JP3235310B2 - Ink jet recording head - 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 recording head used in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording head is capable of printing at an extremely high resolution by reducing the size of an ink droplet because dots on a recording medium are constituted by ink droplets, but prints efficiently. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of nozzle openings, especially in the case where a piezoelectric vibrator is used as an ink droplet ejection source, in order to efficiently use the energy of the piezoelectric vibrator, as much as possible in the pressure generating chamber. It is necessary to increase the size, which conflicts with the demand for miniaturization. In order to solve such conflicting problems, it is usually necessary to make the walls defining adjacent pressure generating chambers as thin as possible and increase the shape of the pressure generating chambers in the longitudinal direction to increase the volume. Is being done. The pressure generating chamber and the reservoir are formed by piercing the spacer, which is a member for maintaining the distance between the lid plate and the nozzle plate at a predetermined value, but have an extremely small and complicated shape as described above. Since it is necessary to form a through-hole corresponding to the provided pressure generating chamber, it is usually formed by etching a photosensitive resin film.

However, since the photosensitive resin film has low mechanical strength, there is a problem in that crosstalk, bending, and the like occur, and when high resolution is to be realized, print quality is deteriorated.

In order to solve this problem, the crystal orientation (1)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,2008 discloses that a silicon single crystal substrate of 10) is cut into a thickness suitable for a spacer and is subjected to anisotropic etching into a shape necessary for forming a pressure generating chamber and a reservoir. Proposed. Since the spacer made of single-crystal silicon has high mechanical rigidity, the deflection of the entire recording head due to the deformation of the piezoelectric vibrator can be minimized, and the etched wall surface is Since the pressure generating chamber is substantially vertical, it has a great advantage that the pressure generating chamber can be formed uniformly.

[0005]

However, since the etching depends on the crystal orientation, it is difficult to process the ink jet type recording head into an ideal shape as a pressure generating chamber, and stagnation of ink and air bubbles may occur in the pressure generating chamber. Has the disadvantage that it is prone to stagnation.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pressure generating chamber which is processed by anisotropic etching of a silicon single crystal substrate having a smooth ink flow. To provide an ink jet recording head.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head comprising: a nozzle plate having nozzle openings; a spacer having a pressure generating chamber, an ink supply port, and a through hole forming a reservoir; A lid member for sealing the opening surface, the spacer is formed by anisotropic etching of a silicon single crystal having a crystal orientation of (110), and an end of the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber near the nozzle opening is It is characterized by being formed of two mutually parallel wall surfaces and two wall surfaces which contact each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls. In the ink jet recording head, two parallel wall surfaces and two wall surfaces which are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls are formed perpendicular to the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate. It is characterized by. Further, in such an ink jet recording head,
Of the two wall surfaces which are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls, one wall surface is characterized by forming a wall oblique to the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate. Also,
Such an ink jet recording head is characterized in that one of the walls defining the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber and the wall defining the through hole forming the ink supply port are formed as the same wall. Further, in such an ink jet recording head, the ink supply port is formed substantially on the center line in the width direction of the pressure chamber. In the ink jet recording head, the ink supply port is provided in a direction parallel to a thickness direction of the spacer.
It is characterized by being formed with a V-shaped non-through hole. Also,
Such an ink jet recording head is characterized in that a plurality of rectangular recesses having a volume capable of accommodating excess adhesive are arranged around the through holes.

[0008]

Since the vicinity of the nozzle opening where the ink is likely to stagnate is formed by six wall surfaces which contact at an obtuse angle, the shape becomes smooth, the ink flow can be made smooth, and the stagnation of bubbles near the nozzle opening can be prevented. it can.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below based on embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a nozzle plate having a predetermined pitch, for example, 1 nozzle.
An opening row 3, 3,... Formed with nozzle openings 2, 2, 2,.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a spacer which is interposed between a nozzle plate 1 and a vibration plate 10 serving as a cover plate which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure generating chambers correspond to the nozzle rows. , Reservoirs, ink supply ports connecting these, through holes 5, 5, 5,... 6, 6, 6,..., 7, which form flow paths for distributing ink from the ink tanks to the respective reservoirs.
, 7, 8, ..., 8, 8, 8, ... are formed.

Numeral 10 denotes a vibration plate serving as a cover plate, which forms a pressure generating chamber facing the nozzle plate 1 via the spacer 4, and as shown in FIG. An island portion 11 having rigidity so as to abut against the tip of the piezoelectric vibrator 30, 21, and transmit its displacement to as large an area as possible, and a thin portion in a peripheral region thereof. 12 are formed. With such a configuration, the pressure generating chamber can be efficiently contracted and expanded in response to the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric vibrators 30, 30, 30,.

The piezoelectric vibrator units 21, 21, 2
1, ... are the piezoelectric vibrators 30, 30, as shown in FIG.
30 are fixed to the fixed substrate 31 at a fixed pitch, and the other half is assembled so as to be able to vibrate in the longitudinal vibration mode. As shown in FIG. 5, each vibrator 30 is configured by alternately stacking a piezoelectric vibration material 32, a drive electrode 33, and a common electrode 34 in a sandwich shape. And drive electrode 3
Are exposed from the end face in the rear end row of the piezoelectric vibrator 30 and are connected in parallel by a driving external electrode 35 formed by sputtering or vapor deposition.
Are exposed on the free end side of the piezoelectric vibrator 30 and extended to the sides, and are connected in parallel by a common external electrode 36.

The driving external electrode 35 of each piezoelectric vibrator 30 is
The end face is positioned so as to be substantially flush with the fixed substrate 31, and the conductive relationship is established with the electrodes 40 on the rear end face of the dummy vibrator 39 located on both sides of the piezoelectric vibrators 30, 30, 30,... Connected to have. Dummy vibrator 39
An electrode 40 is formed on the rear end surface in the same manner as the drive external electrode 35, and can be connected to the connection circuit board.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 42 in the figure is a base, and the vibrator units 21, 21, 21,... Are arranged such that the free ends of the piezoelectric vibrators 30, 30, 30,. , And ink supply ports 44 for supplying ink from an ink tank to a reservoir are provided, and the vibration plate 10, the spacer 4, the nozzle plate 1 are positioned and fixed by a frame body 45 also serving as an electrostatic shield to collectively form a recording head body. Reference numeral 46 in the drawing indicates an inlet for ink from the ink tank.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the through holes 5 and 5 of the spacer have the opening formed in the nozzle plate 1 and the vibration plate 1.
Thus, the pressure generating chamber 48 is closed off by the zero. The pressure generating chamber 48 compresses the ink existing here when the piezoelectric vibrator 30 contracts due to the deformation of the thin portion 12 of the vibration plate 10 which receives the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric vibrator 30 by the island portion 11, and forms the ink droplet from the nozzle opening 2 as an ink droplet. I will fly.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the through holes 5, 5, 5,... Constituting the pressure generating chamber of one embodiment of the above-mentioned spacer 4, and shows the thickness required for the spacer. For example, a through hole 5 serving as a pressure generating chamber 48, a through hole 6 serving as a reservoir, and a through hole 7 serving as an ink supply port connecting these are formed in a silicon single crystal substrate having a crystal orientation (110) having 220 μm, for example. ing.

The through hole 7 serving as an ink supply port is formed such that one of the side walls 7a and 7b defining the ink supply port coincides with one wall 5a of the through hole 5 forming the pressure generating chamber, and the other wall surface. 7b are formed at intervals so that a flow path resistance suitable for the ink supply port can be realized.

When bonding the diaphragm 10 and the nozzle plate 1 to each other with an adhesive around the through holes, a concave portion 5 having a side of about 100 μm for absorbing the adhesive is used.
.. Are also formed by anisotropic etching. The size of each of the recesses 50, 50, 50,... Is set so as to have a minimum depth with a volume large enough to accommodate excess adhesive. When an adhesive is not required, such as in eutectic bonding, these holes for absorbing the adhesive are not required.

FIG. 8 shows the angle between the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber and the wall forming the through hole forming the ink supply port. The through hole 5 forming the pressure generating chamber is shown in FIG. ,
In detail, it is composed of nine wall surfaces 5a to 5h, and the surfaces 5b, 5g, 5h, 5a facing the nozzle openings 2
Are in contact at θ4, θ5, and θ6, respectively, and these angles θ4, θ5, and θ6 are approximately 116 degrees, 125 degrees, respectively.
The obtuse angle is 110 degrees. On the side communicating with the through hole 7 serving as an ink supply port, the wall surfaces 5c, 5d,
5e is formed, and the ink supply port and the pressure generating chamber are connected so as to expand toward the pressure generating chamber.

Further, one wall surface 7a of the through hole 7 forming the ink supply port is formed to be the same wall surface as the one wall surface 5a of the through hole 5 forming the pressure generating chamber, and the other wall surface 7b is formed. The ink supply port is formed in parallel with the wall surface 7a with an interval enough to provide a necessary and sufficient flow path resistance. The wall surface 7a extending straight from the pressure generating chamber to the ink supply port is connected to the wall surface 6a of the through hole 6 forming the reservoir via an enlarged portion formed by the two surfaces 6b and 6c. The angle indicated by θ1 in the drawing is around 30 degrees,
The angle indicated by θ2 is a value around 70 degrees.

FIG. 9 shows a wall surface 5g facing the nozzle opening 2.
Shows the cross-sectional structure of the surface and the angle θ
7 = slopes 5g1 and 5g2 of about 35 degrees are formed, and both are in contact with the wall surface 5g at an obtuse angle of about 145 degrees. The slopes 5g1 and 5g2 contribute to making the flow near the nozzle opening 2 in the pressure generating chamber as uniform as possible due to the asymmetrical shape accompanying the anisotropic etching to prevent stagnation of bubbles and the like. are doing.

An adhesive is applied to the spacer 4 configured as described above, and the nozzle plate 1 and the vibration plate 10 are aligned and pressed. The surplus adhesive due to the pressure bonding is filled with fine concave portions 50, 50, 50,... Which surround the pressure generating chamber, the ink supply port, and the through holes 5, 7, 6, which serve as reservoirs. Flow into Therefore, the volumes of the pressure generating chamber, the ink supply port, and the reservoir are prevented from changing due to the flow of the adhesive. When the joining is completed, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the nozzle opening 2 of the nozzle plate is formed near the front end of the center line of the through hole 5 forming the pressure generating chamber, and the diaphragm 10 is formed so as to cover almost the entire area. The island part 11 will be located. When the piezoelectric vibrator 30 is driven in this state, the displacement extends to the entire pressure generating chamber via the island portion 11, so that the displacement of the piezoelectric vibrator 30 can be converted into the volume change of the pressure generating chamber with high efficiency. .

FIG. 10 shows a process of manufacturing the above-described spacer. In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a silicon single crystal substrate having a crystal orientation (110) having a thickness required to function as a spacer, for example, 220 μm. A silicon dioxide film 61 having a thickness enough to function as a protective film for anisotropic etching, for example, about 1 μm, is formed on the surface thereof by a thermal oxidation method.
Are formed (FIG. 10A).

On the front and back surfaces of the substrate 60 on which the silicon dioxide film 61 is formed, the above-mentioned through holes 5, 6, 7 and, if necessary, the hydrogen fluoride protective film provided with windows 63, 64 corresponding to the concave portions 50. 62 are formed by photolithography (FIG. 10B).

When etching is performed with hydrogen fluoride in this state, the silicon dioxide film 61 is removed in conformity with the windows 63, 64 in the regions where the through holes 5, 6, 7 and the concave portion 50 are to be formed (FIG. 10 (c)). The silicon dioxide film patterns 61a and 61b formed on the front surface and the rear surface are:
The patterns 61a and 61b on one surface are formed to have slightly different sizes so that one pattern 61a surrounds the pattern 61b on the other surface.

At the stage where the silicon dioxide pattern formation is completed, etching is performed using an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide having a concentration of about 17% kept at a constant temperature, for example, 80 ° C., to form a silicon dioxide film. Pattern 61
a, 61b as a protective film, only the windows 63, 64
Etching proceeds at a rate of about 2 μm per minute, from both sides to a plane of about 35 degrees with respect to the surface, that is, perpendicular to the plane of the crystal orientation (111).

By the way, as described above, the patterns 61a and 61b formed on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 60 are provided.
Are set to be large so that one of them surrounds the other, so that when the etching is completed, the size of the through-hole 65 matches the size of the large pattern 61b.
Is formed (FIG. 10D). As a result. Even if there is a slight shift of the pattern on the front and back, at least the edge of the pattern located on the outside becomes the etched surface,
It is possible to manage the etching position.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11, when patterns 70 and 71 having the same size are formed on the front and back of the substrate 72, if these patterns are misaligned, the through holes 73 to be formed in the opposing patterns on the front and back. The wall surfaces 72a, 72a coincide with the boundaries of the patterns 70a, 71a located outside the
Since b is formed, the through hole 73 having a size different from the size defined by the patterns 70 and 71 is formed, and it is impossible to control the size of the through hole and the position of the etched surface. Become.

At the stage when the through holes 65 are formed in this manner, the silicon dioxide films 61a and 61b used as masks are used.
Is removed by hydrogen fluoride, and thermal oxidation is performed again to form a silicon dioxide 66 having a sufficient thickness as a protective film, for example, about 1 μm, on the exposed surface and the entire surface to form a protective film for ink (FIG. 10E )).

Incidentally, such a crystal orientation (110)
When the anisotropic etching is performed on the silicon single crystal substrate, in the process of reaching the target pattern, an angle of about 35 degrees with respect to the crystal orientation (110) is obtained as shown in FIG.
That is, the etching proceeds in conformity with the crystal orientation (111).

In order to actively utilize such properties,
As shown in FIG. 13A, a half of the area of the through-hole 5 serving as the pressure generating chamber on the side facing the nozzle opening is defined by the boundary 80a of the etching pattern 80 defining the wall. 5a. Among the wall surfaces forming the through holes 7 serving as the ink supply ports, a wall surface 7b on the side opposite to the wall surface 7a located in a straight line with the wall surface 5a of the through hole 5 serving as the pressure generating chamber is provided with the through hole 5 side. The sword-shaped etching protection pattern 81 extended to the ink supply port 7 is also provided in the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir.
Sword-shaped etching protection patterns 82 and 83 corresponding to the respective wall surfaces 7a and 7b forming the above.

When anisotropic etching is performed using the etching pattern formed as described above, the pattern 80 has an edge portion 80a when forming the through hole 5, and the etching of the edge portion 80a is performed by the wall surface 5b. 5 having a predetermined angle θ1 = about 30 degrees with respect to
It proceeds while forming f. Then, the etching proceeds to a region opposed to the nozzle opening, and when the wall surface 5h and the wall surface 5f are in contact with each other, a new wall surface 5g that is in contact with the wall surface 5h at an angle θ5 = about 125 angle between the wall surfaces 5h and 5f. Is formed. With this, the wall surface 5f gradually disappears, and the length of the pattern 80 from the wall surface 5h is adjusted so that the etching is completed when the wall surface 5f completely disappears.
As the wall surface 5g progresses, two new wall surfaces 5g1 and 5g2 described in FIG. 9 are formed between the wall surface 5g and the (110) plane which is the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate. As a result, the wall surfaces near the nozzle opening 2 are perpendicular to the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate and are in contact with each other at obtuse angles.
h, 5g, 5b and the wall surface 5g, two wall surfaces 5g1 and 5g2 in contact with each other at an obtuse angle in the cross-sectional direction of the silicon single crystal substrate are formed, so that the ink flow near the nozzle opening 2 is allowed. It can be made as uniform as possible to prevent stagnation of bubbles and the like.

On the other hand, at the time of etching the through hole 7 serving as the ink supply port, the sword-like etching protection patterns 81, 82 and 83 formed with their ends extending from the wall face are subjected to etching (FIG. 13 ( b)), at the final stage, that is, at the stage where a through hole is formed by etching from both surfaces and the etching proceeds to a target shape, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the angle θ1 = 3 with respect to the wall surface 5c and the wall surface 7b on the pressure generating chamber side of the through hole 7 serving as the ink supply port.
Walls 5d and 5e having an angle of about 0 degree are formed, and an angle θ1 = 5 ° on the reservoir side with respect to the walls 6a and 7a.
The wall surfaces 6b and 6c having an angle of about 30 degrees are formed. As a result, an expanded opening is formed at the ink inflow port and the discharge port, so that the ink flows smoothly from the reservoir to the pressure generating chamber, and stagnation of bubbles is prevented.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view showing a pattern on the side of the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir when ink is supplied to two rows of pressure generating chambers by one reservoir, and is arranged in each row. Due to the fact that the nozzles are slightly displaced from each other, when the spacing between the pressure generating chambers in each row is small, as shown in FIG.
... and sword-shaped patterns 82, 82, 82 ..., 83, 83, 83 ... extended from 7 ', 7', 7 '...
.. and 82 ', 82', 82 '..., 83', 8
.. May be partially overlapped. When such overlap occurs, the sword pattern is not completely etched, and it becomes impossible to form the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir. However, if the two rows of pressure generating chambers are long enough for the length of the sword pattern,
When the positional relationship of the nozzles arranged in each row does not cause overlap, it is possible to use such an etching pattern.

FIG. 15 (a) shows an embodiment of an anisotropic etching pattern for avoiding the above-mentioned overlap. In this embodiment, a pattern serving as an ink supply port is provided. A connection point between the hole 7 and the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir is formed as a continuous portion 85 having a thin pattern,
From this, one sword-shaped etching protection pattern 86 is formed extending in the axial direction of the through hole 7 serving as an ink supply port.

According to the etching pattern of this embodiment, the connection point between the ink supply port 7 and the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir is blocked by the continuous portion 85, so that one sword portion 86 is formed.
This makes it possible to prevent unnecessary progress of etching.

According to this embodiment, when ink is supplied to the two rows of pressure generating chambers by one reservoir as described above, the ink supply formed on the side of the through hole 6 serving as a reservoir as shown in FIG. Through holes 7, 7, 7,... Forming the mouth
, And 7 ′, 7 ′, 7 ′,... Are formed as continuous portions, and etching protection patterns 85, 85, 85,. , And 7 ', 7', through holes 7, 7, 7,...
One sword-shaped etching protection pattern 86, 86, 86,..., 86 ′, 8 respectively so as to match 7 ′.
6 ′, 86 ′,... Are formed. Therefore, when the nozzles of each nozzle row are shifted, the sword-shaped etching protection patterns 86, 86, 86,. 8
6 ′, 86 ′... Can be developed and arranged on a plane without overlapping.

FIG. 17 shows the shape near the connection area between the pressure generating chamber and the ink supply port formed in the spacer of the second embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention. In this embodiment, a through-hole 92 forming an ink supply port connected to a through-hole 91 forming a reservoir is provided with a through-hole 92 forming a pressure generating chamber, and longitudinal wall surfaces 90a, 90b defining the pressure generating chamber. Wall surfaces 90c and 90d extending obliquely from the pressure generating chamber are formed so as to be connected substantially on the center line of the pressure generating chamber.

According to this embodiment, the ink is supplied from the reservoir to the wall surfaces 90c and 90c at the center of the end of the pressure generating chamber.
Since the ink can be supplied from the walls 90e and 90f which naturally occur along the d and the crystal axis formed in the etching process, the ink flow can be further smoothed and the stagnation can be eliminated.

FIG. 18 shows the shape near the connection area between the pressure generating chamber and the ink supply port formed in the spacer of the third embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention. , Through holes that form a pressure generating chamber,
In this embodiment, a through hole 101 forming a reservoir is provided.
Is formed as a V-shaped non-through port. The ink supply port 102 is connected to the longitudinal wall surface 100a defining the pressure generating chamber at an angle θ6 of about 54 degrees. In addition, FIG.
As shown in (2), it is formed of two inclined surfaces having an angle θ7 of about 35, that is, a (111) plane. By adopting such a shape, it is possible to prevent a region that partitions the pressure generating chamber from being in a cantilever state, and it is possible to control the size of the ink supply port 102 with high accuracy.

Although the configuration in which the piezoelectric vibrator is used as the pressure generating source has been described as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to a device in which the generated bubbles are used as a pressure generating source without any problem.

[0043]

According to the ink jet recording head of the present invention, a nozzle plate having a nozzle opening, a spacer having a pressure generating chamber, an ink supply port, and a through hole forming a reservoir, and an opening surface of the spacer are sealed. The spacer is formed by anisotropically etching a silicon single crystal having a crystal orientation of (110), and the end of the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber near the nozzle opening is parallel to each other. 2
Since two wall surfaces and two wall surfaces that are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel wall are formed, the vicinity of the nozzle opening where ink is likely to stagnate is formed by four wall surfaces that are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle. This has the effect that the ink flow can be made smooth and the stagnation of air bubbles near the nozzle opening can be prevented. Further, in such an ink jet type recording head, of the two wall surfaces which contact each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls, one wall is formed with a wall oblique to the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate, This has the effect of making the flow near the nozzle opening in the pressure generating chamber due to the asymmetrical shape accompanying the anisotropic etching as uniform as possible and preventing stagnation of air bubbles and the like. Further, in such an ink jet recording head, one of the wall surfaces defining the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber and the wall surface defining the through hole forming the ink supply port are formed as the same wall surface. This has the effect that the ink can smoothly flow into the pressure chamber and stagnation of air bubbles near the nozzle opening can be prevented. Further, in the ink jet type recording head, since the ink supply port is formed substantially on the center line in the width direction of the pressure chamber, the flow of ink from the reservoir to the pressure chamber is further smoothed and stagnation is eliminated. It has the effect that can be done. In the ink jet recording head, the ink supply port is provided in a direction parallel to a thickness direction of the spacer.
By forming the V-shaped non-through hole, the area that divides the pressure generating chamber can be prevented from being in a cantilever state, and the size of the ink supply port can be controlled with high precision. Having. Further, in such an ink jet recording head, a plurality of rectangular recesses having a volume capable of accommodating excess adhesive are arranged around the through holes, so that the spacer is coated with the adhesive, and the nozzle plate and the nozzle plate are coated. When pressure is applied to the diaphragm, the excess adhesive flows into a recess formed to surround the pressure generation chamber, the ink supply port, and the reservoir, thereby bonding the pressure generation chamber, the ink supply port, and the reservoir. This has the effect of preventing a volume change due to the inflow of the agent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembly view showing one embodiment of an ink jet recording head of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a spacer used in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a view showing one embodiment of a diaphragm used in the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a piezoelectric vibrator unit used in the device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an electrode structure of the piezoelectric vibrator.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing a pressure generating chamber of an embodiment of the recording head of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are enlarged views showing the vicinity of a pressure generating chamber of the spacer, and FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship among a nozzle opening, an island portion, and a piezoelectric vibrator when the vibrating plate and the vibrator are fixed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing angles formed by respective wall surfaces forming through holes.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional shape near a nozzle opening of a through hole constituting a pressure generating chamber.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a step of producing a spacer by anisotropically etching a silicon single crystal substrate having a crystal orientation (110).

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an etching situation due to a positional shift of an etching pattern formed on both front and back surfaces used for anisotropic etching of a crystal orientation (110).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the progress of anisotropic etching of a silicon single crystal substrate having a crystal orientation (110).

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a pattern when a spacer is formed on a silicon single crystal substrate by anisotropic etching, and a state immediately before the end of etching.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the overlapping of the etching patterns on the reservoir side when ink is supplied to two rows of pressure generating chambers by one reservoir.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams showing another example of a pattern when a spacer is formed on a silicon single crystal substrate by anisotropic etching, and a state immediately before the end of etching.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view showing an example of an etching pattern on the reservoir side when one reservoir supplies ink to two rows of pressure generating chambers.

FIG. 17 is a view showing the shape of a through hole according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating shapes of a pressure generating chamber and an ink supply port formed in a spacer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of a supply port formed in the spacer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nozzle plate 2 Nozzle opening 3 Nozzle opening row 4 Spacer 5 Pressure generating chamber forming through-hole 5a-5h Wall surface which divides through-hole forming pressure generating chamber 6 Reservoir forming through-hole 6a-6c Through-hole forming reservoir 7 Ink supply port forming through holes 7a, 7b Wall surface 10 Vibration plate 11 Island portion 21 Piezoelectric vibrator unit 30 Piezoelectric vibrator

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/045 B41J 2/055 B41J 2/16

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A nozzle plate having a nozzle opening, a pressure generating chamber communicating with the nozzle opening, a reservoir for supplying ink to the pressure generating chamber, and an ink supply port connecting the pressure generating chamber and the reservoir. A spacer to be formed, and a lid member for sealing an opening surface of the spacer, wherein the spacer is formed by anisotropically etching a silicon single crystal having a crystal orientation of (110) to form the pressure generating chamber. An ink-jet printer type recording head, wherein an end of the hole near the nozzle opening is formed by two mutually parallel wall surfaces and two wall surfaces which contact each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel wall. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the two parallel wall surfaces and two wall surfaces which are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls are formed perpendicular to a surface of the silicon single crystal substrate. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein one of the two wall surfaces which are in contact with each other at an obtuse angle so as to close the parallel walls is formed with an oblique wall with respect to the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the walls defining the through hole forming the pressure generating chamber and the wall defining the through hole defining the ink supply port are formed as the same wall. The ink jet recording head according to claim 3. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is formed substantially on a center line in a width direction of the pressure chamber. 6. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is formed as a V-shaped non-through hole in a direction parallel to a thickness direction of the spacer. Type recording head. 7. An excess adhesive is accommodated around the through hole.
Multiple rectangular recesses with a possible volume are arranged
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
On-board ink jet recording head.