JPH0725015A - Ink jet printer and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cover with excellent adhesive properties, to reduce pinholes, to enhance water-repellent performance and to obtain long-term reliability by forming an ink-repellent film of fluorine-containing polyimide resin in an ink jet printer in which the ink-repellent film is deposited on a surface of a nozzle of an ink jet recording head. CONSTITUTION:When a fluorine-containing polyimide film is formed of an ink-repellent film 12, excellent adhesive properties with a nozzle plate 11 are obtained, and ink can be simultaneously repelled by an operation of fluorine. The film 12 is laminated on a surface of a nozzle of the plate 11 by a deposition polymerizing method. The method comprises the steps of depositing respective monomers, and then imidizing it and can hence make stable polyimide film uniform and easily laminate it. Carbon tetrafluoride resin is laminated on the fluorine-containing polyimide resin thereby to enhance fluorine density on a surface of the film 12, thereby improving more ink repellency.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer used in a recording device of computer equipment and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording heads, which are the heart of ink jet printers, use materials such as glass, metal, and resin.

However, when a water-based ink is used in an ink jet recording head, if the water repellency of the nozzle surface is insufficient, ink droplets tend to adhere, which impairs the straightness of the ejected ink droplets and disturbs printing. Due to such troubles, it was sometimes impossible to record.

Therefore, conventionally, the surface of the nozzle, which is the portion where the ink is ejected, has been treated to be water repellent in order to eliminate the adhesion of oily or water-based ink.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 0-183161 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-176059, there has been proposed a method of attaching water-repellent material particles to the surface of a nozzle to make it water-repellent by vacuum deposition or plasma polymerization.

[0005]

However, the conventional technique has the following problems.

First, with these water repellent treatments, it is not always easy to obtain a smooth water repellent surface without defects such as pinholes. Therefore, there is a problem in that the characteristics of individual products vary, and the characteristics also change over time.

Further, the conventional method using the vacuum vapor deposition method has a problem that only a material having low durability can be obtained because of insufficient adhesion to the material of the ink jet recording head.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to cover materials of various ink jet recording heads with good adhesiveness, to reduce the number of pinholes in the ink repellent film, and to provide high water repellent performance and long-term reliability. An ink repellent material and a method for laminating the same are provided.

[0009]

The ink jet printer of the present invention is an ink jet printer in which an ink repellent film is laminated on the nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head, wherein the ink repellent film is a fluorine-containing polyimide resin.

When the fluorine-containing polyimide film is used as the ink repellent film, excellent adhesion can be obtained with a substrate such as a head material such as glass or metal, and at the same time, the action of fluorine can repel the ink.

The method of manufacturing an ink jet printer is characterized in that an ink repellent film is laminated on the nozzle surface by vapor deposition polymerization.

A resin material such as polyimide is usually synthesized by exciting plasma with high energy.
However, it has a problem that it tends to form a random cross-linking structure and has many parameters to control. In the vapor deposition polymerization method, since each monomer is vapor-deposited and then imidized, a stable polyimide film can be uniformly and easily laminated.

Further, the ink repellent film has a structure in which a carbon tetrafluoride resin is laminated on a fluorine-containing polyimide resin.

By laminating a carbon tetrafluoride resin on a fluorine-containing polyimide resin, the fluorine density on the surface of the ink repellent film can be increased and the ink repellency can be improved.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that chromium, silicon dioxide and a siloxane-containing polyimide resin are sandwiched between the nozzle surface and the ink repellent film in this order, or only the siloxane-containing polyimide resin is sandwiched.

The chromium, silicon dioxide, and siloxane-containing polyimide resin has a function of further improving the adhesion between the metal-containing head surface and the fluorine-containing polyimide and enhancing the durability. The siloxane-containing polyimide has a function of further improving the adhesion between the surface of the head made of glass and the fluorine-containing polyimide and enhancing the durability. The methods for laminating these films include sputtering and vapor deposition.

[0017]

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording head, which is the heart of the ink jet printer of this embodiment, before ink repellent treatment. The ink of the ink jet recording head is supplied with energy such as pressure by a piezoelectric element or the like, heat by a heater, static electricity or the like in the pressure chamber 15, and is ejected through the nozzle plate 11. In this embodiment, an ink repellent film is laminated on the nozzle plate 11. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the nozzle plate taken along the line aa ′ in FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a vapor deposition device for laminating an ink repellent film on a nozzle plate. Figure 4
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which an ink repellent film 12 is laminated on the ink ejection surface of the nozzle plate 11 of FIG. This embodiment will be described with reference to these figures.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle plate 11 made of stainless steel was washed with a solvent or a detergent. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a porous body 27 in which 2,2-bis (3,4-phenylcarboxyl) hexafluoropropane is impregnated on the ink ejection surface of the nozzle plate 11 by the vapor deposition device 16 and 4-4'diaminodiphenyl ether. The porous body 28 impregnated with was used as a vapor deposition source and heated to a temperature at which the vapor deposition material was not decomposed, and vapor deposition was performed simultaneously under the conditions of a vacuum degree of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Torr.

Subsequently, heat treatment was performed in vacuum at 230 ° C. for 10 minutes to complete the ink repellent film 12 made of a fluorine-containing polyimide film as shown in FIG.

Finally, an ink jet recording head was assembled using this nozzle plate and a printer was completed.

The ink repellent film 12 has a contact angle with water of 1
It was as high as 10 ° and the printing on the printer was clear. Further, due to vapor deposition, the ink repellent film did not wrap around the ink supply side of the nozzle plate. Therefore, the inkjet printer could be manufactured without causing a problem in adhesion of the nozzle plate.

Even when the printer is used for a long period of time, the ink-repellent film is not peeled off or the printing is not warped due to performance deterioration.
Excellent print quality was maintained. In the durability acceleration test as a printer, no change in the contact angle was observed even when immersed in ink at 70 ° C. for 20 days, and the ink repellency was not deteriorated even when the rubbing was evaluated 10,000 times with rubber.

(Example 2) The nozzle plate substrate of Example 1 was changed to nickel, and the same fluorine-containing polyimide film as in Example 1 was laminated thereon, and a carbon tetrafluoride film was further placed in argon gas. Sputtering was performed, and heat treatment at 300 ° C. was applied to form an ink repellent film on the nozzle plate.

An ink jet recording head was assembled using this nozzle plate and a printer was completed.

The ink repellent film has a contact angle with water of 11
It was as high as 5 °, and the printing on the printer was clear. Even when the printer was used for a long period of time, the print quality was excellent because the print did not bend due to peeling of the ink-repellent film and deterioration of performance. In the durability acceleration test as a printer, 70 ℃, 2
No change in contact angle was observed even when dipped in the ink for 0 days, and the ink repellency was not deteriorated even when the rubbing was evaluated 10,000 times with rubber.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording head of this embodiment before the ink repellent treatment. The ink of the ink jet recording head does not use the nozzle plate as in the first embodiment, but the pressure chamber 25 to the nozzle hole 23.
Discharge through. In this embodiment, an ink repellent film is laminated on the nozzle surface 21. This embodiment will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, an ink jet recording head having glass or glass and silicon or silicon as a substrate is washed with a solvent or a detergent. Next, using a vapor deposition device similar to that of Example 1, 2, 2
A vacuum degree of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ is obtained by using a porous body impregnated with bis (4- (4-acinophenoxy) phenyl) hexafluoropropane and a porous body impregnated with pyromellitic acid as vapor deposition sources.
At the same time under the condition of Thor, vapor deposition is performed on the nozzle surface.

Subsequently, heat treatment was carried out in vacuum at 230 ° C. for 10 minutes to complete an ink repellent film made of a fluorine-containing polyimide film.

Finally, the ink jet recording head was assembled and the printer was completed.

The ink repellent film produced by the above method had a high contact angle with ink of 90 °, and the printing on the printer was clear. Even when the printer was used for a long period of time, the print quality was excellent because the print did not bend due to peeling of the ink-repellent film and deterioration of performance. In the durability acceleration test as a printer, no change in contact angle was observed even when immersed in ink at 70 ° C. for 20 days, and the ink repellency was not deteriorated even when the rubbing was evaluated 10,000 times with rubber.

Example 4 A chromium film of 100 Å and a silicon dioxide film of 500 Å were laminated on the ink ejection surface of the nozzle plate made of stainless steel of Example 1 and heat-treated at 300 ° C. On this silicon dioxide film, a siloxane-containing polyimide film was laminated by vapor deposition in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the vapor deposition source in Example 1 was changed to pyromellitic acid and Chisso's trade name “Silaplane”.

Subsequently, a fluorine-containing polyimide film was formed on the siloxane-containing polyimide film in the same manner as in Example 1 to complete the ink repellent film.

Finally, the ink jet recording head was assembled and the printer was completed.

The ink repellent film produced by the above method had a high contact angle with water of 110 °, and the printing on the printer was clear. In addition, even if the printer is used for a long period of time, the ink-repellent film is not peeled off or the printing is not curved due to performance deterioration.
The print quality was excellent. In a durability acceleration test as a printer, no change in contact angle was observed even when immersed in ink at 70 ° C. for 30 days, and the ink repellency was not deteriorated even after rubbing 15,000 times with rubber.

(Embodiment 5) The vapor deposition source of Embodiment 1 is pyromellitic acid and the product name "Cilaplane" manufactured by Chisso on the nozzle surface of the ink jet recording head composed of glass or glass and silicon or silicon of Embodiment 3.
A siloxane-containing polyimide film was laminated by vapor deposition in the same manner as in Example 1 except that

Then, a fluorine-containing polyimide film was formed on the siloxane-containing polyimide film in the same manner as in Example 1 to complete the ink repellent film.

Finally, the ink jet recording head was assembled and the printer was completed.

The ink repellent film produced by the above method had a high contact angle with water of 110 °, and the printing on the printer was clear. In addition, even if the printer is used for a long period of time, the ink-repellent film is not peeled off or the printing is not curved due to performance deterioration.
The print quality was excellent. In a durability acceleration test as a printer, no change in contact angle was observed even when immersed in ink at 70 ° C. for 30 days, and the ink repellency was not deteriorated even after rubbing 15,000 times with rubber.

The above examples are some examples showing the effect of the present invention. Even if the substrate is changed to another material such as resin such as polysulfone or polycarbonate, the same effect as this example can be obtained. Was given. Further, the vapor deposition conditions were the same as those in this example, and the effect was the same.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, by adopting the fluorine-containing polyimide for the ink repellent film, the material of the ink jet recording head such as metal, glass, silicon and resin can be coated with good adhesion even by the vapor deposition method. In addition, since the ink repellent film has high water repellency, it has an effect that an inkjet printer having long-term reliability can be manufactured.

Further, according to the present invention, since various substrates can be treated, it is possible to simultaneously realize the ink repellent treatment of the heads of a plurality of ink jet printers having different substrate materials.

Further, since the present invention employs the vapor deposition method, it has an effect that the nozzle surface can be ink-repellent treated without blocking the nozzle hole with the water-repellent film.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording head according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the nozzle plate according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a vapor deposition machine of Example 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle plate in which the ink repellent film of Example 1 is laminated.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording head according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Nozzle plate 12 Water-repellent film 13,23 Nozzle hole 15,25 Pressure chamber 16 Evaporator 21 Nozzle surface 27 Porous body 28 Porous body

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet printer in which an ink repellent film is laminated on a nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head, wherein the ink repellent film is a fluorine-containing polyimide resin. 2. A method for manufacturing an ink jet printer, comprising laminating the ink repellent film according to claim 1 on a nozzle surface by a vapor deposition polymerization method. 3. An ink jet printer in which an ink repellent film is laminated on a nozzle surface of an ink jet recording head, wherein the ink repellent film has a structure in which a tetrafluorocarbon resin is laminated on a fluorine-containing polyimide resin. . 4. An ink jet printer characterized in that chromium, silicon dioxide, and a siloxane-containing polyimide resin are sandwiched in this order between the nozzle surface and the ink repellent film according to claim 1. 5. An ink jet printer comprising a siloxane-containing polyimide resin sandwiched between the nozzle surface and the ink repellent film according to claim 1.