JP2023066364A - Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress peeling of a nozzle protective member.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge head 20 includes a nozzle plate 31 provided with nozzles for discharging liquid to a discharge object, a nozzle protective member 23 covering at least a part other than the nozzles in a nozzle surface 31a facing a liquid discharge direction Z of the nozzle plate 31, and a nozzle protective member holding member 22 having a peripheral wall part 22b joined to the nozzle protective member 23, wherein a resin member 70 is provided between a side face 230 on a side joined to the nozzle protective member holding member of the nozzle protective member 23, and a surface 220 facing a liquid discharge direction Z of the peripheral wall part 22b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid, an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink onto a sheet such as paper is known.

2. Description of the Related Art An inkjet image forming apparatus is equipped with a liquid ejection head having nozzles for ejecting ink. When the sheet is conveyed to a position facing the liquid ejection head, ink is ejected from the nozzles to form an image on the sheet. At this time, if the sheet comes into contact with the nozzles, the nozzles may be damaged, making it impossible to stably eject ink. Therefore, some ink jet image forming apparatuses are provided with a nozzle protection member for protecting the nozzles (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-56922).

The nozzle protection member is bonded, for example, to the peripheral edge of the nozzle plate on which the nozzles are provided, or to a frame member. There is a risk of peeling.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a nozzle plate provided with nozzles for ejecting liquid onto an ejection target, and at least one nozzle surface of the nozzle plate facing the liquid ejection direction other than the nozzles. and a nozzle protection member holding member having a peripheral wall portion joined to the nozzle protection member, wherein the side of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member and a surface of the peripheral wall facing the liquid ejection direction, a resin member is provided.

According to the present invention, peeling of the nozzle protection member can be suppressed.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an inkjet image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a control system of an inkjet image forming apparatus according to this embodiment; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a liquid ejection head; FIG. FIG. 4 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection head shown in FIG. 3 ; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a line-type head unit; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a serial type head unit; 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid ejection head according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a second embodiment of the invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a third embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a comparative example; FIG.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each drawing for explaining the present invention, constituent elements such as members and constituent parts having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and once explained, the explanation will be repeated. omitted.

First, based on FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of an ink jet image forming apparatus, which is an embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention, will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an inkjet image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control system of the inkjet image forming apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a sheet feeding section 1 that feeds sheets S for image formation, an image forming section 2 that forms an image on the sheet S, and an image forming section. 2, a conveying section 3 that conveys the sheet S, a drying section 4 that dries the sheet S, and a sheet collecting section 5 that collects the sheet S on which an image is formed. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment also includes a control section 6 (see FIG. 2) for controlling the sheet feeding section 1, the image forming section 2, the conveying section 3, the drying section 4, and the sheet collecting section 5. ing.

The sheet supply unit 1 has a supply roller 11 on which a long sheet S is wound in a roll shape, and a tension adjustment mechanism 12 that adjusts the tension applied to the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The supply roller 11 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1, and the sheet S is delivered by the rotation of the supply roller 11 . The tension adjusting mechanism 12 has a plurality of rollers for stretching the sheet S to apply tension. By moving some of these rollers, the tension of the sheet S is adjusted, and the sheet S is delivered from the supply roller 11 with a constant tension.

The image forming section 2 has a head unit 13, which is a liquid ejection unit that ejects liquid ink onto the sheet S, and a platen 14 as a sheet support member that supports the sheet S being conveyed. The head unit 13 has a plurality of liquid ejection heads. An image is formed on the sheet S by ejecting ink onto the sheet S from each liquid ejection head based on image data generated by the control unit 6 . Here, the ink is a liquid containing a coloring material, a solvent, and crystalline resin particles dispersed in the solvent. A crystalline resin is a resin that undergoes a phase change and melts from a crystalline state into a liquid when heated to a predetermined melting point or higher. The platen 14 is arranged to face the head unit 13 and supports the lower surface of the sheet S supplied from the sheet supply section 1 . Further, the platen 14 is configured to be movable toward and away from the head unit 13 so that the distance between the head unit 13 and the sheet S can be kept constant.

The transport section 3 has a plurality of transport rollers 15 . The sheet S is conveyed to the image forming unit 2 by rotating the conveying rollers 15 while the sheet S is stretched between the conveying rollers 15 . Note that the transport unit 3 may have other transport means such as a transport belt.

The drying section 4 has a heating drum 16 that heats the sheet S in order to accelerate the drying of the ink on the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The heating drum 16 is a cylindrical member that rotates while the sheet S is wound around its outer peripheral surface, and a heating source such as a halogen heater is arranged inside. As a heating means for heating the sheet S, a non-contact heating means such as a hot air generator for blowing hot air onto the sheet S can be used in addition to the contact heating means such as the heating drum 16 .

The sheet recovery unit 5 includes a recovery roller 17 that winds and recovers the sheet S, and a tension adjustment mechanism 18 that adjusts the tension applied to the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The collection roller 17 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1. By rotating the collection roller 17, the sheet S is wound into a roll and collected. The tension adjustment mechanism 18 has a plurality of rollers, like the tension adjustment mechanism 12 of the sheet feeding section 1 . By moving some of these rollers, the tension of the sheet S is adjusted, and the sheet S is wound by the recovery roller 17 with a constant tension.

The control unit 6 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer). The control unit 6 generates image data to be formed on the sheet S, and also controls various operations of the sheet feeding unit 1 , the image forming unit 2 , the conveying unit 3 , the drying unit 4 , and the sheet collecting unit 5 . For example, the control unit 6 controls the rotational speeds of the supply roller 11 , the collection roller 17 and the transport rollers 15 as well as the temperature of the heating source that heats the heating drum 16 .

Next, an example of the configuration of the liquid ejection head will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid ejection head; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection head shown in FIG. 3 in the lateral direction (direction of arrow Y in FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid ejection head 20 includes a plurality of head bodies 21, a base member 22, a cover member 23, a heat dissipation member 24, a manifold 25, a printed circuit board (PCB) 26, and a module case. 27.

A plurality of head bodies 21 are held by a base member 22 as a holding member. To attach the head body 21 to the base member 22 , first, the head body 21 is inserted into the opening 22 c (see FIG. 4 ) provided in the base member 22 . Next, the head body 21 is joined to the cover member 23 joined to the base member 22 . The cover member 23 is formed with holes 23a (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the respective head bodies 21, and the peripheral edges of the head bodies 21 are joined to the edges of the holes 23a. Then, the head body 21 is fastened and fixed to the base member 22 with screws. More specifically, flange portions of a common channel member 35 (see FIG. 4) are provided on the front side and the back side of the head main body 21 in the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4). screwed into the As a result, the common channel member 35 is held by the base member 22 and the head body 21 is fixed. The attachment structure of the head main body 21 and the base member 22 is not limited to this, and the head main body 21 may be attached by adhesion, caulking, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the head body 21 includes a nozzle plate 31 provided with nozzles 30 , a flow path substrate 32 formed with individual liquid chambers 41 communicating with the nozzles 30 , and a vibrating plate including piezoelectric elements 40 . 33, a holding substrate 34 laminated on the diaphragm 33, and a common channel member 35 as a frame member laminated on the holding substrate 34, and the like.

In addition to the individual liquid chambers 41 , the channel substrate 32 is formed with supply-side individual channels 42 communicating with the individual liquid chambers 41 and recovery-side individual channels 43 communicating with the individual liquid chambers 41 . The holding substrate 34 has a supply-side intermediate individual channel 44 communicating with the supply-side individual channel 42 through the opening 33a of the vibration plate 33, and a recovery channel 44 communicating with the recovery-side individual channel 43 through the opening 33b of the vibration plate 33. A side intermediate individual channel 45 is formed.

The common channel member (frame member) 35 is formed with a supply-side common channel 46 communicating with the supply-side intermediate individual channel 44 and a recovery-side common channel 47 communicating with the recovery-side intermediate individual channel 45 . The supply-side common channel 46 communicates with the supply port 48 via the channel 51 of the manifold 25 . On the other hand, the recovery-side common channel 47 communicates with the recovery port 49 via another channel 52 of the manifold 25 .

The printed circuit board 26 and the piezoelectric element 40 of the head body 21 are connected via a flexible wiring member 50 . A driver IC (driving circuit) 53 is mounted on the flexible wiring member 50 .

The base member 22 is preferably made of a material with a small coefficient of linear expansion. Materials with a small coefficient of linear expansion include, for example, 42alloy in which nickel is added to iron, or an invar material. When the base member 22 is made of such a material, even if the temperature of the base member 22 rises due to the heat generated by the liquid ejection head 20, the amount of expansion of the base member 22 is small. , the displacement of the ink ejection position can be suppressed. Further, by forming the nozzle plate 31 and the vibration plate 33 from a silicon single crystal substrate and making the coefficient of linear expansion substantially the same as that of the base member 22, displacement of the nozzle due to thermal expansion can be further reduced.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the head unit.

In the example shown in FIG. 5 , the head unit 13 has two liquid ejection heads 20 . Each liquid ejection head 20 is arranged such that its lateral direction (direction of arrow Y) faces the sheet conveying direction A and its longitudinal direction (direction of arrow X) faces a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction A. there is Here, the "longitudinal direction" of the liquid ejection head 20 means that the liquid ejection head 20 is viewed from a direction orthogonal to the nozzle surface 31a where the nozzles 30 (see FIG. 4) are exposed, as shown in FIG. , means the longitudinal direction (direction of arrow X) of the liquid ejection head 20 extending in one direction. Further, the “lateral direction” of the liquid ejection head 20 means the direction (arrow Y direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the liquid ejection head 20 when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the nozzle surface 31a. do. Also, the “longitudinal direction” and “lateral direction” of the liquid ejection head 20 described in the following description have the same meaning.

The head unit 13 shown in FIG. 5 is a so-called line type head unit, and when the sheet S is conveyed to a position facing the head unit 13, the head unit 13 moves relative to the conveyed sheet S. Instead, an image is formed on the sheet S by ejecting ink from the nozzles of each head body 21 .

In addition to such line-type head units, head units also include so-called serial-type head units that eject ink while moving a liquid ejection head in the main scanning direction (sheet width direction).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a serial head unit 60. As shown in FIG. 6, the serial head unit 60 includes a carriage 62 on which a liquid ejection head 61 is mounted, A guide member (guide rod) 63 for guiding in the main scanning direction, which is the sheet width direction B, and a driving device 64 for moving the carriage 62 are provided.

The driving device 64 includes, for example, a motor 65 as a driving source, and a timing belt 68 that is wound around a driving pulley 66 and a driven pulley 67 . When the motor 65 is driven and the driving pulley 66 rotates, the timing belt 68 rotates, thereby moving the carriage 62 along the guide member 63 in the main scanning direction. Further, by switching the rotation direction of the motor 65 between one direction and the opposite direction, the carriage 62 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction.

In such a serial type head unit 60, ink is ejected from the liquid ejection head 61 in accordance with an image signal while the carriage 62 moves in the main scanning direction. A row of images is formed. Images are sequentially formed on the sheet S by repeating the reciprocating movement of the carriage 62 and the ejection of ink while the sheet S moves in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 6 by a predetermined amount.

By the way, in the head unit (liquid ejection head) as described above, as shown in FIG. Even if the sheet is conveyed in this state, the contact of the sheet with the nozzle surface can be avoided by contacting the cover member 23 . As a result, damage to the nozzles can be prevented, and stable ink ejection can be maintained.

However, if the conveyed sheet hits the end surface of the cover member 23, the cover member 23 may be separated from the nozzle plate 31 or the base member 22 (see FIG. 4) due to the impact received by the cover member 23 at this time. In particular, when a fibrous object such as cloth is conveyed, fluff fibers of the object to be conveyed are caught on corners or burrs of the cover member 23, and the cover member 23 tends to peel off. When the cover member 23 is peeled off, if foreign matter such as ink enters the head main body 21 through the peeled portion of the cover member 23, it may cause a failure or malfunction. For example, if the ink enters the inside from the peeled portion of the cover member 23 and adheres to the conductive parts such as the flexible wiring member 50 (see FIG. 4) in the head main body 21, there is a risk of failure due to electric leakage. be. Further, if the ink that enters the head adheres to the piezoelectric element 40 (see FIG. 4) in the head body 21, the solidified ink prevents the piezoelectric element 40 from being driven satisfactorily, resulting in defective ink ejection. There is fear.

Thus, peeling of the cover member 23 causes various problems such as malfunction or failure. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the following countermeasures are taken.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection head according to the first embodiment of the invention. Note that the basic structure of the liquid ejection head according to this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the liquid ejection head shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 7, the liquid ejection head 20 according to the present embodiment includes a nozzle plate 31 provided with nozzles 30 (see FIG. 4), a cover member 23 as a nozzle protection member for protecting the nozzles 30, A flow path substrate 32 as a flow path forming member in which supply side individual flow paths 42 (see FIG. 4) and recovery side individual flow paths 43 (see FIG. 4) are formed, and a common flow path member 35 as a frame member. , a base member 22 as a holding member for holding the common flow path member 35 and the like.

Note that in FIG. 7, the arrow Z direction indicates the liquid ejection direction in which the liquid (ink) is ejected from the nozzles of the nozzle plate 31 . That is, in FIG. 7, the nozzle surface 31a of the nozzle plate 31 where the nozzles are exposed faces upward.

The cover member 23 covers at least a portion of the nozzle surface 31a other than the nozzles. In this embodiment, the cover member 23 covers the edge of the nozzle surface 31a and its vicinity.

Here, assuming that the center side (right side in FIG. 7) of the nozzle surface 31a is the "inner side" and the opposite side (the left side in FIG. 7) is the "outer side", as shown in FIG. is joined to base member 22 via adhesive 54 . The base member 22 is arranged around the nozzle plate 31, the flow path substrate 32, and the common flow path member 35. A surface 220 of the base member 22 facing the liquid ejection direction Z is provided with the outer portion of the cover member 23. are spliced.

On the other hand, the inner portion of the cover member 23 is joined to the nozzle plate 31 and the flow path substrate 32 via the adhesive 55 . The flow path substrate 32 is joined to the side of the nozzle plate 31 opposite to the nozzle surface 31a (the lower surface side of the nozzle plate 31 in FIG. 7), and a part of the flow path substrate 32 protrudes outward from the edge of the nozzle plate 31. A cover member 23 is joined to the portion of the flow path substrate 32 that protrudes outward and the periphery of the edge of the nozzle plate 31 .

In this way, both inner and outer portions of the cover member 23 are joined to the respective members via the adhesives 54 and 55, respectively, and the adhesives 54 and 55 seal between the respective members and the cover member 23. As a result, ink and other foreign matter are prevented from entering the interior through these spaces. Further, since the cover member 23 is joined to each member via the adhesives 54 and 55, even if the conveyed sheet hits the cover member 23, the cover member 23 is basically not detached and dropped.

However, when a sheet is conveyed from the left side in FIG. If the fibrous sheet is caught on burrs formed on the edges, the cover member 23 may be peeled off.

Therefore, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the end surface 230 of the cover member 23 facing the outside, in other words, the side surface 230 of the cover member 23 on the side joined to the base member 22 (hereinafter referred to as the "outer end surface" for convenience). ) is provided so as to cover the high-rigidity resin member 70 . The resin member 70 is provided between the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 and the surface 220 of the base member 22 facing the liquid ejection direction Z, and as shown in FIG. (hatched part)).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the highly rigid resin member 70 is provided over the entire outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 , so that the resin member 70 prevents the sheet from coming into contact with the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 . and avoid catching. Further, since direct abutment of the sheet against the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 can be avoided, impact on the cover member 23 can be reduced. As a result, the cover member 23 is less likely to peel off, so that foreign matter such as ink can be prevented from entering from the peeled portion. As a result, the risk of malfunction and failure is reduced, and reliability is improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the resin member 70 does not protrude in the liquid ejection direction Z beyond the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23, It does not protrude outward (to the side opposite to the center side of the nozzle surface) from the surface 220 facing the direction. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the sheet from being caught on the resin member 70 . Furthermore, the resin member 70 has an inclined surface 70a that inclines so as to gradually protrude in the liquid ejection direction Z toward the inner side (the center side of the nozzle surface or the outer end surface 230 side of the cover member 23). Therefore, when the sheet contacts the resin member 70, the sheet is guided along the inclined surface 70a. As described above, in this embodiment, even if the sheet comes into contact with the resin member 70, the sheet is guided without being caught, so that the sheet can be conveyed stably and smoothly. Moreover, since the resin member 70 has the inclined surface 70a, the impact when the sheet hits the resin member 70 (the inclined surface 70a) is reduced. Therefore, the influence of the impact on the cover member 23 can be reduced, and peeling of the cover member 23 is even less likely to occur.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the base member 22 also has an inclined surface 22a. The inclined surface 22a is provided at a portion of the base member 22 adjacent to the resin member 70 (the upper portion in FIG. 7), and is formed so as to be continuous with the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70. As shown in FIG. The inclined surface 22a of the base member 22 is inclined so as to protrude inward gradually in the liquid ejection direction Z, similarly to the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70 . However, in this embodiment, the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the inclined surfaces 22a and 70a of the base member 22 and the resin member 70 with respect to the liquid ejection direction Z are different. Specifically, the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70 is set larger than the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined surface 22a of the base member 22 . As a result, when the sheet comes into contact with the inclined surface 22a of the base member 22, the sheet is smoothly guided from the inclined surface 22a of the base member 22 to the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70, so that the sheet can be moved stably and smoothly. transportation can be realized.

Further, the height t (see FIG. 7) of the resin member 70 in the liquid ejection direction Z is preferably the same height as the upper surface of the cover member 23 in FIG. It may be lower than the upper surface of the cover member 23 . That is, at least a portion of the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 should be covered with the resin member 70 . Even when a portion of the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 is covered with the resin member 70, the contact of the sheet against the outer end surface 230 can be suppressed. Become.

As the highly rigid resin member 70, one having a Young's modulus of 1 GPa or more is preferable from the viewpoint of adhesive strength and strength. Furthermore, it is more preferable that the Young's modulus of the resin member 70 is 3 GPa or more. Young's modulus is also called longitudinal elastic modulus, and is a slope with respect to stress during a tensile test obtained using the following formula (1). In the formula (1), σ is tensile stress, E is Young's modulus (longitudinal modulus), and ε is strain.

(Number 1)
σ=E×ε (1)

The Young's modulus can be measured by a nanoindentation method using a micro-range hardness tester (for example, FISCHERSCOPE HM2000 manufactured by Fisher Instruments). The measurement of hardness and Young's modulus by the nanoindentation method is standardized as the international standard ISO14577 instrumented indentation test, so it suffices to perform the measurement in compliance with the international standard. For example, the test load value is about 1 mN to 100 mN, and the maximum indentation depth is about 1/10 or less of the thickness of the sample.

In this embodiment, the resin member 70 is provided over the entire outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 as shown in FIG. The resin member 70 may be provided only at the contact portion of the sheet (part of the outer end surface 230). For example, the resin member 70 may be provided only on a portion of the entire outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the liquid ejection head 20 (the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 8). 20 may be provided only in the portion extending in the lateral direction (the arrow Y direction in FIG. 8).

Moreover, in order to confirm the effect of this embodiment, a comparative example as shown in FIG. 12 was created, and an evaluation test was conducted between this comparative example and this embodiment. The comparative example has the same configuration as the present embodiment except that the highly rigid resin member 70 and the inclined surface 22a of the base member 22 are not provided. In this test, each liquid ejection head according to the comparative example or the present embodiment was mounted in an image forming apparatus, a sheet was conveyed, and it was confirmed whether peeling of the cover member 23 occurred.

As a result, in the comparative example, the cover members 23 of some of the liquid ejection heads peeled off and broke down, and the cover members 23 of the other liquid ejection heads partly peeled off even though they did not break down. In contrast, in this embodiment, the cover member 23 did not peel off at all. Accordingly, it was confirmed that peeling of the cover member 23 can be effectively suppressed according to the configuration of the present embodiment.

Next, an embodiment different from the above-described embodiment (first embodiment) will be described. In addition, in the following description, mainly different parts from the above-described embodiment will be described, and description of other parts will be omitted as they are basically the same.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a second embodiment of the invention.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the base member 22 (see FIG. 7) is not provided. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cover member 23 is joined to the common flow path member (frame member) 35 instead of the base member 22 . That is, the supply channel member 35 in this embodiment is joined to the cover member 23 and functions as a nozzle protection member holding member that holds the cover member 23 (nozzle protection member). As shown in FIG. 9, the common channel member 35 is joined to the surface of the channel substrate 32 opposite to the surface joined to the nozzle plate 31 (the lower surface of the channel substrate 32 in FIG. 9). However, a part of the common channel member 35 has a peripheral wall portion 35 b arranged outside the nozzle plate 31 and the channel substrate 32 . The cover member 23 is joined to the surface 350 facing the liquid ejection direction Z of the peripheral wall portion 35b with an adhesive 56 interposed therebetween. In the embodiment (first embodiment) shown in FIG. 7, the upper portion of the base member 22 corresponds to the peripheral wall portion 22b arranged around the nozzle plate 31 and the flow path substrate 32. The base member 22 corresponds to a nozzle protection member holding member that holds the cover member 23 .

As described above, the second embodiment differs from the above embodiment in that the base member 22 is not provided and the cover member 23 is joined to the peripheral wall portion 35b of the common flow path member 35. Even in such a configuration, if the sheet comes into contact with the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23, the cover member 23 may peel off. Therefore, in the present embodiment as well, a highly rigid resin member 70 is provided to suppress peeling of the cover member 23, as in the above-described embodiment. Specifically, in this embodiment, the resin member 70 is provided between the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 and the surface 350 facing the liquid ejection direction Z of the peripheral wall portion 35b. Accordingly, in the present embodiment as well, contact of the sheet against the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 can be avoided, and peeling of the cover member 23 can be suppressed. The range in which the resin member 70 is provided may be the entire outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 or a part thereof.

Also in this embodiment, the resin member 70 and the common flow path member 35 (peripheral wall portion 35b) are provided with inclined surfaces 70a and 35a, respectively. The inclined surfaces 70a and 35a are inclined so as to gradually protrude inward in the liquid ejection direction Z, and the inclination angles θ1 and θ3 with respect to the liquid ejection direction Z are the same as those of the resin member 70 in the above embodiment. The relationship between the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the base member 22 is set to be the same. That is, the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70 is set larger than the inclination angle θ3 of the inclined surface 35a of the common flow path member 35. As shown in FIG. Therefore, in the present embodiment as well, the sheet can be smoothly guided from the inclined surface 35a of the common flow path member 35 to the inclined surface 70a of the resin member 70, the impact when the sheet comes into contact with the sheet can be reduced, and the sheet can be stabilized. And smooth transportation can be realized.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a third embodiment of the invention.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the resin member 70 covering the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 is composed of the adhesive 54 that joins the cover member 23 and the base member 22 together. When the rigidity of the adhesive 54 is high (when the Young's modulus is 1 GPa or more), the adhesive 54 protrudes outside the cover member 23, and the protruding portion covers the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23. may be configured. The amount of protrusion of the adhesive 54 can be adjusted by changing at least one of the adhesive application position, the adhesive application amount, and the pressure applied when the cover member 23 is joined. In order to form the inclined surface 70a similar to the above on the resin material 70, a method such as molding the protruding portion with a mold when the adhesive 54 protrudes, or cutting the adhesive 54 after curing is adopted. can.

Moreover, the configuration of this embodiment is not limited to the configuration having the base member 22 as shown in FIG. 10, but can also be applied to the configuration having no base member 22 as shown in FIG. That is, the resin member 70 that covers the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 may be configured by part of the adhesive 54 that joins the common flow path member 35 and the cover member 23 shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a resin member 70 that covers the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 is configured integrally with the base member 22 . If the base member 22 is made of a resin material with high rigidity (Young's modulus of 1 GPa or more), a portion thereof (at least a portion of the peripheral wall portion 22b shown in FIG. 11) covers the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23. You may do so. In this embodiment, as in the above-described embodiments, the contact of the sheet against the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 can be suppressed, so that the cover member 23 is less likely to peel off.

Moreover, the configuration of the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration having the base member 22 as shown in FIG. 11, but can also be applied to the configuration having no base member 22 as shown in FIG. That is, the resin member 70 that covers the outer end surface 230 of the cover member 23 may be configured by part of the common flow path member 35 (peripheral wall portion 35) shown in FIG.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be appropriately modified in design without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the present invention, a "liquid ejection head" is a functional component that ejects or ejects liquid from nozzles. The liquid to be ejected is not particularly limited as long as it has a viscosity or surface tension that allows it to be ejected from the head. is preferred. More specifically, solvents such as water or organic solvents, colorants such as dyes or pigments, polymerizable compounds, resins, functional-imparting materials such as surfactants, biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids or proteins, and calcium. , Edible materials such as natural pigments, solutions, suspensions, emulsions, etc. These are, for example, inkjet inks, surface treatment liquids, components of electronic elements or light emitting elements, or electronic circuit resist patterns. It can be used for applications such as a forming liquid and a material liquid for three-dimensional modeling. The liquid ejection head may have a plurality of head bodies as in the above embodiment, or may have a single head body.

Energy sources for ejecting liquid include piezoelectric actuators (laminated piezoelectric element and thin film piezoelectric element), thermal actuators that use electrothermal conversion elements such as heating resistors, and electrostatic actuators that consist of a diaphragm and a counter electrode. Including what you use.

In the present invention, a "liquid ejection unit" is a liquid ejection head integrated with functional parts and mechanisms, and includes an assembly of parts related to ejection of liquid. For example, the "liquid ejection unit" includes a combination of at least one of a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a maintenance and recovery mechanism, a main scanning movement mechanism, and a liquid circulation device with a liquid ejection head.

Here, integration means, for example, that the liquid ejection head and functional parts or mechanisms are fixed to each other by fastening, adhesion, or engagement, or that one is held movably with respect to the other. include. Also, the liquid ejection head, the functional component, and the mechanism may be configured to be detachable from each other.

For example, there is a liquid ejection unit in which a liquid ejection head and a head tank are integrated. Also, there is a type in which a liquid ejection head and a head tank are integrated by being connected to each other by a tube or the like. Here, it is also possible to add a unit including a filter between the head tank and the liquid ejection head of these liquid ejection units.

Further, there is a liquid ejection unit in which a liquid ejection head and a carriage are integrated.

Further, as a liquid ejection unit, there is one in which the liquid ejection head is movably held by a guide member constituting a part of the scanning movement mechanism, and the liquid ejection head and the scanning movement mechanism are integrated. Also, there is a type in which the liquid ejection head, the carriage, and the main scanning movement mechanism are integrated.

There is also a liquid ejection unit in which the liquid ejection head, the carriage, and the maintenance and recovery mechanism are integrated by fixing a cap member, which is a part of the maintenance and recovery mechanism, to a carriage to which the liquid ejection head is attached. .

Further, as a liquid ejection unit, there is one in which a tube is connected to a liquid ejection head to which a head tank or a channel component is attached, and the liquid ejection head and the supply mechanism are integrated. The liquid in the liquid storage source is supplied to the liquid ejection head through this tube.

It is assumed that the main scanning movement mechanism also includes a single guide member. Also, the supply mechanism includes a single tube and a single loading unit.

The “liquid ejection device” includes a device that includes a liquid ejection head or a liquid ejection unit, and drives the liquid ejection head to eject liquid. Liquid ejecting apparatuses include not only apparatuses capable of ejecting liquid onto an object to which liquid can adhere, but also apparatuses ejecting liquid into air or into liquid.

The "liquid ejecting apparatus" can include means for feeding, transporting, and ejecting an object to which liquid can adhere, as well as a pre-processing device, a post-processing device, and the like.

For example, as a “liquid ejection device”, an image forming device that ejects ink to form an image on paper, a powder that forms a layer to form a three-dimensional object (three-dimensional object) There is a three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) that ejects a modeling liquid onto a body layer.

Also, the "liquid ejecting apparatus" is not limited to devices that visualize significant images such as characters and graphics by ejected liquid. For example, it includes those that form patterns that have no meaning per se, and those that form three-dimensional images.

The above-mentioned "object to which liquid can adhere" means an object to be ejected to which liquid can adhere at least temporarily, such as an object to which liquid adheres and adheres, an object which adheres and permeates, and the like. Specific examples include media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, sheets such as cloth, electronic substrates, electronic components such as piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Unless otherwise specified, it includes anything that a liquid adheres to.

The material of the above-mentioned "thing to which a liquid can adhere" may be paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., as long as the liquid can adhere even temporarily.

The "sheet" may be a long continuous sheet (such as roll paper) or a sheet (such as cut paper) that has been cut into a predetermined size in advance. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus that ejects liquid onto an ejection target other than a sheet.

Further, the ``liquid ejection device'' includes a device in which a liquid ejection head and an object to which liquid can be adhered move relative to each other, but is not limited to this. Specific examples include a serial type apparatus (see FIG. 6) in which the liquid ejection head is moved, and a line type apparatus (see FIG. 5) in which the liquid ejection head is not moved.

In addition, as a "liquid ejection device", there are other processing liquid coating devices that eject processing liquid onto the paper to apply the processing liquid to the surface of the paper for the purpose of modifying the surface of the paper, and raw materials. There is an injection granulator that granulates fine particles of a raw material by injecting a composition liquid dispersed in a solution through a nozzle.

Summarizing the aspects of the present invention described above, the present invention includes a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection device having at least the following configurations.

[First configuration]
A first configuration includes a nozzle plate provided with nozzles for ejecting liquid onto an ejection target, and nozzle protection that covers at least a portion of the nozzle surface of the nozzle plate facing the liquid ejection direction other than the nozzles. and a nozzle protection member holding member having a peripheral wall joined to the nozzle protection member, the side surface of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member; In the liquid ejection head, a resin member is provided between the surface of the peripheral wall facing the liquid ejection direction.

[Second configuration]
A second configuration includes a nozzle plate provided with nozzles for ejecting liquid onto an ejection target, and nozzle protection that covers at least a part of the nozzle surface of the nozzle plate facing the liquid ejection direction other than the nozzles. and a nozzle protection member holding member having a peripheral wall portion joined to the nozzle protection member, wherein the resin member forming at least a part of the peripheral wall portion is the nozzle of the nozzle protection member. The liquid ejection head covers at least a part of the side surface that is joined to the protective member holding member.

[Third configuration]
A third configuration is the liquid ejection head according to the first configuration, wherein the resin member is an adhesive that joins the nozzle protection member and the nozzle protection member holding member.

[Fourth configuration]
A fourth configuration is, in any one of the first to third configurations, a channel forming member that is joined to the nozzle plate and forms a channel for liquid supplied to the nozzle; A liquid ejection head comprising a frame member bonded to a surface of a member opposite to a surface bonded to the nozzle plate, wherein the frame member is the nozzle protection member holding member.

[Fifth configuration]
A fifth configuration is, in any one of the first to third configurations, a channel forming member that is joined to the nozzle plate and forms a channel through which liquid to be supplied to the nozzle flows; A liquid ejection head comprising: a frame member bonded to a surface of a member opposite to a surface bonded to the nozzle plate; and a base member holding the frame member, wherein the base member is the nozzle protection member. It is a liquid ejection head that is a holding member.

[Sixth configuration]
In a sixth configuration, in any one of the first to fifth configurations, the resin member extends in the liquid ejection direction toward the side surface of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member. It is a liquid ejection head having an inclined surface that is inclined so as to protrude.

[Seventh configuration]
In a seventh configuration, in the sixth configuration, the peripheral wall portion protrudes in a liquid discharge direction on a side of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member at a portion adjacent to the resin member. It is a liquid ejection head having an inclined surface that is inclined so as to

[Eighth configuration]
An eighth configuration is the liquid ejection head according to the seventh configuration, wherein the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the resin member with respect to the liquid ejection direction is larger than the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the peripheral wall portion with respect to the liquid ejection direction.

[Ninth configuration]
A ninth configuration is the liquid ejection head according to any one of the first to eighth configurations, wherein the resin member has a Young's modulus of 3 GPa or more.

[Tenth configuration]
A tenth configuration is a liquid ejection apparatus including a liquid ejection head having any one of the first to ninth configurations.

20 liquid ejection head 22 base member (nozzle protection member holding member)
22a inclined surface 22b peripheral wall portion 23 cover member (nozzle protection member)
30 Nozzle 31 Nozzle plate 31a Nozzle surface 32 Channel substrate (channel forming member)
35 common channel member (frame member, nozzle protection member holding member)
35a inclined surface 35b peripheral wall portion 70 resin member 70a inclined surface 100 image forming apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus)
220 Surface facing liquid ejection direction 230 Outer end surface (side surface joined to nozzle protection member holding member)
θ1 tilt angle θ2 tilt angle θ3 tilt angle S sheet (object to be discharged)

JP 2011-56922 A

Claims (10)

a nozzle plate provided with nozzles for ejecting liquid onto an ejection target;
a nozzle protection member that covers at least a portion of the nozzle surface facing the liquid ejection direction of the nozzle plate other than the nozzles;
A liquid ejection head comprising a nozzle protection member holding member having a peripheral wall portion joined to the nozzle protection member,
A liquid ejection head, wherein a resin member is provided between a side surface of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member and a surface of the peripheral wall facing the liquid ejection direction. . a nozzle plate provided with nozzles for ejecting liquid onto an ejection target;
a nozzle protection member that covers at least a part of the nozzle surface of the nozzle plate facing the liquid ejection direction other than the nozzles;
A liquid ejection head comprising a nozzle protection member holding member having a peripheral wall portion joined to the nozzle protection member,
A liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein a resin member constituting at least a portion of the peripheral wall portion covers at least a portion of a side surface of the nozzle protection member that is joined to the nozzle protection member holding member. 2. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the resin member is composed of an adhesive that joins the nozzle protection member and the nozzle protection member holding member. a flow path forming member that is joined to the nozzle plate and forms a flow path for the liquid to be supplied to the nozzle;
A liquid ejection head comprising a frame member bonded to a surface of the flow path forming member opposite to a surface bonded to the nozzle plate,
4. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the frame member is the nozzle protection member holding member. a flow path forming member that is joined to the nozzle plate and forms a flow path through which liquid to be supplied to the nozzles flows;
a frame member joined to the surface of the flow path forming member opposite to the surface joined to the nozzle plate;
A liquid ejection head comprising a base member that holds the frame member,
4. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the base member is the nozzle protection member holding member. 4. The resin member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the resin member has an inclined surface that is inclined so as to protrude in the liquid ejection direction toward a side surface of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member. 3. The liquid ejection head according to . 7. The peripheral wall portion has, at a portion adjacent to the resin member, an inclined surface which is inclined so as to protrude in a liquid ejection direction on a side of the nozzle protection member joined to the nozzle protection member holding member. A liquid ejection head as described. 8. The liquid ejection head according to claim 7, wherein the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the resin member with respect to the liquid ejection direction is larger than the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the peripheral wall portion with respect to the liquid ejection direction. 4. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the resin member has a Young's modulus of 3 GPa or more. A liquid ejection apparatus comprising the liquid ejection head according to claim 1 .

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