JP2017114031A - Flow passage member, liquid injection head, method for manufacturing flow passage member and method for manufacturing liquid injection head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flow passage member having excellent bubble discharge properties, a liquid injection head suppressing dot omission and improving injection reliability, a method for manufacturing the flow passage member and a method for manufacturing the liquid injection head.SOLUTION: A flow passage member 30 is formed of a single material having a flow passage 40 through which ink flows. A groove 50 along a flow direction of the ink is formed in at least a part of the flow passage 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a flow path member, a liquid ejecting head, a flow path member manufacturing method, and a liquid ejecting head manufacturing method, and more particularly, a flow path member in which ink circulates as a liquid, an ink jet recording head that discharges ink, and these It relates to the manufacturing method.

  An ink jet recording head, which is an example of a liquid ejecting head, includes a nozzle plate provided with nozzle openings, a flow path forming substrate having the nozzle plate joined thereto and having a pressure generating chamber, and a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber. There is known a pressure generating means that causes a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber by the pressure generating means to eject ink droplets from a nozzle opening (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a flow path forming substrate is formed, for example, by molding a resin.

  In Patent Document 1, the flow path forming substrate is formed so that the contact surfaces of the molds forming the flow path forming substrate are aligned with the joint surface between the flow path forming substrate and the nozzle plate. Thereby, the parting line of the flow path forming substrate generated by resin molding is aligned with the joint surface with the nozzle plate.

  The ink jet recording head as described above includes a flow path member through which ink is supplied from a cartridge filled with ink (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The flow path member has a flow path through which ink flows and is formed by resin molding.

JP 2003-53966 A JP 2012-224052 A

  The flow path member disclosed in Patent Document 2 is formed by joining two members with an adhesive. When the two members of the flow path member are formed by resin molding as in Patent Document 1, a parting line is generated on the joint surface of the two members. Since this parting line protrudes into the flow path at the joining surface, there is a possibility that bubbles in the ink in the flow path may stay in the parting line.

  When the shape of the flow path is not a straight line but a complicated shape, it is difficult to remove the parting line. Moreover, even if it is a linear flow path, it is difficult to remove a parting line completely.

  A channel member having such a parting line retains bubbles in such a parting line at the time of initial filling with ink or cleaning forcibly discharging ink, and the bubble discharge performance is lowered. There is a risk of doing. The accumulated bubbles may cause dot dropout when ink is ejected by the ink jet recording head.

  Such a problem exists not only in a flow path member that circulates ink but also in a flow path member that circulates liquid other than ink. Furthermore, not only ink jet recording heads but also liquids other than ink This also exists in the liquid ejecting head that ejects the same.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a flow path member having good bubble discharge performance, a liquid jet head in which dot dropout is suppressed and jetting reliability is improved, and a flow path having good bubble discharge performance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a member and a method for manufacturing a liquid jet head in which dot missing is suppressed and jetting reliability is improved.

An aspect of the present invention that solves the above problems is a flow path member formed of a single material having a flow path through which a liquid flows, and at least a part of the flow path is along the flow direction of the liquid. The channel member is characterized in that a groove is formed.
In this aspect, it is possible to suppress the bubbles from staying in the flow path. The channel member has higher durability than the conventional channel member. Furthermore, it can suppress that the water | moisture content in a liquid evaporates within a flow path.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said flow path has a level | step difference. According to this, the magnitude | size of the thickness direction of a flow-path member can be reduced in size.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said flow path has a curved surface. According to this, a possibility that bubbles may stay in the groove at the curved surface portion is reduced. As a result, the flow path member is further improved in bubble discharge performance.

Another aspect of the present invention is a liquid ejecting head including the flow path member according to the above aspect.
In such an aspect, the liquid ejecting head is capable of suppressing the clogging of the nozzle opening due to the thickening of the liquid and performing the liquid ejection with high reliability. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of missing dots due to bubbles during the liquid ejection, and it is possible to perform reliable ejection.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a sacrificial channel forming step of molding a sacrificial channel from a material that is gasified by firing, a main molding step of molding metal or ceramic using the sacrificial channel as a mold, A firing step of gasifying the sacrificial flow path by firing to form a flow path member including the flow path from the metal or the ceramic. In the sacrificial flow path forming step, the parting line of the sacrificial flow path includes In the manufacturing method of the flow path member, the sacrificial flow path is formed so as to be formed along the flow direction of the liquid flowing through the flow path formed by the sacrificial flow path.
In such an embodiment, a flow path member with improved bubble discharge properties can be manufactured. Moreover, a highly durable flow path member can be manufactured with respect to a liquid with high chemical attack property. Furthermore, the flow path member in which the thickening of the liquid is suppressed can be manufactured.

Another aspect of the present invention lies in a method for manufacturing a liquid jet head, including the method for manufacturing the flow path member.
In this aspect, clogging of the nozzle opening due to liquid thickening is suppressed, and a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid with high reliability can be manufactured. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dot omission due to bubbles during liquid ejection, and it is possible to manufacture a liquid ejection head that performs reliable ejection.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the A-A 'line | wire of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a head main body. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the process of manufacturing a flow-path member. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the process of manufacturing a flow-path member. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the YZ plane of FIG. 6. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a recording head according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a recording head according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the B-B 'line | wire of FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a process of manufacturing a flow path member according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a recording head according to Embodiment 3. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the flow-path member which shows the cross-sectional shape of the flow path which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is sectional drawing of the flow-path member which shows the cross-sectional shape of the flow path which concerns on Embodiment 4.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is an ink jet recording apparatus which is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment. The present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments. An ink jet recording head is an example of a liquid jet head, and is also simply referred to as a recording head.

  The ink jet recording apparatus I includes a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus main body 4. The carriage shaft 5 is provided with a carriage 3 that can move along the axial direction of the carriage shaft 5. A recording head 1 is provided on the carriage 3. The carriage 3 is provided with a cartridge 2A and a cartridge 2B that are detachable. The cartridge 2 </ b> A and the cartridge 2 </ b> B are an example of an ink supply unit, and supply ink to the recording head 1.

  The apparatus main body 4 is provided with a drive motor 6. The driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7 (not shown). As a result, the carriage 3 moves along the carriage shaft 5. On the other hand, the apparatus main body 4 is provided with a transport roller 8 as a transport means. The recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper, is conveyed by the conveying roller 8. In addition, a conveyance means is not restricted to the conveyance roller 8, A belt, a drum, etc. may be sufficient.

  In such an ink jet recording apparatus I, the carriage 3 moves along the carriage shaft 5 and ink is ejected by the recording head 1 to be printed on the recording sheet S.

  In this embodiment, the direction in which the recording head 1 ejects ink is the Z direction, the direction in which the carriage 3 reciprocates on a plane orthogonal to the Z direction is the X direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Z direction is the Y direction. And

  The recording head 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the recording head 1, FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line A-A 'of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the head main body.

  The recording head 1 includes a head main body 10 that ejects ink and a flow path member 30. Ink is supplied from the cartridge 2A or cartridge 2B shown in FIG. 1 to the flow path member 30, ink is supplied from the flow path member 30 to the head main body 10, and the head main body 10 ejects the ink.

First, the head body 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The head body 10 includes a flow path forming substrate 11 in which a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 are arranged in parallel. A nozzle plate 14 is bonded to one surface of the flow path forming substrate 11 (the surface on the side where the head main body 10 ejects ink). The nozzle plate 14 is provided with a plurality of nozzle openings 13 communicating with the pressure generating chambers 12. A diaphragm 15 is bonded to the other surface of the flow path forming substrate 11 (a surface opposite to the one surface).

  A reservoir 17 serving as an ink chamber common to the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 is formed on the flow path forming substrate 11. The flow path forming substrate 11 is provided with an ink supply port 16 for each pressure generation chamber 12, and each ink supply port 16 communicates with a reservoir 17.

  A case 23 is provided on the opposite side of the diaphragm 15 from the pressure generation chamber 12. The case 23 is provided with an ink introduction path 24 serving as a flow path for ink supplied from the flow path member 30. The ink introduction path 24 communicates with the reservoir 17. The case 23 is provided with a through hole 25 penetrating in the thickness direction, and the piezoelectric element 18 is accommodated in the through hole 25.

  The piezoelectric element 18 is formed by stacking piezoelectric materials 19 and electrode forming materials 20 and 21 alternately and vertically. The piezoelectric element 18 has a free end at the tip thereof in contact with a region corresponding to each pressure generating chamber 12 of the diaphragm 15, and a fixed end that does not contribute to vibration is fixed to the fixed substrate 22. This fixed substrate is housed and fixed in the through hole 25 of the case 23.

In the head main body 10 configured as described above, the ink from the flow path member 30 is supplied to the reservoir 17 via the ink introduction path 24 and is distributed from the ink supply port 16 to each pressure generating chamber 12. The piezoelectric element 18 is contracted by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element 18. As a result, the vibration plate 15 is deformed together with the piezoelectric element 18, the volume of the pressure generation chamber 12 is expanded, and ink is drawn into the pressure generation chamber 12. Then, after filling the inside up to the nozzle opening 13 with ink and then releasing the voltage applied to the electrode forming materials 20 and 21 of the piezoelectric element 18 in accordance with the recording signal from the drive circuit, the piezoelectric element 18 is expanded. To return to the original state. As a result, the vibration plate 15 is also displaced to return to the original state, so that the pressure generating chamber 12 is contracted, the internal pressure is increased, and an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 13.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, ink is supplied to the head main body 10 from the flow path member 30.

  The flow path member 30 is a member formed of a single material having a flow path 40 through which ink flows. That is, the flow path member 30 is not a joined body in which a plurality of members are joined, but an integrally formed part formed from a single material. Examples of the single material include metals and ceramics that can be molded with a mold.

  Although the details will be described later, the channel 40 is a channel provided with a sacrificial channel as a mold. The flow path 40 according to the present embodiment has a shape bent at two places. Specifically, the flow path 40 opens to the upper surface (the upper surface in the Z direction) of the flow path member 30 and communicates with the first flow path section 41 and the first flow path section 41 along the Z direction. The second flow path portion 42 along the horizontal direction (X direction), and communicated with the second flow path portion 42 along the Z direction and opened on the lower surface of the flow path member 30 (the lower surface in the Z direction). 3rd flow path part 43 is provided. In this way, the flow path member 30 has a step that is bent at the first flow path portion 41 and the second flow path portion 42 and is bent at the second flow path portion 42 and the third flow path portion 43. 40 is formed.

  In the present embodiment, one flow path 40 is provided for each type of ink. Since there are a plurality of cartridges 2A and 2B filled with ink as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of types of ink are supplied to the flow path member 30. A plurality of flow paths 40 are provided in the flow path member 30 corresponding to these various inks. Of course, the number of the flow paths 40 is not limited.

The flow path having a step in the claims refers to a flow path that is stepped by being bent at a plurality of locations. In the present embodiment, the flow path 40 bent at two locations is a flow path having one step. Of course, the number of steps is not limited to one and may be two or more.
A groove 50 is formed along at least a part of the flow path 40 along the ink flow direction. Two grooves 50 are provided on the inner surface of the flow path 40.

  The ink flow direction is a typical direction of the ink flow generated by the flow path 40. The arrows in FIG. 2 represent the ink flow. Since the first flow path part 41 and the third flow path part 43 are along the Z direction, the ink flow direction is the Z direction, and the second flow path part 42 is along the Y direction, so the ink flow direction is Y direction.

  The phrase “the groove 50 is along the ink flow direction” means that the groove 50 is extended in substantially the same direction as the ink flow direction. In the first flow path portion 41 and the third flow path portion 43, a groove 50 is formed along the Z direction, which is the ink flow direction. In the second flow path portion 42, a groove 50 is formed in the Y direction, which is the direction of ink flow.

  Further, the groove of the present invention covers not only the groove 50 formed continuously over the entire length of the flow path 40 but also the entire length of the flow path 40 as a whole even if there are non-continuous portions. Also includes provided grooves. That is, even if there is a part that is not continuous, the groove corresponds to a groove provided in at least a part of the flow path 40 in the present invention when the entire length of the flow path 40 is covered as a whole. To do.

  As described above, the channel 40 is provided with the two grooves 50. The position of the groove 50 is not particularly limited. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, in the second channel portion 42, the two grooves 50 are positioned so as to face each of the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the channel 40. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, also in the first flow path portion 41 and the third flow path portion 43, vertical surfaces (surfaces parallel to the YZ plane) that are continuous with the upper and lower surfaces of the second flow path portion 42. Two grooves 50 are formed.

  Although not particularly illustrated, the flow path member 30 may be provided with a filter that crosses the flow path 40 between the head main body 10. Air bubbles in the ink can be captured by the filter.

  The flow path member 30 according to the present embodiment described above includes the flow path 40 having the grooves 50 along the flow direction in which the ink flows. Such a groove 50 does not hinder the movement of bubbles in the ink. That is, even if the bubble enters the groove 50, the bubble moves along with the ink to the downstream side along the groove 50. Alternatively, in the first flow path portion 41, it floats upstream along the groove 50 by the buoyancy of bubbles. In any case, it is possible to suppress the bubbles from staying in the flow path 40.

  The flow path member 30 is an integral molded part formed from a single material. In the flow path member 30 having such a configuration, there is no possibility of peeling of a member that may occur in the flow path member obtained by joining two conventional members. Therefore, the flow path member 30 has higher durability than the conventional flow path member.

  In the conventional flow path member, one of the causes of peeling is ink having high chemical attack property. Since such an ink weakens the strength of the adhesive that bonds the two members, it is difficult to use. However, since the flow path member 30 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which peeling does not occur, such a highly chemical attack ink can be used and has high durability.

  Furthermore, the flow path member 30 does not have an adhesive interface between two members unlike the conventional flow path member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress evaporation of moisture in the ink from the adhesive interface.

  According to the recording head 1 according to the present embodiment, moisture evaporation in the ink is suppressed in the flow path member 30, so that the viscosity of the ink can be suppressed. Thereby, the recording head 1 can suppress the clogging of the nozzle opening 13 due to the thickening of the ink, and can eject the ink with high reliability.

  Further, the recording head 1 can more reliably discharge bubbles from the flow path 40 by cleaning. Since the bubbles are discharged from the flow path 40 by the cleaning, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of missing dots due to the bubbles when the ink is ejected. In the recording head 1 having such a flow path member 30, dot dropout is suppressed and reliable ejection can be performed.

  The flow path 40 of this embodiment has a level | step difference. Since the flow path member 30 including the flow path 40 having such a step can draw the flow path 40 in the horizontal direction, ink can be supplied in accordance with the arrangement of the head body 10. Moreover, since the flow path 40 has the 2nd flow path part 42 of the horizontal direction, the thickness of the Z direction of the flow path member 30 can be reduced in size.

  As described above, the flow path member 30 of the present embodiment is reduced in size in the thickness direction, and can flexibly supply ink according to the arrangement of the head body 10.

  A method for manufacturing the above-described flow path member 30 will be described. 5 and 6 are schematic perspective views showing steps of manufacturing the flow path member, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the YZ plane of FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, a sacrificial flow path molding step is performed in which a sacrificial flow path 60 is molded from a material that is gasified by firing. Specifically, a material that is gasified by firing is injected into a pair of molds 91 and recesses 93 and recesses 94 of a predetermined shape provided in the mold 92 and molded. An example of a material that is gasified by firing is preferably an acrylic resin.

  The shape of the sacrificial channel 60 is the shape of the channel 40 to be formed in the channel member 30. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, since the flow path 40 has a stepped shape, the sacrificial flow path 60 also has a stepped shape so as to have the same shape as the flow path 40.

  In the present embodiment, the sacrificial channel 60 includes a first sacrificial channel 61 along the Z direction and a second sacrificial channel along the horizontal direction (X direction) continuously to the first sacrificial channel 61. And a third sacrificial flow path portion 63 extending in the Z direction continuously to the second sacrificial flow path portion 62. As described above, the sacrificial flow channel 60 is bent at the first sacrificial flow channel portion 61 and the second sacrificial flow channel portion 62, and has a level difference between the second sacrificial flow channel portion 62 and the third sacrificial flow channel portion 63. Have. Such a sacrificial flow path 60 has the same shape as the space portion in the flow path 40 shown in FIG.

  The mold 91 and the mold 92 are provided with a recess 93 and a recess 94 so that the sacrificial flow path 60 having the above-described shape is formed.

  Moreover, the parting line 70 is formed in the sacrificial flow path 60 by the joining surface 95 and the joining surface 96 of the metal mold | die 91 and the metal mold | die 92 mutually joined by die shaping | molding. In the present embodiment, the parting line 70 is formed so as to surround the surface of the sacrificial flow path 60 in the XZ plane passing through substantially the center in the Y direction of the sacrificial flow path 60.

  The cross-sectional shape of the parting line 70 slightly protrudes from the surface of the sacrificial channel 60. Although details will be described later, the parting line 70 forms the groove 50 of the flow path 40.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a main forming step of forming a metal or ceramic using the sacrificial channel 60 as a mold is performed. Specifically, the sacrificial flow path 60 is arranged inside a mold (not shown), and a mixture of metal powder and binder or a mixture of ceramic powder and binder is injected into the mold to insert molding. To do. A sacrificial channel 60 is embedded in the molded product 80 obtained by the insert molding.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the parting line 70 described above slightly protrudes from the surface of the sacrificial flow path 60, and thus the groove 50 is formed in the molded product 80.

  Next, although not particularly illustrated, a firing step for degreasing and sintering the molded product 80 is performed. In this firing step, the sacrificial channel 60 is vaporized and removed from the molded product 80. As a result, the channel member 30 in which the channel 40 having the groove 50 is formed is formed (see FIGS. 2 to 3).

  Since the main molding step and the firing step described above are known metal powder injection molding methods (metal injection molding methods), detailed description of the metal and ceramic used for molding the molded product 80, degreasing and firing conditions, etc. Omitted.

  Here, in the sacrificial flow path molding step, mold forming is performed so that the parting line 70 is formed along the flow direction of the ink flowing through the flow path 40 formed by the sacrificial flow path 60. As described above, the channel 40 is formed when the sacrificial channel 60 is removed. In the sacrificial flow path forming step, the sacrificial flow path 60 is formed so that the parting line 70 is along the flow direction of the ink flowing through the flow path 40.

  In the present embodiment, the ink circulates in the flow path 40 along the flow direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. A parting line 70 is formed along the ink flow. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the first sacrificial flow channel portion 61 and the third sacrificial flow channel portion 63, a plane (YZ plane) perpendicular to the bonding surface 95 and the bonding surface 96 of the mold 91 and the mold 92. , A first parting line 71 and a third parting line 73 extending in the Z direction are formed. In the second sacrificial flow path portion 62, a second parting line 72 extending in the X direction is formed on a plane (XY plane) perpendicular to the bonding surface 95 and the bonding surface 96 of the mold 91 and the mold 92. .

  In the sacrificial flow path forming step, the sacrificial flow path 60 is formed by the mold 91 and the mold 92 so that the parting line 70 along the ink flow direction is formed. A sacrificial flow path 60 having such a parting line 70 is formed, and the flow path member 30 is formed using the sacrificial flow path 60, whereby a flow path provided with a groove 50 along the ink flow direction. The flow path member 30 having 40 can be manufactured.

  Further, the recording head 1 can be manufactured by attaching the head body 10 to the flow path member 30 so that the flow path 40 and the ink introduction path 24 (see FIG. 4) communicate with each other.

  According to the manufacturing method of the flow path member 30 according to the present embodiment described above, the flow path member 30 provided with the flow path 40 having the groove 50 along the flow direction in which the ink flows can be manufactured. . As described above, since the groove 50 does not hinder the movement of bubbles in the ink, it is possible to manufacture the flow path member 30 in which bubbles are prevented from staying in the flow path 40 and the bubble discharge performance is improved. .

  Moreover, in the manufacturing method of the flow path member 30, the flow path member 30 is manufactured as a single molded part from a single material. Therefore, unlike the conventional flow path member formed of two members, there is no possibility of peeling, and the flow path member 30 having high durability can be manufactured. Moreover, the highly durable flow path member 30 can be manufactured with respect to ink with high chemical attack property.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of the flow path member 30, since water evaporation is suppressed in the flow path 40 of the flow path member 30 as compared with the conventional flow path member, the flow path member 30 in which the viscosity increase of the ink is suppressed. Can be manufactured.

  And according to the manufacturing method of the recording head 1 which concerns on this embodiment, the recording head 1 with which the viscosity increase of the ink in the flow path member 30 was suppressed can be manufactured. That is, it is possible to manufacture the recording head 1 in which clogging of the nozzle openings 13 is suppressed and ink is ejected with high reliability.

  Further, in the manufacturing method of the recording head 1, it is possible to manufacture the recording head 1 in which the bubbles can be more reliably discharged from the flow path 40 by cleaning, and the occurrence of dot omission due to the bubbles during ink ejection is suppressed. it can. In other words, according to this manufacturing method, it is possible to manufacture the recording head 1 that performs ejection of reliable ink with dot missing suppressed.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, the groove 50 is provided on the upper surface and the lower surface side of the flow channel 40 (second flow channel portion 42). However, the present invention is not limited to such a mode.

  The recording head 1A will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the recording head 1A, FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of the recording head 1A, and FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view taken along line B-B 'of FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The channel member 30A is provided with a groove 50A on a surface different from that of the first embodiment. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, two grooves 50 </ b> A are formed so as to face the left and right both surfaces (surface (XZ plane) perpendicular to the horizontal plane (XY plane)) of the second flow path portion 42. Yes. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, also in the first flow path portion 41 and the third flow path portion 43, two grooves 50 </ b> A are formed on the respective surfaces that are flush with the left and right surfaces of the second flow path portion 42. ing.

  Even in the flow path member 30 having the flow path 40 provided with such a groove 50A, as in the first embodiment, the groove 50A is along the ink flow direction. Does not interfere. Therefore, there exists an effect equivalent to the flow path member 30 of Embodiment 1. The recording head 1A provided with the flow path member 30A also has the same operational effects as the recording head 1 of the first embodiment.

  A method for manufacturing such a flow path member 30A will be described. FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing a process of manufacturing the flow path member.

  In the sacrificial flow path forming step of the present embodiment, the sacrificial flow path 60 is formed so that the parting line 70A is formed on the side surface (side surface parallel to the XZ plane) of the sacrificial flow path 60 as a position different from that in the first embodiment. Form. Specifically, a first parting line 71A and a third parting line 73A extending in the Z direction on the XZ plane of the sacrificial channel 60 are formed in the first sacrificial channel 61 and the third sacrificial channel 63. The sacrificial flow path 60 is formed using a mold (not shown) in the second sacrificial flow path portion 62 so as to form a second parting line 72A extending in the X direction on the XZ plane of the sacrificial flow path 60. .

  Thereafter, the sacrificial flow channel 60 is used to perform the main forming step and the firing step in the same manner as in the first embodiment, whereby the flow channel member 30A shown in FIG. 8 can be manufactured. Further, the recording head 1A can be manufactured by attaching the head body 10 to such a flow path member 30A. Also in the manufacturing method of the flow path member 30A and the manufacturing method of the recording head 1A according to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

<Embodiment 3>
Although the flow path 40 of Embodiment 1 was the shape which connected the linear 1st flow path part 41-the 3rd flow path part 43, the shape of a flow path is not specifically limited. For example, the flow path may be a flow path that penetrates the flow path member 30 linearly, may be bent in the middle, or may be smoothly bent in the middle.

  In the present embodiment, a flow path member 30B including a flow path having a curved surface will be described. FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of the recording head 1B. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the channel 40B according to the present embodiment, the shape of the channel 40B is substantially circular and is bent at two locations. In the flow path 40B, the first flow path section 41 and the second flow path section 42 are bent and continuous, and the second flow path section 42 and the third flow path section 43 are bent and continuous. The bent portions are a curved surface 45 and a curved surface 46. The flow path 40B having the curved surface 45 and the curved surface 46 is a flow path having a shape including a curve in a part of the outline of the flow path 40B in a side view (or a plan view) of the flow path 40B.

  In the flow path 40B including the curved surface 45 and the curved surface 46, two grooves 50 are formed along the flow direction of the ink flowing through the flow path 40B. These grooves 50 are also formed on the curved surface 45 and the curved surface 46. Therefore, the direction of the groove 50 is changed while being smoothly bent. Thereby, the possibility that bubbles may stay in the groove 50 at the bent portion of the flow path 40B is reduced, and the bubbles can be more reliably discharged together with the ink toward the downstream side of the flow path 40B. Or, from the second flow path portion 42 to the first flow path portion 41, the bubbles are likely to rise to the upstream side by buoyancy along the groove 50 provided in the curved surface 45. In any case, it is possible to more reliably suppress bubbles from remaining in the flow path 40B.

<Embodiment 4>
13 and 14 are cross-sectional views of the flow path member showing the cross-sectional shape of the flow path. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the cross-sectional shape of the flow path 40 is rectangular in the first embodiment, but may be circular as in the present embodiment. Of course, the channel 40 is not limited to a rectangle or a circle, and may be a channel 40 having an arbitrary cross-sectional shape.

  Moreover, in Embodiment 1, the cross-sectional shape of the groove | channel 50 was a rectangular shape, However, It is not limited to such an aspect. As shown in the figure, it may be a groove 50B having a triangular cross-sectional shape.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, the flow path 40 has a substantially circular shape, but a step is formed by shifting the left and right arcs slightly up and down. Such a step is also included in the groove of the present invention. Hereinafter, this step is referred to as a groove 50C. Such a groove 50 </ b> C has a shape generated by a sacrificial flow path formed by a die joined with a slight deviation.

  The groove 50C is also formed along the direction of ink flow in the flow path 40 as in the case of the groove 50 of the first embodiment. Therefore, even if a bubble is caught in the groove 50C, it can be discharged downstream together with the ink.

<Other embodiments>
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the basic composition of this invention is not limited to what was mentioned above.
In Embodiment 1 mentioned above, although the flow path 40 had the level | step difference in the flow path member 30, not only this but the flow path of arbitrary shapes may be sufficient. In addition, although one flow path 40 has one inlet to which ink is supplied and one outlet from which ink is discharged, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the flow path 40 may be such that ink is supplied to a plurality of recording heads 1 (reservoirs 17) by branching along the way.

  Further, although the longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element has been described as the pressure generating means for causing the pressure change in the pressure generating chamber 12, the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. For example, the lower electrode, the piezoelectric layer, and the upper electrode are formed. A piezoelectric element having a thin film type piezoelectric element laminated by a film and a lithography method, a thick film type actuator device formed by a method such as attaching a green sheet, or the like can be used. Further, as a pressure generating means, a heat generating element is arranged in the pressure generating chamber 12 and a liquid droplet is discharged from the nozzle opening by a bubble generated by heat generation of the heat generating element, or static electricity is generated between the diaphragm and the electrode. It is possible to use a so-called electrostatic actuator that is generated and deforms the diaphragm by electrostatic force to discharge droplets from the nozzle opening.

  Further, in the above-described ink jet recording apparatus I, the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 3 and exemplarily moves in the main scanning direction. However, the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. For example, the recording head 1 is fixed, The present invention can also be applied to a so-called line type recording apparatus that performs printing only by moving a recording sheet S such as paper in the sub-scanning direction.

  Furthermore, the present invention is intended for a wide variety of flow path members, and can be applied to flow path members that allow liquids other than ink to circulate. In addition, the present invention is intended for a wide range of liquid ejecting heads in general, for example, for manufacturing recording heads such as various ink jet recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, and color filters such as liquid crystal displays. The present invention can also be applied to a coloring material ejecting head, an organic EL display, an electrode material ejecting head used for forming electrodes such as an FED (field emission display), a bioorganic matter ejecting head used for biochip manufacturing, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS I ... Inkjet recording device 1, 1A, 1B ... Recording head (liquid jet head), 10 ... Head main body, 13 ... Nozzle opening, 14 ... Nozzle plate, 18 ... Piezoelectric element, 30, 30A, 30B ... Flow path member , 40, 40B ... flow path, 50, 50A, 50B, 50C ... groove, 60 ... sacrificial flow path, 70, 70A ... parting line

Claims (6)

A channel member formed of a single material having a channel through which a liquid flows,
A flow path member, wherein a groove is formed in at least a part of the flow path along the flow direction of the liquid. In the flow path member according to claim 1,
The flow path member, wherein the flow path has a step. In the flow path member according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The flow path member, wherein the flow path has a curved surface.   A liquid ejecting head comprising the flow path member according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A sacrificial flow path molding step of molding a sacrificial flow path from a material that is gasified by firing;
A main molding step of molding metal or ceramic using the sacrificial flow path as a mold;
Firing the sacrificial flow path by gasification, and forming a flow path member including the flow path from the metal or the ceramic, and
In the sacrificial flow path forming step, the sacrificial flow path is formed so that a parting line of the sacrificial flow path is formed along a flow direction of the liquid flowing through the flow path formed by the sacrificial flow path. A method for manufacturing a flow path member.   A method for manufacturing a liquid jet head, comprising the method for manufacturing a flow path member according to claim 5.

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