JPH09327919A - Liquid discharging head, liquid discharging unit and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of unevenness in a recording image at a gap of a plurality of isolation walls or a gap of a plurality of boards by making a discharging characteristic distribution uniform in a liquid discharging head having a plurality of boards and(or) a plurality of isolation walls. SOLUTION: A gap 35 is generated between a board 1a and a board 1b. Foaming pressure might be sometimes released via the gap 35. Thus, a shape of movable member 31b is formed so as to enhance a discharging efficiency to more sufficiently receive the foaming pressure corresponding to heaters 2 at ends of the boards 1a and 1b. Specifically, its size is increased more than that of the other movable member 31a. Thus, discharging characteristics of respective nozzles are made uniform, and hence no irregularity that a recorded image become pale in density does not occur on this part due to reduction in discharging amount caused by a decrease in an efficiency only at the ends of the boards 1a and 1b. The member 31b may be dealt with other parameter which can alter discharge characteristics such as position of a fulcrum or a free end in addition to size.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head for ejecting a desired liquid by the generation of bubbles by applying thermal energy to the liquid, a head cartridge using the liquid ejection head, a liquid ejection device, and Regarding recording method.

In particular, the present invention relates to a liquid ejection head having a plurality of substrates or / and a plurality of separation walls, a liquid ejection device having the liquid ejection head, and a recording method.

The present invention also relates to paper, yarn, fiber, fabric, leather,
A combination of a printer for performing recording on a recording medium such as metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramics, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, a word processor having a printer unit, and various processing devices. The invention can be applied to an industrial recording device.

In the present invention, "recording" means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern. Is also meant.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art By giving energy such as heat to ink, a state change accompanied by a steep volume change (formation of bubbles) is caused in the ink, and the ink is ejected from an ejection port by an action force based on this state change. An ink jet recording method in which an image is formed by attaching the ink onto a recording medium, that is, a so-called bubble jet recording method, is conventionally known. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,129 and the like, a recording apparatus using the bubble jet recording method includes a discharge port for discharging ink, and an ink flow communicating with the discharge port. A passage and an electrothermal converter as an energy generating means for discharging ink arranged in the ink flow path are generally arranged.

According to such a recording method, a high-quality image can be recorded at a high speed and with low noise, and in a head performing this recording method, ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged at a high density. Therefore, it has many advantages that a high-resolution recorded image and a color image can be easily obtained with a small device. For this reason, this bubble jet recording method has recently been used in many office devices such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines, and has been used in industrial systems such as textile printing devices.

As the bubble jet technology is used for products in various fields, the following various requirements have been increasing in recent years.

[0008] For example, as a study on a demand for improvement in energy efficiency, optimization of a heating element such as adjusting the thickness of a protective film is mentioned. This method is effective in improving the efficiency of propagation of generated heat to the liquid.

In addition, in order to obtain a high quality image, a driving condition for providing a liquid discharging method or the like which can discharge ink at a high speed and perform good ink discharging based on stable bubble generation has been proposed. From the viewpoint of high-speed printing, there has also been proposed a print head having an improved flow path shape in order to obtain a liquid discharge head having a high filling (refilling) speed of the discharged liquid into the liquid flow path.

[0010] Of the flow path shapes, FIG.
(A) and (b) are disclosed in JP-A-63-199997.
No. 2, for example. The flow path structure and the head manufacturing method described in this publication are based on the back wave (pressure in the direction opposite to the direction toward the discharge port, that is, the pressure in the liquid chamber 12) generated by the generation of bubbles. It is an invention which pays attention to. This back wave is known as loss energy because it is not energy directed toward the ejection direction.

In the invention shown in FIGS. 38 (a) and 38 (b), the substrate 400 is located farther from the bubble generation region formed by the heating element 402 and on the side opposite to the ejection port 411 with respect to the heating element 402. A valve 410 is disclosed.

In FIG. 38 (b), this valve 410
Is disclosed as having an initial position as if attached to the ceiling of the flow channel 403 and hanging down into the flow channel 403 with the generation of bubbles by a manufacturing method using a plate material or the like. According to the present invention, a part of the back wave
It is disclosed that the energy loss is controlled by controlling the energy loss.

However, in this structure, as can be seen by examining the case where bubbles are generated inside the flow path 403 holding the liquid to be discharged, it is necessary to suppress a part of the back wave by the valve 410. It turns out that it is not practical for.

Originally, the back wave itself is not directly related to the ejection as described above. At the time when this back wave is generated in the flow path 403, as shown in FIG.
From 03, the liquid can be discharged. Therefore, it is clear that even if only a part of the back wave is suppressed, the ejection is not greatly affected.

Further, there is a means for increasing the number of ejection nozzles as means for performing high speed recording. However, since each part used for it becomes large, it is difficult to form a single part. In this case, a liquid ejection head having a plurality of substrates or / and a plurality of separating walls is used by combining and using some divided parts.

[0016]

However, in the case of a head having a structure in which a plurality of parts are combined, the cause of the deterioration of the recorded image quality such as unevenness increases due to the change in the ejection characteristic occurring at the connecting part of the parts. It will be. This is because, with the liquid discharge head having a plurality of substrates or / and a plurality of separation walls, nozzles located in a boundary region between adjacent substrates or a boundary region between adjacent separation walls, and This is because when the nozzles located in the portions have the same design, there is a variation between the ejection amount corresponding to the boundary portion and the ejection amount corresponding to the portions other than the boundary portion. That is, the discharge amount of the portion corresponding to the boundary portion is reduced, and the resulting image density is reduced, resulting in deterioration of quality such as unevenness of the recorded image.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and even if a liquid discharge head having a plurality of substrates or / and a plurality of separation bases is provided, the discharge amount at the boundary portion is not lowered, and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection head capable of obtaining a stable image quality, a liquid ejection apparatus using the head, and a recording method.

[0018]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a liquid discharge head having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging a liquid, wherein a plurality of liquid bubbles generate bubbles in the liquid. A plurality of substrates arranged so that the bubble generating regions are continuously arranged, and the substrates are arranged so as to face the bubble generating regions, and the first position is farther from the bubble generating region than the first position. At least one separation wall provided with a plurality of movable members that can be displaced between the first position and the second position, and the movable member is controlled by the pressure based on the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation unit. From the position to the second position, and the displacement of the movable member causes the bubbles to expand to a greater extent downstream than upstream in the direction toward the ejection port, thereby ejecting liquid, and at least the plurality of substrates. In the boundary area between, in front At least one of the number, size, and position of energy generating means for generating bubbles; at least one of the size and position of the movable member; and the size of the discharge port; Uniformization of the ejection characteristic distribution in the entire nozzles in the head by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of at least one of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows Is achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuous. A plurality of substrates arranged to be arranged in
A liquid flow path having a supply path for supplying a liquid onto the heating element from an upstream side of the heating element along the heating element and a free end provided on the discharge port side facing the heating element. At least one separation wall having a movable member for displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the bubbles and guiding the pressure to the discharge port side, and further, at least a boundary between the plurality of substrates. At least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in the region; and at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; Of the entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of: the size of at least one of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. Characterized in that to achieve a uniformity of the definitive discharge characteristic distribution.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuous. A plurality of substrates arranged to be arranged in
A movable member provided facing the heating element, having a free end on the discharge port side, and displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the bubbles to guide the pressure to the discharge port side; and the movable member. At least one separation wall having a plurality of supply paths for supplying liquid onto the heating element from an upstream side along a surface close to the heating element, and at least a boundary region between the plurality of substrates. And at least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles; and at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; The entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of a size and at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. Characterized in that to achieve a uniformity of the definitive discharge characteristic distribution.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements which generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuous. A plurality of substrates arranged to be arranged in
A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, the first liquid flow path and the bubbles It has a free end disposed on the discharge port side, which is disposed between the bubble generating region and the generating region, and the free end is displaced toward the first liquid flow path side based on the pressure generated by the bubble generation in the bubble generating region. At least one separation wall having a plurality of movable members for guiding pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, and further for generating the bubbles in at least a boundary region between the plurality of substrates. At least one of the conditions of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means; at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; the size of the discharge port; and the flow path through which the liquid flows. Any of the dimensions and shape of the structure Characterized in that to achieve at least one and, in the ejection characteristics distribution in the entire the nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of homogenization.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are provided. A plurality of substrates arranged so as to be continuously arranged, a plurality of grooves for forming a plurality of first liquid flow paths that directly communicate with the respective ejection openings, and the plurality of first A grooved member integrally having a recess forming a first common liquid chamber for supplying a liquid to the liquid flow path, and the heating element disposed between the grooved member and the element substrate. A plurality of movable members that form a part of the wall of the second liquid flow path corresponding to the above, and that are displaced toward the first liquid flow path side by the pressure based on the generation of the bubbles at a position facing the heating element. And at least one separation wall comprising:
At least one of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of substrates; and any one of the size and position of the movable member. By changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of at least one of the following: at least one of: the size of the discharge port; and at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. It is characterized by achieving uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid discharge head having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging a liquid, wherein at least one bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid is continuously arranged. A plurality of movable members, which are arranged to face one of the substrates and the bubble generating region and can be displaced between a first position and a second position farther from the bubble generating region than the first position, are provided. And at least a plurality of separating walls,
The movable member is displaced from the first position to the second position by the pressure generated by the bubble generation in the bubble generating section, and the displacement of the movable member causes the bubble to move toward the discharge port. Liquid is discharged by expanding the liquid more largely than upstream, and further, at least in the boundary region between the plurality of separations, any one of the number, size, and position of energy generating means for generating the bubbles. At least one of the following conditions; at least one of the dimensions and positions of the movable member; at least one of the discharge port dimensions; and at least one of the dimensions and shape of the flow passage structure through which the liquid flows; A uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle is achieved by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuously formed. A liquid flow path having at least one substrate arranged and a supply path along the heating element for supplying a liquid onto the heating element from an upstream side of the heating element, and the liquid passage is provided facing the heating element. And a plurality of separation walls having a free end on the discharge port side and a movable member for displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the bubbles to guide the pressure to the discharge port side, At least one of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of substrates; and any one of the size and position of the movable member. At least one of In the entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of: the size of the discharge port; at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. It is characterized by achieving uniform discharge characteristic distribution.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuous. At least one substrate that is disposed in a fixed manner and a free end provided on the discharge port side facing the heating element and displacing the free end based on the pressure caused by the generation of the bubbles to discharge the pressure. A plurality of separation walls, each of which has a plurality of supply paths for supplying a liquid to the heating element from the upstream side along a surface of the movable member close to the heating element. At least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of separation walls; and any one of the size and position of the movable member. Under few conditions Both one and; the size of the discharge port;
At least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows and at least one condition selected from the group consisting of are changed to achieve uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle. It is characterized by

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuously formed. At least one substrate arranged, a first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, The free end is arranged between the first liquid flow path and the bubble generation region, has a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is moved to the first end based on the pressure generated by the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region.
A plurality of separation walls having a plurality of movable members that are displaced to the liquid flow path side to guide the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, and at least a boundary region between the plurality of separation walls. And at least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles; and at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; Uniformity of discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of size and at least one of conditions of size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. Is achieved.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are continuously formed. At least one substrate arranged, a plurality of grooves for forming a plurality of first liquid flow paths that directly communicate with the respective discharge ports, and a liquid in the plurality of first liquid flow paths. A grooved member that integrally has a concave portion that forms a first common liquid chamber for supplying, and a second liquid that is arranged between the grooved member and the element substrate and that corresponds to the heating element. A part of the wall of the flow path is formed, and the first face is formed at a position facing the heating element by the pressure based on the generation of the bubbles.
A plurality of separation walls provided with a plurality of movable members that are displaced toward the liquid flow path side, and further, in at least a boundary region between the plurality of separation walls, an energy generation unit for generating the bubbles. At least one of the conditions of the number, size and position; at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; the size of the discharge port; the size of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows, and It is characterized in that at least one condition of any of the shapes and at least one condition selected from the group consisting of are changed to achieve uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle.

A liquid discharge recording method according to the present invention is characterized by using the above liquid discharge head.

Further, a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention has the above-mentioned liquid ejecting head and drive signal supplying means for supplying a drive signal for ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejecting head.

Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is
It has the above-mentioned liquid ejection head, and a recording medium conveyance means for conveying the recording medium that receives the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head.

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” used in the description of the present invention refer to the flow direction of the liquid from the liquid supply source to the discharge port through the bubble generation region (or movable member).
Alternatively, it is expressed as an expression regarding this structural direction.

The “downstream side” of the bubble itself is as follows:
It mainly represents the portion on the discharge port side of bubbles that is said to directly act on the discharge of liquid. More specifically, with respect to the center of the bubble, the downstream side with respect to the flow direction and the structural direction,
Alternatively, it means bubbles generated in a region downstream of the area center of the heating element.

The term “substantially sealed” used in the description of the present invention refers to a state in which bubbles do not slip through gaps (slits) around the movable member before the movable member is displaced when the bubbles grow. Means

Further, the "separation wall" in the present invention means a wall (which may include a movable member) interposed so as to separate a bubble generation region and a region directly communicating with the discharge port in a broad sense. In a narrow sense, it means that the flow path including the bubble generation area is separated from the liquid flow path that directly communicates with the discharge port, and mixing of the liquid in each area is prevented.

[0035]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a liquid ejection head showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the grooved member 50 and the separating wall 30 are shown.
a and 30b, the substrates 1a and 1b, and the support 70 are joined together. The ejection port 18 for ejecting the liquid is formed on the face surface 51 of the grooved member 50 and communicates with a groove (not shown) formed on the grooved member 50 corresponding to the ejection port 18. The plurality of grooves communicate with recesses (not shown) formed in the grooved member 50, and these grooves and recesses are joined to the separation walls 30a and 30b to form the first liquid flow path and the first common liquid chamber. Form. Movable members 31a and 31b and a second liquid passage wall 72 are formed on the separation walls 30a and 30b so as to correspond to the grooves.
0a and 30b are joined to the substrates 1a and 1b bonded to the support 70 to form a second liquid flow path. Substrate 1a
A heating element 2 is formed in the and 1b and is arranged corresponding to the second liquid flow path. The second liquid channel is the separation wall 3
0a, 30b and the substrates 1a, 1b are connected to a second common liquid chamber (not shown). The second is in the second liquid flow path.
The bubbling liquid is supplied from the liquid introduction passage 21 through the separation wall through-hole 22 and the second common liquid chamber. Discharge liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path from the first liquid introduction path 20 via the first common liquid chamber. Between the separation walls 30a and 30b and the substrate 1a
Between 1 and 1b is partially or entirely filled with a sealant or an adhesive.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

In this embodiment, the grooved member 50 is used.
Is commonly communicated with the plurality of liquid flow paths 14 and the orifice plate 51 having the discharge port 18, the plurality of grooves forming the plurality of first liquid flow paths 14, and the liquid is supplied to each of the first liquid flow paths 3. The first common liquid chamber 15 for supplying the (discharge liquid) and the recessed portion are generally configured.

By joining the separating wall 30 to the lower side of the grooved member 50, a plurality of first liquid flow paths 14 can be formed. Such a grooved member 50 has a first liquid supply path 20 that reaches the inside of the first common liquid chamber 15 from above. In addition, the grooved member 50 has a partition wall 3 from the top.
It has a second liquid supply passage 21 which penetrates 0 and reaches the inside of the second common liquid chamber 17.

The first liquid (ejection liquid) is supplied to the first common liquid chamber 15 and then to the first liquid flow path 14 via the first liquid supply passage 20 as shown by the arrow C in FIG. As shown by an arrow D in FIG. 2, the second liquid (foaming liquid) is supplied to the second common liquid chamber 17 and then the second liquid flow path 16 via the second liquid supply passage 21. ing.

In this embodiment, the second liquid supply passage 21
Is arranged in parallel with the first liquid supply passage 20, but is not limited to this, penetrates the separation wall 30 arranged outside the first common liquid chamber 15, and 17 may be arranged in any way as long as it is formed so as to communicate with 17.

The thickness (diameter) of the second liquid supply passage 21
Is determined in consideration of the supply amount of the second liquid.
The shape of the second liquid supply path 21 does not need to be round,
It may be rectangular or the like.

The second common liquid chamber 17 has a grooved member 50.
By the partition wall 30. As a forming method, as shown in the exploded perspective view of this embodiment example shown in FIG. 2, a common liquid chamber frame and a second liquid passage wall are formed on a substrate by a dry film, and a grooved member in which a separation wall is fixed. 5
The second common liquid chamber 17 and the second liquid flow path 16 may be formed by bonding the combined body of 0 and the separation wall 30 and the substrate 1.

In this embodiment, as described above, as a heating element for generating heat for generating bubbles due to film boiling in the foaming liquid on the support 70 formed of a metal such as aluminum. A substrate 1 provided with a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements is arranged.

The heating element 2 generates heat by being applied with a voltage by the electrode 5 made of a conductor such as aluminum.

Reference numeral 50 is a grooved member. The grooved member 50 communicates with the groove forming the discharge liquid flow path (first liquid flow path) 14 by being joined to the separation wall 30 and the discharge liquid flow path. A recess for forming a first common liquid chamber (common discharge liquid chamber) 15 for supplying the discharge liquid, and a first supply path (discharge liquid supply path) for supplying the discharge liquid to the first common liquid chamber 20 and a second supply path (foaming liquid supply path) 21 for supplying the foaming liquid to the second common liquid chamber 17. The second supply passage 21 penetrates the separation wall 30 arranged outside the first common liquid chamber 15 to pass through the second common liquid chamber 17
The bubbling liquid can be supplied to the second common liquid chamber 15 without being mixed with the discharge liquid by the communication passage.

The substrate 1, the separating wall 30, and the grooved top plate 50.
Of the movable member 31 corresponding to the heating element of the substrate 1.
Are arranged, and the discharge liquid flow path 14 is arranged corresponding to the movable member 31. Further, in the present embodiment example, an example in which one second supply path is arranged in the grooved member is shown, but a plurality of second supply paths may be provided depending on the supply amount. Furthermore, the flow path cross-sectional area of the discharge liquid supply path 20 and the foaming liquid supply path 21 may be determined in proportion to the supply amount.

By optimizing the cross-sectional area of the flow path as described above, it is possible to further reduce the size of the parts constituting the grooved member 50 and the like.

By the way, when the number of discharge nozzles is increased, it is preferable to use a plurality of small substrates in combination rather than to use a large substrate for reasons of manufacturing and the like. Therefore, in this embodiment, two substrates are used as already described. However, as shown in FIG. 1, a gap 35 is formed between the substrate 1a and the substrate 1b. This gap 3
In some cases, the bubbling pressure escapes via the 5. Further, there is a method of filling the gap 35 with a sealant, but when this sealant is used, the surface state of the heating element 2 may be non-uniform, and the foaming may be reduced. Due to various reasons other than the above, the pressure of the heating element 2 at the end of the substrate may not be sufficiently transmitted at the time of ejection. Therefore, in correspondence with the heating element at the end of the substrate of the present embodiment. The shape of the movable member 31b is such that the foaming pressure is more sufficiently received and the discharge efficiency is improved. Specifically, the size is made larger than other movable members. As a result, the ejection characteristics of the respective nozzles are made uniform, and the ejection amount is reduced due to a decrease in the efficiency of only the edge portion of the substrate, so that there is no unevenness in the recorded image where the density is low.

Further, in this embodiment, the separation wall 30a
Since the gap 36 between 10 and 30b is also present, it becomes a cause of unevenness like the above gap 35 of the substrate. However, it is possible to improve the image quality by matching the shape of a part of the movable member as described above.

In addition to the size, the correspondence of the movable member may be based on other design parameters such as the fulcrum and the position of the free end that can change the ejection characteristics.

On the contrary, when the discharge amount in this portion becomes large, the design of the movable member may be changed so that the discharge characteristic becomes uniform.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the size of the heating element located at the boundary between the substrates is made larger than the size of the heating element located at the other part, so that the boundary area is improved. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the ejection characteristics in the above.

<Embodiment 2> This embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The basic description in this figure is the same as that in FIG.

In this embodiment, the separating wall 30a,
The unevenness factor in 30b, for example, the separation walls 30a and 30
Corresponding to the gap 36 with the groove b, the grooved member 50 is used. Specifically, the opening area of the ejection port 18b is increased corresponding to the separation wall gap 36 to make the ejection characteristics and the ejection amount of each nozzle in the head uniform.

When the discharge port is processed by using a light-shielding mask such as a laser, the discharge port size can be partially changed by adjusting the size of the mask. Therefore, it is easy to deal with variations in ejection characteristics.

<Embodiment 3> This embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The basic description in FIG. 4 is also omitted because it is the same as in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the cause of unevenness is to provide uniform heating characteristics by providing a heating element corresponding to the gap 36 between the separation walls 30a and 30b for a plurality of liquid passages 2a and 2b. .

In this case, depending on the level of variation in the ejection characteristics, it is possible to drive by heating only 2a, only 2b, or both.

<Embodiment 4> This embodiment 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5A shows the separation wall 30 shown in FIG.
It corresponds to a and 30b. In FIG. 11A, when the sizes of the movable members 31 are all uniform, as described in the previous embodiment, the ejection characteristics near the gap 36 are low (or high) due to the influence of the gap 36. This situation is shown in FIG.

However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the sizes of the movable members 31 are different from each other, so that the ejection characteristics are randomly varied. In this case, the characteristics of FIG.
The discharge amount varies as shown in FIG.

By thus intentionally giving a variation, it is possible to make it difficult to recognize a visually recognizable heating element such as a large regular uneven pattern as shown in FIG. 5B. I can.

The example of the present embodiment is an effective means when it is difficult to specify the place where the uneven pattern is generated because the unevenness is randomly generated regardless of the place where the unevenness occurs.

<Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 6 shows a plurality of substrates,
It shows a combination with one separation wall having a plurality of movable members and the relative level of distribution of their discharge amounts. The configuration of the entire head of this embodiment is the same as Embodiment 3
Or the same as 5.

FIG. 6A shows the arrangement of a plurality of substrates, and the discharge heater 2 on this substrate has a uniform shape (for example, a rectangular shape). In this case, assuming that there is no characteristic difference between the nozzles due to other members, the heater 2 in the vicinity of the gap 36 between the two substrates will escape to the foaming pressure to the gap, the accuracy of the parts, and the surrounding of the sealant. The discharge amount by the heater 2 may be reduced due to the presence of jams and the like. This is Figure 6
As shown in (c), there is a relative discharge amount variation.

Now, when the size of the movable member 31 in the separation wall is increased only in the portion corresponding to this heater, the discharge amount distribution due to the effect of this movable member is as shown in FIG. 6 (d).

In the head in which these components are combined, variations in the ejection amount are canceled out, a uniform ejection amount or ejection characteristics are obtained as shown in FIG. 6 (e), and the image quality is improved.

As described above, according to the present invention, various variations in the head, such as variations in the discharge ports and nozzles of the grooved top plate, gaps between a plurality of separation walls, gaps between a plurality of substrates, and the like, are found in the recorded image. It was possible to prevent the occurrence of the above, and to reduce the manufacturing yield and cost.

Next, a description will be given of a concrete configuration example of the present invention applicable to the first to fifth embodiments.

<Embodiment 6> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, in the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the ejection force and the ejection efficiency are improved by controlling the propagation direction of the pressure based on the bubbles and the growth direction of the bubbles for ejecting the liquid.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic sectional view of the liquid discharge head of the present embodiment cut in the liquid flow path direction, and FIG. 8 shows a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid discharge head.

The liquid discharge head of this embodiment is a heating element 2 for applying heat energy to the liquid as a discharge energy generating element for discharging the liquid (in this embodiment, a heating resistor having a shape of 40 μm × 105 μm). Body) is provided on the element substrate 1, and the heating element 2 is provided on the element substrate.
The liquid flow path 10 is arranged corresponding to the above. The liquid flow path 10 communicates with the discharge port 18 and also communicates with a common liquid chamber 13 for supplying the liquid to the plurality of liquid flow paths 10, and an amount of liquid corresponding to the liquid discharged from the discharge port. From the common liquid chamber 13.

On the element substrate of the liquid flow path 10, a plate-like movable member 31 facing the above-mentioned heating element 2 and made of an elastic material such as metal and having a flat surface portion is formed.
Are provided in a cantilever shape. One end of the movable member is fixed to a base (supporting member) 34 formed by patterning a photosensitive resin or the like on the wall of the liquid flow path 10 or the element substrate. Thus, the movable member is held and forms a fulcrum (fulcrum portion) 33.

The movable member 31 has a fulcrum (fulcrum portion; fixed end) 33 on the upstream side of a large flow flowing from the common liquid chamber 13 to the ejection port 18 side through the movable member 31 by the liquid ejection operation. It has a free end (free end portion) 32 on the downstream side with respect to 33, and is arranged at a position facing the heating element 2 at a distance of about 15 μm from the heating element so as to cover the heating element 2. There is. A space between the heating element and the movable member is a bubble generation area. Note that the types, shapes, and arrangements of the heating element and the movable member are not limited thereto, and may be any shape and arrangement that can control the growth of bubbles and the propagation of pressure as described later. Note that the above-described liquid flow path 10
In order to explain the flow of the liquid to be discussed later, the movable member 31
The portion directly connected to the discharge port 18 with the boundary as the first liquid flow path 14 is divided into two areas of the bubble generation area 11 and the second liquid flow path 16 having the liquid supply path 12 for explanation. I do.

By heating the heating element 2, the movable member 31
Heat is applied to the liquid in the bubble generation region 11 between the heating element 2 and the heating element 2 to generate bubbles in the liquid based on the film boiling phenomenon as described in US Pat. No. 4,723,129. The pressure based on the generation of bubbles and the bubbles preferentially act on the movable member, and the movable member 31 largely opens toward the discharge port side around the fulcrum 33 as shown in FIG. 7B, 7C or 7. To be displaced. Depending on the displacement or the displaced state of the movable member 31, the propagation of pressure based on the generation of bubbles and the growth of the bubbles themselves are guided to the ejection port side.

Here, one of the basic ejection principles of the present invention will be described. One of the most important principles of the present invention is
The movable member disposed to face the bubble is displaced from the first position in the steady state to the second position after the displacement based on the pressure of the bubble or the bubble itself. This is to guide the pressure due to the generation of bubbles and the bubbles themselves to the downstream side where the discharge port 18 is arranged.

This principle will be described in more detail by comparing FIG. 9 schematically showing a conventional liquid flow path structure using no movable member with FIG. 10 of the present invention. Here, the propagation direction of the pressure toward the discharge port is indicated by VA, and the propagation direction of the pressure toward the upstream side is indicated by VB.

In the conventional head as shown in FIG. 9, there is no structure for restricting the propagation direction of pressure by the generated bubbles 40. Therefore, the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 40 is V1
As shown in V8, the direction was perpendicular to the surface of the bubble, and was oriented in various directions. Among them, those having a component in the pressure propagation direction in the VA direction which has the most influence on the liquid discharge are V1-V
4, ie, a directional component of pressure propagation in a portion closer to the discharge port than a position substantially half of the bubble, and is an important portion directly contributing to liquid discharge efficiency, liquid discharge force, discharge speed, and the like. Further, V1 works efficiently because it is closest to the ejection direction VA, while V4 has relatively little direction component toward VA.

On the other hand, in the case of the present invention shown in FIG. 10, the movable member 31 faces various directions as in the case of FIG. It is directed to the discharge port side) and converted into the VA pressure propagation direction, whereby the pressure of the bubble 40 directly and efficiently contributes to the discharge. Then, the bubble growth direction itself is guided in the downstream direction in the same manner as the pressure propagation directions V1 to V4, and grows more downstream than upstream. As described above, by controlling the growth direction itself of the bubble by the movable member and controlling the pressure propagation direction of the bubble, it is possible to achieve a fundamental improvement in the discharge efficiency, the discharge force, the discharge speed, and the like.

Next, returning to FIG. 7, the ejection operation of the liquid ejection head of this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 7A shows a state before energy such as electric energy is applied to the heat generating element 2, that is, a state before the heat generating element generates heat. What is important here is that the movable member 31 is provided at a position facing at least a downstream portion of the bubble generated by the heat generated by the heating element. In other words, on the liquid flow path structure, at least downstream of the area center 3 of the heating element (from a line passing through the area center 3 of the heating element and orthogonal to the length direction of the flow path, so that the downstream side of the bubble acts on the movable member. The movable member 31 is arranged to the position (downstream).

In FIG. 7 (b), electric energy or the like is applied to the heating element 2 to heat the heating element 2, and the generated heat heats a part of the liquid filling the bubble generating region 11 to cause film boiling. This is a state in which accompanying bubbles are generated.

At this time, the movable member 31 is displaced from the first position to the second position by the pressure based on the generation of the bubbles 40 so as to guide the propagation direction of the pressure of the bubbles 40 toward the discharge port. What is important here is that, as described above, the free end 32 of the movable member 31 is arranged on the downstream side (discharge port side), and the fulcrum 33 is arranged on the upstream side (common liquid chamber side). That is, at least a part of the movable member faces a downstream portion of the heating element, that is, a downstream portion of the bubble.

FIG. 7C shows a state in which the bubble 40 has further grown, but the movable member 31 is further displaced in accordance with the pressure caused by the generation of the bubble 40. The generated bubble grows greatly downstream from the upstream and grows greatly beyond the first position (dotted line position) of the movable member. Thus, bubble 4
When the movable member 31 is gradually displaced in accordance with the growth of 0, the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 40 and the direction in which the deposition is easily moved, that is, the growth direction of the bubble to the free end side is uniformly directed to the discharge port. It can be considered that being able to change the height also enhances the discharge efficiency. The movable member rarely hinders the transmission of bubbles or foaming pressure toward the discharge port, and efficiently controls the direction of pressure propagation and the direction of bubble growth according to the magnitude of the propagating pressure. Can be.

FIG. 7D shows a state in which the bubble 40 contracts and disappears due to the decrease in the bubble internal pressure after the film boiling described above.

The movable member 31 which has been displaced to the second position
The initial position (first position) in FIG. 7A is due to the negative pressure due to the contraction of the bubble and the restoring force due to the spring property of the movable member itself.
Return to. Further, at the time of defoaming, VD1 and VD2 of the flow from the upstream side (B), that is, the common liquid chamber side, in order to supplement the contracted volume of the bubbles in the bubble generation region 11 and to supplement the volume of the discharged liquid. And the liquid flows in from the discharge port side like Vc of the flow.

The operation of the movable member and the liquid ejecting operation associated with the generation of bubbles have been described above. The liquid refilling in the liquid ejecting head of the present invention will be described in detail below.

The liquid supply mechanism in the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

After the state shown in FIG. 7 (c), when the bubble 40 enters the defoaming process after having reached the maximum volume state, a volume of liquid that compensates for the defoamed volume is placed in the bubble generation region of the first liquid flow path 14. It flows in from the discharge port 18 side and the common liquid chamber side 13 of the second liquid flow path 16. In the conventional liquid flow path structure without the movable member 31, the amount of the liquid flowing from the discharge port side to the defoaming position and the amount of the liquid flowing from the common liquid chamber are the same as the part closer to the discharge port than the bubble generation region and the common liquid. This is due to the magnitude of the flow resistance with the part close to the chamber (based on the flow path resistance and the inertia of the liquid).

Therefore, when the flow resistance on the side close to the ejection port is small, a large amount of liquid flows from the ejection port side to the defoaming position, and the retreat amount of the meniscus increases. In particular, as the flow resistance on the side close to the discharge port is reduced to increase the discharge efficiency in order to increase the discharge efficiency, the meniscus M at the time of defoaming becomes larger, the refill time becomes longer, and the refill time becomes longer, and high-speed printing is performed. Was to hinder.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the movable member 31 is used.
Therefore, when the volume W of the bubbles is W1 on the upper side of the first position of the movable member 31 and W2 on the side of the bubble generation region 11 when the movable member returns to the original position at the time of defoaming, The retreat is stopped, and the liquid supply of the remaining W2 volume is mainly performed by the liquid supply from the flow VD2 of the second flow path 16. Thus, while the amount corresponding to about half of the volume of the bubble W has conventionally been the meniscus retraction amount, it has become possible to suppress the meniscus retreat amount to a smaller amount, which is about half of W1.

Further, the supply of the liquid of the volume of W2 is compulsorily made from the upstream side (VD2) of the second liquid flow path along the surface of the movable member 31 on the heating element side by utilizing the pressure at the time of defoaming. Since it can be performed at any time, a faster refill could be realized.

What is characteristic here is that when refilling is performed using the pressure at the time of defoaming with a conventional head, the vibration of the meniscus becomes large, leading to deterioration of image quality. In the high-speed refill of the example, the movement of the liquid between the region of the first liquid flow path 14 on the discharge port side and the bubble generation region 11 on the discharge port side is suppressed by the movable member, so that the vibration of the meniscus is extremely reduced. Is possible.

As described above, according to the present invention, the forced refilling of the foaming region via the liquid supply passage 12 of the second passage 16 and the high speed refilling by the above-mentioned meniscus retreat and vibration suppression are achieved. When used in the field of stable recording, high-speed repetitive ejection, and recording, it is possible to improve image quality and realize high-speed recording.

The structure of the present invention further has the following effective functions. That is, the propagation of the pressure to the upstream side (back wave) due to the generation of bubbles is suppressed. Of the bubbles generated on the heating element 2, most of the pressure caused by the bubbles on the common liquid chamber 13 side (upstream side) is a force (back wave) for pushing back the liquid toward the upstream side.
This back wave caused the pressure on the upstream side, the amount of liquid movement due thereto, and the inertia force accompanying the liquid movement, which reduced the refill of the liquid into the liquid flow path and hindered high-speed driving. . In the present invention, first, the movable member 31
By suppressing these effects on the upstream side, the refill supply property is further improved.

Next, further characteristic structures and effects of this embodiment will be described below.

The second liquid flow path 16 of the present embodiment has a liquid supply path 12 having an inner wall upstream of the heating element 2 and connected to the heating element 2 substantially flat (the surface of the heating element is not largely depressed). Have In such a case, the bubble generation region 11
The supply of the liquid to the surface of the heating element 2 is performed by the movable member 31.
VD2 is performed along the surface on the side closer to the bubble generation region 11 of FIG. Therefore, stagnation of the liquid on the surface of the heating element 2 is suppressed, and deposition of gas dissolved in the liquid and so-called residual air bubbles that cannot be defoamed are easily removed. The heat storage does not become too high.
Therefore, more stable generation of bubbles can be repeated at high speed. In the present embodiment, the liquid supply path 12 having a substantially flat inner wall has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any liquid supply path that has a gentle inner wall that is smoothly connected to the surface of the heating element. Any shape may be used as long as the shape does not cause stagnation of the liquid on the heating element or large turbulence in the supply of the liquid.

In some cases, the liquid is supplied to the bubble generation region from VD1 through the side portion (slit 35) of the movable member. However, in order to more effectively guide the pressure at the time of bubble generation to the discharge port, a large movable member is used so as to cover the entire bubble generation region (covers the heating element surface) as shown in FIG. By returning to the position of
In the case where the flow resistance of the liquid between the bubble generation region 11 and the region near the discharge port of the first liquid flow path 14 is large, the flow of the liquid from the VD1 to the bubble generation region 11 is prevented. . However, in the head structure of the present invention, the flow VD1 for supplying the liquid to the bubble generation region has a very high liquid supply performance, and the discharge efficiency is such that the movable member 31 covers the bubble generation region 11. Even if a structure requiring improvement is adopted, the liquid supply performance is not reduced.

As for the positions of the free end 32 and the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31, the free end is relatively downstream of the fulcrum as shown in FIG. 10, for example. With such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently realize functions and effects such as guiding the pressure propagation direction and growth direction of bubbles to the ejection port side during the above-described foaming. Further, this positional relationship achieves not only a function and an effect on discharge, but also an effect that the flow resistance to the liquid flowing through the liquid flow path 10 can be reduced and the refill can be performed at a high speed even when the liquid is supplied. As shown in FIG. 11, when the meniscus M retracted by the discharge returns to the discharge port 18 by the capillary force or when the liquid is supplied to the defoaming, the liquid flow path 10 (the first liquid Channel 14, second
This is because the free end and the fulcrum 33 are arranged so as not to go against the flows S1, S2, and S3 flowing through the liquid flow path 16 (including the liquid flow path 16).

Supplementally, in FIG. 7 of the present embodiment, as described above, the free end 32 of the movable member 31 divides the heating element 2 into the upstream side region and the downstream side region.
It extends with respect to the heating element 2 so as to face a position downstream of a line passing through the center (center) of the area of the heating element and perpendicular to the length direction of the liquid flow path. As a result, the movable member 31 receives a pressure or a bubble that greatly contributes to the discharge of the liquid generated downstream of the area center position 3 of the heating element, and the pressure and the bubble can be guided to the discharge port side, and the discharge efficiency and the like can be improved. Discharge force can be fundamentally improved.

In addition, many effects are obtained by utilizing the upstream side of the bubbles.

Further, in the structure of the present embodiment, it is considered that the free end of the movable member 31 makes an instantaneous mechanical displacement, which effectively contributes to the ejection of the liquid.

<Embodiment 7> FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, A indicates a state in which the movable member is displaced (bubbles are not shown), B indicates a state in which the movable member is in the initial position (first position), and in this state of B, the foamed region 11 is substantially sealed from the discharge port 18. (Although not shown here, A,
There is a flow path wall between B and separates the flow path from the flow path. The movable member 31 in FIG. 12 is provided with two bases 34 on the side portion, and the liquid supply path 12 is provided therebetween. This allows
The liquid can be supplied along the surface of the movable member on the heating element side and from a liquid supply path having a surface that is substantially flat or smoothly connected to the surface of the heating element.

Here, at the initial position (first position) of the movable member 31, the movable member 31 is close to or in close contact with the downstream side wall 36 of the heating element 2 and the heating element downstream wall 36 and the heating element side wall 37 arranged laterally. Therefore, the bubble generating region 11 is substantially sealed on the discharge port 18 side. For this reason, the pressure of the bubbles at the time of foaming, particularly the pressure on the downstream side of the bubbles, can be concentrated on the free end side of the movable member without being released.

Further, at the time of defoaming, the movable member 31 returns to the first position, and the liquid supply at the time of defoaming on the heating element is substantially sealed on the discharge port side of the bubble generating region 31, so that the meniscus is not discharged. It is possible to obtain the various effects described in the previous embodiment such as the suppression of the backward movement. Also, the same function and effect as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained in the effect regarding the refill.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, a base 34 for supporting and fixing the movable member 31 is provided upstream from the heating element 2 and has a width smaller than that of the liquid flow path 10. By using the base 34, the liquid is supplied to the liquid supply path 12 as described above. The base 34
The shape is not limited to this, and any shape that can smoothly perform refilling may be used.

In the present embodiment, the movable member 3
Although the distance between 1 and the heating element 2 is set to about 15 μm, it may be within a range in which the pressure due to the generation of bubbles is sufficiently transmitted to the movable member.

<Embodiment 8> FIG. 13 shows one of the basic concepts of the present invention, which is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which the bubble generation region in one liquid flow path, the positional relation between the bubble generated in the liquid flow channel and the movable member, and the liquid discharge method and refill method of the present invention are more easily understood. is there.

In many of the above-described embodiments, the pressure of bubbles generated is concentrated on the free end of the movable member so that the movement of the bubble is concentrated on the discharge port side at the same time as the abrupt movement of the movable member. Has been achieved. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the downstream portion of the bubble, which is the discharge port side of the bubble directly acting on the droplet discharge, is regulated by the free end side of the movable member while giving the degree of freedom of the generated bubble. It is.

To explain the structure, in FIG. 13, as compared with FIG. 8 (sixth embodiment) described above, as a barrier located at the downstream end of the bubble generation region provided on the element substrate 1 of FIG. No convex portion (hatched portion in the figure) is provided in this embodiment. In other words, the free end region and the both end regions of the movable member are opened without substantially closing the bubble generation region with respect to the discharge port region, and this configuration is the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, since the bubble growth at the downstream tip portion of the downstream portion that directly acts on the droplet ejection of bubbles is allowed, the pressure component thereof is effectively used for ejection. . In addition, at least the upward pressure (VB, VB, component force of VB in FIG. 9) of the downstream side portion acts so that the free end side portion of the movable member is added to the bubble growth of the downstream side tip portion. Therefore, the ejection efficiency is improved similarly to the above-described embodiment. In this embodiment, the responsiveness to driving of the heating element is superior to that of the embodiment.

In addition, this embodiment has a manufacturing advantage because it is structurally simple.

The fulcrum portion of the movable member 31 of this embodiment is
It is fixed to one base 34 having a small width with respect to the surface of the movable member. Therefore, the liquid is supplied to the bubble generation region 11 at the time of defoaming through both sides of the base (see arrows in the figure). This base may have any structure as long as it secures supply.

In the case of the present embodiment, the refilling at the time of supplying liquid is controlled by the presence of the movable member because the flow of bubbles from the upper side to the bubble generating region is controlled by the presence of the movable member, so that the conventional heating element is used. It is superior to the structure for generating only bubbles. Of course, this can also reduce the amount of meniscus retraction.

As a modified embodiment of the third embodiment, it is preferable that only the both ends of the movable member with respect to the free end (one of them is acceptable) be substantially sealed with the bubble generating region 11. As. According to this configuration, since the pressure directed to the side of the movable member can be changed and used for the growth of the discharge port side end of the bubble described above, the discharge efficiency is further improved.

<Embodiment 9> An example in which the liquid ejection force by the mechanical displacement described above is further improved will be described with reference to this embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of such a head structure. FIG. 14 shows an embodiment in which the movable member extends so that the position of the free end of the movable member 31 is located further downstream of the heating element. Thereby, the displacement speed of the movable member at the free end position can be increased, and the generation of the ejection force due to the displacement of the movable member can be further improved.

Further, since the free end comes closer to the ejection port side as compared with the previous embodiment, the bubble growth can be concentrated on the more stable directional component, so that more excellent ejection can be performed.

The movable member 31 is displaced at a displacement speed R1 according to the bubble growth speed at the center of pressure of the bubble, but the free end 32 at a position farther from the fulcrum 33 than this position is at a higher speed R2. Displace with. Thereby, the free end 3
2 is applied to the liquid mechanically at a high speed to cause the liquid to move, thereby improving the discharge efficiency.

Further, the free end shape has a shape perpendicular to the liquid flow as in FIG. 13, so that the pressure of the bubbles and the mechanical action of the movable member can contribute to the discharge more efficiently. You can

<Embodiment 10> FIG. 15 (a),
(B) and (c) are example embodiments of the present invention.

Unlike the previous embodiments, the structure of the present embodiment does not have a flow path shape that communicates with the liquid chamber side in the region that directly communicates with the discharge port, and the structure can be simplified. .

All the liquid is supplied only from the liquid supply path 12 along the surface of the movable member 31 on the side of the bubbling region, and the positional relationship between the free end 32 and the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31 with respect to the discharge port 18 and heat generation. The structure facing the body 2 is similar to that of the above-described embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the discharge efficiency, liquid supply property, etc.
Although it achieves the above-mentioned effects, it can suppress the retreat of the meniscus and use the pressure at the time of defoaming, in particular, to perform the forced refill by using the pressure at the time of defoaming for almost all liquid supply. is there.

FIG. 15A shows a state in which the liquid is foamed by the heating element 2, and FIG. 15B shows a state in which the foaming is contracting, and at this time, the movable member 31 is moved to the initial position. And the liquid supply by S3 is performed.

In FIG. 15 (c), the movable member causes a slight meniscus retreat M when the initial member returns to the initial position.
It is in a state of being refilled by the capillary force near the discharge port 18 after the defoaming.

<Embodiment 11> Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the principal principle of ejecting the liquid is the same as that of the previous embodiment, but in this embodiment, the liquid flow passage has a multi-passage structure to further add heat. It is possible to separate the liquid (foaming liquid) to be foamed in (2) and the liquid to be mainly discharged (discharge liquid).

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view of the liquid discharge head of the present embodiment taken along the flow path, and FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid discharge head.

The liquid discharge head of the present embodiment example has a heating element 2 which gives thermal energy for generating bubbles in the liquid.
A second liquid flow path 16 for foaming is provided on the element substrate 1 provided with
The first liquid flow path 14 for the discharged liquid which is directly communicated with the discharge port 18 is disposed thereon.

The upstream side of the first liquid flow path communicates with the first common liquid chamber 15 for supplying the discharge liquid to the plurality of first liquid flow paths, and the upstream side of the second liquid flow path is The plurality of second liquid flow paths communicate with a second common liquid chamber for supplying a foaming liquid.

However, when the same liquid is used for the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid, the common liquid chamber may be made one and shared.

A separation wall 30 made of an elastic material such as a metal is provided between the first and second liquid flow paths, and the first and second liquid flow paths are separated from each other. Are classified. In the case where the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are liquids that should not be mixed as much as possible, the flow of the liquids in the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16 can be separated as completely as possible by this separation wall. It is better to perform the separation, but if there is no problem even if the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are mixed to some extent, the separation wall may not have the function of complete separation.

The slit 3 is formed in the partition wall located in the projection space of the heating element in the upward direction of the plane (hereinafter referred to as the discharge pressure generation region; the region A in FIG. 16 and the bubble generation region 11 in B).
5, the discharge port side (downstream side of the liquid flow) is a free end, and a cantilever-shaped movable member 31 having a fulcrum 33 located on the common liquid chamber (15, 17) side. This movable member 3
1 is arranged so as to face the bubble generation region 11 (B), so that it operates so as to open toward the discharge port side on the first liquid flow path side by foaming of the foaming liquid (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). FIG.
Also, in the element substrate 1 on which the heating resistor portion as the heating element 2 and the wiring electrode 5 for applying an electric signal to the heating resistor portion, a space constituting the second liquid flow path is formed. A separation wall 30 is disposed through the separation wall 30.

The relationship between the disposition of the fulcrum 33 and the free end 32 of the movable member 31 and the disposition with the heating element is the same as in the previous embodiment.

Although the structural relationship between the liquid supply passage 12 and the heating element 2 has been described in the previous embodiment, the structural relationship between the second liquid flow path 16 and the heating element 2 is also described in this embodiment. Are the same.

Next, the operation of the liquid ejection head of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In driving the head, the same aqueous ink was used as the discharge liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path 14 and the foaming liquid supplied to the second liquid flow path 16.

The heat generated by the heating element 2 acts on the bubbling liquid in the bubble generating region of the second liquid flow path, so that the bubbling liquid is treated in the same manner as described in the previous embodiment. , 72
A bubble 40 is generated based on a film boiling phenomenon as described in Japanese Patent No. 3,129.

In the present embodiment, there is no escape of the bubbling pressure from the three sides except the upstream side of the bubble generating region, so the pressure due to the bubble generation is on the side of the movable member 6 disposed in the discharge pressure generating portion. 18A, and the movable member 6 is displaced from the state of FIG. 18A to the first liquid flow path side as shown in FIG. 18B with the growth of bubbles. Due to the operation of the movable member, the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16 communicate with each other largely, and the pressure based on the generation of bubbles mainly occurs in the direction (A direction) on the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path. Convey. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port by the propagation of the pressure and the mechanical displacement of the movable member as described above.

Next, as the bubbles contract, the movable member 3
1 returns to the position shown in FIG.
In 4, the amount of the discharged liquid corresponding to the amount of the discharged liquid is supplied from the upstream side. Also in the present embodiment, the supply of the discharge liquid is in the direction in which the movable member closes, similarly to the above-described embodiment, so that the refill of the discharge liquid is not hindered by the movable member.

The present embodiment is the same as the first embodiment and the like with respect to the action and effect of the main part concerning the propagation of the foaming pressure due to the displacement of the movable member, the growth direction of bubbles, the prevention of the back wave and the like. However, by adopting the two-passage structure as in this embodiment, there are the following advantages.

That is, according to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the discharge liquid and the foaming liquid can be different liquids, and the discharge liquid can be discharged by the pressure generated by the foaming of the foaming liquid. For this reason, conventionally, even if it is a high-viscosity liquid such as polyethylene glycol, which has been insufficiently foamed even when heat is applied and discharge power is insufficient, this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path,
Liquid that foams well in the foaming liquid (ethanol: water =
By supplying a liquid having a low boiling point and a liquid having a low boiling point to the second liquid flow path, a good discharge can be achieved.

Further, by selecting as the bubbling liquid a liquid that does not generate deposits such as kogation on the surface of the heating element even when it receives heat, it is possible to stabilize the bubbling and perform good ejection.

Further, in the structure of the head of the present invention, the effects as described in the previous embodiment are also produced,
Further, a liquid such as a highly viscous liquid can be discharged with high discharge efficiency and high discharge force.

Further, even in the case of a liquid that is weak against heating, this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path as a discharge liquid, and a liquid which is not easily thermally deteriorated and satisfactorily foams is supplied in the second liquid flow path. By doing so, it is possible to perform ejection with high ejection efficiency and high ejection force, as described above, without thermally damaging the liquid that is vulnerable to heating.

<Other Embodiments> The embodiments of the essential parts of the liquid ejection head and the liquid ejection method according to the present invention have been described above, but the embodiments which can be preferably applied to these embodiments will be described below. Will be described with reference to the drawings. However, in the following description, there is a case where either one of the above-described embodiment of the one-passage form and the embodiment of the two-passage form is described. However, unless otherwise specified, the present invention is applied to both embodiments. It is a good thing.

<Ceiling Shape of Liquid Flow Path> FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid discharge head of the present invention in the flow path direction.
A grooved member 50 provided with a groove for constituting 3 (or the liquid flow path 10 in FIG. 1) is provided on the separation wall 30. In the present embodiment, the height of the flow path ceiling near the position of the free end 32 of the movable member is increased, so that the operation angle θ of the movable member can be made larger.
The operation range of the movable member may be determined in consideration of the structure of the liquid flow path, durability and bubbling force of the movable member, but it is desirable that the movable member be operated up to an angle including the angle in the axial direction of the discharge port. Conceivable.

Further, as shown in this figure, by making the displacement height of the free end of the movable member higher than the diameter of the discharge port,
More sufficient ejection force is transmitted. Further, as shown in this figure, the height of the liquid flow path ceiling at the fulcrum 33 position of the movable member is lower than the height of the liquid flow path ceiling at the free end 32 position of the movable member. It is possible to more effectively prevent the pressure wave from escaping to the upstream side due to the displacement of.

<Arrangement Relationship between Second Liquid Flow Path and Movable Member> FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement relationship between the movable member 31 and the second liquid flow path 16 described above. (a) is a view of the separation wall 30 and the vicinity of the movable member 31 as viewed from above, and (b) of the same figure is a view of the second liquid flow path 16 with the separation wall 30 removed as viewed from above. FIG. 3C is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement relationship between the movable member 6 and the second liquid flow path 16 by overlapping these elements. In each of the figures, the lower part of the drawing is the front side where the discharge ports are arranged.

The second liquid flow path 16 of the present embodiment is located upstream of the heating element 2 (the upstream side here is from the second common liquid chamber side through the heating element position, the movable member, and the first flow path). The upstream side of the large flow toward the discharge port) has a narrowed portion 19 so that the pressure during bubbling is prevented from easily escaping to the upstream side of the second liquid flow path 16. It has a chamber (foaming chamber) structure.

Like the conventional head, the flow path for foaming and the flow path for discharging the liquid are the same, and the constriction is formed so that the pressure generated on the liquid chamber side of the heating element does not escape to the common liquid chamber side. In the case of the head provided with, it is necessary to take into consideration the refilling of the liquid, and to adopt a configuration in which the flow passage cross-sectional area in the narrowed portion is not so small.

However, in the case of this embodiment, most of the discharged liquid can be used as the discharge liquid in the first liquid flow path,
Since the foaming liquid in the second liquid flow path provided with the heating element can be prevented from being consumed so much, the amount of the foaming liquid filled in the bubble generation region 11 of the second liquid flow path may be small. Therefore, since the interval in the constricted portion 19 can be made very small, that is, several μm to several tens of μm, it is possible to further suppress the pressure at the time of foaming generated in the second liquid flow path from being released too much to the surroundings, and to concentrate and move. It can be turned to the member side. Since this pressure can be used as the discharge force via the movable member 31, higher discharge efficiency and discharge force can be achieved. However, the shape of the first liquid flow path 16 is not limited to the above-described structure, and may be any shape as long as the pressure accompanying the generation of bubbles can be effectively transmitted to the movable member side.

As shown in FIG. 20 (c), the side of the movable member 31 covers a part of the wall forming the second liquid flow path, whereby the second side of the movable member 31 is covered. It is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing into the liquid channel. This can further enhance the separability between the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid described above. In addition, since the escape of bubbles from the slits can be suppressed, the discharge pressure and the discharge efficiency can be further increased. further,
The effect of the refill from the upstream side by the pressure at the time of the defoaming can be enhanced.

Incidentally, in FIG. 18B and FIG.
With the displacement of the movable member 6 toward the first liquid flow path 14, the second
Some of the bubbles generated in the bubble generation region of the liquid flow path 4
However, by setting the height of the second flow path such that the bubbles extend, the ejection force can be further improved as compared with the case where the bubbles do not extend. be able to.
In order for the bubbles to extend into the first liquid flow path 14 in this manner, it is desirable that the height of the second liquid flow path 16 be lower than the height of the maximum bubble. μm to 30μ
m is desirable. In this embodiment, the height is set to 15 μm.

<Movable Member and Separation Wall> FIG. 21 shows another shape of the movable member 31, and 35 is a slit provided in the separation wall, and the slit forms the movable member 31. . (A) is a rectangular shape, (b) is a shape where the fulcrum side is narrower and the movable member is easy to operate, and (c) is a shape where the fulcrum side is wider and the movable member is wider. This is a shape that improves the durability of the device.
As a shape having good operability and durability, FIG.
As shown in (a), it is desirable that the width on the fulcrum side is narrowed in an arc shape, but the shape of the movable member is a shape that can easily operate without entering the second liquid flow path side. ,
Any shape having excellent durability may be used.

In the previous embodiment, the plate-shaped movable member 31 and the separation wall 5 having this movable member have a thickness of 5 μm.
However, the material of the movable member and the separation wall is not limited to this, and has a solvent resistance to the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid, and has elasticity to operate well as the movable member. What is necessary is just to be able to form a fine slit.

The material of the movable member has high durability,
Metals such as silver, nickel, gold, iron, titanium, aluminum, platinum, tantalum, stainless steel, phosphor bronze, and alloys thereof, or resins having a nitrile group such as acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene, and amide groups such as polyamide Resin, resin having a carboxyl group such as polycarbonate, resin having an aldehyde group such as polyacetal, resin having a sulfone group such as polysulfone,
In addition, resins and compounds such as liquid crystal polymers, highly ink-resistant metals such as gold, tungsten, tantalum, nickel, stainless steel, titanium, alloys of these and those with ink resistance coated on the surface or polyamide A resin having an amide group such as
Resins having an aldehyde group such as polyacetal, resins having a ketone group such as polyetheretherketone, resins having an imide group such as polyimide, resins having a hydroxyl group such as a phenol resin, resins having an ethyl group such as polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. A resin having an alkyl group, a resin having an epoxy group such as an epoxy resin, a resin having an amino group such as a melamine resin, a resin having a methylol group such as a xylene resin and its compound, and a ceramic such as silicon dioxide and its compound. desirable.

The material of the separating wall is polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, melamine resin, phenol resin, epoxy resin, polybutadiene, polyurethane, polyether ether ketone, polyether sulfone, polyarylate, polyimide, polysulfone, liquid crystal. Resins having good heat resistance, solvent resistance, and moldability represented by recent engineering plastics such as polymers (LCP), and compounds thereof, or silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, nickel,
Metals such as gold and stainless steel, alloys and their compounds, or those whose surfaces are coated with titanium or gold are desirable.

The thickness of the separation wall may be determined in consideration of its material and shape from the viewpoint that the strength as the separation wall can be achieved and the movable member can operate satisfactorily.
A thickness of about 0.5 to 10 μm is desirable.

The width of the slit 35 for forming the movable member 31 is set to 2 μm in the present embodiment, but when the bubbling liquid and the discharge liquid are different liquids and it is desired to prevent the mixture of both liquids, The slit width may be set to an interval such that a meniscus is formed between the two liquids to suppress the flow of the respective liquids. For example, when a liquid of about 2 cP (centipoise) is used as the foaming liquid and a liquid of 100 cP or more is used as the discharge liquid, the liquid mixture can be prevented even with a slit of about 5 μm, but it is preferable that the slit be 3 μm or less. .

As the movable member in the present invention, the thickness (t μm) on the order of μm is targeted, and the movable member having the thickness on the order of cm is not intended. For a movable member having a thickness on the order of μm, a slit width (W
μm), it is desirable to consider the manufacturing variations to some extent.

When the thickness of the member facing the free end and / or the side end of the movable member forming the slit is equal to the thickness of the movable member (FIGS. 18, 19 and the like), the relationship between the slit width and the thickness is calculated. By considering the variation and setting it in the following range, it is possible to stably suppress the mixture of the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid. Although this is a limited condition, when a high-viscosity ink (5 cp, 10 cp, etc.) is used for a foaming liquid having a viscosity of 3 cp or less, W / t
By satisfying ≦ 1, it became possible to suppress the mixing of the two liquids for a long period of time.

It is more certain that the slit which gives the "substantially closed state" of the present invention is of the order of several μm.

As described above, when the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are functionally separated, the movable member serves as a substantial partitioning member for these. It can be seen that the foaming liquid mixes slightly with the discharge liquid when the movable member moves with the generation of bubbles. In consideration of the fact that an ejection liquid for forming an image generally has a colorant density of about 3% to 5% in the case of ink jet recording, this foaming liquid is in a range of 20% or less with respect to the ejection droplet. Does not cause a large change in concentration. Therefore, the present invention includes such a mixed liquid as a mixture of a foaming liquid and an ejected liquid such that the amount thereof is 20% or less of the ejected liquid droplets.

In the implementation of the above configuration example, the foaming liquid is mixed at an upper limit of 15% even if the viscosity is changed. For a foaming liquid of 5 cP or less, this mixing ratio depends on the driving frequency, but is 10%. The upper limit was about%.

In particular, as the viscosity of the discharge liquid is set to 20 cP or less, this mixed liquid can be reduced (for example, 5% or less).

Next, the positional relationship between the heating element and the movable member in this head will be described with reference to the drawings. However,
The shapes, dimensions, and numbers of the movable member and the heating element are not limited to the following. By the optimal arrangement of the heating element and the movable member, the pressure at the time of foaming by the heating element can be effectively used as the discharge pressure.

By applying energy such as heat to the ink, a state change accompanied by a sharp volume change (generation of bubbles) is caused in the ink, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port by the action force based on this state change. In a conventional technique of an ink jet recording method in which an image is formed by adhering a recording medium onto a recording medium, that is, a so-called bubble jet recording method, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, it can be seen that there is a non-foaming effective region S that does not contribute to ink ejection, although the heating element area and the ink ejection amount are in a proportional relationship. In addition, from the appearance of the kogation on the heating element, it can be seen that the non-foaming effective area S exists around the heating element. From these results, it is considered that the width of about 4 μm around the heating element is not involved in foaming.

Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the foaming pressure, it is effective to dispose the movable member such that the region directly above the effective foaming region of about 4 μm or more from the periphery of the heating element is covered with the movable region of the movable member. Can be said to be target. In the present embodiment, the effective foaming area is about 4 μm from the periphery of the heating element.
Although the inside is described above, it is not limited to this depending on the type of the heating element and the forming method.

FIG. 23 shows a movable member 301 ((a) in which the total area of the movable region is different from that of the heating element 2 of 58 × 150 μm.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram viewed from above when the movable member 302 (FIG. 2B) is arranged.

The size of the movable member 301 is 53 × 145 μ.
m, which is smaller than the area of the heating element 2, but approximately the same as the effective foaming area of the heating element 2, and is arranged so as to cover the effective foaming area. On the other hand, the size of the movable member 302 is 53 × 220 μm, which is larger than the area of the heating element 2 (when the width is the same, the dimension between the fulcrum and the movable tip is longer than the length of the heating element). Is arranged so as to cover the effective foaming area. The durability and discharge efficiency of the two types of movable members 301 and 302 were measured. The measurement conditions are as follows.

Foaming liquid: Ethanol 40% aqueous solution Ejection ink: Dye ink Voltage: 20.2V Frequency: 3 kHz As a result of conducting an experiment under these measurement conditions, the durability of the movable member is (a) the movable member 301. When 1 × 10 ⁷ pulses were applied, the fulcrum of the movable member 301 was damaged. (B) 3 × 10 ^{8 for the} movable member 302
No damage was seen when the pulse was applied. It was also confirmed that the kinetic energy based on the discharge amount and the discharge speed with respect to the input energy was improved by about 1.5 to 2.5 times.

From the above results, in terms of both durability and ejection efficiency, it is preferable that the movable member is provided so as to cover the bubbling effective area and the area of the movable member is larger than the area of the heating element. It turns out to be excellent.

FIG. 24 shows the relationship between the distance from the edge of the heating element to the fulcrum of the movable member and the amount of displacement of the movable member. FIG. 25 is a sectional view showing the positional relationship between the heating element 2 and the movable member 31 as viewed from the side. Heating element 2 is 40 ×
The one having a size of 105 μm was used. It can be seen that the greater the distance l from the edge of the heating element 2 to the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31, the greater the displacement. Therefore, it is desirable to determine the optimal displacement amount and determine the position of the fulcrum of the movable member based on the required ink discharge amount, the discharge liquid flow path structure, and the shape of the heating element.

When the fulcrum of the movable member is located immediately above the effective foaming area of the heating element, the foaming pressure is directly applied to the fulcrum in addition to the stress due to the displacement of the movable member, and the durability of the movable member is reduced. . According to the experiment of the present inventor, it was found that, in the case where the fulcrum was provided right above the effective foaming area, the movable wall was damaged by about 1 × 10 ⁶ pulses, and the durability was reduced. I have. Therefore, by arranging the fulcrum of the movable member just above the effective foaming area of the heating element, the practicability increases even if the movable member has a shape or material whose durability is not so high. However, even if there is a fulcrum just above the effective foaming area, it can be used favorably if the shape and material are selected. With this configuration, a liquid ejection head having high ejection efficiency and excellent durability can be obtained.

<Element Substrate> The structure of the element substrate provided with a heating element for applying heat to the liquid will be described below.

FIG. 26 is a vertical sectional view of a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. FIG. 26 (a) shows a head having a protective film, which will be described later, and FIG. 26 (b), which does not have the protective film.

The second liquid flow path 16 and the separation wall 3 are provided on the element substrate 1.
0, a first liquid flow path 14, and a grooved member 50 provided with grooves forming the first liquid flow path.

A gas 107 such as silicon is formed on the element substrate 1.
A silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film 106 for insulation and heat storage is formed thereon, and hafnium boride (HfB ₂ ), tantalum nitride (TaN), and tantalum aluminum (TaAl) constituting a heating element are formed thereon. 17) and a wiring electrode (0.2 to 1.0 μm thick) of aluminum or the like are patterned as shown in FIG. These two wiring electrodes 10
From 4, a voltage is applied to the resistance layer 105, and a current flows through the resistance layer to generate heat. On the resistance layer between the wiring electrodes, a protective layer such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride is formed with a thickness of 0.1 to 2.0 μm, and further thereon, a cavitation resistant layer such as tantalum (with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.6 μm) is formed. ) Is deposited,
The resistance layer 105 is protected from various liquids such as ink.

In particular, the pressure and shock wave generated at the time of bubble generation and defoaming are very strong, and the durability of a hard and brittle oxide film is remarkably reduced. Therefore, tantalum (Ta) of a metal material is used.
Are used as a cavitation-resistant layer.

Further, a constitution in which the above-mentioned protective layer is not necessary depending on the combination of the liquid, the liquid flow path constitution, and the resistance material may be used, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. 26 (b). Examples of the material of the resistance layer that does not require such a protective layer include an iridium-tantalum-aluminum alloy.

As described above, the structure of the heating element in each of the above-described embodiments may be only the resistance layer (heat generating portion) between the electrodes described above, or may include a protective layer for protecting the resistance layer. .

In the present embodiment, the heating element having the heating portion composed of the resistance layer that generates heat in response to the electric signal is used. However, the heating element is not limited to this and may be used for discharging the discharge liquid. Any material may be used as long as it produces sufficient bubbles in the foaming liquid. For example, a light-to-heat converter that generates heat by receiving light from a laser or the like, or a heat generator that has a heat generating unit that generates heat by receiving a high frequency may be used as the heat generating unit.

On the element substrate 1 described above, in addition to the electrothermal converter constituted by the resistance layer 105 forming the heat generating section and the wiring electrode 104 for supplying an electric signal to the resistance layer, Functional elements such as a transistor, a diode, a latch, and a shift register for selectively driving the electrothermal conversion element may be integrally formed in the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Further, in order to drive the heat generating portion of the electrothermal converter provided on the element substrate 1 as described above and eject the liquid, the resistance layer 105 is connected to the resistance layer 105 via the wiring electrode 104 as shown in FIG. A rectangular pulse as shown by is applied to rapidly generate heat in the resistance layer 105 between the wiring electrodes. In the head of each of the above embodiments, the voltage is 24 V, the pulse width is 7 μsec, the current is 150 mA, and the electric signal is 6 kHz.
Then, the heating element was driven, and the liquid ink was ejected from the ejection port by the above-described operation. However, the condition of the drive signal is not limited to this, and any drive signal can be used as long as it can appropriately foam the foaming liquid.

<Head Structure with Two-Channel Structure> In the following, different liquids can be satisfactorily separated and introduced into the first and second common liquid chambers, the number of parts can be reduced, and the liquid discharge which enables cost reduction. A structural example of the head will be described.

FIG. 28 is a schematic view showing the structure of such a liquid discharge head, and the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those of the previous embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

In this embodiment, the grooved member 50 is used.
Communicates in common with the orifice plate 51 having the discharge port 18, the plurality of grooves constituting the plurality of first liquid flow paths 14, and the plurality of liquid flow paths 14, and communicates with each of the first liquid flow paths 3. And a recess forming a first common liquid chamber 15 for supplying a liquid (ejection liquid).

The separating wall 30 is provided on the lower side of the grooved member 50.
Can be formed to form a plurality of first liquid flow paths 14. Such a grooved member 50 has a first liquid supply path 20 that reaches the inside of the first common liquid chamber 15 from above. Further, the grooved member 50 penetrates the separation wall 30 from the upper part thereof and reaches the second common liquid chamber 17 in the second common liquid chamber 17.
The liquid supply path 21 of FIG.

The first liquid (discharge liquid) is the arrow C in FIG.
As shown by, the liquid is supplied to the first common liquid chamber 15 and then to the first liquid flow path 14 through the first liquid supply path 20, and the second liquid (foaming liquid) is indicated by an arrow D in FIG. As shown, the second
The second common liquid chamber 17 and then the second common liquid chamber 17 via the liquid supply passage 21.
The liquid is supplied to the liquid flow path 16.

In this embodiment, the second liquid supply passage 21
Is arranged in parallel with the first liquid supply passage 20, but is not limited to this, penetrates the separation wall 30 arranged outside the first common liquid chamber 15, and 17 may be arranged in any way as long as it is formed so as to communicate with 17.

The thickness (diameter) of the second liquid supply passage 21
Is determined in consideration of the supply amount of the second liquid.
The shape of the second liquid supply path 21 does not need to be round,
It may be rectangular or the like.

The second common liquid chamber 17 has the grooved member 50.
By the partition wall 30. As a forming method, as shown in an exploded perspective view of the present embodiment example shown in FIG. 29 (a single heater board is shown in this drawing for ease of explanation), a common liquid chamber is formed on the element substrate by a dry film. The second common liquid chamber 17 and the second liquid flow path are formed by bonding the combination of the grooved member 50 to which the frame and the second liquid passage wall are fixed and the separation wall is fixed, and the element substrate 1 to each other. 16 may be formed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, as a heating element that generates heat for generating bubbles due to film boiling in the foaming liquid on the support 70 formed of a metal such as aluminum. An element substrate 1 provided with a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements is arranged.

On the element substrate 1, the plurality of grooves forming the liquid flow path 16 formed by the second liquid path wall and the plurality of foaming liquid flow paths are communicated with each other, and the foaming liquid paths are formed in the respective foaming liquid paths. For forming the second common liquid chamber (common bubbling liquid chamber) 17 and the separation wall 30 provided with the movable wall 31 described above.
And are arranged.

Reference numeral 50 is a grooved member. The grooved member is joined to the separation wall 30 to form a discharge liquid flow path (first
A first common liquid chamber (common discharge liquid chamber) 15 which communicates with the groove forming the liquid flow path) 14 and the discharge liquid flow path to supply the discharge liquid to each discharge liquid flow path; Of the recess,
A first supply path (discharge liquid supply path) 20 for supplying discharge liquid to the first common liquid chamber, and a second supply path (foam liquid supply) for supplying foaming liquid to the second common liquid chamber 17. (Road) 21. The second supply passage 21 penetrates the separation wall 30 disposed outside the first common liquid chamber 15 and
7, the foaming liquid is not mixed with the discharge liquid by the communication path, and the foamed liquid is mixed with the second common liquid chamber 1.
5 can be supplied.

The arrangement relationship among the element substrate 1, the separating wall 30, and the grooved top plate 50 is that the movable member 31 is arranged corresponding to the heating element of the element substrate 1, and corresponds to this movable member 31. A discharge liquid flow path 14 is arranged. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which one second supply path is arranged in the grooved member is shown, but a plurality of second supply paths may be provided depending on the supply amount. Furthermore, the flow path cross-sectional area of the discharge liquid supply path 20 and the foaming liquid supply path 21 may be determined in proportion to the supply amount.

By optimizing the flow path cross-sectional area as described above, it is possible to further reduce the size of the parts constituting the grooved member 50 and the like.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the second supply passage for supplying the second liquid to the second liquid passage,
Since the first supply path for supplying the first liquid to the first liquid flow path is formed of the same grooved top plate as the grooved member, the number of parts can be reduced, and the process can be shortened and the cost can be reduced. Become.

Further, the supply of the second liquid to the second common liquid chamber communicating with the second liquid flow passage is performed by the second liquid flow passage in the direction of penetrating the separation wall for separating the first liquid and the second liquid. Since the structure is performed, the step of attaching the separating wall, the grooved member, and the heating element forming substrate only needs to be performed once, and the easiness of making is improved, the attaching accuracy is improved, and good ejection is achieved. You can

Further, since the second liquid penetrates the separation wall and is supplied to the second liquid common liquid chamber, the second liquid can be reliably supplied to the second liquid flow path, and a sufficient supply amount can be secured.
Stable discharge is possible.

<Discharging Liquid, Foaming Liquid> As described in the above embodiment, in the present invention, by the structure having the movable member as described above, the discharging force and the discharging efficiency are higher than those of the conventional liquid discharging head. Moreover, the liquid can be discharged at high speed. When the same liquid is used as the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid in the embodiment, the heat is not deteriorated by the heat applied from the heating element, the deposit is hardly generated on the heating element by heating, and the vaporization is caused by the heat. In addition, various liquids can be used as long as they can change the reversible state of condensation and do not deteriorate the liquid flow path, the movable member, the separation wall, and the like.

Among such liquids, as the liquid used for recording (recording liquid), the ink having the composition used in the conventional bubble jet device can be used.

On the other hand, when the head having the two-channel structure of the present invention is used and the discharge liquid and the foaming liquid are different liquids, the liquid having the above-mentioned properties may be used as the foaming liquid. , Methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, toluene, xylene, methylene dichloride, trichlene, Freon TF, Freon BF, ethyl ether, dioxane, cyclohexane, methyl acetate, acetic acid ethyl,
Examples include acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, water, and the like, and mixtures thereof.

As the discharge liquid, various liquids can be used regardless of the presence or absence of foaming property and the thermal property. In addition, liquids having low foaming properties, liquids which are easily deteriorated or deteriorated by heat, high-viscosity liquids, and the like, which have been difficult to discharge conventionally, can be used.

However, as the properties of the discharge liquid, the discharge liquid itself,
Alternatively, it is desirable that the liquid is not a liquid that hinders ejection, foaming, operation of the movable member, or the like due to a reaction with the foaming liquid.

High-viscosity ink or the like can be used as the ejection liquid for recording. As other discharge liquids, liquids such as medicines and perfumes that are vulnerable to heat can be used.

In the present invention, recording was performed using an ink having the following composition as a recording liquid that can be used as both a discharge liquid and a foaming liquid. As a result, the droplet landing accuracy was improved and a very good recorded image could be obtained.

Composition of dye ink (viscosity 2 cP) (CI Food Black 2) Dye 3% by weight Diethylene glycol 10% by weight Thiodiglycol 5% by weight Ethanol 5% by weight Water 77% by weight Recording was performed by ejecting a combination of liquids having the compositions shown below. As a result, it was possible to satisfactorily eject a liquid having a viscosity as high as 150 cP as well as a liquid having a viscosity of more than 10 cP, which was difficult to eject with a conventional head, and to obtain a high-quality recorded matter.

Composition of foaming liquid 1 Ethanol 40% by weight Water 60% by weight Composition of foaming liquid 2 Water 100% by weight Composition of foaming liquid 3 Isopropyl alcohol 10% by weight Water 90% by weight Discharge liquid 1 Pigment ink (viscosity about 15 cP) Composition Carbon black 5% by weight Styrene-acrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer 1% by weight (acid value 140, weight average molecular weight 8000) Monoethanolamine 0.25% by weight Glycerin 69% by weight Thiodiglycol 5% by weight Ethanol 3 % By weight Water 16.75% by weight Composition of ejection liquid 2 (viscosity 55 cP) Polyethylene glycol 200 100% by weight Composition of ejection liquid 3 (viscosity 150 cP) Polyethylene glycol 600 100% by weight By the way, it is said that the conventional ejection is difficult. If the liquid used was Because, the conducive variation in ejection directionality is poor landing accuracy of the dot on the recording paper, also by variation in the discharge amount due to unstable discharge occurs in these, high-quality image was difficult to obtain. However, in the configuration of the above-described embodiment, it is possible to generate bubbles sufficiently and stably by using the foaming liquid. As a result, it is possible to improve the landing accuracy of the droplets and stabilize the ink discharge amount, and it is possible to remarkably improve the quality of the recorded image.

<Manufacturing of Liquid Discharging Head> Next, the manufacturing process of the liquid discharging head of the present invention will be described.

In the case of the liquid discharge head as shown in FIG. 7, a base 34 for providing the movable member 31 on the element substrate 1 is formed by patterning a dry film or the like, and the base 34 is provided with a movable member. 31 was adhered or fixed by welding. Thereafter, a grooved member having a plurality of grooves forming each liquid flow path 10, a discharge port 18, and a concave part forming the common liquid chamber 13 is joined to the element substrate 1 in such a manner that the grooves correspond to the movable members. It was formed by doing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG.
The manufacturing process of the liquid discharge head having the flow path configuration will be described.

Roughly speaking, the second liquid flow path 1 is formed on the element substrate 1.
6, a separation wall 30 is mounted thereon, and a grooved member 50 provided with a groove or the like constituting the first liquid flow path 14 is further mounted thereon. Alternatively, the second liquid flow path 1
After forming the wall of No. 6, the head was manufactured by joining the grooved member 50 on which the separation wall 30 was attached to the wall.

Further, the method for producing the second liquid flow path will be described in detail.

30 (a) to 30 (e) are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining an example of the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), hafnium boride, tantalum nitride, etc. are formed on the element substrate (silicon wafer) 1 by using the same manufacturing apparatus used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. After forming the electrothermal conversion element having the heating element 2 made of, the surface of the element substrate 1 was washed for the purpose of improving the adhesion to the photosensitive resin in the next step. Furthermore, in order to improve the adhesion, after performing a surface modification on the surface of the element substrate with UV-ozone or the like,
For example, a silane coupling agent (manufactured by Nippon Yunika: A18
This is achieved by spin-coating a liquid obtained by diluting 9) to 1% by weight with ethyl alcohol on the modified surface.

Next, as shown in (b), an ultraviolet-sensitive resin film (manufactured by Tokyo Ohka: Dry Film Audyl SY) was washed on the surface of the substrate 1 having improved adhesion.
-318) DF was laminated.

Next, as shown in (c), a photomask PM is arranged on the dry film DF, and the portion of the dry film DF left as the second flow path wall is exposed to ultraviolet rays through the photomask PM. Was irradiated. This exposure step
Manufactured by Canon Inc .: MPA-600, about 6
The exposure amount was 00 mJ / cm ² .

Next, as shown in (d), the dry film DF is developed with a developing solution (BMRC-3 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kabushiki Kaisha) made of a mixed solution of xylene and butyl cellosolve acetate, and the unexposed portion is exposed. The portion which was dissolved, exposed and cured was formed as the wall portion of the second liquid flow path 16. Further, the residue remaining on the surface of the element substrate 1 is removed by treating it with an oxygen plasma ashing apparatus (MAS-800, manufactured by Alcantech) for about 90 seconds, and subsequently, at 150 ° C. for 2 hours, and further 100 mJ / cm ^{2 of} ultraviolet irradiation. The exposure was completely cured.

By the above method, the second liquid flow path can be formed uniformly and accurately on a plurality of heater boards (element substrates) divided and manufactured from the silicon substrate. A dicing machine (manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu:
(AWD-4000) to cut and separate each heater board 1. An adhesive (made by Toray:
It was fixed on the aluminum base plate 70 by SE4400) (FIG. 33). Next, the aluminum base plate 70
An aluminum wire (not shown) having a diameter of 0.05 mm is formed by connecting the printed wiring board 71 bonded above and the heater board 1 to each other.
Connected with.

Next, as shown in FIG. 30 (e), the joined body of the grooved member 50 and the separating wall 30 was positioned and joined to the heater board 1 thus obtained by the method described above.
That is, the grooved member having the separating wall 30 and the heater board 1 are positioned and engaged and fixed by the pressing spring 78, and then the ink / foaming liquid supply member 80 is joined and fixed on the aluminum base plate 70, and the aluminum wire is fixed. , Grooved member 50, heater board 1, and ink / foaming liquid supply member 80
Silicone sealant (Toshiba Silicone:
It was completed by sealing with TSE399).

By forming the second liquid flow path by the above manufacturing method, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate flow path with no positional deviation with respect to the heater of each heater board. In particular, by joining the grooved member 50 and the separation wall 30 in the previous step in advance, the positional accuracy of the first liquid flow path 14 and the movable member 31 can be improved.

By these high-precision manufacturing techniques, the ejection is stabilized and the printing quality is improved. Further, since it can be formed on a wafer all at once, a large amount can be manufactured at low cost.

In this embodiment, a UV-curable dry film was used to form the second liquid flow path. However, a resin having an absorption band in the UV region, especially around 248 nm was used, and after lamination. It is also possible to obtain it by curing, and by directly removing the resin of the portion which will be the second liquid flow path by an excimer laser.

31 (a) to 31 (d) are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), the resist 1 having a thickness of 15 μm is formed on the SUS substrate 100.
01 was patterned in the shape of the second liquid flow path.

Next, as shown in (b), the SUS substrate 1
00 was electroplated to grow a nickel layer 102 on the SUS substrate 100 by 15 μm. As a plating solution, a stress reducing agent (manufactured by World Metal Co., Ltd .: Zerool), boric acid, a pit inhibitor (World Metal Co., Ltd .: NP-APS), and nickel chloride were used in nickel sulphomate. As for the method of applying an electric field at the time of electrodeposition, an electrode was attached to the anode side, the already patterned SUS substrate 100 was attached to the cathode side, and the temperature of the plating solution was set to 50 ° C.
And the current density was 5 A / cm ² .

Next, as shown in (c), an ultrasonic vibration is applied to the SUS substrate 100 which has been plated as described above, and the nickel layer 102 is peeled off from the SUS substrate 100, and the desired second A liquid flow path was obtained.

On the other hand, a heater board provided with an electrothermal conversion element was formed on a silicon wafer using the same manufacturing apparatus as that for semiconductors. This wafer was separated into each heater board by a dicing machine in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. The heater board 1 was joined to an aluminum base plate 70 to which a printed board 104 had been joined in advance, and electrical wiring was formed by connecting the printed board 71 and aluminum wires (not shown). On the heater board 1 in such a state, as shown in FIG. 31 (d), it was positioned and fixed to the second liquid channel obtained in the previous step. When fixing this,
As in the case of the first embodiment, in the subsequent step, the top plate having the separation wall fixed thereto is engaged and brought into close contact with the pressing spring, so it is sufficient if the top plate is fixed to the extent that no positional displacement occurs during joining. .

In this embodiment, an ultraviolet curable adhesive (made by Grace Japan: Amicon UV) is used for the positioning and fixing.
-300) was applied, and the fixing was completed in about 3 seconds with an exposure amount of 100 mJ / cm ² using an ultraviolet irradiation device.

According to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment example, in addition to being able to obtain a highly accurate second liquid flow path with no positional deviation with respect to the heating element, the flow path wall is formed of nickel. It is possible to provide a head that is strong against alkaline liquid and has high reliability.

32 (a) to 32 (d) are schematic sectional views for explaining a third embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), the resist 31 is formed on both surfaces of the SUS substrate 100 having a thickness of 15 μm and having alignment holes or marks 100a.
Was applied. Here, as the resist, PMERP-AR900 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Co., Ltd. was used.

Thereafter, as shown in (b), the element substrate 1
Exposure was performed using an exposure apparatus (MPA-600, manufactured by Canon Inc.) in accordance with the alignment hole 100a of No. 00, and the resist 103 in the portion where the second liquid flow path was to be formed was removed. The exposure was performed at an exposure amount of 800 mJ / cm ² .

Next, as shown in (c), the SUS substrate 100 having the resist 103 on both sides patterned is immersed in an etching solution (an aqueous solution of ferric chloride or cupric chloride) to expose it from the resist 103. After etching the affected portion, the resist was peeled off.

Next, as shown in (d), the etched SUS substrate 100 is positioned and fixed on the heater board 1 in the same manner as in the previous embodiment of the manufacturing method, and the second liquid flow path 4 is formed. A liquid ejection head having the above was assembled.

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment, since the second liquid flow path 4 with high accuracy and no positional deviation with respect to the heater can be obtained, and since the flow path is formed of SUS,
It is possible to provide a highly reliable liquid ejection head that is resistant to acid and alkaline liquids.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the electrothermal converter and the second liquid flow path are formed by previously disposing the walls of the second liquid flow path in the element substrate shape. Can be positioned with high accuracy. Further, since the second liquid flow paths can be simultaneously formed on a large number of element substrates on the substrate before cutting and separating, it is possible to provide a large amount and low cost of the liquid ejection head.

Further, in the liquid discharge head obtained by carrying out the method of manufacturing the liquid discharge head of the manufacturing method of the present embodiment example, the heating element and the second liquid flow path are positioned with high precision. Further, the pressure of foaming due to the heat generation of the electrothermal converter can be efficiently received, and the discharge efficiency becomes excellent.

<Liquid Ejection Head Cartridge> Next, a liquid ejection head cartridge equipped with the liquid ejection head according to the above-described embodiment will be schematically described.

FIG. 33 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a liquid discharge head cartridge including the above-described liquid discharge head. The liquid discharge head cartridge is mainly composed of a liquid discharge head portion 200 and a liquid container 80. There is.

The liquid discharge head section 200 comprises the element substrate 1,
It comprises a separation wall 30, a grooved member 50, a pressing spring 78, a liquid supply member 90, a support 70 and the like. As described above, the element substrate 1 is provided with a plurality of heating resistors for applying heat to the foaming liquid in a row, and a functional element for selectively driving the heating resistors. Are provided. This element substrate 1 and the aforementioned separation wall 3 having a movable wall
0, a foaming liquid passage is formed, and the foaming liquid flows. By joining the separation wall 30 and the grooved top plate 50, a discharge flow path (not shown) through which the discharged liquid to be discharged flows is formed.

The pressing spring 78 is a member for exerting an urging force on the grooved member 50 in the direction of the element substrate 1, and the urging force causes the element substrate 1, the separation wall 30, the grooved member 50, and a support member described later. 70 and 70 are well integrated.

The support body 70 is for supporting the element substrate 1 and the like, and on the support body 70, a circuit board 71 for connecting to the element substrate 1 and supplying an electric signal,
Contact pads 72 are provided for exchanging electrical signals with the device side by connecting to the device side.

The liquid container 90 contains the ejection liquid such as ink and the bubbling liquid for generating bubbles, which are supplied to the liquid ejection head, separately. Outside the liquid container 90, a positioning portion 94 for arranging a connection member for connecting the liquid ejection head and the liquid container and a fixed shaft 95 for fixing the connection portion are provided. The discharge liquid is supplied from the discharge liquid supply path 92 of the liquid container to the discharge liquid supply path 81 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path 84 of the connection member.
And the discharge liquid supply paths 83, 71, 21 of each member
To the first common liquid chamber. Similarly, the foaming liquid is supplied from the supply path 93 of the liquid container to the foaming liquid supply path 82 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path of the connecting member, and is supplied via the foaming liquid supply paths 84, 71, and 22 of the respective members. The liquid is supplied to the second liquid chamber.

In the liquid ejection head cartridge described above, the supply form and the liquid container capable of supplying even when the bubbling liquid and the ejection liquid are different liquids have been described. However, when the ejection liquid and the bubbling liquid are the same. In addition, it is not necessary to separate the supply path and container for the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid.

The liquid container may be refilled with the liquid after the consumption of each liquid. For this purpose, it is desirable to provide a liquid inlet in the liquid container. Further, the liquid discharge head and the liquid container may be integrated or may be separable.

<Liquid Ejecting Device> FIG. 34 shows a schematic structure of a liquid ejecting device equipped with the above-mentioned liquid ejecting head. In the present embodiment, a carriage HC of a liquid ejecting apparatus, which will be described using an ink ejecting recording apparatus that uses ink as an ejecting liquid, is a liquid tank unit 90 that contains ink.
The liquid ejection head unit 200 is mounted with a detachable head cartridge, and reciprocates in the width direction of the recording medium 150 such as recording paper conveyed by the recording medium conveying means.

When a drive signal is supplied from the drive signal supply means (not shown) to the liquid discharge means on the carriage, the recording liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge head onto the recording medium in response to this signal.

Further, in the liquid ejecting apparatus of this embodiment, the motor 111 as a drive source for driving the recording medium conveying means and the carriage, and the gears 112, 113 for transmitting the power from the drive source to the carriage. It has a carriage shaft 115 and the like. With this recording apparatus and the liquid ejection method performed by this recording apparatus, a recorded matter of a good image could be obtained by ejecting liquid to various recording media.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram of the entire apparatus for operating ink discharge recording to which the liquid discharge method and liquid discharge head of the present invention are applied.

The recording apparatus receives print information as a control signal from the host computer 300. The print information is temporarily stored in an input interface 301 inside the printing apparatus, and at the same time, is converted into data that can be processed in the printing apparatus, and is input to the CPU 302 also serving as a head drive signal supply unit. The CPU 302 processes data input to the CPU 302 using a peripheral unit such as the RAM 304 based on a control program stored in the ROM 303,
Convert to print data (image data).

Further, the CPU 302 produces drive data for driving a drive motor that moves the recording sheet and the recording head in synchronization with the image data in order to record the image data at an appropriate position on the recording sheet. The image data and the motor drive data are respectively supplied to the head driver 307,
The image is formed by being transmitted to the head 200 and the drive motor 306 via the motor driver 305 and being driven at respective controlled timings.

The recording medium that can be applied to the recording apparatus as described above and to which liquid such as ink is applied is various kinds of paper, OHP sheets, plastic materials, cloth, aluminum used for compact discs, decorative plates, etc. Metal materials such as copper and copper, leather materials such as cowhide, pigskin and artificial leather, wood materials such as wood and plywood, bamboo materials, ceramic materials such as tiles, and three-dimensional structures such as sponges can be targeted.

As the recording device described above, various types of paper and O
A printer device for recording on an HP sheet or the like, a recording device for a plastic for recording on a plastic material such as a compact disc, a recording device for a metal for recording on a metal plate,
Leather recording device for recording on leather, wood recording device for recording on wood, ceramic recording device for recording on ceramics material, recording device for recording on three-dimensional mesh structure such as sponge, and cloth It also includes a printing device and the like for recording on.

As the ejection liquid used in these liquid ejection devices, liquids suitable for each recording medium and recording conditions may be used.

<Recording System> Next, an example of an ink jet recording system for recording on a recording medium using the liquid discharge head of the present invention as a recording head will be described.

FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of an ink jet recording system using the above-described liquid discharge head 201 of the present invention. The liquid ejection head according to the present embodiment is a full-line type head in which a plurality of ejection openings are arranged at intervals of 360 dpi in a length corresponding to the recordable width of the recording medium 150, and a yellow (Y), magenta (M ), Cyan (C), and black (Bk), four heads corresponding to four colors are fixedly supported by a holder 202 in parallel with each other at predetermined intervals in the X direction.

A signal is supplied to each of these heads from a head driver 307 which constitutes a drive signal supply means, and each head is driven based on this signal.

Each head is supplied with Y, M, C, and
Bk four color inks are supplied from ink containers 204a to 204d, respectively. Reference numeral 204e denotes a foaming liquid container in which a foaming liquid is stored, and the foaming liquid is supplied from the container to each head.

A head cap 203 having an ink absorbing member such as a sponge inside is disposed below each head.
a to 203d are provided, and the maintenance of the head can be performed by covering the ejection openings of each head during non-printing.

Reference numeral 206 is a conveyor belt which constitutes a conveying means for conveying various kinds of non-recording media as described in the above embodiments. The conveyor belt 206 is wound around a predetermined path by various rollers, and is driven by a driving roller connected to a motor driver 305.

In the ink jet recording system of this embodiment, the pre-processing device 251 and the post-processing device 25 which perform various kinds of processing on the recording medium before and after recording.
2 are provided upstream and downstream of the recording medium transport path, respectively.

The contents of the pre-treatment and the post-treatment differ depending on the type of recording medium on which recording is performed and the type of ink. For example, for a recording medium such as metal, plastic or ceramics, As pretreatment, ultraviolet rays and ozone are irradiated to activate the surface of the material, so that the adhesion of the ink can be improved. Further, in a recording medium such as plastic which easily generates static electricity, dust easily adheres to the surface due to the static electricity, and good recording may be hindered by the dust. For this reason, it is preferable to remove dust from the recording medium by removing static electricity from the recording medium using an ionizer device as a pretreatment.
When a cloth is used as the recording medium, an alkaline substance is added to the cloth in order to prevent bleeding and improve the first-arrival rate.
A treatment for providing a substance selected from a water-soluble substance, a synthetic polymer, a water-soluble metal salt, urea, and thiourea may be performed as pretreatment. The pre-processing is not limited to these, and may be a process of setting the temperature of the recording medium to a temperature suitable for recording.

On the other hand, the post-treatment is a fixing treatment for accelerating the fixing of the ink by heat treatment, ultraviolet irradiation or the like on the recording medium to which the ink has been applied, or washing of the unreacted treatment agent applied in the pre-treatment. The processing is performed.

Although the full line head is used as the head in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the small head as described above is conveyed in the width direction of the recording medium to perform recording. It may be one.

<Head Kit> A head kit having the liquid ejection head of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 37 shows
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing such a head kit. The head kit includes a head 510 of the present invention having an ink ejection unit 511 for ejecting ink, and an ink container 520 which is an inseparable or separable liquid container from the head. When,
An ink filling means holding the ink for filling the ink container with ink is contained in a kit container 501.

When the ink has been consumed, the insertion portion of the ink filling means (such as an injection needle) is inserted into the atmosphere communication port 521 of the ink container, the connection portion with the head, or the hole formed in the wall of the ink container. ) A part of 531 may be inserted, and the ink in the ink filling means may be filled in the ink container via the insertion portion.

In this way, the liquid discharge head of the present invention,
By packing the ink container and ink filling means into one kit container to make a kit, even if the ink is consumed, the ink can be quickly and easily filled into the ink container as described above. Recording can be started quickly.

In the head kit of this embodiment,
Although the description has been given with the one including the ink filling means, the head kit does not have the ink filling means and the separable type ink container filled with ink and the head are housed in the kit container 510. It may be in the form.

Further, although FIG. 37 shows only the ink filling means for filling the ink into the ink container, a foaming liquid filling means for filling the foaming liquid container with the foaming liquid is provided in addition to the ink container. It may be in the form of being housed in a kit container.

[0277]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the ejection characteristic distribution uniform in a liquid ejection head having a plurality of substrates and / or a plurality of separation walls, so that a plurality of separation walls are provided. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of bleeding in the recorded image due to the gaps between the substrate and the gap between the plurality of substrates, and to reduce the manufacturing yield and the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a head showing a first embodiment example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a head showing a first embodiment example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a head showing a second embodiment example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a head showing a third embodiment example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of a movable member provided on each substrate according to a fourth embodiment example (a) of the present invention;
(B) is a graph showing the discharge amount, and (c) is a graph showing the total discharge amount.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are schematic plan views showing the configurations of a heating element and a movable member provided on each substrate, respectively. A graph showing the discharge amount, (e) is a graph showing the total discharge amount.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a conventional head.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in the head of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow of the liquid of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head (two channels) of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a liquid ejection head according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a view for explaining the operation of the movable member.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining a structure of a movable member and a first liquid flow path.

FIG. 20 is a view for explaining a structure of a movable member and a liquid flow path.

FIG. 21 is a view for explaining another shape of the movable member.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a heating element area and an ink ejection amount.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between a movable member and a heating element.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a distance between an edge of a heating element and a fulcrum and a displacement amount of a movable member.

FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement relationship between a heating element and a movable member.

FIG. 26 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of a drive pulse.

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a supply path of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view of the head of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a process chart for describing the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a process diagram for describing the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a process diagram for describing the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 33 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid ejection head cartridge.

FIG. 34 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid ejection device.

FIG. 35 is a device block diagram.

FIG. 36 is a view showing a liquid ejection recording system.

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram of a head kit.

FIG. 38 is a view for explaining a liquid flow path structure of a conventional liquid discharge head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 element substrate 2 heating element 3 area center 10 liquid flow path 11 bubble generation area 12 supply path 13 common liquid chamber 14 first liquid flow path 15 first common liquid chamber 16 second liquid flow path 17 second common liquid chamber 18 Outlet 19 Narrowed part 20 First supply path 21 Second supply path 22 First liquid flow path wall 23 Second liquid flow path wall 24 Convex part 30 Separation wall 31 Movable member 32 Free end 33 Support point 34 Support member 35 Slit 36 Bubble generation Area front wall 37 Bubble generation area side wall 40 Bubble 45 Droplet 50 Grooved member 51 Orifice plate 70 Support 78 Spring 80 Supply member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Kiyomitsu Kudo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshie Nakata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sugitani 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A liquid discharge head having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging a liquid, wherein a plurality of substrates arranged so that a plurality of bubble generation regions for generating bubbles in the liquid are continuously arranged. The first position and the first position.
At least one movable member displaceable between a second position farther from the bubble generation region than the second position.
The movable member is displaced from the first position to the second position by a pressure based on the generation of bubbles in the bubble generating section, and the movable member is displaced by the displacement of the movable member. The number of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles is increased by expanding the bubbles more largely in the downstream direction than in the direction toward the discharge port to discharge the liquid, and at least in the boundary region between the plurality of substrates. , And at least one of the conditions; at least one of the conditions and the dimensions of the movable member; the size of the discharge port; and the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. Of at least one of the above conditions and at least one condition selected from the group consisting of A liquid discharge head is characterized in that to achieve a uniform. 2. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are arranged continuously. A plurality of substrates arranged in a line, a liquid flow path having a supply path along the heating element for supplying liquid onto the heating element from an upstream side of the heating element, and a liquid passage provided facing the heating element. At least one separating wall having a free end on the discharge port side and having a movable member for displacing the free end on the basis of the pressure generated by the generation of the bubbles to guide the pressure to the discharge port side, At least one of the number, size and position of energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of substrates; and any one of the size and position of the movable member. At least of the conditions The entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of one: the size of the discharge port, and at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. A liquid discharge head, which achieves uniform discharge property distribution in the liquid discharge head. 3. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are arranged continuously. A plurality of substrates arranged in a line, and having a free end provided on the discharge port side facing the heating element, and displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the generation of the bubbles to bring the pressure to the discharge port side. A movable member that guides the movable member, and at least one separation wall having a plurality of supply paths that supply liquid onto the heat generating element from the upstream side along a surface of the movable member that is close to the heat generating element, and At least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of substrates; and the condition of any of the size and position of the movable member. At least The entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of one: the size of the discharge port, and at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. A liquid discharge head, which achieves uniform discharge property distribution in the liquid discharge head. 4. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements that generate bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are arranged continuously. A plurality of substrates arranged in a row, a first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, Disposed between the first liquid flow path and the bubble generation region,
The discharge port side has a free end, and the free end is displaced toward the first liquid flow path side based on the pressure generated by the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region to adjust the pressure to the first liquid flow path. And at least one separation wall having a plurality of movable members that lead to the ejection port side, and further, at least in the boundary region between the plurality of substrates, the number, size, and size of energy generating means for generating the bubbles, and At least one of the conditions of any of the positions; at least one of the conditions of the dimensions and the position of the movable member; the dimension of the discharge port; any of the dimensions and the shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. At least one of the conditions and at least one condition selected from the group consisting of: changing the at least one condition to achieve uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle. Dead. 5. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein a plurality of heating elements for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid are arranged continuously. A plurality of substrates arranged in a plurality of grooves, a plurality of grooves for forming a plurality of first liquid flow paths that directly communicate with the respective ejection ports, and a liquid in the plurality of first liquid flow paths. A grooved member that integrally has a concave portion that forms a first common liquid chamber for supplying, and a second liquid that is disposed between the grooved member and the element substrate and that corresponds to the heating element. At least one separation member that constitutes a part of the wall of the flow path, and is provided with a plurality of movable members that are displaced toward the first liquid flow path side at a position facing the heating element by a pressure based on the generation of the bubbles. Has a wall,
Furthermore, at least one of the conditions of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of substrates; and any one of the size and position of the movable member. Changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of at least one of the following conditions; the size of the discharge port; and at least one of the size and shape of the flow channel structure through which the liquid flows. A liquid discharge head, which achieves uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle. 6. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting liquid, wherein at least one substrate in which a plurality of bubble generation regions for generating bubbles in the liquid are continuously arranged; The first position and the first position.
At least a plurality of separation walls provided with a plurality of movable members that can be displaced between a second position farther from the bubble generating region than the position of the bubble generating region, By the pressure based on the generation of the liquid, the liquid is displaced from the first position to the second position, and by the displacement of the movable member, the bubbles are largely expanded downstream rather than upstream in the direction toward the discharge port. And at least one of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles, at least in the boundary region between the plurality of separations; and the size and position of the movable member. At least one of the following conditions; a size of the discharge port; and at least one of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. A liquid discharge head is characterized in that to achieve a uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire the nozzle by changing at least one condition is al selected. 7. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein at least one heating element for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid is continuously arranged. A liquid flow path having two substrates and a supply path along the heating element for supplying a liquid onto the heating element from the upstream side of the heating element; A plurality of separation walls each having a free end and a movable member for displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the generation of the bubbles to guide the pressure to the discharge port side; and at least the plurality of substrates. In the boundary region between them, at least one of the conditions of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles; and at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; The discharge port Of at least one of the conditions of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows, by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of A liquid discharge head, which is characterized by achieving high performance. 8. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein at least one heating element for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid is continuously arranged. Two substrates, a movable member provided facing the heating element, having a free end on the discharge port side, and displacing the free end based on pressure generated by the bubbles to guide the pressure to the discharge port side; A plurality of separation walls having a plurality of supply paths for supplying a liquid onto the heating element from an upstream side along a surface of the movable member close to the heating element; and at least the plurality of separation walls. In the boundary region between them, at least one of the conditions of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles; and at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; Discharge Of the ejection characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle by changing at least one condition selected from the group consisting of the size of the mouth and at least one of the condition of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. A liquid ejection head characterized by achieving uniformity. 9. A liquid ejection head having a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid, wherein at least one heating element for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid is continuously arranged. One substrate, a first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow Disposed between the passage and the bubble generation region,
The discharge port side has a free end, and the free end is displaced toward the first liquid flow path side based on the pressure generated by the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region to adjust the pressure to the first liquid flow path. A plurality of separating walls having a plurality of movable members that are guided to the discharge port side of
Furthermore, at least one of the conditions of the number, size and position of the energy generating means for generating the bubbles in at least the boundary region between the plurality of separation walls; and any of the size and position of the movable member. At least one condition selected from the group consisting of at least one of the following conditions; the size of the discharge port; and at least one of the size and shape of the flow path structure through which the liquid flows. As a result, it is possible to achieve uniform discharge characteristic distribution in the entire nozzle, and a liquid discharge head. 10. A liquid discharge head having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging a liquid, wherein at least one heating element for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid is continuously arranged. One substrate, a plurality of grooves for forming a plurality of first liquid flow paths that directly communicate with the respective discharge ports, and a first groove for supplying a liquid to the plurality of first liquid flow paths. And a grooved member integrally having a concave portion forming one common liquid chamber, and a wall of a second liquid flow path disposed between the grooved member and the element substrate and corresponding to the heating element. A plurality of separation walls that form a part and that include a plurality of movable members that are displaced toward the first liquid flow path side by a pressure based on the generation of the bubbles at a position facing the heating element. Further, at least in the boundary region between the plurality of separation walls, the bubbles are At least one of the conditions of the number, size, and position of the energy generating means for generating; at least one of the conditions of the size and position of the movable member; the size of the discharge port; the liquid At least one of the conditions of the size and the shape of the flow channel structure in which the liquid flows, and at least one condition selected from the group consisting of: Characteristic liquid ejection head. 11. A liquid discharge recording method using the liquid discharge head according to claim 1. Description: 12. A liquid discharge head according to claim 1, and drive signal supply means for supplying a drive signal for discharging liquid from the liquid discharge head. Liquid ejecting device. 13. A liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, and a recording medium conveying unit that conveys a recording medium that receives the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head. A liquid ejecting device. 14. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the recording medium is selected from the group consisting of recording paper, cloth, plastic, metal, wood, and leather. 15. The color recording is performed by ejecting recording liquids of a plurality of colors from the liquid ejection head and adhering the recording liquids of a plurality of colors to a recording medium. The liquid ejection device according to any one of items 1 to 5. 16. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of the ejection ports are arranged over the entire width of the recordable area of the recording medium.