one of a resin, a mineral, a metal, and a glass material.
4. The method for producing an ink jet recording head according to any one of items 3 to 3. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by irradiating a laser beam to the top plate. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by applying a photosensitive resin on a substrate and performing exposure and development. The method for producing the ink jet recording head according to the above. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by molding using a resin material as a material of the top plate. Of manufacturing an ink jet recording head. 10. A substrate having a top plate having a groove wall for forming a nozzle corresponding to each of a plurality of discharge ports, and a discharge energy generating element arranged at a position corresponding to a part of the nozzle. An ink jet recording head comprising: a groove wall having an end portion having a smaller wall width than a central wall width. 11. A substrate having a top plate having a groove wall for forming a nozzle corresponding to each of a plurality of discharge ports, and a discharge energy generating element arranged at a position corresponding to a part of the nozzle. Wherein the wall height at the end of the groove wall is lower than the wall height at the center. 12. The ink jet recording head according to claim 10, wherein said top plate is formed of a silicon substrate. 13. An ink jet recording head according to claim 12, wherein a groove wall for forming said nozzle is formed on said top plate by anisotropic etching. 14. The ink jet recording head according to claim 10, wherein said top plate is formed of any one of a resin, a mineral, a metal, and a glass material. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by irradiating a laser beam to the top plate. 16. The method according to claim 10, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by applying a photosensitive resin on a substrate and performing exposure and development. Ink jet recording head. 17. The ink jet printer according to claim 10, wherein a groove wall for forming the nozzle is formed by molding using a resin material as a material of the top plate. Recording head.