JP2012051240A - Packaging form of liquid discharge head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging form of a liquid discharge head which secures sufficient reliability with respect to the vibration in a physical distribution.SOLUTION: In the packaging form of the liquid discharge head which consists of the liquid discharge head for recording by discharging a liquid and a container for containing the liquid discharge head, the tape of a multilayer constitution of a base material layer and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer is adhered to the container and the liquid discharge head, thereby holding the liquid discharge head with respect to the container.

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging form of a liquid discharge head used in an ink jet recording apparatus.

  An ink jet recording apparatus performs recording by ejecting ink from a liquid ejection head (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a head) onto a recording medium based on previously created recording information. In general, the liquid discharge head is detachably mounted on the recording apparatus, and is packed separately from the recording apparatus during distribution. In the distribution of the liquid discharge head, the ink flow path, particularly the nozzle leading to the discharge port, is filled with a transparent liquid different from the ink for normal recording, so-called distribution ink. By filling the distribution ink, the change in the wettability of the inner surface of the flow path is prevented. Also, the configuration of Patent Document 1 is known as a packaging form of a liquid discharge head for preventing evaporation of physical distribution ink. Specifically, in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 1, the liquid discharge head is housed in a rigid resin molded product container (resin molded container), and heat-sealed so as to cover the opening of the container with a film having a high gas barrier property. The structure that has been introduced is introduced.

JP-A-3-248849

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a recording apparatus for professional / high amateur who particularly requires high image quality has been configured to increase the number of colors (for example, 10 colors or more) for the purpose of improving gradation. Along with this, in the liquid discharge head, an increase in the size of a chip tank which is an ink flow path supply member and an increase in the size of a support substrate for bonding and supporting a recording element substrate for discharging ink are invited. When the conventional physical distribution form is applied to the liquid discharge head which is increased in size and weight as described above, there are the following problems.

  For example, there is a concern that the liquid discharge head in the storage container moves due to vibration during distribution, and the corner of the liquid discharge head repeatedly collides with the film sealing the storage container, resulting in holes in the film. . Further, once the hole is opened, the film is easily torn starting from the hole, and the head is popped out of the storage container and the discharge port surface is broken.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a packaging form of a liquid ejection head that ensures sufficient reliability against vibration during distribution even if the liquid ejection head is enlarged.

  In a packaging form of a liquid discharge head comprising a liquid discharge head for recording by discharging a liquid and a container for storing the liquid discharge head, a multi-layer tape comprising a base material layer and an adhesive layer is formed by the container and the liquid. The liquid discharge head is held against the container by being adhered to the discharge head.

  According to the above configuration, the tape can move in conjunction with the liquid discharge head against vibration during distribution, and the impact load from the liquid discharge head is not concentrated on the tape. As a result, problems such as holes in the tape or tearing can be reduced, and reliability during distribution can be improved.

(A)-(c) is a schematic diagram which shows the packaging form of the liquid discharge head of this invention. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus suitable for applying a liquid ejection head according to the present invention. (A) and (b) are exploded perspective views of a liquid discharge head. (A) shows the liquid discharge head of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the storage container of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(Configuration of recording device)
First, an ink jet recording apparatus using a liquid discharge head will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 2 repeats the reciprocating movement (main scanning) of the liquid discharging head 201 and the conveyance (sub scanning) of the recording sheet S at a predetermined pitch, and discharges the liquid while synchronizing with these movements. Ink is selectively ejected from the head 201. This is a serial type ink jet printer that forms characters, symbols, images, and the like by adhering the ejected ink to the recording sheet S.

  In FIG. 2, the liquid discharge head 201 is slidably supported on two guide rails and is detachably mounted on a carriage 202 that is reciprocated along the guide rails by driving means such as a motor (not shown). . The recording sheet S is opposed to the ink ejection surface of the liquid ejection head 201 by the conveyance roller 203 and intersects the moving direction of the carriage 202 so as to maintain a constant distance from the ink ejection surface (for example, , In the direction of arrow A, which is a direction orthogonal to each other.

(Configuration of liquid discharge head)
Next, the liquid discharge head will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid discharge head 201 mainly includes a recording element substrate 14, a support substrate 11, a chip tank 12, an electric circuit substrate 10, a flexible circuit substrate 13, and a sub tank 15.

  The liquid discharge head 201 guides an electric signal input from the outside through the electric circuit board 10 to the mounted recording element substrate 14 via the flexible circuit board 13 and applies the electric signal to the recording element in accordance with the electric signal. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port of the substrate 14. In the recording element substrate 14, a plurality of recording elements for ejecting ink and electric wiring for supplying electric power to each recording element are formed on a silicon substrate by a film forming technique. Further, a plurality of ink flow paths and a plurality of discharge ports corresponding to the recording element are formed by a photolithography technique to form a discharge nozzle row, and an ink supply port for supplying ink to the plurality of discharge nozzle rows Are formed so as to open in a plurality of rows on the back surface. The recording element substrate 14 is bonded and fixed to the support substrate 11, and the ink supply port of the recording element substrate 14 and the space disposed in the support substrate 11 constitute a liquid chamber for holding ink. . As described above, the liquid discharge head 201 includes a plurality of recording element substrates each having a plurality of discharge nozzle arrays, and is configured to discharge a plurality of types of ink. In this embodiment, the recording apparatus employs a 12-color ink system for the purpose of improving gradation, and three recording element substrates 14 are arranged. Accordingly, the planar size of the support substrate 11 that supports the recording element substrate 14 is larger than the conventional size. Further, as a countermeasure for raising the temperature of the head for reducing the density unevenness of the image quality, the heat capacity is increased by making the thickness of the support substrate 11 thicker than before.

  A plurality of independent main tanks 204 are detachably attached to the ink supply unit 205 in accordance with the color of ink ejected from the liquid ejection head 201. The ink supply unit 205 and the liquid discharge head 201 are connected by a plurality of ink supply tubes 206 corresponding to each color of ink. The ink supplied to the liquid discharge head 201 is supplied independently to each nozzle row of the recording element substrate 14 via the sub tank 15 and the chip tank 12 which is an ink supply member, and forms a meniscus in the nozzle. It is filled in a state. For this reason, the inside of the liquid discharge head 201, particularly the inside of the nozzle, is kept in a negative pressure state. However, if the negative pressure is too small, when foreign matter or ink adheres to the tip of the nozzle, the ink meniscus may break and the ink may leak out of the nozzle. On the other hand, if the negative pressure is too large, the force to pull the ink back into the nozzle becomes stronger than the energy given to the ink during ejection, resulting in ejection failure. Therefore, the negative pressure in the nozzle is kept within a certain range slightly lower than the atmospheric pressure.

  In this embodiment, a sub tank 15 shown in FIG. 3B is mounted on the chip tank 12 as a functional component that generates a negative pressure with a spring bag and a supply restriction valve. However, as a mechanism for generating the negative pressure, a system using a hydraulic head difference may be used. Further, instead of the tube supply method, an on-carriage configuration in which an ink tank having a negative pressure generation mechanism and a supply function at the same time is directly attached to the liquid discharge head 201 may be used.

(Packaging form for logistics of liquid discharge head)
The packaging form at the time of head distribution in this embodiment targets a chip tank 12 mounted with a sub tank 15, and the distribution ink is filled from the sub tank 15 to the inside of the nozzles of the recording element substrate 14. As the distribution ink, for example, a transparent ink containing no color material is used. This transparent ink may be an ink obtained by omitting the color material from the recording ink.

  The liquid discharge head 201 filled with the distribution ink is inserted into the storage container shown in FIG. The storage container is a molded member made of resin, and is inserted so that the portion 12a on the bottom surface of the liquid discharge head shown in FIG. On the surface on the storage container side facing the discharge port surface after the liquid discharge head 201 is inserted, grid-like ribs 2r can be reliably collected so that the distribution ink ejected due to vibration during distribution and the increase in internal pressure in the flow path can be collected. Is arranged. This prevents the ejected ink from adhering to the pads of the electric circuit board 10 of the liquid ejection head 201. In addition, the storage container 2 has a clearance design in which the liquid discharge head 201 can be easily inserted and the posture of the liquid discharge head 201 is stably regulated.

  The liquid discharge head 201 inserted into the storage container 2 is fixed by the tape 3 as shown in FIG. The tape 3 has a multilayer structure of a base material layer and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer serving as a base material, and the type of pressure-sensitive adhesive is preferably one that does not generate corrosive gas during distribution. Typical adhesives include acrylic adhesives, rubber adhesives, and thermosetting rubber adhesives. Among these, since the rubber adhesive contains sulfur in the adhesive, there is a possibility that it volatilizes as a corrosive gas during distribution and corrodes the pad of the electric circuit board 10 provided on the head. An acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive that does not generate corrosive gas is preferred.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1C, the tape 3 is adhered to the grip 17, which is one surface of the liquid discharge head 201, the side surface of the storage container, and the flange portion 2f as a set. It is configured. By such a way of sticking, the tape 3 can move in conjunction with the liquid ejection head 201 with respect to vibration during distribution, so that the impact load by the head 201 is not concentrated on the tape 3. As a result, problems such as holes in the tape 3 or tearing can be reduced, and sufficient reliability against vibration can be ensured.

  Further, the liquid discharge head 201 of the present invention is large and very heavy, so that the tape 3 attached to the storage container 2 is not peeled off from the storage container 2 due to the vibration load of the liquid discharge head 201 as shown in FIG. ) As shown in FIG. This is preferable because the adhesive force with the storage container can be increased.

  Further, the liquid discharge head 201 fixed in the storage container 2 by the tape 3 is stored in a container formed in a bag shape with a sheet made of a material having low gas permeability, for example, a sheet containing an aluminum layer, and is sealed and shipped. Preferably it is done. This is because, by shipping the liquid discharge head in a sealed space, the evaporation of the distribution ink in the nozzles is suppressed, and the generation of foreign matters appearing near the nozzles during distribution can be suppressed. As a result, printing defects such as printing misalignment can be avoided.

2 Storage Container 3 Tape 10 Electric Circuit Board 11 Supporting Board 12 Chip Tank 13 Flexible Circuit Board 14 Recording Element Board 15 Subtank 17 Grip 201 Liquid Discharge Head

Claims (2)

In a packaging form of a liquid discharge head comprising a liquid discharge head for recording by discharging liquid and a container for storing the liquid discharge head,
A packaging form of a liquid ejection head, wherein a tape having a multilayer structure of a base material layer and an adhesive layer is adhered to the container and the liquid ejection head to hold the liquid ejection head against the container .   The packaging form of the liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the tape is adhered to one surface of the liquid discharge head and a side surface and a bottom surface of the storage container.

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