JPH09187937A - Recording head and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily position a recording element substrate to a driving element substrate with a simple constitution. SOLUTION: On a recording element substrate 11, a common electrode 12b that is connected to two or more HfB2 layers 14 that serve as heating elements and individual electrodes 12a are arranged in a row. On a driving element substrate 16, connection electrodes 18a and 18b that are connected to driving elements 17 are arranged in a row. The recording element substrate 11 and the dividing element substrate 16 are positioned to each other and pressed together so that those electrodes come in contact with each other. Positioning electrodes 13a are provided on both sides of the row of the common electrode 12b and the individual electrodes 12a on the recording element substrate 11. Driving side positioning electrodes 19a are also provided on the driving element substrate 16 so that the positioning electrodes 19a come in contact with the positioning electrodes 13a when the driving element substrate 16 is properly positioned to the recording element substrate 11. Thus, positioning between the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 is complete when the positioning electrodes 13a and the driving side positioning electrodes 19a conduct to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording element substrate on which a recording element for recording on a recording medium is formed, and a drive element substrate for driving the recording element according to an electric signal inputted from the outside. The present invention relates to a pressure-applied recording head and a recording apparatus having the recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a recording element unit (recording head) used in an ink jet recording apparatus or the like, for example, FIG.
The following are known. As shown in FIG. 13, this recording element unit is provided on a recording element substrate 101 on which a plurality of recording elements for recording on a recording medium are formed.
A drive element substrate 106 on which a drive element 107 for driving a recording element is formed is joined. The recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 will be sequentially described below.

FIG. 14 shows the recording element substrate shown in FIG.
It is a top view and the A-A 'line sectional view. Shown in FIG.
As described above, the recording element substrate 101 has an H
fB _Two The layer 104 is formed. HfB_Two Layer 104
Is a common electrode 102b made of aluminum and a recording element
Is the aluminum arranged in a row at the edge of the child board 101?
Pattern wiring 10 on the plurality of individual electrodes 102a.
It is connected via 5a and 105b. Each pattern
Lines 105a, 105b and HfB_TwoOn layer 104,
SiO for oxidation and insulation_TwoThe layer 111 is formed.
Furthermore, SiO_TwoHfB of layer 111_TwoOn layer 104
A Ta layer 112 for cavitation resistance is formed on the portion.
The other part is made of ink-proof and insulation
An optical polyimide layer 113 is formed.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the driving element substrate shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the driving element substrate 10
A plurality of connection electrodes 109a respectively corresponding to the individual electrodes 102a of the recording element substrate 101 and two connection electrodes 109b corresponding to the common electrodes 102b of the recording element substrate 101 are formed on the recording medium 6. These connection electrodes 109
a and 109b are arranged in a row, and each drive element 10
7 is connected. Then, the drive element substrate 106
13 is joined to the recording element substrate 101 as shown in FIG. 13, so that the individual electrode 102a is connected to the connection electrode 109a and the common electrode 102b is connected to the connection electrode 109b.

Based on the above configuration, the drive signal from the drive element 107 is supplied to the recording element substrate 10 via the connection electrode 109a.
Given the 1, current flows through the HfB ₂ layer 104, thereby the heat energy is generated in the HfB ₂ layer 104. Recording can be performed on the recording medium by using this thermal energy. For example, in a thermal head, recording is performed by causing the heat-sensitive paper to develop color or melt the ink of the ink ribbon and transfer it to the recording medium by this heat. Further, in the ink jet head, as will be described later, a member having a groove corresponding to the position of the HfB ₂ layer 104 is further fixed on the recording element substrate 101 to form an ink flow path to form an HfB ₂ layer. Recording is performed by ejecting the ink in the ink flow path by the thermal energy generated.

A heating element (recording element) usually composed of such a combination of the HfB ₂ layer 104, the individual electrode 102a and the pattern wirings 105a and 105b is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), a plurality of print element substrates 101 are formed. As a result, a recording apparatus for recording a plurality of dots can be obtained, and the recording speed can be increased. Particularly in today's demand for high-density and high-speed recording, it is common to perform recording of one main scanning line at the same time. Therefore, a recording element unit in which a large number of heating elements are arranged at high density has appeared. There is.

When a plurality of heating elements are arranged on one recording element substrate 101 to record a plurality of dots at the same time,
ON / OFF must be controlled individually for each of the heating elements. Drive element 1 for performing such control
07 can be formed in the recording element substrate 101, but normally it is formed on a substrate different from the recording element substrate 101 as described above, and the substrate is formed on the recording element substrate 101.
Is connected to This is because, when the heating element and the driving element 107 are formed on the same substrate, if one of the heating element and the driving element 107 is defective, the whole is defective even if the other is normal. Is.

On the other hand, as a technique for securely electrically connecting the recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106, there is one disclosed in JP-A-3-121851. According to this, as shown in FIG. 16, the electrodes 102a and 102b of the recording element substrate 101 and the connection electrodes 109a and 109b of the driving element substrate 106 are respectively bump-shaped, and the recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 are formed. And are joined by the pressure welding method. As a result, the recording element substrate 10
1 even if the drive element substrate 106 or the drive element substrate 106 is warped.
As shown in (b), both are surely joined.

Further, each electrode 102 of the recording element substrate 101
a, 102b and each connection electrode 10 of the driving element substrate 106
Since 9a and 109b are arranged in high density, it is necessary to position them accurately. Recording element substrate 10
1 and the drive element substrate 106 are aligned, a member for holding the recording element substrate 101, a jig, or the like is provided with an alignment pin, and the end face of the drive element substrate 106 is abutted to the pin, or the recording is performed. At least one of the element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 is formed of a transparent member, and the positions of the recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 are finely checked while visually checking the positions of the electrodes or using optical means such as a TV camera. The method of adjustment is adopted.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus using the recording element unit shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, the recording element substrate 101 is mounted on the main base 151.
The drive element substrates 106 are fixed to the sub-bases 152, respectively. The sub-base 152 is pressed by the pressure plate 154 via the elastic member 155, whereby the recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 are pressed against each other and electrically connected. In the recording element substrate 101, a groove for forming an ink channel corresponding to the position of the HfB ₂ layer 104 (see FIG. 14), an ink ejection port, and a common liquid chamber for holding ink supplied to each ink channel. A top plate 153 on which (not shown) is formed is fixed. Ink is supplied to the common liquid chamber from an ink tank (not shown) through the filter box 158, the ink supply tube 157, and the ink supply pipe 156.

Further, in this ink jet recording apparatus, the recording element substrate 101 and the driving element substrate 106 are pressure-bonded to each other.
Since it is only pressed by 4, the recording element substrate 10
If a defect occurs in either one of the drive element substrate 106 and the drive element substrate 106, only one of them can be replaced.

[0012]

However, as the density of the electrodes is increased by increasing the density of the recording elements, it is required to align the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate with higher accuracy. However, the conventional alignment method cannot provide sufficient alignment accuracy corresponding to the high density of the recording element. As a result, there may occur a contact failure even if the positional displacement is not a problem in the past. Moreover, in the situation where the electrodes are arranged in high density, it is not only complicated to check whether all the electrodes are in contact with each other reliably, but also equipment for accurately recognizing the position of the electrodes is provided. Will be needed.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording head which can easily align the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate with a simple structure, and a recording apparatus using the recording head. And

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the recording head of the present invention is electrically connected to a plurality of recording elements for recording on a recording medium based on an electric signal and the respective recording elements. A recording element substrate having a plurality of electrodes formed thereon, and a driving element substrate having a driving element for driving the recording element and a plurality of connection electrodes electrically connected to the driving element. A recording head in which the electrodes and the connection electrodes are electrically connected by aligning the electrodes and the connection electrodes and press-contacting the recording element substrate and the drive element substrate. In each of the pressure contact portions of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate, there is provided electrical detection means for changing an electrical connection state according to a relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate. And wherein the Rukoto.

The electrical detection means is a positioning electrode provided on the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate, or is provided on one of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate. A conductive contact is provided in which a wiring electrode extending in a direction perpendicular to the alignment direction is provided in a protruding manner at a position facing the wiring electrode on the other substrate and the electric resistance that passes through the inside, and comes into contact with the electric resistor during alignment. It may have a needle.

When the electrical detection means is a positioning electrode, two sets of the positioning electrode may be provided on both sides of the array of the electrode and the connection electrode, or the recording element substrate and the driving device. It may be provided at a position where the element substrate and the element substrate come into contact with each other when they are pressed into contact with each other in a good alignment state.

In this case, the contactable range of the positioning electrode is made narrower than the contactable range of the electrode and the connection electrode, or the electrode, the connection electrode and the positioning electrode are respectively with respect to the substrate surface. It may be a bump-shaped electrode provided so as to be raised, and further, the height of the positioning electrode of at least one of the positioning electrode of the recording element substrate and the positioning electrode of the driving element substrate may be set to It may be higher than the height of the connection electrode.

Further, among the positioning electrodes, a plurality of positioning electrodes of one of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are provided with respect to the positioning electrodes of the other substrate, the recording element substrate and the recording element substrate, respectively. When the drive element substrate is pressed into contact with the drive element substrate in a good alignment state, the positioning electrodes of the one substrate are arranged so as to surround the positioning electrodes provided on the other substrate in a non-contact manner, or all of them are otherwise arranged. It may be arranged so as to come into contact with the positioning electrode provided on the substrate.

In the case where the electrical detecting means has an electric resistor and a contact needle, the set of the electric resistor and the contact needle is provided on both sides of the arrangement of the electrode and the connecting electrode. , Two sets in which the respective wiring electrodes extend in different directions, or the height obtained by adding the electric resistor and the contact needle is higher than the height obtained by adding the electrode and the connection electrode. The contact needle may buckle and the electrode and the connection electrode may come into contact with each other by pressing the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate under pressure.

On the other hand, a recording element substrate provided with a plurality of recording elements for recording on a recording medium based on an electric signal and a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to each recording element, and the recording element. A drive element for driving a drive element and a drive element substrate provided with a plurality of connection electrodes electrically connected to the drive element, and the recording is performed by aligning the electrodes with the connection electrodes. In a recording head in which the electrodes and the connection electrodes are electrically connected to each other by pressing the element substrate and the driving element substrate under pressure, the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are arranged at a constant interval. It is characterized in that the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are aligned by holding them in a non-contact manner and detecting the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitance between the electrode and the connection electrode. Even There.

In the above-mentioned recording head, the recording element is a heating element that generates thermal energy by applying an electric signal, and the recording element substrate has a groove forming a liquid flow path corresponding to the position of the heating element. It is also possible to fix the formed member and perform recording on the recording medium by ejecting the ink in the liquid flow path by using the thermal energy.

The recording apparatus of the present invention comprises any one of the recording heads of the present invention, and the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate of the recording head are replaceable.

In the recording head of the present invention constructed as described above, the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are aligned so that the electrodes of the recording element substrate and the connection electrodes of the driving element substrate are in contact with each other. Here, an electrical detection unit that changes the electrical connection state according to the relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate is provided at a portion of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate that face each other. Therefore, by determining the relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate based on the electrical connection state obtained from the electrical detecting means, the alignment of the both can be performed easily and accurately.

The change in the electrical connection state referred to here is, for example, conduction when the recording element substrate and drive element substrate are properly aligned, but no conduction otherwise. Or vice versa, and further, it means that the electric resistance value between the electric detection means changes according to the relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate.

Further, in the case of aligning by utilizing the electrostatic capacitance between the electrode of the recording element substrate and the connecting electrode of the driving element substrate, a special structure for aligning both substrates is not required. .

[0026]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1A and 1B are views for explaining a first embodiment of a recording head according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the recording element substrate, and FIG. It is a top view of an element substrate.

First, the recording element substrate 11 will be described. In FIG. 1A, the individual electrode 12a and the common electrode 1
2b, HfB ₂ layer 14 and pattern wirings 15a, 15b
Since it is the same as the conventional one shown in FIG. 14A, its description is omitted. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, the SiO ₂ layer, the photosensitive polyimide layer and the Ta layer are also formed in the same manner as in FIG. 14B.

The major difference between the recording element substrate 11 of the present embodiment and the conventional one is the common electrode 12b, which is the outermost electrode in the array of the individual electrodes 12a and the common electrode 12b.
This is the point that the positioning electrodes 13a are respectively formed at two positions further outside. Each positioning electrode 13a is located at a joint with a drive element substrate 16 described later,
The individual electrodes 12a and the common electrodes 12b are arranged in the same row as the array. Further, the printing element substrate 11 is provided with output electrodes 13b electrically connected to the respective positioning electrodes 13a.

Next, the drive element substrate 16 will be described. In FIG. 1B, the driving element 17 and the connection electrode 1
Since 8a and 18b are the same as the conventional one shown in FIG. 15, the description thereof will be omitted. In the drive element substrate 16 of the present embodiment, drive side positioning electrodes 19a are formed at two positions further outside the connection electrode 18b which is located at the outermost side in the array of the connection electrodes 18a and 18b. Each drive-side positioning electrode 19a is arranged on the same row as the array of the connection electrodes 18a and 18b, and at a position corresponding to the positioning electrode 13a of the recording element substrate 11. Further, on the drive element substrate 16, drive-side output electrodes 19b electrically connected to the drive-side base determining electrodes 19a are formed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 are overlapped with their electrode forming portions facing each other and pressed to contact each other, so that the individual electrodes 12a and the connection electrodes 18a are electrically connected. And the common electrode 12b and the connection electrode 18b are electrically connected.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, if both the corresponding positioning electrodes 13a and the driving side positioning electrodes 19a are electrically connected, all the electrodes between them are also electrically connected. Will be. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when only one set of the corresponding set of the positioning electrode 13a and the drive side positioning electrode 19a is electrically connected, the electrodes between them are electrically connected. Some are not connected with. Of course, when the positioning electrode 13a and the drive side positioning electrode 19a are not electrically connected at all, most or all of the electrodes between them are not electrically connected.

Therefore, by checking the electrical connection between the positioning electrode 13a and the driving side positioning electrode 19a, it is possible to judge whether or not the alignment between the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 is good. That is, two sets of corresponding positioning electrodes 13a and driving side positioning electrodes 1
The conduction state with 9a is checked, and if the two sets are in the conduction state, the alignment between the recording element substrate 11 and the drive element substrate 16 is good, and in other cases, the alignment is not good. it can.

The output electrode 13b and the drive-side output electrode 19b are used to check the electrical connection between the positioning electrode 13a and the drive-side positioning electrode 19a. In particular,
Whether or not the positioning electrode 13a and the driving side positioning electrode 19a are in a conductive state by bringing the probe of the tester into contact with the corresponding output electrode 13b and the driving side output electrode 19b and detecting the current flowing therebetween. You can look up. In the present embodiment, the recording element substrate 11
When the drive element substrate 16 and the drive element substrate 16 are pressed together, the output electrode 1
3b and the drive side output electrode 19b are located on the surfaces facing each other. As a result, when it is difficult to bring the probe into contact with the output electrode 13b and the drive-side output electrode 19b, either the output electrode 13b or the drive output electrode 19b is formed on the back surface. However, the output electrode 13b and the drive-side output electrode 19b may be located on the same surface.

As described above, by providing the positioning electrode 13a and the driving side positioning electrode 19a, whether or not the alignment between the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 is good only by checking the conduction state between them. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine the position of the recording element substrate 11 and the drive element substrate 16 with each other. Moreover, since the positioning electrode 13a and the driving side positioning electrode 19a can be formed in the same manner as the other electrodes, the manufacturing and structure of the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 are simple. Further, the recording element substrate 11
Whether or not the alignment between the drive element substrate 16 and the drive element substrate 16 is good is determined only by checking the conduction state between the positioning electrode 13a and the drive side positioning electrode 19a, and therefore a simple algae can be used as the equipment therefor.

Further, when an ink jet recording apparatus as shown in FIG. 17 is constructed by using the recording head described above, for example, a defect occurs in the recording element substrate 11 and it becomes necessary to replace the recording element substrate 11. At this time, since the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 can be easily aligned with each other as described above, the recording element substrate 11 can be easily replaced. The same applies when replacing the drive element substrate 16. The configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus is the same as that of the conventional inkjet recording apparatus described with reference to FIG. 17, except for the recording element substrate 11 and the drive element substrate 16, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

In the embodiment described above, the positioning electrode 13a and the driving-side positioning electrode 19a are considered in consideration of the shift of the recording element substrate 11 and the driving element substrate 16 in the lateral direction as shown in FIG. Although an example in which two sets are provided has been described, the positioning in the lateral direction is sufficient by means such as abutting, and when only the positioning in the longitudinal direction becomes a problem, the positioning electrode and 13a One driving side positioning electrode 19a may be provided for each.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a recording head of the present invention, taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate. FIG. 17 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 16 described in FIG.

Also in this embodiment, the individual electrodes 22a and the common electrode 22 are provided on the recording element substrate 21 as in the first embodiment.
b and the positioning electrode 12a are formed, while the connection electrodes 28a and 28b and the driving side positioning electrode 29a are formed on the drive element substrate 26. And the positioning electrode 2
The conduction state between 3a and the drive side positioning electrode 29a is detected, and the recording element substrate 21 and the drive element substrate 26 are aligned. The difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the positions of the corresponding two sets of positioning electrodes 23a and drive-side positioning electrodes 29a are relatively displaced in different directions. The rest of the configuration is similar to that of the first embodiment, so its explanation is omitted.

By thus shifting the relative position of the positioning electrode 23a and the driving side positioning electrode 29a, the positioning electrode 23a and the driving side positioning when the recording element substrate 21 and the driving element substrate 26 are aligned with each other. Electrode 29a
The contact area with As a result, the permissible range of deviation between the recording element substrate 21 and the driving element substrate 26 due to the contact between the corresponding positioning electrode 23a and the driving side positioning electrode 29a is narrowed, and the positioning accuracy of both is improved.
The amount of displacement between the positioning electrode 23a and the driving-side positioning electrode 29a depends on the dimensional accuracy and the positional accuracy when the electrodes 22a and 22b of the recording element substrate 21 and the connection electrodes 28a and 28b of the driving element substrate 26 are formed. If appropriately set, the corresponding two sets of the positioning electrode 23a and the driving side positioning electrode 29a are electrically connected to each other, so that the individual electrode 22a and the common electrode 22b of the recording element substrate 21 and the connection electrodes 28a and 28b of the driving element substrate 26 are connected. The electrical connection with can be reliably performed.

Here, the contact area between the positioning electrode 23a and the driving-side positioning electrode 29a is reduced by shifting the positions of the positioning electrode 23a and the driving-side positioning electrode 29a to improve the positioning accuracy. However, as shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. The width itself of the positioning electrode 23a 'formed on 21' and the driving side positioning electrode 29a 'formed on the drive element substrate 26' may be reduced. FIG. 6 shows a comparison of the allowable range of deviation between the case where the width of the positioning electrode 23a and the drive side positioning electrode 29a is the same as the conventional case and the case where the width is small. FIG. 6A shows a case where the widths of the positioning electrodes 23a and the driving side positioning electrode 29a are the same as those in the conventional case. In this case, in order for the positioning electrode 23a and the driving side positioning electrode 29a to come into contact with each other, a shift of the range C is allowed. on the other hand,
FIG. 6B shows a case where the widths of the positioning electrode 23a 'and the driving side positioning electrode 29a' are reduced. In this case, the positioning electrode 23a 'and the driving side positioning electrode 29
The range D allowed for contact with a ′ is shown in FIG.
The size is smaller than that in the above case, and more accurate alignment is possible.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of a recording head according to the present invention, taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate. ) Shows a state before pressure welding, and (b) shows a state after pressure welding.

In this embodiment, the individual electrodes 32a, the common electrodes 32b, and the positioning electrodes 33a formed on the recording element substrate 31 are formed in bumps protruding from the substrate surface, and the connection electrodes formed on the driving element substrate 36 are formed. 38a,
38b and the drive side positioning electrode 39a also have the same bump shape. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

For example, assuming that the electrodes are substantially flat with respect to the surface of the substrate as in the first embodiment, the recording element substrate 31
When one or both of the driving element substrate 36 is warped or deformed, when the recording element substrate 31 and the driving element substrate 36 are pressed together, some electrodes may not come into contact with each other. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, each of the electrodes 32a, 32
By forming the bumps b, 33a, 38a, 38b, 39a, the printing element substrate 31 and the driving element substrate 36 are pressed against each other even when the printing element substrate 31 or the driving element substrate 36 is warped or the like. Each electrode 32a, 32
b, 33a, 38a, 38b, 39a are compressed, and the warp of the recording element substrate 31 and the driving element substrate 36 is absorbed. As a result, each electrode 32a, 32b, 33a, 38
a, 38b, 39a surely come into contact with each other, and the recording element substrate 3
1 and the drive element substrate 36 are reliably electrically connected.

Here, each electrode 32 of the recording element substrate 31
a, 32b, 33a and each electrode 38 of the drive element substrate 36
An example in which a, 38b, and 39a have bump shapes is shown.
Only the electrodes of either one of the substrates may have the bump shape.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a recording head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate. ) Is a state before pressure welding, (b) is a state where alignment is performed,
(C) shows the state after pressure welding.

This embodiment is basically the same as the third embodiment, except that the positioning electrode 43 on the recording element substrate 41 is used.
The height of a is made higher than the height of the individual electrode 42a and the common electrode 42b, and the height of the drive side positioning electrode 49a of the drive element substrate 46 is also set to the connection electrodes 48a, 4a.
It is different from the third embodiment in that the height is higher than 8b. Other configurations are similar to those of the third embodiment.

The height difference between the individual electrode 42a, the common electrode 42b, and the positioning electrode 43a on the recording element substrate 41 is, for example, higher than that of the individual electrode 42a and the common electrode 42b in the plating process for forming these bumps. It can be easily obtained by passing a current through the electrode 43a for a long time. The same applies to the drive element substrate 46.

In this embodiment, the printing element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 are aligned with each other in the following procedure. First,
As shown in FIG. 8B, the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 are aligned so that the positioning electrode 43a and the driving-side positioning electrode 49a come into contact with each other. At this time, the individual electrode 42a, the connection electrode 48a, and the common electrode 42b
Since there is no contact between the connection electrode 48b and the connection electrode 48b, no damage occurs to these electrodes. After confirming the conduction between the positioning electrode 43a and the driving-side positioning electrode 49a and aligning the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46, FIG.
As shown in (c), the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 are brought into pressure contact with each other. As a result, the positioning electrode 43a and the driving side positioning electrode 49a are compressed, and all the individual electrodes 42a and the connection electrodes 48a and the common electrode 42b and the connection electrode 48b come into contact with each other.

In the third embodiment, when the recording element substrate 41 or the driving element substrate 46 is warped or deformed or the heights of the electrodes 42a, 42b, 48a, 48b are varied, the positioning electrode 43a is used. In order to surely bring the drive-side positioning electrode 49a into contact with the drive-side positioning electrode 49a, the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 may be aligned while being pressed. However, if the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 are aligned while being pressed against each other, the electrodes 42a, 42b, 48a, 48b may be damaged, and the electrodes 42a, 42b of the recording element substrate 41 and the driving element substrate 46 may be damaged. May cause a connection failure with each of the electrodes 48a and 48b.

Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the height of the positioning electrode 43a and the driving side positioning electrode 49a is made higher than the height of the other electrodes 42a, 42b, 48a, 48b, so that the individual electrode 42a and the common electrode 42b are formed. Since it is not necessary to align the connection electrodes 48a and 48b while pressing them, damage to these electrodes is prevented. As a result, connection failure is prevented and a more reliable recording head can be obtained.

(Fifth Embodiment) In each of the above-described embodiments, the positioning electrode and the driving-side positioning electrode are provided so as to correspond to each other in a one-to-one relationship.
In the present embodiment, a case where a plurality of drive-side positioning electrodes are provided for one positioning electrode will be described.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the fifth embodiment of the recording head of the present invention, and schematically shows the arrangement of the driving side positioning electrodes with respect to the positioning electrodes. Since other configurations may be the same as those in the above-described respective embodiments, the following description focuses on the arrangement of the drive-side positioning electrodes with respect to the positioning electrodes.

In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the positioning electrode 53a formed on the recording element substrate (not shown) has a cross shape, and the positioning electrode 53a corresponds to the position of the concave portion of the positioning electrode 53a. Four drive side positioning electrodes 59a are provided on the drive element substrate (not shown) so as to surround the periphery of
Is formed. In a state where the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are properly aligned, the positioning electrode 53a is not in contact with any driving side positioning electrode 59a. Further, individual drive-side output electrodes (not shown) are electrically connected to the respective drive-side positioning electrodes 59a.

Based on the above structure, the positioning of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate is performed on condition that the positioning electrode 53a is not electrically connected to all the driving side positioning electrodes 59a. In this process, information about which drive-side positioning electrode 59a the positioning electrode 53a is electrically connected to is monitored. This makes it possible to determine in which direction the substrate should be moved in order to perform good alignment, and it is possible to more easily align the recording element substrate and the drive element substrate.

In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the positioning electrode 53a 'has a rectangular shape, and four driving side positioning electrodes 59a' are arranged along each side thereof. Others are shown in Figure 9.
This is the same as that shown in FIG. Even if the positioning electrode 53a 'and the driving side positioning electrode 59a' are arranged in this way, they can be aligned in the same manner as shown in FIG. 9A.

In the example shown in FIG. 9C, four driving side positioning electrodes 59a "are arranged adjacent to each other in two rows and two columns, and the positioning electrode 53a" is arranged at the center of the driving side positioning electrodes 59a ". In this case, the positioning is performed on the condition that the positioning electrode 53a ″ is electrically connected to all the driving side positioning electrodes 59a ″. If there is a driving-side positioning electrode 59a "that is not in contact, the positioning can be easily performed by moving the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate relative to each other so that the positioning electrode 53a" moves in that direction. it can.

As described above, by disposing a plurality of drive-side positioning electrodes 59a, 59a ', 59a "for one positioning electrode 53a, 53a', 53a", a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate are formed. It is possible not only to confirm the good alignment state of the print head, but also to determine in which direction the substrate should be moved in order to perform the good alignment. The alignment becomes easier, and it greatly contributes to the improvement of the efficiency of the alignment work.

In this embodiment, one positioning electrode 53 is used.
Although an example in which a plurality of drive-side positioning electrodes 59a, 59a ', 59a "are provided for a, 53a', 53a" is shown, conversely, for one drive-side positioning electrode, surround them. A plurality of positioning electrodes may be provided at various positions.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a sixth embodiment of a recording head according to the present invention, taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate. )
Is a state before pressure welding, (b) is a state where alignment is performed,
(C) shows the state after pressure welding. Also, FIG.
3 is a plan view of the drive element substrate shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are aligned in the lateral direction by means such as butting, and the present invention is applied only to the longitudinal alignment. Show.

As shown in FIG. 11, the drive element substrate 66 is provided with electric resistors 69a in the same row as the arrangement direction of the connection electrodes 68a and 68b. Inside the electric resistor 69a, a conductive wiring electrode 69c passes along the lateral direction of the drive element substrate 66, and the drive side output electrode 69b is electrically connected to the end of the wiring electrode 69c. It is connected to the. Examples of the electric resistor 69a include graphite and N.
Although an i-Cr alloy or the like is used, any material can be used as long as it can withstand a certain amount of friction and has a certain electric resistance value.
Further, the connection electrodes 68a and 68b are arranged in the lateral direction of the drive element substrate 66 so that the connection electrodes 68a and 68b can be satisfactorily connected even when the drive element substrate 66 is aligned in the lateral direction even in a relatively rough position such as butting. It is desirable to have an elongated shape.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, at the position of the recording element substrate 61 facing the wiring electrode 69c of the driving element substrate 66 when the alignment with the driving element substrate 66 is good, a metallic member is formed. The contact needle 63a is projected. The contact needle 63a is electrically connected to the output electrode (not shown) like the positioning electrode of each of the above-described embodiments. Contact needle 63
The material and the thickness of a are selected such that they will buckle when the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66, which will be described later, are brought into pressure contact with each other. Further, as shown in FIG.
In the state where 3a is in contact with the electric resistor 69a, the height of the contact needle 63a and the individual electrode 62a and the common electrode 62b of the recording element substrate 61 do not contact the connection electrodes 68a and 68b of the driving element substrate 66. The thickness of the electric resistor 69a is set.

Based on the above construction, when the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are aligned, the contact needle 63a and the electric resistor 69a are brought into contact with each other as shown in FIG. Output electrode of substrate 61 and drive element substrate 6
A voltage is applied between the wiring electrode 69c and the contact needle 63a through the drive-side output electrode 6 of FIG. At this time, if the position of the drive element substrate 66 with respect to the recording element substrate 61 is not set correctly, the distance between the wiring electrode 69c and the contact needle 63a becomes large as compared with the case where it is set correctly, so that the electric resistor The resistance value at 69a increases and the current value increases. By utilizing this phenomenon, the printing element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are aligned by finding the position where the current value between the wiring electrode 69c and the contact needle 63a becomes minimum.

After the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are aligned, as shown in FIG. 10C, the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are pressed against each other. As a result, the contact needle 63a buckles, and the individual electrode 62a and the connection electrode 68 are
a, and the common electrode 62b and the connection electrode 68b are electrically connected.

As described above, the change in the value of the current flowing between the wiring electrode 69c and the contact needle 63a is used to perform the alignment between the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66, whereby the fifth element is formed. As in the case of the embodiment, information about in which direction the substrate should be moved in order to perform favorable alignment is given, which greatly contributes to the improvement of the efficiency of alignment work. Further, in the present embodiment, since the individual electrodes 62a and the common electrode 62b of the recording element substrate 61 and the connection electrodes 68a and 68b of the driving element substrate 66 can be aligned without contacting each other, the alignment process Therefore, it can be said that it is superior to the fifth embodiment in that these electrodes are not damaged.

Here, an example is shown in which the wiring electrode 69c is provided along the lateral direction of the driving element substrate 66 and the recording element substrate 61 and the driving element substrate 66 are aligned in the longitudinal direction. 66, an electric resistor different from the electric resistor 69a is provided by changing the direction of the wiring electrode passing through the inside thereof, and a corresponding contact needle is also provided on the recording element substrate 61, so that only the longitudinal direction can be obtained. Instead, the alignment in the lateral direction can also be performed. Further, the recording element substrate 61 is provided with a contact needle 63a, and the drive element substrate 66 is provided with a wiring electrode 69c.
Although the example in which the electric resistance 69a and the electric resistor 69a are provided is shown, they may be provided in reverse.

(Seventh Embodiment) FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a seventh embodiment of a recording head according to the present invention, taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate. )
Shows a state at the time of alignment, and (b) shows a state after pressure contact.

In this embodiment, only the individual electrodes 72a and the common electrodes 72b of the recording element substrate 71 and the connection electrodes 78a and 78b of the driving element substrate 76 are provided in the pressure contact portion between the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76. Has been. That is, the recording element substrate 71 and the drive element substrate 76 are not provided with a special structure for alignment such as the positioning electrodes and the electric resistors as in the above-described embodiments.

When the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76 are aligned with each other based on the above configuration, first, FIG.
As shown in (a), the individual electrodes 7 on the recording element substrate 71
The distance d between the 2a and the common electrode 72b and the connection electrodes 78a and 78b on the drive element substrate 76 is kept constant. In this state, a positive charge is applied to the individual electrode 72a and the common electrode 72b, and a negative charge is applied to the connection electrodes 78a and 78b. Then, the electrode rows facing each other act as a minute capacitor, and the capacitance thereof changes according to the relative position between the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76, that is, the facing area of the electrode rows. Utilizing this,
The recording element substrate 71 has a maximum capacitance value.
And the driving element substrate 76 are relatively moved in parallel to align them.

After the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76 are aligned with each other, as shown in FIG. 12B, the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76 are brought into pressure contact with each other, and the recording element substrate 71 is placed on the recording element substrate 71. The individual electrodes 72a and the common electrode 72b are electrically connected to the connection electrodes 78a and 78b on the drive element substrate 76.

As described above, the recording element substrate 7 is utilized by utilizing the capacitance between the electrodes originally provided for the electrical connection between the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76.
By aligning 1 with the drive element substrate 76,
Even if the recording element substrate 71 and the driving element substrate 76 are not provided with a special structure for alignment, they can be aligned easily and accurately. Furthermore, each electrode 7
Since the alignment can be performed without bringing the 2a, 72b, 78a, and 78b into contact with each other, damage to the electrodes during the alignment can be prevented.

[0073]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

In the recording head of the present invention, the electrical connection state is changed at the portions of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate which face each other, in which the electrical connection state changes according to the relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate. By providing the detection means, based on the electrical connection state obtained from this electrical detection means,
The recording element substrate and the driving element substrate can be easily and accurately aligned.

Here, in the case where the electrical detecting means is used as the positioning electrodes, it is only necessary to check the conduction state between the positioning electrodes to determine whether or not the alignment between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate is good. With the configuration, both substrates can be easily aligned. In this case, by making the contactable range of the positioning electrode narrower than the contactable range of the electrode and the connection electrode, more accurate alignment can be performed, and the height of the positioning electrode of at least one substrate can be set to the electrode. Also, by making the height higher than the height of the connection electrode, it is possible to perform alignment without fear of damage to the electrode and the connection electrode. Furthermore, by providing a plurality of positioning electrodes for the other substrate with respect to the positioning electrodes for the other substrate, it is possible to obtain information about the moving direction of the substrate when aligning the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate. Therefore, the alignment of both substrates can be performed more easily.

Further, in the case where the electrical detection means is composed of the electric resistor and the contact needle through which the wiring electrode passes, the wiring electrode contacts with the wiring electrode when the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are aligned. Since information about in which direction the substrate should be moved can be obtained from the resistance value between the needle and the needle, the alignment of both substrates can be performed more easily.

On the other hand, in the case of using the capacitance between the electrodes of the recording element substrate and the connection electrodes of the driving element substrate for alignment, a special structure for aligning both substrates is not required. With a simple structure, the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate can be aligned easily and accurately.

Since the recording apparatus of the present invention is equipped with the recording head of the present invention and the alignment of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate becomes easy, the recording element substrate or the driving element substrate can be easily replaced. Can be done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a recording head of the present invention, FIG. 1A is a plan view of a recording element substrate thereof,
(B) is a plan view of the drive element substrate.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate shown in FIG. 1 are properly positioned.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate shown in FIG. 1 are not properly positioned.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the recording head according to the present invention taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate, where (a) is a state before pressure contact and (b) is a state. Indicates the state after pressure welding.

5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a modified example of the second embodiment of the recording head of the present invention, FIG. 5A is a plan view of the recording element substrate, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of the driving element substrate. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram for comparing allowable ranges of deviation between the positioning electrodes of the recording element substrate and the driving-side positioning electrodes of the driving element substrate due to the difference in width between the positioning electrodes.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the recording head of the present invention taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a drive element substrate, (a) showing a state before pressure welding, and (b) showing the state. Indicates the state after pressure welding.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a recording head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a drive element substrate, where (a) is a state before pressure contact and (b) is a state. Shows a state where alignment is performed, and (c) shows a state after pressure welding.

9A and 9B are views for explaining a fifth embodiment of the recording head of the present invention, in which FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C schematically show the arrangement of the driving-side positioning electrodes with respect to the positioning electrodes. It is the figure shown.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the sixth embodiment of the recording head of the present invention, taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate, where (a) is a state before pressure contact and (b) is a sectional view. Shows a state where alignment is performed, and (c) shows a state after pressure welding.

11 is a plan view of the driving element substrate shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a recording head according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention taken along a pressure contact portion between a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate, in which (a) is a state at the time of alignment, and (b) is a sectional view. ) Indicates the state after pressure welding.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing an arrangement of a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate of a conventional recording element unit.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the recording element substrate shown in FIG. 13 and a sectional view taken along the line AA ′.

15 is a plan view of the driving element substrate shown in FIG.

16 is a BB ′ of the recording element unit shown in FIG.
It is a line sectional view, (a) shows the state before press contact, and (b) shows the state after press contact.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording head using the recording element unit shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Recording Element Substrate 12a Individual Electrode 12b Common Electrode 13a Positioning Electrode 13b Output Electrode 14 HfB2 Layers 15a, 15b Pattern Wiring 16 Drive Element Substrate 17 Drive Elements 18a, 18b Connection Electrode 19a Drive Side Positioning Electrode 19b Drive Side Output Electrode 63a Contact Needle 69a Electric resistor 69c Wiring electrode

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A recording element substrate provided with a plurality of recording elements for recording on a recording medium based on an electric signal and a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to each recording element, and the recording element. A drive element for driving a drive element and a drive element substrate provided with a plurality of connection electrodes electrically connected to the drive element, and the recording is performed by aligning the electrodes with the connection electrodes. In a recording head in which the electrodes and the connection electrodes are electrically connected to each other by pressing the element substrate and the driving element substrate under pressure, the pressure contact portions of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are connected to each other. A recording head comprising: an electrical detection unit that changes an electrical connection state according to a relative positional relationship between the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate. 2. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the electrical detection means are positioning electrodes provided on the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate, respectively. 3. The recording head according to claim 2, wherein two sets of the positioning electrodes are provided on both sides of the array of the electrodes and the connection electrodes, respectively. 4. The positioning electrode according to claim 2, wherein the positioning electrode is provided at a position where the recording element substrate and the drive element substrate come into contact with each other when they are pressed into contact with each other in a favorable alignment state. Recording head. 5. The recording head according to claim 4, wherein a contactable range of the positioning electrode is narrower than a contactable range of the electrode and the connection electrode. 6. The recording head according to claim 4, wherein the electrode, the connection electrode, and the positioning electrode are bump-shaped electrodes provided so as to bulge with respect to the substrate surface. 7. The height of the positioning electrode of at least one of the positioning electrode of the recording element substrate and the positioning electrode of the driving element substrate is higher than the height of the electrode and the connection electrode. Recording head. 8. Among the positioning electrodes, a plurality of positioning electrodes of one of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are provided with respect to the corresponding positioning electrodes of the other substrate, and the recording elements are respectively provided. The positioning electrode of the one substrate is arranged so as to surround the positioning electrode of the other substrate in a non-contact manner when the substrate and the driving element substrate are pressed into contact with each other in a good alignment state. The recording head according to item 3. 9. Among the positioning electrodes, a plurality of positioning electrodes of one of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are provided with respect to the corresponding positioning electrodes of the other substrate, and each of the recording elements is provided. 3. The substrate and the driving element substrate are arranged so that all the positioning electrodes of the one substrate come into contact with the positioning electrodes of the other substrate when pressed against each other in a good alignment state. The recording head according to item 3. 10. The electrical detection means is provided on either one of the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate, and has an electrical resistor body through which a wiring electrode extending in a direction perpendicular to the alignment direction passes. 2. The recording head according to claim 1, further comprising: a conductive contact needle that is provided so as to project from the substrate of the substrate at a position facing the wiring electrode and comes into contact with the electric resistor during alignment. 11. The two sets of the electric resistor and the contact needle are provided on both sides of the array of the electrodes and the connection electrodes such that the wiring electrodes extend in different directions. The recording head described in 1. 12. The total height of the electric resistor and the contact needle is higher than the total height of the electrode and the connection electrode, and the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are pressed against each other. 12. The recording head according to claim 10, wherein the contact needle buckles and the electrode and the connection electrode are brought into contact with each other. 13. A recording element substrate provided with a plurality of recording elements for performing recording on a recording medium based on an electric signal and a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to each recording element, and the recording element. A drive element for driving a drive element and a drive element substrate provided with a plurality of connection electrodes electrically connected to the drive element, and the recording is performed by aligning the electrodes with the connection electrodes. In the recording head in which the electrodes and the connection electrodes are electrically connected to each other by pressing the element substrate and the driving element substrate under pressure, the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are arranged at a constant interval. A recording head, wherein the recording element substrate and the driving element substrate are aligned by holding them in a non-contact manner and detecting the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitance between the electrode and the connection electrode. 14. The recording element is a heating element that generates heat energy by applying an electric signal, and the recording element substrate is provided with a groove forming a liquid flow path corresponding to the position of the heating element. The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the recording medium is fixed, and recording is performed on a recording medium by ejecting the ink in the liquid flow path by using the thermal energy. 15. A recording apparatus comprising the recording head according to claim 1, wherein a recording element substrate and a driving element substrate of the recording head are replaceable.