JP2007136759A - Liquid delivering head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease bending caused by contact loading when a signal inputting part of a recording head is connected with a connector of a carriage, and to prevent ink from leaking. <P>SOLUTION: An ink feeding member 500 to which a recording element substrate for delivering the ink on its undersurface as illustrated is mounted, has a filter 509 on a tank mounting part mounting an ink tank. The signal inputting part 304 of an electric wiring substrate supported on the side face of the ink feeding member 500 is brought into contact with the connector of the carriage, and the contact loading is applied thereon. To decrease bending of the head caused by this loading, a plurality of projecting parts 514 are provided on the back face side of the signal inputting part 304 to reinforce the rigidity, and also to trap the ink overflowing from the filter 509 in a gap between the projecting parts 514. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head applied to a recording apparatus or the like that performs a recording operation by discharging a liquid such as ink. The liquid discharge head according to the present invention is combined with a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, a word processor having a printing unit, and various processing apparatuses in addition to a general recording apparatus. It can be applied to an industrial recording apparatus.

  A recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer is a so-called non-impact recording apparatus, and can perform high-speed recording and recording on various recording media. In addition, since it has a feature that noise during recording hardly occurs, it is widely adopted as a device that bears a recording mechanism such as a printer, a word processor, a facsimile, a copying machine, and the like.

  FIG. 9 shows a printer (recording apparatus) according to a conventional example disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, which includes an apparatus main body M1000, a feeding unit M3022, and a discharge tray M1004. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the inside of the apparatus main body is composed of a chassis M3019, each recording operation mechanism, and the like, and a recording head (liquid ejection head) that performs desired recording on a recording medium conveyed to a recording position. ) H1001 is mounted on the carriage M4001. The carriage M4001 is provided with a head positioning reference (not shown), a lock mechanism (not shown), and a connector M4002 for electrical connection.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the entire recording head H1001. The recording head H1001 has a recording element substrate H1100 that heats ink by an electrothermal conversion element having a heating resistor and discharges ink droplets by the action of film boiling. Furthermore, an electrical wiring unit that applies a drive signal from the apparatus main body M1000 to the recording element substrate H1100, an ink supply member H1500 that holds an ink tank and forms an ink flow path for supplying ink to the recording element substrate H1100, and the like. Have The recording element substrate H1100 includes an ejection port H1101 that ejects ink. The recording element substrate H1100 is held by the ink supply member H1500 via a support plate H1200 having high flatness and good heat dissipation.

  The electric wiring means includes a rigid electric wiring board H1303 to which the connector M4002 of the carriage M4001 is pressed, and a flexible electric wiring board H1300 that routes the wiring along the outer shape of the ink supply member H1500. The electrical wiring board H1303 is provided with a plurality of terminals H1305 for electrical connection with the connector M4002, and a region where the terminals H1305 are arranged is a signal input portion H1304. The ink supply member H1500 has abutting reference surfaces H1506L and H1506R, engaging portions H1507L and H1507R, and pressing portions H1508L and H1508R for positioning and fixing to the carriage M4001. The pressing forces P1L and P1R are applied to the pressing portions H1508L and H1508R.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view from the back side of the recording head H1001 shown in FIG. The recording head H1001 has a flow path for guiding ink from an ink tank (not shown), and a filter H1509 for preventing dust from entering at the end thereof. Further, a seal rubber H1510 is provided so as to surround the filter H1509. The recording head H1001 is generally equipped with ink tanks of four colors (black, yellow, magenta, cyan) or six colors (black, yellow, magenta, cyan, light magenta, light cyan). A tank holder H1600 having an engaging portion for attaching an ink tank is fixed to the recording head H1001. Each color ink tank is mounted at each position (tank mounting portion) partitioned by the recording head side partition wall H1503 and the tank holder side partition wall H1601.

  FIGS. 13 to 15 illustrate the configuration of a contact portion that electrically connects the printer main body M1000 and the recording head H1001. That is, by mounting the recording head H1001 on the carriage M4001, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the terminal H1305 of the electric wiring board H1303 and the terminal M4003 of the connector M4002 of the carriage M4001 are connected.

The recording head H1001 is fixed to the carriage M4001 by abutting the reference surfaces H1506L and H1506R of the recording head and the reference surface (not shown) of the carriage M4001 with the pressing forces P1L and P1R via the engaging portions H1507L and 1507R, for example. .
JP 2001-63053 A

  However, the contact portion is always configured to apply a load to the recording head fixed to the carriage, so that depending on the material constituting the recording head, the deformation becomes large and the electrical connection becomes unstable. was there.

  FIG. 16 shows the recording head H1001 with the tank holder H1600 removed for explanation. A region indicated by a broken line is a signal input portion H1304 viewed from the back side of the recording head H1001. Here, the terminal M4003 of the connector M4002 of the carriage M4001 is pressed against the terminal H1305 of the electrical wiring board H1303 to make electrical connection.

  More specifically, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are cross-sectional views of the A surface shown in FIG. 12, and the connection surface of the connector M4002 is provided with a terminal M4003. When the recording head H1001 is fixed to the carriage M4001 and pressed against the electric wiring board H1303 by the pressing force P2, the recording head H1001 is fixed to the carriage M4001 and a contact load is applied to the electric wiring board H1303. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, the ink supply member H1500 that is a component of the recording head H1001 is deformed by the pressing force P2 that is the contact load, and the deformation amount L is generated in the pressing direction. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the B surface shown in FIG.

  In recent years, the contact load has increased due to the increase in the number of contacts for electrical connection due to the increase in the number of colors of the recording head and the increase in the number of nozzles. Further, in order to obtain a high-resolution print, the discharge port is downsized and the discharge droplets are becoming smaller. However, the small discharge port is likely to be clogged with foreign matters. For this reason, it is desirable that the resin material constituting the flow path is reduced as much as possible of glass fillers that are easily lost due to the action of external force. However, when the glass filler content is reduced, the rigidity of the resin material is lowered. For example, a resin with 0% glass filler has a flexural modulus of about 1/3 compared with a resin material having the same main component but with 25% glass filler added.

  In addition, in the conventional configuration, in the ink flow path from the filter H1509 to the recording element substrate H1100, the ink that is present may overflow from the filter H1509 due to a change in environmental temperature or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned unsolved problems of the prior art, reduces the deflection due to the contact load when the liquid discharge head is electrically connected, and leaks the overflowing liquid from the filter connected to the tank. An object is to provide a liquid discharge head that can be avoided.

  The liquid ejection head of the present invention includes an ejection element substrate having energy generating means for ejecting liquid from an ejection port in response to an electrical signal, an electrical connection portion electrically connected to the ejection element substrate, and a signal input portion. An electrical wiring means, and a liquid supply member having a tank mounting portion for holding and fixing the ejection element substrate and the electrical wiring means and mounting a tank for supplying a liquid to the ejection element substrate, The liquid supply member is provided with a plurality of projecting portions projecting from each other through a gap toward the tank mounting portion on the back side of the signal input portion of the electric wiring means.

  The protrusion of the tank mounting portion reduces the deflection due to the contact load when the liquid discharge head is electrically connected, thereby improving the reliability of the electrical connection. Moreover, the liquid overflowing from the filter press-contacted with the tank can be trapped (captured) in the gap between the protrusions.

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

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a recording head 1 which is a liquid ejection head is a recording element substrate which is an ejection element substrate provided with energy generating means for ejecting liquid ink from an ejection port 101 according to an electrical signal. 100. The electrical wiring means includes a flexible electrical wiring board 300 having an electrical connection portion electrically connected to the recording element substrate 100 and a rigid electrical wiring board 303. The electrical wiring board 303 has a signal input unit 304 that comes into contact with the printer main body (apparatus main body) on the side surface of the ink supply member 500 that is a liquid supply member. A connector M4002 of the printer main body is connected to a terminal 305 of the signal input unit 304. Electrical connection is made by pressing the terminal.

  The support plate 200 and the electrical wiring substrate 300 that support the recording element substrate 100 are held and fixed to an ink supply member 500 that has a flow path for supplying ink to the recording element substrate 100. The ink supply member 500 has a tank mounting portion for mounting a plurality of detachable ink tanks, an ink supply port for supplying ink from the ink tank toward the recording element substrate 100, and includes a filter 509 in the ink supply port. .

  The ink supply member 500 includes a plurality of protrusions 514 that receive a contact load from the printer main body between the ink supply port and a portion of the electrical wiring board 303 that supports the signal input unit 304. The plurality of protrusions 514 form a gap for trapping ink overflowing from the filter 509 by arranging a plurality of the protrusions 514 in the direction in which the ink tanks are arranged. This gap extends in a direction to receive the contact load, and opens in two directions, that is, the ink tank side and the tank mounting direction in which the ink tank is mounted.

  Alternatively, the gap formed by arranging the protrusions may be opened only in one direction on the ink tank side in the direction of receiving the contact load, and the upper portions of the plurality of protrusions may be joined to each other.

  The ink supply member may have a partition wall between the tank mounting portions, and each protrusion may be joined to all the partition walls and the wall portions at both ends of the tank mounting portion at the top. A plurality of gaps may be formed by arranging a plurality of protrusions between the partition walls.

  The ink supply member holds and fixes the electrical wiring board and has a clearance between the first member having a tank mounting portion for mounting the ink tank and the second member forming the ink supply path (liquid supply path). The structure joined so that it may have may be sufficient.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment. The recording head 1 of the present embodiment is a head that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy for causing film boiling in ink in accordance with an electrical signal.

  The recording head 1 includes a recording element substrate 100, two electric wiring substrates 300 and 303, an ink supply member 500, and a tank holder 600.

  In the recording element substrate 100, an ink supply port is opened in the shape of a long hole in the center of a silicon substrate, and a plurality of heating resistors (electrothermal converters) are formed on the substrate at approximately equal intervals. Are lined up on both sides. A substrate on which such a heating resistor is formed is called a heater board. Wiring for supplying electric power to the heating resistor is routed outside the heater board, and is connected to electrode pads installed at both ends of the heater board. The recording element substrate 100 is completed by attaching an orifice plate or the like having a discharge port group including a plurality of discharge ports 101 on such a heater board. Then, bumps are formed on the electrode pads of the heater board, and the electrical wiring substrate 300 is electrically joined by the TAB mounting method using the inner leads, and the connection portion is sealed with a sealant. The recording element substrate 100 is bonded and fixed to the ink supply member 500 via the support plate 200, and an ink flow path communicating with the ink tank is connected to the back surface of the recording element substrate 100.

  FIG. 2 shows the ink supply member 500 with the tank holder 600 and the ink tank removed. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the A surface shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the B surface.

  The ink supply member 500 includes a plurality of protrusions 514 that form gaps in the direction of receiving contact load from the connector M4002 on the printer main body side on the back side of the portion that supports the electric wiring board 303 having the signal input unit 304. The plurality of protrusions 514 reduce the deflection of the head with respect to the contact load at the time of electrical connection, and improve the reliability of electrical connection. As shown in FIG. 4, the protruding portion 514 protrudes larger than the grid-like ribs 515 provided for the same purpose. The ink tanks are connected to the partition walls 503 and 504 of the tank mounting portion and extend in the direction in which the respective colors are arranged, and the end portions are joined to both end walls that support the ink tank.

  As the protrusion 514 is closer to the center of the signal input portion 304 where the contact load is the largest, and the thickness of the bent portion is thicker, the rigidity is increased. Further, when the ink drips from the filter 509, the ink can be trapped by the surface tension in the gap formed between the protrusions 514.

  According to this embodiment, the deflection of the head with respect to the contact load during the electrical connection of the recording head is reduced, the reliability of the electrical connection is improved, and the ink overflowing from the ink tank through the filter is trapped in the ink supply member. Thus, ink leakage can be avoided. In this way, it is possible to contribute to improving the performance of the recording head.

  5 to 8 show a second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, this is a head that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy for causing film boiling to occur in ink in accordance with an electrical signal.

  The recording head 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a recording element substrate, an electric wiring substrate, an ink supply member 500, a tank holder 600, and the like similar to those in the first exemplary embodiment. Since these components are the same as those in the first embodiment, they are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the recording head 1 has a gap in the direction of receiving a contact load from the connector M4002 of the printer body on the back side of the ink supply member 500 that supports the electric wiring board having the signal input unit 304. A plurality of protrusions 514 are formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the protruding portion 514 is more like a grid-like rib 515 provided for the purpose of reducing the deflection of the head with respect to the contact load at the time of electrical connection and improving the reliability of the electrical connection. It protrudes greatly. The gap between the protrusions 514 opens only in the direction in which the contact load is received.

  The upper part of each protrusion 514 is joined to the cover member 514a, is connected to the partition walls 503 and 504, and is joined to both end walls that support the ink tank.

  As the protrusion 514 is closer to the center of the signal input portion 304 where the contact load is the largest, and the thickness of the bent portion is thicker, the rigidity is increased.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ink supply member 500 of this embodiment includes a first member (first liquid supply member) 501 and a second member (second liquid supply member) 502. It is a joined body having a joined portion ultrasonically welded by an energy director around the road. The second member 502 forms an ink flow path that is a liquid supply path. In addition, the first member 501 and the second member 502 are joined with a clearance of, for example, about 0.2 at a place other than the welding surface by ultrasonic welding. As a result, when ink drips from the filter 509, a part of the ink enters the clearance between the first member 501 and the second member 502 and is trapped.

  According to this embodiment, the deflection of the head with respect to the contact load at the time of electrical connection is reduced, the reliability of electrical connection is improved, and at the same time, the ink overflowing from the filter in pressure contact with the ink tank is more reliably contained in the ink supply member. Can be trapped. In this way, it is possible to contribute to improving the performance of the recording head.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the entire recording head according to the first embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the apparatus of FIG. 1 from the back side. It is sectional drawing of the A surface shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the B surface shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a recording head according to Example 2 as viewed from the back side. It is sectional drawing of the A surface shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the B surface shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing an enlarged part in a circle C in FIG. 7. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a general printer. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a state where an exterior member of the printer illustrated in FIG. 9 is removed. It is a perspective view which shows the whole recording head by a prior art example. It is the perspective view which looked at the recording head of FIG. 11 from the back side. It is sectional drawing of the A surface shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing explaining the state made to contact the connector part of a printer main body. It is sectional drawing of the B surface shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state where a tank holder is removed from the recording head shown in FIG. 12.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 100 Recording element board | substrate 101 Ejection port 200 Support plate 300,303 Electric wiring board 304 Signal input part 305 Terminal 500 Ink supply member 501 1st member 502 2nd member 503,504 Partition wall 509 Filter 514 Protrusion part 515 Grid-shaped rib 600 Tank holder

Claims (6)

  An ejection element substrate having energy generating means for ejecting liquid from an ejection port in response to an electrical signal; an electrical wiring means having an electrical connection portion and a signal input portion electrically connected to the ejection element substrate; and the ejection A liquid supply member having a tank mounting portion for holding and fixing the element substrate and the electric wiring means and mounting a tank for supplying a liquid to the discharge element substrate. A liquid discharge head comprising a plurality of projecting portions projecting from each other through a gap toward the tank mounting portion on the back side of the signal input portion of the wiring means.   The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the gap opens in two directions, a direction receiving a contact load of the signal input unit and a tank mounting direction.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the gap is opened only in a direction in which the contact load of the signal input unit is received.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 3, wherein the tank mounting portion of the liquid supply member has a partition wall, and an upper portion of the projecting portion is joined to the partition wall.   The liquid ejection head according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of the protrusions are disposed between adjacent partition walls.   An ejection element substrate having energy generating means for ejecting liquid from an ejection port in response to an electrical signal; an electrical wiring means having an electrical connection portion and a signal input portion electrically connected to the ejection element substrate; and the ejection A first liquid supply member having a tank mounting portion for holding and fixing the element substrate and the electric wiring means and mounting a tank for supplying a liquid to the discharge element substrate; and a liquid supply path communicating with the tank mounting portion A second liquid supply member having a connecting portion for connecting the first and second liquid supply members through a clearance, and the electric wiring means is connected to the first liquid supply member. A liquid discharge head comprising a plurality of projecting portions projecting from each other through a gap toward the tank mounting portion on the back side of the signal input portion.

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