JPH08207277A - Print head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To displace a diaphragm more largely with the same power consumption compared with a case having no supporting means by a method wherein the diaphragm, forming one wall of a pressure chamber, into which ink is supplied, is supported elastically. CONSTITUTION: A pressure chamber 11 communicates with a nozzle 13 and an ink tank. A pressurizing mechanism 12 is constituted of a displacement transmitting unit 14 and a driving unit 15, providing the displacement transmitting unit 14 with a displacement in accordance with a printing signal to generate a pressure in the pressure chamber 11. The outer wall (diaphragm) 11a of the pressure chamber and the pressurizing mechanism 12 are provided separatably. Upon printing, the driving unit 15 is operated. The displacement transmitting unit 14 is moved leftward by a predetermined amount to push and deform the outer wall (diaphragm) 11a. As a result, a pressure is impressed on ink in the pressure chamber 11 to inject the particle 17a of ink out of the nozzle 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printhead, and more particularly to an ink jet type printhead applied to an image recording apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ink jet type print head is provided with a nozzle, a pressure chamber, an ink supply passage, and an ink tank. When pressure is generated in the pressure chamber, ink particles are ejected from the nozzle to print characters or characters on a recording paper. Record the image. As a means for applying pressure to the pressure chamber, a method in which a piezoelectric element is bonded to the outer wall of the pressure chamber and the displacement of the piezoelectric element generated by applying a pulsed voltage to the piezoelectric element is generally well known. FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of a conventional print head of this system. In the figure, the pressure chamber 1 is filled with ink 2, and the piezoelectric element 3 is bonded to the outer wall 1 a of the pressure chamber 1. One end of the pressure chamber 1 communicates with the nozzle 4, and the other end is connected to an ink tank (not shown).

FIG. 40 is an explanatory view of the operation of the print head shown in FIG. 40A shows a state where voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 3 and ink is about to be ejected from the nozzle 4, and FIG. 40B shows a state where ink particles 5 are ejected. Further, as shown in FIG. 41, there is also one that uses a heating resistance element 7 provided in the vicinity of the nozzle 6 as a pressure generating means. In this type of printhead,
A voltage pulse is applied to the heating resistance element 7, bubbles 8 are generated in the ink by the heat generated at that time, and the ink particles 9 are ejected from the nozzle by this pressure. 41 (a) shows a state in the early stage of bubble generation, FIG. 41 (b) shows a state in which the bubble has grown to some extent, and FIG. 41 (c) shows a state in which the bubble has grown significantly and ink ejection is about to begin. 41D shows a state in which ink ejection has further progressed, and FIG. 41E shows a state in which ink particles 9 have been ejected.

These conventional type ink jet type print heads generate more noise than wire driven type print heads that magnetically drive a wire and press the wire against a platen via an ink ribbon and paper to perform printing. Instead, it is receiving attention as being suitable for use in the office.

[0005]

However, these conventional ink jet type print heads have the following drawbacks. That is, in the case of FIGS. 39 and 40, dust or the like is attached to the nozzles of the print head, air bubbles are mixed from the nozzles, and the nozzles are clogged due to ink drying, etc. Had to be replaced.

Also in the case of FIG. 41, the heat generating portion is a nozzle,
Since it is formed integrally with the pressure chamber, there is a similar problem.
In recent years, a disposable type head has been used in which a print head is integrated with an ink tank to form a head cartridge, and the entire head cartridge is replaced when all the ink in the tank is consumed. However, in such a print head, since the pressure generating means is also discarded at the same time, there is a problem that the price of the head is high and the running cost is high.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the diaphragm can be displaced by a large amount as compared with the conventional one with the same power consumption, good printing can be performed, and the drive unit side and the pressure chamber side can be separated as necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print head which can be configured.

[0008]

The above-mentioned problem is solved by claim 1.
The pressure chamber to which ink is supplied, a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber, a vibrating plate forming one wall of the pressure chamber, and a pressure applied to the vibrating plate to eject ink from the nozzle. This can be realized by a print head that includes an ink pressure method and a supporting means that elastically supports the vibration plate, and that performs inkjet printing.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the supporting means is provided for facilitating displacement of the diaphragm when the pressure means applies pressure to the diaphragm. , And an elastic member that elastically supports the diaphragm. According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 2, the pressure chamber has a non-vibrating portion, and the elastic member is provided between the vibrating plate and the non-vibrating portion.

According to the invention of claim 4, claim 2 or 3
In the invention described above, the elastic member supports the peripheral portion of the diaphragm, and the pressing means presses the central portion of the diaphragm. According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the elastic member is made of a material selected from the group consisting of natural rubber and synthetic rubber.

According to the invention of claim 6, claim 2 or 3
In the invention, the elastic member is made of a resin material.
According to the invention of claim 7, in the invention of claim 5, the synthetic rubber is made of a material selected from the group consisting of styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, imprene rubber, acrylic rubber, silicone rubber and urethane rubber.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to seventh aspects, the elastic member is fixed to at least one of the diaphragm and the non-vibrating portion with an adhesive. According to the invention of claim 9, claim 2
In any one of the inventions to 8 above, the elastic member has both elasticity and thermal adhesiveness.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the second to ninth aspects are provided.
In any of the above aspects, the elastic member is a film-shaped member. According to the invention of claim 11, claim 2
In any one of 10 inventions, the elastic member is 10 μm.
It has a thickness within the range of m to 200 μm.

According to the invention of claim 12, claims 1 to 1
In any one of the inventions 1, an ink tank that communicates with the pressure chamber and supplies ink is further provided, and the pressure chamber and the ink tank are integrally provided and attached to and detached from the pressurizing unit. Configure a possible nozzle section.

According to the first to eleventh aspects of the present invention, the diaphragm can be displaced more largely with the same power consumption as compared with the case where the supporting means is not provided. According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, the pressure chamber can be detachably provided to the pressurizing means, and the running cost can be reduced.

Therefore, according to the print head of the present invention, the diaphragm can be displaced by a large amount as compared with the conventional one with the same power consumption, good printing can be performed, and the drive unit side and the pressure chamber can be arranged if necessary. The side may be separable.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0018]

1 and 2 are views for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a sectional view showing the outline of the structure of this embodiment. The pressure chamber 11 communicates with the nozzle 13 and also with an ink tank (not shown). The pressure mechanism 12 includes a displacement transmission part 14 such as a wire and the displacement transmission part 1
4 is configured to include a driving unit 15 that applies a displacement to the pressure chamber 11 to generate a pressure in the pressure chamber 11.

The drive unit may be a wire magnetic drive type such as a normal wire dot type print head, a laminated piezoelectric element, or a piezoelectric element having a displacement magnifying mechanism. 1 and 2, the outer wall 11a of the pressure chamber and the pressurizing mechanism 12 are provided so as to be separable from each other.
The separation points are as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c). FIG. 2A shows an example in which the tip of the displacement transmitting portion 14 which is a wire is separated. In FIG. 2B, the displacement transmitting portion is separated in the middle and the tip portion 16 on the outer wall (diaphragm) 11a side is the outer wall. 1
2A shows an example in which the displacement transmitting portion 14 is fixed to the outer wall 11a by being separated by the base portion of the displacement transmitting portion 14. FIG. In either case, the print head is assembled such that the pressure chamber side and the drive unit side face each other at a small distance at the separation location or in a state where they are in contact with each other.

When a wire magnetic drive type wire dot print head is used as the pressing mechanism, the outer wall 11
It is also possible to separate a and the pressurizing mechanism and arrange them so that the tip of the wire and the outer wall 11a are in contact with each other. As described above, when the separately manufactured pressure chamber side component and the drive unit side component are separably assembled, only the pressure chamber side component can be replaced. Therefore, after the ink in the ink tank included in the components on the pressure chamber side is consumed, only the components on the pressure chamber side are discarded, and it is not necessary to discard the components on the drive unit side including the pressure generating means. Economically advantageous.

By the way, in the present invention, since the wire magnetic drive type or the like is used as the driving unit, the displacement of the displacement transmitting unit 14 such as the wire can be made extremely large.
For example, a wire (dot pin) used in a normal wire dot printer has a displacement amount of about 200 μm. The displacement amount of the piezoelectric element is about 0.1 μm.

Therefore, when the components on the pressure chamber side and the components on the drive unit side are inferior in accuracy, when they are integrally combined, several tens of μm are provided between the outer wall 11a and the tip of the transmission unit 14.
This displacement of the wire can sufficiently reduce the volume of the pressure chamber, even if a small gap is formed.

At the time of printing, the drive unit 15 is operated. As a result, the displacement transmitting portion 14 moves leftward by a predetermined amount as shown in FIG. 1B, and presses and displaces the outer wall 11a. As a result, pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 11, and the ink particles 17 a are ejected from the nozzle 13.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the structure of the print head according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG.
Shows a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. A plurality of ink cassettes 21 are arranged in a zigzag pattern in two rows,
For example, 48 nozzles 24 and pressure chambers 25 that communicate with each nozzle 24 are provided, and each pressure chamber 25 communicates with an ink supply port 27 via an ink supply passage 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink supply port 27 is connected to the ink tank cassette 28 via a connecting hose 28a. The ink tank cassette 28 houses the ink tank cartridge 29 in a detachable manner, and supplies ink to the ink supply port 27. The diameter of the nozzle 24 needs to be adapted to the resolution required as a printer, and for example, 50 μm is required to obtain a resolution of 300 dpi.

The pressurizing mechanism 20 has the structure shown in FIG. This is a well-known electromagnetic drive type used in a normal wire dot type print head. As this print head, a wire dot print head or the like used in a Fujitsu F6123F1 printer can be used. The electromagnetic attraction unit 30 includes an iron core, a coil, an armature, a return spring, and the like. The electromagnetic drive unit may be a known release type. Drive unit 3
Reference numeral 1 denotes a portion other than the wire (displacement transmitting portion) 23 of the pressurizing mechanism 20 and corresponds to the driving portion 15 of the first embodiment. still,
This wire dot type print head unit has a number of wires corresponding to the number of nozzles and pressure chambers provided in the ink cassette 21, and an electromagnetic suction unit 30 is provided corresponding to each wire.

That is, by using the wire dot print head as in this embodiment, the wire pin is
By being bent by the guide 20a in the case 31a from the drive unit (electromagnetic attraction unit) that drives the wire pin,
Since the plurality of tip ends can be arranged with a minute gap therebetween, the pressure chamber and the nozzle can be closely arranged, and a multi-nozzle type inkjet print head as shown in FIG. 3 can be realized.

The print head is constructed by assembling the ink cassette 21 and the pressure mechanism 20 as shown in FIG. This print head or ink cassette 21
Attachment / detachment pins 32 attached above and below are engaged with the recesses provided in the case 31a of the wire dot print head which is the drive unit 31. In this state, the tip of the wire 23, which is the displacement transmitting portion, is moved to the pressure chamber 2 as shown in FIG.
5 are opposed to the outer wall 25a of the optical disk 5 via a small distance or in close contact with each other. The tip of each wire 23 is guided by the wire guide 22. The printing by the print head is performed by applying a current to the coil of the electromagnetic attracting portion, which has a wire for displacing the pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle 24 of the electromagnetic attracting portion 31 provided corresponding to each wire 23 that requires ink ejection. Is done by supplying. Since the print head is assembled in this way, the ink cassette 21 can be easily separated and removed from the pressure mechanism 20 side for maintenance, replacement, etc., and reliability can be improved and running cost can be reduced. Become. In addition, while the noise level of the conventional wire dot type printer was 55 to 65 dB,
It was possible to realize a noise level of about 45 dB. Moreover, noise can be further reduced by adopting a cover structure in which the attachment / detachment pins 23 of the ink cassette 21 cover the case 31a of the wire dot print head. And
In the case where the ink cassette 21 is not separated from the pressure mechanism side, noise can be completely eliminated.

In this embodiment, the separation type shown in FIG. 2 (a) has been described, but the separation shown in FIG. 2 (b) or 2 (c) in which part or all of the wire 23 is fixed to the outer wall 25a. The same effect can be obtained even if the format is adopted. In this embodiment, the nozzle 24 has a diameter of 50 μm, the nozzle 24 has a length (thickness) of 200 μm, and the nozzle 24 has a pitch of 280 μm.
The diameter of the pressure chamber 25 is 500 μm, the length (thickness) of the pressure chamber 25 is 100 μm, the thickness of the outer wall 25a is 50 μm, the diameter of the wire 23 is 200 μm, and the outer dimensions of the ink cassette 21 shown in FIG. The size is 2.0 mm × 4.0 mm. As the material of the ink cassette 21, stainless steel, resin, glass or the like can be used for the head portion, but stainless steel SUS304 was used in this embodiment. Further, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like can be used around the ink tank and the head portion. The passages can be made by well known techniques such as etching.

In this embodiment, an ink containing a black dye having a surface tension of 52 dyne / cm and a viscosity of 4 cP is used, a driving voltage of 100 v and a driving cycle of 5 kHz.
As a result of recording under the conditions described above, good printing could be performed. The displacement amount of the wire 23 is about 20 μm. The velocity of the particles obtained at this time was in the range of 6 to 10 m / s.

The advantage of using the wire drive is that a large displacement amount of about 100 μm can be taken as compared with the displacement amount of about 0.1 μm of a normal piezoelectric element. For this reason,
The pressure chamber side and the drive unit side can be separated and attached. Further, as described above, even when the pressure chamber is made small, it is possible to give a sufficiently large displacement to the pressure chamber and to reliably eject the ink.

As a result of investigating particle formation by changing the displacement amount by changing the driving condition, when the displacement amount is 1 μm or less, no pressure is generated in the pressure chamber 25 and no displacement is observed in the meniscus in the nozzle 24. It was The amount of displacement of the wire 23 required to eject the ink particles is appropriately 1 to 200 μm, and particularly preferably 5 to 80 μm.

The nozzle 24 has a diameter of 30 to 8
0 μm, the length (thickness) of the nozzle 24 is 50 to 400 μm
m, the diameter of the pressure chamber 25 is 100 to 500 μm, the pressure chamber 25
It is suitable that the length (thickness) is 50 to 200 μm and the thickness of the outer wall 25a is 10 to 200 μm. Further, it is appropriate that the diameter of the wire 23 is 120 to 200 μm and the stroke is 5 to 80 μm.

Also, the physical properties of the ink used affect the particle formation characteristics. Liquid ink having a viscosity of 1 to 30 cp can be used. Furthermore, the surface tension is 30 to 7
Ink of 0 dyne / cm can be used. FIG. 7 shows an outline of a printer equipped with the above print head.
Shown in The printer is generally a platen 33, guide rollers 3
4, 35, 36, printer cover 37, paper guide 38
Consists of The paper is conveyed on the paper guide 38 as shown by an arrow and supplied to the printing unit 39, and printing is performed by adhering the ink particles ejected from the nozzles of the ink cassette 21 to the paper. At the time of this printing, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, 24 nozzles are arranged in 12 × 2 rows, and by selectively driving the nozzles while scanning the carrier on which the print head is mounted in the paper width direction. , It is possible to print characters of dot configuration.

An embodiment of the nozzle array is shown in FIGS.
Shown in In the case of FIG. 8A, the plurality of nozzles 40 are arranged linearly with being inclined with respect to the width direction of the recording paper 100 (left-right direction in the drawing). In the case of FIG. 8B, the plurality of nozzles 41 are linearly arranged in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 100. In the case of FIG. 8C, the plurality of nozzles 42 are linearly arranged in the width direction of the recording paper 100 over the entire width. In the case of FIGS. 8A and 8B, printing is performed while scanning in the recording paper width direction of the carrier.

The actual printing conditions and printing results of this printer are as follows. As the head configuration, the nozzle diameter is 50 μm, the nozzle length is 200 μm, the pressure chamber diameter is 500 μm,
A head having a depth of 100 μm was manufactured as a prototype. Further, a drive system was prototyped under the condition that the wire diameter was 200 μm. This drive system
The electromagnetic attraction type used in a normal wire dot printer can be used as it is. As the material of the nozzle head (ink cassette), stainless steel, resin, glass or the like can be used, but stainless steel was used here. The passages can be made by well known techniques such as etching. Using this head, surface tension of 5 as ink
As a result of recording using a dye containing 2 dyne / cm and a viscosity of 4 cp of black dye under the conditions of a driving voltage of 30 v and a driving cycle of 3 kHz, good printing could be performed.
The displacement of the wire was about 20 μm, and the velocity of the particles obtained at this time was in the range of 6 to 10 m / s.

As described above, the advantage of using the wire drive is that a large displacement amount can be obtained as compared with the displacement amount (about 0.1 μm) of a normal piezoelectric element, and therefore the pressure chamber side and the drive side can be detached. It is a thing. As a result of investigating particle formation by changing the driving condition and changing the displacement amount, when the displacement amount was 1 μm or less, no pressure was generated in the pressure chamber, and no displacement was seen in the Menscus in the nozzle. As a displacement amount capable of ejecting ink particles, 1 to 200 μm is suitable, and particularly 5
It was good at 0 to 80 μm.

In this embodiment, when all the ink in the ink tank cassette is consumed, the nozzle, the pressure chamber, and the ink tank can be integrally removed from the drive unit and replaced. Therefore, the cassette is small, and the drive unit is continuously used, which is economical.

In the above-described embodiment, the ink cassette and the ink tank (ink tank cassette) are connected via the connecting hose as shown in FIG. 4, but the ink cassette 21 is not provided as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. It may be integrated with the ink tank 43. In this case, the ink cassette 21 and the ink tank 43 are connected via the supply tube 48. FIG. 10 shows a print head in which this ink cassette 21 is assembled with a wire dot printing type pressure mechanism 20, and a detachable pin 32 is provided as in FIG. In addition, a pin 43a provided on the ink tank 43
Positioning is performed by engaging with the concave portion on the pressure mechanism 20 side.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a case where the third embodiment is applied to the pressurizing mechanism 20 as shown in FIG.
11A shows a state before the nozzle cassette 49 is attached to the pressure mechanism 20, and FIG. 11B shows a state where the nozzle cassette 49 is attached to the pressure mechanism 20. FIG. 12 shows a nozzle cassette 49 configured by integrating the ink cassette 21 and the ink tank 43. 11 and 12,
Portions substantially the same as those in FIGS. 5, 9 and 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In addition, in FIG.
32A and 32B are detachable claws corresponding to the detachable pin 32. The attachment / detachment claws 32A and 32B engage with the convex portions 20y and the concave portions 20z provided on the pressurizing mechanism 20, respectively, so that the plurality of nozzles 21 on the cassette side and the wire pins 23 of the pressurizing mechanism 20 are aligned. Exactly done.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which an electromagnetically driven head is used as the pressing mechanism has been described, but the laminated piezoelectric element 51 may be used as the pressing mechanism as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. . In the figure, reference numeral 52 denotes an ink cassette including a pressure chamber 53, a nozzle 54, and an ink supply port 55. The bottom portion 51a of the laminated piezoelectric element 51 is pressed against the outer wall 53a of the pressure chamber 53 by a pressing portion 56. Member 5
The lower end portion 56a of 6 is detachably attached to the outer wall 53a, and the laminated piezoelectric element 51 can be removed from the ink cassette 52 by separating the lower end portion 56a from the outer wall 53a. Bottom part 5 of laminated piezoelectric element 51
Reference numeral 1a corresponds to the displacement transmitting portion of the pressure mechanism, and the other portions correspond to the driving portion.

The laminated piezoelectric element 51 has a displacement of 0.
Unlike a normal piezoelectric element that is about 1 mm, it has a displacement amount sufficient to operate the ink cassette 21,
By using the laminated piezoelectric element 51 as a pressurizing mechanism, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, in order to efficiently transmit the energy of the drive unit 15 to the pressure chamber 11, the displacement transmission is performed in the same manner as a wire in a normal wire dot printer. It is necessary to sufficiently separate the stationary position of the tip of the portion 14 and the outer wall 11a of the pressure chamber 11. However, in order to reduce the impact sound, for example, the 4A
As shown in the figure, it was effective to keep the stationary position of the distal end of the displacement transmitting section 14 in contact with the outer wall 11a of the pressure chamber 11.

Next, an embodiment in which the energy of the drive unit 15 can be efficiently transmitted to the pressure chamber 11 and the impact sound can be suppressed will be described. FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing the outline of the structure of the fifth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 1A are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the displacement transmitting portion (wire) 14 and the outer wall 1 of the pressure chamber 11 are arranged.
A contractible member 61 is provided between the contracting member 1 and 1a. Member 61
In the illustrated example, is fixed to the outer wall 11a, but it goes without saying that it may be fixed to the tip of the displacement transmitting portion 14. The member 61 can be made of resin such as polyester, polyamide, polystyrene, polyurethane, natural rubber, butadiene rubber, or silicone rubber.

In order to improve the sound absorbing effect of the member 61,
It is preferable to use an elastic member containing bubbles 63 as in the modification shown in FIG. Further, if the distribution density of the bubbles 63 is reduced toward the pressure chamber 11 side as in the modification shown in FIG. 16, the sound absorbing effect is further improved. 15 and 16, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 14 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

While the noise level of the conventional wire dot type printer is 55 to 56 dB, the noise level can be suppressed to about 45 dB by using the member 61 having a thickness of 20 μm in this embodiment. . The suitable thickness of the member 61 is, for example, 10 to 200 μm.

When a plurality of nozzles 24 are provided as in the second embodiment, the member 61 may be provided along the outer wall 25a of the pressure chamber 25 as in the modification shown in FIG.
17, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 3B and 14 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In each of the above embodiments, the outer wall of the pressure chamber is made of, for example, a stainless steel plate. Therefore, in order to pressurize the outer wall to generate sufficient pressure to eject the ink into the pressure chamber, the displacement amount of the outer wall needs to be relatively large. Further, when the operating area of the outer wall is reduced to reduce the size of the print head, it is necessary to increase the displacement amount of the outer wall in proportion to this. Therefore, even if the print head is downsized, if the displacement of the outer wall is increased in order to ensure the ejection of ink, the voltage applied to the drive unit that drives the wire must be increased, resulting in a large power consumption. Will end up.

Therefore, an embodiment in which a small amount of power consumption can ensure the ejection of ink even if the print head is downsized will be described below. FIG. 18 shows a main part of a sixth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 19 shows a state in which a voltage is applied to the drive unit of the sixth embodiment. 18 and 19, the same parts as those in FIG.
The description is omitted.

In this embodiment, the outer wall 11a forming the wall of the pressure chamber 11 opposite to the nozzle 13 is made of, for example, an epoxy resin via a rubber 65 formed in a ring shape from a material having elasticity such as urethane. It is adhered by an adhesive. The rubber plate 65 has a thickness of 10 to 200 μm and an elastic modulus of 0.01 to 0.5 N / m ² . When a voltage is applied to the driving unit 15, the displacement transmitting unit 14 is displaced in the longitudinal direction and presses the outer wall 11a as shown in FIG. 19, and the outer wall 11a is bent inward. At the same time, the rubber plate 65 also receives pressure and is compressed. As a result, the outer wall 11a is further displaced. As a result, pulsed pressure is generated in the pressure chamber 11, and the particles 17 a of the ink 17 are ejected from the nozzle 13.

According to this embodiment, the outer wall 11a is made of the rubber plate 6.
The elastic force of 5 facilitates displacement, and the outer wall 11a can be sufficiently displaced even if the pressure of the drive unit 15 is relatively small. Therefore, the particles 17a of the ink 17 can be reliably ejected. In this embodiment, the pressure chamber 11 has a diameter of 5
00 μm, the length (thickness) of the pressure chamber 11 is 100 μm, the diameter of the nozzle 13 is 50 μm, and the length (thickness) of the nozzle 13 is 2
00 μm, the thickness of the outer wall 11a of the stainless steel plate is 50 μm
m, the diameter of the displacement transmitting unit (wire) 14 is 200 μm, and the displacement of the displacement transmitting unit 14 is 20 to 50 μm. Under this condition, when the ink 17 containing the black dye having the surface tension of 52 dyne / cm and the viscosity of 4 cp is used and the driving voltage of 20 v is applied to the driving unit 15 at the driving cycle of 3 kHz, good printing can be performed. It was confirmed by experiments. In this case, the displacement amount of the displacement transmitting unit 14 is about 20 μm, and the velocity of the obtained particles 17a of the ink 17 is 6 m / s.
Met.

On the other hand, under the same conditions as described above, in the structure without the rubber plate 65 as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, it is possible to obtain the velocity of the particles 17a of the ink 17 of 6 m / s. Had to set the drive voltage to 80V. FIG. 20 shows a modification of the sixth embodiment. 18, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 18 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this modified example, a resin film 65A having elasticity and thermal adhesiveness is provided in place of the rubber plate 65.
That is, the outer wall 11a that constitutes the wall of the pressure chamber 11 on the side opposite to the nozzle 13 has elasticity and thermal adhesiveness, and heat is applied via the film 65A formed in a ring shape by an epoxy-based adhesive resin film, for example. It is glued. The heat adhesion is performed by using the film 65A at the position where the outer wall 11a of the pressure chamber 11 is attached.
And sandwiching them, and heating under pressure, for example, at 80 ° C. for 1 hour to bond them.

Therefore, similarly to the sixth embodiment, the displacement of the outer wall 11a can be easily obtained by the elasticity of the film 65A during driving, and the particles 17a of the ink 17 can be reliably ejected. Using such a print head, a printing experiment was conducted under the above conditions with a driving voltage of 25 V and a driving cycle of 3 kHz. As a result, the speed of the particles 17a of the ink 17 was 6 m / s.

In this way, according to the sixth embodiment and its modification, the outer wall 11a can be formed even if the pressure of the driving portion 15 is small.
Can be sufficiently displaced, so that the voltage applied to the drive unit 15 can be set low. Therefore, power consumption can be saved, reliability can be secured even when the print head is downsized, and running cost can be improved.

The case where urethane rubber or an epoxy adhesive resin film is used for the elastic member 65 (or 65A) has been described. For example, styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, imprene rubber, acrylic rubber,
Synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber and natural rubber, or resin film other than epoxy resin may be used.

By the way, the projection of the displacement transmitting portion (wire) 14 gives a shock to the outer wall (vibrating plate) 11a, and the nozzle 3
In the configuration in which the particles 17a of the ink 17 are ejected from the ink, when the tip 14a of the wire 14 collides with the vibration plate 11a, as shown in FIG.
1 As shown by the middle dotted line, the tip portion 14a may swing. In such a case, the impact force applied to the diaphragm 11a may be weakened or a double impact force may be applied to the diaphragm 11a. Therefore, there is a possibility that the amount and speed at which the particles 17a of the ink 17 are ejected may be reduced, or that the double ejection may reduce the printing quality. Note that, in FIG. 21, parts that are substantially the same as those in FIG. 1A are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, an embodiment in which the particles 17a of the ink 17 can be ejected more reliably and the printing quality can be improved will be described below. FIG. 22 is a sectional view of the essential parts of a seventh embodiment of the print head according to the present invention, and FIG. 23 is a side view of the seventh embodiment. 22 and 23, the substantially same parts as those in FIGS. 3 to 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the wire guide 22 is provided adjacent to the pressure chamber 25. The wire guide 22 is formed with a through hole 22A for restraining the tip end 23A of the wire 23 from swinging. Through hole 22
A is formed at a position where the tip portion 23A of the wire 23 pushes a predetermined portion of the oscillating plate 25a, and in the present embodiment, it is formed at a position where the central portion of the vibrating plate 25a is pushed. Therefore,
The tip portion 23A of the wire 23 can be prevented from swinging,
A predetermined impact force is reliably applied to the pressure chamber 25. Therefore, the particles 17a of the ink 17 can be accurately ejected, and the printing quality can be improved.

In FIG. 23, the ink cassette 21 in which the ink tank 43 storing the ink 17 and the plurality of pressure chambers 25 (25 _{-1 to} 25 _-N ) in which the ink 17 is supplied is formed. Is held on the carriage 71 by the support 73, and the plurality of wires 23 (23
₋₁ to 23 _−N ) is formed so as to be fixed to the carriage 71, which is provided with a driving unit 31 that drives the protrusions selectively.

Further, the nozzle 2 is provided in each pressure chamber 25.
4 (24 _{-1 to} 24 _-N ) are formed, and each pressure chamber 2
By ejecting the wire 23 corresponding to No. 5, the particles 17a of the ink 17 are ejected from the predetermined nozzle 24 in the direction of the arrow B. The particles 17a of the ink 17 are ejected from a predetermined nozzle 24 in the direction of the arrow B, and the carriage 71 is moved to move the pressure mechanism 20 and the ink cassette 2.
1 is moved, and predetermined printing is performed on the recording paper 72. The nozzle 24 is provided on one side of the pressure chamber 25 and the vibration plate 25 is provided on the other side.
a is fixed, and the tip portion 23A impacts the vibrating plate 25a by the protrusion of the wire 23 in the arrow A direction.
Is injected.

When the nozzles 24 (24 _{-1 to} 24 _-N ) are clogged, the pressurizing mechanism 20 is fixed to the carriage 71, and is retained by the carriage 71 by removing the support tool 72. By replacing the ink cassette 21 with a new ink cassette, the ink cassette 21 is repaired, and the printing process can be performed immediately. Since the ink cassette 21 can be formed at low cost, it is considered to be handled as a consumable item, for example.

In this embodiment, the diameter of the through hole 22A is larger than the diameter of the wire 23 by about 10 to 100 μm.
The length of 2 A needs to be larger than 10 to 200 μm if the protruding amount of the wire 23 is about 10 to 200 μm. The diameter of the nozzle 24 is 50 μm, and the length of the nozzle 24 is 2
The pressure chamber 25 has a diameter of 500 μm, the pressure chamber 25 has a length of 200 μm, and the diaphragm 25a has a thickness of 100 μm. Further, the drive unit 31 used in the wire dot printer is used to drive the wire 23 having a diameter of 200 μm.
Is ejected with a protrusion amount of about 20 μm, and the ink 17 containing a black dye having a surface tension of 20 dyne / cm and a viscosity of 2 cp is used.
When printing was performed by supplying a drive voltage of Hz,
It was confirmed that the tip portion 23A of the wire 23 did not swing and a stable ejection speed of the ink particles 17a of 6 m / s was obtained, and good printing was performed.

Further, in such a structure, when the ink cassette 21 is replaced with a new ink cassette due to the clogging of the nozzle 24 as described above, the guide 22 is fixed to the ink cassette 21 side, and therefore the wire 23 is used. It is possible to prevent the displacement of the front end portion 23A. Therefore, the tip portion 23A of the wire 23 is always positioned at a predetermined position of the diaphragm 25a,
Moreover, by suppressing the swinging of the tip portion 23A when the wire 23 is projected, uniform ejection of the ink particles 17a can be obtained.

Although the diaphragm 25a and the wire guide 22 are in contact with each other in FIG. 22, a gap may be formed between the diaphragm 25a and the wire guide 22 as shown in FIG. 3B. By the way, in each of the above embodiments, the area of the vibrating plate (the outer wall of the pressure chamber) must be larger than the area of the tip of the wire. However, since the vibrating plate and the nozzles have a one-to-one correspondence, it is difficult to increase the degree of integration of the nozzles.

Therefore, an embodiment capable of improving the degree of integration of nozzles will be described below. FIG. 24 is a sectional view of an essential part of a print head according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 24, those parts which are substantially the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 3 (b) are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. . In this embodiment, the protrusion 80 is provided at the center of the diaphragm 25a or the center of the tip of the wire 23. When the wire 23 is displaced, the protrusion 80 moves the diaphragm 25.
Since the central portion of a is pushed, the pressure of the wire 23 always acts on the central portion of the diaphragm 25a. Also, wire 2
It is possible to prevent the diaphragm 25a from being perforated due to mechanical abrasion between the diaphragm 3 and the diaphragm 25a. Furthermore, it is not necessary to make the diameter of the wire 23 smaller than the diameter of the pressure chamber 25.

The material of the projection 80 is not particularly limited. For example, when the protrusion 80 is made of the same stainless steel as the diaphragm 25a, the protrusion 80 is formed by the well-known etching technique.
It can be formed on 5a. On the other hand, if the protrusion 80 is formed of an elastic member, in addition to the effect of this embodiment, the same noise countermeasure as that of the fifth embodiment described with reference to FIG. 14 is provided.

Although the arrangement pitch of the wires 23 and the arrangement pitch of the nozzles 24 are equal in this embodiment, the arrangement pitch is not limited to this. Moreover, a plurality of protrusions 80 may be provided for one wire 23, and the shape thereof is not limited to the cylindrical shape. Further, the wire 23 may be provided with a recess that engages with this protrusion.

In each of the above embodiments, the outer wall of the pressure chamber or the vibrating plate is made of a single member. For this reason, even after the wire hits the diaphragm, residual vibration may occur in the diaphragm and the ejection of ink may become unstable. Therefore, an embodiment capable of suppressing the residual vibration of the diaphragm will be described below.

FIG. 25 shows a print head according to the present invention.
9 shows the essential parts of the ninth embodiment. In the figure, substantially the same as FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the parts, and the description thereof will be omitted. Figure 25
The illustration of the wires is omitted. In this embodiment, the diaphragm 2
5a is plate 250_-1~ 250_-NConsists of. Plate 250_-1~ 2
Fifty_-NAre stainless steel, glass, silicon, resin, etc.
Is formed by. Vibration plate 2 required for ejecting ink 17
To obtain the displacement amount of 5a, the plate 250_-1~ 250 _-NThickness
10 to 500 μm is suitable for each of the
The plate 250 for suppressing the residual vibration of the moving plate 25a_-1~ 2
Fifty_-NSo that the total thickness of the layers is 500 μm or less
The thickness of each plate and the total number of plates are specified in.

In order to suppress the residual vibration of the vibration plate 25a, the friction coefficient between the plates forming the vibration plate 25a is optimized. The friction coefficient between the plates can be set by subjecting each plate to a surface treatment. As the method of surface treatment, there are a mechanical surface treatment method and a method of applying grease or wax between the plates.

FIGS. 26A to 26C are views for explaining the mechanical surface treatment applied to the plates 250 _-1 to 250 _-N of the vibration plate 25a. First, as shown in FIG. 26 (a), the plate 250 _-1 to
Each 250- _N is subjected to a well-known mechanical surface treatment to roughen at least one side of each plate. After that, the plate 250 _{-1 to} 25
The 0- _N are overlapped as shown in FIG. 26B, and are bonded and / or welded at the hatched portions to complete the diaphragm 25a. Finally, the diaphragm 25a is bonded and / or welded at the portion shown in FIG.

27A to 27C are plates of the vibration plate 25a.
250_-1~ 250_-NIn the figure explaining the wax application to give
is there. First, as shown in FIG. 27A, the plate 250_-1~ 2
Fifty _-NWax on at least one side of each of the.
After that, as shown in FIG._-NPressure chamber 2
5. Adhesive and / or bonded at the part shown by hatching by incorporating
Welded. This kind of installation is another board 250_-(N-1)~
250_-1As a result of performing
The vibrating plate 25a is incorporated in the pressure chamber 25 as shown in (c).
Be done. In FIG. 27 (c), hatching indicates adhesion and / or melting.
The contacted part is shown.

According to this embodiment, the residual vibration of the vibration plate 25a can be suppressed, so that the ink 17 can be ejected stably. Next, an example in which gradation recording with contrast can be performed will be described. FIG. 28 shows the essential parts of a tenth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.
22, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 22 and 23 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the wire 23 is the diaphragm 25a.
The amount of particles 17a of the ink 17 ejected from the nozzle 24 is controlled by controlling the pressure P applied to the nozzle. The pressure P is controlled by increasing / decreasing the pulse voltage V of the drive signal S and / or increasing / decreasing the pulse width T of the drive signal S supplied to the drive unit 31.

Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
It will be described together with 2. FIG. 29 is a side view of a printer to which this embodiment is applied. The same parts as those in FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 30 shows a block diagram of this embodiment, and FIG. 31 shows a side view of this embodiment. FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the drive mechanism used in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29, the ink cassette (nozzle portion) 21 and the driving mechanism 20 are stacked on the carriage 71, and the guide roller 3 disposed on the outer periphery of the platen 33.
The recording medium 72 is taken in from the paper guide (stacker) 38 by 4, 35 and 36 as shown by arrow E1. Nozzle part 7
After performing the predetermined printing on the recording paper 72 by 1, the paper is ejected from the ejection opening of the printer cover 37 as indicated by arrows E2 to E3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 30, the drive circuit 95
The pulse voltage V or the pulse width T of the drive signal S sent from the drive mechanism 20 to the drive mechanism 20 is set to a predetermined value such as V1 or T1 by a command from the gradation designating section 96. The drive mechanism 20 is driven by sending out a predetermined drive signal S so that the predetermined ink particles 17a are ejected from the nozzle portion 21.

Further, as shown in FIG. 31, the nozzle portion 21 mounted on the carriage 71 and the drive mechanism 20 are arranged so that the wire portion 230 of the drive mechanism 20 is located on the back surface of the nozzle portion 21. A recording paper 72 is stretched on the front surface of the nozzle 21, and an ink tank 43 for supplying the ink 17 is formed in the nozzle portion 21. Therefore, when the ink 17 stored in the ink tank 43 is consumed, the nozzle portion 21 can be easily replaced by removing the nozzle portion 21 from the carriage 71 and attaching a new nozzle portion to the carriage 71.

The drive unit 31 of the drive mechanism 20 is shown in FIG.
The one shown in can be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 32, a piezoelectric element 300 may be used instead of the electromagnetic attraction section 30. In this case, the wire 23 is connected to one end of the piezoelectric element 300, and the piezoelectric element 300 is driven to cause the wire 23 to project in the arrow A direction.

In this embodiment, the surface tension is 52 dyne /
Ink 17 containing a black dye having a viscosity of 4 cp in cm is used. In this case, the voltage V of the drive signal S is 100
When printing was performed with V and a pulse width T of 100 μS, an image with a recording density OD of 1.3 was printed on the recording paper 72. Next, when the voltage V was lowered to 60 V, an image with a recording density OD of 0.7 was obtained. Furthermore, when the voltage V was lowered to 40 V, an image with a recording density OD of 0.2 was obtained. Further, the pulse width T of the drive signal S is 100
When μS was set, an image with a recording density OD of 0.2 to 1.3 was obtained by changing the voltage V from 40V to 100V. When the voltage V of the drive signal S is set to 100V, the recording density OD is similarly 0.2 to 1.3 even if the pulse width T is changed to 50 μS to 100 μS.
It was confirmed that the image of was obtained.

Therefore, by setting the voltage V and / or the pulse width T of the drive signal S sent from the drive circuit 95 to a predetermined value according to a command from the gradation designating section 96 shown in FIG. 30,
The mass of the ink particles 17a ejected from the nozzle portion 21 is controlled, and a gradation image having contrast can be printed.

In the case of a print head having a plurality of nozzles, the gap between the tip of the corresponding wire and the vibrating plate at the stationary position of the wire causes a variation of about several μm due to a manufacturing error or the like. Will end up. However, if the gaps are not all equal, the speed and amount of ink particles ejected from the nozzles differ from nozzle to nozzle, and the recording quality deteriorates.

Therefore, an embodiment which can solve the above problem will be described below. FIG. 33 shows an essential part of an eleventh embodiment of the print head according to the present invention. The parts substantially the same as those in FIG. In this embodiment, the wire guide 22 and the ink cassette (nozzle portion) 2
1 and a spacer 99 made of an insulating material. Further, a contact sensor 108 that detects a current flowing through the resistor R to detect contact between the wire 23 and the protrusion 80, a bias adjustment circuit 109, a driver 110, and a recording signal generation circuit 111 are provided. V _CC represents the power supply.

In FIG. 33, for example, when the power is turned on,
When the boosting signal is applied to the driver 110 by adjusting the variable resistance in the bias adjusting circuit 109, the recording signal generating circuit applies a voltage to the electromagnetic circuit 112 by the driver 110, so that the wire 23 responds to the boosting signal. And gradually move in the direction of arrow A. The wire 23, the diaphragm 25a, and the protrusion 80 are each made of a conductor. Therefore, when the wire 23 contacts the protrusion 80, the contact sensor 108 detects this contact by detecting the current flowing through the resistor R. When contact is detected, the contact sensor 108 supplies a boosting stop signal to the bias adjusting circuit 109 in response to this, and determines the bias voltage V _B. Such an operation is performed for each wire 23, and the bias voltage V _B for each wire 23 is determined separately.

When performing the actual printing operation, the driver 11
The printing voltage V _P applied to the electromagnetic circuit 112 is 0 to the recording voltage V _R from the recording signal generating circuit 111 and the bias voltage V _P.
B is added. As shown in FIG. 34, when the inclination of the trailing edge of the recording voltage V _R is made gentle, the return speed of the wire 23 can be made slower than the residual vibration speed of the vibrating plate 25a. It is possible to suppress the residual vibration of.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram of this embodiment, and FIG. 36 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control circuit. 35, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 33 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 35, for each wire 23 _i , the sensor 108 _i , the bias adjustment circuit 109 _i, and the driver 1
10 _i and an electromagnetic circuit 112 _i are provided, and i =
1, 2, ..., N. Each electromagnetic circuit 112 _i is a core 1
12A, an armature 112B and a coil 112C. The control circuit 120 includes, for example, the recording signal generation circuit 11
The recording voltage V _R from 1 is supplied.

In FIG. 36, in step S1, the power of the printer main body is turned on and the power supply voltage V _CC is supplied to each part of the printer. In step S2, the bias circuit 109
_i is controlled to supply a boosting signal to the driver 110 _i .
In step S3, it is determined whether or not the sensor 108 _i has detected the contact between the wire 23 _i and the corresponding projection 80.
If the determination result is YES, the bias voltage V _B output from the bias adjusting circuit 109 _i is fixed in step S4. The above-mentioned steps S2 to S4 are performed on the respective wires 23 _i to 2 _i.
Performed for 3 _N. Then, in step S5, actual printing is performed.

Each bias voltage V _B is controlled by the control circuit 1
It may be stored in a memory (not shown) in or inside 20. According to the present embodiment, since the bias voltage is supplied to the drive unit so that the pressure on the diaphragm is constant for each wire, the speed and amount of ink particles ejected from the nozzles are constant, and high quality is achieved. Printing is possible. Further, since the wire is always in contact with the corresponding vibration plate, residual vibration of the vibration plate can be suppressed and high-speed printing can be performed. Further, it is possible to prevent noise when the wire and the diaphragm come into contact with each other.

By the way, the above embodiments cannot be used for copying of slips and the like. However, the print head of a wire dot printer can be used for copying.
As described above, since the wire magnetic drive type drive mechanism can be used in each embodiment, it is very convenient if the printing system can be selectively switched between the ink jet system and the impact system by utilizing this. Can also be used.

An embodiment satisfying the above requirements will be described below. 37 (a) and 37 (b) respectively show the essential parts of the twelfth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention,
29 and 31 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 37A shows the case where the ink jet method is used, and FIG. 37B shows the case where the impact method is used.

In FIG. 37A, the nozzle portion 21 is mounted on the print head. Therefore, the operation in this case is the same as that in the case of FIG. 31, for example. In this embodiment, the diameter of the nozzle is 50 μm, the length of the nozzle is 200 μm, the diameter of the pressure chamber is 500 μm, the length of the pressure chamber is 100 μm, the thickness of the vibration plate made of stainless steel is 50 μm, and the diameter of the wire is 200 μm.
μm. As the drive mechanism 20, the piezoelectric drive type mechanism shown in FIG. 32 was used. The ink has a surface tension of 52d.
The one containing a black dye having a viscosity of 4 cp at yne / cm was used. Under these conditions, the drive voltage to the drive unit 31 was set to 20 v at a cycle of 3 kHz, and printing was performed, and good printing was performed. The displacement of the wire was about 20 μm, and the velocity of the ink particles 17a was 6 m / s.

In FIG. 37B, the nozzle portion 21 is removed from the print head, and the ink ribbon 500 is arranged between the tip of the wire and the recording paper 72. The ink ribbon 500 is housed in an ink ribbon cartridge (not shown), and the ink ribbon cartridge is mounted on the print head. In this case, when the drive voltage to the drive unit 31 was set to 100 v, it was confirmed that good copy printing was obtained even when printing was performed using carbon copy paper as the recording paper 72.

The driving conditions of the driving section may be manually switched or automatically switched depending on whether the ink jet method is used or the impact method is used. When the driving conditions are automatically switched, the mounting of the nozzle portion 21 or the ink ribbon cartridge may be detected by a sensor (not shown) or the like.

By the way, the displacement amount of the wire when printing by the impact method is, for example, 200 μm, but it is necessary to bring the print head closer to the platen 33 side because the nozzle portion 21 is removed. FIG. 38 shows a mechanism for moving the print head in the arrow direction A in this embodiment. In FIG. 38, the alternate long and short dash line indicates the ink ribbon cartridge 501 that houses the ink ribbon 500.

In FIG. 38, the print head is provided on the carriage 71 via the moving stage 601. The carriage 71 moves along the guide 710 to the platen 3
3 is movable in the longitudinal direction. When printing is performed by the impact method, the movable stage 601 can be moved in the arrow direction A to a position stopped by the stopper 602 by rotating the lever 605 in the arrow direction G.

Needless to say, the print head according to the present invention can be applied to color printing as well, and the information to be printed is not limited to characters and may be various images. Also,
The above-mentioned plurality of embodiments may be freely combined. Furthermore,
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0097]

According to the first to eleventh aspects of the present invention, the diaphragm can be displaced more largely with the same power consumption as compared with the case where the supporting means is not provided. Claim 12
According to the described invention, the pressure chamber can be detachably provided to the pressurizing means, and the running cost can be reduced.

Therefore, according to the print head of the present invention, the diaphragm can be displaced by a large amount as compared with the conventional one with the same power consumption, and good printing can be performed. The side may be separable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining a first embodiment of a print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts for explaining the first embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of a second embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a connection between an ink cassette and an ink tank according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a pressure mechanism of a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an assembled state of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a main part of a printer to which a second embodiment is applied.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of nozzles.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the connection between the ink cassette and the ink tank in the third embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an assembled state of the third embodiment.

11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a case where the third embodiment is applied to the pressure mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a nozzle cassette.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a pressure mechanism of a fourth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts for explaining a fifth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of a modified example of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of a modified example of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of yet another modification of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a sixth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a sixth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of a modified example of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the swing of the wire.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a seventh embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view showing an essential part of an eighth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a ninth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a mechanical surface treatment performed on a diaphragm plate.

FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining wax coating applied to the plate of the diaphragm.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a tenth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a side view showing a printer to which the tenth embodiment is applied.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing the main parts of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a side view showing the main parts of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a main part of a drive mechanism used in the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the eleventh embodiment of the printhead according to the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a printing voltage.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing an eleventh embodiment.

36 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit in FIG.

FIG. 37 is a side view showing the main parts of the twelfth embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a partial cross-sectional view explaining the operation of the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of an example of a conventional printhead.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the print head of FIG. 39.

FIG. 41 is a main-portion cross-sectional view illustrating another example of a conventional print head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11,25 Pressure chamber 11a, 25a Vibration plate 12,20 Pressurization mechanism 13,24 Nozzle 65 Rubber plate 65a Resin film

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 3-117786 (32) Priority date Hei 3 (1991) May 23 (33) Priority claiming country Japan (JP) (31) Priority Claim Number Japanese Patent Application No. 3-128115 (32) Priority Date May 3 (1991) May 31 (33) Country of priority claim Japan (JP) (72) Inventor Katsunori Yamagishi 2991-3 Iiyama, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A pressure chamber to which ink is supplied, a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber, a vibrating plate forming one wall of the pressure chamber, and a pressure applied to the vibrating plate to eject ink from the nozzle. A print head for performing ink jet printing, comprising a pressurizing means for causing the diaphragm and a supporting means for elastically supporting the diaphragm. 2. The supporting means is provided for facilitating displacement of the vibrating plate when the pressure applying means applies pressure to the vibrating plate, and an elastic member for elastically supporting the vibrating plate. The printhead of claim 1, having. 3. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the pressure chamber has a non-vibrating portion, and the elastic member is provided between the vibrating plate and the non-vibrating portion. 4. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member supports a peripheral portion of the diaphragm, and the pressing unit presses a central portion of the diaphragm. 5. The printhead according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member is made of a material selected from the group consisting of natural rubber and synthetic rubber. 6. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member is made of a resin material. 7. The synthetic rubber is styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, imprene rubber, acrylic rubber,
The printhead of claim 5, wherein the printhead comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicone rubber and urethane rubber. 8. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member is fixed to at least one of the vibrating plate and the non-vibrating portion with an adhesive. 9. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member has both elasticity and thermal adhesiveness. 10. The print head according to claim 2, wherein the elastic member is a film-shaped member. 11. The elastic member is 10 μm to 200 μm.
The printhead according to any one of claims 2 to 10, having a thickness within the range of. 12. A nozzle further comprising an ink tank communicating with the pressure chamber and supplying ink, wherein the pressure chamber and the ink tank are integrally provided and detachable from the pressurizing means. The printhead according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which constitutes a part.