JPH1024564A - Liquid discharge recording and liquid discharge head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique to efficiently and more accurately perform a method for discharging a two-part liquid and recording an image by which it is possible to make a coloring material insoluble on a medium into which data is recorded, without the necessity to scale up a device and set complicated recording conditions. SOLUTION: The liquid flow path of a liquid discharge head is divided into a first liquid flow path 14 communicating with a discharge aperture 18 and a second liquid flow path 16 with a movable member 31 facing a bubble generating area 11. In addition, the direction in which a bubble grows is controlled by the displacement of the movable member 31 for discharging a liquid droplet from the discharge aperture 18. Further, a combination of two different liquid for generating the insolubilization reaction of the coloring material which are mixed when discharged from the discharge aperture 18 are used as liquids to be supplied to the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a liquid discharge recording method for discharging a desired liquid to perform recording by generating bubbles caused by applying thermal energy to the liquid. The present invention further relates to a liquid discharge head that can be used in the liquid discharge recording method.

[0002] The present invention also relates to paper, yarn, fiber, fabric, leather,
Printer, copier, facsimile with communication system, word processor with printer unit, etc. that record on recording media such as metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. This is an invention applicable to an industrial recording apparatus.

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.

[0004]

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. In a printing apparatus using this bubble jet printing method, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,723,129 or the like, a discharge port for discharging ink and a communication with the discharge port. Generally, an ink flow path and an electrothermal converter as an energy generating means for discharging ink arranged in the ink flow path are arranged.

According to such a recording method, a high-quality image can be recorded at 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.

[0006] As the bubble jet technology is used for products in various fields, the following various requirements have been increasing in recent years.

[0007] 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 propagation efficiency 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 in which the ink discharging speed is high and a good ink discharging can be performed 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.

[0009] 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. 23 (a) and 23 (b), the valve 1 is located farther from the bubble generation region formed by the heating element 2 and on the opposite side of the discharge port 11 with respect to the heating element 2.
0 is disclosed.

In FIG. 23 (b), this valve 10
It is disclosed that it has an initial position as attached to the ceiling of the flow channel 3 and hangs down into the flow channel 3 with the generation of bubbles by a manufacturing method using a plate material or the like. The present invention is disclosed as controlling the energy loss by controlling a part of the back wave by the valve 10.

However, in this configuration, as will be understood from consideration of the case where air bubbles are generated inside the flow path 3 for holding the liquid to be discharged, suppression of a part of the back wave by the valve 10 is not possible with liquid discharge. Is not practical.

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 3, as shown in FIG.
The pressure of the bubbles that is directly related to the discharge has already made the liquid dischargeable from the flow path 3. Therefore, it is clear that even if only a part of the back wave is suppressed, the ejection is not greatly affected.

On the other hand, in the bubble jet recording method, since heating is repeated while the heating element is in contact with the ink, deposits are generated on the surface of the heating element due to scorching of the ink. In some cases, the generation of bubbles causes the generation of bubbles to be unstable, making it difficult to discharge ink satisfactorily. Further, even in the case where the liquid to be discharged is a liquid which is easily deteriorated by heat or a liquid in which foaming is difficult to be sufficiently obtained, a method for discharging the liquid to be discharged without changing the quality is desired. .

[0015] From such a viewpoint, the liquid (foaming liquid) that generates bubbles by heat and the liquid (ejected liquid) to be ejected are separated liquids, and the ejected liquid is ejected by transmitting the pressure due to foaming to the ejected liquid. The method is described in JP-A-61-69467, JP-A-55-81172, U.S. Pat.
80,259 and the like. In these publications, the ink, which is the ejection liquid, and the foaming liquid are completely separated by a flexible film such as silicon rubber so that the ejection liquid does not come into direct contact with the heating element, and the pressure due to the foaming of the foaming liquid is controlled. The configuration is such that the liquid is transmitted to the discharge liquid by deformation of the flexible film. Such a configuration achieves prevention of deposits on the surface of the heating element, improvement in the degree of freedom in selecting the liquid to be discharged, and the like.

However, as described above, in the head having a structure in which the discharge liquid and the foaming liquid are completely separated, the pressure at the time of foaming is transmitted to the discharge liquid by expansion and contraction deformation of the flexible film. Is considerably absorbed by the flexible membrane. Further, since the amount of deformation of the flexible film is not so large, the effect of separating the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid can be obtained, but there is a possibility that the energy efficiency and the ejection force are reduced.

[0017]

The applicant of the present application basically discloses a fundamental discharge characteristic of a conventional system in which a bubble (particularly, a bubble accompanying film boiling) is formed in a liquid flow path to discharge a liquid. The main problem is to increase the fulcrum and the free end of the movable member to a position where the free end is located on the discharge port side, that is, on the downstream side, from a point of view that has not been considered in the past, and the main problem is to raise the level to a level that cannot be predicted in the past. Further, the present inventors have applied for a completely new invention in which the movable member is disposed so as to face the heating element or the bubble generation region to actively control the bubbles.

The present invention considers the growth component on the downstream side of the bubble in consideration of the energy given to the ejection amount by the bubble itself. The ejection efficiency is improved by efficiently converting the growth component on the downstream side of the bubble in the ejection direction. And that the discharge speed is improved.

By the way, conventionally, in order to obtain image quality improvement,
It is known that a reactive ink fixing agent containing no coloring material for ink is ejected from a head or another ejection port different from the ink ejection head and reacted on a recording medium.
Since this requires multiple heads and ejection units,
It is necessary to increase the size of the head configuration or to provide recovery means separately. The present inventors have found that even if a plurality of liquids that can improve image quality by reacting with each other as described above are used, not only the head configuration is simplified, but also landing deviation when landing from each other's heads is reduced. Therefore, it has become an object to be able to eliminate a number of unstable factors caused by the need for the reaction time.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a head and a discharge method which can surely combine desired amounts of first and second liquids which can cause a chemical reaction with each other when necessary, and which can form a reliable image with high accuracy. Is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to hold two kinds of reactive liquids in isolated areas in a head, mix these liquids at the time of discharge, and record the liquid through a discharge port. An object of the present invention is to solve the problem in the conventional method of causing ink and a solidifying agent to adhere to a recording medium and react by attaching the ink and the solidifying agent to the recording medium as separate liquid droplets by recording the ink on the medium.

[0022]

A typical embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

A liquid discharge recording method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging a liquid, a first region to which a first liquid is supplied, and a second liquid including a second liquid. An air bubble generating area for generating air bubbles, a first position disposed facing the air bubble generating area, and a second position away from the air bubble generating area within the first area, the air bubble generating area being displaceable; A movable member having a fulcrum on the upstream side of the free end, and displacing the movable member from the first position to the second position with the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region; In a liquid discharge recording method in which recording is performed by attaching a liquid to a recording medium using a liquid discharge head that guides the bubble to a discharge port side by a movable member, at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid is used. A coloring material;
Liquid and the second liquid have a characteristic of chemically reacting with each other, and the first liquid and the second liquid are discharged from the discharge port, and the first liquid and the second liquid are discharged. An image is formed using the liquid No. 2 above.

A liquid discharge head according to another aspect of the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging a liquid, a first region to which a first liquid is supplied, and a second liquid including a second liquid. An air bubble generating area for generating air bubbles, a first position disposed facing the air bubble generating area, and a second position away from the air bubble generating area within the first area, the air bubble generating area being displaceable; A movable member having a fulcrum on the upstream side of the free end, and displacing the movable member from the first position to the second position with the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region; A liquid discharge head for guiding the bubbles to a discharge port side by a movable member, comprising a liquid supply unit for supplying a first liquid and a second liquid to each of the first region and the bubble generation region; A small amount of the first liquid and the second liquid supplied from the liquid supply means; One of them contains a colorant, and the first liquid and the second liquid have a property of chemically reacting with each other, and the first liquid and the second liquid are discharged from the first liquid and the second liquid. The method is characterized in that an image is ejected from an outlet and an image is formed using the first liquid and the second liquid.

According to the present invention, two kinds of liquids are held in the same head, and a chemical reaction of these two kinds of liquids, for example, a solidification reaction of a coloring material is started through a process of mixing them for the first time at the time of ejection. Thus, it is possible to effectively solve the problems in the conventional two-liquid recording method in which the solidifying agent and the ink are ejected separately. That is, according to the present invention, two kinds of liquids are mixed at the time of ejection, and these reactions are started at the time of mixing or after the mixing, and further partially progress the reaction, so that the recording is performed in a state where the coloring material is not excessively diffused. It can be attached to a medium, and the effect of reacting the two liquids can be more reliably achieved without being largely influenced by the characteristics of the recording medium.

In addition, in the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a head or a discharge port for discharging each of the two liquids unlike the conventional method. There is no need to increase the size of the device or equipment.

In addition, according to the present invention, a synergistic effect between the generated bubble and the movable member displaced by the bubble can be obtained, and the liquid near the discharge port can be efficiently discharged.
The ejection efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional bubble jet ejection method, head, and the like. For example, in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, a dramatic improvement in the discharge efficiency of twice or more could be achieved.

According to the characteristic structure of the present invention, it is possible to prevent non-ejection even when the apparatus is left for a long time at a low temperature or low humidity. There is also an advantage that it is possible to immediately return to a normal state by performing a slight recovery process.

In particular, according to the configuration of the present invention having improved refill characteristics, responsiveness at the time of continuous ejection, stable growth of bubbles, and stabilization of droplets are achieved, and high-speed recording by high-speed liquid ejection and high image quality are achieved. Recording could be enabled.

Other effects of the present invention will be understood from the following description.

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 a portion on the ejection port side of a bubble which is considered to directly act on ejection of a droplet. 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]

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

First, the function of the movable member used in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. That is, an example will be described in which the ejection force and the ejection efficiency are improved by controlling the direction of propagation of pressure based on bubbles and the direction of growth of bubbles for ejecting liquid. The description in each of the following examples is based on the premise that the liquid supply tank, the liquid flow path to the movable member displacement area and the bubble generation area are separated from each other.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid discharge head using a movable member, which is cut in a liquid flow direction.

This liquid discharge head is a heating element 2 (40 μm × 40 μm in this example) for applying thermal energy to the liquid as a discharge energy generating element for discharging the liquid.
A heating resistor having a shape of 105 μm) is provided on the element substrate 1, and a liquid flow path 10 is arranged on the element substrate in correspondence with the heating element 2. 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.

A plate-like movable member 31 made of an elastic material such as metal and having a flat portion is provided on the element substrate of the liquid flow path 10 so as to face the heating element 2.
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 through the movable member 31 to the ejection port 18 by the liquid discharging operation. 33 is disposed 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 so as to have a free end (free end portion) 32 on the downstream side with respect to 33. I have. 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.

The movable member 31 is generated by causing the heating element 2 to generate heat.
Heat is applied to the liquid in the bubble generation region 11 between the heater 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 the bubbles and the bubbles act on the movable member preferentially, and the movable member 31 is displaced so as to open largely to the discharge port side around the fulcrum 33 as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C. I do. 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 discharge principles when the above-described movable member is used will be described below. One of the most important principles in this ejection method is that the movable member arranged to face the bubble is at a position after displacement from the first position in the steady state based on the pressure of the bubble or the bubble itself. 2, and the movable member 31 that is displaced guides the pressure associated with 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. 2 schematically showing a conventional liquid flow path structure without using a movable member with FIG. 3 using a movable member. 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. 2, there is no structure for regulating the direction of pressure propagation by the generated bubbles 40. Therefore, the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 40 is V1 to
As in V8, it was perpendicular to the surface of the bubble and was oriented in various directions. Among them, VA which has the most influence on liquid ejection
The component having the pressure propagation direction in the direction is the direction component of the pressure propagation of V1 to V4, that is, the part closer to the discharge port than the position of almost half of the bubble, and directly affects the liquid discharge efficiency, liquid discharge force, discharge speed, etc. It is an important part to contribute. V1 is the ejection direction V
Since it is closest to the direction of A, it works efficiently. Conversely, V4 has a relatively small direction component toward VA.

On the other hand, in the case where the movable member shown in FIG. 3 is used, the movable member 31 moves downstream in the pressure propagation directions V1 to V4 of the bubbles which are oriented in various directions as in the case of FIG. Side (discharge port side), and converts the pressure into the pressure propagation direction of VA, whereby the pressure of the bubbles 40 directly and efficiently contributes to the discharge. Then, the bubble growth direction itself is guided in the downstream direction similarly to the pressure propagation directions V1 to V4, and the bubble 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. 1, the discharge operation of the liquid discharge head using the movable member will be described in detail.

FIG. 1A shows a state before energy such as electric energy is applied to the heating element 2 and a state before the heating 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).

FIG. 1B shows that the heating element 2 generates heat when electric energy or the like is applied to the heating element 2 and a part of the liquid filling the bubble generation region 11 is heated by the generated heat, thereby causing film boiling. This is a state in which accompanying air 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 bubble 40 so as to guide the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 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. 1C shows a state in which the bubbles 40 have further grown, but the movable member 31 has been further displaced in accordance with the pressure accompanying the generation of the bubbles 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. 1D shows a state in which the bubble 40 contracts and disappears due to the decrease in the internal pressure of the bubble after the above-mentioned film boiling.

The movable member 31 displaced to the second position
Is the initial position (first position) in FIG. 1A 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, in order to compensate for the contracted volume of the bubbles in the bubble generation region 11 and to compensate for the volume of the discharged liquid, the flow V from the upstream side (B), that is, from each side of the common liquid chamber. _D1, as V _D2, also come flows liquid as from the discharge port side of the flow Vc.

The operation of the movable member and the discharge operation of the liquid accompanying the generation of bubbles have been described above. The refilling of the liquid in the liquid discharge head using the movable member will be described in detail below.

The liquid supply mechanism using a movable member will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

After the bubble 40 has reached the maximum volume state and enters the defoaming process after the state shown in FIG. 1C, a liquid having a volume supplementing the defoamed volume is supplied to the bubble generation region in the first liquid flow path 14. The liquid flows 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 discharge port is small, a lot of liquid flows from the discharge port side to the defoaming position, and the retreat amount of the meniscus becomes large. 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 retreat at the time of defoaming becomes larger, the refill time becomes longer, and high-speed printing is hindered. Was supposed to be.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the movable member 31 is provided, the volume W of the bubble is set to W1 above the boundary of the first position of the movable member 31 and W2 to the bubble generation region 11 side. When the movable member returns to the original position, the retraction of the meniscus stops, and the liquid supply for the remaining W2 volume is mainly made by the liquid supply from the flow VD2 of the second flow path 16. Thereby, conventionally, the amount corresponding to about half of the volume of the bubble W has been the retreat amount of the meniscus,
It is possible to suppress the meniscus retreat amount to about half of W1 which is smaller than that.

Further, the supply of the liquid for the volume of W2 is forcibly performed mainly from the upstream side (VD2) of the second liquid flow path along the surface of the movable member 31 on the side of the heating element using the pressure at the time of defoaming. Faster refilling was achieved.

The characteristic feature here is that when refilling is performed using the pressure at the time of defoaming with the conventional head, the vibration of the meniscus becomes large and the image quality is deteriorated. In the high-speed refill, the flow of the liquid on the discharge port side between the area of the first liquid flow path 14 on the discharge port side and the bubble generation area 11 is suppressed by the movable member, so that the vibration of the meniscus can be extremely reduced. It is.

When the movable member is used as described above, the second
Achieving high-speed refilling by forcibly refilling the bubbling region via the liquid supply path 12 of the flow path 16 and suppressing the meniscus retraction and vibration described above enables stable ejection, high-speed repetitive ejection, and recording. When used, improvement in image quality and high-speed recording can be realized.

The configuration using the movable member 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. Among the bubbles generated on the heating element 2, the pressure due to the bubbles on the common liquid chamber 13 side (upstream side) is mostly
It was a force (back wave) that pushed the liquid back 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. . When a movable member is used, the refill supply property is further improved by first suppressing these effects on the upstream side by the movable member 31.

Next, further characteristic structures and effects when the movable member is used will be described below.

The second liquid flow path 16 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 heating element surface is not greatly reduced). In such a case, the bubble generation region 11 and the heating element 2
Supply of the liquid to the surface of, along the side surface closer to the bubble generation region 11 of the movable member 31 is performed as V _D2. 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 this example, the liquid supply path 1 having a substantially flat inner wall is used.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any liquid supply path that is smoothly connected to the surface of the heating element and has a gentle inner wall may be used. Any shape that does not generate a flow may be used.

In some cases, the supply of the liquid to the bubble generation region is performed from _VD1 via 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 (cover the heating element surface) as shown in FIG. by return to the position, in the case of forms, such as the flow resistance of the liquid becomes large between the region near the the bubble generation region 11 discharge ports of the first liquid flow path 14, the bubble generating area 11 from the aforementioned V _D1 Incoming liquid flow is impeded. However, in the head structure using the movable member, since the flow V _D1 for supplying the liquid to the bubble generation region is provided, the liquid supply performance is extremely high, and the movable member 31 covers the bubble generation region 11. Even if a structure is required to improve the discharge efficiency, the liquid supply performance is not reduced.

The free end 32 and the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31 are located such that the free end is relatively downstream from the fulcrum. 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. This is because the liquid flow path 10 (the first liquid flow path 13 and the second liquid flow path 13) is used when the meniscus receded by the discharge returns to the discharge port 18 by the capillary force or when the liquid is supplied to the defoaming. This is because the free end and the fulcrum 33 are arranged so as not to oppose each of the flows V _D1 and V _D2 flowing in the flow path (including the flow path 12).

In addition, in FIG. 1, as described above, the free end 32 of the movable member 31 has the area center 3 (the area center of the heating element 2) that divides the heating element 2 into an upstream area and a downstream area. (A line passing through the (center) and orthogonal to the length direction of the liquid flow path) and extends to the heat generating element 2 so as to face a position on the downstream side. 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 bubble. In addition, the fact that the free end of the movable member 31 makes an instantaneous mechanical displacement is also considered to contribute effectively to the ejection of the liquid.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the liquid ejection force due to the mechanical displacement described above is further improved. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of such a head structure. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the movable member extends such 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 is closer to the ejection port side than in the previous example, the growth of bubbles can be concentrated on a more stable directional component, so that more excellent ejection can be performed.

Further, the movable member 31 is displaced at a displacement speed R1 in accordance with the bubble growth speed at the pressure center of the bubble. The free end 32 farther from the fulcrum 33 than the fulcrum 33 has a higher speed R2. Is displaced. 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.

The free end shape has a shape perpendicular to the liquid flow, so that the pressure of the bubbles and the mechanical action of the movable member can more efficiently contribute to the ejection.

The present invention can be configured by applying the discharge method using the movable member described above. The head used in the present invention basically has the configuration and characteristics of the head using the above-described movable member, the ejection principle, and the like. A first liquid that is divided into a liquid flow path and a second liquid flow path and is supplied to the first liquid flow path, and a second liquid that is supplied to the second liquid flow path and foamed by heating And the configuration is divided.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of the liquid discharge head of the present invention in the flow direction, and FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid discharge head.

In the liquid discharge head of this embodiment, a second liquid flow path 16 for foaming is provided on the element substrate 1 on which the heating element 2 for applying thermal energy for generating bubbles in the liquid is provided.
The first liquid flow path 14 directly communicating 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 liquid.

A separation wall 30 made of an elastic material such as metal is disposed between the first and second liquid flow paths, and the first liquid in the first liquid flow path and the second liquid flow path are separated from each other. The second in the second liquid flow path
These are liquid-tightly divided so as not to mix with the liquid.

The separation wall of the portion located in the projection space above the heating element in the plane direction (hereinafter referred to as the discharge pressure generation area; area A in FIG. 5 and bubble generation area 11 in B) is formed by a slit 35.
The discharge port side (downstream side of the liquid flow) is a free end,
The movable member 31 has a cantilever shape in which the fulcrum 33 is located on the common liquid chamber (15, 17) side. This movable member 31
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). In FIG. 6 as well, a second liquid flow path is formed on the element substrate 1 on which a heating resistor as the heating element 2 and a wiring electrode 5 for applying an electric signal to the heating resistor are arranged. The separation wall 30 is arranged via the space.

The prevention of mixing of the two liquids in the slit at the free end of the movable member is achieved by a method of setting the width of the slit to an interval such that a meniscus is formed between the two liquids, as described later. be able to. Also,
Prevention of liquid mixture on the side of the movable member can be achieved by a configuration or the like in which the width of the second liquid flow path at the movable member installation position is smaller than the width of the movable member.

The relationship between the arrangement of the fulcrum 33 and the free end 32 of the movable member 31 and the arrangement with the heating element is the same as in the example described with reference to FIG.

The structure of the liquid supply passage 12 and the heating element 2 has been described in the previous example.
The structure relationship between the liquid flow path 16 and the heating element 2 is 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 first liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 1
6 was operated using the second liquid as a foaming liquid. The heat generated by the heating element 2 acts on the foaming liquid in the bubble generation region of the second liquid flow path, so that the foaming liquid is described in US Pat. No. 4,723,129 as described in the previous example. A bubble 40 is generated based on the film boiling phenomenon.

In the present embodiment, there is no escape of the foaming pressure from the three sides except for the upstream side of the bubble generation region, so that the pressure accompanying the bubble generation is applied to the movable member 3 arranged in the discharge pressure generating section.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the movable member 31 moves from the state of FIG. 7A to the first state as shown in FIG.
Displaced toward the liquid flow path. By the operation of the movable member, the first
The liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16 are in large communication, and the pressure based on the generation of bubbles is mainly transmitted in the direction (A direction) on the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path. 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.

At this time, the portion of the second liquid in the second liquid flow path 16 that has moved toward the first liquid flow path 14 is located on the discharge port side in the first liquid flow path 14. And the part to be discharged is mixed and discharged from the discharge port. At this time, mixing necessary for a chemical reaction between the first liquid and the second liquid is performed.

As a combination of such a first liquid and a second liquid, one of these liquids contains a coloring material, and
When these liquids are mixed and discharged from the discharge port, or after the discharge, a chemical combination of these liquids, for example, a combination of liquids in which a solidification reaction of a coloring material is started can be given.

Examples of the combination of components that cause the solidification reaction include (a) a combination of an anionic dye as a coloring material, a cationic substance capable of reacting with the anionic dye to form an aggregate,
(B) A combination of a cationic dye as a coloring material with an anionic substance capable of reacting with the cationic dye to form an aggregate.

In order to take advantage of the fact that the properties required for foaming are not required in the first liquid, it is preferable that the first liquid contains a coloring material and the first liquid is discharged as a main component. When the first liquid contains a coloring material,
For example, a liquid in which a cationic dye is dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium that satisfies at least the characteristics required for ejection, or a coloring material such as various dyes and pigments together with an anionic material such as an anionic resin has at least the characteristics necessary for ejection. Examples thereof include a liquid dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium to be filled.

The second liquid is at least foamed from a cationic substance such as a cationic resin, a cationic surfactant, a cationic dye, a cationic pigment, a polyvalent metal, a basic amino acid, an amphoteric surfactant, or the like. A component that satisfies the properties as a liquid and can achieve a desired reaction with the first liquid can be appropriately selected and prepared.

As the coloring material contained in at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid, the coloring material does not need to have reactivity, and is fixed by a reaction between other reactive substances. There may be. In this case, a coloring material such as a dye, a pigment, and a dispersible toner used in various recording methods such as an ink jet recording method is dissolved or dispersed in the first liquid or the second liquid according to the purpose. Can be used.

Examples of the liquid medium that can be used for the preparation of the first and second liquids include water or a mixture of water and a water-soluble organic solvent. What is used can be suitably used.
Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide; ketones such as acetone; ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane; polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol; ethylene glycol and propylene. Alkylene glycols such as glycol, butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol and diethylene glycol; and ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether and triethylene glycol monomethyl ether. Lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols; monohydric alcohols such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol; Phosphorus; N- methyl-2-pyrrolidone; 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone; triethanolamine; sulfolane; dimethyl sulfoxide;
And cyclohexanol and the like, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

The content of the water-soluble organic solvent depends on the first and second
The liquid is appropriately selected depending on the characteristics required for each of the liquids, but may be blended in an amount of, for example, 1 to 80% by weight.

The amount of the coloring material contained in at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid is selected according to the desired image density, the reactivity when the coloring material is used as a reaction element, and the like. However, it can be used in an amount of, for example, 0.1 to 20% by weight.

The first liquid and the second liquid may contain various additives such as a surfactant, a pH adjuster, a preservative, an antioxidant, a solubilizing agent, and a dispersant, if necessary, alone or in combination. 2
It can be contained in a combination of more than one kind. Among these, it is preferable to use a surfactant that can also function as a surface tension modifier. Examples of the surfactant include anionic surfactants such as fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfates, alkylbenzene sulfonates and higher alcohol phosphates, and cationic surfactants such as aliphatic amines and quaternary ammonium salts. Higher alcohol ethylene oxide adduct, alkylphenol ethylene oxide adduct, fatty acid ethylene oxide adduct, polyhydric alcohol fatty acid ester ethylene oxide adduct,
Nonionic surfactants such as higher alkylamine ethylene oxide adducts, fatty acid amide ethylene oxide adducts, polypropylene glycol ethylene oxide adducts, fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohols, fatty acid amides of alkanolamines, amino-type amphoteric surfactants, Betaine type surfactants and the like can be mentioned.

The physical properties of the first liquid and the second liquid,
For example, viscosity and surface tension can be adjusted by selecting the composition.

Various methods can be used to adjust the chemical reaction caused by mixing the first liquid and the second liquid.
This can be achieved by selecting the type of reacting substance. When a cationic substance is used as one of the reactants, for example, a substance having a molecular weight of about 2,000 is used to lengthen the reaction time so that the substance does not react at the time of ejection but reacts within about one second after ejection. Can be adjusted.

Further, p of both the first liquid and the second liquid
When H is adjusted to 10 or its vicinity and an amphoteric surfactant or a basic amino acid which can also function as a cationic substance is used as one of the reactants, the pH in the head where the pH is maintained at or around 10 is obtained. Then, these substances do not function as cationic substances and do not cause a reaction. Then, when these liquids are ejected and attached to a recording medium such as neutral paper or acidic paper for recording, the pH of the attached liquid changes (decreases), and the above substance becomes a cationic substance. As a result, it becomes possible to cause a solidification reaction of the coloring material on the recording medium.

The viscosity of these liquids is appropriately adjusted so as to satisfy desired functions and characteristics, and can be, for example, about 1 cp to 10 cp.

Next, as the bubbles shrink, the movable member 3
1 returns to the position shown in FIG.
In the case, the amount of the discharged liquid corresponding to the amount of the discharged liquid is supplied from the upstream side. Also in this example, since the supply of the discharge liquid is in the direction in which the movable member closes as in the above-described example, the refill of the discharge liquid is not hindered by the movable member.

In this embodiment, the operation and effect of the main parts relating to the propagation of the foaming pressure due to the displacement of the movable member, the growth direction of the bubble, the prevention of the back wave, etc. are the same as those described above with reference to FIG. However, by adopting the two-channel configuration as in this example, there are further advantages as follows.

That is, since the first liquid and the second liquid are separated from each other, and the mixed liquid is discharged by the pressure generated by the foaming of the second liquid, the first liquid is required for foaming, for example. No thermal characteristics are required, and the design conditions for the first liquid can be greatly reduced. For example, even if a high-viscosity liquid containing polyethylene glycol or the like, which was not sufficiently foamed even when heat was applied and had an insufficient discharge force, this liquid was supplied to the first liquid flow path, A liquid having good bubbling as the second liquid [such as a liquid based on a mixed liquid of ethanol: water = 4: 6 (viscosity of about 1 to 2 cP)] or a liquid having a low boiling point is supplied to the second liquid flow path. By doing so, it is possible to discharge well.

Further, by selecting a liquid which does not generate deposits such as kogation on the surface of the heating element even when it receives heat as the second liquid, foaming can be stabilized and good ejection can be performed.

Further, in the structure of the head of the present invention, since the effects described above are also produced, it is possible to discharge a liquid such as a high-viscosity liquid with higher discharge efficiency and higher discharge force.

Further, even in the case of a liquid weak to heating, if this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path and a liquid which is hardly thermally deteriorated in the second liquid flow path and which produces good foaming is supplied, Discharge can be performed at a high discharge efficiency and a high discharge force as described above without causing thermal damage to a liquid weak to heating.

The examples of the main parts of the liquid discharge head and the liquid discharge method according to the present invention have been described above. Hereinafter, a configuration example which can be preferably applied to these examples will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view in the direction of the flow path of an example of the liquid discharge head of the present invention. The first liquid flow path 13 (or FIG.
A grooved member 50 provided with a groove for forming the liquid flow path 10) is provided on the separation wall 30. In this example, 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 increased. 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.

Also, 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,
A more sufficient transmission of the discharge force is achieved. As shown in this figure, the height of the liquid flow path ceiling at the fulcrum 33 of the movable member is lower than the height of the liquid flow path ceiling at the free end 32 of the movable member. The escape of the pressure wave to the upstream side due to the displacement can be more effectively prevented.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a modified example of the arrangement relationship between the second liquid flow path and the movable member in the arrangement relation between the movable member 31 and the second liquid flow path 16. (A) is a diagram of the vicinity of the movable member 31 as viewed from above, and (b) of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view of the second liquid flow path 16 from which the movable member 31 is removed, as viewed from above. FIG. 3C is a diagram schematically illustrating the arrangement relationship between the movable member 31 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.

In this embodiment, the second liquid flow path 16 is located on the upstream side of the heating element 2 (here, the upstream side is the discharge port via the heating element position, the movable member, and the first flow path from the second common liquid chamber side). A chamber having a constricted portion 19 at the upstream side in a large flow toward the second liquid flow path 16 to prevent the pressure at the time of foaming from easily escaping to the upstream side of the second liquid flow path 16. (Foaming chamber) structure.

As in the conventional head, the flow path for bubbling and the flow path for discharging the liquid are the same, and a constricted portion is formed so that the pressure generated on the liquid chamber side from the heating element does not escape to the common liquid chamber side. In the case of the head provided with the above, it is necessary to adopt a configuration in which the cross-sectional area of the flow path in the constricted portion does not become so small in consideration of liquid refilling.

However, in the case of this example, most of the liquid to be discharged is supplied as the first liquid into the first liquid flow path, and the second liquid (the second liquid) within the second liquid flow path provided with the heating element is provided. Consumption amount of the foaming liquid) with respect to the first liquid,
In such a case, the filling amount of the foaming liquid into 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. This pressure is applied to the movable member 3
1 can be used as the discharge force, so that 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. 9 (c), the side of the movable member 31 covers a part of the wall constituting the second liquid flow path. Dropping into the liquid flow path can be prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure the separability of the first liquid on the first liquid flow path side and the second liquid on the second liquid flow path side during non-ejection. Also,
According to this configuration, the escape of bubbles from the slits can be suppressed, so that the discharge pressure and the discharge efficiency can be further increased. Further, the effect of refilling from the upstream side by the pressure at the time of defoaming can be enhanced.

In FIGS. 7B and 8, the bubbles generated in the bubble generation region of the second liquid flow path 4 due to the displacement of the movable member 31 toward the first liquid flow path 14 are shown. Although a part extends to the first liquid flow path 14 side, by setting the height of the second flow path such that the bubble extends in this way, it is further improved as compared with a case where the bubble does not extend. Discharge force can be improved. 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 30 μm
It is desirable that In this example, this height was 15 μm.

FIG. 10 shows another shape of the movable member 31. Reference numeral 35 denotes a slit provided on the separation wall, and the movable member 31 is formed by this slit.
(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, it is desirable that the width of the fulcrum side is narrowed in an arc shape as shown in FIG. 9A, but the shape of the movable member is the second liquid. Any shape may be used as long as it has a shape that can be easily operated without entering the flow path side and has excellent durability.

In the above example, the plate-shaped movable member 31 and the separation wall 5 having the movable member are made of nickel having a thickness of 5 μm. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The material forming the separation wall may be any material as long as it has solvent resistance to the liquid in contact therewith, has elasticity to operate well as a movable member, and can form fine slits.

As a material of the movable member, a material having high durability is used.
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.

Examples of the material of the separation wall include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, melamine resin, phenol resin, epoxy resin, polybutadiene, polyurethane, polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone, polyarylate, polyimide, polysulfone, and liquid crystal. A resin having good heat resistance, solvent resistance and moldability represented by recent engineering plastics such as polymer (LCP) and its compound, 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 the material and shape thereof from the viewpoint that the strength as the separation wall can be achieved and the movable member operates well.
A thickness of about 0.5 to 10 μm is desirable.

Although the width of the slit 35 for forming the movable member 31 is 2 μm in this embodiment, the width of the slit can be appropriately changed within a range where the effect of providing the movable member can be exhibited. For example, it is preferable that the thickness be 5 μm or less, more preferably 3 μm or less.

The movable member in the present invention has a thickness of the order of μm (t μm), and a movable member having a thickness of 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 variation 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 (FIG. 7, FIG. 8, etc.), the relationship between the slit width and the thickness is determined by manufacturing. By setting the following range in consideration of the variation, it is possible to further stably suppress the liquid mixture in a state where the two kinds of liquids are not ejected. Although this is a limited condition, as a design point of view, a high-viscosity ink (5 cp, 10 cp) is applied to the second liquid having a viscosity of 3 cp or less.
In the case of using (e.g.), it is possible to suppress the mixing of the two liquids for a long time by satisfying W / t ≦ 1.

The slit which gives the “substantially closed state” of the present invention is more reliable if it is on the order of several μm.

As described above, the movable member also functions as a part of the partition member for the first liquid and the second liquid. When the movable member moves with the generation of bubbles, the second liquid on the second liquid flow path is mixed with the first liquid on the first liquid flow path and mixed. The mixing ratio of these liquids in the ejection liquid for forming an image can be appropriately selected according to the configuration of the head and the like, but it is necessary to effectively exert the advantage that the thermal requirements required for foaming can be greatly reduced. It is preferable that the proportion of the first liquid is larger within a range where a good chemical reaction of the two liquids can be achieved. For example, the mixing ratio of the first liquid and the second liquid is 85:15
It is preferable to set so as to be in the range of 95: 5. Note that the concentration of the coloring material may be set based on the mixing ratio of the first liquid and the second liquid. The mixing ratio of the first liquid and the second liquid is adjusted by adjusting the viscosities of these liquids, for example, by adjusting the viscosity of the second liquid to 5 cps or less, by mixing the second liquid with the first liquid. The ratio can be adjusted to 10% or less, and the viscosity of the first liquid is 20 cps or less.
The lower the setting, the more the mixing ratio can be adjusted to 5% or less.

Further, the mixing ratio of the first liquid and the second liquid can be adjusted, for example, by changing the driving conditions of the heating element disposed in the bubble generation area.
This method can be suitably applied, for example, when expressing density gradation.

Next, the positional relationship between the heating element and the movable member in the 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 giving energy such as heat to the ink, a state change accompanied by a steep 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 the related art of an ink jet recording method for forming an image by adhering a liquid on a recording medium, that is, a so-called bubble jet recording method, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, although the heating element area and the ink ejection amount are in a proportional relationship, it can be seen that there is a non-foaming effective region S that does not contribute to ink ejection. 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 use the foaming pressure, it is effective to dispose the movable member such that the movable area of the movable member covers the area directly above the effective foaming area at least about 4 μm from the periphery of the heating element. It can be said that it is a target. In this example, the effective foaming area is set at about 4 μm or more inside the periphery of the heating element, but the present invention is not limited to this type depending on the type of heating element and the forming method.

FIG. 12 shows that the heating element 2 of 58 × 150 μm has a movable member 301 ((a)
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 μm.
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). It is arranged so as to cover the effective foaming area in the same manner as the above. An experiment was conducted on the durability and discharge efficiency of the two types of movable members 301 and 302. As a result, regarding the durability of the movable members, (a) 1 × 10 ⁷ pulses were applied to the movable member 301. At this point, damage was observed at the fulcrum of the movable member 301. (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, from the viewpoints of both durability and discharge efficiency, it is preferable that the movable member is provided so as to cover directly above the effective foaming area, and that the area of the movable member is larger than the area of the heating element. It turns out that it is excellent.

FIG. 13 shows the relationship between the distance from the edge of the heating element to the fulcrum of the movable member and the displacement of the movable member. FIG. 14 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 durability of the movable member is reduced because the foaming pressure is directly applied to the fulcrum in addition to the stress caused by the displacement of the movable member. . 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.

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

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. FIG. 15A shows a head having a protective film described later, and FIG. 15B shows a head without a protective film.

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

The element substrate 1 contains a gas 107 such as silicon.
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. ) And wiring electrodes (0.2 to 1.0 μm thick) of aluminum or the like are patterned as shown in FIG. These two wiring electrodes 104
Then, 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 formed to protect the resistance layer 105 from various liquids such as ink.

In particular, the pressure and shock waves generated during the generation and defoaming of air bubbles are extremely strong, and significantly reduce the durability of a hard and brittle oxide film.
Are used as a cavitation-resistant layer.

A structure that does not require the above-described protective layer may be used according to the combination of the liquid, the liquid flow path structure, and the resistance material. FIG. 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 examples may be only the above-described resistance layer (heating section) between the electrodes, or may include a protective layer for protecting the resistance layer.

In the present embodiment, a heating element having a heating portion composed of a resistance layer that generates heat in response to an electric signal is used as the heating element. However, the present invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to generate | occur | produce a bubble in the 2nd liquid as a 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.

The above-mentioned element substrate 1 includes, in addition to the electrothermal transducer composed of the above-described resistance layer 105 constituting the heating section and the wiring electrode 104 for supplying an electric signal to this 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 by a semiconductor manufacturing process.

Further, in order to drive the heat generating portion of the electrothermal transducer provided on the element substrate 1 as described above and discharge the liquid, the above-described resistance layer 105 is connected to the resistance layer 105 through the wiring electrode 104 as shown in FIG. A rectangular pulse as shown by is applied to cause the resistance layer 105 between the wiring electrodes to generate heat sharply. In each of the above-described heads, the voltage was 24 V and the pulse width was 7 μm.
The heating element is driven by applying a current of 150 mA and an electric signal at 6 kHz for 6 sec.
Liquid ink was ejected from the ejection port. 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.

Hereinafter, a description will be given of an example of the structure of a liquid discharge head which can satisfactorily separate and introduce different liquids into the first and second common liquid chambers, reduce the number of parts, and reduce the cost.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of such a liquid discharge head, in which the same reference numerals are used for the same components as in the previous example, and a detailed description is omitted here.

In the present embodiment, the grooved member 50 includes an orifice plate 51 having the discharge port 18 and a plurality of first orifices.
A plurality of grooves forming the liquid flow path 14 and a first common liquid chamber 15 communicating with the plurality of liquid flow paths 14 in common and supplying the first liquid to each of the first liquid flow paths 3. And a concave portion that constitutes the above.

The separation wall 30 is provided below 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 passes through the first liquid supply path 20 as shown by the arrow C in FIG.
Next, the second liquid (foaming liquid) is supplied to the first liquid flow path 14, passes through the second liquid supply path 21, passes through the second common liquid chamber 17, and then flows through the second liquid supply path 21, as indicated by the arrow D in FIG. 17. Two-liquid channel 16
It is supplied to.

In the present embodiment, the second liquid supply passage 21 is arranged in parallel with the first liquid supply passage 20, but is not limited to this, and is arranged outside the first common liquid chamber 15. Separation wall 3
Any arrangement may be made as long as it is formed so as to penetrate through the zero and communicate with the second common liquid chamber 17.

The thickness (diameter) of the second liquid supply path 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 is provided with a grooved member 50.
By the partition wall 30. As a forming method, as shown in an exploded perspective view of this example shown in FIG. 18, a common liquid chamber frame and a second liquid path wall are formed on an element substrate with a dry film, and a grooved member 50 in which a separation wall is fixed is formed.
The second common liquid chamber 17 and the second liquid flow path 16 may be formed by bonding the combined body of the element and the separation wall 30 to the element substrate 1.

In this embodiment, as described above, the electric heat as the heating element for generating heat for generating bubbles for the foaming liquid by film boiling on the support 70 formed of a metal such as aluminum. Element substrate 1 provided with a plurality of conversion elements
Is arranged.

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

Reference numeral 50 denotes 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 the first liquid to the first common liquid chamber, and a second supply path (foaming liquid) for supplying the second liquid (foaming liquid) to the second common liquid chamber 17. And two supply paths (foaming liquid supply paths) 21. The second supply passage 21 is connected to a communication passage that communicates with the second common liquid chamber 17 through the separation wall 30 disposed outside the first common liquid chamber 15, and is connected to the second communication passage 21 by the communication passage. The second liquid can be supplied to the second common liquid chamber 15 without being mixed with the first liquid.

The arrangement relationship between the element substrate 1, the separation wall 30, and the grooved top plate 50 is such that the movable member 31 is arranged corresponding to the heating element of the element substrate 1, and corresponds to the movable member 31. A liquid flow path 14 is provided. Further, in this example, an example is shown in which one second supply path is provided in the grooved member, but a plurality of second supply paths may be provided according to the supply amount. Furthermore, the flow path cross-sectional area of the 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, the grooved member 50 can be formed.
It is also possible to further reduce the size of the components constituting the device.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the second supply path for supplying the second liquid to the second liquid flow path and the first supply path for supplying the first liquid to the first liquid flow path Are made 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.

Further, the supply of the second liquid to the second common liquid chamber communicating with the second liquid flow path is performed by the second liquid flow path in a direction penetrating the separation wall separating the first liquid and the second liquid. Since the structure is performed, the bonding step of the separation wall, the grooved member, and the heating element forming substrate only needs to be performed once, thereby improving the ease of manufacturing, improving the bonding accuracy, and discharging well. Can be.

Further, since the second liquid penetrates through the separation wall and is supplied to the second liquid common liquid chamber, the supply of the second liquid to the second liquid flow path is ensured, and the supply amount can be sufficiently secured.
Stable discharge is possible.

As described in the previous example, according to the present invention, the structure having the movable member as described above makes it possible to discharge a liquid at a higher discharge force and a higher discharge efficiency than a conventional liquid discharge head and at a higher speed. it can.

Next, a liquid discharge head cartridge equipped with the liquid discharge head according to the above example will be schematically described.

FIG. 19 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 schematically composed mainly of a liquid discharge head section 200 and a liquid container 80. I have.

The liquid discharge head unit 200 includes 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 channel (not shown) through which the liquid flows is formed.

The pressing spring 78 is a member for applying a biasing force in the direction of the element substrate 1 to the grooved member 50, and the biasing force causes the element substrate 1, the separating wall 30, the grooved member 50 and a support member to be described later. 70 and satisfactorily integrated.

The support 70 is for supporting the element substrate 1 and the like. On the support 70, a circuit board 71 for connecting to the element substrate 1 and supplying an electric signal,
A contact pad 72 for exchanging electrical signals with the device by connecting to the device is provided.

The liquid container 90 contains therein two kinds of liquids to be supplied to the liquid discharge head. Liquid container 9
On the outside of 0, 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 supply of the first liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path is supplied from the supply path 92 of the liquid container to the supply path 81 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path 84 of the connection member, and the supply of each member is performed. Roads 83, 7
The liquid is supplied to the first common liquid chamber via the first and the second liquid chambers 21. Similarly, the second liquid (foaming liquid) is supplied from the supply path 93 of the liquid container to the supply path 82 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path of the connection member.
And supplied to the second liquid chamber via the supply paths 84, 71, and 22 of each member.

It is to be noted that the liquid container may be refilled and used 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.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic configuration of a liquid ejection apparatus equipped with the above-described liquid ejection head. Carriage H
C has a head cartridge in which a liquid tank unit 90 for separately storing the first liquid and the second liquid and a liquid ejection head unit 200 are mounted, and is transported by a recording medium transport unit. It reciprocates in the width direction of the recording medium 150 such as recording paper.

When a drive signal is supplied from a drive signal supply means (not shown) to the liquid discharge means on the carriage, the first liquid and the second liquid are supplied from the liquid discharge head to the recording medium in response to this signal. Are discharged in a mixed state.

In the liquid discharge apparatus of this embodiment, a motor 111 as a drive source for driving the recording medium transport means and the carriage, gears 112 and 113 for transmitting power from the drive source to the carriage, and a carriage shaft 115
Etc. 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. 21 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 device receives print information from the host computer 300 as a control signal. 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).

In order to record the image data at an appropriate position on the recording paper, the CPU 302 generates driving data for driving a driving motor for moving the recording paper and the recording head in synchronization with the image data. The image data and the motor drive data are respectively
The image is transmitted to the head 200 and the drive motor 306 via the motor driver 305, and is driven at a controlled timing to form an image.

Examples of the recording medium applicable to the recording apparatus described above include plastics, fabrics, and the like used for various types of paper, OHP sheets, compact disks, decorative plates, and the like.
Metal materials such as aluminum and copper, leather materials such as cow skin, pig skin, artificial leather, wood such as wood and plywood, ceramic materials such as bamboo materials and tiles, and three-dimensional structures such as sponges can be targeted. .

As the above-described recording device, 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,
A recording device for leather for recording on leather, a recording device for wood for recording on wood, a recording device for ceramics for recording on ceramic materials, a recording device for recording on a three-dimensional network structure such as a sponge, and a cloth Also includes a textile printing device for performing recording on the paper.

As a discharge liquid used in these liquid discharge devices, a liquid which has at least the structure of the present invention and which is adapted to each recording medium and recording conditions may be used.

Next, an example of an ink jet recording system in which recording is performed on a recording medium using the liquid discharge head of the present invention as a recording head will be described.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of an ink jet recording system using the above-described liquid discharge head 201 of the present invention. The liquid ejection head in this example is a full line type head in which a plurality of ejection ports are arranged at intervals of 360 dpi in a length corresponding to the recordable width of the recording medium 150, and includes yellow (Y), magenta (M),
Four heads corresponding to four colors of cyan (C) and black (Bk) are fixedly supported by a holder 202 in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the X direction.

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

Each head has Y,
M, C, Bk four color inks 204a to 20 respectively
It is supplied from a 4d ink container. Note that reference numeral 20
A foaming liquid container 4e stores a second liquid (foaming liquid). The foaming liquid is supplied from the container to each head.

Below each head, a head cap 203 having an ink absorbing member such as a sponge disposed therein.
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 denotes a transport belt which constitutes transport means for transporting various types of recording media as described in the above examples. The transport belt 206 is routed around a predetermined path by various rollers, and the motor driver 3
Driven by a drive roller connected to the drive roller 05.

In the ink jet recording system of this embodiment, a pre-processing device 251 and a post-processing device 252 for performing various processes on the recording medium before and after recording are provided upstream and downstream of the recording medium transport path, respectively. ing.

The contents of the pre-processing and post-processing differ depending on the type of recording medium on which recording is performed and the type of ink. For example, for recording media such as metal, plastic, and ceramics, As a pretreatment, irradiation of ultraviolet rays and ozone is performed to activate the surface, thereby improving the adhesion of the ink. 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 a recording medium, an alkaline substance,
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-processing is a fixing process for promoting the fixing of the ink to the recording medium to which the ink has been applied by heat treatment, irradiation of ultraviolet rays, or the like, or a cleaning process for applying the pre-processing and remaining unreacted processing agent. And the like.

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

[0183]

【Example】

Example 1 A first liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path and a second liquid supplied to the second liquid flow path (foaming liquid) using the components shown in Table 1.
Were prepared by conventional methods.

[0184]

[Table 1] *) Dispersion toner prepared by mixing and preparing 10 parts by weight of MCF88 (trade name, carbon black, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), 10 parts by weight of styrene acrylic copolymer resin (molecular weight: 8000, Hoshi Kagaku) and 80 parts by weight of water. The first liquid and the second liquid are used in the combination shown in FIG. 9 and has the configuration described with reference to FIG. 9, and the mixing ratio of the first liquid and the second liquid in the discharged liquid at the time of discharging the liquid is 8
Liquid ejection recording is performed by a recording apparatus equipped with a liquid ejection head set at about 5:15, and various characters,
A solid portion of 1 cm × 1 cm was printed to obtain a print sample.

[0185]

[Table 2] The obtained print samples were evaluated for the following items. Table 3 shows the obtained results. 1) Water resistance The print sample was tilted at an angle of 45 ° with the image side up, and 1 ml of water was dropped from the top of the surface, and the water drop was dropped on the image side, and it was observed whether or not the colorant had flowed out. ○, when no outflow of coloring material was observed, and △ when observed. 2) Image quality The occurrence of feathering was visually observed. ◎: No occurrence of feathering, 、: occurrence but no problem, and ×: occurrence of feathering that degraded image quality. 3) Bleeding The occurrence of bleeding between adjacent solid printing portions was visually observed. ○: No occurrence of bleeding or no problem even if present
And In addition, bleeding was carried out in advance from other heads using direct yellow 86 (3 parts by weight) and glycerin (10 parts by weight).
Parts by weight), diethylene glycol (16 parts by weight), isopropyl alcohol (4 parts by weight) and water (67 parts by weight)
Was evaluated adjacent to the dot formed by recording the ink on a recording medium.

[0186]

[Table 3]

[0187]

According to the present invention, two kinds of liquids which can react with each other are kept separated in the same head, they are mixed for the first time at the time of ejection, and these chemical reactions such as color are performed through this mixing process. With the configuration in which the solidification reaction of the material is started, it is possible to effectively solve the problem in the conventional two-liquid recording method in which the solidifying agent and the ink are separately discharged. That is, according to the present invention, the two kinds of liquids are mixed at the time of ejection, necessary for the reaction, and are allowed to partially progress the reaction to adhere to the recording medium in a state where the colorant is not excessively diffused. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably achieve the effect of reacting the two liquids without being largely affected by the characteristics of the recording medium, and to obtain a high-quality recorded image having excellent water resistance and no occurrence of bleeding. Become.

Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a head or a discharge port for discharging each of the two liquids unlike the conventional method. Therefore, the performance of an apparatus for separately and precisely discharging the two liquids is improved. There is no need to increase the size of the device or equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a liquid ejection head using a movable member.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a conventional head.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a head using a movable member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another example of a liquid ejection head using a movable member.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an example of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the operation of the movable member.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a structure of a movable member and a first liquid flow path.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a structure of a movable member and a liquid flow path.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining another shape of the movable member.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a heating element area and an ink ejection amount.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between a movable member and a heating element.

FIG. 13 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. 14 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement relationship between a heating element and a movable member.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of another example of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a shape of a driving pulse.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a supply path of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of an example of the head of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid ejection head cartridge.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid ejection device.

FIG. 21 is a device block diagram.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejection recording system.

FIG. 23 is a view for explaining a liquid flow path structure of a conventional liquid discharge head.

[Description of Signs] 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 Discharge port 19 Narrowed portion 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 Front wall of bubble generation area 37 Side wall of bubble generation area 40 Bubble 45 Droplet 50 Grooved member 51 Orifice plate 70 Support 78 Spring 80 Supply member

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshie Nakata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Ishinaga 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Sadayuki Sugama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Fumi Yoshihira 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kiyomitsu Kudo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (31)

[Claims] A first region to which a first liquid is supplied, a first region to which a first liquid is supplied, a bubble generation region to include a second liquid, and generate a bubble in the second liquid; A fulcrum portion is displaceable between a first position facing the generation region and a second position away from the bubble generation region in the first region, and has a fulcrum portion upstream of the free end. A movable member for displacing the movable member from the first position to the second position with the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region, and guiding the bubbles toward the discharge port by the movable member. In a liquid ejection recording method for performing recording by attaching a liquid to a recording medium using a liquid ejection head, at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid contains a coloring material, and And the second liquid are chemically reacted with each other. Together we are, first
And discharging the liquid and the second liquid from the discharge port, and forming an image with the first liquid and the second liquid. 2. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical reaction of the coloring material due to the mixing of the first liquid and the second liquid is completed after the coloring material adheres to the recording medium. 3. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 1, wherein a heating element is provided at a position facing the movable member, and a space between the movable member and the heating element is the bubble generation region. . 4. The liquid ejection recording method according to claim 3, wherein the free end is located downstream of a flow of the liquid from an area center of the heating element. 5. A part of a bubble generated along with the displacement of the movable member extends to the first liquid flow path.
The liquid ejection recording method according to any one of the above. 6. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 1, wherein there is a state in which the bubbles generated during the displacement of the movable member are in contact with the movable member. 7. The air bubble according to claim 3, wherein the air bubble generates a film boiling phenomenon in the liquid by transferring heat generated by the heating element to the liquid, and is an air bubble generated by the film boiling phenomenon. The liquid ejection recording method as described in the above. 8. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 3, wherein the liquid is supplied onto the heating element along a substantially flat or gentle inner wall upstream of the heating element. . 9. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 3, wherein all of the effective foaming regions of the heating element face the movable member. 10. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 3, wherein the entire surface of the heating element faces the movable member. 11. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 3, wherein a fulcrum of the movable member is not located immediately above the heating element. 12. The liquid discharge recording method according to claim 3, wherein the free end of the movable member is disposed closer to a discharge port than the heating element. 13. The liquid supplied to the second liquid flow path has at least one of low viscosity, foaming property, and heat stability as compared with the liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path. The liquid ejection recording method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejection recording method is an excellent liquid. 14. A liquid ejection apparatus comprising: a discharge port for discharging a liquid; a first region to which a first liquid is supplied; and a second region including a second liquid.
Displaceable between a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid, a first position facing the bubble generation region, and a second position away from the bubble generation region within the first region And a movable member having a fulcrum on the upstream side of the free end, and displaces the movable member from the first position to the second position with the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation region. A liquid supply head for supplying the first liquid and the second liquid to each of the first region and the bubble generation region, wherein the liquid discharge head guides the bubbles toward the discharge port by the movable member. And a characteristic that at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid supplied from the liquid supply means contains a coloring material, and the first liquid and the second liquid chemically react with each other. And the first liquid and the second liquid A liquid discharge head which discharges a liquid from the discharge port, and forms an image with the first liquid and the second liquid. 15. The liquid discharge head according to claim 14, wherein the chemical reaction of the coloring material due to the mixing of the first liquid and the second liquid is completed after the coloring material adheres to the recording medium. 16. The liquid ejection head according to claim 14, wherein a heating element is provided at a position facing the movable member, and a space between the movable member and the heating element is the bubble generation region. 17. The liquid ejection head according to claim 16, wherein a free end of the movable member is located downstream from an area center of the heating element. 18. The liquid ejection head according to claim 16, further comprising a supply path for supplying liquid onto the heating element from the upstream of the heating element along the heating element. 19. The supply path has a substantially flat or gentle inner wall on the upstream side of the heating element, and supplies the liquid onto the heating element along the inner wall. 19. The liquid ejection head according to 18. 20. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein the bubbles are bubbles generated by causing a film to boil in a liquid by heat generated by the heating element. 21. The movable member is plate-shaped.
21. The liquid ejection head according to any one of items 20 to 20. 22. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein all of the effective foaming regions of the heating element face the movable member. 23. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein the entire surface of the heating element faces the movable member. 24. The liquid discharge head according to claim 22, wherein a total area of the movable member is larger than a total area of the heating element. 25. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein a fulcrum of the movable member is disposed at a position deviated from immediately above the heating element. 26. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein a free end of the movable member has a shape substantially orthogonal to a liquid flow path in which the heating element is arranged. 27. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein the free end of the movable member is disposed closer to a discharge port than the heating element. 28. The liquid discharge head according to claim 14, wherein the movable member is configured as a part of a separation wall disposed between the first flow path and the second flow path. . 29. The liquid discharge head according to claim 28, wherein the separation wall is made of a metal material, resin or ceramic. 30. The liquid discharge head according to claim 29, wherein the metal material is nickel or gold. 31. A first common liquid chamber for supplying a first liquid to a plurality of the first liquid flow paths, and a second liquid for supplying a second liquid to a plurality of the second liquid flow paths. 31. The liquid discharge head according to claim 14, further comprising a second common liquid chamber.