JP4516636B2 - Manufacturing method of print head - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print head and a manufacturing method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a multi-unit type ink jet head in which, for example, a line printer is configured by arranging a plurality of head units, one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-198876 is known. This conventional example is formed by adhering a thin plate-like vibration plate, a partition plate, and a nozzle plate in a laminated form to an ink channel plate unit in which a plurality of base plate units are fixed to an ink channel plate. Each base plate unit is provided with a plurality of pressure chambers and an ink flow path communicating with the pressure chamber, and a small hole corresponding to the end of the ink flow path of the base plate unit is previously formed in the vibration plate, the partition plate, and the nozzle plate. Perforated.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional example described above has the following problems. That is, the small hole perforation work to the vibration plate, the partition wall plate, and the nozzle plate is performed for each thin plate material having a size enough to cover the ink flow path plate, and thus is easily deformed during the perforation work. In particular, since a large number of small holes (nozzle openings) are formed in the nozzle plate at a narrow pitch, the nozzle plate is easily deformed and the manufacturing yield is poor. In addition, since the small holes perforated in a single state need to correspond to the end of the ink flow path of each base plate unit while being bonded to the ink flow path plate, in addition to the processing accuracy during the perforation work, Since the positional accuracy at the time of the adhesion | attachment operation | work to a flow-path board unit is also calculated | required, workability | operativity is bad.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print head having a good manufacturing yield and good manufacturing workability, and a manufacturing method thereof.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, the object is to laminate and stick a reinforcing plate having positioning through holes opened at a predetermined pitch on the back surface of the nozzle plate, and then from the positioning through hole side to the nozzle plate, A plurality of nozzle openings corresponding to terminal ends of a plurality of ink flow paths of a head unit having an ink flow path are perforated, and then the head unit is fitted into the positioning through-hole, so that the head unit is moved to the nozzle The positioning through-hole is fixed on the plate, and the positioning through-hole has the same shape as the front end surface of the head unit to be a joint surface between the head unit and the nozzle plate, and is adjacent to the positioning through-hole. Two sides serve as dimension reference sides with which the wall surface of the head unit abuts when the head unit is fitted into the positioning through-hole. The plurality of nozzle openings are perforated so that the interval from the quasi-side to each nozzle opening matches the interval from the wall surface corresponding to the dimension reference side of the head unit to the end of each ink flow path, By bringing the wall surface of the head unit into contact with the dimension reference side, the head unit is fitted into the positioning through-hole while positioning the head unit, and the head unit is placed on the nozzle plate. This is accomplished by providing a method for manufacturing a fixed print head.
Also, the above object is to provide printing having a plurality of head units 1 having pressure chambers 10 and ink flow paths 11, and a nozzle plate 2 having nozzle openings 20 corresponding to the ink flow path end 12 of each head unit 1. Provided is a print head in which a head plate 1 is fitted to the back surface of the nozzle plate 2 and a reinforcing plate 3 having a positioning through hole 30 for positioning the head unit 1 is joined. Is achieved.
[0006]
A plurality of sets of pressure chambers 10 and ink flow paths 11 are formed in the head unit 1, and the ink introduced into the ink flow paths 11 is compressed in the pressure chambers 10 and discharged from the ink flow path end 12. A nozzle opening 20 fixed to the ink flow path terminal 12 in order to regulate the ink ejection direction is formed in the elongated nozzle plate 2 and fixed to a plurality of head units 1 arranged in parallel.
[0007]
The reinforcing plate 3 is attached in advance to the back surface of the nozzle plate 2 (hereinafter, the back surface of the nozzle plate 2 refers to the surface facing the head unit 1 in this specification), and the rigidity is increased. The nozzle plate 2 whose rigidity is enhanced by the reinforcing plate 3 is not deformed even when a large number of nozzle openings 20 are drilled at a narrow pitch, and the manufacturing yield is improved. Further, since the reinforcing plate 3 is adhered to the back surface of the nozzle plate 2 and the head unit 1 is fitted into the positioning through hole 30 of the reinforcing plate 3, the thickness of the reinforcing plate 3 is not limited. A plate material having a thickness necessary for securing the rigidity required for the drilling operation of the opening 20 can be used. Further, since the head unit 1 is positioned by the positioning through-hole 30, the nozzle opening 20 and the nozzle unit 20 are compared with the case where the long nozzle plate 2 is separately fixed to a plurality of head units 1 arranged in parallel. The accuracy of alignment with the open end of the ink flow path 11 is increased, and workability is also improved.
[0008]
The fixed head unit 1 is also possible to use an adhesive or the like, but it is also possible to detachably attached to the f head unit 1. In order to detachably fix the head unit 1 to the reinforcing plate 3 or the nozzle plate 2, for example, it can be achieved by forming an engaging portion that engages the head unit 1 and the reinforcing plate 3 with each other.
[0009]
Further, according to the present invention, the reinforcing plate 3 having positioning through holes 30 formed at a predetermined pitch is laminated and pasted on the back surface of the nozzle plate 2, and then the ink flow path 11 is transferred from the positioning through hole 30 side to the nozzle plate 2. Provided is a method for manufacturing a print head in which a nozzle opening 20 corresponding to the ink flow path end 12 of the head unit 1 provided with is drilled, and then the head unit 1 is fitted and fixed while being positioned by the positioning through hole 30. To do .
[0010]
In the present invention, when the nozzle opening 20 is drilled into the nozzle plate 2, the reinforcing plate 3 is first attached to the back surface of the nozzle plate 2. The reinforcing plate 3 is formed to a thickness that does not cause deformation such as bending in the nozzle plate 2 when a large number of nozzle openings 20 are drilled in the nozzle plate 2. The print head is manufactured by fixing the head unit 1 to the laminated assembly of the nozzle plate 2 and the reinforcing plate 3 formed as described above, and the positioning through hole 30 provided in the reinforcing plate 3. Thus, the fixing position of the head unit 1 is positioned, and the ink flow path end 12 and the nozzle opening 20 are surely aligned.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-unit ink jet print head includes a laminated assembly 4 in which a plurality of head units 1, 1... And a reinforcing plate 3 of a nozzle plate 2 are joined. The number of head units 1 to be mounted can be determined as appropriate, and a full line type ink jet may be configured by arranging the head units 1 as much as possible corresponding to the paper width.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the head unit 1 includes a plurality of ink flow paths 11, 11... Branched in parallel from the common ink chamber 13, and corresponds to each ink flow path 11 near the lower end of the head unit 1. Then, the pressure chambers 10, 10. In the pressure chamber 10, a piezoelectric element 10a and a pressure plate 10b for changing the volume of the pressure chamber 10 by driving the piezoelectric element 10a are arranged. Ink is supplied into a common ink chamber 13 from a reserve tank (not shown) via an ink supply pipe 5 and then supplied to each ink flow path 11. When the print signal is commanded from the printer body to the piezo drive circuit 10c by the drive signal line 6 and the piezo element 10a is driven with the ink filled in the pressure chamber 10, the pressure plate 10b constituting the partition wall surface of the pressure chamber 10 is pressurized. The volume of the pressure chamber 10 is reduced by moving inward of the chamber 10, and the ink in the pressure chamber 10 and the ink reservoir 14 formed below the pressure chamber 10 is discharged from the ink flow path terminal 12 to the outside of the head unit 1. . When the ink supply pipe 5 and the drive signal line 6 are formed to be detachable from the head unit 1, the head unit 1 can be replaced.
[0013]
The laminated joined body 4 is a long body that can be stretched between the plurality of head units 1, and is formed by laminating and joining the nozzle plate 2 and the reinforcing plate 3. Each head unit 1 is held in a state of being fitted into a positioning through hole 30 provided in the reinforcing plate 3, and in a fixed state, the ink flow between the nozzle opening 20 provided in the nozzle plate 2 and the head unit 1. The road end 12 matches.
[0014]
A method for manufacturing the print head will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a nozzle plate 2 and a reinforcing plate 3 having a predetermined length are prepared. It is desirable to use a nozzle plate 2 having a thickness as thin as possible in order to reduce the resistance when ink is ejected from the nozzle opening 20, and a synthetic resin sheet having a thickness of about 20 μm, for example, Teijin PEN (Teonex (trade name)) can be used.
[0015]
On the other hand, the reinforcing plate 3 is a plate material having appropriate rigidity, and a metal plate material, ceramic, or synthetic resin material can be used. When using a metal plate material, it is desirable to use a stainless steel plate (SUS316 or SUS430) having a thickness of about 1 mm so that corrosion such as rust does not occur for a long time against adhesion of ink or the like. Further, when ceramic is used for the reinforcing plate 3, it is desirable to use alumina in consideration of shape stability, hardness, and thermal expansion coefficient, but in this embodiment, in consideration of workability, Sumikin Photon Ceramic Co., Ltd. Photoveel (trade name) was used. Furthermore, in order to further improve the rigidity of the reinforcing plate 3, for example, when a metal plate is used, the edge may be bent along the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, positioning through holes 30 are formed in the reinforcing plate 3 at a predetermined pitch. The positioning through-hole 30 has a rectangular shape with a size that allows the head unit 1 to be fitted, and two adjacent sides serve as dimension reference sides. The positioning through-holes 30 of the reinforcing plate 3 are arranged in a staggered manner so that the pitch of the ink flow path terminal end 12 does not change even at the connection portion of the head units 1 when the head units 1 are connected. The positioning through-hole 30 can be formed by using etching in addition to machining.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the nozzle plate 2 and the reinforcing plate 3 are joined using an appropriate adhesive, and then nozzle openings 20 are perforated in the nozzle plate 2. An epoxy-based thermosetting adhesive is used as the adhesive. For example, when a stay stick 383 (trade name) manufactured by STICTIC Co., Ltd. is used, it is applied to the joint surface between the nozzle plate 2 and the reinforcing plate 3. Then, after temporary curing at 150 ° C. for 7 minutes, main bonding is performed at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes under a pressure of ² kgf / cm ² .
[0017]
In addition to machining such as punching, an excimer laser or the like can be used for drilling the nozzle opening 20 in the nozzle plate 2. Each nozzle opening 20 is formed to have a diameter of about 20 μm, and the pitch between the nozzle openings 20 is managed so as to match the pitch between the ink flow path terminal ends 12 of the head unit 1. By setting the processing direction, that is, the punching blade or the laser irradiation direction to the back side of the nozzle plate 2 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4A, the taper angle gradually increases by about 6.2 ° toward the surface side. It is desirable to use a tapered hole with a reduced diameter (see FIG. 4B). The laminated assembly 4 is in a state in which a reinforcing plate is lined on the back surface of the nozzle plate 2, and the nozzle plate 2 can be deformed only in the positioning through hole 30 region. Deformation due to the drilling process is reliably prevented.
[0018]
Thereafter, the head unit 1 is fixed to the laminated assembly 4 as shown in FIG. The head unit 1 is fixed by fitting the tip of the head unit 1 into the positioning through hole 30 provided in the reinforcing plate 3. The head unit 1 is fitted into the positioning through-hole 30 by bringing a wall surface corresponding to the dimension reference side of the positioning through-hole 30 into contact with the nozzle opening 20 of the laminated assembly 4 and the head unit. The distance from the corresponding wall surface of the head unit 1 to the ink flow path terminal 12 or the distance from the dimension reference side of the positioning through hole 30 to the nozzle opening 20 is set so that the one ink flow path terminal 12 is correctly matched. It is managed with a predetermined accuracy at the time of manufacturing the part.
[0019]
An adhesive is used for fixing the head unit 1 to the laminated assembly 4. For example, when using Able Stick 550: 25 μm (trade name) manufactured by Able Stick Co., Ltd., the adhesive is used at 120 ° C. The bonding surface of the head unit 1, that is, the front end surface is pressed and peeled off after being placed on the heater to adhere the adhesive to the bonding surface of the head unit 1, and then the head unit 1 is positioned by the positioning through hole 30. After alignment, the bonding surface is pressed against the nozzle plate 2 and then main bonding is performed at 150 ° C. for 1 hour. In order to prevent peeling after the head unit 1 is bonded, in addition to bonding at the bonding surface of the head unit 1, as shown in FIG. 1B, the gap between the head unit 1 and the positioning through hole 30. It is desirable to form the reinforcing adhesive portion 7 on the upper surface of the reinforcing plate 3. In order to form the reinforcing adhesive part 7, for example, an adhesive such as Able Stick 342-3 (trade name) manufactured by Able Stick Co., Ltd. can be used.
[0020]
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the description of this embodiment, components that are essentially the same as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawing, and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the reinforcing plate 3 is formed of a synthetic resin material, and a locking hook 31 that can be elastically deformed protrudes from the periphery of the positioning through hole 30.
[0021]
The nozzle plate 2 is formed of a stainless steel plate (SUS316) having a thickness of about 40 μm, and an elastic layer 21 is formed on the back surface thereof at a position that matches the positioning through hole 30 of the reinforcing plate 3. The elastic layer 21 can be formed by sticking a thin film formed of an elastic body on the back surface of the nozzle plate 2 or by silk printing. As the elastic body, it is desirable to use a material excellent in ink resistance that is unlikely to be melted or cured by ink, and silicon rubber can be used. Silicone rubber is a suitable material because it has high chemical resistance to inks containing diethylene glycol and ethanol and is excellent in moldability. Further, since silicon rubber can be silk-printed at room temperature, as will be described later, it is suitable as a material for forming the elastic layer 21 in consideration of workability, but other fluororubbers can be used. . Since the fluororubber needs to be molded at a high temperature, when it is used with the elastic layer 21, it is used after being molded into a sheet shape with an adhesive or the like.
[0022]
The elastic layer 21 can be formed by transfer in addition to the above-described sticking and silk printing. In the case of silk printing, for example, silicon rubber is formed to a thickness of about 20 μm using a stainless steel mesh and a square squeegee, with a gap of 0.2 mm, a printing pressure of 2 kgf / cm ² , and a squeegee speed of 30 mm / sec. It is allowed to stand at room temperature for 24 hours and further heated at 100 ° C. for 1 hour.
[0023]
After the reinforcing plate 3 and the nozzle plate 2 formed as described above are joined in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, the nozzle plate 20 is perforated with the nozzle openings 20 as shown in FIG. . In this embodiment in which a stainless steel plate is used for the nozzle plate 2, a copper laser is used for the drilling operation of the nozzle opening 20, and it is formed in a tapered hole or a straight hole having a small inclination angle as compared with the above-described embodiment. Is done.
[0024]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the head unit 1 is coupled to the laminated assembly 4. For connection of the head unit 1, the head unit 1 is provided with a locking claw 15, and when the head unit 1 is pushed in so as to be fitted into the positioning through hole 30, the locking claw 15 is moved to the reinforcing plate. 3 is held in place by elastically locking to the three locking hooks 31. When the head unit 1 is mounted, the tip of the head unit 1 is in pressure contact with the elastic layer, and adhesion is ensured.
[0025]
Therefore, in this embodiment, since the head unit 1 can be individually removed from the laminated assembly 4, if the head unit 1 is defective, only the defective head unit 1 can be replaced. Yield can be improved dramatically. When the ink ink supply pipe 5 and the drive signal line 6 connected to the head unit 1 are formed to be detachable from the head unit 1, the replacement work of the head unit 1 is also simplified.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the reinforcing plate is attached to the nozzle plate when the nozzle opening is drilled into the nozzle plate, the nozzle plate is not deformed, and the ink The flight direction can be made uniform.
[0027]
Further, since the flatness of the nozzle plate is increased by sticking the reinforcing plate, the workability of the nozzle opening by press working and laser processing is improved and the cleaning of the nozzle surface is facilitated.
[0028]
Furthermore, when mounting the head unit, the dimensions can be determined simply by pressing the head unit against the dimensional reference side of the positioning through hole, so that the assembly workability can be improved and the dimensional accuracy can be improved. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are views showing the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a side view;
2A is a cross-sectional view of the head unit, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1B-1B of FIG.
3A and 3B are diagrams showing a manufacturing process of a laminated assembly, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state before joining, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a state after joining.
4A and 4B are diagrams showing a nozzle opening drilling step, where FIG. 4A is an overall perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line 4B-4B in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fixing process of the head unit.
6A and 6B are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a nozzle plate and a reinforcing plate before joining, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a laminated assembly.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a mounting process of the head unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head unit 10 Pressure chamber 11 Ink channel 12 Ink channel terminal 2 Nozzle plate 20 Nozzle opening 3 Reinforcement plate 30 Positioning through hole

Claims (2)

The back of the nozzle plate, adhered by laminating a reinforcing plate which is positioning through hole is opened at a predetermined pitch, and then, the nozzle plate from the positioning through hole side, the head unit including an ink flow path puncturing the plurality of nozzle openings corresponding to the plurality of ink passages terminating, after which said head unit is fitted in the positioning through holes, it is one that fixed the head unit to the nozzle plate And
The positioning through hole is distal end surface of the same shape of the head unit to be joint surface between the head unit and the front Symbol nozzle plate,
Two adjacent sides of the positioning through hole serve as dimension reference sides with which the wall surface of the head unit abuts when the head unit is fitted into the positioning through hole.
Drilling the plurality of nozzle openings so that the distance from the dimension reference side to each nozzle opening matches the distance from the wall surface corresponding to the dimension reference side of the head unit to the end of each ink flow path ;
Thereafter, the wall surface of the head unit is brought into contact with the dimension reference side so that the head unit is fitted into the positioning through-hole while positioning the head unit, and the head unit is moved to the nozzle. A manufacturing method of a print head fixed on a plate . The print head manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the positioning through holes are arranged in a staggered pattern.

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