JP4385667B2 - An ink jet recording head and a printing apparatus having the ink jet recording head. - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Field of the Invention]
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head in which pressure generating means is provided in a partial region of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening, and ink is generated by pressurizing ink in the pressure generating chamber by the pressure generating means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to cope with high-speed printing and high-density printing, the number of nozzle openings per recording head is increased. Inkjet recording heads use liquids such as nozzle openings and pressure generation chambers. Therefore, it is required to form the nozzle openings and flow paths uniformly and with high accuracy.
If a problem occurs in one of the nozzle openings or the flow path, the print quality is extremely deteriorated so that it cannot be used as a recording head. Therefore, compared with a wire impact type recording head or a thermal transfer type recording head, its production I have the problem of poor yield.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to use a combination of a plurality of recording heads having a relatively small number of flow paths such as pressure generation chambers and nozzle openings. Ink is supplied to each recording head from the outside. There is a problem that a flow path is required for each recording head, and the ink supply system becomes complicated.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of head units as one recording head while simplifying the ink supply flow path from the outside. To provide an ink jet recording head that can function.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such problems, an ink jet recording head according to the present invention includes a head unit in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers in which pressure generating means for pressurizing ink are arranged are provided, and a plurality of head units. Each of the pressure generation chambers is provided with a flow path unit in which a reservoir is formed, and the plurality of head units are arranged in the same flow path unit so as to straddle the reservoir of the flow path unit. Is fixed.
[0005]
[Action]
Since ink can be supplied to a plurality of head units using the reservoir of the flow path unit, there is no need to provide an ink introduction port for each head unit, the size of the entire recording head is reduced, and ink is supplied from the outside. Therefore, the flow path can be simplified by reducing the number of ink introduction ports.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, details of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment.
1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, reference numerals 1 and 2 denote head units which will be described later and are configured to have the same specifications. Three rows are fixed on the surface of a flow path unit 6 (to be described later) that also functions as a fixing member at equal intervals in the main scanning direction, that is, the moving direction of the recording head, so as to be in a vertical relationship and shifted by a later-described interval ΔL. ing.
[0007]
The head unit 1 and the head unit 2 are formed with two rows of independent pressure generating chambers 4 and 5, respectively, and the pressure generating chambers 4, 4, 5, and 5 in each row of the upper and lower head units 1 and 2 are provided. Each communicates with the reservoirs 8 and 9 of the flow path unit 6 formed so as to straddle the two head units 1 and 2.
[0008]
In order to supply ink to the reservoirs 8 and 9 of the units 1 and 2 in each row, the diagonal points of the head units 1 and 2 facing the upper and lower sides of the rows A, B, and C arranged in the flow path unit 6, respectively. Are formed in the flow path unit 6 in which the ink supply pipes 14 and 15 communicating with the ink introduction ports 11 and 12 are installed in the head case 13 and the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 in the same row communicate with each other . Ink can be supplied to the reservoirs 8 and 9 independently of each other.
[0009]
Since the reservoirs 8 and 9 are thus independent, different color ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle opening rows A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2, C-1, and C-2. For example, the nozzle opening rows A-1, A-2, and B-1 are arranged at the same pitch and so as to be filled with each other, and black ink is added to them, and the nozzle opening row B-2. , C-1 and C-2 are arranged so as to coincide with a line parallel to the sub-scanning direction, that is, the moving direction of the carriage, and the reservoirs of the respective nozzle opening rows B-2, C-1 and C-2 are arranged. By supplying cyan, magenta, and yellow ink, a recording head capable of printing a monochrome image with a high dot density and a color image can be configured.
[0010]
In this embodiment, the ink introduction ports 11 and 12 for supplying ink from an external tank to the reservoirs 8 and 9 with which the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 of the head units 1 and 2 communicate are provided in the rows A, B, and C, respectively. Therefore, the ink supply pipes 14 and 15 are used by effectively utilizing the dead space of the step portion formed at the boundary between the rows A, B, and C. Can be installed.
[0011]
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the head unit and the flow path forming unit 6 described above. The other head unit 2 has the same structure as the head unit 1 and will not be described.
[0012]
First, the head unit 1 will be described.
Reference numeral 21 in the figure is a spacer, which is a substrate made of a ceramic plate such as zirconia (ZrO2) having a thickness suitable for constituting the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 having a depth of about 150 μm, as shown in FIG. The nozzle openings 38 and 39 are arranged so that their longitudinal axes are at an acute angle θ with respect to the arrangement directions D and E of the nozzle openings 38 and 39.
[0013]
The outer walls 1a and 1b in contact with the pressure generating chambers at both ends are the longitudinal axes of the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5, and the outer walls 1c and 1d in the other direction (left and right in the figure) are the array lines of the nozzle openings 38 and 39. It is configured to be substantially parallel to D and E. And outer wall 1a, 1b is comprised by the thickness W1, W2 as thin as possible.
[0014]
Thus, by arranging the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 so that the axial direction thereof is inclined with respect to the arrangement line at an acute angle θ, the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 have the same width compared to the pressure generating chambers 4 ′ arranged at right angles. The head unit can be configured to be long, and it is easy to ensure the volume as the pressure generating chamber even when the width has to be reduced particularly by increasing the density.
[0015]
Reference numeral 22 denotes a vibration plate that exhibits a sufficient bonding force when fired integrally with the spacer 21 and is elastically deformed by distortion of piezoelectric vibrators 23 and 24 described later. In this embodiment, the same as the spacer 21. And a thin zirconia plate having a thickness of 10 μm.
[0016]
Each of the piezoelectric vibrators 23 and 24 is formed by sintering a green sheet of a piezoelectric material on the surface of the common electrodes 25 and 26 formed on the surface of the diaphragm 22 and has individual electrodes on the surface. 27 and 28 are formed.
[0017]
Next, the flow path forming unit 6 will be described.
Reference numeral 30 in the drawing is a cover plate for sealing the other surface of the spacer 21. In this embodiment, the cover plate is a thin zirconia plate having a thickness of 150 μm. The nozzle openings 38 and 39 of the nozzle plate 3, the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5, And through-holes 31 and 32, and reservoirs 8 and 9 and pressure generation chambers 4 and 5 are connected to form ink supply ports 33 and 34 that secure flow path resistance necessary for ink droplet ejection. Has been.
[0018]
Reference numeral 35 denotes an ink supply flow path forming substrate, which is made of a plate material having corrosion resistance such as 150 μm stainless steel suitable for forming the ink flow path, a through hole serving as the reservoirs 8 and 9, a pressure generating chamber 4, 5 and the through holes 36 and 37 connecting the nozzle openings are formed.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 4, the reservoirs 8 and 9 have upper and lower regions 8a and 9a and a lower region, respectively, in accordance with the positions of the pressure generating chambers 4 and 5 of the head units 1 and 2 that are fixed to the lid plate 30 by being shifted by ΔL. 8b and 9b are formed as one through hole which is shifted by ΔL, and ink inlets 11 and 12 are provided at the lower end or the upper end, respectively.
[0020]
Reference numeral 3 denotes the nozzle plate described above, and two sets of nozzle openings 38 and 39 are provided with a fixed distance L in each set as shown in FIG. 6 and shifted by ΔL from each other in the scanning direction. . When the two head units 1 and 2 are fixed to each other, this deviation amount ΔL does not overlap each other, and the pitch in the paper feed direction of the nozzle openings in the vicinity of the opposing surfaces of the units 1 and 2 is P0. And a constant value are selected.
[0021]
That is, the first head unit 1 and the second head unit 2 in each of the rows A, B, and C, the lowermost nozzle opening facing the first head unit 1 in the boundary region, and the second head The interval P1 between the nozzle openings at the upper end of the unit 2 and the nozzle openings pitches P0 of the upper and lower head units 1 and 2 in each row A, B, C are shifted by ΔL between each other or as necessary. A gap ΔG is provided and fixed to the flow path unit 6.
[0022]
In this case, the lower outer wall 1b and the upper outer wall 1a of the first and second head units 1 and 2 arranged above and below are inclined at an angle θ with respect to the array lines D and E, respectively. In addition, the pitch P1 at the boundary can be made to coincide with the pitch P0 with a deviation amount ΔL smaller than the width of the head units 1 and 2.
[0023]
The recording head configured as described above shifts the print timing to the first head unit 1 and the second head unit 2 in each column by the number of dots corresponding to the interval ΔL and shifts the print signal. Can be applied to perform a printing operation in the same manner as a recording head in which nozzle openings are formed on the same straight line. In addition, the dots in each column can be printed in an overlapping manner by shifting the timing of the print signal by an amount corresponding to the number of dots in the interval between each column A, B, C.
[0024]
In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in the case of three rows, but it is obvious that the same configuration can be achieved even with four or more rows.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an ink flow path centered on a pressure generation chamber by removing a vibration plate and an ink supply pipe.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention with a cross-sectional structure in the vicinity of a pressure generating chamber.
FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of an ink flow path forming substrate.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an arrangement form of pressure generation chambers of the head unit.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between two head units in the same row.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Head unit 3 Nozzle plate 4, 5 Pressure generation chamber 6 Flow path unit 8, 9 Reservoir 11, 12 Ink introduction port 14, 15 Ink supply pipe 23, 24 Piezoelectric vibrator 35 Ink flow path formation board 38, 39 Nozzle Opening

Claims (2)

An inkjet recording head capable of printing an image while moving,
A first head unit and a second head unit each having a plurality of pressure generating chambers in which pressure generating means for pressurizing the ink is formed;
A flow path unit in which a reservoir which is an ink storage chamber for supplying ink to the plurality of pressure generation chambers is formed ;
Prepared,
A plurality of the pressure generating chambers are formed side by side in a first direction that is the moving direction and a second direction that intersects the first direction ;
A reservoir for supplying ink to a plurality of pressure generating chambers formed side by side in the second direction of the first head unit, and a plurality of reservoirs formed side by side in the second direction of the second head unit . The reservoir for supplying ink to the pressure generating chamber is common .
An ink jet recording head.   A printing apparatus comprising the ink jet recording head according to claim 1.

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