JP2003159812A - Liquid jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low cost method of surely holding to a vessel body a rubber plug whereby supplying of ink is realized by spiking of a needle (1) and to protect a user from contacting ink adhered to the surface of the rubber plug by virtue of the attaching or detaching of the needle (it is effective when the rubber cap is provided to the side face of the vessel) (2). <P>SOLUTION: After the rubber plug having a crack hole formed thereon beforehand is pressed to be inserted to a cylinder section of the vessel, a sleeve extended from the cylinder section is deformed by melting and pressing the sleeve such that the sleeve covers (swaging) the external periphery of the rubber plug. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording head that discharges liquid droplets from a discharge port to perform recording on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional liquid jet recording apparatus is provided with a carriage which is reciprocally moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to a conveying direction of a recording medium, and a liquid jet recording head is mounted on this carriage.

The liquid jet recording head is mainly composed of a liquid jet recording head for discharging a liquid from a discharge port for recording on a recording medium, and a liquid storage chamber for accommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquid jet recording head. It One of the common types of liquid jet recording heads is a replaceable liquid jet recording head that integrally includes a liquid reservoir.

Such a liquid jet recording head is not intended for refilling, and when the initial supply amount of the liquid is used up, the liquid jet recording head is discarded and a new liquid jet recording head is mounted on the scanning carriage. To be done. That is, when the liquid jet recording head is frequently replaced, the operation cost is relatively high.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the operating cost, the liquid storage unit is separated from the liquid jet recording head so that the liquid storage unit serves as the basis when the liquid is used up, and the liquid jet recording. Some liquids are supplied from an external liquid storage chamber arranged outside the head toward the liquid jet recording head.

These are classified into the following: 1. 1. A mode in which a liquid storage chamber is housed inside a liquid jet recording head; 2. A mode in which a replaceable liquid storage chamber is mounted on a liquid jet recording head. It is classified into a mode in which liquid is supplied from a remote liquid storage chamber into the liquid jet recording head by connecting a pipe member or the like.

However, in order to prevent liquid from leaking from the liquid jet recording head in any form,
The inside of the liquid jet recording head is maintained below atmospheric pressure or negative pressure.

The features of the negative pressure generating means in each of the above liquid replenishing modes will be described below.

In the case of a liquid jet recording head containing a liquid storage chamber, generally, a negative pressure generating means is arranged inside the liquid storage chamber in order to maintain a negative pressure in the liquid storage chamber. Further, as the negative pressure generating means adopted, a liquid absorption method, a mechanical method, or the like can be mentioned.

The liquid absorption method is a structure in which liquid retention is formed when negative pressure is maintained by utilizing the capillary force of a porous liquid absorption member such as polyurethane foam.

On the other hand, the mechanical system is a structure in which the negative pressure inside the liquid storage chamber is maintained by contracting the flexible wall by utilizing the repulsive force of an elastic body or the like.

Next, the liquid jet recording head mounted on the exchangeable liquid storage chamber will be described. A liquid absorbing system is generally adopted as a negative pressure generating means of a liquid jet recording head having a replaceable liquid storage chamber. That is, the liquid holding force of the porous liquid absorbing member or the like prevents the internal liquid from dropping from the connection port of the liquid storage chamber.

Next, the liquid jet recording head which is supplied with liquid from the external liquid storage chamber will be described. The negative pressure generating means of this form adopts a negative pressure generating means such as a liquid absorption type or a mechanical type, and is arranged at a position where the water level of the external liquid storage chamber is lower than the ejection port surface of the liquid jet recording head. There is a mode in which the negative pressure in the liquid jet recording head is maintained by the head difference between the two.

The droplet ejection mode of the liquid jet recording head to which the recording liquid is supplied by any of the above-described modes is as follows.
There are known ones that use heat energy generated by an electrothermal converter or the like to eject minute droplets, one that includes a pair of electrodes to deflect and eject droplets, and the like. Among these, the liquid jet recording head that ejects droplets by using thermal energy has a high density of liquid ejecting portions (ejection ports) for ejecting recording droplets to form flying droplets. Since they can be arranged, high-resolution recording is possible, and there are advantages such as easy overall compactness, and they have already been put to practical use.

The liquid jet recording head for ejecting the recording liquid by utilizing thermal energy is arranged corresponding to the ejection port (orifice) for ejecting the liquid, the liquid flow path communicating with the ejection port and the liquid flow path. By applying a plurality of ejection energies of the electrothermal conversion element or the like (for example, thermal energy for causing film boiling in the liquid), the liquid is ejected as droplets from the ejection port to perform print recording. ing.

Here, a general structure of the liquid jet recording head described above will be described with reference to FIG.

An element substrate 1 provided with a heating element (heater) 1106 which is an energy generator for discharging a liquid.
107 is a support 111 such as aluminum or ceramics
It is die-bonded on top of 0.

On the other hand, the element substrate 11 is provided on the support 1110.
Besides 07, a wiring board 1108 for making contact with the recording apparatus is adhered, and the element substrate 1107 and the wiring board 1108 are electrically connected by wire bonding or lead bonding.

A driving shift register and a wiring pattern are provided on the element substrate 1107 in addition to the heating elements, and these are formed in advance on the element substrate 1107 together with the heating elements by a silicon forming technique.

Contact pads (not shown) for contacting the liquid jet recording apparatus are formed on the wiring board 1108.

Reference numeral 1100 denotes an orifice plate 1101 having a fine discharge port group 1102 for discharging droplets.
The liquid chamber 1103 and the concave portion and the liquid chamber 1104 are a top plate integrally formed of resin by injection molding or the like.

The top plate 1100 is fixed to the element substrate 1107 by a pressing means such as a spring or a joining means such as an adhesive (not shown), and the liquid flow path 1103 and the liquid chamber 1 are connected to each other.
104 is partitioned.

The top plate 1100 is not limited to the form integrally molded with resin as described above.
There is also a mode in which the orifice plate 1101 is formed separately from the top plate 1100, and both are joined.

The latter is a method for aligning and joining the ejection port group 1102 on the orifice plate 1101 to the liquid flow path 1103 formed by the pressure contact between the element substrate 1107 and the top plate 1100, which requires durability. There is an advantage that the material of the orifice plate 1101 to be selected can be arbitrarily selected.

On the other hand, the former is the discharge port group 1102 and the liquid flow path 1.
Since the members 103 are formed to communicate with each other, the liquid flow path 1103 is formed by a simple mechanical pressure contact between the top plate 1100 and the element substrate 1107, so that the productivity is excellent.

In the latter case, the top plate 1100 is made of silicon, ceramics, resin or the like, while the orifice plate 1101 is made of silicon, resin, SUS, or the like.
Using materials such as Ni and ceramics, it is formed by ultra-precision processing such as laser processing, electroforming, molding, anisotropic etching, and press processing.

Further, as another embodiment of the liquid jet recording head, an orifice plate, an element substrate, and
There is a structure in which liquid channels and the like are laminated.

The ink jet recording apparatus using the liquid jet recording head as described above is mainly used as a color printer by being connected to a word processor or a personal computer, and is also used as an engine of a facsimile or a copying machine.

[0029]

In recent years, inkjet recording apparatuses have been rapidly developed and spread to apparatuses in various fields, and at the same time, the recording capacity of the apparatuses has increased and the consumption of recording liquid has increased. Along with this, the demand for ink jet recording apparatuses having a large liquid storage capacity is rapidly increasing.

However, in the liquid jet recording head integrally accommodating the liquid storage chamber as described above or the liquid jet recording head equipped with the exchangeable liquid storage chamber, the liquid storage amount is limited, and a large amount of liquid is consumed. In such a case, the liquid storage chamber and the liquid jet recording head have to be frequently replaced, which makes the operation of the operator troublesome and has a drawback of increasing the consumption cost of consumables.

On the other hand, when the liquid storage capacity is increased,
The weight of the liquid jet recording head becomes large, the inertial force generated by the carriage scanning becomes large, the stable scanning of the carriage is impaired, and the print quality deteriorates.

Further, when the liquid storage chamber mounted on the carriage becomes large, there is a drawback that the entire liquid jet recording apparatus becomes large in size.

On the other hand, in the liquid jet recording head form in which the liquid is supplied from the external liquid storage chamber, the external liquid storage chamber has a large capacity without increasing the size of the entire apparatus because the external liquid storage chamber has a degree of freedom in its installation position. It has the advantage that it can be realized.

Further, the form in which the negative pressure inside the liquid jet recording head is maintained by the water head difference between the discharge port surface of the liquid jet recording head and the liquid surface water level of the external liquid storage chamber is a liquid absorption system or a mechanical system. Unlike the configuration in which the negative pressure generating means is provided, the configuration is extremely simple, and therefore the entire device has a low-cost configuration.

However, in the case of the liquid jet recording head configuration in which the negative pressure in the liquid jet recording head is maintained due to the above-described head difference, there are the following problems.

In general, the external liquid storage chamber and the liquid jet recording head are connected by a pipe member, and the liquid jet recording head is provided with a plug member formed of an elastic body such as rubber.

Normally, when the liquid jet recording head is mounted on the carriage, the needle-shaped member connected to the external liquid storage chamber is inserted into the plug member, so that the external liquid storage chamber and the liquid jet recording head are in a conductive state. Becomes

As described above, when the external liquid storage chamber and the liquid jet recording head are electrically connected to each other, the space between the needle-shaped member and the plug member is completely prevented so that leakage of air, ink, etc. does not occur. Must be sealed to.

On the other hand, when the needle-shaped body is pulled out, the stopper member must be sealed so that the ink inside the liquid jet recording head does not leak from the stopper member.

Therefore, in order to satisfy the above-mentioned performance, the plug member is generally selected from a rubber material having a low hardness.

When the tip of the needle-shaped body is pressed against the plug member during insertion of the needle-shaped body, the plug member expands, causing a depression deformation around the pressing portion of the needle-shaped body. When the needle-shaped body is further pushed in from this state, the needle-shaped body penetrates through the cracked portion of the plug member to the opposite side and is conducted into the liquid jet recording head.

However, when the plug member is made of a material having a low hardness, the plug member expands so much that the stroke that the needle-shaped member enters before it becomes conductive is increased, and the needle-shaped member is inserted when the needle-shaped member is inserted. Since the frictional force generated between the body surface and the plug member becomes large, there is a drawback that the insertion load of the needle-shaped body becomes large.

When the needle-shaped body is inserted, the frictional force between the plug-shaped member and the needle-shaped body becomes very large due to the friction coefficient of the plug-shaped member and the compressive force acting on the outer periphery of the needle-shaped body. When the distal end of the plug penetrates, the cracked portion of the plug member sticks to the outer peripheral surface of the needle-shaped member, and the amount of recessed deformation of the plug member increases as the needle-shaped member enters. That is, when the needle-shaped body is inserted, the plug member maintains the depressed and deformed state.

On the other hand, in the case of a construction in which a needle-shaped body having a sharp tip shape is inserted into the plug member to electrically connect the external liquid storage chamber and the liquid jet recording head, the operator touches the tip of the needle-shaped body. It is necessary to provide protection measures that do not exist.

Further, in the case of such a form that the sharp needle-like body tip is inserted while piercing through the plug member, not only the initial needle-body insertion load becomes very large, but also the plug member is opened. The load of needle insertion increases until the crack area of the hole is sufficiently large. Moreover, the crack holes formed by the detachment of the needle-shaped body are not always formed in the same region when the needle-shaped body is inserted, and therefore the crack hole is larger than the desired size due to the repeated detachment of the needle-shaped body. There is a risk that the plug member will become less occluded.

Further, when the needle-shaped body is repeatedly used for insertion and withdrawal with respect to the plug member, the plug member may gradually be pulled out from the press-fitting portion.

Further, when the recording liquid that has adhered to the outer periphery of the needle-shaped body and is drawn out from the inside of the liquid jet recording head moves and adheres to the surface of the plug member, when the operator replaces the liquid jet recording head, the plug member is replaced. There is a risk of touching the recording liquid adhering to the surface and getting your hands dirty.

[0048]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized in that a liquid jet recording head is constructed as follows.

(1) A discharge port group in which a plurality of discharge ports for discharging droplets are arranged, a liquid flow path communicating with the upstream side of the discharge ports, and a recording liquid in the liquid flow path section from the discharge ports. Energy generating means for generating energy used for jetting, a first common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid flow passage portion for supplying a recording liquid to the liquid flow passage portion, and the first common liquid chamber A liquid supply passage for supplying the recording liquid to the recording medium, and a second common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid supply passage for accommodating the recording liquid supplied to the liquid supply passage,
In a liquid jet recording head having a frame body forming the second common liquid chamber and a porous member provided between the liquid supply passage and the second common liquid chamber, the frame body is provided with the first member. (2) A housing part having a hole serving as a recording liquid supply port of the common liquid chamber, and a sleeve protrusion formed at or near the outer circumference of the housing part, and the sleeve protrusion is inserted into the housing part to record in the second common liquid chamber. An elastic plug member serving as a joint for supplying a liquid is provided, and after inserting the plug member into the housing portion, the sleeve protrusion is melted to cover the outer peripheral portion of the plug member. A characteristic liquid jet recording head.

(2) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to item (1), wherein the outer shape of the plug member is larger than the outer shape of the housing portion, and the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion. It is a recording head.

(3) A crack hole is formed in the plug member in advance, and the plug member is formed before the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion. (1) Item (2) And a liquid ejecting recording head.

(4) The crack hole formed in the plug member is Y
The liquid jet recording head described in the item (3) is characterized in that it has a V-shaped slit shape.

(5) In the liquid container or the liquid jet recording head described in the items (1) to (4), the plug member is disposed on the side surface of the liquid jet recording head. .

[0054]

According to the present invention, ink is supplied from the external liquid storage chamber to the liquid jet recording head by inserting the plug-like member of the liquid jet recording head by the needle-shaped member provided in the liquid jet recording apparatus. In the liquid jet recording head of the form described above, when the needle-shaped body is pressed against the plug member by forming a crack hole in the needle-shaped body insertion portion of the plug member in advance, it was in a closed state until then. Since the crack hole of the plug member will sink,
The tip of the needle-shaped body passes through the plug member and is guided inside. Then, when the needle-shaped body is pulled out, it quickly returns to a predetermined position by elastic recovery.

On the other hand, since the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion smaller than the outer diameter of the plug member, the elastic repulsive force of the plug member causes the crack hole portion to closely contact. Therefore, when the needle-shaped body is not inserted, the plug member is not inserted. Will remain blocked.

Therefore, even if the needle-shaped body is pulled out when the liquid jet recording cartridge is replaced, the liquid and air will not leak from the crack hole.

Further, when the needle-shaped body is inserted, the gripping force is applied to the needle-shaped body by the compressive force of the plug member.
It is possible to prevent liquid and air from leaking in the insertion portion.

In addition, since the outer peripheral region of the plug member is covered with the sleeve protrusion and functions as a stopper in the process of melting and deforming the sleeve protrusion, the plug member is pulled out of the housing portion even if the needle-shaped body is repeatedly inserted and extracted. There is no such thing.

Further, since the sleeve protrusion is integrally formed on the frame, unlike the case where a dedicated member is provided for preventing the plug member from coming off, it is inexpensive and has a very space-efficient construction.

Further, even if the recording liquid adheres to the surface of the stopper member when the needle-shaped body is pulled out, the operator can touch the surface of the stopper member directly because the sleeve projection protects the surface of the stopper member. It is possible to prevent the operator's hands from getting dirty. Moreover, the recording liquid adhering to the surface of the stopper member flows into the gap between the surface of the stopper member and the inner surface of the sleeve protrusion due to the surface tension of the recording liquid. The recording liquid does not stagnate in the insertion port of the needle-shaped body because the recording liquid moves and retracts to the portion.

In particular, in the structure in which the plug member is disposed on the side surface of the liquid jet recording head, the recording liquid attached to the center of the plug member immediately flows to the lower outer periphery of the plug member, so that the operator does not use the head. Since the recording liquid is not touched during the detaching operation, the operability of the operator can be significantly improved.

[0062]

1 to 11 are views showing the structure of a liquid jet recording head of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a liquid droplet ejecting portion of the liquid jet recording head, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the liquid droplet ejecting portion of the liquid jet recording head, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the liquid jet recording head, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a plug member applicable to the present invention, FIGS. 6 to 7 are external perspective views showing a sleeve configuration of a liquid jet recording head, and FIGS. 8A and 8B are liquid jet recording heads. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the needle-like body attaching / detaching operation, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a recording liquid supply path of the liquid jet recording head, FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the liquid jet recording head, and FIG. 11 is a liquid jet recording head. It is an exploded perspective view for explaining the structure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on.

Liquid jet recording head 100 of the present invention
Is transmitted between a liquid droplet ejecting unit that ejects liquid droplets in accordance with a print signal from a nozzle array formed of ejection ports (nozzles) that eject liquid droplets according to a print signal, and the liquid ejecting recording apparatus main body. A liquid jetting / ejecting unit (hereinafter referred to as a head chip) 15 having a flexible cable and a sheet wiring member such as TAB for electric wiring for passing a print signal, and a recording containing a recording liquid supplied to the head chip. A frame body unit (hereinafter referred to as a frame body) 16 which has a liquid storage chamber (second common liquid chamber) and serves as a housing for holding the head chip is formed.

First, an example of the structure of the head chip 15 will be described.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a silicon film forming process in which an electrothermal converter (ejection heater 1a), which is an energy generator for ejecting a recording liquid, and wiring for supplying electric power to the ejection heater 1a. A heater board 2 formed on a silicon substrate by means of a wiring board for wiring the heater board 1 and for making electrical contact with the main body of the liquid jet recording apparatus. A wiring pattern is formed on the glass epoxy substrate with copper or nickel. TAB and FP in which a wiring pattern is formed on the formed PWB substrate or flexible film
C or the like is used.

The heater board 1 and the wiring board 2 are electrically connected by, for example, wire bonding or lead bonding.

Reference numeral 3 is a support substrate (hereinafter referred to as a base plate) which is made of aluminum, ceramics or the like and serves as a base for supporting the heater board 1, and the base plate 3 radiates the heat of the heater board 1 generated by the ejection drive. It also functions as a heat sink for cooling. Reference numeral 3d denotes a groove provided on the surface on which the heater board 1 is mounted and joined, and the groove 3d is formed along the longitudinal direction of the heater board 1.

The base plate 3 is joined by an adhesive having good thermal conductivity in order to efficiently radiate the heat accumulated on the heater board 1. For example, a silver paste containing silver powder in epoxy resin is used. Etc., the heater board 1 is made of silver paste, and the base plate 3
Die bonded on top.

The silver paste is the groove 3d on the base plate 3.
Since it is injected into the inside along the groove 3d, it is easy to limit the application area, and it is possible to prevent the silver paste from protruding from the joint surface between the base plate 3 and the heater board 1, and the silver paste can be prevented. Wasteful consumption can be suppressed.

Further, since the silver paste is generally made of an epoxy adhesive, it is necessary to heat and cure the adhesive by heating. Since the epoxy adhesive temporarily lowers its viscosity when heated, this lowering of the viscosity increases the fluidity and allows the groove 3d to be completely filled.

Therefore, it is preferable that the groove 3d is limited to the area where the heater board 1 is placed, but if the groove 3d extends to both ends of the base plate 3, silver paste is desired. If more than the amount of silver paste is applied, excess silver paste will flow out along the groove in the longitudinal direction, and the front flow of silver paste can be prevented.

The wiring board 2 is provided on the base plate 3.
The wiring board 2 is placed behind the heater board 1 and adhered by an adhesive or the like.

Reference numeral 5 is a top plate forming the upper surface of the liquid flow path, 7 is a liquid flow path groove as a nozzle formed by a partition wall or the like for partitioning the liquid flow path, and 8 is a feed to each liquid flow path. The first common liquid chamber 9 for accommodating the recording liquid to be stored is a recording liquid serving as a receiving port for guiding the recording liquid supplied from a recording liquid storage tank (not shown) through the second common liquid chamber to the first common liquid chamber 8. Supply port 9
Is.

The top plate 5 is made of a material such as silicon, silicon nitride, glass or ceramics, and is formed by anisotropic etching or molding.

The liquid flow path groove 7 is arranged on the heater board 1 so as to match the arrangement of the discharge heater group 1a. After a photosensitive resin layer such as epoxy is laminated on the upper surface of the heater board 1, etching or the like is performed. Through the photolithography process as described above, a groove as a partition wall is formed.

When the liquid passage groove 7 is sandwiched between the top plate 5 and the heater board 1 by joining the top plate 5 and the heater board 1 in the next step (top plate joining), the liquid passage groove 7 Since the top surface is closed by the top plate 5, the nozzle 7 as a liquid flow path is formed. The top plate is generally joined by an adhesive having good recording liquid resistance.

The top plate bonding is not limited to the embodiment performed after the die bonding process as described above, and the die bonding for bonding the heater board 1 and the base plate 3 is performed after the top plate bonding process. There is also a form. In the present embodiment, for convenience of description, a mode in which the top plate is joined after the die bonding process is adopted and described.

The liquid flow path groove 7 is not limited to the form formed on the heater board 1, but may be formed on the lower surface of the top plate 5 with a photosensitive resin.

In any case, in the form in which the liquid flow path 7 is provided on the upper surface of the heater board 1, the liquid flow path groove group 7 and the discharge heater group 1a are arranged with high accuracy by a semiconductor film forming technique. Will be done.

On the other hand, in the form in which the liquid flow path groove group 7 is provided on the lower surface of the top plate 5, the liquid flow path group 7 and the discharge heater group 1a are arranged with high precision in their relative positions by a mechanical alignment process. Like

Reference numeral 6 denotes an orifice plate, and the orifice plate 6 has a desired number of ejection port groups 6a for ejecting the recording liquid onto the recording medium. The orifice plate 6 is made of SUS, Ni, Cr, Al, etc. Metal plate, polyimide, polysulfone, polyether sulfone,
It is formed of a resin molded product such as polyphenylene oxide, polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylene, etc., a resin film material, etc., and also silicon, ceramics, etc.

Further, 10 is a pressing spring for closely contacting the heater board 1 and the top plate 5, and the pressing spring 10 presses the top plate 5 at a substantially central position in the lateral direction of the top surface. That is, the substantially U-shaped bent portions 10 a provided at both ends of the presser spring 10.
(Opposing surface is not shown) is inserted into the notch 3a provided in the base plate 3, and the claw portion 10b is inserted into the base plate 3.
Hang on the underside of. As a result, the pressure generating portion 10c of the pressing spring 10 presses the upper surface of the top plate 5, so that the top plate 5 and the heater board 1 are sandwiched between the pressing spring 10 and the base plate 3.

That is, the heater board 1 and the base plate 3 receive the set load of the pressing spring 10 in the joining direction of the two, and the joining of the two adds the physical load of the holding spring 10 to the bonding force of the adhesive. Become power.

There is also a configuration in which the physical load by the pressing spring 10 as described above is not applied. In such a configuration, the heater board 1 and the base plate 3 are joined only by the bonding force of the adhesive. It is determined.

Reference numeral 11 is a chip tank in which a recording liquid passage 11a for guiding the recording liquid from the second common liquid chamber or the like arranged at the upstream position of the liquid jet recording head 100 to the recording liquid supply port 9 is formed. Reference numeral 11 denotes a chip tank in which a recording liquid passage 11a for guiding the recording liquid from the second common liquid chamber or the like arranged at the upstream position of the liquid jet recording head 100 to the recording liquid supply port 9 is formed.

The chip tank 11 includes a front plate portion 11
b is provided, and the front plate portion 11b plays a role of joining and holding a region of the orifice plate 6 on the outer side of the discharge port 6a, and is also attached / detached from a cap member (not shown) provided in the main body of the recording apparatus during a capping operation. It plays a role of supporting the orifice plate 6 so that the orifice plate 6 can sufficiently withstand a force or a pressing force.

The orifice plate 6 is joined to the front end surface 1b of the heater board 1 and the front end surface 5b of the top plate 5 with, for example, an epoxy adhesive. 2 shows a state before the orifice plate 6 is joined, and FIG. 1 shows a state after the orifice plate 6 is joined.

Reference numeral 12 is a porous member disposed at the boundary between the chip tank 11 and the second common liquid chamber (described later) 21 and having fine holes for trapping impurities of the recording liquid.

In this embodiment, the porous member 12 is joined to the chip tank 11 by welding. Therefore, gas does not enter the inside of the liquid jet recording head 100 from the joint between the chip tank 11 and the porous member 12.

As shown in FIG. 7, the chip tank 11 and the top plate 5 are joined together so that the recording liquid supply path 11a of the chip tank 11 communicates with the recording liquid supply port 9 of the top plate 5.
The chip tank 11 and the top plate 5 are joined by pressing the joining surfaces to each other, and the periphery of the joining surfaces is complementarily sealed with a filler (not shown).

Next, an example of the structure of the frame body 16 will be described.

In FIGS. 3 to 8, the frame 16 serves as a casing of the liquid jet recording head 100. Further, a second common liquid chamber 21 for storing a desired amount of recording liquid and storing the stored recording liquid temporarily or until used up is provided inside the frame 16 (FIG. 4).
The recording liquid stored in the second common liquid chamber 21 is supplied to the head chip 15, and is supplied to the nozzle portion via the recording liquid supply path 11a of the chip tank 11 and the first common liquid chamber 8 of the top plate 5. To be done.

The handle 22 arranged above the liquid jet recording head 100 serves as a clue when the liquid jet recording head 100 is attached to and detached from the carriage (not shown) of the liquid jet recording apparatus main body.

Reference numeral 23 is a joint rubber serving as a recording liquid supply port to the second common liquid chamber 21, and a Y-shaped slit-like crack hole 23b is provided at the center of the joint rubber 23 as shown in FIG. The joint rubber 23 is press-fitted into the cylindrical hole portion 16a of the frame body 16 formed with an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the joint rubber 23. In addition, the tip end portion 23c of the joint rubber 23 in the press-fitting direction has a tapered shape in order to improve the insertability into the cylindrical hole portion 16a.

Reference numeral 17 is a sleeve extending outward from the cylindrical hole 16a, and 18 is a heating rod heated to a high temperature to melt and deform the sleeve 17, and the joint rubber 23 is press-fitted into the cylindrical hole 16a. After being heated, heating rod 18
Melts and presses the sleeve 17 so that the sleeve 1
Since the outer peripheral surface 17a of 7 is laid down toward the center of the sleeve 17, the sleeve 17 is attached to the surface 23a of the joint rubber 23.
Will be covered. That is, the sleeve 17 swages with respect to the joint rubber 23. 4A and 6 are views showing a state before the sleeve 17 is melted and deformed, and FIG. 4B and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state after the sleeve 17 is melted and deformed.

With this swaging, the sleeve 17
Since the inner wall 17b and the surface 23a of the joint rubber 23 come close to each other, even if the recording liquid adheres to the surface 23a of the joint rubber 23 by inserting and removing the recording liquid supply needle 51 of the liquid jet recording apparatus main body, recording is performed. The liquid flows into the gap formed between the sleeve inner wall 17b and the joint rubber surface 23a by its own surface tension.

In addition, the joint rubber surface 23a
Since it is covered with the sleeve 17, the operator does not touch the recording liquid adhering to the joint rubber surface 23a during the replacement operation of the liquid jet recording head.

Since the Y-shaped slit-like crack hole 23b receives a compressive load from the outer peripheral portion of the joint rubber 23 as described above, when the recording liquid supply needle 51 of the liquid jet recording apparatus main body is not inserted (see FIG. In (b)), the inside of the second common liquid chamber 21 can be kept in a sealed state.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the needle 51 is inserted, a gripping force (compressing force from the outer periphery) acts on the needle 51, so that the needle 51
The joint part can be completely sealed except for the hollow part.

By thus forming the Y-shaped slit-like crack hole 23b in the joint rubber 23, the Y-shaped slit-like crack hole 23b is separated and deformed in three directions when the needle 51 is inserted and withdrawn, and the joint rubber 23 is formed. 23, the sharp needle 51
The sliding load of the needle 51 is remarkably smaller than that in the configuration in which the rubber is inserted while tearing the rubber, and the operability at the time of replacing the liquid jet recording head is improved.

Even if the center of the needle 51 is eccentrically inserted with respect to the center of the joint rubber 23d, at least one of the three cracked pieces is separated from the joint rubber surface 23a by the thrusting pressure of the tip of the needle 51. Since it retracts while it is depressed, the insertion resistance at the tip of the needle becomes small.

Then, when the needle 51 is further inserted from this state, the needle 51 receives a repulsive force due to the elastic recovery force of the crack piece that is depressed and retracted, and the needle 51 is loaded toward the center 23d of the joint rubber 23. Will work. Therefore, thereafter, the needle 51 is guided to the center 23d of the joint rubber 23 while being guided to the second common liquid chamber 2
It will be inserted into the first copy. And needle 5
The needle 51 is smoothly inserted because the other crack pieces are also retracted by the further entry of 1.

Therefore, no matter what direction the Y-shape of the joint rubber crack hole 23 is inclined and press-fitted into the frame body 16, the tip of the needle 51 can be surely guided into the second common liquid chamber 21. .

From the above, the needle 51, the needle holding portion (not shown), the joint rubber 23, the frame 16
It is possible to smoothly and surely perform the inserting operation of the needle 51 without improving the dimensional accuracy and the assembly accuracy of the parts such as the liquid jet recording head and the liquid jet recording apparatus main body at low cost. Become.

The joint rubber 23 is provided at two places, upper and lower, but the lower part is provided with a recording liquid from an external recording liquid storage tank (not shown) (not shown) provided in the liquid jet recording apparatus main body. The recording liquid is supplied to the inside of the second common liquid chamber 21 through the lower needle 51 and the hole 16b.

On the other hand, the upper portion is an intake passage for discharging the air stored in the second common liquid chamber 21 to the outside of the liquid chamber to control the negative pressure in the liquid chamber, and an intake driving means such as a pump. Is discharged to the outside of the second common liquid chamber 21 through the hole 16a and the upper needle 51.

In addition, the second common liquid chamber 2 by this intake passage
The recording liquid replenishment control in the second common liquid chamber 21 can be performed by increasing the negative pressure inside 1.

Reference numeral 24 is a contact pad which is disposed at one end of the above-mentioned wiring board 2 and which transfers a print signal transmitted between the head chip 15 and the liquid jet recording apparatus main body.

Next, the connection between the head chip 15 and the frame body 16 will be described.

In FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, the head chip 1
5 is fixed to the frame body 16 by, for example, welding the positioning bosses 16c and 16d, screws 25, etc., so that both can be easily disassembled.

Further, the second common liquid chamber 21 and the chip tank 1
Filler 25 made of silicone rubber or the like is connected to 1
Is filled.

Further, the contact pad 24 is the frame body 16.
Wiring board 2 and frame 16 so that they are arranged at predetermined positions
After the alignment is performed, the wiring board 2 is joined along the side surface of the frame body 16.

Next, each of the above components will be described in more detail.

When the liquid jet recording head 100 is mounted on the carriage, the ejection port surface of the liquid jet recording head 100 is always set at a position higher than the liquid surface of the recording liquid in the main tank. By connecting to the main tank, the inside of the second common liquid chamber 21 is maintained at a negative pressure.

The second common liquid chamber 21 has a role of a buffer for storing the recording liquid, and when the recording liquid is consumed by ejection, the recording liquid is discharged from the second common liquid chamber 21 to the top plate 5 and the heater board 1. Is appropriately supplied to the first common liquid chamber 8. The second common liquid chamber 21 has a connecting portion for receiving the recording liquid from a separately provided main tank and a connecting portion for letting air in the liquid chamber escape to the outside.

The entire circumference between the tip tank 11 and the second common liquid chamber 21 is filled with the filler 25 without any gap, so that the watertightness from the inside of the second common liquid chamber 21 to the tip tank 11 is secured. ing.

However, since the filler 25 is made of silicone rubber having gas permeability, the outside air is not filled with the filler 2.
It is possible to pass through 5 and enter the second common liquid chamber 21.

The gas that has entered the second common liquid chamber 21 is
The inside of the common liquid chamber 21 rises due to buoyancy and stays in the gas layer above the liquid chamber. Then, this gas is finally discharged to the outside through a connection portion (not shown) that allows the gas in the second common liquid chamber 21 to escape to the outside.

In this embodiment, the connecting portion between the chip tank 11 and the second common liquid chamber 21 is arranged on the upstream side of the porous member 12 in the recording liquid flow direction. Therefore, the gas that has permeated the filler 25 does not enter the chip tank 11 on the downstream side of the porous member 12. Also, the second
Even when a part of the recording liquid is solidified by drying or the like in the common liquid chamber 21 to generate a solid, the solid can be trapped by the porous member 12.

With the above structure, the amount of gas entering the downstream side of the porous member 12, that is, the flow path from the recording liquid supply path 11a to the nozzle of the head chip 15 can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the influence on the liquid ejection performance due to the presence of gas in the flow path on the downstream side.

Further, since the amount of gas existing in the flow path on the downstream side of the porous member 12 is reduced, the recovery operation performed when starting to use the liquid jet recording head 100 left for a long period of time is simplified. be able to. Therefore, the amount of the recording liquid sucked and discarded in the recovery operation is reduced, and the use efficiency of the recording liquid can be improved.

The porous member 12 is arranged obliquely with respect to the liquid flow direction of the recording liquid supply passage 11a of the chip tank 11. Therefore, the area of the porous member 12 is larger than the cross-sectional area near the connection portion of the chip tank 11 with the second common liquid chamber 21 and perpendicular to the flow path direction.

The porous member may be arranged perpendicular to the liquid flow direction.

[0125]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The first liquid jet recording head includes an ejection port group in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting liquid droplets are arranged, a liquid channel communicating with an upstream side of the ejection port, and a recording liquid ejection port of the liquid channel section. Energy generating means for generating energy used for jetting from the liquid flow path, a first common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid flow path portion for supplying the recording liquid to the liquid flow path portion, and recording in the first common liquid chamber A liquid supply passage for supplying liquid, a second common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid supply passage for containing the recording liquid to be supplied to the liquid supply passage, a frame body forming the second common liquid chamber, and a liquid supply In a liquid jet recording head having a porous member provided between a passage and a second common liquid chamber, a housing portion having a hole portion which is a recording liquid supply port of the second common liquid chamber in a frame body, A sleeve protrusion is formed on or near the outer periphery of the housing, and is inserted into the housing to An elastic plug member serving as a joint for supplying the recording liquid to the common liquid chamber was provided, and after inserting the plug member into the housing part, the sleeve protrusion was melted to cover the outer peripheral part of the plug member. As a result, the outer peripheral region of the plug member is covered by the melting deformation of the sleeve projection, so that the plug member will not come out of the housing portion even if the needle is repeatedly inserted and withdrawn.

Further, since the sleeve projection is integrally formed on the frame, unlike the case where a dedicated member is provided for preventing the plug member from coming off, it is inexpensive and has a very good space efficiency. .

Further, the sleeve projection protects the surface of the stopper member so that the operator does not touch the surface of the stopper member even if the recording liquid adheres to the surface of the stopper member when the needle is pulled out. Operability is greatly improved.

Moreover, since the recording liquid adhering to the surface of the stopper member flows into the gap between the surface of the stopper member and the inner surface of the sleeve protrusion due to the surface tension of the recording liquid, the recording liquid adhering to the surface of the stopper member is needled. There is no stagnation in the insertion slot.

The second liquid jet recording head is the same as the first liquid jet recording head, but the outer shape of the plug member is larger than the outer shape of the housing portion, and the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion. Since a compressive stress will be applied from the outer peripheral part toward the center of the plug, even if a crack hole is formed in the center of the plug member by inserting the needle, the crack hole will stick, so the plug member will be blocked when the needle is not inserted. It will surely maintain the condition.

Therefore, even if the needle is pulled out from the liquid jet recording head when replacing the liquid container, the liquid and air will not leak to the outside through the crack hole. Also, in the needle inserted state, toward the needle,
Since the gripping force is applied by the compressive force of the plug member, it is possible to prevent leakage of liquid and air at the insertion portion.

The third liquid jet recording head is the first or second
In the liquid jet recording head of No. 1, a crack hole is formed in the plug member in advance, and it is formed before the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion, so that a sharp needle is inserted to tear the joint rubber. Compared with the configuration, the needle is inserted and withdrawn along the cracked hole of the joint rubber, so that the needle insertion load and the withdrawal load are reduced, and the operability when exchanging the liquid jet recording head is improved.

The fourth liquid jet recording head is the same as the third liquid jet recording head, but the crack hole formed in the plug member is Y.
Due to the slit-like shape, when the needle abuts against the joint rubber and is pressed, the crack hole of the joint rubber that has been blocked up to that point is divided into three parts, and the crack pieces will separate and sink. Is smoothly guided to the center of the crack hole. On the other hand, when the needle is pulled out, the crack piece quickly returns to a predetermined position by elastic recovery.

Further, even when the entrance locus of the needle tip does not coincide with the slit position of the joint rubber, or when the center of the needle is eccentric with respect to the Y-shaped slit center. , The cracked piece that has come into contact with the tip of the needle immediately undergoes bending deformation and retreats. After that, the tip of the needle is gradually guided to the center of the Y-shaped slit by the repulsive force of the deformed and retracted crack piece, and when the needle is inserted further, the other crack piece also follows the bending deformation and retracts, so the needle is smooth. Will be inserted into the joint rubber.

As described above, since the joint rubber forms the Y-shaped slit-like crack hole in advance, the sliding resistance between the needle and the joint rubber is reduced, the insertion load and the withdrawal load of the needle are reduced, and the liquid jetting is performed. The operability when exchanging the recording cartridge is improved. Further, it is not necessary to set the relative positions of the needle and the joint rubber with high accuracy, and the liquid jet recording apparatus can be inexpensive.

The fifth liquid jet recording head includes first to fourth
In the liquid jet recording head of No. 1, since the plug member is disposed on the side surface of the liquid jet recording head, the recording liquid attached to the center of the plug member immediately flows to the lower outer periphery of the plug member, so that the operator does not use the head. Since the recording liquid is not touched during the detaching operation, the operability of the operator can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of a liquid droplet ejection unit of a liquid jet recording head.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a droplet discharge unit of a liquid jet recording head.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a liquid jet recording head.

4A and 4B are partial cross-sectional views showing the melting and deformation of the sleeve of the liquid jet recording head, wherein FIG. 4A is a view showing a state before the sleeve is deformed, and FIG. 4B is a view showing a state after the sleeve is deformed.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a plug member applicable to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing a state of the liquid jet recording head before the sleeve is deformed.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a state of the liquid jet recording head after the sleeve is deformed.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a needle attaching / detaching operation with respect to the liquid jet recording head, showing a needle insertion state;
FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which a needle is not inserted.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a recording liquid supply path of a liquid jet recording head.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a liquid jet recording head.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the structure of a liquid jet recording head.

FIG. 12 is a partial schematic perspective view showing a liquid jet recording head having a conventional configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 heater board 2 wiring board 3 base plate 5 Top plate 6 Orifice plate 8 1st common liquid chamber 11 chip tank 12 Porous member 15 head chips 16 frame 16a Cylindrical hole 17 Sleeve 18 heating rod 21 2nd common liquid chamber 23 Joint rubber 51 needles 100 liquid jet recording head

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroshi Koizumi             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation F term (reference) 2C056 EA16 EA20 EA22 EA24 KB19                       KC02 KC05 KC11 KC16 KC21                       KC27

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A discharge port group in which a plurality of discharge ports for discharging droplets are arranged, a liquid flow path communicating with an upstream side of the discharge port, and a recording liquid in the liquid flow path section is discharged from the discharge port. Energy generating means for generating energy used to generate the recording medium, a first common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid flow passage portion for supplying a recording liquid to the liquid flow passage portion, and a first common liquid chamber A liquid supply passage for supplying the recording liquid, a second common liquid chamber upstream of the liquid supply passage for accommodating the recording liquid supplied to the liquid supply passage, and a frame forming the second common liquid chamber A liquid jet recording head having a porous member provided between the liquid supply passage and the second common liquid chamber, wherein the frame serves as a recording liquid supply port of the second common liquid chamber. A housing portion having a hole, and a sleeve protrusion formed on or near the outer periphery of the housing portion, An elastic plug member, which is inserted into the housing part and serves as a joint for supplying the recording liquid to the second common liquid chamber, is provided. After inserting the plug member into the housing part, the sleeve protrusion is melted. A liquid jet recording head, characterized in that the outer peripheral portion of the stopper member is covered. 2. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the outer shape of the plug member is larger than the outer shape of the housing portion, and the plug member is press-fitted into the housing portion. . 3. A crack hole is previously formed in the plug member,
The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the plug member is formed before being press-fitted into the housing portion. 4. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 3, wherein the crack hole formed in the plug member has a Y-shaped slit shape. 5. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the plug member is provided on a side surface of the liquid jet recording head.