JPH05124197A - Ink jet recording head and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily fabricate an orifice plate by a method wherein positioning marks are provided near two or more ink paths and a spouting nozzle forming member, on which a spouting nozzle is formed by radiating laser light beams, is placed at a location positioned on the basis of the positioning marks. CONSTITUTION:A recording head consists of a top board 5 and a heater board which are bonded together. A number of ink path grooves 14 are formed on the top board 5 by partition walls 9a-9d, and electric energy-to-heat converters and others are formed on the heater board. Positioning marks 16A and 16B which are half the height of the partition walls are provided between the partition walls 9a and 9b, and between 9c and 9d. The positioning marks 16A and 16B are photographed by a camera and verified by an image processor. After that, the photographed images of the positioning marks are positioned in the X-direction and/or in the Y-direction, and the ink path grooves 14 which serve as the basis of the movement of a movable stage 6 and a location of an orifice to which laser light beams are radiated are positioned. Then, laser light beams are radiated on an orifice plate 5A to form the orifice.

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 a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to an ink jet recording head for forming an ejection port (hereinafter referred to as an orifice) by using a laser beam and a method for manufacturing the same. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among various recording methods known at present, it is a non-impact recording method that produces almost no noise during recording, high-speed recording is possible, and a special fixing process is applied to plain paper. The so-called liquid jet recording method (inkjet recording method), which enables recording without need, is a very useful recording method. Regarding this liquid jet recording method, various methods have been proposed and improved so far, and some have been commercialized, while others are still being put into practical use.

The liquid jet recording method is one in which recording liquid droplets called ink are ejected by various principles of operation and adhered to a recording material such as paper for recording.

The applicant of the present application has already proposed a new method related to the liquid jet recording method. This new method is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52-118798, and its basic principle is as outlined below. That is, this liquid jet recording method applies a thermal pulse as an information signal to the recording liquid introduced into the ink passage groove capable of containing the recording liquid, whereby the recording liquid generates vapor bubbles and self-records. This is a method in which the recording liquid is ejected from an orifice communicating with the ink path groove in accordance with an acting force generated in the contracting process to be ejected as small droplets, and the droplets are attached to a recording material to perform recording.

By the way, according to this method, since the orifice has a high density and a multi-array structure, it is easy to adapt to high-speed recording and color recording, and the structure of the embodying device is simpler than that of the conventional one. Can be made compact and suitable for mass production, and it is easy to increase the length by fully utilizing the advantages of IC technology and microfabrication technology, whose technological advances and reliability are remarkably improved in the semiconductor field. It has the advantages of and is a flexible method.

When processing the orifice of the recording head used in such an ink jet recording method, for example, a laser beam capable of oscillating ultraviolet light such as a fourth harmonic of an excimer laser or a YAG laser is used. It's starting. The processing of the orifice by the ultraviolet laser light has been performed by the following two methods.

1) First, an ejection port forming member (hereinafter referred to as an orifice plate) for forming an ejection port is joined to an end face of a top plate having an ink path groove formed therein. Then, the orifice plate is irradiated with laser light through a mask to form an orifice. An ink path groove is opened at the end surface of the top plate, and the orifice is formed so as to communicate with the opening. The orifice plate can be formed of a resin film or the like. Further, when forming the orifice, the position of the orifice to be formed is aligned with the ink path groove.

This state is shown in FIG. In the figure, 1
Is an ultraviolet laser device, 2 is a laser beam emitted from the ultraviolet laser device, 3 is a lens system, and 4 is a projection in which aluminum having a pattern of all or a part of the orifice and capable of blocking the laser beam 2 is vapor-deposited. A mask 5 is a top plate having an ink path groove and a common liquid chamber groove, 5A is an orifice plate, and 5B is a support for supporting the top plate 5. The movable stage 6 moves the support 5B in the horizontal direction to move the top plate 5 supported by the support 5B, thereby adjusting the position of the ink path groove with respect to the laser beam.

FIG. 8 shows the details of the ink jet recording head main body in which the orifice is processed by such an apparatus structure.
Shown in. FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the recording head body. In this figure, 8 is a substrate on which ejection energy generating elements are patterned, and 11 is an orifice formed on the orifice plate 5A.

Further, 14 is an ink path, and 15 is an electrothermal converter as an ejection energy generating element provided in the ink path.

The ink passage 14 is composed of the ink passage groove and the substrate.

2) Alternatively, a top plate and an orifice plate are integrally formed, and an ultraviolet laser beam is irradiated from the side where the ink path groove is formed to form an ejection port. This state is shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows how the orifice plate integrally formed with the top plate is irradiated with ultraviolet laser light from the ink path side to perform orifice processing.
The same symbols are attached to the same elements as those shown in FIG.

The above-described processing method for the orifice has been performed as follows. The orifice plate is irradiated with the laser light that has passed through the mask to process the orifice. For alignment of the laser light, the shape of the ink path groove is first captured by the ITV camera as image information, and the groove is recognized by image recognition. Check the position. Then, the position of the ink path groove is adjusted to the position where the laser beam is irradiated through the projection mask.

[0015]

However, since there are a plurality of ink passage grooves having the same shape, it is determined by image processing whether or not the laser light should be aligned with the ink passage grooves in any of the above methods. It was difficult to do.

That is, conventionally, a) the orifice is formed by counting the number from the end of the ink path groove. Alternatively, b) the top plate and the movable stage are aligned with each other, and the orifice plate is irradiated with laser light to form the orifice.

However, according to the method a), it takes a lot of time to form the orifice because the orifice is counted every time it is formed.

According to the method of b), when the size of the top plate changes, the size of the top plate mount must be adjusted accordingly and data such as how much the movable stage should be moved must be input again. Therefore, the laser processing process becomes complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head which can process an orifice plate in a short time and has a simplified manufacturing process, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0020]

In order to achieve such an object, the ink jet recording head of the present invention has a plurality of ink paths arranged, and an alignment target is provided in the vicinity of the arranged ink paths. And the member is aligned with the ink path with the alignment target as a reference,
And a discharge port forming member in which a discharge port is formed by irradiating the aligned portion with laser light.

Further, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head of the present invention, a plurality of ink paths are arranged, and the alignment target is selected from the members provided with the alignment target in the vicinity of the arranged ink paths. The step of detecting,
A step of aligning the ink path and a portion of the ejection port forming member irradiated with the laser light with reference to the detected alignment target; and a laser light applied to the portion irradiated with the aligned laser light. And forming a discharge port.

[0022]

According to the present invention, a positioning target is provided on a member such as a top plate in which a plurality of ink path grooves are formed, and based on the positioning target, the laser light irradiation portion of the orifice plate and the ink path are used. The orifice can be formed by aligning with the groove and irradiating the aligned portion with laser light.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 and 2 are a front view and a perspective view of a top plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively. An ink path groove and a common liquid chamber groove are formed on the top plate, and such a top plate is joined to a heater board on which an electrothermal converter or the like is formed, to form a recording head.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 14 is an ink path groove, 9a to 9d are partition walls forming the ink path groove 14, and 16A and 16B are alignment targets provided near both ends of the top plate. is there. In this example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the alignment targets are repeatedly formed with the same pitch and the same shape as the ink path grooves.

That is, between the partition walls 9a and 9b, and
An alignment target was provided between 9c and 9d so as to be half the height of the ink path wall. An ink path groove corresponding to an orifice for ejecting ink is provided between the alignment targets. Since ink is not ejected from this alignment target, it is preferable to provide alignment targets near both ends of the top plate if possible so that the recording quality does not deteriorate.

The top plate is formed by a mold using a resin such as polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene oxide, and polypropylene, which has excellent ink resistance.

The top plate thus formed is attached to the laser processing apparatus.

The drilling process using the laser beam of this example will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, 10 is an orifice plate capable of transmitting light, 7 is a top plate made of the above-mentioned resin, 17 and 18 are cameras, 19 is a support for supporting the top, and 6 is a support. It is a movable stage for moving the.

Since the alignment targets 16A and 16B formed to half the height of the partition wall are obviously different in shape from the other ink path grooves, the images of 16A and 16B are imaged by the cameras 18 and 19 using the image processing apparatus. It can be easily confirmed by using.

When these images are confirmed, the images are aligned in the X direction and / or the Y direction.
That is, the alignment targets 16A and 16B are confirmed using the cameras 17 and 18, respectively, and the positions thereof are aligned with the ink path groove serving as a reference for the movement of the movable stage 6 and the orifice portion irradiated with the laser light. To do.

Thereafter, the orifice plate is irradiated with the laser light through the mask at the portion irradiated with the laser light to form the orifice. Since the position of the orifice to be formed is uniquely determined by the alignment targets 16A and 16B, the orifice can be formed with high accuracy.

In addition, the alignment targets 16A and 16B
Since the point image only needs to be input to the image processing apparatus, the processing process is simplified.

The alignment target is shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), any shape suitable for image recognition may be used. 4A to 4D include components in the X-axis direction and components in the Y-axis direction. For example, in FIG.
In, the position of the bottom of the V-shaped groove, that is, the vertex of the inverted V-shape in FIG.

(Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the alignment target is formed in the vicinity of both ends of the top plate and has a half pitch of a plurality of ink path grooves. .. When such a top plate is placed on a support and an image of the groove pitch is input by the camera, an image as shown in FIG. 6 is input. The position where the pitch of the groove changes is the alignment target. As a result, these targets can be confirmed by the image processing apparatus and aligned with the ink path groove to form the orifice. Therefore, the orifice can be accurately formed.

The above embodiments have been described on the premise that the orifices are formed in accordance with the number of ink paths effective for ejection.

However, as in the second embodiment, it is clear that an orifice effective for ejection cannot be formed even when the laser beam is applied to a portion having a different pitch from the ink path. Therefore, the number of orifices formed by the laser light passing through the mask may be larger than the number of ink paths.

Therefore, the alignment of the top plate may be performed at any part. As a result, it is possible to quickly perform the alignment and reduce the processing time. Since ink is not ejected from this alignment target, it is preferable to provide alignment targets near both ends of the top plate so as not to impair the recording quality if possible.

Various kinds of laser light can be considered as the laser light used in this embodiment, but an excimer laser having a high output in the ultraviolet region is preferably used.

The excimer laser has the following features as compared with conventional general processing lasers (YAG laser, CO ₂ laser, etc.).

1) The wavelength is extremely short. Since the photon energy is large (for example, the ArF laser light with a wavelength of 193 nm has a quantum energy of 6.4 eV, and the KrF laser light with a wavelength of 248 nm has a quantum energy of 4.9 eV), a photochemical reaction utilizing electronic transition can be effectively induced. As a result, the working process can be performed at a low temperature.

2) High resolution. Since the oscillation wavelength is short, the diffraction spread is small, so that high-resolution (<1 μm) processing is possible.

3) Large area irradiation is possible. Unlike ordinary laser light, excimer laser oscillates in extremely high-order multiple transverse modes (mode number -10 ⁵ ), so the spectral contrast caused by laser light interference can be suppressed to a low level. A clear image can be obtained when pattern transfer or the like is performed.

This excimer laser is a laser capable of oscillating ultraviolet light, and has high intensity, good monochromaticity, directivity, short pulse oscillation, and a very large energy density by focusing with a lens. It has the advantage that it can.

The excimer laser oscillator discharges a mixed gas of a rare gas and a halogen to generate a short pulse (15-
It is a device that can oscillate ultraviolet light of 35 ns).
F, Xe-Cl, Ar-F lasers are often used.
The oscillation energy of these is several 100 mJ / pulse, and the pulse repetition frequency is 30 to 1000 Hz.

When the polymer resin surface is irradiated with high-intensity short-pulse ultraviolet light such as this excimer laser light, the irradiated part is instantaneously decomposed and scattered with plasma emission and impact noise, and thus Abrative Photodecompos
An ionization (APD) process occurs, which allows the processing of the polymer resin.

In this way, when the processing accuracy by the excimer laser is compared with that by another laser, for example, when a polyimide (PI) film is irradiated with a laser as an excimer laser and other YAG laser and CO ₂ laser, Since the wavelength that absorbs light is in the UV region, a KrF laser opens a beautiful hole,
A YAG laser that is not in the UV region opens a hole, but the edge surface is rough, and a CO ₂ laser that is an infrared ray causes a crater around the hole.

Further, since SUS metal, opaque ceramics, Si, etc. are not affected by the irradiation of excimer laser light in the atmosphere of the atmosphere, they can be used as a mask material in processing by excimer laser.

10 to 14 show a preferred ink jet unit IJU in which the present invention is implemented or applied.
Inkjet cartridge IJH, ink tank I
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each of T, the inkjet cartridge IJC, the inkjet jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and the carriage HC, and the relationship among them. The configuration of each part will be described below with reference to these drawings.

Inkjet cartridge IJ in this example
As can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 11, C has a large ink storage ratio, and has a shape in which the tip of the inkjet unit IJC is slightly discharged from the front surface of the ink tank IT. This inkjet cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by a positioning means and electrical contacts of a carriage HC (FIG. 13) mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is detachable from the carriage HC. It is a posable type. In this example, FIG. 10 to FIG.
Since a number of novel techniques made in the stage of establishment of the present invention are applied, the entire structure will be described while briefly describing these structures.

(I) Description of the structure of the ink jet unit IJU The ink jet unit IJU is of the ink jet type which carries out recording by using an electrothermal converter which produces heat energy in order to cause film boiling in the ink in response to an electric signal. It is a unit.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 100 denotes an electrothermal converter (ejection heater) arranged in a plurality of rows on a Si substrate, and electric wiring such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal converter, which is formed by a film forming technique. It is a heater board. Reference numeral 200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100.
A wire corresponding to the wire 00 (connected by wire bonding, for example) and a pad 201 located at the end of the wire and receiving an electric signal from the main body device.

Reference numeral 1300 is a grooved top plate provided with partition walls for dividing a plurality of ink flow paths and a common liquid chamber for accommodating ink to each ink flow path, and the ink tank IT. Orifice plate 4 having a plurality of ink receiving ports 1500 for receiving the ink supplied from the same and introducing it into the common liquid chamber, and a plurality of ejection ports corresponding to the respective ink flow paths.
00 is integrally molded. Polysulfone is preferable as the integrally molded material, but other molding resin materials may be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of, for example, a metal that supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 on a plane, and serves as a bottom plate of the ink jet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a holding spring, which is M-shaped and presses the common liquid chamber with a light pressure at the center of the M-shape, and the front droop portion 501 concentrates a part of the liquid passage, preferably a region near the discharge port, with a linear pressure. Press. The heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are pressed down, and the foot portion of the spring is formed in the hole 31 of the support body 300.
By engaging with the back side of the support body 300 through 21 and sandwiching them,
The heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are pressure-bonded and fixed by the concentrated biasing force of the pressing spring 500 and the front slant portion 501. In addition, the support member 300 has positioning holes 31 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 and the positioning and heat-fusion-holding protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank IT.
In addition to having 2,1900 and 2000, the device main body IJRA
2500 for positioning with respect to the carriage HC of
2600 is provided on the back side. In addition, the support 300 also has a hole 320 that allows an ink supply pipe 2200 (described later) that allows the ink supply from the ink tank to pass therethrough. The wiring board 200 is attached to the support 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like. The support 300
The recesses 2400, 2400 are provided in the vicinity of the positioning protrusions 2500, 2600, respectively, and in the assembled ink jet cartridge IJC (FIG. 11), the peripheral three sides are formed by a plurality of parallel grooves 3000, 3001. Further, it is located at an extension point of the head tip region so that unnecessary matters such as dust and ink do not reach the protrusions 2500 and 2600. As shown in FIG. 13, the lid member 800 in which the parallel groove 3000 is formed forms an outer wall of the ink jet cartridge IJC and also forms a space for accommodating the ink jet unit IJU together with the ink tank. Also, this parallel groove 30
The ink supply member 600 on which 01 is formed is an ink conduit 1600 that is continuous with the ink supply pipe 2200 described above.
Is formed as a fixed cantilever on the side of the supply pipe 2200,
A sealing pin 602 is inserted to secure the capillarity between the fixed side of the ink conduit and the ink supply tube 2200.
Incidentally, 601 is a packing for connecting and sealing the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and 700 is a filter provided at the end of the supply pipe on the tank side.

Since the ink supply member 600 is molded, the ink supply member 600 is inexpensive, has high positional accuracy, and eliminates a decrease in accuracy in forming and manufacturing. In addition, the cantilevered conduit 1600 can be used for mass production. The pressure contact state of 1600 to the ink receiving port 1500 can be stabilized. In this example, by simply pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under this pressure contact state, a more complete communication state can be surely obtained. To fix the ink supply member 600 to the support 300, the back side pins (not shown) of the ink supply member 600 with respect to the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300 are attached to the holes 1901 and 1 of the support 300.
This can be easily performed by projecting through through 902 and heat-sealing the portion projecting to the back surface side of the support 300. Since the slightly projected area of the heat-sealed back surface is accommodated in the recess (not shown) in the side wall surface of the ink jet unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank IT, the positioning surface of the unit IJU can be accurately obtained.

(Ii) Description of ink tank IT structure In the ink tank, after the cartridge main body 1000, the ink absorber 900 and the ink absorber 900 are inserted from the side surface of the cartridge main body 1000 opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface, It is composed of a lid member 1100 for sealing this.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating ink, which is arranged in the cartridge body 1000. 1
Reference numeral 200 is a unit IJ including the above-mentioned respective parts 100 to 600.
It is a supply port for supplying ink to U, and the unit is a part 1 of the cartridge body 1000.
It is also an injection port for impregnating the absorber 900 with ink by injecting the ink from the supply port 1200 in the step before arranging in 010.

In this embodiment, the ink can be supplied to the atmosphere communication port and the supply port, but the rib 2300 in the main body 1000 and the lid member for favorably supplying the ink from the ink absorber. 1100 partial ribs 2500, 2
The air existing area in the tank formed by 400 and
The ink supply port 12 is continuously formed from the atmosphere communication port 1401 side.
Since the ink is formed over the respective regions farthest from 00, it is important that the ink is supplied to the relatively good and uniform absorber from the supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. The rib 1000 has four ribs parallel to the carriage movement direction on the rear surface of the ink tank body 1000 to prevent the absorber from adhering to the rear surface. In addition, the partial ribs 2400 and 2500 are similar to the rib 100.
It is provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 which is an extension corresponding to 0, but unlike the rib 1000, it is in a divided state, and the space in which air is present is increased compared to the former. The partial ribs 2500 and 2400 are the lid members 1.
It is distributed over less than half of the total area of 000. By these ribs, the ink in the corner portion farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber can be made more stable and reliably guided to the supply port 1200 side by the capillary force. Reference numeral 1401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 1400 denotes a liquid repellent material arranged inside the atmosphere communication port 1401.
This prevents ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

Since the ink storage space of the ink tank IT described above has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has long sides on its side faces, the rib arrangement configuration described above is particularly effective, but it is long in the carriage movement direction. In the case of having a side or a cube, by providing a rib on the entire lid member 1100, the ink supply from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized. The rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for absorbing the ink as much as possible in the limited space, but in order to use the stored ink for recording without waste, as described above, the corner area is It is important to provide ribs that can perform the above-mentioned action in the two adjacent surface areas. Further, the inner ribs of the ink tank IT are located in a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped ink absorber. This configuration is an important configuration because the ink residual amount can be made almost zero while the atmospheric pressure distribution is made uniform with respect to the ink consumption of the entire absorber. Further, to explain the technical idea of the arrangement of the ribs in detail, when an arc having a long side as a radius is drawn around the position where the ink supply port 1200 of the ink tank is projected on the rectangular upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped, It is important to dispose the ribs on the surface outside the arc so that the absorber located outside the arc is given an atmospheric pressure condition at an early stage. In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example as long as the atmosphere can be introduced into the rib disposition region.

In addition, the ink jet cartridge IJ
Since the rear surface of the C head is flattened to minimize the space required when incorporated in the device, and to maximize the amount of ink stored, the device is downsized. Not only that, but it also has an excellent configuration that can reduce the frequency of cartridge replacement. Then, by utilizing the rear portion of the space for integrating the ink jet unit IJU, a protruding portion for the atmosphere communication port 1401 is formed therein, and the inside of this protruding portion is hollowed out to absorb the absorption described above. An atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is formed for the entire thickness of the body 900. With such a configuration, it was possible to provide an excellent cartridge that has never been seen before. Note that this atmospheric pressure supply space 1402
Is a space much larger than the conventional one, and since the atmosphere communication port 1401 is located above, even if the ink is separated from the absorber due to some abnormality, the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 still retains the ink. Can be held temporarily and can be surely collected in the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge without waste can be provided.

In addition, the above unit I of the ink tank IT
The configuration of the mounting surface of the JU is shown by FIG. Through the center of the orifice of the orifice plate 400,
Assuming that the straight line L ₁ is parallel to the placement reference plane of the bottom surface of the ink tank IT or the surface of the carriage, the two positioning protrusions 1012 that engage with the holes 312 of the support 300 are on this straight line L ₁ . The height of the protrusion 1012 is the height of the support 30.
The support 300 is positioned slightly below the thickness of zero. _On the extension of the straight line L _{1 in} this drawing, the 90 ° angle engaging surface 4002 of the carriage positioning hook 4001 is shown.
The claw 2100 that engages with is positioned so that the positioning action force with respect to the carriage acts on a plane area including the straight line L ₁ and parallel to the reference plane. Figure 1
As will be described later in Section 3, these relationships are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is the same as the positioning accuracy of the ejection port of the head.

Further, the protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank corresponding to the fixing holes 1900 and 2000 on the side of the ink tank of the support member 300 are longer than the protrusion 1012 and protrude through the support member 300. This is for fixing the support 300 to the side surface by heat-sealing the portion. Assuming that a straight line L ₃ passing through the protrusion 1800 and a straight line L ₂ passing through the protrusion 1801 perpendicular to the above-mentioned line L ₁ , the center of the supply port 1200 is located on the straight line L ₃ , the port of the supply unit is This is a preferable configuration because it acts to stabilize the connection state of the 1200 and the supply pipe 2200, and the load on these connection states can be reduced even when dropped or impacted. Further, the straight lines L ₂ and L ₃ do not coincide with each other, and the head IJ
Protrusions 1800, 18 are formed around the protrusion 1012 on the discharge port side of H.
Since 01 is present, it further produces a reinforcing effect of positioning the head IJH with respect to the tank. In addition, L ₄
The curve indicated by is the outer wall position when the ink supply member 600 is mounted. The protrusions 1800 and 1801 have a curved line L ₄
Therefore, sufficient strength and positional accuracy are given to the weight of the head-side structure of the head IJH. 2
Reference numeral 700 denotes a front end flange of the ink tank IT, which is inserted into a hole of a front plate 4000 of the carriage and is provided for an abnormal case where the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely bad.
Reference numeral 2101 denotes a retainer for the carriage, which is provided on a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC, and enters below the bar at a position where the cartridge IJC is pivotally mounted as described later and unnecessarily disengages from the positioning position. It is a protective member for maintaining the mounted state even if a force acts in the upward direction.

The ink tank IT has a shape that surrounds the unit IJU except the lower opening by covering the unit IJU with the lid 800 after the unit IJU is mounted. However, as the ink jet cartridge IJC, it is mounted on the carriage HC. Since the lower opening of is close to the carriage HC,
A substantial four-way surrounding space is formed. Therefore, although the heat generated from the head IJH in this enclosed space is effective as a heat retaining space in this space, the temperature rises slightly for long-term continuous use. Therefore, in this example, a slit 1700 having a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC in order to help the support body to radiate heat naturally, and the temperature distribution of the entire unit IJU is made uniform while preventing sound rise. Was able to be made independent of the environment.

When assembled as an ink jet cartridge IJC, ink is requested from the inside of the cartridge into the supply tank 600 through the supply port 1200, the hole 320 provided in the support 300, and the introduction port provided on the back side of the supply tank 600. After passing through the inside thereof, an appropriate supply pipe is provided from the outlet and the ink inlet 150 of the top plate 400.
Flow into the common liquid chamber via 0. A packing made of, for example, silicon rubber or butyl rubber is provided in the connection portion for ink communication in the above, and sealing is performed by this to secure an ink supply path.

In the present embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of a resin such as polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene having excellent ink resistance, and is integrally molded together with the orifice plate portion 400 in the mold. I am doing it.

As described above, since the integrally molded part is the ink supply member 600, the top plate / orifice plate integrated, and the ink tank main body 1000, not only the assembly accuracy becomes high, but also the mass production quality is extremely improved. Is. Further, since the number of single components can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the shape after the above assembly, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the ink supply member 600 has a roof whose upper surface portion 603 is provided with the slit 1700 of the ink tank IT. End of part 400
8 to form a slit S as shown in FIG.
A slit (not shown) similar to the slit S is formed between the lower surface portion 604 and the head side end portion 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lid 800 below the ink tank IT is adhered. These ink tank IT and ink supply member 600
The slit between and substantially performs the action of further promoting the heat dissipation of the slit 1700, and at the same time, the tank IT
Even if unnecessary pressure is applied to the inkjet unit IJT, it is prevented from directly exerting this pressure on the supply member.

In any case, the above configuration of this embodiment is
It is a configuration that has not been available in the past, and each has an effective effect independently, and also has an organic configuration by having each constituent requirement in combination.

(Iii) Description of Installation of Inkjet Cartridge IJC to Carriage HC In FIG. 13, reference numeral 5000 is a platen roller that guides the recording medium P upward from below the paper surface. Carriage HC
Moves along the platen roller 3000,
A front plate 4000 (thickness: 2 m) located on the front platen side of the carriage and on the front side of the inkjet cartridge IJC.
m) and a pad 2011 corresponding to the pad 201 of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC, and the flexible sheet 4005 including the pad 2011 from the back side.
Support plate 4003 for electrical connection holding a rubber pad sheet 4007 for generating an elastic force pressing against 11.
And a positioning hook 4001 for fixing the inkjet cartridge IJC to the recording position. The front plate 4000 has the positioning protrusion surface 4010 on the above-mentioned positioning protrusion 250 of the support 300 of the cartridge.
There are two of them corresponding to 0 and 2600, respectively, and after the mounting of the cartridge, a vertical force toward the projecting surface 4010 is received.
Therefore, the reinforcing ribs on the platen roller side of the front plate,
It has a plurality of ribs (not shown) directed in the direction of the vertical force. This rib also forms a head protection protrusion that protrudes slightly (about 0.1 mm) toward the platen roller from the front position L ₅ when the cartridge IJC is mounted. The supporting plate 4003 for electrical connection has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 in the vertical direction, not in the direction of the ribs, and the proportion of lateral projection from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side is reduced. This also serves to incline the position when the cartridge is mounted as shown in the figure. Further, in order to stabilize the electrical contact state of the support plate 4003, a hook-side positioning surface 4006 for exerting an acting force on the cartridge in a direction opposite to the acting direction of the two positioning protrusion surfaces 4010 on the cartridge.
Are provided corresponding to the projecting surface 4010, a pad contact area is formed between these, and the deformation amount of the button of the rubber sheet 4007 with a button corresponding to the pad 2011 is uniquely defined. These positioning surfaces are
When the JC is fixed at a recordable position, the wiring board 300
Is in contact with the surface of. In this example, since the pads 201 of the wiring board 300 are distributed symmetrically with respect to the line L ₁ described above, the rubber sheet 4007 is provided.
Of the pads 2011, 20
The contact pressure of 1 is more stable. The pad 201 of this example
The distribution of is in the upper and lower two rows and in the vertical two rows.

The hook 4001 has an elongated hole that engages with the fixed shaft 4009. The hook 4001 is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in the drawing by utilizing the moving space of the elongated hole, and then the platen roller 500.
The inkjet cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC by moving to the left along 0. The hook 4001 may be moved by any means, but it is preferable that the hook 4001 can be moved by a lever or the like. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves to the platen roller side, and the positioning protrusion 2500,
2600 moves to a position where it can abut the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate, and the hook 4001 moves to the left by 90 °.
The hook surface 4002 of the cartridge is the nail 2100 of the cartridge IJC.
While closely contacting the 90 ° surface of the cartridge IJC, the cartridge IJC is swung in the horizontal plane around the contact area between the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010, and finally the pads 201 and 2011 come into contact with each other. When the hook 4001 is held at a predetermined position, that is, a fixed position, the pads 201 and 2011 are in full contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are in full contact with each other, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the claw are in contact with each other. The two-face contact and the face contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 4006 are simultaneously formed, and the holding of the cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage is completed.

(Iv) General Description of Apparatus Main Body FIG. 14 shows an inkjet recording apparatus I to which the present invention is applied.
In the schematic diagram of JRA, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in association with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013 is a pin (not shown). ), And is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper pressing plate which holds the paper in the platen 50 in the carriage movement direction.
Press against 00. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area by a photo coupler and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 is a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap to perform suction recovery of the recording head through the cap opening 5023. 5017 is a cleaning plate, 50
Reference numeral 19 denotes a member that allows the plate to move in the front-rear direction, and these members are supported by the main body support plate 5018.
Needless to say, a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this example instead of this form. Also, 5
012 is a lever for starting suction for suction recovery,
The cam 5020, which is engaged with the carriage, moves along with the movement of the cam 5020, and the driving force from the driving motor is movement-controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the home position side area. Any desired operation can be applied to this example as long as desired operation is performed. Each of the above-described configurations is an excellent invention, both individually and in combination, and shows a preferred configuration example for the present invention.

(Others) The present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system. The present invention provides excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the thermal energy causes a change in ink state. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal as a result
This is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333, U.S. Pat. No. 44, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main body of the apparatus, or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add the ejection recovery means of the recording head, the preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping means, a cleaning means, a pressure or suction means for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either integrally formed of the recording heads or a combination of a plurality of them. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet method, it is common to adjust the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. At times, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in a standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP 54-56847 A or JP 60-7.
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function are provided. It may be in a form or the like.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An alignment target is provided on the top plate on which a plurality of ink paths are formed, and the orifice plate is machined using laser light based on the alignment target to form the orifice, so that the orifice can be formed accurately. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to search for the target value every time when forming the orifice, there is no waste of time in laser processing.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to revise the data of the size of the top plate and the size of the movable stage, the laser processing process is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a top plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a top plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing shapes of various alignment targets provided on another top plate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a shape of an alignment target provided on still another top plate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an image in which a top plate alignment target is input to a camera.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an orifice processing apparatus showing a conventional example when processing an orifice with a laser beam.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing an orifice processed by the orifice processing device using the laser beam shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of an Orifice processing apparatus showing another conventional example in the case of processing an orifice with laser light.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an example of an inkjet cartridge to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet cartridge to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the ink tank of the inkjet cartridge as seen from the side where the inkjet recording head is mounted.

FIG. 13 is a top view showing a state in which the inkjet cartridge is mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus main body.

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 UV Laser Device 2 Laser Beam 3 Lens System 4 Projection Mask 5 Top Plate 5A Orifice Plate 5B Support 6 Movable Stage 7 Top Plate 8 Substrate 9a to 9d Partition Wall 10 Orifice Plate 14 Ink Path Groove 15 Electrothermal Converter 16A, 16B Alignment target 17,18 Camera

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazuaki Masuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A member in which a plurality of ink paths are arrayed and a positioning target is provided in the vicinity of the arrayed ink paths, and a member aligned with the ink path with the positioning target as a reference, An ink jet recording head, comprising: an ejection port forming member in which an ejection port is formed by irradiating a laser beam on the aligned portion. 2. A step of detecting the alignment target from a member in which a plurality of ink paths are arrayed and an alignment target is provided in the vicinity of the arrayed ink paths, and the detected position. Aligning the ink path with a portion of the ejection port forming member irradiated with the laser beam with reference to the alignment target; and irradiating the aligned laser beam with the laser beam and ejecting it. A method of manufacturing an inkjet recording head, comprising the step of forming an outlet. 3. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein the laser light is excimer laser light.