JPH06312504A - Ink jet head and ink jet device equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To narrow a width in cross direction of a common electrode, make a size of a base plate small and reduce the cost of it by constituting wirings for supplying voltage to a plurality of heating elements, which are arranged in a row and generate energy for discharging ink, of a plurality of conductive bodies. CONSTITUTION:In a fully multiple record head in which several hundreds through several thousands of discharge openings are arranged ranging over the whole width of a record medium, recording voltage supplying wirings 3... for applying voltage at recording to a plurality of heat generating resistors 2 (R1-Rm) as a supply of drive signal are provided. These are arranged below a plurality of driving ICs (IC1-ICn). To both sides of each IC, grounding conductive bodies 4 of recording current are connected and conductive bodies 5 which apply voltage for driving the ICs are connected. On an end of a head base plate 1, input/output terminals of signal series wirings S1-S5 and S1'-S5' are arranged so as to transmit various signals such as signal transmitting clock, latch signal, strobe signal for driving the ICs divisionally, and transfer clock.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet head in which a plurality of heat generating elements and a driving integrated circuit for driving the plurality of heat generating elements are arranged, and an ink jet apparatus mounting the head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of ink jet recording head, a large number of heating elements are formed on a head substrate to achieve high recording density, and a driving circuit for driving the heating elements is an integrated circuit (IC). In many cases, the recording head is miniaturized by being integrally arranged on the head substrate in a reduced form.

However, a plurality of drive circuits (hereinafter referred to as drive ICs) are formed as an IC as a number of heat generating elements are formed. FIG. 3 shows an example of a wiring system of a conventional inkjet recording head equipped with a plurality of driving ICs.

Here, V _H is a plurality of heating elements 2 (R _{1 to} R
_m ) is a common wiring for applying a voltage for recording as a drive signal supply. Signal lines shown by S _{1 to} S ₅ and S ₁ ′ to S ₅ ′ are signal series wirings, the input / output terminals of which are arranged at the ends on the head substrate 1, and a plurality of driving ICs (IC _{1 to} I
C _n ) are arranged side by side on the head recording surface side. The recording data (DATA), the signal transmission clock (SCLK), the latch signal (LAT), the IC division drive strobe signal (STRB), and the IC division drive signal transfer clock (ECLK) are provided by the signal series wiring. Various signals such as are transmitted. Further, _GH is a grounding conductor for recording current arranged on both sides of each driving IC, and IC ₁ to IC ₁ are connected between _GH terminals.
A terminal for applying a voltage V _DD for driving IC _n is arranged.

The dotted line indicated by 6 corresponds to the heating element 2,
An area is shown on the substrate 1 where a discharge port, a liquid path communicating with the discharge port, and a liquid chamber commonly connected to each liquid path are formed.

[0006]

However, in the above background art example, as shown in FIG.
A common electrode for applying a voltage at the time of recording was arranged on both ends of the substrate.

Therefore, considering the voltage drop that occurs when a large current is consumed as in an ink jet head, the width 3a of the common electrode in the lateral direction cannot be reduced.
In addition, due to reliability problems (corrosion due to ink, etc.), it is necessary to arrange the multi-layered common electrode outside the dotted line indicated by 6. Therefore, the shorter side of the board becomes longer,
The number of pieces taken was small and the cost was high.

For example, 400 DPI (Dot Per)
4736 heating resistors are arranged at a density of (Inch),
When 128 heating elements each having a current of 60 mmA flowing to one heating element are simultaneously driven, a current of 7.2 A flows to the common electrode. Therefore, the width 3a of the common electrode in the lateral direction is set to 1.
It had to be 7 mm.

Further, since the V _H terminals are arranged only at both ends of the substrate, when the flexible substrate is crimped and connected by the crimping plate, only one side is connected or the crimping force decreases with time. However, there was a drawback that it would not connect.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a plurality of conductors connected to a recording voltage connection pad for supplying a recording voltage required for recording are arranged on a substrate to reduce a voltage drop. It was possible to shorten the width 3a of the common electrode in the lateral direction. Therefore, the substrate size can be reduced, and the head and the device can be downsized.

Further, by increasing the number of recording voltage connection pads, the reliability of pressure bonding with the flexible substrate is improved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows, as an example of a recording head to which the present invention can be applied, an ink jet recording head which forms a recorded image by utilizing thermal energy to form ink droplets, and particularly in the entire width of a recording medium. A so-called full-multi type in which several hundred to several thousand discharge ports are aligned over a corresponding range is shown.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a heating element heating resistor serving as an energy generating element for generating ink by causing a state change in the ink to generate air bubbles in response to a drive signal, The wiring and the wiring are formed on the substrate 1 through the same manufacturing process as the semiconductor. 7A
Is a liquid path forming member for forming the discharge port 7 and a liquid path 8 communicating with the discharge port 7 corresponding to the heating element 2, and 9 is a top plate. Further, reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid chamber that communicates with each liquid passage 8 in common, and stores ink supplied from an ink supply source (not shown).

FIG. 2 schematically shows the wiring of the ink jet recording head in FIG.

Here, 3 is a plurality of heating resistors 2 (R ₁ to
R _m) to a recording voltage supply wiring for applying a voltage at the time of recording as a supply of the driving signal, 3 'is a recording voltage connection pad. S ₁ to S ₅ and those shown by S ₁ 'to S _5' is a signal sequence lines, the input / output terminal is arranged on an end portion on the head substrate 1, a plurality of drive IC (IC ₁ ~IC _n ) Head recording surface side by side. Recording data (DATA) and a clock for signal transmission (SCL
K), a latch signal (LAT), a strobe signal (STRB) for division driving of the IC, a transfer clock (ECLK) of the division driving signal of the IC, and various other signals are transmitted. Reference numeral 4 is a ground conductor for recording currents arranged on both sides of each driving IC, and 4'is a ground conductor connection pad.
Reference numeral 5 is a conductor for applying a voltage V _DD for driving IC ₁ to IC _n, and 5'is a V _DD voltage connection pad.

The dotted line indicated by 6 is, as explained in FIG. 3,
It is a region corresponding to the heating element 2 and on the substrate 1 to form a discharge port, a liquid path communicating with the discharge port, and a liquid chamber commonly connected to each liquid path.

In the above configuration, 400 DPI (Do
4736 heating resistors are arranged at a density of t Per Inch), and the current flowing to one heating element is 60 mmA.
When 128 heating elements are simultaneously driven, the common electrode is 7.
A current of 2A flows. Therefore, the width 3a in the lateral direction of the common electrode is set to 0.4 mm. This is about 1/4 of the width 3a as compared with the wiring of the background art. This made it possible to reduce the substrate head size.

(Embodiment 2) Embodiment 2 is shown in FIG. Figure 4
The outline of the description is the same as that of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the recording voltage supply wiring is arranged between the adjacent ICs. As a result, the substrate size can be reduced as described above.

(Other Embodiments) FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an ink jet apparatus using the ink jet head of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an apparatus using a long head, which is a conveyance roller 53 which conveys a conveyance belt 52 for conveying recording such as recording paper or cloth. Recording is performed by ejecting ink onto the recording medium. It has a full line head 51 of the present invention in which ejection openings are arranged over the entire recordable width of a recording medium. This full line head has a device side signal supply means (not shown)
A signal is given from the device to eject ink.

In this embodiment, the cap for performing the recovery process for the head, the ink supply, and the like are not shown, but it goes without saying that these elements may be applied to the apparatus.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are views showing the basic construction of an ink jet device for recording on a cloth.

The ink jet device is configured as a system, and as shown in FIG. 1, the image reading device 10 reads an original image created by a designer and converts the original image into original image data represented by an electric signal.
1. An image processing unit 102 that takes in original image data from the image reading apparatus 101, processes it, and outputs it as image data; an image to be recorded on a recording medium such as cloth based on the image data created by the image processing unit 102 It is composed of a recording unit 103.

In the image reading device 101, the original image is read by the CCD image sensor.

In the image processing unit 102, four types of magenta (abbreviation M), cyan (abbreviation C), yellow (abbreviation Y), and black (abbreviation Bk), which will be described later, are calculated from the input original image data.
Data is created to drive the inkjet recording unit A-2 (see FIG. 2) that ejects color inks. When creating data, image processing to reproduce the original image with ink dots, color arrangement to determine the color tone, layout change,
The size of the design such as enlargement and reduction is processed and selected.

In the image recording section 103, recording is performed by the ink jet recording section A-2.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an image recording section particularly preferable for the present invention. This inkjet device is roughly divided into a cloth feeding section B for feeding a recording medium such as a roll-shaped cloth that has been subjected to a pretreatment for printing, and an inkjet head for precisely feeding the fed recording medium. The main body portion A for performing printing at 1. and the winding portion C for drying and winding the printed recording medium. The main body portion A further includes a precision feeding portion A-1 for a recording medium including a platen.
And an inkjet recording unit A-2.

The operation of this apparatus will be described below by taking as an example a case where printing is carried out using a pretreated recording medium as the recording medium.

The pre-processed roll-shaped recording medium 236 is sent out from the benefit section B and sent to the main body section. A thin endless belt 237, which is precisely step-driven, is wound around a drive roller 247 and a winding roller 249 in the main body. The driving roller 247 is directly step-driven by a high-resolution stepping motor (not shown) to step-feed the belt by the step amount. The sent cloth 236 is pressed by the pressing roller 240 and attached to the surface of the belt 237 backed up by the winding roller 249.

The recording medium 236, which has been step-fed by the belt, is stored in the first printing unit 231.
It is localized by the platen 232 on the back surface of the belt and printed by the inkjet head 209 from the front side.
Each time one line is printed, it is stepped a predetermined amount,
Next, heating is performed from the back surface of the belt by the heating plate 234 and is supplied / exhausted by the warm air duct 235. It is dried by warm air from the surface. Then, in the second printing unit 231 ', the overprinting is performed in the same manner as the first printing unit.

The recording medium 236 on which printing has been completed is peeled off and dried again by the post-drying section 246 similar to the above-mentioned heating plate 234 and warm air duct 235, and the guide roll 24
1 and is wound up by the winding roll 248. Then, the wound recording medium 236 is removed from the apparatus,
The product is processed through post-treatment processes such as color development, washing and drying in batch processing.

Next, details of the vicinity of the ink jet recording section A-2 will be described with reference to FIG.

In a preferred embodiment here, the head of the first printing unit thins out the number of dots to record information, and after the drying process, the head of the second printing unit thins out the information in the first printing unit. The ink droplets are ejected so as to complement the information.

In FIG. 7, a recording medium 2 which is a recording medium
The belt 36 is attached to the belt 237 and is step-fed upward in the drawing. The Y. M. C. In addition to Bk, special color S1
There is a first carriage 244 carrying eight inkjet heads for S4. The ink-jet head (recording head) in this example uses an element having an element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink, as energy used for ejecting the ink, and 400 dpi (dots / inch). ) With a density of 12
An array of 8 ejection ports is used.

A drying unit 245 including a heating plate 234 for heating from the back surface of the belt and a warm air duct 235 for drying from the front side is provided on the downstream side of the first printing unit. The heat transfer surface of the heating plate 234 is pressed against the strongly tensioned endless belt 237, and the belt 237 is strongly heated from the back surface by the high temperature and high pressure steam passing through the hollow inside. The belt 237 directly and effectively heats the attached recording medium 236 by heat conduction. The inside of the heating plate surface is provided with fins 234 'for collecting heat so that the heat can be efficiently concentrated on the back surface of the belt. The side not in contact with the belt is covered with a heat insulating material 243 to prevent loss due to heat dissipation.

On the front side, by blowing dry hot air from the supply duct 230 on the downstream side, air having a lower humidity is applied to the recording medium 236 which is being dried to enhance the effect. The air that flows in the opposite direction to the direction in which the recording medium 236 is conveyed and contains a sufficient amount of water is sucked from the suction duct 233 on the upstream side by a much larger amount than the amount of blowing, so that the evaporated water leaks. Avoid condensation on surrounding machinery. The supply source of the warm air is on the back side in FIG. 7, suction is performed from the front side, and the pressure difference between the air outlet 238 and the suction port 239 facing the recording medium 236 is over the entire longitudinal direction. It is made uniform. The air blowing / suction unit is offset downstream from the center of the heating plate 234 on the back surface so that the air hits a sufficiently heated place. By these, the first printing unit 231 strongly dries a large amount of water in the ink including the thinning liquid received by the recording medium 236.

The second printing unit 2 is provided downstream (upper) thereof.
31 ', and the second print portion is formed by the second carriage 244' having the same structure as the first carriage.

Next, a specific example of ink jet printing recording will be described. As described above, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus suitable for textile printing. Using the inkjet recording apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, after the inkjet printing process, the recording medium is dried (including natural drying). Then, subsequently, a step of diffusing the dye on the fibers of the recording medium and reacting and fixing the dye on the fibers is performed. By this step, sufficient color development and fastness due to dye fixation can be obtained.

This diffusion and reaction fixing step may be a conventionally known method, for example, a steaming method. In addition,
In this case, the recording medium may be subjected to alkali treatment in advance before the printing step.

Then, in the post-treatment step, the unreacted dye and the substance used for the pre-treatment are removed. Finally, the recording is completed through a finishing process such as defect correction and ironing.

In particular, as a cloth for ink-jet printing, (1) the ink can be developed to a sufficient density.
(2) Ink dyeing rate is high, (3) Ink dries quickly on the cloth, (4) Irregular ink bleeding on the cloth is small, (5) In-apparatus It is required to have excellent performance such as excellent transportability. In order to satisfy these required performances, the fabric can be pre-treated in advance if necessary. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 62-53492 discloses a fabric having an ink receiving layer, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-46589 proposes a fabric containing a reduction inhibitor or an alkaline substance. . Examples of such pretreatment include a treatment in which the cloth is made to contain a substance selected from an alkaline substance, a water-soluble polymer, a synthetic polymer, a water-soluble metal salt, urea and thiourea.

Examples of the alkaline substance include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide,
Examples thereof include amines such as mono-, di- and triethanolamine, and carbonic acid or alkali metal bicarbonates such as sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Furthermore, there are organic acid metal salts such as calcium acetate and barium acetate, and ammonia and ammonia compounds. Also, sodium trichloroacetate, which becomes an alkaline substance under steaming and dry heat, can be used. Particularly preferred alkaline substances are sodium carbon and sodium bicarbonate used for dyeing reactive dyes.

As the water-soluble polymer, starch substances such as corn and wheat, cellulosic substances such as carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium alginate, gum arabic,
Locust bean gum, tragacanth gum, guar gum,
Examples thereof include polysaccharides such as tamarind seeds, protein substances such as gelatin and casein, and natural water-soluble polymers such as tannin-based substances and lignin-based substances.

Examples of synthetic polymers include polyvinyl alcohol compounds, polyethylene oxide compounds, acrylic acid water-soluble polymers, maleic anhydride water-soluble polymers, and the like. Among these, polysaccharide polymers and cellulose polymers are preferable.

Examples of the water-soluble metal salt include compounds such as halides of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals, which produce typical ionic crystals and have a pH of 4 to 10. As a typical example of such a compound, for example, in the case of an alkali metal, NaCl, Na ₂ S
O4, KCl, CH ₃ COON _{a and the} like, and also
Examples of the alkaline earth metal include CaCl ₂ and MgCl ₂ . Of these, salts of Na, K and Ca are preferable.

The method of incorporating the above substances and the like into the cloth in the pretreatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a dipping method, a pad method, a coating method and a spraying method which are usually performed.

Further, the printing ink applied to the ink-jet printing cloth merely adheres to the cloth when it is applied to the cloth. Therefore, the reaction fixing step (dyeing step) of the dye to the fiber is subsequently performed. Is preferred. Such a reaction fixing step may be a conventionally known method, for example, a steaming method, an HT steaming method, a thermofix method, or an alkali pad steam method or an alkali blotch steam method when a cloth that has been previously alkali-treated is not used. ,
Examples thereof include alkali shock method and alkali cold fix method.

Further, the unreacted dye and the substance used for the pretreatment can be removed by washing after the above reaction fixing step according to a conventionally known method. In addition, it is preferable to use a conventionally known fix treatment together with this cleaning.

The recorded matter which has been subjected to the above-mentioned post-processing steps is then cut into a desired size, and the cut pieces are subjected to steps such as adhesion, adhesion and welding to obtain a final processed product. It is applied to obtain clothes such as dresses, dresses, ties, swimwear, duvet covers, sofa covers, handkerchiefs, and curtains. The method of processing cloth by sewing etc. to make clothes and other daily necessities is described in many publicly known books such as "Latest Knit Sewing Manual" issued by Senyi Journal and monthly magazine "Soen" issued by Bunka Publishing Bureau. Has been done.

[0052]

As described above, by providing a plurality of electric conductors connected to the recording voltage connecting pad, as shown in FIG.
The width 3a in the widthwise direction of the common electrode shown in (3) can be narrowed, the substrate size can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, by increasing the number of recording voltage connection pads, the recording voltage can be supplied without any problem even if some of the connection pads and the flexible substrate are not connected. This made it possible to improve reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording head to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a wiring diagram of the inkjet recording head in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conventional wiring diagram.

FIG. 4 is a wiring diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an apparatus equipped with the long head of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a basic configuration diagram of an inkjet device that performs recording on a cloth.

FIG. 7 is a basic configuration diagram of an inkjet device that performs recording on a cloth.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate 2 heating resistor 3 recording voltage supplying conductor 3'recording voltage connecting pad 4 grounding conductor 4'grounding conductor connecting pad 5 V _DD supply conductor 5 'V _DD connecting pad 7 discharge port 7A flow path forming member 8 Liquid channel 9 Top plate 10 Liquid chamber

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Toshiaki Hirosawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet having a substrate on which a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row and generating energy for ejecting ink and a driving integrated circuit for driving the plurality of heating elements are arranged. In the head, wirings for supplying a voltage to a plurality of heating elements are commonly connected to a plurality of wirings connected to the plurality of heating elements, and the heating elements are provided between the heating element row and the drive integrated circuit. A first conductor arranged in parallel to the row and a second wiring connected to the first conductor corresponding to each of the plurality of heating elements and each having an electrical connection with the outside. An inkjet head characterized by being configured. 2. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the second wiring is arranged between drive integrated circuits. 3. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the second conductor is arranged under a drive integrated circuit. 4. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the heating elements are arranged in a range corresponding to the width of the recording medium. 5. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the second conductors are arranged in the same number as the number of drive integrated circuits. 6. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are simultaneously formed. 7. An ink jet device having the ink jet head according to claim 1 and an electrical connection portion electrically connectable to an electrical connection portion of the second wiring portion. 8. An ink jet apparatus having a carrying section for carrying cloth and a post-processing apparatus for carrying out post-processing on a printed cloth.