JP2010253685A - Inkjet recording head and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording head having structure capable of easing peeling stress caused on a bonded surface between a substrate and a nozzle forming member due to swell of the nozzle forming member. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recording head has rib-like protrusion structure just above an ink supply port on the inner surface of the nozzle forming member. In the rib-like protrusion structure, a groove is formed from the surface side of the nozzle forming member. By such constitution, the peeling stress caused by the swell of the ink forming member by ink or the like is eased to suppress peeling of the substrate and the nozzle forming member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets and performs recording on a recording medium, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In general, an ink jet recording head applied to an ink jet recording system includes a plurality of fine discharge ports, a liquid flow path, and a plurality of discharge energy generating elements provided in a part of the flow path. For example, methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as methods for forming discharge ports and liquid flow paths with high density and high accuracy. In Patent Documents 1 and 2, an ink flow path pattern is formed of a resin that can be dissolved on a substrate, a resin layer serving as a nozzle forming member is formed on the pattern, and an ejection port is formed in the resin layer. A method is described in which a flow path pattern is eluted to produce an ink jet recording head.

  However, since the ink jet recording head manufactured in this way has a thin nozzle forming member (ejection port plate) above the ink supply port, there is a concern that the reliability of the nozzle forming member itself tends to be low. In particular, since the nozzle forming member is generally formed of a resin material, the nozzle forming member may swell and deform due to ink or the like. If the nozzle forming member is deformed, it may affect the ink droplet ejection characteristics of the ink jet recording head.

  For this reason, in Patent Documents 3 and 4, ribs are arranged in the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements directly above the ink supply port on the inner surface of the nozzle forming member of the ink jet recording head for the purpose of controlling residual bubbles and reinforcing the nozzle forming member. It has been proposed to form a protruding structure (see FIG. 3). According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the nozzle forming member from being deformed. Further, it is difficult for residual bubbles to be drawn into the ink flow path, and ink droplets can be ejected more stably.

JP-A-5-330066 JP-A-6-286149 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-146976 JP 2000-158657 A

  However, in the inkjet recording heads described in Patent Documents 3 and 4, since the nozzle forming member is made of resin, the nozzle forming member swells with ink or the like as shown in FIG. May be deformed. For example, the stress due to the deformation may be concentrated on the end a of the wall between the foaming chambers, and may exert a peeling action on the interface between the silicon substrate and the nozzle forming member.

  In recent years, it has been necessary to increase the density of the discharge ports as the image quality is improved. By increasing the density of the discharge ports, the wall width between the foaming chambers and the ink flow path becomes narrower, and the bonding area between the silicon substrate and the nozzle forming member becomes smaller, so that the nozzle forming member can be peeled off near the wall of the foaming chamber. This is more likely to occur. Peeling in the vicinity of the wall such as the foaming chamber affects ink droplet ejection characteristics, and an ink jet recording head having stable ejection characteristics may not be obtained.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head having a structure capable of relieving a peeling stress generated on a joint surface between a substrate and a nozzle forming member due to swelling of the nozzle forming member.

  The present invention relates to a substrate having an ink supply port in which a plurality of ejection energy generating elements that generate energy for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in a line and extending along the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements; A nozzle forming member for forming, on the substrate, an ink discharge port for discharging the ink droplet, and an ink flow path having the discharge energy generating element in communication with the ink discharge port and the ink supply port; An ink jet recording head having a rib-like protrusion on the inner surface of the nozzle forming member and above the ink supply port, and the rib-like protrusion has a groove from the surface side of the nozzle forming member. The ink jet recording head is formed.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of forming a mold material constituting at least a portion serving as an ink flow path on a substrate provided with a plurality of ejection energy generating elements that generate energy for ejecting ink droplets; A step of forming a nozzle forming member that becomes an ejection plate for forming an ink ejection port for ejecting the ink droplets on the mold material; and a plurality of ejection ports are arranged side by side on the nozzle forming member. In a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, the method includes: forming an ink discharge port; forming an ink supply port extending along an arrangement direction of the discharge energy generating elements; and removing the mold material. Before the step of forming the mold material, on the region narrower than the width of the ink supply port on the substrate including the region where the ink supply port is formed, Disposing a second member made of a material different from the nozzle forming member; and excluding the second member, forming the mold material on the substrate on which the ink flow path is to be formed, Forming a rib-like protrusion with the second member and the nozzle-forming member by forming a nozzle-forming member; and at least one groove from the surface side of the discharge port plate of the rib-like protrusion. Forming a second member as a bottom, and a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

  In the present invention, by forming grooves in the rib-like protrusions from the surface side of the ink forming member, it is possible to relieve the peeling stress caused by the swelling of the ink forming member due to ink or the like. As a result, a higher density inkjet recording head can be manufactured.

It is a schematic process drawing explaining the manufacturing method of the inkjet recording head which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1A and 1B are schematic views illustrating a configuration example of an ink jet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a top perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the inkjet recording head which has the conventional rib-shaped projection part, (a) is a top surface perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing in the BB line of (a).

  The ink jet recording head of the present invention has a rib-like protrusion on the inner surface of the nozzle forming member and above the ink supply port, and the rib-like protrusion has a groove formed from the surface side of the nozzle forming member. It is characterized by being. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to relieve peeling stress caused by swelling of the ink forming member due to ink or the like, and to suppress peeling between the substrate and the nozzle forming member.

  Moreover, the rib-like protrusion bottom portion that forms the bottom surface of the groove may be formed of a material different from that of the nozzle forming member. That is, in the rib-like protrusion, the bottom surface of the groove can be constituted by a rib-like protrusion bottom made of a material (second member) different from the member constituting the nozzle forming member. At this time, the groove is provided so as to separate the nozzle forming member to the bottom of the rib-like protrusion. Furthermore, it is preferable that the rib-like projection bottom is formed of a member having a smaller elastic modulus than the nozzle forming member. This is because by making the rib-like protrusion bottom part a member having a smaller elastic modulus than that of the nozzle forming member, the extension of the nozzle forming member due to swelling can be absorbed and relaxed by the rib-like protrusion bottom part.

  Also in the present invention, by providing the rib-like protrusions, it is possible to control residual bubbles and reinforce the nozzle material. The shape of the rib-shaped protrusion is not particularly limited, but the rib-shaped protrusion is preferably formed in the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements. Moreover, it is preferable that the said groove | channel is formed over the whole region of this rib-shaped projection part. Moreover, the groove | channel may be formed in the rib-like projection part by one, or may be formed in multiple numbers.

(Rib-shaped protrusion)
Length, width, height, range of member thickness (depth of groove to be formed), groove width, groove shape (straight line only or may be formed in a wavy shape) )
Examples of nozzle forming member materials, groove bottom member examples, and combinations thereof

  The nozzle forming member having the rib-like projections can be manufactured by, for example, injection molding, or can be manufactured by photolithography, and the manufacturing method is not particularly limited.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(First embodiment)
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an ink jet recording head having grooves in the rib-like protrusions of the ink forming member (discharge port plate) was produced. More specifically, the ink jet recording head of the present embodiment is a rib-like protrusion in the longitudinal direction of the ink jet recording head (arrangement direction of ejection energy generating elements) on the inner surface of the ink forming member and on the ink supply port. Is formed. The rib-like protrusion is provided with a groove from the discharge plate surface side. Moreover, in this embodiment, the adhesion improvement layer which is a member with a smaller elastic coefficient than a nozzle formation member is provided in the rib-shaped protrusion bottom part which forms the bottom face of this groove | channel. Hereinafter, a method for producing the ink jet recording head will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a silicon substrate 1 is prepared in which a plurality of ejection energy generating elements 2 that generate energy for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in a line. The substrate has a region where an ink supply port formed in a later step is formed.

  Next, a thermoplastic resin (trade name: HIMAL, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) is applied on the substrate 1 by spin coating to a thickness of 2 μm to form the adhesion improving layer 3. At this time, an adhesion improving layer is formed on a portion where the rib-shaped protrusion is formed and a portion where the substrate and the nozzle forming member are in contact with each other. Thereafter, a resist (OFPR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) is applied to the adhesion improving layer 3 to a thickness of 7 μm, and further, exposure, development, dry etching, and resist peeling are performed to pattern the adhesion improving layer 3. (FIG. 1 (b)). By this patterning, a rib-like projection bottom 4 (consisting of an adhesion improving layer) that forms the bottom surface of the groove is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, an etching mask material 5 used for forming an ink supply port in a later process is formed on the back surface of the substrate 1.

  Next, by applying a resin (trade name: ODUR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) with a thickness of 14 μm on the substrate having the adhesion improving layer 3 and the rib-like protrusion bottom 4, and further performing exposure and development, An ink flow path pattern 6 is formed (FIG. 1C). The ink flow path pattern 6 is a mold material that forms a space that becomes an ink flow path (including a foaming chamber). Further, it also serves as a mold of a rib-like protrusion having an adhesion improving layer on the bottom surface. The ink flow path is formed to communicate with the ink discharge port and the ink supply port.

  Next, a material in which an epoxy resin and a cationic photopolymerization initiator are dissolved in a solvent is used as a material for the nozzle forming member 7. The material is applied to the substrate 1 at a thickness of 25 μm and heated at 90 ° C. 7 is formed. Further, by performing exposure and development, the ink discharge port 8 and the groove 9 are formed simultaneously (FIG. 1D).

  Next, a silicon etching protective material 10 (trade name; OBC, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) is formed on the upper side of the substrate 1 having the ink flow path pattern 6 and the nozzle forming member 7. Thereafter, the substrate 1 is etched by immersing it in a TMAH 22 wt% aqueous solution whose temperature is adjusted to about 80 ° C. for 10 hours to form an ink supply port 11 (FIG. 1E). The ink supply port extends along the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements.

  Finally, the silicon etching protective material 7 is dissolved using a solvent, and the ink flow path pattern 6 is eluted and removed from the ink discharge port 8 and the ink supply port 11 using a solvent. 12 is formed, and an ink jet recording head is manufactured (FIG. 1F).

1: Substrate 2: Ejection energy generating element 3: Adhesion improving layer 4: Rib-shaped projection bottom 5: Etching mask material 6: Ink flow path pattern 7: Nozzle forming member 8: Ink ejection port 9: Groove 10: Protective material 11: Ink supply port 12: Ink flow path 13: Rib-shaped protrusion

Claims (12)

A plurality of ejection energy generating elements that generate energy for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in a line, and a substrate having an ink supply port extending along the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements;
A nozzle forming member that forms, on the substrate, an ink discharge port that discharges the ink droplets, and an ink flow path that includes the discharge energy generating element in communication with the ink discharge port and the ink supply port;
An inkjet recording head comprising:
A rib-like protrusion on the inner surface of the nozzle forming member and above the ink supply port;
The rib-like protrusion has a groove formed from the surface side of the nozzle forming member.   In the rib-like protrusion, the bottom surface of the groove is formed of a rib-like protrusion bottom made of a material different from that of the member forming the nozzle forming member, and the groove extends the nozzle forming member to the rib-like protrusion bottom. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is provided so as to be separated.   The inkjet recording head according to claim 2, wherein the rib-like projection bottom is formed of a member having a smaller elastic modulus than the nozzle forming member.   4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the rib-like protrusions are formed in the arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements.   The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the groove is formed over the entire area of the rib-shaped protrusion.   The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the grooves are formed.   The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesion improving layer between the nozzle forming member and the substrate.   The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the rib-like projection bottom is made of the same material as the adhesion improving layer. Forming a mold material constituting at least a portion serving as an ink flow path on a substrate provided with a plurality of ejection energy generating elements that generate energy for ejecting ink droplets; and the ink on the substrate and the mold material Forming a nozzle forming member to be an ejection plate for forming an ink ejection port for ejecting droplets, and forming a plurality of ink ejection ports so that the plurality of ejection ports are arranged side by side on the nozzle formation member; In a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, comprising: a step; a step of forming an ink supply port extending along an arrangement direction of the ejection energy generating elements; and a step of removing the mold material.
Before the step of forming the mold material, a second material made of a material different from the nozzle forming member is formed on a region narrower than the width of the ink supply port on the substrate including the region where the ink supply port is formed. A step of arranging two members;
A rib is formed between the second member and the nozzle forming member by forming the mold material on the substrate on which the ink flow path is to be formed, except for the second member, and forming the nozzle forming member. Forming a protrusion-like projection,
Forming at least one groove from the surface side of the discharge port plate of the rib-shaped protrusion with the second member as a bottom;
An ink jet recording head manufacturing method comprising:   The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 9, further comprising a step of forming an adhesion improving layer between the discharge plate and the substrate before the step of forming the mold material.   The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 10, wherein the second member is made of the same material as the adhesion improving layer and is formed simultaneously with the formation of the adhesion improving layer.   12. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 9, wherein the groove formed in the rib-shaped protrusion is formed simultaneously with the formation of the plurality of ink discharge ports.

Images