JP2019151095A - Liquid discharge head, head module, liquid cartridge, liquid discharge unit and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a liquid discharge head with the high air bubble discharging property.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge head 1 includes: a plurality of nozzles 11 which discharge the liquid; a plurality of pressure chambers 21 which respectively communicate with each of the plurality of nozzles 11; a plurality of individual supply channels 22 which respectively communicate with the plurality of pressure chambers 21; a plurality of common supply channel branches 52 which respectively communicate through a supply port with the two or more individual supply channels 22; and a common supply channel mainstream 56 which communicates with the plurality of common supply channel branches 52. A round (for example, a round part 70) is provided in a corner part between the side surface formed along the flow direction of the liquid in the common supply channel branch 52 and the bottom surface of the common supply channel branch 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head with improved bubble discharge performance, a head module including the same, a liquid cartridge, a liquid discharge unit, and a liquid discharge apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium such as paper, an ink droplet is ejected from the ink jet head and landed on the recording medium while a carriage equipped with the ink jet head is reciprocated in the main scanning direction. Inkjet recording apparatuses that form a desired image pattern are known.

  An ink jet head provided in such an ink jet recording apparatus drives a plurality of pressurizing liquid chambers and nozzles, a common liquid chamber, a piezoelectric element provided adjacent to the pressurizing liquid chamber, a piezoelectric element including a heater, and the ink jet head. It includes a driving IC for performing the above.

  By the way, when ink is supplied to the common liquid chamber from the ink tank, part of the air in the common liquid chamber may remain as bubbles. If air bubbles remain in the common liquid chamber in this way, the air bubbles may be guided to the nozzles when ink is ejected from the nozzles, which causes ink ejection failure, which causes image quality failure. .

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a core that branches the ink supplied from the through hole in at least two directions into the common liquid chamber of the ink jet head is provided, and the hydrophilicity of the surface on the pressurized liquid chamber side of the core is set. A configuration has been proposed in which the height is set higher than the surface of the common liquid chamber on the pressurized liquid chamber side, and an arc-shaped convex portion is formed in the common liquid chamber.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharge head having high bubble discharge performance.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejection head according to the present invention includes a plurality of nozzles that eject liquid, a plurality of pressure chambers that communicate with the plurality of nozzles, and a plurality of individual chambers that respectively communicate with the plurality of pressure chambers. A supply channel, a plurality of common supply channel branches that communicate with the two or more individual supply channels via a supply port, and a common supply channel main stream that communicates with the plurality of common supply channel branches, And a round is provided at a corner between a side surface formed along the flow direction of the liquid in the common supply channel tributary and a bottom surface of the common supply channel tributary.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid discharge head having high bubble discharge performance.

It is sectional drawing of the liquid chamber short direction of an example of the liquid discharge head concerning this invention. It is sectional drawing of the liquid chamber longitudinal direction of an example of the liquid discharge head concerning this invention. It is a perspective view of the support substrate of an example of the liquid discharge head concerning this invention. It is an external appearance perspective explanatory drawing of the other example of the liquid discharge head concerning this invention. It is an exploded perspective view similarly. It is a cross-sectional perspective explanatory view. It is a disassembled perspective explanatory drawing except a frame member similarly. It is a cross-sectional perspective explanatory drawing of a flow-path part similarly. It is an expanded section perspective explanatory view of a channel part similarly. It is a plane explanatory view of a channel part similarly. It is a perspective view which represents typically an example of the round part formed in the flow-path part of the other example of the liquid discharge head concerning this invention. It is sectional drawing which represents typically an example of the round part formed in the flow-path part of the liquid discharge head. It is a top view which represents typically an example of the round part formed in the flow-path part of the liquid discharge head. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the other example (modification 1) of the flow-path part which provided the round part. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the other example (modification 2) of the flow-path part which provided the round part. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the other example (modification 3) of the flow-path part which provided the round part. It is a top view which represents typically the other example (modification 4) of the flow-path part which provided the round part. It is a disassembled perspective explanatory drawing of an example of the head module which concerns on this invention. It is a disassembled perspective explanatory view seen from the nozzle surface side of the head module. 1 is a perspective view of an example of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a side sectional view of an example of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a top view of an example of the principal part of a liquid discharge apparatus provided with the liquid discharge head concerning the present invention. It is a side view of an example of the principal part of a liquid discharge device provided with the liquid discharge head concerning the present invention. It is a front view of an example of the liquid discharge unit concerning another embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the other example of the liquid discharge unit concerning another embodiment of the present invention.

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

[Liquid discharge head]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a liquid discharge head according to the present invention in the lateral direction of the liquid chamber, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the liquid discharge head in the longitudinal direction of the liquid chamber, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a support substrate. The illustrated liquid discharge head 1 a includes an actuator substrate 201 including a piezoelectric element 12 that generates liquid discharge energy and a vibration plate 13, and a pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 14 and a pressurized liquid chamber 15. Is forming. Here, the pressurized liquid chamber 15 is partitioned by a pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 14.

  The piezoelectric element 12 is sandwiched between a common electrode 121 and individual electrodes 122, and a voltage is applied by laminating a wiring layer on each electrode layer. A pressurized liquid chamber 15 is formed by the actuator substrate 201 and the nozzle substrate 203. The actuator substrate 201, the support substrate 202, and the nozzle substrate 203 are joined to form the liquid ejection head 1a. In addition, when the base material of the actuator substrate 201 and the support substrate 202 that form the common liquid chamber 18 and the tributary liquid chamber 66 is made of silicon, sufficient rigidity can be secured for the actuator substrate 201 and the support substrate 202. In addition, the processing of the common liquid chamber 18 and the tributary liquid chamber 66 in the actuator substrate 201 and the support substrate 202 is facilitated.

  In the liquid discharge head 1a configured as described above, the recording liquid is supplied based on image data from a control unit (not shown) in a state where each pressurized liquid chamber 15 is filled with a liquid, for example, a recording liquid (ink). A pulse voltage of 20 V, for example, is applied to the individual electrode 122 corresponding to the nozzle hole 16 to be discharged by an oscillation circuit via a lead-out wiring and a connection hole (not shown) formed in the interlayer insulating film. . By applying this pulse voltage, the piezoelectric element 12 contracts in the direction parallel to the diaphragm 13 due to the electrostrictive effect, so that the diaphragm 13 bends in the direction of the pressurized liquid chamber 15. As a result, the pressure in the pressurizing liquid chamber 15 rapidly increases, and the recording liquid is discharged from the nozzle holes 16 communicating with the pressurizing liquid chamber 15.

  Next, after the pulse voltage is applied, the contracted piezoelectric element 12 returns to its original position, so that the deflected diaphragm 13 returns to its original position, so that the inside of the pressurized liquid chamber 15 is the common liquid chamber 18 (FIG. 2). The ink supplied from the outside via the tributary liquid chamber 66 is supplied from the common droplet supply path 19 and the common liquid chamber 18 to the pressurized liquid chamber 15 via the fluid resistance portion 17. Is done. By repeating this, liquid droplets can be discharged continuously, and an image is formed on a recording medium (paper) disposed facing the liquid discharge head 1a.

  Here, although the manufacturing method of the liquid discharge head 1a concerning this invention is demonstrated, this liquid discharge head 1a is manufactured according to the procedure of following (1)-(10).

(1) As the actuator substrate 201, the diaphragm 13 is film-formed on a silicon single crystal substrate (for example, a plate thickness of 400 μm) having a plane orientation (100). The diaphragm 13 may be either a single layer or a laminated film as long as the function as the diaphragm and subsequent process consistency are ensured.

For example, as the material of the diaphragm 13, a silicon oxide film, a polysilicon film, an amorphous silicon film, or a silicon nitride film is formed by a LP-CVD method so as to obtain a desired rigidity. In consideration of process consistency, rigidity, and stress of the entire diaphragm 13, the number of stacked layers is preferably about 3 to 7 layers. In order to ensure adhesion to the later common electrode 121, the uppermost layer of the diaphragm 13 is a silicon oxide film formed by LPCVD. Thereafter, for example, a layer of the common electrode 121 made of TiO ₂ and Pt is formed by sputtering to a thickness of 10 nm and 160 nm, respectively.

(2) Next, PZT is formed as a piezoelectric element 12 on the common electrode 121 in a plurality of times, for example, by spin coating, and finally a film having a thickness of 2 μm is formed. Next, an individual electrode 122 made of SRO and Pt is formed by sputtering to a thickness of 40 nm and 100 nm, respectively. Here, the film formation method of the piezoelectric element 12 is not limited to the spin coating method, and for example, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, an air sol method, a sol gel method, an ink jet method, or the like can be used. And the piezoelectric element 12 and the individual electrode 122 are formed in the position corresponding to the pressurized liquid chamber 15 formed later by the litho-etching method. Further, the piezoelectric element 12 is formed at a position corresponding to the joint portion 48 (see FIG. 1).

(3) Next, an interlayer insulating film 45 is formed in order to insulate the common electrode 121 and the piezoelectric element 12 from the lead wiring 42 to be formed later. Here, the interlayer insulating film 45 is formed, for example, by depositing a SiO ₂ film having a thickness of 1000 nm by a plasma CVD method. The interlayer insulating film 45 may be a film other than the SiO ₂ film formed by the plasma CVD method as long as it has an insulating property without affecting the piezoelectric element 12 and the electrode material.

  Next, a connection hole (not shown) for connecting the individual electrode 122 and the lead-out wiring 42 is formed by a lithoetch method. Here, although not shown, when the common electrode 121 is also connected to the lead-out wiring 42, a connection hole is similarly formed.

(4) Next, as the lead-out wiring 42, for example, a TiN / Al film of 30 nm / 3 μm is formed by sputtering. TiN is alloyed with a thermal history in a later process by directly contacting Pt, which is the material of the individual electrode 122 or the common electrode 121, with Al, which is the material of the lead-out wiring 42, at the bottom of the connection hole. In order to prevent film peeling due to stress due to change, it is applied as a barrier layer to prevent alloying. In addition, the lead-out wiring 42 is also formed at a location that becomes the joint 48 with the support substrate 202 later.

(5) Next, as the passivation film 150, a silicon nitride film having a thickness of 1000 nm is formed by plasma CVD, for example.

(6) Thereafter, the lead-out wiring pad portion 41, the actuator portion 160, and the common droplet supply path 19 of the lead-out wiring 42 are opened by the lithoetch method.

(7) Next, the diaphragm 13 is removed by the litho-etching method at the location where the common droplet supply path 19 and the later common liquid chamber 18 are formed.

(8) Next, a counterbore 67 is provided by a litho-etching method at a position corresponding to the actuator portion 160 to form a main flow liquid chamber 68 and a tributary liquid chamber 66, and further a round portion 70 is formed on the side wall of the tributary liquid chamber 66. A substrate 202 is produced. At this time, Si processing is performed by a dry etching method. By controlling the dry etching conditions, it is possible to control the round degree (radius) of the round portion 70 in the vicinity of the partition wall. Thereafter, the support substrate 202 and the actuator substrate 201 are bonded with an adhesive 49 via the bonding portion 48. At this time, the adhesive 49 is applied to the support substrate 202 side with a thickness of about 1 μm by a general thin film transfer device. Thereafter, in order to form the pressurized liquid chamber 15, the common liquid chamber 18, and the fluid resistance portion 17, the actuator substrate 201 is polished by a known technique so as to have a desired thickness (for example, a thickness of 80 μm). In this case, etching may be used in addition to polishing.

(9) Next, the partition walls other than the pressurized liquid chamber 15, the common liquid chamber 18, and the fluid resistance portion 17 are covered with a resist by a lithoetch method. Thereafter, anisotropic wet etching is performed with an alkaline solution (KOH solution or TMHA solution) to form the pressurized liquid chamber 15, the common liquid chamber 18, and the fluid resistance portion 17. Note that the pressurized liquid chamber 15, the common liquid chamber 18, and the fluid resistance portion 17 may be formed by dry etching using an ICP etcher other than anisotropic wet etching using an alkaline solution.

(10) Next, the liquid discharge head 1a is manufactured by joining the nozzle substrate 203 having the nozzle holes 16 opened at positions corresponding to the separately formed pressurized liquid chambers 15.

  In the liquid discharge head 1a manufactured through the above steps (1) to (10), the round portion 70 is formed on the side wall of the tributary liquid chamber 66, so that the bubble discharge performance is enhanced, and the liquid droplets are not discharged. The discharge speed does not decrease. For this reason, the liquid discharge head 1a having high droplet discharge stability can be manufactured with high yield.

  In this manner, the tributary liquid chamber 66 includes the common liquid chamber 18 that supplies the liquid and the flow path member that forms the plurality of tributary liquid chambers 66 that communicate from the common liquid chamber 18 to the plurality of nozzles. A round (round portion 70) is provided at an end portion between the side surface and the bottom surface of the plate. As a result, it is possible to provide a liquid discharge head that has a high bubble discharge property and can prevent non-discharge of droplets and a decrease in discharge speed.

  Next, another example of the liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an external perspective view illustrating a liquid ejection head according to an embodiment, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view similarly excluding the frame member, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the flow path portion. FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional perspective view, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the flow path portion. 4 to 10 show a state before the round portion is provided.

  The liquid discharge head 1 includes a nozzle plate 10, a flow path plate (individual flow path member) 20, a vibration plate member 30, a common flow path member 50, a damper member 60, a frame member 80, and a drive circuit 102. Board (flexible wiring board) 101 and the like mounted thereon.

  The nozzle plate 10 has a plurality of nozzles 11 for discharging liquid. The plurality of nozzles 11 are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and are arranged side by side in the three directions of the first direction F, the second direction S, and the third direction T, as shown in FIG.

  The individual flow path member 20 includes a plurality of pressure chambers (individual liquid chambers) 21 that respectively communicate with the plurality of nozzles 11, a plurality of individual supply flow paths 22 that respectively communicate with the plurality of pressure chambers 21, and a plurality of pressure chambers 21. A plurality of individual recovery passages 23 communicating with each other are formed. The one pressure chamber 21 and the individual supply flow path 22 and the individual recovery flow path 23 communicating therewith are collectively referred to as an individual flow path 25.

  The diaphragm member 30 forms a diaphragm 31 that is a deformable wall surface of the pressure chamber 21, and the piezoelectric element 40 is integrally provided on the diaphragm 31. Further, the diaphragm member 30 is formed with a supply side opening 32 that communicates with the individual supply flow path 22 and a recovery side opening 33 that communicates with the individual recovery flow path 23. The piezoelectric element 40 is a pressure generating unit that deforms the diaphragm 31 to pressurize the liquid in the pressure chamber 21.

  The individual flow path member 20 and the diaphragm member 30 are not limited to being separate members. For example, the individual flow path member 20 and the diaphragm member 30 can be integrally formed of the same member using an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate. That is, an SOI substrate formed in the order of a silicon oxide film, a silicon layer, and a silicon oxide film on a silicon substrate is used, and the silicon substrate is used as the individual flow path member 20, and the silicon oxide film, the silicon layer, and the silicon oxide film are Thus, the diaphragm 31 can be formed. In this configuration, the layer configuration of the silicon oxide film, the silicon layer, and the silicon oxide film of the SOI substrate is the diaphragm member 30. As described above, the diaphragm member 30 includes a member made of a material formed on the surface of the individual flow path member 20.

  The common channel member 50 includes a plurality of common supply channel tributaries 52 that communicate with two or more individual supply channels 22 and a plurality of common recovery channel tributaries 53 that communicate with two or more individual recovery channels 23. Are formed adjacent to each other in the second direction S.

  The common flow path member 50 includes a through-hole serving as a supply port 54 through the supply side opening 32 and the common supply flow path tributary 52 of the individual supply flow path 22, and the recovery side opening 33 of the individual recovery flow path 23 and the common recovery flow. A through hole serving as a recovery port 55 through the road tributary 53 is formed.

  Further, the common flow path member 50 includes one or a plurality of common supply flow path main streams 56 that communicate with a plurality of common supply flow path branches 52 and one or a plurality of common recovery flow path main streams that communicate with a plurality of common recovery flow path branches 53. 57 is formed.

  The damper member 60 includes a supply-side damper 62 that faces (opposes) the supply port 54 of the common supply channel branch 52 and a recovery-side damper 63 that faces (opposites) the recovery port 55 of the common recovery channel branch 53. Have.

  Here, the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53 are formed by alternately arranging grooves arranged in the common channel member 50 that is the same member as the supply side damper 62 or the recovery side damper 63 of the damper member 60. It is comprised by sealing with. In addition, as a damper material of the damper member 60, it is preferable to use a metal thin film or an inorganic thin film strong against an organic solvent. The thickness of the supply side damper 62 and the recovery side damper 63 of the damper member 60 is preferably 10 μm or less.

  The inner wall surfaces of the common supply flow channel tributary 52 and the common recovery flow channel tributary 53 and the inner wall surfaces of the common supply flow channel main flow 56 and the common recovery flow channel main flow 57 with respect to the liquid (for example, ink) flowing in the flow channel. A protective film (also referred to as a liquid contact film) for protecting the inner wall surface is formed. For example, the inner wall surfaces of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53, and the inner wall surfaces of the common supply channel main stream 56 and the common recovery channel main stream 57 are subjected to heat treatment of the Si substrate, so that the surface of silicon oxide A film is formed. A tantalum silicon oxide film that protects the surface of the Si substrate against ink is formed on the silicon oxide film.

Next, an embodiment in which the above-described liquid discharge head 1 is provided with a round portion will be described.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an example of a round portion formed in the flow path portion of the liquid ejection head described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a round portion formed in the flow path portion of the liquid discharge head.
FIG. 13 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a round portion formed in the flow path portion of the liquid discharge head.

  Round corners between the side surface and the bottom surface of the common supply channel tributary 52 (also referred to as “each portion of the side surface and bottom surface”) and corners between the side surface and the bottom surface of the common recovery channel tributary 53 are round. A portion 70 is formed. When the protective film 81 is formed on the inner wall surface of the flow path as in the flow path portion shown in FIG. 12, the round portion 70 including the protective film 81 is formed.

Here, each part is a part where an angle formed by two surfaces is formed, for example. Alternatively, each part is, for example, a part where an intersection line where two surfaces intersect is formed.
Therefore, when the round part 70 is formed in each part of the side surface and the bottom surface of the common supply flow path tributary 52, a portion where the side surface and the bottom surface intersect with each other becomes a curved surface. In addition, the angle formed by the side surface and the bottom surface is eliminated.

The round portion 70 is formed at the corner between the side surface and the bottom surface along the liquid flow direction (direction of arrow A or arrow B shown in FIG. 11) of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53. Has been.
Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the common supply channel main flow 56 and the common recovery channel main flow 57 also have side and bottom surfaces along the liquid flow direction (the direction of arrow C or arrow D shown in FIG. 13). Round portions 70 are formed at the corners between them.

  Hereinafter, another example in which an example (FIGS. 11 to 13) of the flow path portion of the liquid discharge head provided with the round portion is modified will be described. One or more of the plurality of modified examples may be combined.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating another example (Modification 1) of a flow path portion provided with a round portion.
The bottom surfaces of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53 are formed so that the surfaces thereof are rough with respect to the side surfaces (the portion of the rough surface 83 in FIG. 14). As a result, the protective film is formed so that the bottom surfaces of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53 are more closely attached. In FIG. 14, the protective film 81 shown in FIG. 12 is omitted to show the roughness of the surface of the bottom surface portion of the flow path.
In this case, for example, since the adhesion of the protective film 81 is improved, the shape of the round portion 70 can be prevented from being deformed due to the protective film 81 being peeled off from the bottom surface.

[Modification 2]
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating another example (Modification 2) of the flow path portion provided with the round portion.
Upper surfaces of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53 opposite to the bottom surfaces are constituted by damper members 60. The damper member 60 is joined to the common flow path member 50 with an adhesive 85. A step (concave portion 87) is formed at the opening edges of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53. As a result, the adhesive at the time of joining the damper member 60 flows into the recess 87, and the adhesive 85 is prevented from flowing into the bottom surfaces of the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53.
If it does in this way, it can avoid that the shape of the round part 70 deform | transforms by the adhesive agent 85 flowing in, for example.

[Modification 3]
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another example (Modification 3) of the flow path portion provided with the round portion.
The peripheral edge of the supply port 54 formed in the common supply channel tributary 52 and the recovery port 55 formed in the bottom surface of the common recovery channel tributary 53 is raised, and a projection 89 having a sharp tip is formed. This protrusion is configured to surround the periphery of the supply port 54 and the recovery port 55. As a result, the bubbles in the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary 53 come into contact with the protrusion 89, so that the bubbles are divided into smaller bubbles, and the common supply channel tributary 52 and the common recovery channel tributary. Bubbles are easily discharged from within 53. In FIG. 16, the protective film 81 shown in FIG. 12 is omitted in order to show the protrusions 89 formed on the periphery of the supply port 54 and the recovery port 55.

[Modification 4]
FIG. 17 is a plan view schematically showing another example (Modification 4) of the flow path portion provided with the round portion.
The supply port 54 formed in the common supply flow channel tributary 52 and the recovery port 55 formed in the bottom surface of the common recovery flow channel tributary 53 are formed in a region where the round portion 70 is not provided. Thereby, the lengths of the through holes of all the supply ports 54 provided in one common supply flow path branch 52 are the same, and the fluid resistance value resulting from the length is constant. Similarly, the lengths of the through holes of all the recovery ports 55 provided in the common recovery flow path tributary 53 are the same, and the fluid resistance value resulting from the length is constant.

[Head module]
Next, an example of the head module according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the head module, and FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the head module as viewed from the nozzle surface side.

  The head module 100 includes a plurality of liquid ejection heads 1 that are liquid ejection heads that eject liquid, a base member 103 that holds the plurality of liquid ejection heads 1, and a cover member 113 that serves as a nozzle cover for the plurality of liquid ejection heads 1. And.

  Further, the head module 100 includes a heat radiating member 104, a manifold 105 forming a flow path for supplying liquid to a plurality of heads, a printed circuit board (PCB) 106 connected to the flexible wiring member 101, and a module case. 107.

[Liquid cartridge and liquid ejection device]
Next, an embodiment of a liquid cartridge according to the present invention and a liquid discharge apparatus including the liquid cartridge will be described. In the following, an ink cartridge and an ink jet recording apparatus using ink will be described as the liquid cartridge and the liquid discharge apparatus. To do.

  20 is a perspective view of an example of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 21 is a side sectional view of the example of the ink jet recording apparatus, and the illustrated ink jet recording apparatus 90 moves in the scanning direction inside the apparatus main body. A possible carriage 98, the above-described liquid discharge head 1 (or the liquid discharge head 1a in FIGS. 1 and 2) mounted on the carriage 98, and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the liquid discharge head 1 A sheet feeding cassette (or a sheet feeding tray) 93 on which a large number of sheets 92 can be stacked is detachable from the front side under the apparatus main body. It is installed.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 90 has a manual tray 94 that is opened to manually feed the paper 92. The ink jet recording apparatus 90 takes in the paper 92 fed from the paper feed cassette 93 or the manual tray 94, and prints the print mechanism section. After a required image is recorded on the sheet 92 by 91, the sheet 92 on which the image is recorded is discharged to a sheet discharge tray 95 mounted on the rear side.

  The printing mechanism unit 91 holds a main guide rod 96, a sub guide rod 97, and a carriage 98, which are guide members horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown), so as to be slidable along the main scanning direction. In 98, the liquid discharge head 1 that discharges yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) ink droplets has a plurality of ink discharge ports (nozzles) in the main scanning direction. The liquid discharge heads 1 are mounted so that the ink droplet discharge direction is downward. Further, each ink cartridge 99 for supplying ink of each color to the liquid discharge head 1 is replaceably mounted on the carriage 98.

  The ink cartridge 99 is provided with an air opening that communicates with the atmosphere above, and a supply opening that supplies ink to the liquid ejection head 1 below. The ink cartridge 99 has a porous body filled with ink inside. The ink supplied to the liquid ejection head 1 is maintained at a slight negative pressure by the capillary force of the porous body. In the present embodiment, as the liquid discharge head 1, one of each color is used, but one liquid discharge head having nozzles for discharging ink droplets of each color may be used.

  Here, the carriage 98 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 96 on the rear side (downstream side in the paper conveyance direction), and the front side (upstream side in the paper conveyance direction) is slidably mounted on the sub guide rod 97. Is placed. In order to move and scan the carriage 98 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 194 is stretched between a driving pulley 192 and a driven pulley 193 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 191, and the timing belt 194 is moved to the carriage 98. The carriage 98 is reciprocally driven by forward and reverse rotations of the main scanning motor 191.

  On the other hand, the inkjet recording apparatus 90 includes a paper feed roller 195 and a friction pad 196 that separate and feed the paper 92 set in the paper feed cassette 93, a guide member 197 that guides the paper 92, and a paper 92 that has been fed. A conveyance roller 198 that conveys the paper 92 from the conveyance roller 198 and a conveyance roller 199 that is pressed against the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller 198 and a tip roller 110 that defines a feeding angle of the paper 92 from the conveyance roller 198 are provided. The conveyance roller 198 is rotationally driven through a gear train by a sub scanning motor (not shown).

  A printing receiving member 111 is provided as a paper guide member for guiding the paper 92 fed from the transport roller 198 on the lower side of the liquid discharge head 1 corresponding to the movement range of the carriage 98 in the main scanning direction. ing. A conveyance roller 112 and a spur 118 that are rotationally driven to send the paper 92 in the paper discharge direction are provided downstream of the printing receiving member 111 in the paper conveyance direction. A paper discharge roller 114 and a spur 115 for feeding out, and guide members 116 and 117 forming a paper discharge path are provided.

  During recording in the ink jet recording apparatus 90 configured as described above, the liquid ejection head 1 is driven in accordance with the image signal while moving the carriage 98, thereby ejecting ink onto the stopped sheet 92 to perform one line. Minutes are recorded, and then the sheet 92 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, and then the next line is recorded. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 92 reaches the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 92 is discharged.

  Further, a recovery device 117 for recovering the ejection failure of the liquid ejection head 1 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the movement direction of the carriage 98 (see FIG. 20). The recovery device 117 includes a cap unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. During printing standby, the carriage 98 moves to the recovery device 117 side and capping the liquid ejection head 1 by the capping means to keep the ejection port portion in a wet state, thereby preventing the occurrence of ejection failure due to ink drying. To do. Further, by ejecting ink that is not related to recording during recording or the like, the viscosity of ink at all ejection ports is kept constant, and a stable ejection state is maintained.

  Further, when a discharge failure occurs, the discharge outlet (nozzle) of the liquid discharge head 1 is sealed by the capping unit, and bubbles and the like are sucked out from the discharge port by the suction unit through the tube and attached to the discharge port surface. Ink, dust, etc. are removed by the cleaning means to recover the ejection failure. Further, the sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body and absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.

  As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus 90 according to the present embodiment, since the liquid discharge head 1 described above is mounted, stable ink discharge characteristics can be obtained and image quality can be improved.

  Although the case where the liquid ejection head 1 is used in the inkjet recording apparatus 90 has been described above, the liquid ejection head 1 may be applied to an apparatus that ejects droplets other than ink, for example, a liquid resist for patterning. .

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the bubble discharge performance of the liquid discharge head 1 to prevent the non-discharge of the liquid droplets and the decrease in the discharge speed. The ink cartridge 99 and the ink jet recording apparatus 90 provided provide an effect that a high-quality image can be stably obtained.

[Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge device]
Next, an embodiment of a liquid discharge head according to the present invention and a liquid discharge apparatus including the liquid discharge head will be described below with reference to FIGS. 22 to 25. FIG. 22 includes the liquid discharge head according to the present invention. FIG. 23 is a side view of an example of the main part of the liquid ejection device. FIG.

  The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present embodiment is a serial type apparatus. In this apparatus, the carriage 403 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by the main scanning moving mechanism 493. Here, the main scanning movement mechanism 493 includes a guide member 401, a main scanning motor 405, a timing belt 408, and the like. In addition, the guide member 402 spans the left and right side plates 491A and 491B and holds the carriage 403 so as to be movable. Then, the main scanning motor 405 causes the carriage 403 to reciprocate in the main scanning direction via a timing belt 408 spanned between the driving pulley 406 and the driven pulley 407.

  Mounted on the carriage 403 is a liquid discharge unit 440 in which a liquid discharge head 404 and a head tank 441 according to the present invention are integrated. For example, the liquid discharge head 1 or the liquid discharge head 1a described above may be used as the liquid discharge head 404. The liquid discharge head 404 provided in the liquid discharge unit 440 discharges, for example, yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) liquids. The liquid ejection head 404 has a nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and is mounted in a direction in which the droplet ejection direction is downward.

  The liquid stored in the liquid cartridge 450 is supplied to the head tank 441 by the supply mechanism 494 for supplying the liquid stored outside the liquid discharge head 404 to the liquid discharge head 404.

  The supply mechanism 494 includes a cartridge holder 451 which is a filling unit for mounting the liquid cartridge 450, a tube 456, a liquid feeding unit 452 including a liquid feeding pump, and the like. The liquid cartridge 450 is detachably attached to the cartridge holder 451. Then, the liquid is supplied from the liquid cartridge 450 to the head tank 441 by the liquid feeding unit 452 through the tube 456.

  In addition, the liquid ejection apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a transport mechanism 495 for transporting the paper 410 that is a recording medium. The transport mechanism 495 includes a transport belt 412 that is transport means, and the transport belt 412. Is provided with a sub-scanning motor 416.

  The conveyance belt 412 adsorbs the sheet 410 and conveys the sheet 410 at a position facing the liquid ejection head 404. The transport belt 412 is an endless belt and is stretched between the transport roller 413 and the tension roller 414. Note that the sheet 410 can be adsorbed by the conveyor belt 412 by electrostatic adsorption, air adsorption, or the like.

  Then, the conveyance belt 412 rotates in the sub-scanning direction when the conveyance roller 413 is rotationally driven by the sub-scanning motor 416 via the timing belt 417 and the timing pulley 418.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 420 for performing maintenance / recovery of the liquid discharge head 404 is disposed on one side of the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction and on the side of the transport belt 412. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 420 includes, for example, a cap member 421 for capping the nozzle surface (surface on which the nozzle is formed) of the liquid ejection head 404, a wiper member 422 for wiping the nozzle surface, and the like.

  The main scanning movement mechanism 493, the supply mechanism 494, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 420, and the transport mechanism 495 are attached to a housing including the side plates 491A and 491B and the back plate 491C.

  In the liquid ejection apparatus configured as described above, the paper 410 is fed and sucked onto the transport belt 412, and the paper 410 is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the transport belt 412.

  Then, while moving the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction, the liquid ejection head 404 is driven in accordance with the image signal, thereby ejecting liquid onto the stopped paper 410 to form an image.

  As described above, since the liquid ejection apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the liquid ejection head 404 according to the present invention, a high-quality image can be stably formed.

  Next, another embodiment of the liquid ejection unit according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 24 is a front view of an example of the liquid discharge unit according to the present embodiment. The illustrated liquid discharge unit 440 includes side plates 491A and 491B and a back plate 491C among the members constituting the liquid discharge device. The casing portion is configured by a main scanning movement mechanism 493, a carriage 403, and a liquid discharge head 404. Note that at least one of the maintenance and recovery mechanism 420 and the supply mechanism 494 may be further attached to, for example, the side plate 491B of the liquid discharge unit 440.

  Further, another embodiment of the liquid discharge unit according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 25 is a front view of another example of the liquid discharge unit according to the present embodiment. The illustrated liquid discharge unit 440 is connected to the liquid discharge head 404 to which the flow path component 444 is attached and the flow path component 444. The tube 456 is made up of. The flow path component 444 is disposed inside the cover 442. Here, a head tank 441 may be included instead of the flow path component 444. In addition, a connector 443 for making electrical connection with the liquid discharge head 404 is provided on the flow path component 444.

  The liquid discharge apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus that includes the liquid discharge head 404 or the liquid discharge unit 440, and that discharges liquid by driving the liquid discharge head 404, to which liquid can adhere. On the other hand, not only a device that can discharge a liquid but also a device that discharges a liquid toward the air or liquid. In addition, the liquid ejecting apparatus includes means for feeding, transporting, and discharging a liquid to which liquid can adhere, a pre-processing apparatus, a post-processing apparatus, and the like.

  For example, as a liquid ejecting apparatus, an image forming apparatus that ejects ink to form an image on a sheet, a modeling liquid on a powder layer in which powders are formed in layers to form a three-dimensional modeled object (three-dimensional modeled object) The three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) which discharges is also included.

  Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus is not limited to the one in which significant images such as characters and figures are visualized by the ejected liquid. For example, it includes a pattern forming a pattern that has no meaning per se, and a pattern forming a three-dimensional image.

  The “liquid adherent” means that the liquid can be attached at least temporarily, and that the liquid adheres and adheres, that the liquid adheres and permeates, and the like. Specific examples include recording media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, and cloth, electronic parts such as electronic substrates and piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Yes, unless specifically limited, includes everything that the liquid adheres to.

  In addition, materials that can be applied to liquids include paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, building materials such as wallpaper and flooring, textiles for clothing, etc. It is only necessary to be able to adhere even temporarily.

  In addition, “liquid” includes ink, treatment liquid, DNA sample, resist, pattern material, binder, modeling liquid, amino acid, protein chamber, calcium-containing solution and dispersion liquid, and the like.

  Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus is not limited to an apparatus in which the liquid ejecting head and the apparatus to which the liquid can adhere relatively move. Specific examples include a serial type apparatus that moves the liquid discharge head, a line type apparatus that does not move the liquid discharge head, and the like.

  In addition, as a liquid ejection device, a processing liquid application device that discharges the processing liquid onto the paper in order to apply the processing liquid to the surface of the paper for the purpose of modifying the paper surface, and the raw materials are dispersed in the solution. There is an injection granulator for spraying the composition liquid through a nozzle to granulate fine particles of raw materials.

  The liquid discharge unit is an assembly of functional parts and mechanisms integrated with a liquid discharge head, and is an assembly of parts related to liquid discharge. For example, the liquid discharge unit includes a combination of at least one of a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a maintenance / recovery mechanism, and a main scanning movement mechanism with a droplet discharge head.

  Here, “integrated” means, for example, a liquid discharge head, a functional component, or a mechanism that is fixed to each other by fastening, adhesion, engagement, or the like, and one that is held movably with respect to the other. included. Further, the liquid discharge head, the functional component, and the mechanism may be configured to be detachable from each other.

  For example, there is a liquid discharge head in which a liquid discharge head and a head tank are integrated, such as a liquid discharge unit 440 shown in FIG. In some cases, the liquid discharge head and the head tank are integrated by being connected to each other by a tube or the like. Here, a unit including a filter may be added between the head tank of these liquid discharge heads and the liquid discharge head.

  In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which a liquid discharge head and a carriage are integrated.

  In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which the liquid discharge head and the scanning movement mechanism are integrated by holding the liquid discharge head movably on a guide member that constitutes a part of the scanning movement mechanism. In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which a liquid discharge head, a carriage, and a main scanning movement mechanism are integrated.

  In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which a cap member that is a part of a maintenance / recovery mechanism is fixed to a carriage to which a liquid discharge head is attached, and the liquid discharge head, the carriage, and the maintenance / recovery mechanism are integrated.

  As a liquid discharge unit, a tube may be connected to a liquid droplet discharge head to which a head tank or a flow path component is attached, and the liquid discharge head and the supply mechanism may be integrated.

  The main scanning movement mechanism includes a single guide member. Further, the supply mechanism includes a single tube and a single loading unit.

  Further, the pressure generating means to be used for the liquid ejection head is not limited. For example, in addition to piezoelectric actuators (which may use laminated piezoelectric elements), thermal actuators that use electrothermal transducers such as heating resistors, electrostatic actuators that consist of diaphragms and counter electrodes, etc. But you can.

  Note that the terms “image formation”, “recording”, “printing”, “printing”, “modeling” and the like in the above description are all synonymous.

  In addition, application of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims and the description and the drawings. Of course.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 404 Liquid discharge head 10 Nozzle plate 11 Nozzle 12 Piezoelectric element 13 Diaphragm 14 Pressurized liquid chamber partition 15 Pressurized liquid chamber 16 Nozzle hole 17 Fluid resistance part 18 Common liquid chamber 19 Common droplet supply path 20 Individual Channel member 21 Pressure chamber 22 Individual supply channel 23 Individual recovery channel 30 Diaphragm member 40 Piezoelectric element 50 Common channel member 52 Common supply channel tributary 53 Common recovery channel tributary 54 Supply port 55 Recovery port 56 Common supply flow Road main flow 57 Common recovery flow channel main flow 66 Tributary liquid chamber 68 Main flow liquid chamber 70 Round portion 81 Protective film 83 Rough surface 85 Adhesive 87 Recess 89 Projection 90 Inkjet recording apparatus (liquid ejection apparatus)
99 Ink cartridge (liquid cartridge)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Head module 121 Common electrode 122 Individual electrode 160 Actuator part 201 Actuator board 202 Support board 203 Nozzle board 403 Carriage 420 Maintenance recovery mechanism 440 Liquid discharge unit 441 Head tank 450 Liquid cartridge 493 Main scanning movement mechanism 494 Supply mechanism 440 Liquid discharge unit 500 Printing device (device for discharging liquid)
550 Head unit 600 Liquid circulation device

JP 2013-193213 A

Claims (17)

A plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid;
A plurality of pressure chambers respectively communicating with the plurality of nozzles;
A plurality of individual supply passages respectively communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers;
A plurality of common supply channel tributaries that communicate with each of the two or more individual supply channels via supply ports;
A common supply flow path main stream communicating with the plurality of common supply flow path tributaries,
A liquid discharge head, wherein a round is provided at a corner between a side surface formed along the liquid flow direction in the common supply channel branch and a bottom surface of the common supply channel branch. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a round is provided at a corner between a side surface and a bottom surface of the common supply channel main flow.   3. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a base material on which the common supply channel main flow and the plurality of common supply channel tributaries are formed is made of silicon.   4. The protective film for the liquid to be supplied is formed on a side surface and a bottom surface of the common supply channel tributary, and a round is formed including the protective film. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1.   5. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a surface roughness of a bottom surface of the common supply channel branch is rougher than a surface roughness of a side surface of the common supply channel branch. The wall surface facing the bottom surface of the common supply channel tributary is formed of a damper member,
The damper member is bonded with an adhesive to a base material forming the common supply flow path tributary;
6. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein a step is formed at an opening edge of the common supply flow path tributary on the damper member side. The supply port is opened on the bottom surface of the common supply channel tributary,
The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion protruding from the periphery is formed on a peripheral edge of the supply port.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 7, wherein a tip of the protrusion is pointed.   9. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the supply port is not provided in a region where a round portion is formed inside the common supply flow path tributary. A plurality of individual recovery passages respectively communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers;
A plurality of common recovery flow path tributaries that communicate with each of the two or more individual recovery flow paths via a recovery port;
A common recovery flow path main stream communicating with the plurality of common recovery flow path tributaries,
The round is provided in the corner | angular part between the side surface formed along the flow direction of the said liquid in the said common recovery flow path tributary, and the bottom face of the said common recovery flow path tributary. The liquid discharge head according to claim 9.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 10, wherein a round is provided at a corner between a side surface and a bottom surface of the common recovery flow path main flow.   The protective film for the liquid is formed on the side surface and the bottom surface of the common recovery flow path tributary, and a round is formed including the protective film. Liquid discharge head.   A head module comprising a plurality of liquid discharge heads according to claim 1 attached to a common base member. In a liquid cartridge formed by integrating a liquid discharge head for discharging liquid droplets and a liquid tank for supplying a recording liquid to the liquid discharge head,
A liquid cartridge, wherein the liquid discharge head is the liquid discharge head according to claim 1.   A liquid discharge unit comprising the liquid discharge head according to claim 1.   A head tank for storing liquid to be supplied to the liquid discharge head, a liquid cartridge having the liquid discharge head mounted thereon, a supply mechanism for supplying liquid to the liquid discharge head, a maintenance / recovery mechanism for maintaining and recovering the liquid discharge head, The liquid discharge unit according to claim 15, wherein at least one of a main scanning movement mechanism that moves the liquid discharge head in the main scanning direction and the liquid discharge head are integrated.   A liquid discharge apparatus comprising the liquid discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or the liquid discharge unit according to claim 15 or 16.