JP4455783B2 - Inkjet head and inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to an inkjet head and an inkjet recording apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An inkjet head, which is a droplet discharge head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, or an image forming apparatus, includes a nozzle that discharges ink droplets and a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle. A pressure liquid chamber, a liquid chamber, a discharge chamber, an ink flow path, etc.) and a pressure generating means for generating pressure to pressurize the ink in the liquid chamber, and the pressure generated by the pressure generating means An ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle by pressurizing the ink in the liquid chamber.
[0003]
As such an ink-jet head, a piezo-type head that discharges ink droplets by deforming and displacing a diaphragm forming a wall surface of a liquid chamber using an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element as a pressure generating unit, Bubble type (thermal type) that generates bubbles by ink film boiling by using an electrothermal conversion element such as a heating resistor placed in the liquid chamber to eject ink droplets, vibration that forms the wall surface of the liquid chamber There is an electrostatic type that discharges ink droplets by deforming a diaphragm with an electrostatic force using a plate (or an electrode integrated with the plate) and an electrode facing the plate.
[0004]
As a conventional ink jet head, for example, as described in JP-A-11-48475, there are two rows of pressure chambers in which a plurality of pressure chambers are arranged, and each pressure chamber corresponds to each pressure chamber row. Some have a common liquid chamber (reservoir chamber) for supplying ink to the chamber. Further, in this ink jet head, a slit-shaped bubble guide groove extending in the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged is formed between the reservoir chamber and the ink supply hole, and the bubbles in the reservoir chamber are guided by the bubble guide groove. It is trying to discharge efficiently.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional inkjet head, since a reservoir chamber is provided for each column of pressure chambers, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), Used in inkjet recording devices that have four black (Bk) heads or seven heads with three colors of light yellow (FY), light magenta (FM), and light cyan (FC). In this case, the width of the head portion increases, and as a result, the width of the recovery device for recovering the reliability of the head also increases, and there is a problem that the ink jet recording apparatus is increased in size.
[0006]
When the pressure chamber or reservoir chamber is formed of a silicon substrate, the cross-sectional shape of the common liquid chamber is trapezoidal due to the crystal plane orientation, and the cross-sectional area is constant. At the edge, the flow of ink is extremely reduced, stagnation occurs, bubbles are not discharged and stays at the edge of the common liquid chamber, ink flow into the pressure chamber worsens, and ink droplet ejection becomes unstable. There is a problem that the image quality deteriorates. Therefore, the formation of the bubble guide groove as in the conventional ink jet head is complicated.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has an object to reduce the size of the head and the size of the recording apparatus, and further to improve the image quality by mounting the head having excellent bubble discharge performance and the head. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus with improved performance.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet head according to the present invention includes:
A nozzle that ejects ink droplets, a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle, a common liquid chamber that communicates with the pressure chamber via a fluid resistance unit, an ink supply port that supplies ink to the common liquid chamber, and the pressure In an inkjet head comprising pressure generating means for pressurizing ink in a room,
A plurality of rows of pressure chambers are provided , and the common liquid chamber is disposed between the rows of pressure chambers ,
The common liquid chamber is divided into a plurality by a separation wall, and the ink supply port is also divided into a plurality by the separation wall .
[0009]
Here, the ink supply port may be divided into two by a separation wall in a direction along the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged. In addition, the ink supply port may be separated into two by a separation wall in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged. Furthermore, the end of the common liquid chamber away from the ink supply port can be configured to be planar and arcuate.
[0011]
The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is equipped with the ink jet head according to the present invention as an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets .
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the inkjet head according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the head along the transverse direction of the diaphragm. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view, and FIG. 4 is a plan explanatory view of a common liquid chamber shape of the head.
[0013]
The inkjet head 1 includes a head chip 2 and an ink supply member 3 bonded to the head chip 2. The head chip 2 is a flow path substrate 11 that is a first substrate, an electrode substrate 12 that is a second substrate provided below the flow path substrate 11, and a third substrate that is provided above the flow path substrate 11. A laminated structure in which the nozzle plate 13 is overlapped and joined, and thereby a pressure chamber 16 that is an ink flow path in which a plurality of nozzles 15 communicate with each other, and a common liquid chamber 18 that communicates with the pressure chamber 16 via a fluid resistance portion 17. Is forming.
[0014]
Here, two rows of nozzles 15, pressure chambers 16, and fluid resistance portions 17 are provided, and the nozzles 15, pressure chambers 16, and fluid resistance portions 17 in each row are arranged in a row (hereinafter referred to as “pressure chamber row direction”). )) Is shifted in the arrangement direction by 1/2 (P / 2) of the arrangement pitch P (see FIG. 1). One common liquid chamber 18 is arranged between the pressure chamber rows 16A and 16B. In this embodiment, the pressure chambers 16 in the left and right (both sides) pressure chamber rows 16A and 16B are separated from the one common liquid chamber 18. Supply ink.
[0015]
The flow path substrate 11 includes a plurality of pressure chambers 16 in each row and a recess that forms a diaphragm 20 that constitutes a bottom wall of the pressure chamber 16, and each pressure chamber 16 via a fluid resistance portion 17. An opening (through opening) 19 for forming a common liquid chamber 18 for supplying ink is formed. Further, since the diaphragm 20 of the flow path substrate 11 also serves as a common electrode, a common electrode pad portion 20a for connecting to an external circuit is provided.
[0016]
This flow path substrate 11 diffuses boron, which is a high-concentration p-type impurity, into a single crystal silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) to form a high-concentration boron diffusion layer, and this high-concentration boron diffusion layer is used as an etching stop layer. The silicon substrate is anisotropically etched to form the diaphragm 20 made of a high-concentration boron diffusion layer together with the pressure chamber 16 and the common liquid chamber 18. The opening 19 is formed by etching away the high-concentration boron diffusion layer remaining in the portion that becomes the common liquid chamber 18 after the diaphragm 20 is formed.
[0017]
In this embodiment, the diaphragm 20 also serves as the first electrode, but an electrode film may be separately formed on the diaphragm 20. Further, although not shown, a silicon oxide film by thermal oxidation is formed on the surface of the diaphragm 20 on the electrode substrate 12 side to prevent a short circuit.
[0018]
A single crystal silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (100) is used for the electrode substrate 12 to form an oxide film 12a by a thermal oxidation method, a wet oxidation method or the like, and an electrode forming groove (concave portion) 24 is formed in the thermal oxide film 12a. An individual electrode 25 that is a second electrode facing the diaphragm 20 via a predetermined gap 26 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 24, and the diaphragm 20 and the electrode 25 constitute an electrostatic actuator. Yes.
[0019]
In the electrode substrate 12 of this embodiment, a recess 24 is formed at a desired depth by etching with a hydrogen fluoride aqueous solution on a silicon substrate on which a thermal oxide film 12a is formed, and TiN is sputtered as an electrode material in the recess 24. The electrode 25 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 24 by forming a film to a desired thickness by a thin film formation method such as CVD or vapor deposition, and then forming a photoresist on the electrode pattern and etching.
[0020]
In addition, an insulating protective film 27 made of a silicon oxide film is formed on the electrode 25 to prevent the electrode 25 from being damaged by a short circuit or the like. Further, an ink supply port 28 for supplying ink to the common liquid chamber 18 is formed in the electrode substrate 12.
[0021]
The electrode substrate 12 and the flow path substrate 11 can be bonded with an adhesive, but more reliable physical bonding, for example, the electrode substrate 12 is formed of a silicon substrate. Bonding is performed by a direct bonding method through a film. This direct bonding is performed at a high temperature of about 1000 ° C.
[0022]
In the nozzle plate 13, a large number of nozzles 15 are formed, and a groove serving as a fluid resistance portion 17 for communicating the common liquid chamber 18 and the pressure chamber 16 is formed. Here, a water-repellent film is formed on the ink ejection surface (nozzle surface side). This nozzle plate 13 is made of a glass substrate, a plastic plate, a metal plate such as stainless steel, a silicon substrate, a nickel plating film by an electroforming method, an excimer laser processed resin such as polyimide, a metal and a resin. A laminate or the like can be used.
[0023]
The ink supply member 3 has an ink supply path 31 communicating with the ink supply port 28 of the electrode substrate 12, and a filter unit 32 is provided in the middle of the ink supply path 31.
[0024]
Then, the FPC cable 41 is connected to the electrode pad portion 25a of the electrode 25 of the head chip 2 by thermocompression bonding or the like, and a driver IC 42 for applying a driving waveform to the electrode 25 is mounted on the FPC cable 41, The driver IC 42 is housed in a recess 38 formed on the side surface of the ink supply member 3. A frame member 44 is disposed outside the head chip 2 and the ink supply member 3, and the frame member 44 and the nozzle plate 13 are joined to each other.
[0025]
In the inkjet head 1, vibration is applied by applying a pulse potential of about 10 to 100 V, for example, between the diaphragm 20 that also serves as the first electrode and the electrode 25 that is the second electrode with the diaphragm 20 as a ground. Negative charges are induced on the surface of the plate 20, and the diaphragm 20 is deformed to the electrode 25 side by an electrostatic force between the electrodes (between the diaphragm 20 and the electrode 25), and ink is filled in the pressure chamber 16. Subsequently, when the voltage application of the electrode 25 is turned off, the diaphragm 20 is restored to the pressure chamber 16 side with the release of the electric charge accumulated between the electrodes. At that time, a sudden volume change / pressure change occurs in the pressure chamber 16, and the filled ink is ejected as ink droplets from the nozzle 15.
[0026]
In the inkjet head 1, a plurality of pressure chambers 16A and 16B are provided, and the pressure chambers 16A and 16B are arranged so as to be shifted by ½ pitch in the arrangement direction. , 16B, a common liquid chamber 18 is disposed, and an ink supply port 28 faces this common liquid chamber 18, and as shown in FIG. 5, each pressure in the rows 16A, 16B on both sides from one common liquid chamber 18 is shown. Since ink is supplied to the chamber 16, the width of the head is reduced.
[0027]
Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of an ink jet recording apparatus that performs color recording by mounting a plurality of ink jet heads 1.
[0028]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet head according to the embodiment, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along the short side of the diaphragm of the head, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the common liquid chamber shape of the head. FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the operation of the head.
In this embodiment, flow straightening members (flow straightening plates) 51 and 51 for adjusting the flow of substantially triangular ink in a planar shape facing both end portions 18a and 18a of the common liquid chamber 18 of the flow path substrate 11 are integrally formed. .
[0029]
By forming the rectifying plates 51 and 51 in this way, it is possible to prevent bubbles from staying at both end portions 18a and 18a of the common liquid chamber 18. That is, since both ends of the common liquid chamber 18 of the first embodiment are square, the ink flow R as shown in FIG. 5 occurs and the flow velocity of the ink supplied from the ink supply port 28 is obtained. However, in the common liquid chamber 18, it rapidly decreases at both ends, and stagnation is likely to occur. If the bubbles B are trapped at this portion as shown in the figure, the bubbles B may not be discharged well.
[0030]
On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the substantially triangular flow straightening plates 51 and 51 are provided at both ends 18a and 18a of the common liquid chamber 18, the flow passage cross-sectional area is narrowed by the flow straightening plates 51 and 51, As shown in FIG. 9, the ink flow R is distributed by the rectifying plates 51 and 51 and easily flows in the direction toward the pressure chambers 16 of the rows 16A and 16B of the respective pressure chambers. Does not occur. This prevents bubbles from being trapped at both ends 18a, 18a of the common liquid chamber 18, improves the bubble discharge performance, and does not cause a discharge failure due to remaining bubbles.
[0031]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 is an explanatory plan view of the common liquid chamber shape of the ink jet head according to the embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the operation of the head.
Also in this embodiment, rectifying members (rectifying plates) 52 and 52 that adjust the flow of ink in a shape of two circular arcs connected in a planar shape facing both end portions 18a and 18a of the common liquid chamber 18 of the flow path substrate 11 are integrated. Is formed.
[0032]
Accordingly, similarly to the second embodiment described above, the flow passage cross-sectional areas of the both end portions 18a and 18a of the common liquid chamber 18 are narrowed by the rectifying plates 52 and 52, and the ink flow R is rectified as shown in FIG. 52 and 52, it becomes easy to flow in the direction toward the pressure chambers 16 in the rows 16A and 16B of the respective pressure chambers, no stagnation occurs, and no significant decrease in flow velocity occurs. This prevents bubbles from being trapped at both ends 18a, 18a of the common liquid chamber 18, improves the bubble discharge performance, and does not cause a discharge failure due to remaining bubbles.
[0033]
The difference due to the difference in shape between the rectifying plate 52 of the third embodiment and the rectifying plate 51 of the second embodiment is that the flow passage cross-sectional area decreases linearly in the rectifying plate 51, whereas the rectifying plate 52 Then, the channel cross-sectional area is greatly reduced as the end portion is approached.
[0034]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 is an explanatory perspective view of a main part of the ink jet head according to the embodiment, FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view of a common liquid chamber shape, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
In this embodiment, by forming the separation wall 55 along the short side direction of the diaphragm of the flow path substrate 11 (the direction along the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged), the common liquid chamber is defined as each pressure chamber 16 in the row 16A of pressure chambers. Are divided into a common liquid chamber 58A corresponding to the pressure chamber 16 and a common liquid chamber 58B corresponding to each pressure chamber 16 in the row 16B of pressure chambers.
[0035]
The ink supply port 28 is disposed corresponding to the separation wall 55 and is supplied from one ink supply port 28 to the common liquid chambers 58A and 58B on both sides. Further, both end portions 58Aa and 58Ba of the common liquid chambers 58A and 58B are formed in an arc shape.
[0036]
The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 15, when an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle 15 by driving an inkjet head having a common liquid chamber 18 that does not have the separation wall 55, a pressure wave generated in the pressure chamber 16 in one row. 59 may reach the common liquid chamber 18 via the fluid resistance portion 17 and may further propagate to the pressure chambers 16 in the other rows via the fluid resistance portions 17 in the other rows. In such a state, the meniscus of the nozzle 15 communicating with the pressure chambers 16 in the other rows vibrates, or the pressure when driving the pressure chambers 16 in the other rows is reduced. Will be.
[0037]
On the other hand, in the ink jet head of this embodiment, since there is the separation wall 55 as shown in FIG. Even if it reaches 58A, since there is the separation wall 55, it does not further propagate to the common liquid chamber 58B of another row. Thereby, the stable injection characteristic is acquired. Since both end portions 58Aa and 58Ba of the common liquid chambers 58A and 58B are formed in an arc shape, it is possible to reduce a decrease in flow velocity at the end portions as in the second and third embodiments. , Bubble discharge can be improved.
[0038]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the figure is a plane explanatory view of the common liquid chamber shape of the ink jet head according to the embodiment.
In this embodiment, by forming the separation wall 65 along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm of the flow path substrate 11 (the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged), the common liquid chamber is arranged in the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged in the common liquid chamber 68A. And the common liquid chamber 68B.
[0039]
The ink supply port 28 is disposed corresponding to the separation wall 65 and is supplied from one ink supply port 28 to the common liquid chambers 68A and 68B on both sides. Further, the above-described rectifying member 53 (or the rectifying member 51 may be faced) is disposed at the end portions 68Aa and 68Ba of the common liquid chambers 68A and 68B on the side away from the ink supply port 28.
[0040]
With this configuration, the length of the common liquid chamber is shorter than that of the common liquid chambers 58A and 58B of the fourth embodiment, and the ink flow velocity is reduced accordingly. Further, in this example, the rectifying member 53 is provided. Therefore, the bubble discharge performance is further improved.
[0041]
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of the inkjet head according to the embodiment, and FIG. 19 is a plan view illustrating a common liquid chamber shape.
In this embodiment, the separation wall 55 is formed and divided into the common liquid chamber 58A and the common liquid chamber 58B as in the fourth embodiment, and is further independent of each common liquid chamber 58A and the common liquid chamber 58B. Ink supply ports 28A and 28B for supplying ink are provided in the electrode substrate 12. In this case, the ink supply member 3 is also provided with two ink supply paths 31A and 31B, and a filter unit 32 is provided in each of the ink supply paths 31A and 31B.
[0042]
Thus, by supplying ink from the independent ink supply ports 28A and 28B to the common liquid chamber 58A and the common liquid chamber 58B, the common liquid chamber 58A and the common liquid chamber 58B are completely separated. In addition, the propagation of the pressure wave is eliminated, and the injection characteristics are further stabilized.
[0043]
Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the figure is a plane explanatory view of the common liquid chamber shape of the ink jet head according to the embodiment.
In this embodiment, a separation wall 65 is formed and divided into a common liquid chamber 68A and a common liquid chamber 68B as in the fifth embodiment, and is further independent of each common liquid chamber 68A and common liquid chamber 68B. Ink supply ports 28A and 28B for supplying ink are provided in the electrode substrate 12. In this case, as in the sixth embodiment, the ink supply member 3 is also provided with two ink supply paths, and a filter unit is provided in each ink supply path.
[0044]
With this configuration, ink is supplied from the independent ink supply ports 28A and 28B to the common liquid chamber 68A and the common liquid chamber 68B, and the common liquid chamber 68A and the common liquid chamber 68B are completely separated from each other. As a result, the propagation of the pressure wave is eliminated, the ejection characteristics are further stabilized, the length of the common liquid chamber is shortened, the decrease in the ink flow rate is reduced, and the bubble discharge performance is further improved.
[0045]
Next, an example of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 21 is a perspective explanatory view of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 22 is a side explanatory view of a mechanism portion of the recording apparatus.
This ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage movable in the main scanning direction inside the recording apparatus main body 111, a recording head comprising the ink jet head according to the present invention mounted on the carriage, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head, and the like. A paper feed cassette (or a paper feed tray) 114 on which a large number of sheets 113 can be stacked from the front side is detachably attached to the lower part of the apparatus main body 111. In addition, the manual feed tray 115 for manually feeding the paper 113 can be opened, the paper 113 fed from the paper feed cassette 114 or the manual feed tray 115 is taken in, and the printing mechanism unit 112 takes the required After the image is recorded, it is discharged to a discharge tray 116 mounted on the rear side.
[0046]
The printing mechanism unit 112 holds the carriage 123 slidably in the main scanning direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 15) with a main guide rod 12 and a sub guide rod 122 which are guide members horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The carriage 123 is provided with a plurality of ink discharge ports, each of which includes a head 124 including an inkjet head according to the present invention that discharges ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). Are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, and the ink droplet ejection direction is directed downward. Also, each ink cartridge 125 for supplying each color ink to the head 124 is replaceably mounted on the carriage 123.
[0047]
The ink cartridge 125 has an air port that communicates with the atmosphere upward, a supply port that supplies ink to the inkjet head below, and a porous body filled with ink inside, and the capillary force of the porous body Thus, the ink supplied to the inkjet head is maintained at a slight negative pressure.
[0048]
Further, although the heads 124 of the respective colors are used here as the recording heads, a single head having nozzles for ejecting ink droplets of the respective colors may be used.
[0049]
Here, the carriage 123 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 112 on the rear side (downstream side in the paper conveyance direction), and is slidably mounted on the auxiliary guide rod 122 on the front side (upstream side in the paper conveyance direction). is doing. In order to move and scan the carriage 123 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 130 is stretched between a driving pulley 128 and a driven pulley 129 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 127. The carriage 123 is reciprocally driven by forward and reverse rotation of the main scanning motor 127.
[0050]
On the other hand, in order to convey the sheet 113 set in the sheet cassette 114 to the lower side of the head 124, the sheet 113 is guided from the sheet feeding cassette 114 to the sheet feeding roller 131 and the friction pad 132. A guide member 133, a transport roller 134 that reverses and transports the fed paper 113, a transport roller 135 that is pressed against the peripheral surface of the transport roller 134, and a tip that defines the feed angle of the paper 113 from the transport roller 134 A roller 136 is provided. The transport roller 134 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor 137 through a gear train.
[0051]
A printing receiving member 139 is provided as a paper guide member that guides the paper 113 fed from the transport roller 134 on the lower side of the recording head 124 corresponding to the movement range of the carriage 113 in the main scanning direction. On the downstream side of the printing receiving member 139 in the paper conveyance direction, a conveyance roller 141 and a spur 142 that are rotationally driven to send the paper 113 in the paper discharge direction are provided, and paper discharge that further feeds the paper 113 to the paper discharge tray 116. A roller 143 and a spur 144, and guide members 145 and 146 that form a paper discharge path are disposed.
[0052]
At the time of recording, the recording head 124 is driven according to the image signal while moving the carriage 113, thereby ejecting ink onto the stopped sheet 113 to record one line, and after the sheet 113 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the sheet 113 reaches the recording area, the recording operation is terminated and the sheet 113 is discharged.
[0053]
A recovery device 147 for recovering defective ejection of the head 124 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the movement direction of the carriage 113. The recovery device 147 includes a cap unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. The cap unit of the recovery device 137 is provided for each inkjet head 1 constituting the head 124 and is set to a size that covers all of the nozzles 15 of the inkjet head 1.
[0054]
The carriage 123 is moved to the recovery device 147 side during printing standby and the head 124 is capped by the capping means, and the ejection port (nozzle) is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. . Further, by ejecting ink not related to recording during recording or the like, the ink viscosity of all the ejection ports (nozzles) is made constant, and stable ejection performance is maintained.
[0055]
When a discharge failure occurs, the discharge port (nozzle) of the head 124 is sealed by the capping unit, and bubbles and the like are sucked out from the discharge port by the suction unit through the tube. Is removed by the cleaning means to recover the ejection failure. Further, the sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body and absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.
[0056]
Here, since the width of the head 124 in the main scanning direction is reduced by mounting the ink jet head according to each of the embodiments as the head 124, the width of the recovery device 147 in the main scanning direction is also reduced, and the recording apparatus is downsized. Can be planned.
[0057]
Further, in the case where an ink jet head in which a common liquid chamber is separated and an ink supply port is provided for each common liquid chamber, as in the ink jet heads of the sixth and seventh embodiments, is mounted as the head 124. By supplying ink of different colors from the mouth, the number of heads can be halved with respect to the number of colors of ink used, and the size can be further reduced. In this case, as in the sixth embodiment, it is easier to use the inkjet head in which the common liquid chamber is separated by the separation wall in the direction along the pressure chamber arrangement direction, because all the nozzles in the same row have the same color. Become.
[0058]
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the side shooter type ink jet head in which the vibration plate displacement direction and the ink droplet ejection direction are the same. However, the edge shooter in which the vibration plate displacement direction and the ink droplet ejection direction are orthogonal to each other. The same can be applied to the inkjet head of the type.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the inkjet head according to the present invention, a plurality of rows of pressure chambers are provided , the common liquid chambers are arranged between the rows of the pressure chambers , and a plurality of common liquid chambers are separated by the separation wall. to be divided, the ink supply port also has a configuration which is divided into a plurality by a separating wall, downsizing of the size and the ink jet recording apparatus of the f head.
[0062]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, since the ink jet head according to the present invention is mounted as an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets, the apparatus can be reduced in size, and there is no ejection failure due to residual bubbles, and stable image recording is possible. It can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm. FIG. Cross-sectional explanatory diagram [FIG. 4] Planar explanatory diagram for explaining the shape of the common liquid chamber of the head. [FIG. 5] Planar explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the same embodiment. [FIG. 6] Inkjet head according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the head along the transversal direction of the diaphragm. FIG. 8 is a plan explanatory view illustrating the shape of a common liquid chamber of the head. FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the common liquid chamber shape of the ink jet head according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the operation of the embodiment. An inkjet head according to a fourth embodiment of the invention FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view illustrating the shape of a common liquid chamber of the head. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along line AA in FIG. 13. FIG. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment. FIG. 17 is a plan explanatory diagram for explaining a common liquid chamber shape of an ink jet head according to the fifth embodiment of the invention. Fig. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of an ink jet head according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 19 is a plan view illustrating the shape of a common liquid chamber of the head. Fig. 20 is an ink jet according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 21 is an explanatory plan view illustrating the shape of the common liquid chamber of the head. FIG. 21 is a perspective explanatory view illustrating the mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet head, 2 ... Head chip, 3 ... Ink supply member, 11 ... Flow path substrate, 12 ... Electrode substrate, 13 ... Nozzle plate, 15 ... Nozzle, 16 ... Pressure chamber, 16A, 16B ... Row of pressure chambers, 17 ... Fluid resistance part, 18 ... Common liquid chamber, 19 ... Opening part, 20 ... Diaphragm, 25 ... Electrode, 28 ... Ink supply port, 51, 52 ... Rectifying member, 55, 65 ... Separation wall, 58A, 58B, 68A, 68B ... Common liquid chamber.

Claims (5)

A nozzle that ejects ink droplets, a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle, a common liquid chamber that communicates with the pressure chamber via a fluid resistance unit, an ink supply port that supplies ink to the common liquid chamber, and the pressure In an inkjet head comprising pressure generating means for pressurizing ink in a room,
A plurality of rows of pressure chambers are provided , and the common liquid chamber is disposed between the rows of pressure chambers ,
The inkjet head according to claim 1, wherein the common liquid chamber is divided into a plurality by a separation wall, and the ink supply port is also divided into a plurality by the separation wall . 2. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is divided into two by a separating wall in a direction along the direction in which the pressure chambers are arranged. 2. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is separated into two by a separation wall in a direction intersecting with an arrangement direction of the pressure chambers. 3. 4. The inkjet head according to claim 1 , wherein an end of the common liquid chamber away from the ink supply port is formed in a planar arc shape . 5. An ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet head for discharging ink droplets, wherein the ink jet head is the ink jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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