JP2004098297A - Inkjet recording head, inkjet cartridge, and inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance reliability of an inkjet recording head by suppressing deformation of constitutional members. <P>SOLUTION: A protrusion 501 and a recess 502 regulating the position each other are provided, respectively, on the bonding faces of a heater board 209 and a top plate 210 between an electrothermal conversion element 102 and an ejection opening 101. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording head capable of discharging ink, an inkjet cartridge, and an inkjet recording apparatus using the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIGS. 1 to 4 show a configuration example of a conventional ink jet recording head. 1 is a perspective view of a recording head, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is line IV-IV of FIG. FIG.
[0003]
In these drawings, the inkjet recording head is provided with a plurality of ejection ports 101, and each of the electrothermal conversion elements 102 for generating thermal energy used for ejecting ink from each of the ejection ports 101 is provided. It is provided for each ink channel 103. Each electrothermal conversion element 102 mainly includes a heating resistor 104 and an electric wiring 105 for supplying power thereto.
[0004]
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, an insulating film 202 and an interlayer film 203 are formed on a substrate 201 made of silicon or the like, and a pattern having a pattern as shown in FIG. A layer of the heating resistor 104 is formed. Further, on this layer, except for a part, a layer of the electric wiring 105 made of AI or the like is formed in a pattern as shown in FIG. The portion of the layer of the heating resistor 104 where the layer of the electric wiring 105 is not formed constitutes a heating section as the electrothermal conversion element 102. Further, the first protective film 207 and the second protective film 208 are covered so as to cover the pattern of the heating resistor 104 and the electrode wiring 205. As described above, the heater board 209 is configured by the substrate 201 and the electrothermal transducers 102 formed thereon.
[0005]
3 and 4, each ink flow path 103 is partitioned by a flow path wall 106, and an end of each ink flow path 103 opposite to the ejection port 101 communicates with a common liquid chamber 107. In the common liquid chamber 107, ink supplied from an ink tank (not shown) through the ink receiving port 401 is stored. The ink supplied to the common liquid chamber 107 is guided to the respective ink channels 103 from here, and forms a meniscus near the ejection port 101 and is held. In this state, by selectively energizing and driving the electrothermal conversion element 102, it generates thermal energy, and the thermal energy causes film boiling in the ink. Then, the ink is ejected from the ejection port 101 by the growth of bubbles generated by the film boiling.
[0006]
On the heater board 209 of such an ink jet recording head, a top plate 210 made of resin or the like is bonded. That is, the orifice plate 402 forming the discharge port 101 and the flow path wall 106 are integrally formed on the top plate 210. As shown in FIG. 2, the top plate 210 and the heater board 209 align the relative positions of the former discharge port 103 forming portion and the like and the latter electrothermal transducer 102 and the like by means of image processing or the like. While being joined. Then, after the rear portion of the top plate 210 (the portion opposite to the discharge port forming portion) is temporarily fixed to the heater board 209 with an adhesive or the like, the top plate 210 is resiliently attached to the top plate 210 by an elastic member (not shown) such as a leaf spring. The upper part of the flow path wall 106 is pressed toward the heater board 209 side. As a result, the electrothermal conversion elements 102 on the heater board 209 are separated from each other by the flow path wall 106, and the electrothermal conversion elements 102 are arranged for each ink flow path 103.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, the recording width (nozzle row width) of the ink jet recording head has been increasing in accordance with the increase in the recording speed of the ink jet recording apparatus, and the warpage of the top plate 210, which is a resin molded product, has become an important problem in production. It has become to. Further, since the position of the top plate 210 in the ink ejection direction is regulated only by pressing an elastic member such as a leaf spring that presses the top plate 210 against the heater board 209, if the recording head is stored at a high temperature for a long time, The plate 210 undergoes thermal deformation, and a relative displacement occurs between the nozzle (ink channel 103) provided on the top plate 210 and the electrothermal conversion element 102 (hereinafter also referred to as a heater) of the heater board 209. There was a fear.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress deformation of constituent members of an ink jet recording head and increase the reliability thereof.
[0009]
Another object of the present invention is to solve the problems such as warpage during molding of the top plate and deformation during high-temperature storage, even when a resin-molded top plate is used, which is advantageous in terms of cost. And a highly reliable ink jet recording head, ink jet cartridge, and ink jet recording apparatus.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the ink jet recording head of the present invention, an ink flow path that connects the ink discharge port to the ink discharge port is formed between the bonding surface of the substrate and the top plate, and the discharge energy generating means provided on the substrate is generated. In the ink jet recording head capable of discharging the ink in the ink flow path from the discharge port by the discharge energy, each of the bonding surfaces between the substrate and the top plate between the discharge energy generating means and the discharge port is provided. In addition, a regulating portion for regulating the position is provided.
[0011]
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink jet cartridge including the ink jet recording head and a tank containing ink to be supplied to the ink jet recording head.
[0012]
An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes: the inkjet recording head; and a moving unit that relatively moves the inkjet recording head and a recording medium.
[0013]
An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes: the ink jet cartridge; and a moving unit that relatively moves the ink jet cartridge and a recording medium.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
(1st Embodiment)
The basic configuration of the ink jet recording head according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the conventional example of FIGS. 1 to 4 described above, and differs from the conventional example in that the V-circle portion in FIG. 2 is configured as shown in FIG. I do.
[0016]
In the basic configuration of the ink jet recording head of this example, as described above, the electrothermal conversion element 102 is used as an energy generating element used to discharge ink from the plurality of discharge ports 101 provided in a row. It is configured. A heating resistor 104 made of hafnium boride or tantalum nitride is provided on a substrate 201 made of silicon, and is formed by a film forming technique together with an electrode wiring 205 made of aluminum or the like that supplies an electric signal to each heating resistor 104. It is molded integrally. The top plate 210 is used to form a flow path wall 106 for dividing each of the plurality of ink flow paths 103 and a common liquid chamber 107 for temporarily storing ink supplied to each of the ink flow paths 103. A groove is provided. Further, the top plate 210 has an ink receiving port 401 for introducing ink from an ink tank (not shown) into the common liquid chamber 107 and an orifice plate 402 having a plurality of discharge ports 101 corresponding to each ink flow path 103. Are integrally formed. As a material of the top plate 210, for example, various molding resin materials can be used in addition to polyether polysulfone, polyphenylene oxide, polypropylene, and the like.
[0017]
On the substrate 201 of the heater board 209, a layer of an insulating film 202 (SiO ₂ in this embodiment) made of an inorganic material (for example, SiO, SiO ₂ , SiN, etc.) is formed by a known film forming technique. You. After the film formation, the first layer wiring (not shown) of the two-layer wiring, the insulating layer (SiO ₂ ) of the interlayer film 203, the layer of the heating resistor 104 (HfB ₂ ), the layer of the electrode wiring 205 (Al), Layers such as a first protective film 207 (SiO ₂ ) and a second protective film 208 (Ta) are formed by film formation and patterning.
[0018]
Further, at the time of forming such a heater board 209, as shown in FIG. 5, an electrothermal conversion element (hereinafter also referred to as "heater") 102 as an energy generating element for discharging ink and an electrode wiring 205, A layer forming the convex portion 501 is formed between the heater board 209 and the ink discharge direction end (the end on the left side in FIG. 5) by the same film formation and patterning method as the electrode wiring 205 described above. The protrusion 501 protrudes from the substrate 201 toward the heater board 209. Further, a concave portion 502 is formed on the top plate 210 side, and when the heater board 209 and the top plate 210 are joined, the concave portion 502 fits into the convex portion 501 on the heater board 209 side. By fitting the respective convex portions 501 and concave portions 502, the heater board 209 and the top plate 210 can be regulated in a regular positional relationship.
[0019]
That is, in the ink jet recording head using the silicon substrate 201 and the resin top plate 210 having different linear expansion coefficients, when a temperature change occurs, the convex portion 501 and the concave portion 502 cause the relative displacement between the heater board 209 and the top plate 210. And the positional relationship between the nozzle including the discharge port provided on the top plate 210 (the flow path 103 for discharging ink) and the heater 102 provided on the heater board 209 for generating foaming energy does not change. . Therefore, even when the ink is expanded at a high temperature or contracted at a low temperature, the phase relationship between the nozzle and the heater 102 does not change, and it is possible to always obtain stable ink ejection performance.
[0020]
Further, when the heater board 209 and the top plate 210 are joined, the displacement of the top plate 210 in the ink ejection direction is regulated by the protrusion 501 of the heater board 209. Further, even if the top plate 210 and the orifice plate 402 are warped during the molding of the resin top plate 210, when the top plate 210 is joined to the heater board 209, the posture of the top plate 210 with respect to the heater board 209 is changed. Can be corrected. Therefore, when the bonding of the top plate 210 to the heater board 209 is completed, the problem that the distance between the heater 102 and the discharge port 101 changes due to the warpage of the top plate 210 is eliminated.
[0021]
Further, the recording head having such a configuration is left for a long time in a high-temperature environment, or the temperature of the recording head is increased due to non-ejection of ink, and the top plate 210 attempts to deform due to thermal expansion. In this case, the convex portion 501 and the concave portion 502 can prevent the top plate 210 from being deformed. As a result, it is possible to increase the productivity of the recording head and the reliability thereof.
[0022]
The shape of the protrusion 501 may be any shape as long as the top plate 210 can be positioned and the ink does not affect the ejection. Alternatively, the relationship between the convex and concave portions of the convex portion 501 and the concave portion 502 may be reversed so that a concave portion is provided on the heater board 209 side and a convex portion is provided on the top plate 210 side. In this case, in order to form a concave portion in the heater board 209, for example, in order to form a concave portion lower than the pattern of the portion of the heater board 209 to which the flow path wall 106 of the top plate 210 is joined, the heater board 209 is formed. The recess can be formed by processing the silicon surface by etching or the like.
[0023]
Further, in the present embodiment, the convex portion 501 and the concave portion 502 are provided on each of the bonding surfaces of the heater board 209 and the top plate 210 as the restricting portions for restricting the positions, but the form of the restricting portions is not limited. Not limited. Further, such a restricting portion may be provided on a joint surface between the heater board 209 and the top plate 210 between the heater 102 and the discharge port 101.
[0024]
(Second embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of an inkjet cartridge configured using the inkjet recording head according to the first embodiment.
[0025]
The ink jet cartridge 40 in this example is provided in a serial type recording apparatus, and includes the ink jet recording head 10 as the first embodiment described above, an ink supply pipe 41, an ink tank 42 containing ink, and A main part is constituted by a lid member 43 for sealing the inside of the ink tank 42. The ink jet recording head 10 having a large number of ejection ports 101 for ejecting ink is supplied from the ink tank 42 into the common liquid chamber 107 through the ink supply pipe 41 and the ink reception port 401. I have.
[0026]
In the ink jet cartridge 40 according to the present embodiment, the ink jet head 10 and the ink tank 42 are integrally formed. However, a structure in which the ink tank 42 is exchangeably connected to the inkjet head 10 may be employed.
[0027]
(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining an example of an ink jet recording apparatus using the ink jet cartridge 40 of FIG. 6 described above.
[0028]
In the ink jet recording apparatus 50 of this example, a platen roller 52 driven and rotated by a paper feed motor 51 and a pair of guide rods 53 are arranged in parallel, and a carriage 54 is slidable on the pair of guide rods 53. Is held in. A scanning wire 57 connected to the carriage 54 is wound around a pair of pulleys 55 and 56 rotatably disposed on both sides of the guide rod 53. A carriage drive motor 58 is connected to one of the pulleys 55. The forward / reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 58 causes the carriage 54 to scan in the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 52 while being guided by the guide rod 53. .
[0029]
The ink jet cartridge 40 shown in FIG. 6 is exchangeably mounted on the carriage 54 by a detachable operation lever 59. The ejection port 101 of the inkjet recording head 10 faces a recording medium 70 such as paper wound around the platen roller 52 with a predetermined gap. The inkjet recording head 10 is connected to a control unit (not shown) via a flexible cable 60. Then, an image is sequentially recorded on the print medium 70 by repeating the ink ejection from the recording head 10 during the scanning of the carriage 54 by the carriage drive motor 58 and the feeding operation of the recording medium 70 by the motor 51.
[0030]
In addition, one or more (two in the illustrated example) of the inkjet cartridge 40 can be mounted on the carriage 54 according to the color of the ink to be used.
[0031]
(Other)
In addition, the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for causing ink to be ejected, particularly in an ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type that causes a change in the state. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.
[0032]
Regarding the typical configuration and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the liquid (ink). Applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, thereby causing the electrothermal transducer to generate thermal energy, and This is effective because film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the liquid, and as a result, air bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal one-to-one can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is in a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.
[0033]
As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (straight liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) of the discharge port, liquid path, and electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a is bent, is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently regardless of the form of the recording head.
[0034]
Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as a single recording head that is integrally formed.
[0035]
In addition, even with the serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and supply of ink from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.
[0036]
Further, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed on the recording head by using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.
[0037]
Regarding the type or number of print heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to one provided for single color ink, a plurality of print heads are provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different print colors and densities. May be used. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to the printing mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming the printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.
[0038]
In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or below and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or In general, in the ink jet method, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. A liquid may be used. In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent the ink from evaporating, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is held in a state of being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. Alternatively, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.
[0039]
In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to a form used as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer, a form of a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function are adopted. Or the like.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention provides the vicinity of the discharge port by providing the restricting portions for restricting the positions on each of the joining surfaces of the substrate and the top plate between the discharge energy generating means and the discharge port. In this case, deformation of components such as a substrate and a top plate can be suppressed, and the reliability of ink ejection can be improved.
[0041]
In particular, even when a resin-molded top plate is used, which is advantageous in terms of cost, it solves problems such as warpage during molding of the top plate and deformation during high-temperature storage, and increases reliability while increasing productivity. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional ink jet recording head.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ink jet cartridge according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Discharge port 102 Electrothermal conversion element 103 Ink flow path 104 Heating resistor 105 Electric wiring 106 Flow path wall 107 Common liquid chamber 201 Substrate 202 Insulating film 203 Interlayer film 205 Electrode wiring 207 First protective film 208 Second protective film 209 Heater Board 210 Top plate 401 Ink receiving port 402 Orifice plate 501 Convex portion 502 Concave portion

Claims (13)

An ink flow path that connects the ink discharge port to the ink discharge port is formed between the bonding surface of the substrate and the top plate, and the ink flow path is formed by the discharge energy generated by the discharge energy generating means provided on the substrate. In the ink jet recording head capable of discharging the ink in the from the discharge port,
An ink jet recording head, wherein a regulating portion for regulating a position is provided on each of the joining surfaces of the substrate and the top plate between the ejection energy generating means and the ejection port. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion has a concave portion provided on one of the joining surfaces and a convex portion provided on the other of the joining surfaces and fitted with the concave portion. . The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the restricting section corrects a posture of the top plate with respect to the substrate when joining the substrate and the top plate. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the restricting section corrects a posture of the top plate with respect to the substrate when the substrate and the top plate are joined by a convex portion provided on the substrate. head. The said restricting part regulates the displacement of the top plate in the direction in which ink is ejected from the ejection port with respect to the substrate when the substrate and the top plate are joined. 3. The ink jet recording head according to item 1. The regulating portion regulates the displacement of the top plate in a direction in which ink is ejected from the ejection ports with respect to the substrate when the substrate and the top plate are joined by a convex portion provided on the substrate. The ink jet recording head according to claim 5, wherein: The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion has a concave portion and / or a convex portion formed on the substrate by film formation. 7. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion has a concave portion and / or a convex portion formed on the substrate by etching. 9. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the top plate is an injection molded body made of a resin material. The ink jet recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the discharge energy generating means is an electrothermal converter that generates heat energy as ink discharge energy. An ink jet recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An ink jet cartridge comprising: a tank for storing ink to be supplied to the ink jet recording head. An ink jet recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a moving unit that relatively moves the ink jet recording head and a recording medium. An inkjet cartridge according to claim 11,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a moving unit for relatively moving the ink jet cartridge and a recording medium.

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