JPH04366644A - Ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an ink jet recording head capable of bonding a top plate with a delivery energy generating element substrate with a high adhesion. CONSTITUTION:An ink jet recording head comprises a top plate provided with a plurality of delivery ports and a plurality of grooves respectively connected to the delivery ports; a substrate bonded to the top plate so as to cover the grooves of the top plate and provided with an element generating an energy used for delivering ink in the grooves from the delivery ports; and an ink tank disposed on the surface of the top plate on the opposite side to the grooves and provided with an ink flow path for supplying ink into the grooves. Furthermore, the ink tank is provided with a reinforcing fixing means for fixing the ink tank to the top plate bonded to the substrate. At least a part of the ink tank is made of a deformable material.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, and more particularly to an ink jet recording head in which a top plate having an ink flow path and a substrate having an ejection energy generating element can be closely joined together.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the main parts of a conventional ink jet recording head (IJH).

[0003] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 indicates a structure in which electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows on a Si substrate and electrical wiring made of Al or the like for supplying power to the converters are formed by film-forming technology. This is a heater board consisting of 200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100;
It has a wiring corresponding to the wiring 0 (for example, connected by wire bonding) and a pad 201 located at the end of this wiring and receiving an electric signal from the main device.

1300 is a grooved top plate provided with partition walls for dividing a plurality of ink channels and a common liquid chamber for storing ink to supply ink to each ink channel. An ink receiving port 1500 for receiving ink supplied from the ink and introducing it into the above-mentioned common liquid chamber, and an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of ejection ports corresponding to each ink flow path are integrally molded. An example of such an integrally molded material is polysulfone.

[0005] Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of metal, for example, which supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 on a flat surface, and serves as a bottom plate of the inkjet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a pressing spring, which has an M-shape and presses the common liquid chamber with light pressure at the center of the M-shape, and uses a front sag 501 to concentrate linear pressure on a part of the liquid path, preferably in the area near the discharge port. Press. When pressing the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300, the foot of the spring 500 is inserted into the hole 3 of the support body 300.
By engaging the back side of the support body 300 through 121 and engaging the two in a sandwiched state, the heater board 100 and the top plate are pressed together by the concentrated biasing force of the press spring 500 and its front sagging portion 501. 1300 is crimped and fixed. Note that the wiring board 200 is attached to the support body 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like.

In the ink jet recording head having the structure shown in FIG. 1, the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are crimped and fixed together by a pressing spring 500, thereby forming grooves for the ink flow path and the common liquid chamber in the top plate 1300. It can be closed, and it is possible to reliably eject ink individually from the ejection ports corresponding to each ink flow path.

[0007] In this way, the pressing spring 500
Assuming that a molded object such as No. 0 has warpage due to its molding accuracy, it is necessary to ensure that floating due to warpage occurs in the ink flow path formed between the top plate 1300 and the heater board 100. This is to try to prevent it from happening.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head that can bond a top plate and an ejection energy generating element substrate with high adhesion without using the above-mentioned pressing springs.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a plurality of discharge ports formed at one end, and a connection between each of the discharge ports and from the one end to the other end. a top plate having a plurality of grooves formed toward the top plate; and a top plate that is joined to the top plate so as to close the grooves of the top plate, and is used for ejecting ink in the grooves from the ejection port. a substrate having an element that generates energy; and an ink tank disposed on a surface of the top plate opposite to the groove and having an ink flow path for supplying ink into the groove,
The ink tank has a reinforcing fixing means for fixing the ink tank to the joined top plate and the substrate, and at least a part of the ink tank is formed of a deformable material, and the reinforcing fixing means The invention is characterized in that when the ink tank is fixed to the joined top plate and substrate, the ink tank deforms and presses the joined top plate and substrate.

[0010] Here, the ink tank may be made of a deformable material.

[0011] The ink tank has a pressing means for pressing the top plate, and this pressing means may be made of a deformable material.

[0012] The reinforcing fixing means is provided at least one pair of legs extending from the ink tank in the thickness direction of the joined top plate and substrate, and is provided and joined to each end of the pair of legs. It may also include a top plate and a locking portion that holds the substrate at a predetermined thickness.

[0013]

[Operation] According to the present invention, the ink tank is provided with a reinforcing fixing means, and at least a part of the ink tank is made of a deformable material, and the ink tank is attached to the top plate and the substrate by the reinforcing fixing means. When the ink tank is fixed, the ink tank deforms and presses the joined top plate and substrate, so that the adhesion between the already joined top plate and the substrate can be further improved. This makes it possible to tightly bond the top plate and the substrate without using the press springs that are conventionally used to improve the adhesion between the top plate and the substrate, which have warpage caused by molding precision. It means that.

[0014]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the main parts of the inkjet recording head according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows the main parts of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of.

If each component of the inkjet recording head shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the same as the component shown in FIG. 1, the same reference numeral will be given, and the description of that component will be omitted or simplified. .

In FIG. 2, adhesive is applied to a predetermined thickness in a predetermined area 405 close to the front end surface 300a on the surface of the support body 300, and the heater board 100 is placed on the coated surface with its front end surface. 100a and the front end surface 300a of the support body 300 are adhesively fixed so that they are flush with each other. On top of this heater board 100 is a top plate 100 and an orifice plate 400 as shown in FIG.
and both front end surfaces 100a and 300a of support body 300
It is arranged in a temporarily joined state so that it is arranged further forward. Here, in FIG. 3, 105 is a discharge heater as an electrothermal converter provided at a predetermined position on the heater board 100. In addition, 411 and 412 are the top plate 1
300 is a groove for an ink flow path, and 421 and 422 are ejection ports formed in orifice plate 400 of top plate 1300.

As shown in FIG. 2, an ink supply member 600 is disposed on the top plate 1300 and the support body 300 which have been temporarily joined to the heater board 100 in this manner. The material for this ink supply member 600 needs to be rigid enough to suppress the warping of the top plate 1300, and should have an elastically deformable shape to ensure good adhesion at the part joined to the top plate. Select molding materials that can be produced.

Such an ink supply member 600 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is formed into a substantially thick plate shape, and has a substantially rectangular opening 600a in its center. Opening 600a
An ink flow path section 600b serving as a pressing means extends forward from the rear end. The bottom portion of the ink supply member 600 adjacent to the front end surface 600c is hollowed out in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped to form a recess 600d for accommodating the joined heater board 100 and top plate 1300. opening 60
A pair of holes 300b of the support 300 are provided at the bottom on both sides of 0a.
(Only one side is shown) 1 as a reinforcing fixing means to be inserted into the
A pair of cylindrical leg portions 600e (only one of which is shown) is integrally provided.

The length of the leg 600e is
The depth dimension of the hole 300b of the support 300, that is, the support 30
It is determined as appropriate based on the thickness dimension of 0.

Next, a method of assembling an ink jet recording head having such a structure will be explained.

After pasting the heater board 100 onto the support 300 with adhesive, the top plate 1300 is aligned,
Next, temporary fixing is performed using a UV curing adhesive. Next, the ink supply member 60 is placed on the top plate 1300 and the support body 300.
At the same time, the pair of legs 600e of the ink supply member 600 are inserted into the pair of holes 300b of the support 300, so that the ends of the legs 600e protrude toward the back side of the support 300. Here, after the support body 300 is temporarily fixed by a jig (not shown), the top plate 1300 is fixed by the ink supply member 600.
The upper part of the cylindrical ink socket 1500 is attached to the support body 300.
At the same time, both legs 600c of the ink supply member 600 protruding from the hole 300b are pulled out in a direction away from the support 300. In this state, the ink supply member 600 deforms into a slightly curved shape using the front end of the ink flow path section 600b that contacts the upper part of the ink receptacle 1500 as a fulcrum. While maintaining this deformed state, the ink supply member 600 is fixed to the support body 300 by heat-sealing each end of both legs 600e of the ink supply member 600 to the back surface of the support body 300. With this fixation, the top plate 1300
and the heater board 100 can be closely joined.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of an inkjet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the inner surface of the front end of the opening 600a of the ink supply member 600 is provided with a flap-like tongue portion 600f as a pressing means fixed in a cantilevered manner toward the rear and downward. . The tongue portion 600f in this example is formed integrally with the ink supply member 600.

Next, an example of a method for assembling the ink jet recording head in this example will be explained. First, tongue part 6
A support body 30 has an ink supply member 600 having a temperature of 00f fixed to a top plate 1300 and a heater board 100 by adhesive.
When the pair of legs 600e serving as reinforcing and fixing means are inserted into the pair of holes 300b of the support body 300, the ink flow path portion 600b and tongue portion 600f of the ink supply member 600 are inserted into the top plate 1300. Ink socket 150
0 and orifice plate upper surface 1300a, respectively. After the leg portion 600e is pulled out in a direction away from the support body 300, the end portion thereof can be fixed by heat fusion. In this fixed state, the ink channel portion 600b and tongue portion 600f cause the ink receiving port 15 to
00 and orifice plate upper surface 1300a can be pressed reliably and appropriately.

In the inkjet recording head of this embodiment, the top plate 1300 and the heater board 100 supported on the support 300 can be pressed together by the ink flow path section 600b and the tongue section 600f, compared to the case of the first embodiment. This makes it possible to further ensure close contact between the two.

(Embodiment 3) In FIG. 5, (A) is a perspective view showing an ink supply member of an inkjet recording head according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a perspective view showing the ink supply member of (A). It is a schematic front view at the time of assembling to another member.

The configuration of the ink supply member 600 in FIG. 5 is almost the same as the configuration of the ink supply member 600 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, but the difference is that in FIG.
This is because a pair of legs 600g is provided at the bottom of the ink supply member 600 in place of the pair of legs 600e serving as reinforcing and fixing means. The leg 600g is a substantially L-shaped member, and includes a leg main body 600h extending from the bottom outside the opening 600a of the ink supply member 600, and a cross section bent from the end of the leg main body 600h toward the opening 600a. and a wedge-shaped support locking portion 600i. Further, in this example, the pair of holes 300b of the support body 300 are cut out to both sides of the support body 300, and have a generally rectangular shape as a whole.
Not shown.

Next, an example of a method for assembling the ink jet recording head of this example will be explained. First, the ink supply member 600 having the leg portions 600g is placed over the support body 300 to which the top plate 1300 and the heater board 100 are adhesively fixed. Align with the pair of holes 300b. Next, the support body 300 is temporarily fixed using a jig (not shown), and the ink supply member 600 is pressed against the support body 300, thereby supporting the leg portion 600g while deforming the leg portion 600g itself slightly outward. Body locking part 600
i around the bottom of the support 300. This results in
Since the ink channel 600b of the ink supply member 600 can press the ink receptacle 1500 of the top plate 1300 toward the support body 300, the close contact between the top plate 1300 and the heater board 100 can be ensured. .

The inkjet recording head of this embodiment has the advantage that among the assembly steps of Examples 1 and 2, the caulking step by heat-sealing the legs can be omitted. Further, since it is possible to omit the equipment unit used in the caulking process, it is also possible to reduce manufacturing costs.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an inkjet unit incorporating the inkjet recording head of each of the embodiments described above.
and shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an inkjet unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the inkjet unit after assembly shown in FIG. 6.

4 and 5, the support body 300 has a positioning hole 312 that engages with two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT. In addition, the support 30
0 also has a hole 320 through which an ink supply tube can be passed, allowing ink to be supplied from an ink tank. The wiring board 200 is attached to the support body 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like. 700 is a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lid member 800 is attached to an inkjet cartridge IJ.
It forms the outer wall of C, and together with the ink tank, forms a space in which the inkjet unit IJU is accommodated. The ink tank includes a cartridge main body 1000, an ink absorber group 900 and an ink absorber group 900, which will be described in detail later.
is inserted from the side opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface of the cartridge main body 1000, and then a lid member 1100 seals the cartridge.

Reference numeral 900 denotes a group of absorbers for impregnating ink, and is arranged within the cartridge body 1000. 1010 is an atmospheric pressure supply space for the entire thickness of the ink absorber group 900. Even if the ink leaves the absorber due to some abnormality, this atmospheric pressure supply space 1010 can temporarily hold the ink and ensure that the ink is collected by the absorber, which has the effect of reducing ink waste. be. 1200 is a supply port for supplying ink to the unit IJU. 1400 is a lid member 1 for communicating the inside of the cartridge body 1000 with the atmosphere.
This is an air communication port provided at 100. 2300 is a rib provided on the bottom surface of the lid member 1100.

In the inkjet unit having such a configuration, the built-in inkjet recording head has excellent adhesion between the top plate 1300 and the heater board 100, and can prevent problems such as ink leakage. Ink can be reliably ejected from the plurality of ejection ports of the plate 400.

[0035]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
The ink tank is provided with a reinforcing fixing means, and at least a part of the ink tank is made of a deformable material, so that the ink tank is not deformed when the ink tank is fixed to the top plate and the substrate to which the ink tank is joined by the reinforcing fixing means. Since the joined top plate and the substrate are pressed, it is possible to further improve the adhesion between the already joined top plate and the substrate.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of main parts of a conventional inkjet recording head.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of essential parts of an inkjet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of essential parts of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of essential parts of an inkjet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of essential parts of an inkjet recording head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of an inkjet unit incorporating the inkjet recording head of the present invention.

7 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the inkjet unit shown in FIG. 6. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Heat board 100a Front end surface 105 Discharge heater 200 Wiring board 201 Pad 300 Support plate 300a Front end surface 400 Orifice plate 405 Adhesive application area 411, 412 Ink flow path forming groove 421, 422
Discharge port 500 Pressing spring 501 Front sagging portion 600 Ink supply member 600a Opening portion 600b Ink channel portion 600c Front end surface 600d Recess 600e Leg portion 600f tongue portion 600g Leg portion 600h Leg main body 600i Support body locking portion 1300 Top plate 1500 Ink socket 3121 hole

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claim 1: A plurality of discharge ports formed at one end;
a top plate having a plurality of grooves connected to each of the discharge ports and formed from the one end to the other end; and a top plate joined to the top plate so as to close the grooves of the top plate, and a substrate having an element that generates energy used for ejecting ink in the groove from the ejection port; an ink tank having an ink flow path for supplying ink, the ink tank having reinforcing fixing means for fixing the ink tank to the joined top plate and the substrate, and at least one of the ink tanks The part is formed of a deformable material, and when the ink tank is fixed to the joined top plate and the substrate by the reinforcing fixing means, the ink tank deforms and presses the joined top plate and the substrate. An inkjet recording head featuring: 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink tank is made of a deformable material. 3. The inkjet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink tank has a pressing means for pressing the top plate, and the pressing means is made of a deformable material. . 4. The reinforcing fixing means is provided at least one pair of legs extending from the ink tank in the thickness direction of the joined top plate and substrate, and at each end of the pair of legs. and a locking portion that holds the joined top plate and substrate at a predetermined thickness.
5. The inkjet recording head according to any one of 2, 3, or 4. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 4, wherein the ejection energy generating element is an element that generates thermal energy for ejecting the ink by causing film boiling in the ink.