JP2006224424A - Liquid jetting head and liquid jetting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jetting head capable of reducing the number of components of a liquid jetting head, avoiding to use a fixing structure in caulking by heating, and simplifying a structure, and a liquid jetting apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid jetting head 30 jetting a liquid from a nozzle face, is equipped with a case 340 with a projecting part 200, a head unit 310 having a nozzle face arranged on the projecting part 200 of the case and an actuator for jetting the liquid from the nozzle face, and a cover member 370 supporting the peripheral edge part of the nozzle face of the head unit 310 so as to cover the outer peripheral face of the projecting part 200 of the case and fixed by fitting to the case 340. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid and a liquid ejecting apparatus having the liquid ejecting head.

As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a target, an ink jet recording apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets from a recording head onto a recording medium is known.
Such an ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink jet recording head that receives ink supplied from an ink cartridge, and a paper feeding unit that moves the recording paper relative to the recording head. By moving ink droplets from the nozzles of the recording head to the recording medium while moving in the width direction of the recording paper, an image such as a desired character or graphic is recorded.

  This type of recording head includes a case, a head unit attached to the case, and a cover head. The cover head is a metal part that covers the periphery of the nozzle part of the head unit. The cover head has arms on the left and right, and these arms are fitted on pins protruding from the case. This pin has a structure in which the cover head is fixed by being crimped to the case by being melted by heat (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-122517 A (FIG. 4)

  However, the recording head disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, the cover head has a plurality of arms as described above, and these arms are structured to be fitted to the pins on the case side and fixed by caulking. For this reason, a cover head part will become quite large compared with the magnitude | size of the nozzle component of a head unit. The case is made of plastic, for example, and this plastic is often composed of an upper case and a lower case, and is composed of the upper case, lower case, head unit, and cover head parts. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the size of the recording head.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can solve the above-described problems, reduce the number of parts of the liquid ejecting head, eliminate the need for a caulking fixing structure, and simplify the structure. The purpose is that.

In the present invention, the above object is a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface, the case having a protrusion, the nozzle surface disposed in the protrusion of the case, and the nozzle. A head unit having an actuator for ejecting the liquid from the surface, and supporting the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case. And a cover member fixed by fitting. This is achieved by a liquid ejecting head.
According to the structure of this invention, the case has a protrusion part. The head unit has a nozzle surface and an actuator for ejecting liquid from the nozzle surface, which are disposed on the protruding portion of the case.
The cover member is fixed to the case by fitting so as to support the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit and cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case.
Thus, after the head unit is arranged on the protruding portion of the case, the cover member is fitted to the case so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case while supporting the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit. It can be fixed easily and reliably. Since the liquid ejecting head only needs to be configured by a case, a head unit, and a cover member, the structure of the liquid ejecting head is simplified, the size can be reduced, and the assemblability is improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover member is made of a metal material, and the cover member has a fixing end portion that is detachably fixed to the case.
According to the configuration of the present invention, the cover member is made of a metal material. The cover member is detachably fixed to the case.
Thereby, even if it is a shape which covers the protrusion part of a case by making a cover member with a metal material, a cover member can be easily made. The fixing end of the cover member can be detachably fixed to the case, so that it is easy to attach the cover member to the case and remove the cover member from the case.

In the present invention, a substrate is disposed on the inner surface side of the case, and an electrical connection member that electrically connects the substrate and the actuator of the head unit is provided between the outer surface of the protrusion and the inner surface of the cover member. It is preferable to arrange | position between.
According to the configuration of the present invention, the substrate is disposed on the inner surface side of the case. The electrical connection member that electrically connects the substrate and the actuator of the head unit is disposed between the outer surface of the protrusion and the inner surface of the cover member.
As a result, the substrate and the electrical connection member are covered with the cover member, so that the cover member can prevent electrical trouble due to the adhesion of the liquid without being exposed to the liquid discharged from the nozzle surface of the head unit. .

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover member closely supports a peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit.
According to the configuration of the present invention, the cover member closely supports the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit via the adhesive.
Accordingly, the liquid ejected from the nozzle surface can be reliably prevented from entering the inside from between the cover member and the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface, and the liquid is prevented from adhering to the substrate and the electrical connection member. be able to.

In the present invention, the above object is a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface, and the liquid ejecting head includes a case having a projecting portion and the projecting portion of the case. A head unit that is arranged and has a nozzle surface and an actuator for ejecting the liquid from the nozzle surface; and an outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case that supports a peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit. And a cover member fixed to the case by fitting so as to cover the case.
Thus, after the head unit is arranged on the protruding portion of the case, the cover member is fitted to the case so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case while supporting the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit. It can be fixed easily and reliably. Since the liquid ejecting head only needs to be configured by a case, a head unit, and a cover member, the structure is simplified, the size can be reduced, and the assemblability is improved.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an ink jet recording apparatus 10 which is a preferred embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention.
The ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is also called an ink jet printer. The ink jet recording apparatus 10 has a main body 1. The main body 1 includes a guide rail 17, a platen 12, a carriage 14, an ink suction device 20, and a recording head 30. The recording head 30 is an example of a liquid jet head, and is also called a print head.

  An ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a so-called on-carriage recording apparatus, and a plurality of ink cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be detachably mounted on the upper part of the carriage 14. A recording head 30 is provided below the carriage 14. The carriage 14 is connected to a motor 16 via a belt 15. When the motor 16 operates, the carriage 14 reciprocates along the guide rail 17 in the main scanning direction T that is the axial direction of the platen 12.

  The home position 18 is located at one end of the guide rail 17. The home position 18 is a non-printing area at the end of the carriage travel path. An ink suction device 20 is disposed on the main body 1 at the home position 18. The ink suction device 20 is an example of a liquid suction device and is also called a capping system or capping means. The recording head 30 of the carriage 14 in FIG. 1 faces the cap body 21 of the ink suction device 20 by moving to the home position 18 along the T1 direction.

The ink suction device 20 has a function of preventing the ink from drying at the nozzle openings of the recording head 30 and a function of forcing the negative pressure from the suction pump 19 to act on the nozzle openings to forcibly suck and discharge the ink from the nozzle openings. Is provided. The suction pump 19 is a component constituting the ink suction device 20. The ink suction device 20 is an example of a liquid suction device. Ink is an example of a liquid.
In addition, a wiping member 400 is provided beside the ink suction device 20. The wiping member 400 wipes ink on the nozzle plate surface of the recording head 30 as necessary.

FIG. 2 shows an example of electrical connection of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The control device 7 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is connected to a printer driver 41 of the host computer 40 via a local printer cable or a communication network. The printer driver 41 includes software for sending a command for causing the ink jet recording apparatus 10 to execute printing, cleaning operation, or ink suction operation.
In addition to the control device 7, the ink jet recording device 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a sensor 8, an ink suction device 20, ink cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5, a recording head 30, a carriage 14, and a paper transport mechanism 15A. Yes.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a plurality of ink cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 are mounted directly on the carriage 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the ink cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 are separate from the carriage. Of course, a so-called off-carriage type ink jet recording apparatus mounted at the position may be adopted.
The paper transport mechanism 15A shown in FIG. 2 is configured to transport the paper 29 shown in FIG. The paper 29 is a kind of recording medium.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a structural example of the recording head 30 shown in FIG.
The recording head 30 shown in FIG. 3 schematically includes a case 340, a head unit 310, and a cover head 370.
The head unit 310 can also be called a head chip or a head chip unit, and the head unit 310 has the following laminated structure. The head unit 310 includes a nozzle plate 311, a reservoir plate 313, a supply plate 314, and an actuator 315.

The nozzle plate 311 has a large number of nozzles 311a, for example, which are nozzle openings for ejecting ink. A film adhesive 312 is disposed on the nozzle plate 311. The film adhesive 312 bonds the reservoir plate 313 and the nozzle plate 311.
The reservoir plate 313 is for supplying ink to the nozzle plate 311 side, and the reservoir plate 313 is bonded to the supply plate 314 via another film adhesive 312.

  The supply plate 314 supplies ink to the reservoir plate 313 side. On the supply plate 314, an actuator 315 is adhered by a film adhesive 313A. The actuator 315 has a large number of piezoelectric vibrators that generate flexural vibration when a driving voltage is applied from the outside via the substrate 330 and the TCP 320. One piezoelectric vibrator is arranged corresponding to each nozzle 311a. Ink is ejected from an arbitrary nozzle 311a by bending vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator.

  For example, a TCP (tape carrier package) 320, which is an example of a flexible wiring board, is connected to the actuator 315 of FIG. The TCP 320 is for supplying a driving signal to each piezoelectric vibrator of the actuator 315. The TCP 320 is made of a flexible material and can be bent.

Next, the case 340 of the recording head 30 shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
Case 340 is made of, for example, plastic, and has a main body 340 </ b> A and a protrusion 200. The main body 340 </ b> A has an opening 343, a plurality of needle members 351, a plurality of filters 342, and a plurality of flow path openings 341. The opening 343 is an opening for accommodating the substrate 330. The four needle members 351 are for detachably inserting and connecting to the ink cartridges 2 to 5 shown in FIG.

  Each ink in each ink cartridge 2 to 5 is supplied to the flow path opening 341 side through a filter 342 through a separate needle member 351. The filter 342 is welded to the case 340, and removes impurities and bubbles by filtering ink. The ink in each ink cartridge guided to the flow path opening 341 is supplied to the supply plate 314 side of the head unit 310, so that each ink ejects ink from an arbitrary nozzle 311a by the operation of the actuator 315. be able to.

The substrate 330 in FIG. 3 has a connector 331. The head unit 310 is disposed with respect to the lower surface side of the protruding portion 200.
The cover head 370 shown in FIG. 3 is an example of a cover member, but the cover head 370 is preferably attached to and detached from the case 340 by being fitted to the case 340 while supporting the head unit 310 on the lower surface side of the protruding portion 200. It is a member that can be fixed as possible. The cover head 370 is made of, for example, conductive aluminum, iron, or stainless steel.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a cross-sectional structure of the recording head 30 along the line EE in FIG.
The structure of the case 340 and the cover head 370 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
First, the case 340 includes a needle member 351, a cartridge guide 352, a protruding portion 200, attachment portions 610 and 611, and a substrate support portion 620.
The protruding portion 200 constitutes a part of the case 340, but is a portion that is formed to protrude in the Z1 direction, that is, downward. The protrusion 200 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped portion. The protrusion 200 has an ink channel (not shown), and this ink channel is connected to each channel opening 341 shown in FIG. It is connected to the nozzle 311a.
The cartridge guide 352 of the case 340 is formed so as to protrude in the Z2 direction, and is a part into which the ink cartridges 2 to 5 shown in FIG.

The needle member 351 protrudes in the Z2 direction. A filter 342 is disposed between the lower end portion of the needle member 351 and the upper end portion of the flow path opening 341.
The board 330 is arranged in the horizontal direction in FIG. 4 and has a connector 331. The connector 331 can be detachably connected to an external electrical connection / coupling portion. The substrate 330 is held so as not to move by being abutted against the Z2 direction by the substrate support portion 620 of the case 340. Moreover, the substrate 330 is positioned so that there is no positional deviation with respect to the mounting portion 611 in the horizontal direction.

As an example, a positioning boss 369 is provided on the substrate 330 so as to protrude in the Z2 direction. The TCP 320 electrically connects the actuator 315 and the substrate 330 shown in FIGS. 4 and 3. The positioning boss 369 positions the connection end portion 365 of the TCP 320.
As a result, the connection end portion 365 is electrically connected to the connector 331 via the substrate 330. The TCP 320 is arranged along the Z2 direction from the head unit 310 through the space between the outer surface 209 of the protrusion 200 and the inner surface of the cover head 370.

  The attachment portion 610 shown in FIG. 4 is a portion for attaching and fixing the fixing end portion 371 of the cover head 370, preferably detachably by fitting. The other attachment portion 611 is a portion for attaching and fixing the fixing end portion 372 of the cover head 370 by fitting, preferably detachably. For this purpose, the mounting portion 610 has a groove portion 610A. The attachment portion 611 has a groove portion 611A.

Next, the structure of the cover head 370 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
The cover head 370 can also be called a lower case, and the case 340 can also be called an upper case.
The cover head 370 can be detachably fixed to the attachment portions 610 and 611 of the case 340 by fitting using the fixing end portions 371 and 372 described above. Moreover, the cover head 370 employs a structure that completely covers the protrusion 200 while supporting the head unit 310 along the Z2 direction.

  The cover head 370 has a cover main body 380 for covering the protruding part 200 and an extension part 381. The extension portion 381 is formed with the fixing end portions 371 and 372 as described above so as to be bent and raised in the Z2 direction. In FIG. 5, the extension portion 381 is preferably formed continuously over the four sides of the cover body 380, and the fixing end portions 371 and 372 are preferably formed over the four sides. However, the shapes of the extension portion 381 and the fixing end portions 371 and 372 are not limited to this. The cover main body 380 has a substantially U shape when viewed in cross section, and is a substantially box-shaped portion. The extension portion 381 is formed so as to extend in the horizontal direction in FIG.

  The cover main body 380 has an opening 390. The opening 390 has such a size that the nozzle 311a of the nozzle plate 311 shown in FIG. 3 can be exposed to the outside. The edge portions 393 on the four sides forming the opening 390 shown in FIG. 3 closely support the peripheral portions 394 on the four sides of the nozzle plate 311 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the edge portion 393 is in close contact with the peripheral portion 394 of the nozzle plate 311 of the head unit 310 with an adhesive interposed therebetween and supported from below. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink ejected from the nozzle 311a of the nozzle plate 311 shown in FIG. 3 from entering between the edge portion 393 and the peripheral edge portion 394. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid such as ink from adhering to the TCP 320, the substrate 330, and the connector 331 disposed inside, and trouble in the electrical connection state of the TCP 320, the substrate 330, and the connector 331. It can be surely prevented.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the ink cartridges 2 to 5 are mounted on the case 340 shown in FIG.
The ink cartridge 2 is mounted while being guided by the cartridge guide 352 of the case 340. The needle member 351 is inserted into the ink cartridges 2 to 5 so that the ink in the ink cartridges 2 to 5 supplies ink to the nozzle side of the recording head 30 through the corresponding needle member 351.

FIG. 7 shows a shape example of the substrate 330, the TCP 320, and the end portion 290 of the protruding portion 200 shown in FIG.
The connection end portion 365 of the TCP 320 has a main body portion 710 and a band-shaped peripheral portion 720. The main body 710 is electrically connected to the actuator 315 shown in FIG. The band-like peripheral portion 720 is formed so as to surround the main body portion 710, and for example, an electric ground line can be disposed. As a result, the electrical ground in the head unit 310 can be sufficiently secured.

The end 290 of the protrusion 200 is placed on the band-shaped peripheral portion 720.
Accordingly, the end portion of the protruding portion 200 can be arranged on the same plane by the peripheral portion 720, and does not have an uneven shape with respect to Z2 or Z1 in FIG. Thereby, the TCP 320 can be reliably arranged with respect to the end portion 290 of the protruding portion 200 in FIG. 4 using the peripheral portion 720.

  FIG. 8 shows a close contact state between the edge portion 393 and the peripheral edge portion 394 in FIG. Since the edge portion 393 and the peripheral edge portion 394 are in close contact with each other through an adhesive, the ink 790 ejected from the nozzle of the nozzle plate 311 enters the TCP 320 side from between the edge portion 393 and the peripheral portion 394. Can be surely prevented. Accordingly, the TCP 320, the substrate 330, and the connector 331 can prevent electrical continuity troubles in order to prevent the ink 790 from adhering.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of examples of shapes of the fixing end portions 371 and 372 and the attachment portions 610 and 611 in FIG.
The fixing end 371 is biased in the Y direction against the inner surface of the mounting portion 610 by a spring force. Similarly, the fixing end 372 is similarly urged in the Y direction with respect to the inner surface of the mounting portion 611.
The cover head 370 shown in FIG. 4 can be easily detached from the case 340 by releasing such urging forces of the fixing end portions 371 and 372 by hand, for example.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the mating structure of FIG.
The embodiment of FIG. 10 differs from the embodiment of FIG. 9 in that a protrusion 371A is formed on the fixing end 371, and a protrusion 372A is also formed on the other fixing end 372. .
The protrusion 371A can be detachably fitted to the recess 610B of the attachment portion 610. The protrusion 372A can be detachably fitted to the recess 611B of the attachment portion 611. By providing such protrusions, the fixing end portions 371 and 372 can be more securely fixed to the mounting portions 610 and 611.

In the embodiment of the present invention, if the case 340 is an upper case as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover head 370 corresponds to the lower case. The cover head 370 accommodates and supports the head unit 310 from below, and the cover head 370 also accommodates the protruding portion 200 of the case 340. The cover head 370 can be preferably detachably attached to the case 340 by a mechanical fit.
The recording head 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be easily assembled as compared with, for example, assembling with screws or fixing with heat caulking. In addition, when the inside of the recording head 30 is maintained, the cover head 370 can be easily removed from the case.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after the head unit is disposed on the protruding portion of the case, the cover member supports the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit and covers the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case with respect to the case. It can be fixed easily and securely by fitting. Since the liquid ejecting head only needs to be configured by a case, a head unit, and a cover member, the structure is simple and the assemblability is improved.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the cover member is made of a metal material, so that it can be easily made even if it has a shape that covers the protruding portion of the case. Since the fixing end of the cover member can be detachably fixed to the case, the assembly of the case and the cover member and the removal of the cover member from the case can be easily performed.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate and the electrical connection member are covered by the cover member, so that the electrical trouble can be prevented without being exposed to the liquid discharged from the nozzle surface of the head unit. The liquid ejected from the nozzle surface can be reliably prevented from entering the inside from between the cover member and the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface, and the liquid can be prevented from adhering to the substrate and the electrical connection member. .

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a case 340 corresponding to the upper case and a cover head 370 made of, for example, metal corresponding to the lower case are assembled by fitting. For this purpose, for example, a conventionally used case is a structure in which after the upper case and the lower case are assembled, the head unit is arranged with respect to the protruding portion of the lower case, and then the head unit is supported using a small cover member. There is something that is. Compared to such a conventional structure, the structure according to the embodiment of the present invention has an advantage that the number of parts can be reduced and that assembly and disassembly can be easily performed.

  In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, four ink cartridges that use black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink can be mounted on the carriage. The number of the ink cartridges is not limited to this, and the number of ink cartridges includes only an ink cartridge for black ink, three ink cartridges for two or three color inks excluding black ink, or five inks. A cartridge or six or more ink cartridges may be provided.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment as an ink jet recording apparatus, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments may be combined with each other. Further, the present invention is not limited to an ink jet recording apparatus, but a recording head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejection head used in manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting). Electrode material ejection heads used for electrode formation such as displays), liquid ejection devices using liquid ejection heads that eject liquids such as bio-organic matter ejection heads used in biochip manufacturing, sample ejection devices as precision pipettes, etc. Applicable.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
A part of each configuration of the above embodiment can be omitted, or can be arbitrarily combined so as to be different from the above.

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus that is a preferred embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of electrical connection in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a recording head. The figure which shows the cross-section structural example in the EE line | wire in FIG. 3 which shows a case, a head unit, and a cover head. The perspective view which shows the structural example of a cover head. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an ink cartridge is mounted. The perspective view which shows the example of a shape of TCP which is an electrical connection member. The figure which shows the adhesiveness in the edge part of the cover head in FIG. 4, and the peripheral part of the nozzle plate of a head unit. The figure which shows the example of the fitting state of the edge part for fixing in FIG. 4, and an attaching part. The figure which shows another embodiment of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet recording apparatus, 30 ... Recording head, 200 ... Projection part, 310 ... Head unit, 340 ... Case, 370 ... Cover head (cover member), 371, 372 ... Fixed ends, 610, 611 ... Mounting parts

Claims (5)

A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface,
A case having a protruding portion;
A head unit disposed on the protruding portion of the case and having the nozzle surface and an actuator for ejecting the liquid from the nozzle surface;
A cover member fixed by fitting to the case so as to support the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit and cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case;
A liquid ejecting head comprising:   The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is made of a metal material, and the cover member has a fixing end portion that is detachably fixed to the case. .   A substrate is disposed on the inner surface side of the case, and an electrical connection member that electrically connects the substrate and the actuator of the head unit is disposed between the outer surface of the protrusion and the inner surface of the cover member. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting head is provided.   The liquid ejecting head according to claim 3, wherein the cover member closely supports a peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit. A liquid ejecting apparatus having a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a nozzle surface,
The liquid jet head includes:
A case having a protruding portion;
A head unit disposed on the protruding portion of the case and having the nozzle surface and an actuator for ejecting the liquid from the nozzle surface;
A cover member fixed by fitting to the case so as to support the peripheral portion of the nozzle surface of the head unit and cover the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion of the case;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:

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