JP4780293B2 - Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus that eject liquid droplets, and in particular, pressurizes ink supplied to a pressure generating chamber that communicates with a nozzle opening that ejects ink droplets by a piezoelectric element. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus that discharge ink droplets.

  As a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid droplets by a piezoelectric element, for example, a part of a pressure generation chamber that communicates with a nozzle opening that ejects ink droplets is configured by a vibration plate, and the vibration plate is deformed by the piezoelectric element to generate pressure. There is an ink jet recording head that pressurizes ink in a generation chamber and ejects ink droplets from nozzle openings. Two types of ink jet recording heads have been put into practical use, one using a longitudinal vibration mode piezoelectric actuator that expands and contracts in the axial direction of the piezoelectric element and one using a flexural vibration mode piezoelectric actuator. . As an example of using an actuator in a flexural vibration mode, for example, a uniform piezoelectric material layer is formed over the entire surface of the diaphragm by a film forming technique, and this piezoelectric material layer is formed into a pressure generating chamber by a lithography method. A device in which a piezoelectric element is formed so as to be separated into corresponding shapes and independent for each pressure generating chamber is known.

  In an ink jet recording head having such a piezoelectric element, one electrode (common electrode) of each piezoelectric element is provided in common to a plurality of piezoelectric elements. When ink droplets are ejected all at once, there is a problem that a voltage drop occurs, the amount of displacement of the piezoelectric element becomes unstable, and ink ejection characteristics deteriorate. Moreover, the applied voltage tends to be lower as the piezoelectric element is located farther from the terminal portion to which the external wiring is connected. For this reason, there is a problem that even in the case of piezoelectric elements arranged in a line, variations in droplet discharge characteristics occur depending on the distance from the terminal portion.

  In order to solve such a problem, there is one in which a plurality of common lead electrodes that are drawn from the common electrode common to the plurality of piezoelectric elements to the outside of the pressure generation chamber and connected to the external wiring are provided ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

  With such a configuration, variations in ejection characteristics due to voltage drop can be eliminated to some extent, but there is a possibility that variations in ejection characteristics of droplets may occur due to the provision of a plurality of common lead electrodes.

  The common lead electrode is connected to the lower electrode in a region facing the partition that partitions the pressure generating chamber. For this reason, if mask misalignment or the like occurs when forming the common lead electrode, the common lead electrode protrudes from the region facing the pressure generation chamber, and the region of the region facing some pressure generation chambers The displacement of the diaphragm may be reduced by the common lead electrode. That is, there is a problem in that the vibration characteristics of the diaphragm in the region facing each pressure generation chamber vary, and the discharge characteristics of the droplets discharged from the nozzle openings become non-uniform.

  For example, a connection wiring electrically connected to the lower electrode, which is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element, is provided in a region facing each partition wall in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber, and one for each of the plurality of connection wirings. There are a common lead electrode that extends to the outside of the region facing the partition and a dummy electrode for the rest (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In such a configuration, if the lead common lead electrode is formed so as to protrude from the region facing the pressure generating chamber, the dummy electrode is also formed to protrude from the region facing each pressure generating chamber. The displacement of the diaphragm in the region facing the generation chamber is constant. However, when the lead common lead electrode or the like is formed so as to protrude into the pressure generating chamber, the displacement of the diaphragm is surely lowered, so that there is a problem that the discharge characteristic is inevitably lowered.

  Such a problem exists not only in an ink jet recording head that ejects ink, but also in other liquid ejecting heads that eject liquid other than ink.

JP 2003-127358 A JP 2005-144847 A

  In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus in which good ejection characteristics can be stably obtained and piezoelectric elements can be arranged at high density.

A first aspect of the present invention that solves the above problems includes a plurality of pressure generation chambers partitioned by a partition, a common electrode provided in the pressure generation chamber via a diaphragm, a piezoelectric layer, and individual electrodes. A piezoelectric element, and the common electrode is continuously provided facing the plurality of pressure generation chambers and the partition walls in the parallel arrangement direction of the pressure generation chambers. In the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers orthogonal to the side-by-side direction , each end of the common electrode is located inside the end of the pressure generating chamber, and the common electrode in a region facing each partition wall In the vicinity of one end portion on the same side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber, a connection wiring is provided in which one end side is electrically connected to the common electrode, and some of the plurality of connection wirings are connected to external wiring. Common lead electrode and the rest A dummy electrode provided only in the vicinity of the end of the electrode, and the connection wiring constituting the dummy electrode extends to the outside of the longitudinal end of the pressure generating chamber. In the liquid jet head.
In the first aspect, since the connection wiring that is the common lead electrode and the dummy electrode is formed so as not to protrude almost in the region facing the pressure generation chamber, the resistance of the common electrode can be reduced without reducing the displacement of the diaphragm. The value can be substantially reduced.

The second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the connection wiring is also provided in the vicinity of the other end on the same side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber of the common electrode in a region facing each partition wall. In the liquid jet head according to the first aspect of the invention.
In the second aspect, the resistance value of the common electrode can be further reduced to prevent the voltage drop more reliably.
According to a third aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem, a plurality of pressure generating chambers partitioned by a partition, a common electrode provided in the pressure generating chamber via a diaphragm, a piezoelectric layer, and an individual electrode A piezoelectric element, and the common electrode is continuously provided facing the plurality of pressure generation chambers and the partition walls in the parallel arrangement direction of the pressure generation chambers. In the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers orthogonal to the juxtaposed direction, both ends of the common electrode are located inside the ends of the pressure generating chambers, and the common electrode in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers In the vicinity of one end portion, a connection wiring is provided between each individual electrode, one end of which is electrically connected to the common electrode, and a plurality of connection wirings are commonly connected to an external wiring. Lead electrode and the rest is the common electrode And a dummy electrode provided only in the vicinity of the end portion, wherein the connection wiring constituting the dummy electrode extends to the outside of the longitudinal end portion of the pressure generating chamber. Located in the jet head.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the connection wiring is provided between the individual electrodes in the vicinity of the other end of the common electrode in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber. The liquid ejecting head according to the aspect is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the flow path forming substrate is provided along the direction in which the pressure generating chambers are arranged outside the other end of the common electrode. A wiring electrode connected to the common electrode is provided near the end of the common electrode, and at least one of the connection wirings provided near the other end of the common electrode is electrically connected to the wiring electrode. The liquid ejecting head according to the second or fourth aspect is characterized by the above.
In the fifth aspect, the resistance value of the common electrode can be further reduced to prevent the voltage drop more reliably.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.
In the sixth aspect, it is possible to realize a liquid ejecting apparatus that stabilizes the droplet ejection characteristics and makes the droplet ejection characteristics uniform.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is BB 'sectional drawing and CC' sectional drawing. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the wiring structure according to the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the flow path forming substrate 10 is made of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110), and as shown in the drawing, one surface thereof is made of silicon dioxide previously formed by thermal oxidation and has a thickness of 0. An elastic film 50 of about 5 to 2 μm is formed. The flow path forming substrate 10 is provided with pressure generating chambers 12 partitioned by a plurality of partition walls 11 in the width direction. Further, a communication portion 13 is formed in a region outside the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber 12 of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the communication portion 13 and each pressure generation chamber 12 are provided for each pressure generation chamber 12. Communication is made via a path 14. The communication unit 13 constitutes a part of the reservoir 100 that communicates with a reservoir unit 32 of the protective substrate 30 described later and serves as a common ink chamber for the pressure generation chambers 12. The ink supply path 14 is formed with a narrower width than the pressure generation chamber 12, and maintains a constant flow path resistance of ink flowing into the pressure generation chamber 12 from the communication portion 13.

Further, on the opening surface side of the flow path forming substrate 10, an insulating film 51 used as a mask when forming the pressure generating chambers 12 is interposed on the side opposite to the ink supply path 14 of each pressure generating chamber 12. A nozzle plate 20 having a nozzle opening 21 communicating in the vicinity of the end is fixed through an adhesive, a heat-welded film, or the like. The nozzle plate 20 has a thickness of, for example, 0.01 to 1 mm, a linear expansion coefficient of 300 ° C. or less, for example, 2.5 to 4.5 [× 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.], glass ceramics, silicon It consists of a single crystal substrate or stainless steel.

  On the other hand, as described above, the elastic film 50 having a thickness of, for example, about 1.0 μm is formed on the side opposite to the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10. For example, an insulator film 55 having a thickness of about 0.4 μm is formed. Further, on the insulator film 55, a lower electrode film 60 having a thickness of, for example, about 0.2 μm, a piezoelectric layer 70 having a thickness of, for example, about 1.0 μm, and a thickness of, for example, about 0 A piezoelectric element 300 is formed by stacking an upper electrode film 80 of .05 μm. Here, the piezoelectric element 300 refers to a portion including the lower electrode film 60, the piezoelectric layer 70, and the upper electrode film 80. A portion where displacement is caused by driving the piezoelectric element 300 is called a diaphragm. For example, at least the elastic film 50 and the insulator film 55 function as a diaphragm, and in this embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 also substantially functions as a diaphragm.

  Here, each upper electrode film 80 that is an individual electrode of the piezoelectric element 300 extends from the vicinity of the end opposite to the ink supply path 14 to the vicinity of the end of the flow path forming substrate 10. An individual lead electrode 90 made of (Au) or the like is connected, and an external wiring, for example, a driving wiring whose one end is connected to a driving IC described later in this embodiment is connected near the tip of the individual lead electrode 90. Is done.

  On the other hand, the lower electrode film 60 which is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 300 has a width narrower than the length in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber 12 in a region facing the pressure generating chamber 12, as shown in FIGS. Thus, the pressure generating chambers 12 are continuously formed in the parallel direction.

  In addition, in the region of the lower electrode film 60 that faces each partition wall 11, a connection wiring 91 that is made of a layer different from the lower electrode film 60 and is electrically connected to the lower electrode film 60 is provided. In the present embodiment, the connection wiring 91 is formed in the same layer as the individual lead electrode 90, and one of the plurality of wirings, for example, one in ten, is formed between the individual lead electrodes 90. 10 is a common lead electrode 92 extending to the vicinity of the end portion of 10. Note that external wiring such as drive wiring is connected to the vicinity of the tip of the common lead electrode 92 in the same manner as the individual lead electrode 90. Further, except for the common lead electrode 92 of the connection wiring 91, the dummy electrode 93 is not extended to the vicinity of the end of the flow path forming substrate 10 and is not electrically connected to the external wiring (drive wiring). That is, the dummy electrode 93 is provided only in the vicinity of the end portion of the lower electrode film 60 in the region facing the partition wall 11.

  Thus, by extending a plurality of common lead electrodes 92 from the lower electrode film 60 that is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 300, the resistance value of the lower electrode film 60 can be substantially reduced, and a large number of When the piezoelectric element 300 is driven at the same time, it is possible to prevent a voltage drop and always obtain stable ink ejection characteristics.

  In addition, by providing the dummy electrode 93 in a region facing the partition wall 11 other than the common lead electrode 92, variation in vibration characteristics of the diaphragm in the region facing each pressure generation chamber 12 can be prevented. it can. Specifically, when the common lead electrode 92 is formed, even if the connection wiring 91 protrudes from the region facing the pressure generation chamber 12 due to the positional deviation of the patterning mask, the region facing each partition wall 11. Since the connection wiring 91 (the common lead electrode 92 and the dummy electrode 93) is formed, the connection wiring 91 protrudes almost uniformly in all the pressure generating chambers 12. In the present invention, the common lead electrode 92 constituting the connection wiring 91 is led out from the vicinity of the end of the lower electrode film 60 to the vicinity of the end of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the dummy electrode 93 is provided to the lower electrode film. Since it is provided only in the vicinity of the end portion of 60, it is possible to substantially prevent the connection wiring 91 from being formed so as to protrude into a region facing the pressure generation chamber 12.

  Therefore, variation in the vibration characteristics of the vibration plate in the region facing each pressure generation chamber 12 can be prevented while maintaining excellent displacement characteristics of the vibration plate by driving the piezoelectric element 300, and extremely good ink ejection characteristics can be obtained. .

  The dummy electrode 93 may be provided only in the vicinity of the end portion of the lower electrode film 60 in the region facing the partition wall 11, but one end portion thereof is located in a region outside the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber 12. It is preferable. That is, it is preferable that the dummy electrode 93 is extended to a region outside the partition wall 11. As a result, the amount of protrusion into the region facing each pressure generating chamber 12 is further uniformed, and the displacement characteristics of the diaphragm in the region facing each pressure generating chamber 12 can be reliably uniformized.

  On the flow path forming substrate 10 on which such a piezoelectric element 300 is formed, a protective substrate having a piezoelectric element holding portion 31 having a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300 in a region facing the piezoelectric element 300. 30 are joined via an adhesive layer 35 made of, for example, an adhesive. Note that the piezoelectric element holding portion 31 only needs to have a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300, and the space may be sealed or not sealed. Further, the protective substrate 30 is provided with a reservoir portion 32 in a region facing the communication portion 13, and the reservoir portion 32 is communicated with the communication portion 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10 as described above. A reservoir 100 serving as an ink chamber common to the pressure generation chamber 12 is configured.

  On the protective substrate 30, a compliance substrate 40 including a sealing film 41 and a fixing plate 42 is bonded. Here, the sealing film 41 is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film having a thickness of 6 μm). The sealing film 41 seals one surface of the reservoir portion 32. It has been stopped. The fixing plate 42 is made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel (SUS) having a thickness of 30 μm). Since the region of the fixing plate 42 facing the reservoir 100 is an opening 43 that is completely removed in the thickness direction, one surface of the reservoir 100 is sealed only with a flexible sealing film 41. Has been.

  In the present embodiment, a drive circuit 110 such as a drive IC that drives the piezoelectric element 300 is mounted on the protective substrate 30. As described above, the drive circuit 110 and the individual lead electrodes 90 and the common lead electrode 92 are electrically connected via the drive wiring 111 made of a bonding wire or the like.

  The ink jet recording head of this embodiment takes in ink from an external ink supply means (not shown), fills the interior from the reservoir 100 to the nozzle opening 21, and then records the recording signal from the drive circuit 110. Accordingly, the piezoelectric elements 300 corresponding to the respective pressure generation chambers 12 are driven, whereby the diaphragm is deformed, whereby the pressure in each pressure generation chamber 12 is increased, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 21.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a plan view and a DD ′ sectional view of the ink jet recording head according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a wiring structure according to the second embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member similar to Embodiment 1 mentioned above, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The present embodiment is an example in which connection wirings are provided on both ends of the lower electrode film 60, respectively. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the other end of the lower electrode film 60, that is, the side opposite to the lead-out side of the individual lead electrode 90, is below the region facing each partition wall 11. A connection wiring 91 </ b> A is provided near the end of the electrode film 60.

  Here, in the present embodiment, in the region outside the pressure generation chamber 12 on the connection wiring 91 </ b> A side, the wiring electrode 120 electrically connected to the lower electrode film 60 extends along the parallel direction of the pressure generation chamber 12. The wiring electrode 120 is extended. Each connection wiring 91 </ b> A is electrically connected to the wiring electrode 120. For example, in this embodiment, each connection wiring 91A and the wiring electrode 120 are continuously formed in the same layer.

  In such a configuration of the present embodiment, the resistance value of the lower electrode film 60 can be further reliably reduced. Therefore, when a large number of piezoelectric elements 300 are driven simultaneously, the occurrence of a voltage drop can be prevented more reliably, and a stable ink ejection characteristic can always be obtained. Of course, as described in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent variation in the vibration characteristics of the diaphragm in the region facing each pressure generating chamber 12.

  In the present embodiment, the wiring electrode 120 is formed in the same layer as the connection wiring 91A, but of course, it may be formed in a layer different from the connection wiring 91A.

(Other embodiments)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the basic configuration of the ink jet recording head is not limited to that described above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the connection wires 91 and 91A are formed in the same layer as the individual lead electrode 90, but of course, they may be formed in a layer different from the individual lead electrode 90. In the above-described embodiment, the connection wirings 91 and 91A are formed directly on the lower electrode film 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, other layers are interposed between the two. Also good. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, an insulating protective film 130 made of, for example, aluminum oxide is provided so as to cover the piezoelectric element 300 including the lower electrode film 60, and the contact hole 131 formed in the insulating protective film 130 is interposed. The lower electrode film 60 and the connection wiring 91 (common lead electrode 92) may be connected.

  Further, for example, in each of the above-described embodiments, an ink jet recording head using a thin film type piezoelectric element manufactured by applying a film forming and lithography process is taken as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording head using a thick film type piezoelectric element formed by a method such as attaching a green sheet.

  In addition, the ink jet recording heads of these embodiments constitute a part of a recording head unit having an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge or the like, and are mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example of the ink jet recording apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the recording head units 1A and 1B having the ink jet recording head, cartridges 2A and 2B constituting ink supply means are detachably provided, and a carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted. Is provided on a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus body 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The recording head units 1A and 1B, for example, are configured to eject a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively.

  The driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 5. The On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown), is conveyed on the platen 8. It is like that.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink jet recording head has been described as an example of the liquid ejecting head of the present invention. However, the basic configuration of the liquid ejecting head is not limited to the above-described configuration. The present invention covers a wide range of liquid ejecting heads, and can naturally be applied to those ejecting liquids other than ink. Examples of the liquid ejecting head include various recording heads used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting display). Examples thereof include an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation and a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 3 is a plan view showing a wiring structure of a recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6A and 6B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a recording head according to Embodiment 2. 6 is a plan view showing a wiring structure of a recording head according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a recording head according to another embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flow path formation board | substrate, 12 Pressure generation chamber, 20 Nozzle plate, 21 Nozzle opening, 30 Protection board | substrate, 40 Compliance board | substrate, 60 Lower electrode film, 70 Piezoelectric layer, 80 Upper electrode film, 90 Individual lead electrode, 91, 91A Connection wiring, 92 common lead electrode, 93 dummy electrode, 100 reservoir, 120 wiring electrode, 130 insulating protective film, 300 piezoelectric element

Claims (6)

A plurality of pressure generating chambers partitioned by a partition;
A piezoelectric element including a common electrode provided in the pressure generation chamber via a diaphragm, a piezoelectric layer, and an individual electrode;
In the juxtaposition direction of the pressure generation chambers, the common electrode is continuously provided facing the plurality of pressure generation chambers and the partition walls,
In the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers orthogonal to the direction in which the pressure generating chambers are arranged, each of both end portions of the common electrode is located on the inner side of the end portions of the pressure generating chambers,
In the vicinity of one end portion on the same side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber of the common electrode in the region facing each partition wall, a connection wiring is provided in which one end side is electrically connected to the common electrode.
The plurality of connection wirings are composed of a common lead electrode, a part of which is connected to the external wiring, and a dummy electrode that is provided only in the vicinity of the end of the common electrode,
The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the connection wiring constituting the dummy electrode extends to the outside of the longitudinal end portion of the pressure generating chamber. 2. The liquid jet according to claim 1, wherein the connection wiring is also provided in the vicinity of the other end portion on the same side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber of the common electrode in a region facing each partition wall. head.   A plurality of pressure generating chambers partitioned by a partition;
  A piezoelectric element including a common electrode provided in the pressure generation chamber via a diaphragm, a piezoelectric layer, and an individual electrode;
  In the juxtaposition direction of the pressure generation chambers, the common electrode is continuously provided facing the plurality of pressure generation chambers and the partition walls,
  In the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers orthogonal to the direction in which the pressure generating chambers are arranged, each of both end portions of the common electrode is located on the inner side of the end portions of the pressure generating chambers,
  In the vicinity of one end of the common electrode in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber, a connection wiring that is electrically connected to the common electrode at one end side is provided between the individual electrodes, respectively.
  The plurality of connection wirings are composed of a common lead electrode, a part of which is connected to the external wiring, and a dummy electrode that is provided only in the vicinity of the end of the common electrode,
  The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the connection wiring constituting the dummy electrode extends to the outside of the longitudinal end portion of the pressure generating chamber.   The liquid ejecting head according to claim 3, wherein the connection wiring is provided between the individual electrodes also in the vicinity of the other end of the common electrode in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber. Outside the other end of the common electrode, the common electrode is provided along the direction in which the pressure generating chambers are juxtaposed, and near the end of the flow path forming substrate in the direction in which the pressure generating chambers are juxtaposed. provided wiring electrodes connected, at least one is provided near the other end of the common electrode and the connection wiring, claim 2 or, characterized in that it is the wiring electrode electrically connected 4. The liquid jet head according to 4 . A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid ejecting head according to any one of claims 1-5.

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