JPH04235050A - Preparation of ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently transmit the vibration due to a vibration source to a flow passage in an ink jet recording head and to prevent the transmission of the ink component such as moisture being the main component of the ink in the flow passage into the vibration source and a drive system. CONSTITUTION:An ink jet recording head is prepared by a process (1) forming a laminated film 13 by laminating a metal film 3' and a plastic layer 5' through an adhesive layer 4' so as not to generate wrinkles using rollers 14, 14', a process (2) processing the laminated film by pressing or cutting to form a diaphragm 6 having a required shape and a laminated structure consisting of a metal film 3, a plastic film 5 and an adhesive layer 4 and a process (3) bonding the diaphragm 6 to a substrate 9 having flow passages.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a conventional ink jet recording head.

A vibration source 1 that is deformed by voltage (for example, a piezoelectric element) is bonded via an adhesive layer 2 to a metal thin film 15 formed on the surface of a plastic layer 5 by vapor deposition or sputtering. The vibration source 1 is electrically connected to a drive circuit 11 through a drive line 10. The drive line 10' establishes conduction between the vibration source 1 and the drive circuit 11 through the metal thin film 15. The diaphragm 6 has a substrate 9 equipped with a flow path 8, a solvent,
Alternatively, they are bonded by an adhesive layer 7 made of adhesive. In such an inkjet recording head, when the channel 8 is filled with ink, ink components 12 such as moisture pass through the inside of the diaphragm 6 and pinholes in the metal thin film 15 . This weakens the bonding force of the adhesive layer 2, making it impossible to efficiently transmit vibrations from the vibration source 1 to the diaphragm 6. In addition, the ink component 12 may adhere to the drive circuit 11, the drive lines 10, 10' metal thin film 15, and the original drive circuit 1 may
This will interfere with the operation of step 1.

Next, as another conventional example, the metal thin film 15 described above
We will discuss the case where a metal plate is used as a substitute for .

[0005] In this case, the metal material is formed into a desired shape by pressing or cutting, and then bonded to the plastic layer 5 using an adhesive. At this time, if the member formed of the metal material does not have a certain thickness (for example, about 50 μm or more), unevenness may be formed on the surface when bonded to the plastic layer 5, or air bubbles may be mixed into the adhesive layer 4. This results in
The vibration of the vibration source 1 cannot be efficiently transmitted to the flow path 8, and the inkjet recording head cannot form stable ink droplets.

[0006] However, there is a problem in that the diaphragm 6 having such a thick metal plate is difficult to bend, and the vibrations of the vibration source 1 cannot be efficiently transmitted to the flow path 8.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention efficiently transmits vibrations caused by a vibration source to a flow path in an inkjet recording head, and also prevents ink components such as water, which is the main component of the ink filled in the flow path, from causing vibrations. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head that prevents the inkjet recording head from permeating into the drive system.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve such problems, the inkjet head manufacturing method of the present invention transmits vibrations from a vibration source to a flow path via a diaphragm, and communicates with the flow path. In the manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head in which ink is ejected from a nozzle, a metal film and a plastic layer are bonded together using an adhesive layer between them to form a laminated film without causing wrinkles, and the bonded laminated film is pressed or The method is characterized in that it includes a step of processing a diaphragm into a desired shape by cutting, and a step of joining the diaphragm onto a flow path.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1(a), a metal film 3' which is a sheet-like material, an adhesive layer 4', and a plastic layer 5' are shown.
The roller 1 is heated to an appropriate temperature necessary for bonding the adhesive layer 4'.
4. Pass it between the rollers 14' while applying pressure. Laminated film 13 is manufactured through this process.

[0012] Through this step, uniform pressure is applied to the material surface, and the bonding force between the metal film 3' and the plastic layer 5' by the adhesive layer 4' becomes uniform at each point of the laminated film 13. Therefore, the film-like material will not peel off.

[0013] Also, by using this process, a thickness of 10
Even a metal film 3' having a diameter of .mu.m or less can be manufactured without creating irregularities on the surface and without creating air bubbles or the like when bonded to the plastic layer 5'.

Next, the shape shown in FIG.
The laminated film 13 in (a) is processed into a diaphragm 6 having a laminated structure including a metal film 3, a plastic layer 5, and an adhesive layer 4 in between, which has the required shape shown in FIG. 1(b).

[0015] At this time, since the laminated film 13 is manufactured to be difficult to peel off by the process shown in FIG. 1(a), the laminated film 13 can be processed with high accuracy without peeling or the like occurring during processing.

As shown in FIG. 1(c), by bonding the adhesive layer 7 made of a solvent or adhesive onto a substrate 9 in which a flow path is formed inside, the adhesive layer 7 can be bonded without any air bubbles inside.
A diaphragm made of a metal film that does not easily peel off and has a thickness of 10 μm or less can be provided on the flow path.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an ink jet recording head manufactured according to the present invention, and is a sectional view taken in a direction perpendicular to the flow path.

In the figure, a vibration source 1 (for example, a piezoelectric element) that obtains deformation due to voltage is connected to an adhesive layer 2 (3 to 20 μm) in between.
m), and is connected to the diaphragm 6 via the diaphragm 6. The diaphragm 6 includes a metal film 3 (3 to 40 μm) and an adhesive layer 4 (3 to 2 μm).
It has a laminated structure consisting of a plastic layer 5 (30 to 250 μm) and a plastic layer 5 (30 to 250 μm).

The vibration source 1 is electrically connected to a drive circuit 11 through a drive line 10 . The drive line 10' establishes conduction between the vibration source 1 and the drive circuit 11 through the metal thin film layer 15. The plastic layer 5 is bonded to a substrate 9 having a flow path 8 via an adhesive layer 7 (3 to 20 μm) made of a solvent or an adhesive therebetween.

When the flow path 8 is filled with ink, the ink component 12 such as water, which is the main component in the ink, passes through the plastic layer 5 and the adhesive layer 4. However, it is blocked by the metal film 3 and does not pass through to the vibration source 1 side. As a result, when a piezoelectric element is used as the vibration source 1, original characteristics can be maintained without capacitance and loss abnormalities occurring.

Furthermore, since the thickness of the metal film 3 can be reduced to several tens of micrometers or less (for example, 10 micrometers or less), the input voltage can be lowered and vibrations can be efficiently transmitted to the diaphragm 6.

Furthermore, the drive circuit 1 using the ink component 12
1. Drive circuit 1 without affecting drive lines 10, 10'
The original operation of 1 can be obtained.

[0023] At this time, an adhesive having relatively excellent chemical resistance (for example, a polyethylene adhesive) was used for the adhesive layer 4. For the metal film 3, a metal (for example, stainless steel, nickel, aluminum) that is relatively less affected by corrosion by the ink component 12 is used.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the ink jet recording head manufactured according to the present invention, in which the positions of the metal film 3 and the plastic layer 5 of the diaphragm 6 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 are reversed. This shows an inkjet recording head.

In the figure, a thin metal film 15 is formed on the vibration plate 6 on the vibration source 1 side of the plastic layer 5 by vapor deposition or sputtering. The drive line 10' is electrically connected to the vibration source 1 through a metal thin film 15.

Note that the diaphragm 6 in FIG. 3 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1(a).
plastic layer 5' instead of plastic layer 5' in
A laminated film 13 manufactured using a plate-shaped material with a metal thin film 15 formed on one surface by sputtering or vapor deposition is processed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, ink component 1
2 does not permeate from the boundary between the metal film 3 and the flow path 8 to the vibration source 1 side. Therefore, even if an adhesive with relatively poor ink resistance (for example, a urethane adhesive or an epoxy adhesive) is used as the adhesive 4, the bonding force of the adhesive layer 4 and the adhesive layer 2 between the vibration source 1 and the plastic layer 5 can be maintained. does not weaken the bonding force. In addition, a drive circuit 11, a drive line 10
, 10', the metal thin film 15 is not affected by the ink component 12, and the original operation of the drive circuit 11 can be obtained.

[0028]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, in the present invention, there is a process in which a metal film and a plastic layer are bonded together using an adhesive layer between them so as not to cause wrinkles, and the bonded laminated film is processed by pressing, cutting, etc. An inkjet recording head is manufactured by a step of processing a diaphragm into a diaphragm having a desired shape by processing the diaphragm, and a step of bonding the diaphragm onto a flow path. Thereby, it is possible to prevent ink components such as water, which is the main component of the ink filled in the flow path, from transmitting through the diaphragm and affecting the vibration source and the drive system. Moreover, the input voltage of the vibration source that obtains deformation by voltage can be lowered, and the diaphragm does not contain air bubbles, etc.
Stable ink ejection is now possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an inkjet recording head manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of an inkjet recording head manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional inkjet recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Vibration source 2 Adhesive layer 3 Metal film 3’ Metal film (sheet form) 4 Adhesive layer 4’ Adhesive layer (sheet form) 5 Plastic layer 5’ plastic layer (sheet type) 6. Vibration plate 7 Adhesive layer 8 Flow path 9 Board 10 Drive line 10' drive line 11 Drive circuit 12 Ink components 13 Laminated film 14 Roller 14' roller 15 Metal thin film

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head in which vibrations from a vibration source are transmitted to a flow path via a diaphragm and ink is ejected from a nozzle communicating with the flow path, wherein a metal film and a plastic layer are bonded to each other as an adhesive layer therebetween. A process of laminating the laminated film without causing wrinkles, a process of processing the laminated film into a diaphragm in the desired shape by pressing or cutting, and a process of bonding the diaphragm onto the flow path. A method of manufacturing an inkjet recording head, comprising: