JP2007160864A - Liquid discharge head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid discharge head which keeps on protecting a discharge port and its periphery until the head is unsealed and used by a general consumer and prevents bleeding of ink from the discharge port. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid discharge head, which keeps a peelable protective tape constituted of at least two layers of a base material and an adhesive bonded during distribution, has two or more kinds of protrusions and recesses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head that performs recording by ejecting liquid to form flying droplets, and relates to a liquid ejection head in which a protective tape is bonded to at least an ejection port and a peripheral edge thereof during distribution.

  The liquid discharge head of the present invention includes a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, which records on a recording medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. The present invention is applied to a liquid discharge head used in an apparatus such as a word processor having a printer unit, and an industrial recording apparatus combined with various processing apparatuses.

  [Recording] in the present invention means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern.

The ink discharge port of the liquid discharge head must be opened in order to discharge ink when the liquid discharge head is used. However, it is necessary to prevent clogging of the discharge port and deterioration of the water-repellent layer on the chip surface caused by ink seepage or ink evaporation until it reaches the general consumer and is used. For this reason, by protecting the chip surface on which the ink discharge port is formed with a protective tape that can be peeled off during distribution, it is possible to prevent ink from seeping out from the discharge port and ink evaporation, and to discharge from external impacts. The outlet and the water repellent layer can be protected.
Japanese Patent No. 2810472 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-248849

  A typical liquid discharge head will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) and FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). In addition, each figure (b) is the figure which represented typically the cross section of the AA part of figure (a).

  The water-repellent layer 12 is also improved with the diversification of ink and the water-repellent effect of the water-repellent layer 12 of the liquid discharge head 9 is improved. For this reason, when the protective tape 7 as shown in FIG. 6 is bonded to the surface of the water-repellent layer 12 of the liquid discharge head 9, it is difficult to bond the protective tape 7 with the conventional adhesive 2.

  The electrical wiring between the chip and the electrical wiring member (hereinafter referred to as TAB) 6 is made by arranging TAB electrode terminals on the electrode portions of the chip and connecting them by the thermosonic bonding method. When the electrical wiring portion has a stripped portion, corrosion due to ink adhesion or an electrical short circuit occurs, and the liquid ejection head fails. Therefore, the electrical wiring portion needs to be securely covered with a sealing agent or the like, and the second sealing agent 4 formed on the electrical wiring portion needs to be formed so as to be raised from the chip surface. . Similarly, when the ink adheres to the cut side surface in which the substrate material, Si, is exposed, the Si material itself dissolves, and as the dissolution proceeds, an electrical short circuit occurs in the electrical wiring section. Cause the liquid discharge head to malfunction. Therefore, it is necessary to cover the periphery of the chip, which is a side surface, with the first sealant 3 also for the chip. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, the first sealant 3 flows into the periphery of the chip positioned and fixed to the ink supply holding member, so that the sealant, adhesive, etc. are cured by heat. In some cases, chipping or peeling of the nozzle material may occur due to expansion or contraction that occurs. In particular, when the hardness of the first sealant 3 is high or when the shrinkage of curing is large, chip cracking is likely to occur. Therefore, it is preferable that the first sealant 3 has a soft hardness. Is desirable.

  However, when the first sealant 3 is a soft sealant, the tackiness of the sealant also increases, and as a result, the adhesive 2 and the sealant of the protective tape 7 are strongly adhered. Therefore, when the protective tape 7 is peeled off from the state where the protective tape 7 is applied to the liquid discharge head 9 as shown in FIG. 7A, the adhesive 2 is separated from the base material 1 and the periphery of the chip as shown in FIG. 7B. May remain. As described above, when the remaining adhesive 2 remains on the peripheral edge of the chip, the adhesive remaining on the peripheral edge of the chip moves to the discharge port 11 due to the recovery operation after being mounted on the main body and causes the discharge port 11 to be clogged. There is a thing. Further, when the adhesive strength of the protective tape 7 is weakened so that the adhesive 2 does not remain in the first sealant 3, the protective tape 7 is caused by a temperature change during transportation or display before opening. May peel off from the water repellent layer 12, and the ink may bleed out from the discharge port 11 as shown in FIG. Therefore, an adhesive having an adhesive force that can be held in a state in which ink does not adhere to the discharge port 11 and its periphery until it is opened, that is, in a state in which the protective tape 7 does not peel off, is required.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, protects the ejection port 11 and its peripheral edge until it is opened and used by a general consumer, and prevents the ink from bleeding from the ejection port. The purpose is to provide nine.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a liquid discharge head according to the present invention includes a chip having a discharge port for discharging a liquid on the surface, an electrode disposed at the outer peripheral position of the chip, and an electrical wiring connected to the electrode by wiring. A liquid having a member and a sealing agent covering the electrode and the wiring, and having a peelable protective tape composed of at least two layers of a base material and an adhesive bonded at the time of distribution In the discharge head, the protective tape has at least two types of uneven shapes.

  Further, the protective tape is a liquid discharge head, wherein the uneven shape in the region overlapping with the sealant is different from the uneven shape in the other region.

  In addition, the protective tape has a shape that protrudes toward the two types of height of the adhesive, and the protruding shape in the region overlapping the sealing agent has a lower height and a smaller tip area. A liquid discharge head;

  In addition, the protective tape has a shape that is convex toward the two types of height of the adhesive, and the density of the convex shape in the region overlapping with the sealant is lower than the density of the other regions. It is a liquid discharge head.

  In addition, the two or more types of concave and convex shapes of the protective tape have a shape that protrudes toward the base material in a region overlapping with the sealant, and a shape that protrudes toward the adhesive in other regions. A liquid discharge head characterized by the above.

  Further, the protective tape has two or more types of concave and convex shapes, and the protective tape in the vicinity of the concave and convex shapes in a region overlapping with the sealant is cut out.

  The protective tape may be a liquid discharge head having a tape tip in the chip and a region overlapping with the sealant in only one region.

  In the liquid discharge head, the adhesive of the protective tape is formed of an adhesive.

  The liquid discharge head in which the protective tape is bonded at the time of distribution of the present invention has at least two types of concave and convex shapes formed on the protective tape by bonding a protective tape that can be peeled off to at least the discharge port and the peripheral portion thereof. In order to prevent cracking and peeling of the chip, the first sealant is softened to prevent the chip from cracking and peeling off by not bonding the protective tape to the sealant part or joining only the tip of the convex part. Even when the property is improved, it is possible to prevent peeling of the protective tape from the chip surface due to the influence of the environment and the like, and to prevent the adhesive remaining on the first sealant at the time of peeling without weakening the adhesive force .

  Therefore, the surface of the chip is protected from ink adhesion and impact until it is opened and used by general consumers to prevent ink evaporation from the discharge port, and the adhesive remains even when the protective tape is peeled off for use. It is possible to provide a highly reliable liquid discharge head that is free from defects.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The liquid discharge head used in this embodiment is formed integrally with an ink tank having an outer shape as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an AA cross section of the chip of the liquid discharge head 9 illustrated in FIG. Three ink supply ports 14 for cyan, magenta, and yellow are formed in parallel, and the electrothermal conversion element and the discharge ports 11 are formed on both sides of each ink supply port 14. Yes. On the Si substrate 5, electrical wiring, electrode portions 8 and the like are formed.

  In the present embodiment, on the surface of the Si substrate 5, a structure made of a resin material in which the ink flow path 13 and the discharge port 11 corresponding to the electrothermal conversion element are formed is formed by a photolithography technique. The TAB 6 forms an electric signal path for applying an electric signal for ejecting ink to the chip, and an opening for incorporating the chip is formed. In the vicinity of the edge of the opening, An electrode terminal 7 connected to the electrode portion 8 of the chip is formed.

  The chip and the TAB 6 are bonded to an ink supply holding member 10 formed by resin molding. The electrical connection portion between the chip and the TAB 6 includes a first sealant 3 for sealing the portion below the electrical connection portion and the portion where the electrode of the chip is not formed, and a first sealant for sealing the upper portion of the electrical connection portion. Sealing is performed by the second sealing agent 4 to protect the electrical connection portion from corrosion by ink and external impact.

  FIG. 6 shows the layer structure of the protective tape 7 used in this embodiment. A 27 μm thick PET film is used as the base material 1 of the protective tape 7, and an acrylic adhesive is used as the adhesive 2. An adhesive 2 was applied on the substrate 1 so as to have a thickness of 30 μm.

  FIG. 1 shows a liquid discharge head in this embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the width of the protective tape 7 is not less than the length of the 11 rows of ejection ports shown in FIG. 1A and not more than the interval between the second sealants 4 formed at both ends of the chip. The protective tape 7 was cut. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the protective tape 7 has a shape in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 is convex, and two different heights are processed. The convex shape 15 having a low height is the first sealing. The convex shape 8 which is provided in the region overlapping with the agent 3 and exists on the joint surface with the TAB 6 is configured to prevent the entire surface from adhering to the adhesive 2. Further, the density of the convex shape 15 having a low height is lower than the density of the convex shape 8 having a high height, and the front end area of the convex portion is also reduced, so that the area to be attached to the first sealant 3 is made smaller. It is configured. By adopting such a configuration, for example, the bonding surface with TAB 6 has a very high convex shape of about 70 to 100 μm to facilitate peeling between TAB 6 and the protective tape, and the region overlapping with the first sealing agent 3 is A convex shape with a height of about 20 to 30 μm is used to increase the distance between the first sealant 3 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2, to prevent the entire sealant from sticking to the first sealant 3. It becomes possible to prevent adhesive residue. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the tape tip of the cut protective tape 7 is placed on the inner side so as not to ride on the first sealant 3 formed around the chip of the liquid discharge head 9. Since it is configured to be bonded only to a certain substrate 5, it does not stick to the first sealant 3 even if the tape tip has no convex shape. The liquid discharge head 9 in a physical distribution state with such a configuration was completed. In that state, the protective tape was not peeled off from the water repellent layer 12 when it was confirmed by an accelerated test so as to reproduce the environment until it was opened by a general consumer.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, two types of convex shapes having different heights are provided toward the adhesive 2 side of the protective tape 7, and the entire surface is attached to the TAB 6 by the high convex shape 8. Since sticking is prevented and the entire protective tape is floated, the distance between the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 and the first sealant 3 can be increased. As a result, it is possible to prevent the adhesive 2 having the low convex shape 15 and the first sealant 3 from sticking to each other. Further, by sticking the tip of the protective tape to a position up to the inside on the substrate 5, it is possible to eliminate sticking between the tip of the protective tape and the first sealant 3. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adhesive 2 from peeling off from the base material 1 at the time of peeling without weakening the adhesive force even to the first sealing agent 3 having tackiness, and to provide a highly reliable ink jet recording head. can do.

  FIG. 2 shows a liquid discharge head in this embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the width of the protective tape 7 is equal to or longer than the length of the 11 rows of the discharge ports shown in FIG. 2A, and the second sealing agent 4 formed on both ends of the chip. The protective tape 7 was cut so as to be equal to or smaller than the interval. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the protective tape 7 in the region to be joined to the TAB 6 is processed with a shape 8 in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 side is convex, and the protective tape 7 and the first sealing agent 3 The structure increases the distance and prevents the entire sticking. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in the region where the first sealing agent 3 and the protective tape 7 overlap, the distance 16 to the first sealing agent 3 is further increased by having a shape 16 that is convex toward the base material 1 side. It is the structure which prevents sticking with the adhesive 2. FIG.

  Since the convex shape does not exist on the substrate 5 as in the first embodiment, the protective tape does not peel from the nozzle portion due to the convex shape. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the tape tip of the cut protective tape 7 is placed on the inner side so as not to ride on the first sealant 3 formed around the chip of the liquid discharge head 9. Since it is configured to be bonded only to a certain substrate 5, it is the same that the first sealant 3 is not bonded even if the tape tip has no convex shape. The liquid discharge head 9 in a physical distribution state was completed with such a configuration. In that state, when it was confirmed by an accelerated test so as to reproduce the environment until it was opened by a general consumer, peeling of the protective tape from the water repellent layer 12 was not observed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the protective tape 7 in the region joined to the TAB 6 has the shape 8 that protrudes toward the adhesive 2 side, and in the region that overlaps the first sealant 3. Is configured to have a shape 16 that is convex to the opposite substrate 1 side, thus preventing the entire surface from sticking to the TAB 6 and further protruding to the substrate side. The distance with the 1st sealing agent 3 can be extended, and the sticking of the adhesive 2 and the 1st sealing agent 3 can be prevented entirely. Further, by sticking the front end of the protective tape to a position up to the inside on the substrate 5, it is possible to eliminate sticking to the first sealant 3. Therefore, even for the first sealing agent 3 having tackiness, the adhesive 2 can be prevented from peeling off from the base material 1 at the time of peeling without weakening the adhesive strength of the protective tape, and a highly reliable inkjet. A recording head can be provided.

  FIG. 3 shows a liquid discharge head in this embodiment.

  In this example, as in Example 1, the width of the protective tape 7 is equal to or longer than the length of the 11 rows of discharge ports shown in FIG. 3A, and the second sealing agent 4 formed on both ends of the chip. The protective tape 7 was cut so as to be equal to or smaller than the interval. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the protective tape 7 has a shape in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 is convex, and two different heights are processed. The convex shape 15 having a low height is the first sealing. The convex shape 8 provided in a region overlapping with the agent 3 and having a high height exists on the joint surface with the TAB 6, and is configured to prevent the entire sticking with the adhesive. Further, in the present embodiment, in the region where the first sealant 3 and the protective tape 7 overlap, a portion 17 in which the protective tape 7 is cut out is provided on the downstream side in the peeling direction in the vicinity of the shape protruding to the adhesive 2 side. As a result, even when the first sealant 3 and the adhesive 2 are adhered, the adhesive on the convex portion is connected at the time of peeling and cut without peeling, so that the remaining adhesive 2 at the time of peeling is minimized. It can be configured.

  Further, like the first and second embodiments, the convex shape does not exist on the substrate 5, and the cutout portion 17 does not exist on the substrate 5. Therefore, the protective tape peels off from the nozzle portion due to the convex shape. The ink is not leaked by the cut-out portion. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the tape tip of the cut protective tape 7 is disposed on the inner side so as not to ride on the first sealant 3 formed around the chip of the liquid discharge head 9. Since it is configured to be bonded only to a certain substrate 5, it is the same that the first sealant 3 is not bonded even if the tape tip has no convex shape. The liquid discharge head 9 in a physical distribution state was completed with such a configuration. In that state, when it was confirmed by an accelerated test so as to reproduce the environment until it was opened by a general consumer, peeling of the protective tape from the water repellent layer 12 was not observed.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the protective tape 7 is provided with the convex shape 8 having a high height toward the adhesive 2 side on the bonding surface with the TAB, and in the region overlapping the first sealing agent 3. Has a configuration in which a convex shape 15 having a low height is provided toward the adhesive 2 side, and a cutout portion 17 is provided on the downstream side in the peeling direction in the vicinity. Therefore, it is possible to prevent sticking to the entire surface of the TAB 6 by the convex shape 8 having a high height, and in the region overlapping with the first sealant 3, the adhesive 2 is placed near the convex portion by the cutout portion 17 of the protective tape 7. Even when the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 and the first sealant 3 are stuck, the pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 is cut at the time of peeling, and the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive 2 can be minimized. Further, by sticking the front end of the protective tape to a position up to the inside on the substrate 5, it is possible to eliminate sticking to the first sealant 3. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adhesive 2 from peeling off from the base material 1 at the time of peeling without weakening the adhesive force even to the first sealing agent 3 having tackiness, and to provide a highly reliable ink jet recording head. can do.

  In the present embodiment, the region overlapping the first sealing agent 3 has a shape that protrudes toward the pressure-sensitive adhesive, but the same effect can also be obtained when it protrudes toward the base material.

(A) (b) It is the typical top view and sectional view of the state where the protection tape in the 1st embodiment of the present invention was pasted together to the chip. (A) (b) It is the typical top view and sectional drawing of the state which bonded the protective tape in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention to the chip | tip. (A) (b) It is the typical top view and sectional drawing of the state which bonded the protective tape in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention to the chip | tip. 2A and 2B are a schematic perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a typical liquid discharge head. (A) (b) It is the perspective view and sectional drawing which show the state which bonded together the protective tape to the typical liquid discharge head with the conventional method. It is typical sectional drawing of the protective tape in embodiment of this invention. (A) It is a schematic diagram of the state which bonded the protective tape to the chip | tip. (B) It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the adhesive remained after peeling off the protective tape. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a state where ink has oozed out during distribution in a state where a protective tape is bonded to a typical liquid discharge head by a conventional method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base material 2 Adhesive 3 First sealing agent 4 Second sealing agent 5 Substrate 6 Electric wiring member (TAB)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 Protective tape 8 Adhesive side convex shape 9 Liquid discharge head 10 Ink supply holding member 11 Discharge port 12 Water repellent layer 13 Ink flow path 14 Ink supply port 15 Adhesive side convex shape small 16 Base material side convex shape 17 Cutout part

Claims (8)

A chip having a discharge port on the surface for discharging liquid;
An electrode disposed at the outer peripheral position of the chip;
An electrical wiring member wired to the electrode;
A head having a sealing agent covering the electrode and the wiring,
At the time of distribution, in a liquid discharge head to which a peelable protective tape composed of at least two layers of a base material and an adhesive is bonded,
The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the protective tape has at least two types of uneven shapes.   2. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the protective tape has different concavo-convex shapes in the concavo-convex shape in the region overlapping the sealing agent and the concavo-convex shape in other regions.   The protective tape has a shape that protrudes toward two types of height of the adhesive, and the protruding shape in the region overlapping the sealant has a lower height and a smaller tip area. Item 3. The liquid discharge head according to Item 2.   The protective tape has a shape that is convex toward the two types of height of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, and the density of the convex shape in the region overlapping the sealing agent is lower than the density of the other regions. The liquid discharge head according to claim 2 or 3.   The two or more types of concavo-convex shapes of the protective tape have a shape that protrudes toward the base material in a region overlapping with the sealant, and a shape that protrudes toward the adhesive in other regions. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1.   The said protective tape has two or more types of uneven | corrugated shape, The peeling tape downstream of the uneven | corrugated shape of the uneven | corrugated shape of the area | region which overlaps with a sealing agent is cut out, The Claims 2-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Liquid discharge head.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the protective tape has a tape tip in the chip and has a region that overlaps only one region with the sealant.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive of the protective tape is formed of an adhesive.

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