JP5982761B2 - Method for manufacturing liquid discharge head - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head.

  An ink jet head, which is a liquid ejecting head mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus used as an image forming apparatus (image recording apparatus) such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, or a plotter, has a nozzle that ejects ink droplets and an ink that communicates with the nozzle. A flow path (also called a discharge chamber, an individual liquid chamber, a pressurized liquid chamber, a liquid chamber, an ink chamber, etc.) and a driving means for pressurizing ink in the ink flow path are generated by the pressure generating means. The ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles by pressurizing the ink in the ejection chamber with the applied pressure. Examples of liquid discharge heads other than the inkjet head include a liquid discharge head that discharges a liquid resist as droplets and a liquid discharge head that discharges a DNA sample as droplets.

  The manual operation of the ink-jet head includes a thermal type that generates bubbles by vaporization heat in the liquid chamber, and a diaphragm that forms the wall surface of the liquid chamber is deformed using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezoelectric body. A piezo type that generates pressure is well known. Among these, the latter piezo-type head has a great degree of freedom in ink selection, and can control the size of ejected droplets freely by precisely controlling the internal pressure, which is advantageous for high image quality. .

An example of a general ink-jet head using a piezoelectric element is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the inkjet head includes, for example, a flow path member 1, a vibration plate member 2 bonded to the lower surface of the flow path member 1, and a nozzle plate 3 bonded to the upper surface of the flow path member 1. Accordingly, a plurality of liquid chambers serving as individual flow paths through which the plurality of nozzles 4 for discharging droplets communicate with each other via the nozzle communication path 5 and a fluid resistance section also serving as a supply path for supplying ink to the liquid chamber Forming a communicating portion (the fluid chamber, the fluid resistance portion, and the communicating portion are disposed on the back surface of the illustrated surface of the flow path plate 2) that communicates with the liquid chamber via the fluid resistance portion; Ink is supplied from the common liquid chamber 10 formed in the frame member 17 through the supply port 9 formed in the diaphragm member 2. On the base member 13, there are two laminated piezoelectric members 12 joined by an adhesive, and the wiring member 15 is connected.

As a manufacturing method of the diaphragm member, for example, a manufacturing method using electroforming is known as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
When processing a diaphragm member by electroforming, a method of processing in a sheet form in which a plurality of components are arranged in a plane as shown in FIG. 12 is preferable from the viewpoint of productivity. In addition, when a liquid discharge head is assembled by laminating and joining a plurality of thin layer members, it is known to provide a bridge portion that connects the members to the outer periphery of the member in order to improve the convenience of conveyance (for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, four bridge portions 502 and 503 are formed on the long side of the side surface facing the outer periphery of the diaphragm member 501 and two on the short side, respectively, and a plurality of diaphragm members 501 are formed. The bridges 502 and 503 are connected and conveyed. As described above, the bridge portion used during the manufacturing process remains in the inkjet head even after being assembled as an inkjet head by cutting a portion indicated by a broken line in FIG.

In the liquid discharge head described in Patent Document 3, it is described that the outer shape of the diaphragm member and the flow path member are substantially the same in order to suppress deformation around the bridge portion and reduce the occurrence of poor bonding. . However, by adopting such a shape, the protruding corners of the bridge portion and the recording medium and the wiper blade come into contact with each other, generating paper dust, delamination between parts, and abrasion of the wiper blade. is there.
In addition, in the lead frame described in Patent Document 4, it is described that a bridge is also formed in the longitudinal direction in order to prevent deformation of the component due to handling, and a weakened portion is provided on the component side of the bridge in order to facilitate cutting the bridge. ing. However, there is a problem that the film thickness uniformity of the diaphragm portion cannot be increased due to the shape of the bridge portion.

  The thin-walled portion of the first layer of the diaphragm member composed of a plurality of layers constitutes the wall surface of the liquid chamber at the diaphragm portion facing the liquid chamber. The diaphragm portion mainly transmits the driving force of the piezoelectric element to the liquid chamber. Therefore, the compliance value as an index of rigidity is an important characteristic. Since the compliance value is inversely proportional to the cube of the thickness, the film thickness uniformity of the diaphragm portion greatly affects the uniformity of the liquid ejection characteristics between the plurality of channels.

  As described above, from the viewpoint of productivity, the diaphragm member is preferably processed into a sheet shape as shown in FIG. 12. However, as the sheet area increases, the electroformed film thickness distribution, that is, the current density distribution increases accordingly. It tends to occur. As a basic phenomenon of electroforming, there is a pattern dependency of film thickness. That is, when electroforming is performed by forming a conductive seed layer in an area to be electroformed and forming a non-conductive material (for example, a photoresist) in an area where electroforming is not performed, the conductive layer is directed to or comes out of the non-conductive area. A portion where the thickness of the film becomes thicker due to the electric lines of force moving toward the nearby conductive seed layer area. Therefore, in order to make the film thickness distribution uniform, the areas of the non-conductor areas must be arranged as evenly as possible in the plane.

The problem of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and while maintaining high productivity by sheet-like processing, vibration excellent in electroformed film thickness, particularly in the uniformity of the film thickness of the diaphragm portion. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid ejection head that has a plate member and can reduce contact between a bridge portion and a member such as a recording medium or a wiper blade.

In order to solve the above problems, a method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention includes:
A liquid in which a nozzle plate having a nozzle for discharging liquid droplets, a flow path member that forms a liquid chamber communicating with the nozzle, and a vibration plate member that forms a part of the wall surface of the liquid chamber are laminated and joined. In a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head having a chamber unit,
Said diaphragm member,
Composed of two or more layers of the electroformed layer,
Opposing portion to the liquid chamber and shall such a thin portion and the thick portion forming part of said wall,
A plurality of cut bridge portions are formed on the outer periphery of the diaphragm member, and the thin portion is formed in the entire region between the adjacent bridge portions,
Any of the thick portion and the thin portion including said bridge portion is also a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head characterized in that shall be included in the electroformed layer.

According to the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention, while having high productivity by sheet processing, the diaphragm member has excellent electroformed film thickness, in particular, uniformity of the film thickness of the thin portion, and the bridge. It is possible to provide a liquid discharge head that can reduce the contact between the portion and a member such as a recording medium or a wiper blade.

It is principal part sectional drawing which concerns on one embodiment of the liquid discharge head of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows one embodiment of the manufacturing process of a diaphragm part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outer peripheral shape of a diaphragm member, the prior art example of a bridge | bridging part, and one embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic diagram which showed an example of the principal part sectional drawing of the bridge | bridging part of an inkjet head, and the area | region between bridge | bridging parts. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outer periphery shape of a diaphragm member, the prior art example of a bridge | bridging part, and the other embodiment of this invention. It is an expansion schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of a bridge part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outer periphery shape of the diaphragm member in the other embodiment of this invention, and the edge part shape of a bridge | bridging part. 1 is an overall configuration diagram according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part according to an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram according to another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a structure of a general inkjet head. It is a top view explaining the bridge | bridging part of a diaphragm member.

  Hereinafter, a liquid discharge head, a liquid discharge apparatus, and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, and the like can be changed within a range that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and any aspect is possible. As long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited, the scope of the present invention is included.

[First Embodiment]
An embodiment of an ink jet head which is a liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the main part in the short side direction of the diaphragm member constituting the ink jet head, and only one row is displayed.

This ink jet head has a nozzle plate 23 on which nozzles 24 for discharging droplets are formed, and a liquid chamber interval wall that forms an individual liquid chamber (hereinafter also simply referred to as “liquid chamber”) 25 communicating with the nozzle 24. A flow path member (flow path plate) 22 and a vibration plate member 21 that forms a part of the wall surface of the individual liquid chamber 25 are stacked and bonded to each other with an adhesive. Is composed of three electroformed layers, and the portion facing the individual liquid chamber 25 is composed of a thin portion 21a that forms part of the wall surface and thick portions 21b and 21c that form convex portions.
By joining the nozzle plate 23, the flow path member 22, and the vibration plate member 21 with an adhesive, an individual liquid chamber 25 communicating with the nozzle 24 is formed, and ink is supplied to the individual liquid chamber 25 via a fluid resistance portion. A common liquid chamber 26 for supplying the liquid is formed in the frame 27.
On the opposite side of the diaphragm member 21 from the individual liquid chamber 25, a laminate type as an electromechanical conversion element which is a driving means (actuator means) for deforming the diaphragm member 21 and pressurizing ink in the liquid chamber. The piezoelectric element 28 and the support column are provided, and the diaphragm member 21 and the driving means are joined with an adhesive. The piezoelectric element 28 and the other end of the column are joined to the substrate 29.

The piezoelectric element 28 is a stacked piezoelectric element (here, PZT) in which piezoelectric materials and internal electrodes are alternately stacked. In the present embodiment, as the piezoelectric direction of the piezoelectric element 28, the ink in the liquid chamber 25 is pressurized using a displacement in the d33 direction. In the ink jet head configured as described above, by selectively applying a drive pulse voltage of 20 to 50 V to the piezoelectric element 28, the piezoelectric element 28 to which the pulse voltage is applied extends in the stacking direction and vibrates. The plate member 21 is deformed in the nozzle direction, the ink in the liquid chamber 25 is pressurized by the volume / volume change of the liquid chamber 25, and ink droplets are ejected (jetted) from the nozzle 24. As the ink droplets are ejected, the liquid pressure in the liquid chamber 25 decreases, and a slight negative pressure is generated in the liquid chamber 25 due to the inertia of the ink flow at this time. Under this state, when the voltage application to the piezoelectric element 28 is turned off, the diaphragm member 21 returns to the original position and the liquid chamber 25 has the original shape, so that further negative pressure is generated. . At this time, ink is filled from the common liquid chamber 26 into the liquid chamber 25. Therefore, after the vibration of the ink meniscus surface of the nozzle is attenuated and stabilized, a pulse voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 28 to eject the ink droplet for the next ink droplet ejection.
Note that the driving method of the head is not limited to the above example (pushing), and it is also possible to perform striking or pulling-pushing depending on the direction to which the driving waveform is given.

Examples of the material of the nozzle plate 23 include a metal material, for example, a Ni-plated film formed by an electroforming method, or a stainless steel pressed material. The nozzle plate 23 is formed with a large number of nozzles 24 that are fine discharge ports for causing droplets to fly.
Examples of the inner shape (inner shape) of the nozzle 24 include a horn shape (may be a substantially cylindrical shape or a substantially frustum shape) and a tapered shape. The diameter of the nozzle 24 is about 15 to 35 μm on the droplet outlet side.
In this embodiment, the nozzle diameter is 18 to 24 μm. Further, the nozzle pitch of each row is 150 dpi / 300 dpi.

As a material of the nozzle plate 23, a resin material may be used in addition to the metal material described above.
In this embodiment, the liquid ejection surface (nozzle surface side) of the nozzle plate 23 is provided with a water-repellent treatment layer that has been subjected to a water-repellent surface treatment (not shown). Examples of the water-repellent treatment layer include PTFE-Ni eutectoid plating, fluororesin electrodeposition coating, vapor-deposited fluororesin (for example, Optool, etc.), silicon resin and fluororesin. Examples include baking after solvent application, and providing a water-repellent treatment film selected according to the liquid physical properties to stabilize the droplet shape and flight characteristics of the liquid so that high-quality image quality can be obtained. it can.

  As a material of the flow path member 22, for example, a single crystal silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) is anisotropically etched using an alkaline etching solution such as an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution (KOH), thereby obtaining a liquid chamber or the like. Examples include those in which a flow path pattern is formed (not limited to single crystal silicon), those obtained by pressing other stainless steel substrates, and photosensitive resins.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the flow path member 22 has a recess (damper chamber) that is a space in which the damper portion 31 of the diaphragm member 21 is displaced up and down in order to attenuate residual vibration of the common liquid chamber 26. 33 is formed. The damper chamber 33 can be formed by a method such as dry etching or wet etching.

The diaphragm member 21 can be formed of a nickel metal plate, and is manufactured by, for example, an electroforming method (electroforming method).
The diaphragm member 21 has a diaphragm portion 30 at a portion opposed to the individual liquid chamber 25, and the diaphragm portion 30 abuts on and joins the piezoelectric element to a thin portion (21a) for facilitating deformation. This is an island structure in which convex portions are formed by thick wall portions (21b, 21c). Also, a thick portion is formed in the portion corresponding to the partition wall, the flat surface (thin portion) side is bonded to the flow path member 22 with an adhesive, and the thick portion side is bonded to the piezoelectric element 28 or the column portion with an adhesive. It is joined.

  In addition, although the support | pillar part is formed similarly to the piezoelectric element 28, since a drive voltage is not applied, it functions as a mere support | pillar. Further, a damper portion 31 is provided at a location facing the common liquid chamber 26 of the diaphragm member 21.

The manufacturing process by electroforming of the diaphragm member 21 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIGS. 2A to 2F show the manufacturing process of the diaphragm portion. As shown in FIG. 2A, the first layer (thickness 2 to 5 μm) which is a thin portion is first formed on the substrate 40. 21a is formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), a resist pattern 41 having a window corresponding to a portion between the thick portions is formed, and nickel electroforming is performed, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (c). Nickel is deposited and deposited on one layer 21a to form a second layer (thickness 5 to 20 μm) 21b. Then, as shown in FIGS. 2D and 4E, a resist pattern 42 is formed and electroforming is performed again to form a third layer (thickness 5 to 20 μm) 21c. When the resist patterns 41 and 42 are removed after peeling off from the substrate 40, as shown in FIG. 2 (f), a three-layer structure having a thin portion 21a and island-like thick portions (21b and 21c) which are convex portions is formed. The diaphragm member 21 is obtained.
In FIG. 2, the number of layers of the diaphragm member 21 is three. However, it may be two or more, and is not limited to three.

Next, the outer peripheral shape of the diaphragm member and the bridge portion will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state before a bridge portion that connects members is provided and is cut and separated in the manufacturing process. FIG. 3A is an example of a conventional diaphragm member, and FIG. ) Shows an example of a diaphragm member in one embodiment of the present invention.
The dimensions of the bridge portion 51 are about 0.1 mm in the vertical direction and about 1 mm in the parallel direction from the outline of the three-layer diaphragm member 21 main body. The bridge portion 51 has a two-layer configuration including the first layer 21a and the second layer 21b, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed as a three-layer configuration including the third layer 21c. However, if the bridge portion 51 has a three-layer structure, it is too thick and cutting becomes difficult, and the life of the tool to be cut may be shortened. Therefore, a two-layer structure is preferable. On the other hand, if it is a single-layer structure consisting of only the first layer, it will be too thin and will be broken, and cannot function as a bridge.

As shown in FIG. 3 (B), in the diaphragm member 21 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the first layer (thin portion) 21a is formed in the region between the adjacent bridge portions. The uniformity of the film thickness of the part is improved. In contrast to this, when the first layer plating is not formed in the region between the bridge portions, that is, when the first layer resist is formed as in the conventional diaphragm member of FIG. Since the electric lines of force are not transmitted to the periphery, the electric lines of force are concentrated in the peripheral part, and the film thickness of the concentrated part is increased, so that the film thickness uniformity of the thin part including the diaphragm part cannot be obtained. .
In order to realize high image quality of the ink jet head, it is indispensable to improve the accuracy by the film thickness uniformity of the diaphragm portion. Therefore, the diaphragm member according to the present embodiment forms a thin portion in a region between adjacent bridge portions.
In addition, the thin part between bridge | bridging parts here is not limited to the 1st layer 21a, It means that it forms with a thin part rather than a bridge | bridging part. Therefore, the bridge portion may be composed of three layers, and the thin portion between the bridge portions may be composed of two layers of the first layer and the second layer.

  Moreover, as shown to FIG. 3 (B), it has an area | region where the 1st layer (thin part) 21a is not formed along the cutting | disconnection site | parts 50a and 50b of the bridge part 51 among the area | regions between adjacent bridge parts. Is preferred. The first layer (thin wall portion) 21a formed in the region between adjacent bridge portions is separated and provided in advance as shown in FIG. Without changing the cutting method, the member can be divided by cutting in the same manner as in the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a cross-sectional view of the main part of the ink jet head. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a portion where the bridge portion 51 is provided, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a portion where the first layer (thin portion) 21a is formed in the region between the bridge portions, and FIG. FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view showing the AA cross section of FIGS. 4D is a cross-sectional view of the conventional bridge portion (a portion corresponding to FIG. 4B of the conventional example), and FIG. 4E is composed of FIGS. 4A and 4D. It is sectional drawing which shows the AA cross section of the prior art example.
As shown in FIG. 4A, bridge portions 51 composed of two layers (21 a, 21 b) are formed at both ends of the diaphragm member 21.
In the conventional diaphragm member, the region between the bridge portions is formed with a resist when performing electroforming, and the plating does not grow, and is a space as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the first layer is plated, and the first layer (thin portion) 21a is formed in the region between the bridge portions as shown in FIG. 4B.

  By forming the first layer (thin wall portion) 21 a in the region between the bridge portions, the gap between the bridge portion 51 and the bridge portion 51 is also filled with the adhesive 34 when the frame 27 and the diaphragm member 21 are joined. For this reason, the bridge portion 51 and the bridge portion have substantially the same height and are formed flat by the first layer (thin wall portion) 21a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The side edge of the part is not exposed. On the other hand, in the conventional diaphragm member, as shown in FIG. 4E, the edge of the side surface of the cut portion of the bridge portion 51 is exposed without being buried by the adhesive, and the cut corner portion protrudes.

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
5A and 5B are plan views showing the diaphragm member 21 in a state before being cut and separated in the manufacturing process. FIG. 5A is an example of a conventional diaphragm member 21, and FIG. The example of the diaphragm member 21 in the second embodiment is shown.
As shown in FIG. 5B, a first layer (thin portion) 21a is formed in the entire region between adjacent bridge portions. With such a configuration, in cutting the bridge portion, the first layer (thin wall portion) 21a formed between the bridge portions also needs to be cut, and the division method needs to be changed from the conventional one. It is possible to further improve the film thickness uniformity of the single layer (thin wall portion) 21a, particularly the film thickness uniformity of the thin wall portion of the diaphragm portion.
As in the first embodiment, the thin portion between the bridge portions is not limited to the first layer 21a, which means that the thin portion is formed thinner than the bridge portion. Therefore, the bridge portion may be composed of three layers, and the thin portion between the bridge portions may be composed of two layers of the first layer and the second layer.

[Third Embodiment]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
6B and 6C are schematic views in which the bridge portion 51 of the diaphragm member 21 shown in FIG. 6A is enlarged. FIG. 6B shows an example of the bridge unit 51 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 6C shows an example of the bridge unit 51 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 6C, the dimensions of the bridge portion are the same as the conventional one, but the center layer is only one layer of the first layer (thin portion) 21a. By adopting such a configuration, the film thickness uniformity of the first layer (thin portion) 21a remains the same as the conventional one, and only the rigidity of the bridge portion 51 can be reduced. Even if it is broken, the occurrence of poor bonding can be suppressed. That is, it becomes easy to deform the bridge portion to the original state by the applied pressure at the time of joining. Moreover, since the external dimensions of the bridge portion itself are not different from the conventional one, there is no need to change the dividing method in the manufacturing process.

[Fourth Embodiment]
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the corner portion on the side where the bridge portion 51 is cut can be curved. The resist is designed in advance so that the shape of the cut portion of the second layer (thick portion) 21b becomes a curved shape after the division. By adopting such a curved shape, the sharpness of the corner portion of the bridge after the division is eliminated, so that the recording medium (paper), the wiper blade, and the like can be further prevented from being caught.

[Fifth Embodiment]
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the cut side of the bridge portion 51 has a curved shape, and the corners of the four corners of the first layer (thin portion) 21a formed in the region between the bridge portions also have a curved shape. can do. By forming the outer periphery of the first layer (thin wall portion) 21a as well as the shape of the cut portion of the second layer (thick wall portion) 21b, the corners are minimized, and the recording medium (paper) and wiper blade are configured. It is possible to more reliably suppress catching of the members such as.

[Image forming apparatus]
The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention includes the liquid ejection head according to the present invention, and deposits the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head on the adherend medium.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejection device, wherein the liquid is an image forming ink, and the adherend medium is a recording medium.
One embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the mechanism portion of the apparatus, and FIG. 9 is a plan view for explaining a main portion of the mechanism portion.
This image forming apparatus is a serial type image forming apparatus, and a carriage 233 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by main and slave guide rods 231 and 232 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 221A and 221B. The main scanning motor that does not perform moving scanning in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) via the timing belt.

  The carriage 233 includes a plurality of recording heads 234 including the liquid discharge head unit according to the present invention for discharging ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). Nozzle rows consisting of these nozzles are arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward.

  The recording head 234 is configured by attaching liquid ejection heads 234a and 234b each having two nozzle rows to one base member, and one nozzle row of one head 234a has a black (K) droplet. The other nozzle row ejects cyan (C) droplets, the other nozzle row of the other head 234b ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets. . Note that, here, a two-head configuration is used to eject four color droplets, but a liquid ejection head for each color may be provided.

  The carriage 233 is equipped with sub tanks 235a and 235b (referred to as “sub tank 235” when not distinguished) for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle rows of the recording head 234. The sub tank 235 is supplied with ink of each color from the ink cartridge 210 of each color by the supply unit 224 via the supply tube 236 of each color.

  On the other hand, as a paper feed unit for feeding the paper 242 loaded on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 241 of the paper feed tray 202, a half-moon roller (feed) that feeds the paper 242 from the paper stacking unit 241 one by one. A separation pad 244 made of a material having a large coefficient of friction is provided opposite to the sheet roller 243 and the sheet feeding roller 243, and the separation pad 244 is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 243 side.

  In order to feed the sheet 242 fed from the sheet feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 234, a guide member 245 for guiding the sheet 242, a counter roller 246, a conveyance guide member 247, and a tip pressure roller. And a conveying belt 251 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 242 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 234.

  The conveyor belt 251 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyor roller 252 and the tension roller 253 so as to circulate in the belt conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). In addition, a charging roller 256 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 251 is provided. The charging roller 256 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 251 and to rotate following the rotation of the conveyor belt 251. The transport belt 251 rotates in the belt transport direction when the transport roller 252 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 242 recorded by the recording head 234, a separation claw 261 for separating the paper 242 from the transport belt 251, a paper discharge roller 262, and a paper discharge roller 263 are provided. A paper discharge tray 203 is provided below the paper discharge roller 262.
A double-sided unit 271 is detachably attached to the back surface of the apparatus main body. The duplex unit 271 takes in the paper 242 returned by the reverse rotation of the transport belt 251, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 246 and the transport belt 251. The upper surface of the duplex unit 271 is a manual feed tray 272.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 234 is disposed in a non-printing area on one side in the scanning direction of the carriage 233. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 282a and 282b (hereinafter referred to as “caps 282” when not distinguished) for capping each nozzle surface of the recording head 234, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper blade 283 that is a blade member for wiping the ink, and an empty discharge receiver 284 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge thickened ink. Yes.

  In addition, in the non-printing area on the other side of the carriage 233 in the scanning direction, idle ejection that receives droplets when performing idle ejection that ejects droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge ink that has been thickened during recording or the like. A receiver 288 is disposed, and the idle discharge receiver 288 is provided with an opening 289 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 234 and the like.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 242 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feeding tray 202, and the sheet 242 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 245, and is conveyed to the conveyor belt 251 and the counter. It is sandwiched between the rollers 246 and conveyed, and further, the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 237 and pressed against the conveying belt 251 by the leading end pressing roller 249, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately applied to the charging roller 256, that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 251 alternates, that is, in the sub-scanning direction that is the circumferential direction. , Plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the sheet 242 is fed onto the conveyance belt 251 charged alternately with plus and minus, the sheet 242 is attracted to the conveyance belt 251, and the sheet 242 is conveyed in the sub scanning direction by the circumferential movement of the conveyance belt 251.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 234 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 233, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 242 to record one line, and after the paper 242 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 242 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 242 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 203.

  As described above, since the image forming apparatus includes the liquid discharge head according to the present invention as a recording head, it is possible to perform highly reliable and stable droplet discharge and to form a high-quality image at high speed. Can do.

Next, another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the liquid ejection head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire mechanism portion of the apparatus.
This image forming apparatus is a line type image forming apparatus, has an image forming unit 402 and the like inside the apparatus main body 401, and can supply a large number of recording media (sheets) 403 on the lower side of the apparatus main body 401. A paper tray 404 is provided, a sheet 403 fed from the sheet feeding tray 404 is taken in, a required image is recorded by the image forming unit 402 while the sheet 403 is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 405, and then the side of the apparatus main body 401. The paper 403 is discharged to a paper discharge tray 406 attached to the printer.

  Also, a duplex unit 407 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 401 is provided, and when performing duplex printing, the sheet 403 is conveyed into the duplex unit 407 while being transported in the reverse direction by the transport mechanism 405 after one-side (front) printing is completed. Then, the other side (back side) is sent back to the transport mechanism 405 as the printable side, and the paper 403 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 406 after the other side (back side) printing is completed.

  Here, the image forming unit 402 is, for example, four full-line liquids according to the present invention that discharge droplets of each color of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). The recording heads 411k, 411c, 411m, and 411y (which are referred to as “recording heads 411” when the colors are not distinguished) are configured with ejection heads, and each recording head 411 has a nozzle surface on which nozzles for ejecting droplets are formed downward. The head holder 413 is attached.

  In addition, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 412k, 412c, 412m, 412y (referred to as “maintenance / recovery mechanism 412” when colors are not distinguished) is provided to maintain and recover the performance of the head corresponding to each recording head 411. During the head performance maintenance operation such as wiping processing, the recording head 411 and the maintenance / recovery mechanism 412 are relatively moved so that the capping member constituting the maintenance / recovery mechanism 412 faces the nozzle surface of the recording head 411.

  Here, the recording head 411 is arranged to eject droplets of each color in the order of blank, cyan, magenta, and yellow from the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction, but the arrangement and the number of colors are not limited to this. Further, as the line-type head, one or a plurality of heads provided with a plurality of nozzle rows for discharging droplets of each color at a predetermined interval can be used. A head and a recording liquid cartridge for supplying ink to the heads It can be integrated or separate.

  The paper 403 in the paper feed tray 404 is separated one by one by a paper feed roller (half-moon roller) 421 and a separation pad (not shown) and fed into the apparatus main body 401, and is registered along the guide surface 423 a of the transport guide member 423. It is sent between 425 and the conveyor belt 433, and is sent to the conveyor belt 433 of the conveyor mechanism 405 via the guide member 426 at a predetermined timing.

  In addition, the conveyance guide member 423 is also formed with a guide surface 423 b for guiding the paper 403 sent out from the duplex unit 407. Further, a guide member 427 for guiding the sheet 403 returned from the transport mechanism 405 to the duplex unit 407 during duplex printing is also provided.

  The conveyance mechanism 405 includes an endless conveyance belt 433 that is stretched between a conveyance roller 431 that is a driving roller and a driven roller 432, a charging roller 434 that charges the conveyance belt 433, and an image forming unit 402. A platen member 435 that maintains the flatness of the conveying belt 433 at the opposite portion, a pressing roller 436 that presses the paper 403 fed from the conveying belt 433 against the conveying roller 431 side, and other ink (not shown) that adheres to the conveying belt 433. It has a cleaning roller made of a porous body or the like as a cleaning means for removing.

  On the downstream side of the transport mechanism 405, a paper discharge roller 438 and a spur 439 for sending the paper 403 on which an image is recorded to the paper discharge tray 406 are provided.

  In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the conveyance belt 433 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, and is charged by contact with the charging roller 434 to which a high potential application voltage is applied. The conveyance belt is charged to this high potential. When the sheet 403 is fed onto the sheet 433, the sheet 403 is electrostatically attracted to the conveyance belt 433. In this way, the sheet 403 that is strongly adsorbed to the transport belt 433 is calibrated for warpage and unevenness, and forms a highly flat surface.

  Then, the paper 403 is moved around the conveyor belt 433 and droplets are ejected from the recording head 411, whereby a required image is formed on the paper 403, and the paper 403 on which the image has been recorded is the paper discharge roller 438. As a result, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 406.

  As described above, in this ink jet recording apparatus, it is possible to supply the diaphragm with high bonding reliability according to the present invention.

As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is equipped with the liquid discharge head (inkjet head) of the present invention, and while maintaining high productivity by sheet-like processing, the film thickness of the electroformed film, particularly the thin part. The liquid discharge head of the present invention that has a vibration plate member with excellent uniformity and can reduce the contact between the bridge portion and a member such as a recording medium or a wiper blade, is excellent in uniform discharge characteristics, An image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image and suppressing generation of paper dust, delamination between parts, and wear of a wiper blade can be obtained.
Examples of the image forming apparatus include a printer, a facsimile machine, and an MFP (multifunctional peripheral device).

  In the above embodiment, the liquid discharge head according to the present invention is applied to an ink jet head. However, a liquid drop other than ink, for example, a liquid drop discharge head that discharges a liquid resist for patterning, and a gene analysis sample are discharged. The present invention can also be applied to a droplet discharge head or the like.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, “paper” is not limited to paper, but includes OHP, cloth, glass, a substrate, etc., and means that ink droplets or other liquids can adhere to it. Yes, including recording media, recording media, recording paper, recording paper, and the like. In addition, image formation, recording, printing, printing, and printing are all synonymous.

  The “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. “Formation” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply causing a droplet to land on the medium). ) Also means.

  Further, the “image” is not limited to a planar one, but includes an image given to a three-dimensionally formed image and an image formed by three-dimensionally modeling a solid itself.

21 Vibrating plate member 21a Thin portion 21b Thick portion 21c Thick portion 22 Channel member 23 Nozzle plate 24 Nozzle 25 Liquid chamber (individual liquid chamber)
26 Common liquid chamber 27 Frame 28 Piezoelectric element 29 Substrate 30 Diaphragm portion 31 Damper portion 32 Supply port 33 Recessed portion (damper chamber)
34 Adhesive 51 Bridge part

JP-A-6-143573 JP 2004-90297 A JP 2008-0668489 A JP 2005-28641 A

Claims (4)

A liquid in which a nozzle plate having a nozzle for discharging liquid droplets, a flow path member that forms a liquid chamber communicating with the nozzle, and a vibration plate member that forms a part of the wall surface of the liquid chamber are laminated and joined. In a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head having a chamber unit,
Said diaphragm member,
Composed of two or more layers of the electroformed layer,
Opposing portion to the liquid chamber and shall such a thin portion and the thick portion forming part of said wall,
A plurality of cut bridge portions are formed on the outer periphery of the diaphragm member, and the thin portion is formed in the entire region between the adjacent bridge portions,
Wherein none of the thick portion and the thin portion, the manufacturing method of the liquid discharge head is characterized in that shall be included in the electroformed layer including the bridge portion. In the region between the bridge portions adjacent method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, characterized by forming a region where the thin portion is not formed along the cleavage site of the bridge portion. Method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cut side of the corners of the curved shape of the bridge portion. Method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the corners of the curved shape of the four corners of the thin portion formed in a region between the bridge portion.