JP2005199443A - Inkjet printer head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer head which can make the whole apparatus compact while it easily meets color recording by making ink to be discharged multicolor, and which can use parts of a conventional inkjet printer head as common parts. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of pressure chambers 22 are set by the same arrangement spacing as that of nozzles along an array direction of the nozzles 19. A small manifold chamber 21 is divided to a plurality of chambers by partition walls 27 in the array direction of the nozzles 19. The plurality of chambers are arranged corresponding to every suitable number of the pressure chambers 22. Each of ink circulation ways 23 is equipped with an inlet part 23a connected to the small manifold chamber 21 and an outlet part 23b connected to the pressure chamber 22. The outlet parts 23b are set by the same arrangement spacing as that of the pressure chambers 22 in the array direction of the nozzles 19. The inlet parts 23a are set by an arrangement spacing wider than that of the outlet parts 23b side in the vicinity of at least the partition walls 27 in the array direction of the nozzles 19 to avoid the partition walls 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer head, and more particularly to an ink jet printer head that discharges multicolor ink.

  In recent years, in order to perform color recording, ink jet printers have been increasing the number of colors of ejected ink (for example, four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black).

  As a prior art on-demand type ink jet printer, a configuration is known in which a head unit formed by stacking piezoelectric actuators on the back of a cavity unit having a nozzle array on the front is attached to a surface facing a recording medium. For example, Patent Document 1 and the like describe a structure for discharging different colors for each nozzle row.

  In this patent document 1, the number of nozzles is increased with the increase in recording speed and quality, and the cavity unit including the nozzles is lengthened. Here, the ink flow path from the pressure chamber to the nozzle is formed to be inclined with respect to the stacking direction of the plates of the cavity unit. As a result, a plurality of piezoelectric actuators (two in Patent Document 1) that are difficult to increase in length are stacked side by side to correspond to an increase in the number of nozzles. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, a manifold chamber that supplies ink from an ink supply source to the nozzles via the pressure chambers is divided at a central portion in the nozzle row direction, and one nozzle row is divided. Two are provided.

On the other hand, for example, in Patent Document 2, four different colors are ejected in four nozzles in a single nozzle row (yellow, magenta, cyan, sequentially from nozzles adjacent in the row direction). A configuration is described in which black is discharged) and the manifold chamber has a two-layer structure. Specifically, four manifold chambers corresponding to each of the four colors of ink are all formed long in the nozzle row direction, but these manifold chambers are formed on two (two colors) different manifold plates, These two manifold plates are arranged above and below in the stacking direction of the plates of the cavity unit.
JP 2003-334946 A (see FIG. 2) JP 2001-219562 A (see FIG. 1)

  By the way, the ink jet printer head tends to increase in size due to the increase in the number of nozzles associated with higher recording density and higher speed as in Patent Document 1, while the overall size of the apparatus corresponds to color recording. There is also a desire to make the ink jet printer head compact in order to reduce weight and price.

  Therefore, the applicant of the present invention downsizes the structure of Patent Document 1 as it is and supplies different inks to the manifold chambers arranged in parallel in the nozzle row direction to eject two colors of ink from one nozzle row. I thought about applying to. According to this, since it is possible to eject four colors of ink using the two nozzle rows and the four manifold chambers corresponding thereto, the nozzle row direction, that is, the sub-scanning direction (recording medium conveyance direction). In addition, an ink jet printer head that is downsized in the main scanning direction (a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium) can be configured.

  However, in the structure of Patent Document 1, since two piezoelectric actuators are stacked side by side in one cavity unit, the ink flow path from the pressure chamber to the nozzle is inclined with respect to the stacking direction of the plates. Provided, and the arrangement interval of the pressure chambers (active portions) in the row direction of the nozzles and the arrangement interval of the nozzles are adjusted. For this reason, there is a limit to downsizing the nozzles in the row direction.

  On the other hand, as in Patent Document 2, it has been considered that the manifold chamber can be made multi-layered so as to cope with downsizing. However, Patent Document 2 has a problem that the manufacturing cost increases because the ink flow path from the ink supply source to the nozzle through the manifold chamber is complicated. Further, in the case of dealing with further multicolorization (5 colors or more) in the structure of Patent Document 2, the number of stacked plates increases, the structure becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost further increases.

  In addition, in terms of manufacturing the inkjet printer head, there is a demand for reducing the cost by using as many common parts as possible in a standard design specification and a special design specification corresponding to downsizing.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and allows the size of the entire apparatus to be reduced while increasing the number of inks to be ejected and easily supporting color recording. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer head that can be used as a common part.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet printer head according to claim 1 includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line on one surface, and a line shape corresponding to each nozzle along the line direction of the nozzles. A plurality of pressure chambers, a manifold chamber for storing ink from an ink supply source, and a plurality of ink flow passages for distributing ink in the manifold chamber for each of the pressure chambers. In the inkjet printer head, the cavity unit includes a cavity unit formed and a plurality of active portions corresponding to each of the pressure chambers, and an actuator that selectively drives the active portion to eject ink. Then, the plurality of pressure chambers are provided at the same arrangement interval as the nozzles along the row direction of the nozzles, and the manifold chambers are The ink flow path is divided into a plurality of small manifold chambers arranged in the row direction of the nozzles by a cut wall, and each of the ink flow paths includes an inlet portion connected to the manifold chamber and an outlet portion connected to the pressure chamber, Provided at the same arrangement interval as the pressure chamber in the nozzle row direction, and the inlet portion is provided at an arrangement interval wider than the outlet portion side, avoiding the partition wall, at least in the vicinity of the partition wall in the nozzle row direction. It is characterized by being.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer head according to the first aspect, the ink flow path is formed in a long groove shape in a plan view from the stacking direction of the plates. To do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer head according to the second aspect, the ink flow path having an inlet portion at least in the vicinity of the partition wall among the ink flow paths is a stacking direction of the plates. In a plan view from above, and is inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the row direction of the nozzles.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the inkjet printer head according to any one of the first to third aspects, inks of different colors are supplied to the small manifold chambers adjacent in the row direction of the nozzles. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printer head according to any of the first to fourth aspects, the ink flow path is interposed between a plate having a manifold chamber and a plate having a pressure chamber. It is formed in the inserted plate.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the inkjet printer head according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the active portions of the actuator are provided at the same arrangement intervals as the nozzles along the row direction of the nozzles. In addition, one actuator is stacked correspondingly on the back surface of one cavity unit.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the ink jet printer head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ink flow path connecting the nozzle and the pressure chamber is a stacking direction of the plurality of plates. It is characterized by being formed in parallel with.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of small manifold chambers are provided along the nozzle row direction, one of the plurality of small manifold chambers is supplied with ink of different colors. A plurality of colors of ink can be supplied from the nozzle row. As a result, multicolor ink can be ejected with a small number of nozzle rows, and the overall size can be reduced. Of course, the present invention may supply the same color ink to a plurality of small manifold chambers.

  Further, at the time of downsizing, the intervals between the outlets of the ink flow passages are the same as the intervals between the nozzles and the pressure chambers in the arrangement interval in the row direction of the nozzles, and further, the intervals between the inlet portions of the ink flow passages Since the nozzle is wider than the outlet side, the design change accompanying the downsizing is not necessary for the plate with the nozzle and the plate with the pressure chamber, and the conventional parts can be diverted to these parts. Cost can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ink flow path has a long groove shape in a plan view from the stacking direction of the plates, the ink flow path is formed by drawing around an arbitrary shape avoiding the partition wall on one plate. Can do.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink flow path is provided so as to be inclined with respect to the direction orthogonal to the row direction of the nozzles. Therefore, the path connecting the inlet portion and the outlet portion of the ink flow path. Can be arranged efficiently.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even with a single nozzle row, it is possible to eject ink of a plurality of colors, and it is possible to easily cope with color recording while being compact.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the ink flow path is formed on a plate separate from the plate on which the manifold chamber is formed and the plate on which the pressure chamber is formed. Even if the shape and the like change, the entire specification can be easily changed by simply replacing the plate.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the manifold chamber is divided in the nozzle row direction, the arrangement interval of the pressure chamber nozzles in the row direction is not changed, so that the active portion of the actuator is arranged. There is no need to change the interval, and conventional parts can be diverted as actuators. Further, since one actuator is correspondingly stacked on the back surface of one cavity unit, an ink flow path from the pressure chamber to the nozzle is provided in an inclined manner with respect to the stacking direction of the plates as in Patent Document 1. There is no need.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the ink flow path from the pressure chamber to the nozzle is not inclined with respect to the stacking direction of the plate as in Patent Document 1, the nozzle is formed. Manufacturing of the formed plate and the plate in which the pressure chamber is formed is facilitated.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet printer head according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cavity unit of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cavity unit of the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the inkjet printer of the first embodiment, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are comparative explanations of the effects of the first embodiment. It is arrangement | positioning explanatory drawing for doing.

  In the inkjet printer head 10 shown in FIG. 1, one plate-stacked piezoelectric actuator 12 is overlapped and bonded to the back surface (upper surface in the drawing) of one cavity unit 11, and the back surface is flexible for connection to an external device. The flat cable 13 is lap-joined.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cavity unit 11 is bonded to a total of five thin plates including a nozzle plate 14, two manifold plates 15, 16, a spacer plate 17, and a base plate 18 in order from the front (lower layer) side. Each plate has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the X direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2) in plan view. In the embodiment, except for the nozzle plate 14 made of synthetic resin, each of the plates 15 to 18 is made of 42% nickel alloy steel plate and has a thickness of about 50 μm to 150 μm.

  In the nozzle plate 14, ink discharge nozzles 19 having a minute diameter (in the embodiment, about 25 μm) are arranged in two rows in a staggered manner along the long side direction (X direction) of the cavity unit 11 in the nozzle plate 14. Is provided.

  Each of the upper and lower manifold plates 15 and 16 and the spacer plate 17 is provided with through passages 20 communicating with each nozzle 19 in a two-row staggered arrangement along the nozzle row direction (X direction). . These through passages 20 are formed in parallel to the stacking direction of the manifold plates 15 and 16 and the spacer plate 17, and manufacture of the through passage 20 in each plate and alignment of the through passage 20 between the plates. It has become easier.

  In both of the manifold plates 15 and 16, manifold chambers are formed on both sides of the row-shaped through passages 20. In this embodiment, the row-shaped partition walls 27, which will be described later, form the row-shaped chambers. A total of four small manifold chambers 21 (small manifold chambers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d) are formed on each side of the through-passage 20, two in each case. In these small manifold chambers 21a to 21d, a lower manifold plate 15 is laminated on the upper surface of the nozzle plate 14, and a spacer plate 17 is laminated on the upper surface of the upper manifold plate 16, thereby providing an ink supply port 25 and a later-described The structure is hermetically sealed except for the portion of the supply hole 23.

  In the base plate 18, pressure chambers 22 corresponding to the respective nozzles 19 are formed in a staggered arrangement of two rows along the direction of the nozzle rows (the main scanning direction, which is the X direction). Each pressure chamber 22 has a narrow shape extending along a direction orthogonal to the nozzle row (sub-scanning direction, Y direction). As shown in FIG. 5, the front end 22a of each pressure chamber 22 (the center line side parallel to the long side of the base plate 18) penetrates the spacer plate 17 and the manifold plates 15 and 16. The nozzle 19 communicates with the passage 20.

  On the other hand, the other end 22b of the pressure chamber 22 (both long sides of the base plate 18) is connected to both the manifold plates via a supply hole 23 (corresponding to an ink flow path in claims) provided in the spacer plate 17. 15 and 16 communicate with the small manifold chambers 21a to 21d.

  In addition, two ink supply ports 24 (ink supply ports 24a to 24d), two in total, are formed on both short sides of the base plate 18, and spacers corresponding to the four ink supply ports 24 are provided. An ink supply port 25 (ink supply ports 25a to 25d) is formed at the position of the plate 17. In addition, four independent ink supply sources (ink tanks, etc.) are connected above the four ink supply ports 24 a to 24 d, so that the four color inks are respectively supplied via the four ink supply ports 25. Two small manifold chambers 21 are supplied. That is, the four small manifold chambers 21 are supplied with inks of different colors. Note that a filter 26 for removing dust and the like in the supplied ink is stretched on the upper surface of the ink supply port 24.

  Of the small manifold chambers 21 disposed on both sides of the row of the through holes 20, the small manifold chambers 21a and 21c disposed on one side and the small manifold chambers 21b and 21d disposed on the other side are in the X direction. All are separated (divided) by the partition wall 27 so as to be lined up along. The small manifold chambers 21a to 21d are arranged so as to supply ink corresponding to the appropriate number of pressure chambers 22, or in the first embodiment, every half of the number of pressure chambers in one row. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the rows of the nozzles 19 corresponding to the respective rows of the pressure chambers 22 are divided into half nozzle groups 28 and 28 with the central portion of the row as a boundary. Different colors of ink are supplied.

  As described above, the supply hole 23 is provided so that the small manifold chamber 21 and the pressure chamber 22 communicate with each other. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the inlet portion 23 a connected to the small manifold chamber 21, And an outlet 23 b connected to the pressure chamber 22. The supply hole 23 is formed in a long groove shape extending in the direction of a straight line connecting the inlet portion 23a and the outlet portion 23b in a plan view from the stacking direction (Z direction) of the plates of the cavity unit 11.

  And since the exit part 23b is provided with the arrangement space | interval same as the pressure chamber 22 along the row direction of the nozzle 19, as shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement space | interval of the row direction (X direction) of the nozzle 19 is set to L1. Then, the arrangement interval in the X direction of the pressure chamber 22 is L1, and the arrangement interval in the X direction of the outlet portion 23b is also L1. On the other hand, at least in the vicinity of the partition wall 27, the inlet portion 23a is provided with an arrangement interval L2 in the X direction that is wider than the outlet portion 23b side (L2> L1) avoiding the partition wall 27. Specifically, the arrangement interval between the two inlet portions 23a located across the partition wall 27 is L2, and the arrangement interval between the other adjacent inlet portions 23a is L1.

  Therefore, at least the supply hole 23 in the vicinity of the partition wall 27 is inclined with respect to a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the row direction (X direction) of the nozzles 19 in a plan view from the plate stacking direction (Z direction). . In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the supply holes 23 arranged along the X direction are formed such that the direction of the inclination is opposite to the partition wall 27. Specifically, of the supply holes 23 connected to the two small manifold chambers 21 and 21 adjacent in the X direction with the partition wall 27 as a boundary, all the supply holes 23 connected to one small manifold chamber 21 are in the Y direction. The supply hole 23 connected to the other small manifold chamber 21 has an inclination angle of −θ1 (minus θ1) with respect to the Y direction.

  The piezoelectric actuator 12 stacked on the back surface of the cavity unit 11 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The piezoelectric actuator 12 has a structure in which a plurality of piezoelectric sheets each having a thickness of about 30 μm (not shown in FIG. 5) are stacked, and as shown in FIG. It has a shape. On the upper surface of the odd-numbered piezoelectric sheet from the lower layer, individual electrodes 32 that are long in the Y direction and narrow in the X direction are formed at locations corresponding to the pressure chambers 22 in the cavity unit 11. The individual electrodes 32 are formed in a row along the X direction, and each individual electrode 32 extends to the vicinity of the edge of the long side of each piezoelectric sheet along the Y direction. A common electrode 33 common to the plurality of pressure chambers 22 is formed on the upper surface of the even-numbered piezoelectric sheet from the lower layer, and the upper surface of the top sheet, which is the uppermost piezoelectric sheet, is shown in FIG. As shown, a surface electrode electrically connected to each of the individual electrodes 32 and a surface electrode electrically connected to the common electrode 33 are provided as the surface electrode 31.

  That is, the piezoelectric actuator 12 is configured by alternately laminating individual electrodes 32 and common electrodes 33 as internal electrodes with a piezoelectric sheet interposed therebetween, and an active portion that is an overlapping portion of the individual electrodes 32 and the common electrode 33. The piezoelectric actuator 12 and the cavity unit 11 are joined so that the portion 30 corresponds to the pressure chamber 22.

  In the first embodiment having the above-described configuration, when a voltage is applied between any individual electrode 32 and the common electrode 33 among the individual electrodes 32 in the piezoelectric actuator 12, the active portion 30 corresponding to the individual electrode 32 is applied. Distortion in the stacking direction occurs. Due to this distortion, the internal volume of the pressure chamber 22 is reduced. Ink is supplied to the pressure chamber 22 in advance from ink supply sources (not shown) for each color through ink supply ports 24 and 25, a small manifold chamber 21, and a supply hole 23. Therefore, the ink in the pressure chamber 22 is ejected from the nozzle 19 to the recording medium through the through passage 20 in accordance with the reduction in the internal volume. At this time, since different colors of ink are supplied from the nozzle 19 for each nozzle group 28, four colors of ink are ejected from the two nozzle rows, and predetermined color recording is executed.

  Thus, in the first embodiment, the manifold chamber is divided in the middle of the X direction so that the plurality of small manifold chambers 21 are arranged along the X direction, and two ink colors are ejected from one nozzle row. It is configured to do. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which one nozzle row is associated with one manifold chamber long in the nozzle row direction (X direction) and the nozzle row and the manifold chamber are arranged in parallel in the Y direction, the length in the X direction is longer. The ink of four colors can be ejected while keeping the length dimension as it is and halving the length dimension in the Y direction. Thereby, in this invention, size reduction as an inkjet printer head is realizable.

  Further, in the first embodiment, when realizing the downsizing as described above, the parts used in the standard size specification can be diverted as common, and the cost can be reduced. That is, in the first embodiment, as described above, in order to provide the plurality of small manifold chambers 21 along the X direction, the manifold plates 15 and 16 in which the small manifold chambers 21 are formed need to be divided into manifold chambers. In the spacer plate 17 in which the supply hole 23 is formed, it is necessary to provide the supply hole 23 with a long groove shape and inclined with respect to the Y direction. However, the piezoelectric actuator 12 having the nozzle plate 14 in which the nozzle 19 is formed, the base plate 18 in which the pressure chamber 22 is formed, and the active portion 30 corresponding to the position of the pressure chamber 22 does not divide the manifold chamber in the X direction. It is possible to use the same parts as the specification form formed long. Therefore, the manifold chamber can be divided and formed only by changing the configuration of the spacer plate 17 in which the supply hole 23 is formed, and an increase in cost due to the specification change can be suppressed. In particular, the nozzle plate 14 requires precise nozzle machining, and the piezoelectric actuator 12 uses an expensive piezoelectric material. By making these common parts, the cost increase associated with the specification change is greatly increased. Can be suppressed.

  In the first embodiment, the arrangement interval L2 in the X direction between the inlet portions 23a and 23a adjacent to each other with the partition wall 27 interposed therebetween can be set to an arbitrary value larger than the arrangement interval L1 in the X direction of the nozzle 19. Can be set according to the wall thickness W of the partition wall 27. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the arrangement interval in the X direction of the inlet portion 23a of the supply hole 23 is the same as the arrangement interval L1 in the X direction of the nozzle 19, the nozzle plate 14 having a standard specification is provided. Although it can be used as a common part, the wall thickness W of the partition wall 27 is extremely thin. As a result, it is insufficient to seal the small manifold chambers 21 and 21 divided in the X direction independently. However, in the first embodiment, since the wall thickness W of the partition wall 27 that can sufficiently seal the manifolds 21 adjacent to each other in the X direction can be secured, ink leakage and color mixing can be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the wall thickness W of the partition wall 27 sufficient to seal each small manifold chamber 21 is secured while using the same nozzle plate as that in FIG. If the hole 23 is not inclined in plan view in the plate stacking direction, ink is supplied to one or a plurality of nozzles 19a in the vicinity of the partition wall 27 (one nozzle 19a in FIG. 6B). Therefore, a dummy nozzle is generated in the middle of the nozzle row. However, in the first embodiment, since ink is reliably supplied to the nozzles of the nozzle row and no dummy nozzles are generated, the nozzles can be used for ejection without waste, and the size in the X direction can be reduced by the absence of dummy nozzles. There is an effect that can be done.

  Next, a second embodiment, which is a modification of the first embodiment, will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of the supply holes, the manifold chambers and the like of the second embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, the supply holes 23 connected to one small manifold chamber 21 are all inclined at the same angle (θ1 or minus θ1) in plan view, but in the second embodiment, the supply holes 23 are separated from the partition wall 27. The remote supply hole 23 is formed parallel to the Y direction without being inclined with respect to the Y direction.

  In the second embodiment, as an example, the inclination angle of the pair of supply holes 23 facing each other across the partition wall 27 is θ1 and minus θ1, but the inclination angle of the second supply hole 23 from the partition wall 27 is θ2 and minus θ2 have a relationship of | θ1 |> | θ2 |. Then, the third supply hole 23 from the partition wall 27 has an inclination angle of zero, and the supply hole 23 farthest from the partition wall 27 remains at an inclination angle of zero.

  As described above, the supply hole 23 is provided in the vicinity of the partition wall 27 so as to be inclined with respect to the Y direction while avoiding the partition wall 27. However, it is necessary to make the inclination angle the same in all the supply holes 23. Rather, it can be arbitrarily set in consideration of arrangement conditions and ease of processing. Other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Next, a third embodiment, which is a modification of the first embodiment, will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the cavity unit of the third embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given to the same structures as those of the first embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, a total of four small manifold chambers 21 are provided, two on each side of the row of through passages 20. In the third embodiment, one manifold that is not divided is provided on one side of the through passage 20. While the chamber 21e is formed long along the nozzle row, three small manifold chambers 21f, 21g, and 21h are provided on the other side of the through passage 20 by partition walls 27 and 27.

  In this case, black ink is supplied to the manifold chamber 21e on one side of the through passage 20, and black ink is discharged from all nozzles in one nozzle row corresponding to the manifold chamber 21e. Yellow, magenta, and cyan inks are individually supplied to the manifold chambers 21f to 21g on the other side of the through passage 20, and the nozzle 19 has three nozzles in one nozzle row corresponding to the manifold chambers 21f to 21g. Divided into groups 28, different three colors of ink are ejected from each nozzle group 28. This is because black ink is used more frequently than the other three colors, but the color arrangement of ink in each manifold chamber 21 can be arbitrarily set. Other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Needless to say, the number of small manifold chambers divided from the manifold chamber may be four or more, or may be divided into different numbers for each nozzle row. For example, a plurality of small manifold chambers 21 are provided on both sides of the through passage 20 in advance, and the ink colors supplied to the small manifold chambers 21 are changed according to the purpose, so that the manifold plates 15 and 16 are used as common parts. Can be used. As an example, even in the small manifold chambers adjacent in the row direction of the nozzles, the ink of the same color is supplied to any adjacent small manifold chamber, and according to the use frequency of the ink as in the third embodiment, A difference may be provided in the number of nozzles that eject ink. That is, it is not always necessary to supply different ink colors to the adjacent small manifold chambers 21. In addition, the recording quality and the like may be improved by freely combining the arrangement of the ink colors supplied to the small manifold chamber 21 and freely changing the arrangement position of the discharged ink colors. Further, the same color ink may be supplied to a plurality of small manifold chambers 21 corresponding to one row of nozzles 19.

  In the above-described embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator is used as the actuator. However, any other method may be used as long as the actuator can be applied to the ink jet printer head.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the inkjet printer head of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the cavity unit of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the cavity unit of a 1st embodiment. It is arrangement | positioning explanatory drawing of a supply hole, a manifold chamber, etc. of 1st Embodiment. It is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inkjet printer of 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is arrangement | positioning explanatory drawing for comparatively explaining the effect of 1st Embodiment. It is arrangement | positioning explanatory drawing of a supply hole, a manifold chamber, etc. of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the cavity unit of a 3rd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inkjet printer head 11 Cavity unit 12 Piezoelectric actuator 13 Flexible flat cable 14 Nozzle plates 15, 16 Manifold plate 17 Spacer plate 18 Base plate 19 Nozzle 20 Through passage 21 Small manifold chamber 22 Pressure chamber 22a Tip 22b Other end 23 Supply hole 23a Inlet part 23b Outlet portions 24, 25 Ink supply port 26 Filter 27 Partition wall 28 Nozzle group 30 Active portion 31 Surface electrode 32 Individual electrode 33 Common electrode

Claims (7)

A plurality of nozzles arranged in a row on one surface, a plurality of pressure chambers arranged in rows along the row direction of the nozzles corresponding to each nozzle, and a manifold chamber for storing ink from an ink supply source A plurality of ink flow passages for distributing ink in the manifold chambers for each pressure chamber, and a cavity unit formed by laminating a plurality of plates;
In an inkjet printer head having a plurality of active portions corresponding to each pressure chamber, and an actuator that selectively drives the active portions to discharge ink,
In the cavity unit,
The plurality of pressure chambers are provided at the same arrangement interval as the nozzles along the row direction of the nozzles,
The manifold chamber is divided into a plurality of small manifold chambers arranged in a row direction of the nozzles by a partition wall,
Each of the ink flow paths includes an inlet portion connected to the manifold chamber and an outlet portion connected to the pressure chamber, and the outlet portions are provided at the same arrangement interval as the pressure chamber in the row direction of the nozzles. An inkjet printer head characterized in that at least in the vicinity of the partition wall in the row direction of the nozzles, the partition wall is provided at a wider interval than the outlet portion side.   2. The ink jet printer head according to claim 1, wherein the ink flow path is formed in a long groove shape in a plan view from the stacking direction of the plates.   Of the ink flow passages, an ink flow passage having an inlet portion in the vicinity of at least the partition wall is provided to be inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the nozzle row direction in a plan view from the stacking direction of the plates. The inkjet printer head according to claim 2, wherein the inkjet printer head is provided.   4. The ink jet printer head according to claim 1, wherein different color inks are supplied to the small manifold chambers adjacent in the row direction of the nozzles. 5.   5. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink flow path is formed in a plate interposed between a plate having a manifold chamber and a plate having a pressure chamber. head.   The active portions of the actuators are provided at the same arrangement intervals as the nozzles along the row direction of the nozzles, and one actuator is stacked correspondingly on the back surface of one cavity unit. The ink jet printer head according to claim 1.   The ink jet printer head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an ink flow path connecting the nozzle and the pressure chamber is formed in parallel to a stacking direction of the plurality of plates.

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