JPH01288454A - Fabrication of ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the cost and the size through relatively simple structure, by jointing a substrate, a flow path board in which a plurality of pressure chambers communicated with respective orifices, an ink flow path and a common liquid chamber are formed, a top board and a positioning board through high temperature compression and bonding a plurality of electromechanical converts onto the top board. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of orifice sections 16 for delivering ink, a plurality of pressure chambers 17, an ink flow path section 18 and a common liquid chamber 21 are formed through etching in one flow path board 12. A smooth top board 13 and a substrate 11 are jointed to the upper and lower faces of the flow path board 12 and the front end section of the orifice section 16 is cut off. A plurality of openings 19 for positioning respective electromechanical converters 14 are formed through etching in same plate of a positioning board 20. The substrate 11, the flow path board 12, the top board 13 and the positioning board 20 are bonded one another under laminated state through high temperature compression, and preferably made of same material such as stainless steel. By such arrangement, the structure is simplified, the size and the thickness is reduced resulting in reduction of assembling manpower and fabrication cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an inkjet recording head that ejects ink droplets from a plurality of orifices according to image information.

[Conventional technology]

An inkjet recording device is one type of recording device such as a printer or a facsimile.

Inkjet recording devices perform recording by ejecting small droplets of recording liquid (ink) from an orifice using various energy application methods, and attaching the droplets to a recording medium (recording sheet) such as paper or a thin plastic plate. .

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a recording head used in such a recording apparatus.

As an energy application method for forming ink droplets or making them fly in an inkjet recording head, for example, an electric field is generated with an electrode placed near an orifice (ink ejection opening), and an electric field is applied to the ink to generate static electricity. An electric field control method that electrically ejects and flies ink. An electromechanical transducer is placed near the orifice, and the mechanical vibration of the electromechanical transducer acts on the ink in response to an external signal to eject and fly ink droplets. A demand piezo system or a heating element (electric heat exchanger) is installed near the orifice, and the heating element is energized in response to an external signal to vaporize the ink near it, and the pressure generated at that time causes ink droplets to form. There is a thermal inkjet (bubble shaft) 7j type that causes ejection to fly.

[Problems that the invention is trying to solve]

However, in the conventional electric field control type recording head,
There was a problem that the structure of the electrode cage near the orifice was complicated, the recording head became large, and the cost of manufacturing increased.

In addition, in the conventional thermal inkjet method,
Since a heating element is used as the energy generator, there is a problem in that the ejection durability is inferior to other on-demand methods or electric field control methods.

Although the dot control function is an important technology for improving image quality, the thermal inkjet method has a problem in that the range of dot diameter variation during driver 1-diameter control is narrower than other on-demand methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head that can solve the problems of the prior art described above, has a relatively simple structure, and is capable of reducing cost and size.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head that ejects ink droplets from a plurality of orifices according to image information, including a substrate, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with each orifice, and a plurality of ink channels communicating with each pressure chamber. In addition, there is a channel plate with a structure in which a common liquid chamber communicating with each ink channel is formed by etching in the same plate, a top plate, and multiple electromechanical transducers that are energy generators for ejecting ink droplets. A channel plate is arranged on the substrate, and a ceiling is placed on the channel plate. A board is arranged, a positioning plate and a plurality of electromechanical transducers are arranged on the top plate, and the board, a channel plate, a top plate, and a positioning plate are joined by high-temperature pressure bonding, and the plurality of electromechanical transducers are placed on the top plate. The above object is achieved by an inkjet recording head configured to be positioned and adhered onto a top plate.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention before assembly.

In FIG. 1, the inkjet recording head includes a substrate 1
1, a channel plate 12, a top plate 13, a plurality of electromechanical transducers 14, and a positioning plate 20.

A hole 15 is formed in the substrate 11 and serves as an ink supply port for introducing ink from the outside.

The flow path plate 12 includes a plurality of orifice sections 16 that form small holes for ejecting ink, and a plurality of pressure chamber sections 17 that communicate with each orifice section and propagate pressure waves thereto.
A plurality of ink passages 18 communicating with each pressure chamber and supplying ink thereto, and a common liquid chamber 21 communicating with each ink passage are formed in the same plate by an etching method, that is, by pattern erosion. The structure is formed using a die cutting method.

The top plate is a smooth plate, and by joining the top plate 13 and the substrate 11 above and below the flow path plate 12 and removing the front end of the orifice portion 16, an orifice, a pressure chamber, an ink flow path, and a common liquid chamber are formed inside the top plate. is formed.

The positioning plate 20 has a structure in which a plurality of openings 19 for positioning each electromechanical transducer 14 are formed in the same plate by etching (cutting out by pattern corrosion).

The above-mentioned substrate 11, channel plate 12, top plate 3, and positioning plate 20 are stacked and fixed to each other by high-temperature pressure bonding, and these should be made of the same material, such as nickel or stainless steel. is preferred.

The plurality of electromechanical transducers 14 are energy generators for forming ink droplets and ejecting them, and are composed of, for example, piezoelectric elements that contract and expand in response to voltage pulses.

Each electromechanical transducer 14 is fitted and positioned in each opening 19 of the positioning plate 20 on the upper surface of the top plate 13, and is bonded and fixed with an adhesive such as epoxy resin.

By assembling the above-mentioned parts, an inkjet recording head having a plurality of orifices (ink ejection ports) is constructed.

In FIG. 2, a substrate 11, a channel plate 12, a top plate 13, and a positioning plate 20 are bonded together by high-temperature pressure bonding, and a plurality of electromechanical transducers 14 (the number corresponding to the pressure chambers 17) are attached to the top plate 13.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ink droplet is positioned and adhered to the upper surface of the positioning plate 20 by the opening 19 of the positioning plate 20, and the orifice portion 16 for ejecting ink droplets is still sealed.

FIG. 3 shows that a plurality of orifices 24 are opened by removing the front surface of the head, that is, the front surface of the orifice section 16 perpendicular to the ink droplet ejection direction by polishing or cutting a predetermined thickness from the state shown in FIG. FIG.

In addition to opening the orifice 24, this front surface removal step can eliminate steps on the orifice surface due to dimensional errors or assembly errors in the substrate 11, channel plate 12, top plate 13, and positioning plate 20.

The above structure and assembly are performed according to the steps of the substrate 11, each A plurality of pressure chambers 17 communicating with the orifice 24
, a channel plate 12 having a structure in which a plurality of ink channels communicating with each pressure chamber 17 and a common liquid chamber 21 communicating with each ink channel 18 are formed in the same plate by etching;
A structure in which a top plate 13, a plurality of electromechanical transducers 14 that are energy generators for ejecting ink droplets, and openings 19 for positioning each electromechanical transducer 14 are formed in the same plate by etching. A channel plate 12 is arranged on the substrate 11, a top plate 13 is arranged on the channel plate 12, and the positioning plate 20 and a plurality of electromechanical transducers are arranged on the top plate 13. 14, bonding the substrate 11, channel plate 12, top plate 13, and positioning slope 20 by high-temperature pressure bonding, and fixing a plurality of electromechanical transducers on the top plate 13 with adhesive. , a method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head having a plurality of orifices 24 is obtained.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects were obtained.

(i) A low-cost inkjet recording head could be realized by assembling the plate-like parts by a simple process of joining them together by high-temperature pressure bonding and adhering the electromechanical transducer to the surface.

(11) The number of orifices 24 can be easily increased with a simple configuration, and an inkjet recording head capable of printing high-quality images at high speed can now be easily manufactured.

(iii) Because of the structure in which plate-shaped parts are stacked, it is easy to make the recording head smaller and thinner, and the recording head and the recording apparatus using it can be made smaller and lighter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the head periphery of an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with an inkjet recording head manufactured according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4, a guide shaft 33 is installed in parallel in front of a platen roller 32 that conveys a recording sheet 31, and an inkjet recording head 35 is mounted on a carriage 34 that reciprocates along the guide shaft 33.

Ink (recording liquid) is supplied to the inkjet recording head 35 from an ink tank 36 through an ink supply tube 37 .

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head of the present invention, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with a plurality of orifices, a plurality of ink channels communicating with each pressure chamber, and a plurality of ink channels communicating with each pressure chamber are provided. A top plate and a substrate are bonded at high temperature to both sides of a channel plate in which openings forming a communicating common chamber are formed, and a plurality of electromechanical transducers are positioned and bonded onto the top plate using a positioning plate. A method for manufacturing an ink-side recording head that has a simple structure, can be made smaller and thinner, can reduce the number of assembly steps, and can achieve lower costs can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the inkjet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention before it is assembled, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the recording head of FIG. 1 assembled and before the orifice is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state after the orifice is opened from the state shown in FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a jet recording device. 11---board, 12--11111 circuit board,
13・・−−m=〜−−・−Top plate, 14・−1−−
---Electromechanical converter, 16--orifice section, 17--1111--pressure chamber, 18--1-
-------Ink flow path, 19-111~...-Opening, 20-...-Positioning plate, 21-...-Common liquid chamber, 24...-11 11--- Orifice (1 ink discharge) a Agent Patent attorney Yasushi Ooto Takeshi Oto's drawing (no change in content) Figure 3 Procedural amendment (method) % formula % 2. Name of the invention Inkjet Recording head manufacturing method 3, relationship with the amended case Patent applicant address 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Name
(100) Kanro Kaku 4, Canon Co., Ltd. Agent 101 Address 3-3-9-5 Kanda Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 81-sun of the amendment order (all date of delivery) (1) In the drawing Replace "Figure 3" with "Figure 3" attached to this book (no change in content)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head that ejects ink droplets from a plurality of orifices according to image information, which includes a substrate, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with each orifice, a plurality of ink channels communicating with each pressure chamber, and a plurality of ink flow paths communicating with each pressure chamber. A channel plate having a structure in which a common liquid chamber communicating with each ink channel is formed by etching in the same plate, a top plate, and a plurality of electromechanical transducers that are energy generators for ejecting ink droplets. and a positioning plate having a structure in which openings for positioning each electromechanical transducer are formed by etching in the same plate, a flow path plate is placed on the substrate, and a top plate is placed on the flow path plate. Then, a positioning plate and a plurality of electromechanical transducers are arranged on the top plate, and the substrate, the channel plate, the top plate, and the positioning plate are bonded together by high-temperature pressure bonding, and the plurality of electromechanical transducers are placed on the top plate. A method of manufacturing an inkjet recording head, the method comprising: fixing the head with an adhesive.