JPH0414458A - Layer-to-layer bonding of plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure a sufficient bonding strength and a stable ink discharge performance by a method wherein an adhesive material is applied to or bonded to the entire surface of the one side of at least one plate of a plurality of the plates, after which a thin membrane of the adhesive material formed on the plate surface and the adhesive material penetrated into nozzles are removed therefrom by photon energy. CONSTITUTION:A film-like adhesive material 3 is bonded to the joining face 1a of a base plate 1 having nozzles 2 and ink passages formed therein. The adhesive material 3 clogging the nozzles 2 in the surface of the base plate is removed therefrom by applying excimer laser 5 as a photon energy. At this time, the adhesive material may be removed from the nozzles one by one by reducing the excimer laser 5 for matching with the nozzle in diameter or a metal plate having formed therein a plurality of holes almost equal in diameter to the nozzle hole may be used as a mask to remove the adhesive material simultaneously from a plurality of the nozzles so as to reduce the time. In order to prevent the adhesive material from clogging the interior of the nozzles in the next joining process, the amount of the adhesive material removed may be set at a larger diameter than that of the nozzle.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field 1] The present invention relates to a method effective for multi-layer joining plates having a plurality of nozzles, particularly those having fine nozzle diameters and a small pitch between the nozzles. be. The present invention mainly relates to a method of joining a nozzle plate, which is a head structure of an inkjet recording device, to a base plate, in which ink channels and the like are formed in addition to nozzles.

[Conventional technology]

The conventional technology will be described in particular with regard to a method of joining a nozzle plate, which is a head structure of an inkjet recording apparatus, and a base plate having nozzles, ink flow paths, and the like.

The following three main characteristics are required when joining the nozzle plate and the base plate.

First, there is no clogging in the nozzle. Second, since the bonding material acts as a sealant, no ink flows between adjacent nozzles. Thirdly, the nozzle plate and the base plate are fixed with sufficient bonding strength.

Conventionally, the following two methods have been adopted to satisfy the above three points.

The first method is to use a photosensitive resin as a bonding material. - An example is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the shape of photosensitive resin patterned on a base plate with nozzles. It is a photosensitive resin. This photosensitive resin 3 is formed through a process of exposure, development, or peeling.

The second method is to pattern-print the adhesive by screen printing and use it as a bonding material.6 The object to be printed can be a nozzle plate or a base plate, but the base plate is more suitable for printing. It is a good idea to consider possible misalignment of the

As described above, after the seal portion is formed by the first method and the second method, the nozzle plate and the base plate are bonded together to form the ink ejection portion of the head for an inkjet recording device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional methods described above for joining a nozzle plate and a base plate have the following problems.

Although the patterning method using the first photosensitive resin is superior in terms of pattern accuracy, it is complicated due to the large number of processing steps. Furthermore, when considering the adhesive strength and ink resistance of photosensitive resins, the selection of photosensitive resins is subject to considerable restrictions.

In the second method of buttering using screen printing,
There are limits to the control of patterning position accuracy and the viscosity and thickness of bonding materials during printing. Especially when the adjacent pitch of nozzles is 10
If it is less than 0 μm, it may cause nozzle clogging due to pattern misalignment or flow of bonding material during bonding.
Stable ejection performance of ink cannot be ensured.

The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and its purpose is to facilitate the method of joining a nozzle plate and a base plate, and at the same time, to allow a wide selection of joining materials for joining.

The ultimate goal is to ensure sufficient joint strength and stable ink jetting performance.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In a multilayer joining method for joining at least two plates each having a plurality of nozzles formed therein, a joining material is applied to one entire surface of at least one of the plates. After being applied or pasted, the thin film of the bonding material formed on the surface of the plate and the bonding material that has penetrated into the nozzle are removed by photon energy.

[Example 1 (Example 1) FIGS. 1(a), (b), and (c) show a first embodiment of the present invention. In this case, a film-like thermosetting adhesive was used as the bonding material.

Figure (a) in the figure shows the step of attaching a film-like bonding material 3 to the bonding surface 1a of the base plate 1 on which the nozzle 2 and the ink flow path (not shown) are formed. This bonding material 3 has a constant film thickness, has strong adhesive properties, and can be applied with a pressure of 1 kg/cm by using a hot press.
It can be pasted in a short time under the conditions of heating temperature = 80° C. and heating time = 2 seconds. It is advisable to process it into the required shape and dimensions in advance by press working or the like.

The figure (b) shows the most characteristic process of this embodiment, in which the bonding material 3 is pasted on the bonding surface of the base plate 1, and then the bonding material 3 is applied to the nozzle 2 on the base plate surface.
This shows a process of removing by irradiating with excimer laser 5 as photon energy. At this time, it is possible to narrow down the excimer laser 5 to the size of the nozzle hole diameter and remove one hole at a time, but it is also possible to remove one hole at a time by narrowing down the excimer laser 5 to the size of the nozzle hole diameter, but it is also possible to use a metal plate with multiple holes of approximately the same size as the nozzle hole diameter as a mask. It is also possible to shorten the time by removing multiple pieces at the same time. In addition, in order to prevent the bonding material from clogging the nozzle in the next step of bonding, it is preferable to set the removal amount of the bonding material to be larger than the nozzle hole diameter. This setting can be determined by finding the optimum value from conditions such as the thickness of the bonding material, physical properties, bonding load, bonding temperature, and bonding time.

The figure (C) shows the final step of joining the base plate 1 and nozzle plate 4.

After aligning the nozzles between the base plate 1 and the nozzle plate 4 before joining, the hot press was used to apply pressure = 2 kg/cm" under the conditions of heating temperature = 100°C and heating time = 10 seconds. Can be joined in a short time.

In the above embodiment, there is no problem even if the surface to which the bonding material 3 is attached is the bonding surface 4a of the nozzle plate 4 instead of the bonding surface of the base plate l. Furthermore, the bonding material may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive in addition to the thermosetting adhesive described above.

(Example 2) Next, as a second example, a method will be described in which a nozzle plate and a base plate are bonded together via a bonding material, and then the bonding material inside the nozzle is removed. In this case, first, a uniform adhesive layer is formed on either the nozzle plate or the base plate. The forming method is the same as in Example 1 when the bonding material is a film bonding material. Liquid or semi-solid bonding materials such as thermosetting resins, photoresists, photosensitive resins that cure with ultraviolet or visible light, mixed adhesives using curing agents, anaerobic adhesives, cyano adhesives, etc. The spinner method, screen printing, etc. are suitable. After the nozzle plate and base plate are bonded together and cured using a curing method suitable for each bonding material, the bonding material stuck in the nozzle is irradiated with an excimer laser from the nozzle plate or base plate side. Remove.

At this time, it is possible to narrow down the excimer laser to the size of the nozzle hole and remove one hole at a time, but it is also possible to use a metal plate with multiple holes the same size as the nozzle hole diameter as a mask. , it is also possible to reduce the time by removing a plurality of them at the same time. Note that if the nozzle plate is made of metal, it can be used as a mask, so the metal plate is not necessary.

As described above, by using a method of removing the bonding material on the nozzle plate surface and inside the nozzle using photon energy such as an excimer laser, the method of bonding the nozzle plate and the base plate becomes easy, and at the same time, the bonding process becomes easier. The selection of bonding materials for this has become wider. Below, the bonding materials used to bond the nozzle plate and base plate are classified by shape and function.

1) Film bonding material, thermosetting adhesive, pressure sensitive adhesive 2) Liquid or semi-solid bonding material, thermosetting resin, photoresist, photosensitive resin that hardens with ultraviolet and visible light, mixture using a curing agent Mold adhesive, anaerobic adhesive, cyan adhesive [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the method of joining with the plate on which the nozzle is formed becomes easy, and at the same time, the joining method for joining becomes easier. There is a wide range of materials to choose from. Therefore, especially when used in an inkjet head, sufficient bonding strength and stable ink jetting performance can be ensured.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a), 1(b), and 1(c) are schematic diagrams showing a method of joining a nozzle plate and a base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a seal shape on a base plate surface formed by a conventional technique. Base plate Nozzle bonding material in the base plate Nozzle plate excimer laser - Applicant Seiko Epson Corporation Representative Patent attorney Kisanbe Suzuki (1st name) Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a multilayer joining method for joining at least two plates each having a plurality of nozzles formed therein,
After coating or pasting a bonding material on the entire surface of at least one of the plates, the thin film of the bonding material formed on the surface of the plate and the bonding material that has penetrated into the nozzle are exposed to photon energy. A multilayer bonding method for a nozzle plate, characterized by removing the nozzle plate with a multilayer bonding method. (2) The method for joining multiple layers of plates according to claim 1, wherein all of the plates are made of plastic material. (3) The multilayer joining method of plates according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plates is made of a metal material. (4) A thermosetting resin in which the bonding material is a liquid or semi-solid bonding material, a photoresist, a photosensitive resin that cures with ultraviolet or visible light, and a mixed adhesive using a curing agent;
4. The multilayer bonding method for plates according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is an anaerobic adhesive or a cyano adhesive. (5) The multilayer bonding method for plates according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the bonding material is a thermosetting adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive which is a film bonding material.