JP3067535B2 - Ink ejecting apparatus and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a printer head using a piezoelectric ink jet has been proposed. In this method, the volume of the ink chamber is changed by the dimensional displacement of the piezoelectric actuator, whereby the ink in the ink chamber is ejected when the volume is reduced, and the ink is introduced into the ink chamber when the volume is increased. By arranging a large number of such ink chambers close to each other and ejecting ink from the ink chamber at a predetermined position, a desired character or image is formed.

[0003] As such an ink ejecting apparatus, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-150355. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIG. 8 showing a partial cross-sectional view of the array 12. The piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 has a groove 42 separated by a plurality of partition walls 5 and has been subjected to polarization processing in the direction of arrow 21. A large number of parallel ink chambers 3 that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction are formed by joining the top plate 2 with the top plate 2. The ink chamber 3 is long and narrow with a rectangular cross section, and the partition wall 5 extends over the entire length of the ink chamber 3. In the lower half (or upper half) of the surface of the partition wall 5, a drive electrode 6 for applying a drive voltage is formed. A protective film (not shown) is formed on the drive electrode 6 when the ink is a conductive material or when the reliability and durability are improved.

Each channel 13 of the array 12 has an ink chamber 3, an ejection port (not shown) communicating with one end of the ink chamber 3, and an ink supply unit (not shown) communicating with the other end of the ink chamber 3. , A piezoelectrically deformable partition 5 forming the ink chamber 3.

The electric circuit shown in FIG. 9 is provided in the array 12. In this electric circuit, the drive electrodes 6a to 6h are connected to the LSI chip 31, respectively.
The clock line 32, the data line 33, the drive voltage line 34, and the ground line 35 are also connected to the LSI chip 31. The channels 13a to 13c are divided into first and second groups that are not adjacent to each other.
The SI chip 31 continuously drives the first and second groups. The LSI chip 31 determines which channel 13a to 13c of each group is to be activated from the multi-bit word format data appearing on the data line 33,
The drive voltage V of the drive voltage line 34 is applied to the drive electrode 6 of the ink chamber 3 of the channel 13 of the selected group.
Both partition walls 5 of the selected channel 13 are deformed by the piezoelectric effect. At this time, the drive electrodes 6 of the channels 13 of the same group that are not activated and the drive electrodes 6 of all the channels 13 belonging to other groups are grounded.

FIG. 9 shows a case where the channel 13b is selected according to predetermined print data.
The drive voltage V of the drive voltage line 34 is applied to the drive electrodes 6 d and 6 e in the “b”, and the other drive electrodes 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and 6
f, 6g and 6h are grounded. Then, the partition walls 5b, 5c
In the portions where the drive electrodes 6d and 6e are formed, the drive electric fields 22 and 23, which are orthogonal to the polarization direction, are respectively generated. Deform toward. This ink chamber 3
As the volume of b increases, ink is replenished from the ink supply unit (not shown). When the application of the driving voltage is interrupted and the partition walls 5b and 5c return to their original positions, the ink chamber 3b
And the ink in the ink chamber 3b is ejected through an ejection port (not shown). When another channel 13c is selected, for example, the partitions 5c and 5d are deformed, and the ink in the ink chamber 3c is ejected.

This type of ink jetting apparatus is manufactured by a method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-150355. According to the method described in this publication, lead zirconate titanate (PZ) having ferroelectricity is first used.
A plurality of grooves 42 (FIG. 1) which are parallel to each other and have the same width by rotating the diamond cutting disk or by laser or the like by subjecting a T) -based ceramic material to polarization processing in the polarization direction.
By cutting 0), the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 for forming the ink chamber 3 is manufactured. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the drive electrodes 6 are formed on the partition walls 5 by a vacuum evaporation method. At this time, the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 is inclined by an angle ψ with respect to the evaporation source 14 so that
A conductive thin film serving as a drive electrode 6 is formed only on a necessary region on the opening side of the partition wall 5 due to the shadow effect of
The drive electrode 6 is formed by removing the conductive thin film on the top portion 11 of FIG. Thereafter, the top plate 2, the ink ejection ports, and the ink supply unit are installed on the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 manufactured as described above, and the ink ejection device is manufactured.

[0008] In the ink ejecting apparatus as described in the above-mentioned publication, the channel 13b from which the ink is ejected is provided.
Deformation of the partition walls 5b, 5c for ejecting from the ink chamber 3b, pressure is applied to the ink in the ink chambers 3a, 3c of the adjacent channels 13a, 13c (crosstalk) to perform ink ejection. was there.

In the ink jet apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-247051, air chambers are provided on both sides of the ink chamber. The schematic configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the above-described shear mode type ink ejecting apparatus 600 includes a bottom wall 601, a top wall 602, and a shear mode actuator wall 603 therebetween. The actuator wall 603 is bonded to the bottom wall 601 and is polarized in the direction of the arrow 611 in the lower wall 607.
And an upper wall 605 bonded to the top wall 602 and polarized in the direction of the arrow 609. The actuator walls 603 are paired to form an ink chamber 613 therebetween, and between the next pair of actuator walls 603,
An air chamber 615 narrower than the ink chamber 613 is formed.

A nozzle 61 is provided at one end of each ink chamber 613.
A nozzle plate 617 having an 8 is fixed, and electrodes 619 and 621 are provided on both sides of each actuator wall 603 as a metallized layer. Each of the electrodes 619 and 621 is covered with an insulating layer (not shown) for insulating the ink. And an electrode 619 facing the air chamber 615,
621 is connected to the earth 623, and the electrodes 619 and 621 provided in the ink chamber 613 are connected to the silicon chip 625 that provides an actuator drive circuit.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ink ejecting apparatus 600 will be described. First, the piezoelectric ceramic layer polarized in the direction of the arrow 611 is bonded to the bottom wall 601, and the piezoelectric ceramic layer polarized in the direction of the arrow 609 is bonded to the top wall 602. The thickness of each piezoelectric ceramic layer is determined by the lower wall 607 and the upper wall 60.
Equivalent to a height of 5. Next, a parallel groove is formed in the piezoelectric ceramic layer by rotation of a diamond cutting disk or the like to form a lower wall 607 and an upper wall 605. Then, the electrode 61 is formed on the side surface of the lower wall 607 by vacuum evaporation.
9, and the insulating layer is provided on the electrode 619.
Similarly, the electrode 621 and the insulating layer are provided on the side surface of the upper wall 605.

The ink chamber 613 and the air chamber 615 are formed by bonding the zenith of the upper wall 605 and the zenith of the lower wall 607. Next, a nozzle plate 617 having a perforated nozzle 618 is bonded to one end of the ink chamber 613 and the air chamber 615 so that the nozzle 618 corresponds to the ink chamber 613. The ends are connected to silicon chip 625 and ground 623.

The electrodes 619 of each ink chamber 613,
When the silicon chip 625 applies a drive voltage to the actuator chamber 621, each actuator wall 603 is moved to the ink chamber 6.
13, the piezoelectric thickness-shear deformation in the direction of increasing the volume,
After a predetermined time, the application of the driving voltage is stopped and the volume of the ink chamber 613 is changed from the increased state to the natural state, pressure is applied to the ink in the ink chamber 613, and the ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle 618.

[0015]

However, in the ink jetting apparatus 600 having the above-described structure, the top of the lower wall 607 bonded to the bottom wall 601 and the top of the upper wall 605 bonded to the top wall 602 are arranged. Are bonded, so that it is very difficult to align the lower wall 607 and the upper wall 605 in the bonding process, which takes time and is inferior in mass productivity. Further, since the actuator wall 603 has three adhesive portions, the adhesive deforms in the opposite direction to the deformation of the upper wall 605 and the lower wall 607 when the actuator wall 603 is deformed, and energy loss at the adhesive portion is reduced. There was a problem of being large.

In order to solve this problem, a plurality of grooves are provided in the piezoelectric ceramic plate as in the manufacturing method described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-150355, and the grooves are formed on the cover plate. When the ink chamber and the air chamber are formed by closing,
Since the driving electrodes are simultaneously formed in a half area from the top of the partition wall separating the ink chamber and the air chamber, the width of the air chamber has to be substantially equal to the width of the ink chamber, and therefore, the integration degree of the ink chamber, That is, there is a problem that the degree of integration of the nozzle is reduced by half.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to prevent crosstalk caused by ink ejection, to improve the degree of integration of nozzles, and to improve mass productivity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ejecting apparatus which is excellent in energy consumption and has low energy loss and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an ejection channel for ejecting ink, and on both sides of the ejection channel, a width smaller than that of the ejection channel is formed. An ink ejecting apparatus having a non-ejection region that does not eject and a partition formed of piezoelectric ceramic and separating the ejection channel and the non-ejection region, wherein one of the partition is on the non-ejection region side or the ejection channel side. A first electrode formed in a region larger than half from the top or bottom, and a region smaller than half from the top or bottom on the other side of the partition in the non-ejection region side or the ejection channel side. And a second electrode.

According to a second aspect, the first electrode is formed on a side surface of the partition wall on the non-ejection region side, the first electrodes on both side surfaces of the non-ejection region are electrically connected, and the second electrode is ,
The partition wall is formed on the side surface on the side of the injection channel, the second electrodes on both side surfaces are electrically connected, the first electrode is grounded, and the driving voltage is applied to the second electrode. I do.

In the third aspect, the first electrode is formed on the entire side surface of the partition wall on the non-ejection region side, and the second electrode is formed from the top of the partition wall on the injection channel side surface of the partition wall. It is characterized in that it is formed in a region within 40% of the height.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the first electrode is a conductive member filled in the non-ejection area.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an ejection channel for ejecting ink, a non-ejection region provided on both sides of the ejection channel and not ejecting ink, and the ejection channel and the non-ejection region formed of piezoelectric ceramics are provided. A method of manufacturing an ink jetting device having a partition wall and a partition, wherein a first step of forming a first groove that becomes one of the non-jetting area or the jetting channel on a piezoelectric ceramic plate, and a head of a side face of the first groove A second step of forming a first electrode in an area larger than half from the top or bottom, and forming a second groove on the piezoelectric ceramic plate, which is the other of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel, in a width of the first groove. And forming a second electrode in a region smaller than half from the top or bottom of the side surface of the second groove. Consisting of the fourth step.

In the sixth aspect, the first step forms a first groove to be the non-jetting area, and the second step forms a first electrode on the entire inner surface of the first groove. The three steps
The second groove to be the injection channel is formed wider than the width of the first groove, and in the fourth step, the second electrode is formed in a region within 40% of the height of the partition from the top of the side surface of the second groove. It is characterized by forming.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an ejection channel for ejecting ink, a non-ejection region provided on both sides of the ejection channel and not ejecting ink, and the ejection channel and the non-ejection region formed of piezoelectric ceramics are provided. A method of manufacturing an ink ejecting apparatus having a partition wall separating the first step, wherein a first groove serving as one of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel is formed in a piezoelectric ceramic plate, and the first step is formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate. A second step of forming a second groove shallower than the depth of the groove, and a third step of forming an electrode on the inner surface of the first groove and the inner surface of the second groove,
A fourth step of forming a third groove from the bottom surface of the second groove to the depth of the first groove, which is different from the width of the first groove, which is the other of the non-injection area or the injection channel.

[0025] In the eighth aspect, the first step forms a first groove to be the non-injection area, and the second step includes forming a second groove having a depth within 40% of a depth of the first groove. Forming a groove, the third step forms a first electrode on the inner surface of the first groove and the second groove, the fourth step becomes the injection channel,
The third groove is formed wider than the first groove.

[0026]

In the ink jet apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first electrode is provided on one of the non-ejection area side and the ejection channel side of the partition wall from the top or bottom of the partition wall. The second electrode is formed in an area larger than half, and the second electrode is formed in an area smaller than half from the top or bottom of the partition on the other side of the partition on the non-ejection area side or the injection channel side, and the first electrode Alternatively, a driving voltage is applied to one of the second electrodes, the other of the first electrode or the second electrode is grounded, an electric field is generated in the partition wall, the volume of the ejection channel changes, and ink is discharged. It is injected.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first step, the first groove is formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate as one of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel, and in the second step, the first groove is formed. A first electrode is formed in an area larger than half from the top or bottom of the side surface of one groove, and in a third step, a second groove serving as the other of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel has a width in the piezoelectric ceramic plate. Is formed differently from the width of the first groove,
In the fourth step, a second electrode is formed in an area smaller than half the top or bottom of the side surface of the second groove. Therefore, the ink ejecting apparatus as described in claim 1 is manufactured.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first step, the first groove is formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate as one of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel. A second groove shallower than the depth of the first groove is formed in the ceramic plate, electrodes are formed on an inner surface of the first groove and an inner surface of the second groove in a third step, and the non-jetting is performed in a fourth step. A third groove, which is the other of the region or the injection channel, has a width different from that of the first groove and is formed from a bottom surface of the second groove to a depth of the first groove. Therefore, the ink ejecting apparatus as described in claim 1 is manufactured.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an ink jet apparatus embodying the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. The same parts and equivalent parts as those in the above-described conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, a 1 mm-thick polarization-treated layer in the direction of an arrow 21 made of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) -based ceramic material having ferroelectricity is applied.
The piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 is provided with grooves 41 and 42 separated by a partition wall 5. Also, groove 4
Reference numerals 1 and 42 gradually become shallower as they approach one end face of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 to form shallow grooves (not shown). A drive electrode 6 as a second electrode is provided on the surface of the partition wall 5 on the groove 42 side in a region one fifth from the crown 11.
Is formed, and a driving electrode 8 as a first electrode is formed on the entire surface of the partition wall 5 on the groove 41 side.
An electrode is formed on the inner surface of the shallow groove, and is electrically connected to the drive electrodes 6 and 8.

The grooves 41, 4 of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1
On the opening 2 side, a top plate 2 provided with an ink supply port (not shown) at a position corresponding to the groove 42 is adhered to form an array 12, and an ink chamber 3 as an ejection channel and an air chamber as a non-ejection area 4 are formed. Air chambers 4 are arranged on both sides of the ink chamber 3. A part of the shallow groove is not covered by the top plate 2 but is exposed to the outside, and a resin (not shown) is provided at an end of the top plate 2 so that ink in the ink chamber 3 does not leak from the shallow groove. The shallow groove is filled.

The shapes of the ink chamber 3 and the air chamber 4 are, for example, a rectangular cross section having a width of 80 μm and a height of 400 μm, and the air chamber 4 having a rectangular cross section having a width of 40 μm and a height of 400 μm. In each case, the vertical direction is about 10
mm, one end of the ink chamber 3 communicates with an ejection port (not shown), and the other end communicates with an ink supply unit (not shown). The pitch between the ink chamber 3 and the air chamber 4 is a desired printing resolution, for example, 254 μm.

The array 12 is provided with an electric circuit as shown in FIG.
6f and the driving electrodes 8a to 8d of the air chamber 4 are connected to the LSI chip 31 via the electrodes formed in the shallow grooves, and the clock line 32, the data line 33, the driving voltage line 34 and the ground line 35 are also connected to the LSI chip 31. It is connected to the.

According to the predetermined print data, the ink chamber 3b
Is selected, the drive voltage V of the drive voltage line is applied to the drive electrodes 6c and 6d of the partition walls 5c and 5d of the ink chamber 3b, and the drive electrodes 6a and 6b of the other ink chambers 3a and 3c.
6e, 6f and drive electrodes 8a to 8d of air chambers 4a to 4d
Is grounded. The length of the drive electrode 6 of the partition wall 5 of the ink chamber 3 at the partition wall 5 and the length of the drive electrode 8 of the partition wall 5 of the air chamber 4 at the partition wall 5 are added up to an intermediate value of the added length, that is, in the present embodiment. In the case of the example, the groove 4 of the partition wall 5 is used.
The drive electrode 8 is formed on the whole of one side, and the drive electrode 6 is formed on the groove 42 side of the partition in the region of 20% from the crown 11, so that the region corresponding to 60% from the crown 11 of the partition is formed. In addition, since the drive electric fields 22 and 23 are respectively generated orthogonal to the polarization direction, the partition wall 5 is deformed by the deformation of the piezoelectric thickness-shear effect.
c, 5d are deformed in the shape of an inverted letter toward the outside of the ink chamber 3b. As the volume of the ink chamber 3b increases, ink is supplied from the ink supply unit (not shown). Further, when the application of the driving voltage is cut off and the partition walls 5c and 5d return to the original positions, the volume of the ink chamber 3b decreases and the ink chamber 3b
Is ejected through an ejection port (not shown).

In the ink jetting device having such a configuration, the grooves 41 and 42 are cut in one piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 to form the partition 5, and the top plate 2 is adhered to the top 11 of the partition 5. As a result, the ink chamber 3 and the air chamber 4 are formed.
This method is easier than the ink jetting device 600 disclosed in JP-A-247051, and is excellent in mass productivity. Also,
Since the bonding portion of the partition wall 5 is at one location, the energy loss at the bonding portion is smaller than in the related art. Further, even if the partition walls 5c and 5d of the ink chamber 3b are deformed, the deformation affects only the adjacent air chambers 4b and 4c, so that the other ink chambers 3a and 3c are not affected. No ink is ejected from the other ink chambers 3a and 3c due to the crosstalk of the ink chamber 3b that has ejected the ink. Furthermore,
Since the air chamber 4 is filled with air, the partition walls 5 are easily deformed, and the driving voltage may be low. The air chamber 4
Is formed narrower than the width of the ink chamber 3, the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 can be made smaller, and the degree of integration of the ink chamber 3 can be reduced by the ink jetting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-247051. It can be equal to or greater than 600.

If a driving electric field is generated from 1/3 to 2/3 from the top of the partition wall 5, a sufficient change in the volume of the ink chamber 3 can be obtained and the ink can be ejected satisfactorily. .
In other words, if the drive electrode 8 is formed on the entire surface of the partition wall 5, the drive electrode 6 is located at the height of the partition wall 5 from the top 11.
What is necessary is just to form it within the area of up to 30%. If the range is other than the above range, the amount of deformation of the partition wall is small, the ink is not ejected well, and the driving voltage must be increased.

Next, a first embodiment of the method for manufacturing an ink jet apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, a piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 having a thickness of 1 mm, which has been subjected to a polarization treatment in the direction of an arrow 21 made of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) -based ceramic material having ferroelectricity, By rotating the diamond cutting disk or using a laser or the like, a plurality of first grooves 41 serving as the air chambers 4 are formed in a width of 40 μm and a height of 400 μm.
and a pitch of 254 μm (first step). still,
The shallow groove is formed in the groove 41 at one end of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1. Next, a drive electrode 8 having a thickness of about 1 μm is formed on all surfaces of the groove 41 and the shallow groove by electroless Ni plating (second step).

Next, as shown in FIG.
Between them, a groove 42 serving as the second groove serving as the ink chamber 3 is formed in a shape having a width of 80 μm and a height of 400 μm by the above-described method (third step). The shallow groove is formed in the groove 42 at one end of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1. Then, the driving electrode 6 is formed with a thickness of 1 μm from the top 11 on the side surface on the groove 42 side of the partition wall 5 to 1/5 region by oblique vacuum evaporation as shown in FIG. 10 (fourth step). .

In the case where the drive electrode 6 is formed in a region one fifth of the top of the partition wall 5 in the shape of the groove 42 of the present embodiment, the angle 示 す shown in FIG. 10 is 45 degrees. The material to be vacuum-deposited is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material. However, when corrosion resistance such as when the drive electrode 6 is in direct contact with ink is required, a metal or alloy having good corrosion resistance, that is,
Ni, Au, NiCr and the like are preferable.

After forming a protective film (not shown) on the drive electrode 6 on the groove 42 side of the partition wall 5 if necessary,
The top plate 2 is bonded to the openings of the grooves 41 and 42 of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 to form a large number of parallel ink chambers 3 and air chambers 4 which are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction. still,
The top plate 2 has a plurality of ink supply holes (not shown) corresponding to the grooves 42.

Thereafter, a nozzle plate (not shown) provided with a nozzle at a position corresponding to the ink chamber 3 is bonded to one end of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 and one end of the top plate 2, and drive electrodes 6, 8 are provided in the shallow grooves. By connecting to the LSI chip via the formed electrodes, an ink ejecting apparatus is manufactured.

In such a method of manufacturing an ink jet apparatus, the groove 41 is formed in one piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 in the first step, and the drive electrode 8 is formed in the inner surface of the groove 41 in the second step. In the three steps, the groove 42 is cut, and in the fourth step, 1 / from the top 11 of the partition wall 5 in the groove 42.
5, the drive electrode 6 is formed, and the top plate 2 is adhered to the top 11 of the partition wall 5 to form the ink chamber 3 and the air chamber 4, so that the ink ejecting apparatus can be more easily assembled than before. Excellent in mass productivity. In addition, since the bonding portion of the partition wall 5 is located at one position, energy loss at the bonding portion is smaller than that in the related art. Further, even if the partition wall 5 of the ink chamber 3 is deformed, the deformation affects only the adjacent air chamber 4, so that the other ink chamber 3 is not affected.
No ink is ejected from the other ink chambers 3 due to the crosstalk of the ink chamber 3 from which the ink has been ejected. Furthermore,
Since the air chamber 4 is filled with air, the partition walls 5 are easily deformed, and the driving voltage may be low. The air chamber 4
Can be formed to be narrower than the width of the ink chamber 3, so that the degree of integration of the ink chamber 3 can be reduced according to the conventional Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-247.
It can be equal to or greater than the ink ejecting device 600 disclosed in JP-A-051.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, a polarization treatment is performed in the direction of an arrow 21 made of a ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) -based ceramic material to a thickness of 1.
A groove 41 serving as a first groove serving as an air chamber 4 is formed on a piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 having a width of 40 μm and a height of 4 mm by rotating a diamond cutting disk or laser.
Formed at 00 μm and pitch 254 μm (first step).
A groove 43 as a second groove is formed between the groove 41 and the groove 41 by a width of 80 μm, a height of 80 μm, and a pitch of 254 μm.
(Second step). Next, a drive electrode is formed with a thickness of about 1 μm on all surfaces of the grooves 41 and 43 by electroless Ni plating (third step). Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the groove 44 as the third groove is
3 is formed with a width smaller than 80 μm, for example, a width of 75 μm and up to the depth of the groove 41 by the above method (fourth step).
Thus, the height of 400 μm is formed from the groove 43 and the groove 44.
A groove 42 that becomes the m ink chamber 3 is formed.

Thereafter, an ink jetting device is manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In this way, the ink ejecting apparatus of the present invention can be manufactured without using an expensive vacuum evaporation apparatus.

In the method of manufacturing such an ink ejecting apparatus, a groove 41 is formed in one piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 in a first step, a groove 43 is formed in a second step, and a groove 43 is formed in a third step. Drive electrodes 8 and 6 are formed on the inner surfaces of 41 and 43, and a groove 44 is formed from the bottom surface of groove 43 in the fourth step to form groove 42, and top plate 2 is adhered to top 11 of partition wall 5. Since the ink chamber 3 and the air chamber 4 are formed, the assembly of the ink ejecting apparatus can be easily performed as compared with the conventional case, and the mass productivity is excellent. In addition, since the bonding portion of the partition wall 5 is located at one position, energy loss at the bonding portion is smaller than that in the related art.
Further, even if the partition wall 5 of the ink chamber 3 is deformed, the deformation affects only the adjacent air chamber 4, so that the other ink chamber 3 is not affected, and the ink chamber that has ejected ink is not affected. No ink is ejected from the other ink chambers 3 due to the crosstalk 3. Further, since the air chamber 4 is filled with air, the partition walls 5 are easily deformed, and the driving voltage may be low. In addition, the width of the air chamber 4 is
Therefore, the degree of integration of the ink chamber 3 can be equal to or greater than that of the ink ejecting apparatus 600 disclosed in the conventional Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-247051.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the ink ejecting apparatus of the present invention, a low Young's modulus material such as an epoxy resin may be sealed so that ink does not enter the air chamber 4.

The driving electrode 8 of the air chamber 4 is also
If the electrical contact of the partition wall 5 made of a piezoelectric material is sufficient, the drive electrode 8 may be manufactured by filling the air chamber 4 with a conductive resin.

Also, in the method of manufacturing the ink jet apparatus of the present invention, the method of manufacturing the drive electrode has been described with reference to electroless Ni plating and vacuum deposition. However, if the wettability with the piezoelectric material used is good. Alternatively, a low-melting-point metal or alloy such as solder may be poured into the grooves 41 and 43 for production.

Although the method for preventing or removing the adhesion of the conductive material such as Ni plating to the top 11 of the partition wall 5 is not described, the conductive material is masked by a general method such as resin masking. It may be removed by grinding, lapping, or the like after preventing the adhesion of the conductive material or attaching the conductive material to the groove.

In this embodiment, the drive electrode 6 on the ink chamber 3 side is formed in a region 1/5 from the top 11 of the partition 5, and the drive electrode 8 on the air chamber 4 side is Although the drive electrode on the ink chamber 3 side is formed on the entire side surface of the partition wall 5, the drive electrode on the air chamber 4 side is 3 to 30% of the height of the partition wall 5 from the top 11 of the partition wall 5. May be formed within the region up to.

Further, in this embodiment, the drive electrode 6 on the ink chamber 3 side is formed in a region 1/5 from the top 11 of the partition 5, and the drive electrode 8 on the air chamber 4 side is The electric field is formed on the entire surface and generates an electric field in a region 60% from the top 11 of the partition 5.
If a driving electric field is generated by, the driving electrode 8 may not be provided on the entire side surface of the partition wall 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, the driving electrode 28 of the air chamber 4 is formed in a region 40% from the top 11 of the partition 5, and the driving electrode 26 of the ink chamber 3 is formed from the top 11 of the partition 5. It may be formed in a 60% area. In such a case, after the grooves 42 serving as the ink chambers 3 and the grooves 41 serving as the air chambers 4 are formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1, the angle with the evaporation source 14 by vacuum evaporation as shown in FIG. And the drive electrodes 26 and 28 can be formed simultaneously.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink ejecting apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention, the ink ejecting apparatus can be more easily assembled than in the past, so that mass productivity is excellent. . Further, since the number of bonding portions of the partition walls is smaller than that of the related art, energy loss at the bonding portion is smaller than that of the related art. Further, the non-ejection area allows the piezoelectric thickness-shear deformation of the partition wall to eject ink from a desired ejection channel without affecting other ejection channels, thereby improving print quality. Further, since the width of the non-ejection area can be made smaller than the width of the ejection channel, the degree of integration of printing can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of an ink ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the ink ejecting apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the method of manufacturing an ink jetting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the method for manufacturing an ink jet apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the method for manufacturing an ink jetting device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the method of manufacturing the ink jet apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the ink ejecting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of an array of a conventional ink ejecting apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of a conventional ink ejecting apparatus.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a drive electrode forming step of a conventional ink ejecting apparatus.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another conventional ink ejecting apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Piezoelectric ceramic plate 3 Ink chamber 4 Air chamber 5 Partition wall 6 Drive electrode 8 Drive electrode 21 Polarization direction

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ejection channel for ejecting ink, a non-ejection region formed on both sides of the ejection channel, the width of which is smaller than the ejection channel and not ejecting ink, and a piezoelectric ceramic formed of the piezoelectric channel. A partition that separates the ejection region from the ejection region, wherein the first electrode is formed on one of the non-ejection region side and the ejection channel side of the partition wall, in an area larger than half from the top or bottom thereof. And a second electrode formed on the other side of the partition wall on the non-ejection area side or the ejection channel side, in an area smaller than half from the top or bottom thereof. 2. The first electrode is formed on a side surface of the partition wall on the non-ejection region side, first electrodes on both side surfaces of the non-ejection region are electrically connected, and the second electrode is formed on the partition wall. Wherein the second electrodes on both sides are electrically connected, the first electrode is grounded, and a driving voltage is applied to the second electrode. Item 2. An ink ejecting apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The first electrode is formed on the entire side surface of the partition wall on the non-ejection region side, and the second electrode is formed at a height of the partition wall from the top on the injection channel side surface of the partition wall. 2. The ink jetting device according to claim 1, wherein the ink jetting device is formed in an area within 40%. 4. The ink ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode is a conductive member filled in the non-ejection area. 5. An ejection channel for ejecting ink, a non-ejection region provided on both sides of the ejection channel and not ejecting ink, and a partition wall formed of piezoelectric ceramics and separating the ejection channel and the non-ejection region. A method of manufacturing an ink ejecting apparatus having: a first step of forming a first groove serving as one of the non-ejection region or the ejection channel in a piezoelectric ceramic plate; and a top or bottom portion of a side surface of the first groove. A second step of forming a first electrode in an area larger than half the width of the second groove that is the other of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel on the piezoelectric ceramic plate, the width of which is different from the width of the first groove. A third step of forming a second electrode in a region smaller than half from the top or bottom of the side surface of the second groove; Method of manufacturing an ink jet apparatus characterized by Ranaru. 6. The first step is to form a first groove to be the non-jetting area, the second step is to form a first electrode on the entire inner surface of the first groove, and the third step is Forming a second groove to be the injection channel wider than the width of the first groove,
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein in the fourth step, the second electrode is formed in a region within 40% of the height of the partition wall from the top of the side surface of the second groove. 7. An ejection channel for ejecting ink, a non-ejection region provided on both sides of the ejection channel and not ejecting ink, and a partition wall formed of piezoelectric ceramics and separating the ejection channel and the non-ejection region. A first step of forming a first groove that becomes one of the non-ejection area or the ejection channel in a piezoelectric ceramic plate, and a depth of the first groove in the piezoelectric ceramic plate. A second step of forming a shallower second groove, a third step of forming an electrode on the inner surface of the first groove and the inner surface of the second groove, and the other of the non-ejection region or the ejection channel, A fourth step of forming a third groove from the bottom surface of the second groove to the depth of the first groove, the fourth step being different from the width of the first groove. Method of manufacturing a morphism device. 8. The first step includes forming a first groove to be the non-spray region, and the second step includes forming a second groove having a depth within 40% of the depth of the first groove. And the third step includes:
Forming a first electrode on the inner surface of the first groove and the second groove,
The fourth step is to form a third groove, which is to be the injection channel, wider than a width of the first groove.
A manufacturing method of the ink ejecting apparatus according to the above.