JP2002225263A - Ink-jet head and ink-jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformize a piezoelectric characteristic of a thin film actuator and a characteristic of the film thickness, to prevent occurrence of a crack of the film, to raise a yield in manufacturing, to downsize a manufacturing equipment, and to reduce a cost, in terms of a line type ink-jet head having the thin film actuator of high density. SOLUTION: A plurality of pressure chambers 22 are arranged in a direction R1 inclined from a head longitudinal direction Y, and pressure chamber arrays 22A to 22H are formed. Actuator blocks 40 covering two arrays of the pressure chambers are arranged in the head longitudinal direction Y so as to be separated each other. The actuator blocks 40 are formed in a parallelogram shape whose one side H1 is parallel to the array direction R1 of the pressure chamber arrays.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink jet head and an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H11-264, a high-density inkjet head manufactured using a so-called transfer method has been proposed. The transfer method is an excellent method for producing a high-density head. In the transfer method, first, individual electrodes are formed on a single-crystal MgO substrate, and then P electrodes are formed on the individual electrodes.
A thin-film actuator is manufactured by forming a piezoelectric body of a perovskite-type dielectric thin film made of ZT, and further forming a common electrode and a vibration plate on the piezoelectric body by a sputtering method or the like. Next, the actuator on the substrate is bonded to the pressure chamber plate, and then all or part of the substrate is removed.

[0003]

However, it has been difficult to produce a line type ink jet head by the above transfer method. The reason is as follows.

In the line type ink jet head, the length of the head in the longitudinal direction must be longer than the width of the recording paper. For example, in order to perform recording on A4 size paper, the longitudinal length of the head needs to be 210 mm or more. Therefore, the single crystal MgO substrate also needs to be 210 mm or longer. However, the single-crystal MgO substrate has M
It is made by collecting from a rocky mass of gO, but not all of the rocky mass can be used as it is.
Only some of them are actually available. for that reason,
In order to produce a single-crystal MgO substrate having a length of 210 mm or more, a lump of MgO having a length longer than that must be prepared, and very large facilities are required. Further, even if such a single-crystal MgO substrate is manufactured, the yield is deteriorated, and such a substrate is a very expensive material.

In the transfer method, it is necessary to form PZT on a single-crystal MgO substrate by sputtering or the like.
In order to form T on a large area, very large equipment is required. In addition, if it is desired to obtain a film having uniform characteristics such as piezoelectric characteristics and film thickness without cracking, the yield will be reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost becomes very high.

For the reasons described above, it has been difficult to use the transfer method in the conventional line type ink jet head in terms of quality and cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide a line type ink jet head which can be manufactured by a transfer method, and to provide the line type ink jet head and the line type ink jet head. In a recording apparatus, it is an object of the present invention to make the characteristics of the thin film actuator such as the piezoelectric characteristics and the film thickness uniform, prevent the film from being cracked, improve the production yield, reduce the size of the production equipment, and reduce the cost.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of actuator blocks each having a piezoelectric element or the like are provided for one pressure chamber block, and the size of each actuator block is reduced. We decided to reduce the size. Also, the actuator blocks are formed in a parallelogram shape, and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the head so as to be separated from each other so that the actuator blocks do not overlap with each other.

An ink jet head according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a common liquid chamber for storing ink, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the common liquid chamber, and a plurality of nozzles communicating with each of the pressure chambers. A pressure chamber block, a piezoelectric element, first and second electrodes for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element, and a diaphragm, wherein the diaphragm covers a plurality of pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block. And a plurality of actuator blocks disposed on one surface of the pressure chamber block, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed of a plurality of pressure chambers arranged in a direction inclined from a longitudinal direction of the head. A plurality of pressure chamber rows are formed in the longitudinal direction of the head, the pressure chamber rows are arranged in parallel with each other, and each of the actuator blocks has a side parallel to the row direction of each of the pressure chamber rows. Is formed on the sides form, the actuator block each other are those which are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the head as well as away from each other.

According to the first aspect, since a plurality of actuator blocks are provided for one pressure chamber block, the size of each actuator block is reduced. Therefore, the transfer method can be effectively used. Therefore, the characteristics such as the piezoelectric characteristics and the film thickness of the piezoelectric element of the actuator block can be made uniform, the film can be prevented from cracking, the production yield can be improved, the production equipment can be reduced in size and the price can be reduced.

In the pressure chamber block, the pressure chamber rows are arranged in parallel with each other, and the row direction of the pressure chamber rows is inclined from the longitudinal direction of the head. (In the direction perpendicular to the direction). Therefore, although the pressure chambers are arranged at minute intervals in the longitudinal direction of the head as a whole, in each pressure chamber row, adjacent pressure chambers are displaced in the scanning direction by an amount corresponding to the displacement of the pressure chambers in the scanning direction. Are relatively wide. Similarly, the spacing between the pressure chamber rows is relatively wide in the direction orthogonal to the row direction of the pressure chamber rows, though the spacing is small in the longitudinal direction of the head.

Here, the actuator block is formed in a parallelogram shape having one side parallel to the row direction of the pressure chamber rows. Therefore, even if the actuator blocks are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the head so as to be separated from each other, since the interval in the direction orthogonal to the row direction of the pressure chamber rows is wide, the actuator blocks must cover the pressure chambers without leakage as a whole head. become. In other words, a plurality of actuators are formed at minute intervals in the longitudinal direction of the head so as to correspond to the respective pressure chambers as a whole of the head despite the fact that the actuator blocks are arranged at intervals.

As described above, since the actuator blocks can be arranged so as to be separated from each other, the actuator blocks do not physically overlap each other even if there is a shape error or an arrangement error of the actuator blocks. Therefore, since the shape error or the placement error of the actuator block can be considerably tolerated, the yield is improved.

As an arrangement pattern for arranging the actuator blocks apart from each other, a pattern in which the actuator blocks are arranged in a staggered manner can be considered. In such an arrangement pattern, it is necessary to provide two rows of actuator blocks. The length of the head in the scanning direction becomes longer.
On the other hand, according to the first aspect, it is not necessary to provide two rows of actuator blocks, so that the length of the head in the scanning direction is reduced. Therefore, the size of the head can be reduced. Also, if the length of the head in the scanning direction is long,
The recording medium is likely to undulate, and the recording tends to be unstable. However, according to the first aspect, since the length of the head in the scanning direction is shortened, the swell of the recording medium is less likely to occur. Therefore, stable recording is performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet head according to the first aspect, the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are arranged such that the longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the head. Formed and arranged at predetermined intervals in the head longitudinal direction,
The pressure chambers of each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined intervals,
The pressure chambers located at the ends of the adjacent pressure chamber rows are arranged at the above-mentioned predetermined intervals.

The ink jet head according to a third aspect of the present invention is the ink jet head according to the first aspect, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are arranged such that the longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the head. Formed and arranged at predetermined intervals in the head longitudinal direction,
At least two pressure chambers included in each of the pressure chamber rows,
At least one pressure chamber included in each of the pressure chamber rows is arranged at a plurality of intervals of the predetermined interval, and at least one pressure chamber included in a pressure chamber row adjacent to the pressure chamber row in the head longitudinal direction. It is provided between them.

In an ink jet head according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet head according to the first aspect, the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed such that the longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber is inclined from the longitudinal direction of the head. And at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the head,
The pressure chambers of each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined intervals,
The pressure chambers located at the ends of the adjacent pressure chamber rows are arranged at the above-mentioned predetermined intervals.

The ink jet head according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the ink jet head according to the first aspect, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are arranged in a longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber and a row direction of each pressure chamber row. Are formed in parallel with each other, are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the head, and at least two pressure chambers included in each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at a plurality of intervals of the predetermined interval. At least one pressure chamber included in the pressure chamber row is provided between two pressure chambers included in the pressure chamber row adjacent to the pressure chamber row in the head longitudinal direction.

According to each of the second to fifth aspects, a configuration embodying the first aspect is obtained.

In particular, according to the third and fifth aspects of the present invention, at least two pressure chambers in each pressure chamber row are arranged at a plurality of intervals of the predetermined interval (FIGS. 12 and 1).
4), the distance between the pressure chambers is increased. Therefore, the actuators corresponding to the pressure chambers hardly interfere with each other. That is, crosstalk hardly occurs. Therefore, the ink ejection performance is improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber is parallel to the row direction of the pressure chamber row (see FIG. 14), one side of the actuator block is in the longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber. And become parallel. Therefore, the length of the other side of the actuator block can be shortened.
The actuator block can be made smaller. Further, the distance between the actuator blocks can be made wider.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet head according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the common liquid chamber, the nozzle and the row of pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block, the actuator block, Are provided in the scanning direction, and are configured to eject a plurality of types of ink.

According to the sixth aspect, a plurality of common liquid chambers, nozzles, pressure chamber rows, and actuator blocks are provided in the scanning direction (see FIG. 16).
This is the same as the case where a plurality of inkjet heads according to the fifth invention are provided in the scanning direction, and the effects of the first to fifth inventions can be obtained in a head that ejects a plurality of types of ink. If a plurality of color inks are used, a color image can be formed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the inkjet head according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the actuator block doubles as the second electrode instead of the second electrode and the diaphragm. In this case, a conductive diaphragm is provided.

According to the seventh aspect, the number of components of the actuator block can be reduced.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, and moving means for relatively moving the ink jet head and a recording medium in a scanning direction. It is provided with.

According to the eighth aspect, the first to seventh aspects
An ink jet recording apparatus having the effect of any one of the inventions is obtained.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the size per actuator block can be reduced, so that the transfer method can be effectively used in a line type head. Therefore, the characteristics such as the piezoelectric characteristics and the film thickness of the piezoelectric element of the actuator block can be made uniform, the film can be prevented from cracking, the production yield can be improved, the production equipment can be reduced in size and the price can be reduced.

Further, since the actuator blocks are arranged so as to be separated from each other, it is possible to prevent the actuator blocks from overlapping each other, and to allow a considerable amount of shape error and arrangement error thereof.
Therefore, the yield can be improved.

Since the actuator blocks are arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction of the head, the length of the head in the scanning direction can be reduced. Therefore, the size of the head can be reduced. In addition, undulation of the recording medium can be prevented, and recording can be stabilized.

In particular, according to the third and fifth aspects of the present invention, at least a part of the space between the pressure chambers is wide, so that it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of crosstalk and improve the ink discharge performance. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect, the size of the actuator blocks can be reduced, and the distance between the actuator blocks can be increased.

According to the sixth aspect, the effects of the first to fifth aspects can be exerted in a head for discharging a plurality of types of ink.

According to the seventh aspect, the number of components of the actuator block can be reduced.

According to the eighth aspect, an ink jet recording apparatus having the effects of the first to ninth aspects is obtained.

[0036]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1> As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet type recording apparatus 90 according to Embodiment 1 is a line head type recording apparatus which discharges four color inks. 4 is provided. 1 is a first line head that discharges black ink (Bk), 2 is a second line head that discharges cyan ink (C), 3 is a third line head that discharges magenta ink (M), and 4 is a yellow ink ( Y) is a fourth line head that discharges. The line head 5 according to the present embodiment is configured by combining the first to fourth line heads 1 to 4 so as to eject black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks in this order. Each of the line heads 1 to 4 extends in the width direction of the recording medium 9,
The head longitudinal direction Y is orthogonal to the scanning direction X. Each of the line heads 1 to 4 is connected via an ink tube 10 to an ink tank 11 storing ink of each color.

The ink jet type recording apparatus 90 includes a pair of conveying rollers 8 and 8 and a pair of feed rollers 7 and 7. The recording medium 9 is sandwiched between the feed rollers 7 and 7 and the conveying rollers 8 and 8. I have. The transport rollers 8 constitute moving means for relatively moving the inkjet head 5 and the recording medium 9, and the recording medium 9 is transported in the scanning direction X by the rotation of the transport rollers 8. A flat recording medium holding member 6 is provided below the inkjet head 5.
Is provided. Note that the recording medium holding member 6 is not limited to a flat plate, and may be, for example, a cylindrical member as long as the recording medium 9 and the inkjet head 5 are opposed to each other at a fixed interval.

The recording medium 9 passes between the ink jet head 5 and the recording medium holding member 6. The recording medium 9 is
Since the sheet is conveyed to the conveying rollers 8 while being sandwiched between the feed rollers 7, a tensile tension is applied by the rollers 7 and 8. As a result, the recording medium 9 forms a flat surface on the recording medium holding member 6 without bending.
Therefore, ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head 5 land on the recording medium 9 with high accuracy.

Although not shown, when static electricity is applied to the recording medium holding member 6 to electrostatically attract the recording medium 9, the portion of the recording medium 9 on the recording medium holding member 6 becomes flatter. Therefore, means for applying static electricity to the recording medium holding member 6 may be provided.

The configuration of each line head will be described with reference to FIGS. However, since the first to fourth line heads 1 to 4 have the same shape, only the first line head 1 will be described below, and description of the other line heads 2 to 4 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the line head 1 has one pressure chamber block 41 and a plurality of actuator blocks 40 joined to the pressure chamber block 41. Each actuator block 40 is formed in a parallelogram shape in which one side is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pressure chamber block 41, that is, the head longitudinal direction Y, and the other side is inclined from the head longitudinal direction Y. The actuator blocks 40 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the head longitudinal direction Y, and adjacent actuator blocks 40 are separated from each other.

The actuator block 40 is provided with a piezoelectric element 30 of a perovskite type dielectric thin film made of PZT having a thickness of 0.5 μm to 8 μm (see FIG. 4). Each surface of the piezoelectric element 30 has a first electrode 15 made of a conductive material (for example, Pt or the like) having a thickness of about 0.1 μm for individually applying a potential, and a thickness for supplying a voltage to the first electrode 15. A lead portion 16 made of a conductive material of about 0.1 μm and an input terminal 17 connected to an FPC 13 as a control plate are arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pressure chamber block 41 is configured by stacking a pressure chamber plate 21, a flow path plate 38, and a nozzle plate 36. As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure chamber plate 21 is provided with an ink inlet 12 for introducing the ink of the ink tube 10, and the ink tube 10 is fitted into the ink inlet 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the actuator block 40, Pt, Ct is placed on the vibrating plate 14 made of nickel, chromium, silicon oxide, ceramics or the like.
A second electrode 50 made of a conductive material such as u or Ti is laminated. The second electrode 50 is a common electrode for applying a common potential to each of the piezoelectric elements 30 in the actuator block 40. The piezoelectric element 30 is provided on the second electrode 50.
Are stacked, and the first electrode 15 and the lead portion 16 are stacked on the piezoelectric element 30. As shown in FIG. 2, each actuator block 40 covers a plurality of pressure chambers 22, 22,... Of a pressure chamber block 41. The upper portion of each pressure chamber 22 in the actuator block 40 is an actuator section that performs flexural deformation to increase or decrease the volume of each pressure chamber 22. Accordingly, each actuator block 40 includes a number of actuators corresponding to the pressure chambers 22, 22,. In order to enable high-density arrangement, the thickness of the actuator block 40 is preferably 8 μm or less.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. FIG.
As shown in (1), the first line head 1 is configured such that one pressure chamber plate 21, a flow path plate 38, and a nozzle plate 36 are joined. These pressure chamber plates 2
1, the flow path plate 38 and the nozzle plate 36 are positioned with high accuracy by the positioning means 25. In the present embodiment, the positioning means 25 is constituted by through holes 23, 24 through which the positioning pins 23a, 24a pass. That is, the nozzle plate 36, the flow path plate 38, and the pressure chamber plate 21 are positioned with high accuracy by overlapping each other so that the positioning pins 23a, 24a pass through the through holes 23, 24 of each plate. ing. The through hole 23 is a circular hole, and the through hole 24 is an elliptical hole.

However, the positioning means 25 is not limited to physical means, and other means may be used. For example, a marker for alignment may be provided on each plate, and the alignment of each plate may be performed by optical means.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part including a section taken along line AA of FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, a pressure chamber 22 is provided in the pressure chamber plate 21. The channel plate 38 is
A first plate 33 provided with an ink flow path inlet 20 and an ink supply port 19; a second plate 34 provided with an ink flow path 32 and a common liquid chamber 18;
A third hole provided with a hole for introducing ink from the nozzle 37 to the nozzle 37
And a plate 35. Channel plate 38
Is made of a metal material such as SUS, a photosensitive glass or a resin material. Nozzle plate 36
Is made of a metal material such as SUS having a thickness of 20 μm to 150 μm or a resin material such as PI (polyimide). The nozzle 37 is formed in the nozzle plate 36. The ink flows through the head in the order of the common liquid chamber 18 → the ink supply port 19 → the pressure chamber 22 → the ink flow path inlet 20 → the ink flow path 32 → the nozzle 37, flies from the nozzle 37, and lands on the recording medium 9. I do.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure chamber 22 has an elliptical planar shape, and its longitudinal direction L1 is orthogonal to the head longitudinal direction Y. In other words, the pressure chamber 22
Is parallel to the scanning direction X. Pressure chamber 22
Is 600 dpi (42.3 μm) in the longitudinal direction Y of the head.
Are arranged at intervals. However, the pressure chambers 22 are not arranged in a line along the head longitudinal direction Y, but are arranged while being appropriately shifted in the scanning direction X in order to increase the head density.

More specifically, in the pressure chamber plate 21, a plurality of pressure chamber rows 22A to 22 each having four pressure chambers 22 arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the head longitudinal direction Y.
H is formed. In other words, each pressure chamber row 22A
To 22H are formed by four pressure chambers 22 arranged in a diagonally lower left direction in FIG. The pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H are formed at regular intervals in the head longitudinal direction Y. 2 and 3 illustrate only eight sets of pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H for simplicity of description, but in reality, many pressure chamber rows are formed in the longitudinal direction Y of the head.

The row direction R1 of each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H
Is parallel to the inclined side H1 of the actuator block 40 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, each actuator block 40 covers two rows of pressure chambers.

The bottom of each pressure chamber 22 has an ink supply port 1
9 and an ink flow path inlet 20 are provided. The ink supply port 19 allows the common liquid chamber 18 and the pressure chamber 22 to communicate with each other. The inside of the common liquid chamber 18 is filled with ink. The central part of the common liquid chamber 18 is branched into two rows of liquid chambers extending in the head longitudinal direction Y, and these two rows of liquid chambers are united at both ends. At both ends, ink inlets 12 are provided, respectively, and ink is supplied to the common liquid chamber 18 through the ink inlets 12.

FIG. 7 is a process chart for explaining a method of manufacturing each of the line heads 1 to 4, and shows a cross section taken along line BB of FIG. Next, a method for manufacturing a line head using the transfer method will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a substrate 60 made of MgO, Si, SUS or the like having a parallelogram shape of 1 mm × 10 mm is prepared.
In the case of the present embodiment, an MgO substrate is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, a first platinum electrode 15 is formed on the substrate 60 by RF sputtering (high frequency sputtering).

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a PZT thin film piezoelectric element 30 is formed on the first electrode 15 by RF sputtering. Here, since a single crystal substrate of MgO is used as the substrate 60, (10)
When the piezoelectric element 30 is manufactured after the first electrode 15 made of platinum is formed on the 0) plane, the piezoelectric element 30 has stable characteristics with particularly high piezoelectricity.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, a second platinum electrode 50 is formed on the piezoelectric element 30 by RF sputtering.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, the diaphragm 14 made of chromium is formed on the second electrode 50 by RF sputtering. At this stage, the substrate block 61 is completed. The substrate block 61 is for transferring the actuator block 40 from the substrate 60 to the pressure chamber plate 21 and includes the substrate 60 and the actuator block 40.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a uniform electrodeposition resin layer (not shown) is formed on the pressure chamber plate 21 by using an electrodeposition method, and thereafter, the electrodeposition resin layer is formed. The plurality of substrate blocks 61 are joined to the pressure chamber plate 21 such that the vibration plate 14 and the pressure chamber plate 21 are in contact with each other. In joining the substrate blocks 61, the substrate blocks 61 are prevented from contacting each other in order to join the vibration plate 14 to the pressure chamber plate 21 uniformly and reliably. That is, the adjacent substrate blocks 6
The board blocks 61, 61 are arranged apart from each other so as to provide a gap between them (see FIG. 2).

After the bonding of the substrate block 61 as described above, as shown in FIG. 7F, the substrate 60 is removed by etching using an acidic solution.

Next, after a mask (not shown) manufactured with high accuracy by an exposure machine is positioned by a positioning means 25 provided on the pressure chamber plate 21, as shown in FIG. By patterning the first electrode 15,
The electrodes 15 and the leads 16 are formed in a predetermined shape.
As described above, the first electrode 15 and the lead portion 16 can be formed with high accuracy by aligning the pressure chamber plate 21 with the mask using the alignment unit 25.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (h), using the positioning means 25 provided on the pressure chamber plate 21,
After positioning the pressure chamber plate 21 and the flow path plate 38 with each other, they are joined.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (i), the flow path plate 38 and the nozzle plate 36 are positioned using the positioning means 25 provided on the pressure chamber plate 21 or the flow path plate 38. Join from. This allows
A line head in which each plate is aligned with high precision is completed.

In this embodiment, the pressure chamber plate 2
1 → flow path plate 38 → nozzle plate 36, but after bonding the flow path plate 38 and the nozzle plate 36, the pressure chamber plate 21 and the flow path plate 3
8 may be joined.

In this embodiment, the diaphragm 14 and the second
The electrode 50 was formed separately (see FIG. 4).
4 is made of a conductive material such as chrome,
Can also serve as the second electrode 50, so that the second electrode and diaphragm 14 may be provided without separately providing the diaphragm 14 and the second electrode 50 as shown in FIG.

Further, between the piezoelectric element 30 and the vibration plate 14, Cu is added to improve the withstand voltage and strengthen the bonding force.
A conductive material such as Ti or Ti may be interposed as an intermediate layer.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the piezoelectric element 30 may be patterned and divided together with the first electrode 15. In this case, the diaphragm 14 is easily bent, and a larger displacement can be obtained even when the same voltage is applied.

Also, after the first electrode 15 is formed on the substrate 60 of FIG. 7A, the first electrode 15 is patterned immediately, as shown in FIG. Can be arranged around the piezoelectric element 30.
Thereby, the withstand voltage between the first electrode 15 and the lead portion 16 and the diaphragm 14 can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the first electrode and the second electrode are the individual electrode and the common electrode, respectively, but may be reversed. That is, the first electrode may be a common electrode and the second electrode may be an individual electrode.

According to the present embodiment, the actuator is formed by the plurality of actuator blocks 40 and the plurality of actuator blocks 40 are arranged for one pressure chamber block 41. The size can be reduced. Therefore, the transfer method can be effectively used. Therefore, it is possible to make the characteristics of the thin film actuator such as the piezoelectric characteristics and the film thickness uniform, prevent the film from being cracked, improve the manufacturing yield, reduce the size of the manufacturing equipment, reduce the cost, and the like.

Further, the line heads 1 to 1 according to this embodiment
4, the nozzles 37 are arranged at high-density pitch intervals in the head longitudinal direction Y, and the pressure chambers 22 are arranged at minute intervals in the head longitudinal direction Y so as to correspond to these nozzles 37. However, the pressure chambers 22 are not arranged in a line in the head longitudinal direction Y, but in the scanning direction X.
Are appropriately shifted. Therefore, a large gap is secured between the pressure chambers 22 aligned on the same line in the head longitudinal direction Y by the number of the pressure chambers 22 shifted in the scanning direction X (three in this embodiment). .

Since the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H are formed parallel to each other, each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H
Between them, an interval W (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the lateral width of the plurality of pressure chambers is maintained. That is, the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22A
2H are arranged at relatively wide intervals W. Here, the actuator block 40 is formed in a parallelogram shape in which one side H1 is parallel to the row direction R1 of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H. Therefore, it is possible to cover all the pressure chambers 22 of the pressure chamber block 41 with the plurality of actuator blocks 40 without arranging the actuator blocks 40 without gaps. That is, the pressure chamber row 2
Since the interval between 2A to 22H is wide, even if a small gap is provided between the actuator blocks 40, 40, the pressure chambers 22 of the respective pressure chambers 22A to 22H are surely covered by the actuator block 40.

Therefore, it is not necessary to provide two rows of actuator blocks 40 in the scanning direction.
It becomes possible to arrange the actuator blocks 40 in a line with respect to one. Accordingly, the length of the inkjet head 5 in the scanning direction X is reduced, and the head can be reduced in size. Further, since the length in the scanning direction is short, the swell of the recording medium 9 is less likely to occur. Therefore, the interval between the inkjet head 5 and the recording medium 9 is stable, and stable recording can be performed.

<Embodiment 2> As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the line head of the ink jet head according to Embodiment 2 differs from the line head of Embodiment 1 in the arrangement pattern of the pressure chambers 22 and the actuator blocks 40. It was done.

The pressure chamber 22 according to this embodiment is also formed in an elliptical shape, and its longitudinal direction L1 is orthogonal to the head longitudinal direction Y. The pressure chambers 22 are arranged while being appropriately shifted in the scanning direction X.
They are arranged at a fixed interval of dpi (42.3 μm).

Also in this embodiment, a plurality of pressure chamber rows 2
2A to 22H are formed. Each pressure chamber row 22A-2
The 2H pressure chambers 22 are arranged obliquely downward to the right in FIG. Row direction R of each pressure chamber row 22A to 22H
2 is an inclined side H2 of the actuator block 40 (FIG. 1)
1). Each actuator block 40
Cover two rows of pressure chambers.

In the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H of the present embodiment, at least two pressure chambers 22 included in each pressure chamber row are arranged at an interval (1200 dpi) which is twice the above-mentioned fixed interval (600 dpi). . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the pressure chambers included in each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H are sequentially arranged in a first pressure chamber 221, a second pressure chamber 222,
When the third pressure chamber 223 and the fourth pressure chamber 224 are used, the distance between the second pressure chamber 222 and the third pressure chamber 223 is 60
0 dpi, but the first pressure chamber 221 and the second pressure chamber 22
2 and between the third pressure chamber 223 and the fourth pressure chamber 224 are 1200 dpi, respectively.

Further, at least one of the pressure chamber rows
The two pressure chambers are provided between two pressure chambers included in the pressure chamber row adjacent to the pressure chamber row in the head longitudinal direction Y. For example, the fourth pressure chamber 2 of the pressure chamber row 22B
Reference numeral 24 denotes a pressure chamber row 22C in the head longitudinal direction Y.
Is disposed between the first pressure chamber 221 and the second pressure chamber 222. Therefore, although there are pressure chambers arranged at intervals of 1200 dpi in each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H, the pressure chambers of another pressure chamber row are located between these pressure chambers. Overall, there are 6 pressure chambers
It is arranged at a constant interval of 00 dpi.

According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the interval between the first pressure chamber 221 and the second pressure chamber 222 and the interval between the third pressure chamber 223 and the fourth pressure chamber 224 of each pressure chamber row are 1200 dpi, and 600 d.
It spreads at twice the interval of pi. Therefore, the actuator portions corresponding to the pressure chambers hardly interfere with each other, and crosstalk hardly occurs. Therefore, the ink ejection performance can be improved.

<Embodiment 3> As shown in FIG. 13, the line head of the ink jet head according to Embodiment 3
In the line head according to the first embodiment, the arrangement pattern of the pressure chambers 22 and the actuator blocks 40 is changed.

The pressure chamber 22 according to the present embodiment is also formed in an elliptical shape. However, in the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction L3 of the pressure chamber 22 is not orthogonal to the head longitudinal direction Y, but is inclined with respect to the scanning direction X.

As in the first embodiment, the pressure chambers 22 are arranged while being appropriately shifted in the scanning direction X, and are arranged at a constant interval of 600 dpi in the head longitudinal direction Y.

Also in this embodiment, a plurality of pressure chamber rows 2
2A to 22H are formed. Each pressure chamber 22A-22
In H, the pressure chambers 22 are arranged at the above-mentioned fixed intervals. Further, the pressure chamber 2 located at the end of the adjacent pressure chamber row
2 and 22 are also arranged at the above-mentioned fixed interval.

The row direction R3 of each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H
Is parallel to the inclined side H3 of the actuator block 40. Each actuator block 40 covers two rows of pressure chambers.

According to the third embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction L3 of the pressure chamber 22 is in the scanning direction X.
Therefore, the distance between the pressure chambers 22 in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction L3 between the pressure chambers 22 is wider than that in the first embodiment. Therefore, crosstalk is less likely to occur. Conversely, the interval between the pressure chambers 22 and 22 of the third embodiment is changed to the pressure chambers 22 and 2 of the first embodiment.
If the distance between the pressure chambers is substantially equal to the distance between the pressure chambers, the pressure chambers 22 can be arranged at a higher density, and the head can be reduced in size.

Fourth Embodiment As shown in FIG. 14, a line head of an ink jet head according to a fourth
In the line head of the third embodiment, the arrangement pattern of the pressure chambers 22 and the actuator blocks 40 is changed.

The pressure chamber 22 according to the present embodiment is also formed in an elliptical shape, and its longitudinal direction L4 is inclined with respect to the scanning direction X. The pressure chambers 22 are arranged while being appropriately shifted in the scanning direction X, and as a whole 600 d in the head longitudinal direction.
pi are arranged at regular intervals.

Also in this embodiment, a plurality of pressure chamber rows 2
2A to 22H are formed. However, of the two adjacent pressure chamber rows, one has three pressure chambers arranged therein, and the other has four pressure chamber rows arranged therein. Specifically, the pressure chamber rows 22A, 22C, 22E, 22G
Is formed by arranging three pressure chambers 22. On the other hand, the pressure chamber rows 22B, 22D, 22F, and 22H are formed by arranging four pressure chambers 22.

The pressure chambers 22 of each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H
Are arranged obliquely downward and rightward in FIG.
The row direction R4 of each of the pressure chamber rows 22A to 22H is
2 is parallel to the longitudinal direction L4 and the inclined side H4 of the actuator block 40. That is, in the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction L4 of the pressure chamber 22, the row direction R4 of the pressure chamber row, and the inclined side H4 of the actuator block 40 are parallel. Each actuator block 40 covers two rows of pressure chambers.

In the present embodiment, the pressure chambers 22 of each pressure chamber row
Is an interval (12 times) which is twice the above-mentioned fixed interval (600 dpi).
00 dpi). And adjacent pressure chamber rows 22A and 22B, 22C and 22D, 22E and 22
In F, and 22G and 22H, the pressure chambers of one pressure chamber row are arranged between the pressure chambers of the other pressure chamber row. For example, the first pressure chamber 221 of the pressure chamber row 22A
Are the first pressure chamber 221 and the second pressure chamber 2 of the pressure chamber row 22B.
22. By adopting such an arrangement pattern, the pressure chambers of each pressure chamber row are 1200 dpi.
The pressure chambers 22 are arranged at a constant interval of 600 dpi in the head as a whole, although they are arranged at intervals of.

In this embodiment, since the longitudinal direction L4 of the pressure chambers 22 and the row direction R4 of the pressure chamber rows are parallel, the pressure chamber rows can be arranged close to each other.
Therefore, the pressure chamber rows 22A and 22B, 22C and 22D,
2E and 22F and 22G and 22H are arranged close to each other. On the contrary, since the pressure chamber rows are arranged close to each other, the pressure chamber rows 22B, 22C, 22C
D and 22E, 22F and 22G are arranged relatively far apart. That is, the interval between these pressure chamber rows is wider than in the first to third embodiments.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the two pressure chamber rows covered by the actuator block 40 are arranged close to each other, the actuator block 40
(A side parallel to the head longitudinal direction Y) can be shortened. Therefore, the actuator block 40
Can be further reduced in size. Further, the interval between the actuator blocks 40, 40 (the interval W2 in FIG. 14) can be made wider. Therefore, the yield can be further improved.

<Embodiment 5> In each of the inkjet heads 5 of Embodiments 1 to 4, the line heads 1 to 4 for each color are independent.
Are aligned in the head longitudinal direction Y such that the landing positions of the inks of the respective colors are aligned, and then combined with each other. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, the ink jet head 5 is formed by integrating the line heads of each color. Pressure chambers 22 for each color ink are arranged in the pressure chamber plate 21, and each color ink is supplied to the same inkjet head 5 via the ink tube 10.

As shown in FIG. 16, the pressure chamber block 41
, A black ink (Bk), a cyan ink (C), a magenta ink (M), a yellow ink (Y) pressure chamber 22, a common liquid chamber 18, and the like are arranged in this order in the scanning direction X (FIG. In FIG. 16, pressure chambers for magenta ink and yellow ink are not shown). The spacing between the nozzles of each color and the pressure chamber 22 is 600 dpi, respectively, and the arrangement pattern of the pressure chamber 22 and the actuator block 40 is the same as in the first embodiment. The pressure chamber for the black ink, the pressure chamber for the cyan ink, the pressure chamber for the magenta ink, and the pressure chamber for the yellow ink are arranged at positions aligned in the scanning direction X. That is, the pressure chambers of the respective colors of ink are arranged in a straight line along the scanning direction X. The pressure chambers 22 for the respective colors communicate with the common liquid chambers 18 for the respective colors, and ink is supplied to the common liquid chambers 18 from the respective ink introduction ports 12.

When an ink jet head is formed by combining independent line heads 1 to 4, it is necessary to align the line heads 1 to 4 with high accuracy. There is no need to combine. Therefore, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. In addition, since there is no displacement between the line heads, landing displacement of the ink of each color hardly occurs.

In the present embodiment, the arrangement pattern of the pressure chambers 22 and the actuator blocks 40 is the same as that of the first embodiment, but it is of course possible to adopt any one of the arrangement patterns of the second to fourth embodiments. is there. Further, two or more of the arrangement patterns of the first to fourth embodiments may be combined.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the line head according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a pressure chamber block according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of the head including a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 7A to 7I are process diagrams showing a method for manufacturing a line head.

FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 according to a modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 according to another modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 according to another modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a line head according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a pressure chamber block according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a pressure chamber block according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a pressure chamber block according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a pressure chamber block according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 to 4 line head 5 inkjet head 6 recording medium holding member 7 feed roller 8 transport roller (moving means) 9 recording medium 10 ink tube 11 ink tank 14 diaphragm 15 first electrode 18 common liquid chamber 22 pressure chamber 22A to 22H pressure Chamber row 30 Piezoelectric element 37 Nozzle 40 Actuator block 41 Pressure chamber block 50 Second electrode 90 Ink jet recording device X Scanning direction Y Head longitudinal direction L1 Pressure chamber longitudinal direction R1 Pressure chamber row direction H1 Slant side of actuator block

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Atsushi Soga, Inventor 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C057 AF40 AF93 AG14 AG16 AG39 AG44 AG55 AN05 AP02 AP33 AP52 AP77 BA03 BA14

Claims (8)

[Claims] A pressure chamber block provided with a common liquid chamber for storing ink, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the common liquid chamber, and a plurality of nozzles communicating with each of the pressure chambers; A first and a second electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element, and a vibrating plate, wherein one of the pressure chamber blocks covers the plurality of pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block by the vibrating plate. A plurality of actuator blocks arranged on a surface of the head, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block include a pressure chamber row including a plurality of pressure chambers arranged in a direction inclined from the head longitudinal direction. A plurality of pressure chamber rows are arranged in parallel with each other, and each of the actuator blocks is formed in a parallelogram shape having one side parallel to the row direction of each of the pressure chamber rows. Block each other, the ink jet head are arranged in longitudinal direction of the head as well as away from each other. 2. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed so that a longitudinal direction of each of the pressure chambers and a longitudinal direction of the head are orthogonal to each other. The ink jet heads are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction, the pressure chambers of each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined interval, and the pressure chambers located at the ends of adjacent pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined interval. . 3. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed so that a longitudinal direction of each of the pressure chambers and a longitudinal direction of the head are orthogonal to each other. At least two pressure chambers that are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction and are included in each of the pressure chamber rows,
At least one pressure chamber arranged at a plurality of intervals of the predetermined interval and included in each of the pressure chamber rows,
An ink jet head provided between two pressure chambers included in a pressure chamber row adjacent to the pressure chamber row in the head longitudinal direction. 4. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed such that a longitudinal direction of each of the pressure chambers is inclined from a longitudinal direction of the head, and a longitudinal direction of the head. The ink jet head is arranged at a predetermined interval with respect to the pressure chambers, the pressure chambers of each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined interval, and the pressure chambers located at ends of adjacent pressure chamber rows are arranged at the predetermined interval. 5. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure chambers of the pressure chamber block are formed such that a longitudinal direction of each pressure chamber and a row direction of each pressure chamber row are parallel to each other. And at least two pressure chambers included in each of the pressure chamber rows are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the head.
At least one pressure chamber arranged at a plurality of intervals of the predetermined interval and included in each of the pressure chamber rows,
An ink jet head provided between two pressure chambers included in a pressure chamber row adjacent to the pressure chamber row in the head longitudinal direction. 6. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of common liquid chambers, nozzles and pressure chamber rows of the pressure chamber block and the plurality of actuator blocks are provided in a scanning direction. And an inkjet head configured to eject a plurality of types of ink. 7. The ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein the actuator block includes a conductive diaphragm serving also as a second electrode, instead of the second electrode and the diaphragm. Inkjet head provided. 8. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: the ink jet head according to claim 1; and moving means for relatively moving the ink jet head and a recording medium in a scanning direction.