JPH1024614A - Cleaning of liquid discharge head, cleaning system, and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change a medium to be printed such as various types of cloth and at the same time, facilitate the replacement of ink to be changed by causing a mixture of liquid and a cleaning liquid to overflow from the discharge orifice of a specified liquid flow path and at the same time, returning the mixture which does not overflow to a temporary storage tank for the cleaning liquid to circulate the cleaning liquid. SOLUTION: Ink contained in a subtank 1200 is pressurized by a tube pump 13 to be sent under pressure into a printing head 1100 junctioned with a heat junctioning part 1150 through a pressurizing flow path 1120a as shown by an arrow mark (a). The ink sent under pressure circulates through the printing head 1100, flowing out of its ink discharge orifice after a small amount of ink is discharged, and returns to the subtank 1200 again as shown by an arrow mark (b) through the head junctioning part 1150 and a discharge flow path 1120b. When replacing the type of the ink, an ink tank 1400 is removed from the subtank 1200 to empty an ink flow path interior and a pure water tank 1410 is fitted to a position where the ink tank 1400 is otherwise set. The ink flow path interior is cleaned with pure water in the same procedures as the ink is circulated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head for ejecting a desired liquid by generating bubbles caused by applying thermal energy to the liquid, a head cartridge using the liquid ejecting head, a liquid ejecting apparatus, and a liquid ejecting apparatus. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a discharge head. Further, the present invention relates to an inkjet kit having these liquid ejection heads.

In particular, the present invention relates to a liquid discharge head having a movable member that is displaced by utilizing the generation of air bubbles, a head cartridge using the liquid discharge head, and a liquid discharge device.

The present invention also relates to a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, and a printer for performing recording on a recording medium such as paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics and the like. The present invention can be applied to a device such as a word processor having a unit, and further to an industrial recording device combined with various processing devices.

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

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art By giving energy such as heat to ink, a state change accompanied by a steep volume change (formation of bubbles) is caused in the ink, and the ink is ejected from an ejection port by an action force based on this state change. An ink jet recording method in which an image is formed by attaching the ink onto a recording medium, that is, a so-called bubble jet recording method, is conventionally known. USP includes a recording apparatus using this bubble jet recording method.
4,723,129, etc.,
A discharge port for discharging ink, an ink flow path communicating with the discharge port, and an electrothermal converter as an energy generating means for discharging ink disposed in the ink flow path are generally disposed. ing.

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

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

[0008] For example, as a study on a demand for improvement in energy efficiency, optimization of a heating element such as adjusting the thickness of a protective film is mentioned. This method is effective in improving the 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 which can discharge ink at a high speed and perform good ink discharging based on stable bubble generation has been proposed. From the viewpoint of high-speed printing, there has also been proposed a print head having an improved flow path shape in order to obtain a liquid discharge head having a high filling (refilling) speed of the discharged liquid into the liquid flow path.

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

In the invention shown in FIGS. 32A and 32B, the valve 1 is located farther from the bubble generation region formed by the heating element 2 and located on the opposite side of the discharge port 11 with respect to the heating element 2.
0 is disclosed.

In FIG. 32 (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 by considering the case where bubbles are generated inside the flow path 3 for holding the liquid to be discharged, it is clear that suppressing a part of the back wave by the valve 10 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. .

From such a viewpoint, the liquid (foaming liquid) which generates bubbles by heat and the liquid (ejection liquid) to be ejected are made different liquids, and the ejection liquid is ejected by transmitting the pressure by foaming to the ejection liquid. The method is described in JP-A-61-69467, JP-A-55-81172, US Pat.
No. 0,259, 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 ejection liquid and the foaming liquid are completely separated, the pressure at the time of foaming is transmitted to the ejection liquid by expansion and contraction 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.

[0018]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The applicant of the present application has previously determined that the arrangement of the fulcrum and the free end of the movable member is such that the free end is located on the discharge port side, that is, on the downstream side.
An entirely new technology for actively controlling bubbles by arranging them facing the bubble generation region has been filed.

[0019]

A printing apparatus using an ink jet system is a technique which has recently been known. This type of printing device has the advantages of high flexibility of printable images and low overall cost in printing, mainly because it does not require the original plate of the image to be printed unlike screen printing. Have.

As the ink jet head of such a printing apparatus, it is possible to apply a liquid discharge head utilizing a new liquid discharge principle by a part of the present inventors described above.

However, when trying this new application, it was found that there were the following disadvantages as in the case where the conventional ink jet head was directly applied to a textile printing apparatus.

That is, in a printing apparatus, it is necessary to print on a plurality of types of fabrics such as cotton, silk, and polyester. At this time, in consideration of the compatibility between the fabric and the ink in view of the quality of the print result, it is desirable to change the ink according to the change in the fabric. In addition, special colors are used to enable printing of metallic colors, vivid reds, and blues, which are difficult to express with the commonly used yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) inks. It is necessary to change to ink. Therefore, when changing the ink, the ink remaining in the ink supply system must be extracted, the ink supply system must be washed, and then new ink must be refilled. Was. Further, cleaning with the head attached has not been performed because the heater inside the head may be destroyed.

The main objects of the present invention are as follows.

A first object of the present invention is to apply the above-described principle of liquid ejection, and to easily exchange ink that is changed with a change in a printing medium such as a fabric type. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection head and an image forming apparatus including the same.

A second object of the present invention is to improve the discharge efficiency and the discharge pressure, greatly reduce the heat storage in the liquid on the heating element, and reduce the residual bubbles on the heating element. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharge method, a liquid discharge head, and the like that can discharge a good liquid.

A third object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of meniscus retreat by suppressing the inertial force acting in the direction opposite to the liquid supply direction by the back wave and at the same time, by reducing the amount of meniscus retreat by the valve function of the movable member. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharge head or the like in which a refill frequency is increased and a printing speed and the like are improved.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharging method capable of reducing deposits on a heating element and expanding the range of use of a discharging liquid, and having sufficiently high discharging efficiency and discharging power. It is to provide a liquid ejection head and the like.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharge method, a liquid discharge head, and the like which can increase the degree of freedom in selecting a liquid to be discharged.

[0029]

A typical requirement of the present invention to achieve the above object is as follows.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generating region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path.
The cleaning liquid is supplied to the upstream side of the liquid flow path toward the discharge port side in a pressurized state, and the mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid overflows from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path and overflows. A method for cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein the cleaning liquid is circulated by returning the mixed liquid not to the temporary storage tank for the cleaning liquid.

A method of cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein a supply path of the cleaning liquid and a return path of the mixed liquid are different.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generating region for generating air bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path.
A liquid discharge head for supplying a cleaning liquid toward the discharge port side on the upstream side of the liquid flow path, and sucking and discharging a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path; Cleaning method.

A method for cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid is kept constant.

[0034] A method of cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein cleaning is started by replacing the liquid supply means of the first liquid flow path with the cleaning liquid supply means.

A method for cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein the cleaning liquid is circulated and the inside of the liquid discharge head is emptied, and then the supply means for the cleaning liquid is replaced with a new liquid supply means for the first liquid flow path. .

A method for cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein the supply means is a replaceable tank.

[0037] A method for cleaning a liquid discharge head, wherein after the cleaning step, a mixed liquid containing the cleaning liquid present in the first liquid flow path is preliminarily discharged from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generating region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. And a movable member that guides the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path by using a liquid discharge head, and the liquid discharge head is provided upstream of the first liquid flow path with respect to the first liquid flow path. Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid in a pressurized state toward the discharge port side to overflow a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path; and A cleaning liquid circulating means for circulating the cleaning liquid by returning it into the temporary storage tank for the cleaning liquid; Cleaning system for a liquid ejecting head including and.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. And a movable member that guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path by displacing the liquid discharge head upstream of the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head. Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid in a pressurized state toward the discharge port side to overflow a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path; Washing in which the washing liquid is circulated by returning the washing liquid into the temporary storage tank for the washing liquid. A liquid ejection apparatus including a liquid circulation means.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. And a movable member that guides the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path by using a liquid discharge head, and the liquid discharge head is provided upstream of the first liquid flow path with respect to the first liquid flow path. A liquid discharge head including a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid toward a discharge port side, and a discharge unit that suctions and discharges a liquid mixture of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path. Cleaning system.

A first liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generating region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path And a free end on the discharge port side, and the free end is set on the first liquid flow path side based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generating region. And a movable member that guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path by displacing the liquid discharge head upstream of the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head. Liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid toward the discharge port side, and discharge means for sucking and discharging a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path. Discharge device.

A liquid discharge apparatus which performs recording by discharging liquid from the liquid discharge head and attaching the liquid to the cloth.

According to the structure of the present invention, the cleaning of the liquid discharge head having the structure having two liquid flow paths can be easily performed, so that the type of the ink as the liquid can be easily and quickly changed. Particularly, when the above-described liquid discharge head having the two-liquid flow path structure is applied to a textile printing apparatus, an excellent effect is obtained.

According to the liquid ejection method, head, and the like of the present invention based on the extremely novel ejection principle as described above, a synergistic effect between the generated bubbles and the movable member displaced by the bubbles can be obtained, Since the liquid can be efficiently discharged, the discharge efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional bubble jet 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.

Further, according to the present invention, the temperature of the discharged liquid is adjusted via the liquid in the bubble generation region side without directly heating and cooling the discharged liquid, whereby the color material in the discharged liquid can be adjusted. Since separation and the like can be prevented, stable liquid ejection can always be performed, and a good image without density unevenness can be obtained.

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.

More specifically, even under long-term storage conditions in which most of the conventional bubble jet type heads having 64 discharge ports do not discharge, the head of the present invention has about half or less discharge failures. It just becomes. In addition, when these heads are recovered by preliminary ejection, it is necessary to perform thousands of preliminary ejections with the conventional head for each ejection port,
In the present invention, it was sufficient to perform the recovery with about 100 preliminary ejections. This means that the recovery time can be shortened, the loss of liquid due to recovery can be reduced, and the running cost can be significantly reduced.

In particular, according to the configuration of the present invention having improved refill characteristics, responsiveness at the time of continuous ejection, stable growth of air 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 description of each embodiment.

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” used in the description of the present invention refer to the flow direction of a liquid from a liquid supply source to a discharge port through a bubble generation region (or a 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 means that the bubble does not slip through a gap (slit) around the movable member before the movable member is displaced when the bubble grows. Means

Further, the term "separation wall" in the present invention broadly means a wall (which may include a movable member) interposed so as to divide a bubble generation region from a region directly communicating with the discharge port. 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.

[0054]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, in this embodiment, a liquid for discharging
An example in which the discharge force and the discharge efficiency are improved by controlling the direction of pressure propagation based on bubbles and the direction of growth of bubbles will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the liquid discharge head of this embodiment cut in the direction of the liquid flow path, and FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view of the liquid discharge head.

In the liquid discharge head of this embodiment, a heating element 2 (4 in this embodiment) for applying thermal energy to the liquid is used as a discharge energy generating element for discharging the liquid.
(A heating resistor having a shape of 0 μm × 105 μm)
The liquid flow path 10 is arranged on the element substrate in correspondence with the heating element 2. The liquid flow path 10 has a discharge port 18
And a common liquid chamber 13 for supplying liquid to the plurality of liquid flow paths 10, and receives from the common liquid chamber 13 an amount of liquid corresponding to the liquid discharged from the discharge port. .

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 discharge 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 heating element 2 and the heating element 2 to generate bubbles in the liquid based on the film boiling phenomenon as described in US Pat. No. 4,723,129. The pressure based on the generation of the air bubbles and the air bubbles act preferentially on the movable member, and the movable member 31 opens largely toward the discharge port around the fulcrum 33 as shown in FIG. 1 (b), (c) or FIG. To be displaced. Depending on the displacement or the displaced state of the movable member 31, the propagation of pressure based on the generation of bubbles and the growth of the bubbles themselves are guided to the ejection port side.

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

This principle will be described in more detail by comparing FIG. 3 schematically showing a conventional liquid flow path structure without using a movable member with FIG. 4 of the present invention. Here, the propagation direction of the pressure toward the discharge port is VA, and the propagation direction of the pressure toward the upstream side is V
B.

In the conventional head as shown in FIG. 3, there is no configuration for regulating the direction of pressure propagation by the generated air bubbles 40. Therefore, the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 40 is V1
As shown in V8, the direction was perpendicular to the surface of the bubble, and was oriented in various directions. Among them, those having a component in the pressure propagation direction in the VA direction which has the most influence on the liquid discharge are V1-V
4, ie, a directional component of pressure propagation in a portion closer to the discharge port than a position substantially half of the bubble, and is an important portion directly contributing to liquid discharge efficiency, liquid discharge force, discharge speed, and the like. Further, V1 works efficiently because it is closest to the ejection direction VA, while V4 has relatively little direction component toward VA.

On the other hand, in the case of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, the movable member 31 shifts the pressure propagation directions V1 to V4 of the bubbles directed in various directions as shown in FIG. (To the discharge port side) to convert the pressure into the VA pressure propagation direction, 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 in the same manner as the pressure propagation directions V1 to V4, and grows more downstream than upstream. As described above, by controlling the growth direction itself of the bubble by the movable member and controlling the pressure propagation direction of the bubble, it is possible to achieve a fundamental improvement in the discharge efficiency, the discharge force, the discharge speed, and the like.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, the ejection operation of the liquid ejection head of this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 1A shows a state before energy such as electric energy is applied to the heating element 2 and 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 the generated heat heats a part of the liquid filling the bubble generation region 11 to cause 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 bubble 40 has further grown, but the movable member 31 is further displaced in accordance with the pressure generated by the bubble 40. The generated bubble grows greatly downstream from the upstream and grows greatly beyond the first position (dotted line position) of the movable member. Thus, bubble 4
When the movable member 31 is gradually displaced in accordance with the growth of 0, the pressure propagation direction of the bubble 40 and the direction in which the deposition is easily moved, that is, the growth direction of the bubble to the free end side is uniformly directed to the discharge port. It can be considered that being able to change the height also enhances the discharge efficiency. The movable member rarely hinders the transmission of bubbles or foaming pressure toward the discharge port, and efficiently controls the direction of pressure propagation and the direction of bubble growth according to the magnitude of the propagating pressure. Can be.

FIG. 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, VD1 and VD2 of the flow from the upstream side (B), that is, the common liquid chamber side, in order to supplement the contracted volume of the bubbles in the bubble generation region 11 and to supplement the volume of the discharged liquid. And the liquid flows in from the discharge port side like Vc of the flow.

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

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

When the bubble 40 enters the defoaming process after passing through the state of the maximum volume after the state shown in FIG. 1C, a liquid having a volume that makes up 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).

For this reason, 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 M at the time of defoaming becomes larger, the refill time becomes longer, and the refill time becomes longer, and high-speed printing is performed. Was to hinder.

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

Further, the supply of the liquid 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 of this embodiment is that when refilling is performed using the pressure at the time of bubble erasing with the conventional head, the vibration of the meniscus is increased and the image quality is degraded. In the high-speed refill of the above, 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. What you can do.

As described above, the present invention achieves high-speed refilling by forcibly refilling the foaming region via the liquid supply path 12 of the second flow path 16 and suppressing the meniscus retreat and vibration described above. When used in the fields of stable printing, high-speed repetitive ejection, and printing, improvement in image quality and high-speed printing can be realized.

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

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

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

In some cases, the supply of the liquid to the bubble generation region is performed from the VD1 through the side (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 returning to the position of
In the case where the flow resistance of the liquid between the bubble generation region 11 and the region near the discharge port of the first liquid flow path 14 is large, the flow of the liquid from the VD1 to the bubble generation region 11 is prevented. . However, in the head structure of the present invention, the flow VD1 for supplying the liquid to the bubble generation region has a very high liquid supply performance, and the discharge efficiency is such that the movable member 31 covers the bubble generation region 11. Even if a structure requiring improvement is adopted, the liquid supply performance is not reduced.

The position of the free end 32 and the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31 is such that the free end is relatively downstream from the fulcrum as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently realize functions and effects such as guiding the pressure propagation direction and growth direction of bubbles to the ejection port side during the above-described foaming. Further, this positional relationship achieves not only a function and an effect on discharge, but also an effect that the flow resistance to the liquid flowing through the liquid flow path 10 can be reduced and the refill can be performed at a high speed even when the liquid is supplied. As shown in FIG. 5, when the meniscus M retracted by the discharge returns to the discharge port 18 by capillary force or when liquid is supplied to the defoaming, the liquid flow path 10 (the first liquid This is because the free end and the fulcrum 33 are arranged so as not to go against the flows S1, S2, and S3 flowing through the flow path 14 (including the second liquid flow path 16).

Supplementally, in FIG. 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, the free end 32 of the movable member 31 has the area center 3 (the heating element 3) that divides the heating element 2 into an upstream area and a downstream area. (A line passing through the center of the area of the liquid flow path and perpendicular to the length direction of the liquid flow path). As a result, the area center position 3 of the heating element
The movable member 31 receives a pressure or a bubble that greatly contributes to the discharge of the liquid generated on the downstream side, and the pressure and the bubble can be guided to the discharge port side, thereby fundamentally improving the discharge efficiency and the discharge force. Can be.

Further, many effects are obtained by utilizing the upstream side of the bubble.

In the structure of the present embodiment, 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.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, A indicates a state in which the movable member is displaced (bubbles are not shown), B indicates a state in which the movable member is in the initial position (first position), and the state of B indicates a foaming region. It is assumed that 11 is substantially sealed with respect to the discharge port 18. (Here, although not shown, there is a flow path wall between A and B to separate the flow path from the flow path.) The movable member 31 in FIG. Is provided with a liquid supply path 12. Thus, liquid can be supplied along the surface of the movable member on the heating element side and from the liquid supply path having a surface that is substantially flat or smoothly connected to the surface of the heating element.

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

Further, at the time of defoaming, the movable member 31 returns to the first position, and the liquid is supplied to the heating element at the time of defoaming since the discharge port side of the bubble generation region 31 is substantially closed. It is possible to obtain various effects described in the above embodiment, such as restraint of backward movement. In addition, the same function and effect as in the previous embodiment can be obtained in the effect regarding refill.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, a base 34 for supporting and fixing the movable member 31 is provided upstream of the heating element 2 and is smaller than the liquid flow path 10. 34, the liquid supply path 12 as described above.
Supply of liquid to Further, the shape of the base 34 is not limited to this, and any shape can be used as long as the refill can be performed smoothly.

In this embodiment, the distance between the movable member 31 and the heating element 2 is set to about 15 μm. However, the distance may be in a range in which the pressure based on the generation of bubbles is sufficiently transmitted to the movable member.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 shows one of the basic concepts of the present invention, which is a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows the bubble generation region in one liquid flow path, and the positional relationship between the bubble generated therein and the movable member.
This is an example in which the liquid ejection method and the refill method of the present invention are more easily understood.

In many of the above-described embodiments, the pressure of the generated bubble is concentrated on the free end of the movable member, and the movement of the bubble is concentrated on the discharge port simultaneously with the steep movement of the movable member. Have achieved. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, while giving the degree of freedom of the generated bubble, the downstream portion of the bubble which is the discharge port side of the bubble directly acting on the droplet discharge is regulated by the free end side of the movable member. is there.

In terms of the structure, FIG. 7 is different from FIG. 2 (first embodiment) in that the barrier as a barrier located at the downstream end of the bubble generation area provided on the element substrate 1 in FIG. A convex portion (shaded portion in the figure) is not provided in this embodiment. That is, the free end region and both side end regions of the movable member are opened without substantially closing the bubble generation region with respect to the discharge port region, and this configuration is the present embodiment.

In this embodiment, since the bubble growth at the downstream end portion of the downstream portion directly acting on the droplet discharge of the bubble is allowed, the pressure component is effectively used for the discharge. In addition, at least the upward pressure (the component force of VB, VB, VB in FIG. 3) of the downstream portion acts so that the free end portion of the movable member is applied to the bubble growth at the downstream end portion. Therefore, the discharge efficiency is improved in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. In this embodiment, the response to the driving of the heating element is superior to that of the above embodiment.

Further, this embodiment has an advantage in manufacturing because it is simple in structure.

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

In the case of the present embodiment, the refilling during the supply of the liquid is controlled only by the conventional heating element because the flow of bubbles from above into the bubble generation region is controlled by the presence of the movable member as the bubbles disappear. This is excellent for the bubble generation structure of the above. Of course, this can also reduce the amount of meniscus retraction.

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

(Embodiment 4) An embodiment in which the ejection force of the liquid due to the mechanical displacement described above is further improved will be described in this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of such a head structure. FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the movable member extends so that the position of the free end of the movable member 31 is located further downstream of the heating element. Thereby, the displacement speed of the movable member at the free end position can be increased, and the generation of the ejection force due to the displacement of the movable member can be further improved.

Since the free end is closer to the ejection port side than in the previous embodiment, the growth of bubbles can be concentrated on a more stable directional component, so that more excellent ejection can be performed.

The movable member 31 is displaced at a displacement speed R1 in accordance with the bubble growth speed at the center of the pressure of the bubble. The free end 32 farther from the fulcrum 33 than this position 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 as in FIG. 7, so that the pressure of the bubbles and the mechanical action of the movable member can more efficiently contribute to the discharge. Can be.

(Embodiment 5) FIGS. 9 (a), 9 (b) and 9 (c)
Is a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

The structure of this embodiment is different from that of the previous embodiment in that the area directly communicating with the discharge port does not have the shape of a flow path communicating with the liquid chamber side, and the structure can be simplified.

All the liquid supply is performed only from the liquid supply path 12 along the surface of the movable member 31 on the foaming region side. The positional relationship between the free end 32 of the movable member 31 and the fulcrum 33 with respect to the discharge port 18 and the heat generation The configuration facing the body 2 is the same as in the previous embodiment.

This embodiment realizes the above-mentioned effects such as the discharge efficiency and the liquid supply property. In particular, almost all of the liquid supply is performed by suppressing the meniscus retreat and utilizing the pressure at the time of defoaming. Forcible refilling is performed using the pressure at the time of defoaming.

FIG. 9 (a) shows a state in which the liquid is foamed by the heating element 2, and FIG. 9 (b) shows a state in which the foaming is shrinking. And the liquid supply by S3 is performed.

FIG. 9C shows a state in which the movable member is refilling the slight meniscus retreat M when the initial member returns to the initial position by the capillary force near the discharge port 18 after defoaming.

Embodiment 6 Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the principle of the main liquid ejection is the same as in the previous embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the liquid flow path is formed into a multi-flow path structure, and the liquid is foamed by further applying heat. The liquid (foaming liquid) and the liquid to be mainly discharged (discharged liquid) can be separated.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of the liquid discharge head of the present embodiment in the flow direction, and FIG. 11 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 bubbling 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 for the discharge liquid directly communicating with the discharge port 18 above
A liquid flow path 14 is provided.

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

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

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

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

The relation 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 previous embodiment.

Although the structure of the liquid supply path 12 and the heating element 2 has been described in the previous embodiment, the structure of the second liquid flow path 16 and the heating element 2 is the same in the present embodiment. doing.

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

In driving the head, the same water-based ink was used as the ejection liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path 14 and the foaming liquid supplied to the second liquid flow path 16.

The heat generated by the heat generating element 2 acts on the foaming liquid in the bubble generation region of the second liquid flow path, so that the foaming liquid is applied to the foaming liquid in the same manner as described in the previous embodiment.
The bubble 40 is generated based on the film boiling phenomenon as described in (1).

In this embodiment, since there is no escape of the foaming pressure from the three sides except for the upstream side of the bubble generation area, the pressure accompanying the bubble generation is applied to the movable member 6 arranged in the discharge pressure generating section. The movable member 6 is propagated intensively and displaces from the state of FIG. 12A to the first liquid flow path side as shown in FIG. 12B with the growth of bubbles. Due to the operation of the movable member, the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16 communicate with each other largely, and the pressure based on the generation of bubbles mainly occurs in the direction (A direction) on the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path. Convey. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port by the propagation of the pressure and the mechanical displacement of the movable member as described above.

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

This embodiment is the same as the first embodiment and the like in the operation and effects of the main parts relating to the propagation of the foaming pressure accompanying the displacement of the movable member, the growth direction of the bubbles, the prevention of the back wave, etc. By adopting the two-channel configuration as in the present embodiment, there are further advantages as follows.

That is, according to the configuration of the above embodiment,
The discharge liquid and the foaming liquid are separated from each other, and the discharge liquid can be discharged by the pressure generated by the foaming of the foaming liquid. For this reason, conventionally, even if it is a high-viscosity liquid such as polyethylene glycol, which has been insufficiently foamed even when heat is applied and discharge power is insufficient, this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path, Liquid that foams well in the foaming liquid (ethanol: water = 4:
By supplying a liquid having a low boiling point or a liquid having a low boiling point to the second liquid flow path, the liquid can be satisfactorily discharged.

Further, by selecting a liquid that does not generate deposits such as kogation on the surface of the heating element even when it receives heat, 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 in the previous embodiments are also produced, it is possible to discharge a liquid such as a highly viscous liquid with a higher discharge efficiency and a higher discharge force.

Even in the case of a liquid weak to heating, this liquid is supplied as a discharge liquid to the first liquid flow path, and a liquid which is hardly thermally degraded in the second liquid flow path and which produces good foam is supplied. This makes it possible to discharge the liquid weak to heating without causing thermal harm, and with high discharge efficiency and high discharge force as described above.

<Other Embodiments> The embodiments of the main part of the liquid ejection head and the liquid ejection method according to the present invention have been described above. Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments which can be preferably applied to these embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. It will be described using FIG. However, in the following description, there is a case where either one of the above-described embodiment of the one-flow passage form and the embodiment of the two-flow passage form is described, but it is applicable to both embodiments unless otherwise specified. is there.

<Ceiling Shape of Liquid Flow Path> FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view in the flow direction of the liquid discharge head of the present invention.
A grooved member 50 provided with a groove for constituting 3 (or the liquid flow path 10 in FIG. 1) is provided on the separation wall 30. In this embodiment, the free end 32 of the movable member
The height of the flow path ceiling near the position is increased, so that the operation angle θ of the movable member can be made larger. The operation range of the movable member may be determined in consideration of the structure of the liquid flow path, durability and bubbling force of the movable member, but it is desirable that the movable member be operated up to an angle including the angle in the axial direction of the discharge port. Conceivable.

Further, as shown in this figure, by making the displacement height of the free end of the movable member higher than the diameter of the discharge port,
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.

<Arrangement Relationship Between Second Liquid Flow Path and Movable Member> FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the arrangement relation between the movable member 31 and the second liquid flow path 16 described above. FIG. 2A is a view of the vicinity of the separation wall 30 and the movable member 31 as viewed from above, and FIG. 2B is a view of the second liquid flow path 16 from which the separation wall 30 has been removed, as viewed from above. FIG. 3C is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement relationship between the movable member 6 and the second liquid flow path 16 by overlapping these elements. In each of the figures, the lower part of the drawing is the front side where the discharge ports are arranged.

In this embodiment, the second liquid flow path 16 is located upstream of the heating element 2 (here, the upstream side is discharged from the second common liquid chamber side through the position of the heating element, the movable member, and the first flow path). A chamber having a constriction 19 at the upstream side of the large flow toward the outlet to suppress 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 embodiment, most of the liquid to be discharged can be used as the discharge liquid in the first liquid flow path, and the amount of the foaming liquid in the second liquid flow path provided with the heating element is too small. Since it can be prevented from being consumed, the bubble generation region 11 of the second liquid flow path
The filling amount of the foaming liquid into the liquid 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. And since this pressure can be used as a discharge force via the movable member 31,
Higher ejection efficiency and ejection 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. 14 (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. This can further enhance the separability between the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid described above. In addition, since the escape of bubbles from the slits can be suppressed, the discharge pressure and the discharge efficiency can be further increased. further,
The effect of the refill from the upstream side by the pressure at the time of the defoaming can be enhanced.

Note that in FIGS. 12B and 13,
With the displacement of the movable member 6 toward the first liquid flow path 14, the second
Some of the bubbles generated in the bubble generation region of the liquid flow path 4
However, by setting the height of the second flow path such that the bubbles extend, the ejection force can be further improved as compared with the case where the bubbles do not extend. be able to.
In order for the bubbles to extend into the first liquid flow path 14 in this manner, it is desirable that the height of the second liquid flow path 16 be lower than the height of the maximum bubble. μm to 30μ
m is desirable. In this embodiment, the height is set to 15 μm.

<Movable Member and Separation Wall> FIG. 15 shows another shape of the movable member 31. Reference numeral 35 denotes a slit provided on the separation wall, and the slit forms the movable member 31. . (A) is a rectangular shape, (b) is a shape where the fulcrum side is narrower and the movable member is easy to operate, and (c) is a shape where the fulcrum side is wider and the movable member is wider. This is a shape that improves the durability of the device.
As a shape having good operability and durability, FIG.
As shown in (a), it is desirable that the width on the fulcrum side is narrowed in an arc shape, but the shape of the movable member is a shape that can easily operate without entering the second liquid flow path side. ,
Any shape having excellent durability may be used.

In the above embodiment, the plate-like movable member 31
And the separation wall 5 having the movable member is made of nickel having a thickness of 5 μm. However, the material for the movable member and the separation wall is not limited to this, and has a solvent resistance to the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid. Any material may be used as long as it has elasticity to operate well as a movable member and can form a fine slit.

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

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 its material and shape 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.

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

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. 12, FIG. 13, etc.), the relationship between the slit width and the thickness is determined by manufacturing. By setting the following range in consideration of the variation, the mixture of the foaming liquid and the ejection liquid can be stably suppressed. Although this is a limited condition, when a high-viscosity ink (5 cp, 10 cp, etc.) is used for a foaming liquid having a viscosity of 3 cp or less, W / t
By satisfying ≦ 1, it was possible to suppress the mixing of the two liquids for a long time.

The slit for providing the “substantially sealed state” of the present invention is more reliable if it is on the order of several μm.

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

In the implementation of the above configuration example, even if the viscosity is changed, the mixing of the foaming liquid at the upper limit of 15% is performed. For the foaming liquid of 5 cps or less, the mixing ratio depends on the driving frequency, but it is 10%. % As the upper limit.

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

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 (the 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. 6, although the heating element area and the ink discharge 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 discharge. 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 just above the effective foaming area about 4 μm or more from the periphery of the heating element. It can be said that it is a target. In the present embodiment, the effective foaming area is set at about 4 μm or more inside the periphery of the heating element. However, the present invention is not limited to this, depending on the type and forming method of the heating element.

FIG. 17 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 dimension of the movable member 301 is 53 × 145 μ
m, which is smaller than the area of the heating element 2, but approximately the same as the effective foaming area of the heating element 2, and is arranged so as to cover the effective foaming area. On the other hand, the size of the movable member 302 is 53 × 220 μm, which is larger than the area of the heating element 2 (when the width is the same, the dimension between the fulcrum and the movable tip is longer than the length of the heating element). It is arranged so as to cover the effective foaming area in the same manner as the above. The durability and discharge efficiency of the two types of movable members 301 and 302 were measured. The measurement conditions are as follows.

Foaming liquid: 40% aqueous solution of ethanol Discharge ink: dye ink Voltage: 20.2 V Frequency: 3 kHz As a result of an experiment performed under these measurement conditions, regarding the durability of the movable member, (a) the movable member 301 In the case of 1 × 10 ⁷ pulses, the fulcrum of the movable member 301 was damaged when 1 × 10 ⁷ pulses were applied. (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 viewpoint 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. 18 shows the relationship between the distance from the edge of the heating element to the fulcrum of the movable member and the amount of displacement of the movable member. FIG. 19 is a cross-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 some experiments by the present inventors, when a fulcrum is provided just above the effective foaming area, 1 ×
It has been found that at about 10 ⁶ pulses, the movable wall is damaged and durability is reduced. Therefore,
By arranging the fulcrum of the movable member directly above and outside the effective foaming area of the heating element, the practicability increases even for a movable member having a shape or material of not so high durability. However, even if there is a fulcrum just above the effective foaming area, it can be used favorably if the shape and material are selected. With this configuration, a liquid ejection head having high ejection efficiency and excellent durability can be obtained.

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

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIG. 20 (a) shows a head having a protective film described later, and FIG. 20 (b) 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 is provided with 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 (0.2-1.0 μm thick) of aluminum or the like are patterned as shown in FIG. These two wiring electrodes 10
From 4, a voltage is applied to the resistance layer 105, and a current flows through the resistance layer to generate heat. On the resistance layer between the wiring electrodes, a protective layer such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride is formed with a thickness of 0.1 to 2.0 μm, and further thereon, a cavitation resistant layer such as tantalum (with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.6 μm) is formed. ) Is deposited,
The resistance layer 105 is protected from various liquids such as ink.

In particular, the pressure and shock waves generated when bubbles are generated and defoamed are extremely strong, and the durability of a hard and brittle oxide film is significantly reduced.
Are used as a cavitation-resistant layer.

A structure that does not require the above-mentioned protective layer may be used depending on a combination of a liquid, a liquid flow path structure, and a resistance material. An example thereof is shown in 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 configuration of the heating element in each of the above-described embodiments 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 a thing which produces a bubble in 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.

In order to drive the heat generating portion of the electrothermal transducer provided on the element substrate 1 and discharge the liquid, the above-described resistance layer 105 is connected to the above-described 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 the head of each of the above-described embodiments, the heating element is driven by applying a voltage of 24 V, a pulse width of 7 μsec, a current of 150 mA, and an electric signal of 6 kHz, and the liquid ink is discharged from the ejection port by the above-described operation. Discharged. However, the condition of the drive signal is not limited to this, and any drive signal can be used as long as it can appropriately foam the foaming liquid.

<Head Structure with Two Flow Paths> The liquid discharge which can satisfactorily separate and introduce different liquids into the first and second common liquid chambers, can reduce the number of parts, and can reduce the cost. An example of the structure of the head will be described.

FIG. 22 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 embodiment, and a detailed description is omitted here.

In the present embodiment, the grooved member 50 is
An orifice plate 51 having a discharge port 18; a plurality of grooves forming a plurality of first liquid flow paths 14;
4 and a concave portion forming a first common liquid chamber 15 for supplying a liquid (ejection liquid) to each first liquid flow path 3.

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

The first liquid (discharge liquid) is indicated by an arrow C in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 22, the liquid is supplied to the first common liquid chamber 15 and then to the first liquid flow path 14 via the first liquid supply path 20, and the second liquid (foaming liquid) is indicated by an arrow D in FIG. As shown, the second
Through the liquid supply path 21, the second common liquid chamber 17, and then the second common liquid chamber 17,
The liquid is supplied to the liquid flow path 16.

In the present embodiment, the second liquid supply path 21 is arranged in parallel with the first liquid supply path 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second liquid supply path 21 is arranged outside the first common liquid chamber 15. Any configuration may be used as long as it is formed so as to penetrate through the separated wall 30 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 embodiment shown in FIG. 23, 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 in which a separation wall is fixed. The second common liquid chamber 17 and the second liquid flow path 16 may be formed by bonding the combined body of the separation wall 30 and the element substrate 1 to the element substrate 1.

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

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 discharge liquid to the first common liquid chamber, and a second supply path (foam liquid supply) for supplying foaming liquid to the second common liquid chamber 17. (Road) 21. The second supply passage 21 penetrates the separation wall 30 disposed outside the first common liquid chamber 15 and
7, the foaming liquid is not mixed with the discharge liquid by the communication path, and the foamed liquid is mixed with the second common liquid chamber 1.
5 can be supplied.

The arrangement relationship 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 discharge liquid channel 14 is provided. Further, in the present embodiment, 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 discharge liquid supply path 20 and the foaming liquid supply path 21 may be determined in proportion to the supply amount.

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

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 Since the road and the grooved top plate as the grooved member are the same, the number of components can be reduced, and the process can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

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 a separation wall for 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 ensured.
Stable discharge is possible.

<Ejecting Liquid and Foaming Liquid> As described in the previous embodiment, in the present invention, the structure having the movable member as described above allows the ejection force and ejection efficiency to be higher than those of the conventional liquid ejection head. The liquid can be discharged at high speed. In the present embodiment, when the same liquid is used for the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid, the deposit is not easily generated on the heating element by heating without being deteriorated by the heat applied from the heating element, and vaporized by heat. Various liquids can be used as long as they can change the reversible state of condensation and do not deteriorate the liquid flow path, the movable member, the separation wall, and the like.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Composition of Dye Ink (Viscosity 2 cps) (CI Food Black 2) Dye 3 wt% Diethylene glycol 10 wt% Thiodiglycol 5 wt% Ethanol 5 wt% Water 77 wt% Recording was performed by discharging a combination of liquids having the following compositions. As a result, a liquid having a viscosity of more than ten cps, which was difficult to discharge with a conventional head, as well as a liquid having a very high viscosity of 150 cP could be discharged favorably, and a high-quality recorded matter could be obtained.

Composition of foaming liquid 1 Ethanol 40% by weight Water 60% by weight Composition of foaming liquid 2 Composition of water 100% by weight Composition of foaming liquid 3 Isopropyl alcohol 10% by weight Water 90% by weight Discharge liquid 1 of pigment ink (viscosity about 15 cps) Composition Carbon black 5% by weight Styrene-acrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer 1% by weight (acid value 140, weight average molecular weight 8000) monoethanolamine 0.25% by weight glycerin 69% by weight thiodiglycol 5% by weight ethanol 3 Weight% water 16.75 weight% composition of ejection liquid 2 (viscosity 55 cps) composition of polyethylene glycol 200 100 wt% composition of ejection liquid 3 (viscosity 150 cps) polyethylene glycol 600 100 wt% For liquids that have been Low due to the discharge direction of the variation is promoted poor landing accuracy of the dot on the recording paper, also the discharge amount variation by unstable discharge caused by these, high-quality image was difficult to obtain. However, in the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the generation of bubbles can be sufficiently and stably performed by using the foaming liquid.
As a result, it is possible to improve the landing accuracy of the droplets and stabilize the ink discharge amount, and it is possible to remarkably improve the quality of the recorded image.

<Manufacture of Liquid Discharge Head> Next, the process of manufacturing the liquid discharge head of the present invention will be described.

In the case of the liquid discharge head as shown in FIG. 2, a base 34 for providing the movable member 31 on the element substrate 1 is formed by patterning a dry film or the like. 31 was adhered or fixed by welding. Thereafter, a grooved member having a plurality of grooves forming each liquid flow path 10, a discharge port 18, and a concave part forming the common liquid chamber 13 is joined to the element substrate 1 in such a manner that the grooves correspond to the movable members. It was formed by doing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
The manufacturing process of the liquid discharge head having the flow path configuration will be described.

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

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

FIGS. 24A to 24E are schematic sectional views for explaining a first embodiment of the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), hafnium boride, tantalum nitride and the like are formed on an element substrate (silicon wafer) 1 using the same manufacturing apparatus as used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. After the element for electrothermal conversion having the heating element 2 was formed, the surface of the element substrate 1 was washed for the purpose of improving the adhesion to the photosensitive resin in the next step. Further, in order to improve the adhesiveness, after the surface of the element substrate is surface-modified with ultraviolet-ozone or the like, for example, a silane coupling agent (A189 manufactured by Nippon Yunika)
Is diluted to 1% by weight with ethyl alcohol and spin-coated on the modified surface.

Next, a UV-sensitive resin film (manufactured by Tokyo Ohka: Dry Film Odile SY) as shown in FIG.
-318) The DF was laminated.

Next, as shown in (c), a photomask PM is disposed on the dry film DF, and ultraviolet rays are passed through the photomask PM to a portion of the dry film DF to be left as the second channel wall. Was irradiated. This exposure step
Manufactured by Canon Inc .: MPA-600, about 6
The exposure was performed at an exposure of 00 mJ / cm ² .

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

According to the above-described method, the second liquid flow path can be uniformly formed with high accuracy on a plurality of heater boards (element substrates) divided and manufactured from the silicon substrate. A dicing machine (manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu:
(AWD-4000) to cut and separate each heater board 1. An adhesive (made by Toray:
(SE4400) on the aluminum base plate 70 (FIG. 27). Next, the aluminum base plate 70
An aluminum wire (not shown) having a diameter of 0.05 mm is formed by connecting the printed wiring board 71 bonded above and the heater board 1 to each other.
Connected with.

Next, as shown in FIG. 24 (e), the joined body of the grooved member 50 and the separating wall 30 was positioned and joined to the heater board 1 thus obtained, as shown in FIG.
That is, the grooved member having the separating wall 30 and the heater board 1 are positioned and engaged and fixed by the pressing spring 78, and then the ink / foaming liquid supply member 80 is joined and fixed on the aluminum base plate 70, and the aluminum wire is fixed. , Grooved member 50, heater board 1, and ink / foaming liquid supply member 80
The gap with the silicone sealant (made by Toshiba Silicone:
(TSE399) and completed.

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

[0209] These high-precision manufacturing techniques stabilize ejection and improve print quality. In addition, since it can be formed on a wafer at a time, a large amount can be manufactured at low cost.

In this example, an ultraviolet-curing dry film was used to form the second liquid flow path.
It can also be obtained by using a resin having an absorption band in the ultraviolet region, particularly around 248 nm, curing after laminating, and directly removing the resin in a portion serving as the second liquid flow path with an excimer laser.

FIGS. 25A to 25D are schematic sectional views for explaining a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), a 15 μm-thick resist 10
1 was patterned in the shape of the second liquid flow path.

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

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

On the other hand, a heater board provided with an electrothermal conversion element was formed on a silicon wafer using the same manufacturing apparatus as that for semiconductors. This wafer was separated into respective heater boards by a dicing machine in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. The heater board 1 is joined to an aluminum base plate 70 to which a printed board 104 has been joined in advance, and the printed board 7
1 and an aluminum wire (not shown) to form an electrical wiring. On the heater board 1 in such a state, as shown in FIG. 25D, the second liquid flow path obtained in the previous step was positioned and fixed. At the time of this fixing, as in the first embodiment, since the top plate on which the separation wall is fixed is engaged with and tightly attached to the top plate by the pressing spring in the subsequent step, it is fixed to the extent that no positional displacement occurs at the time of joining the top plate. Is enough.

In this embodiment, an ultraviolet curing adhesive (Amicon UV-3 manufactured by Grace Japan) is used for the positioning and fixing.
00), and using an ultraviolet irradiation device, the exposure amount is 10
Fixation was completed in about 3 seconds at 0 mJ / cm ² .

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate second liquid flow path without displacement with respect to the heating element, and further, since the flow path wall is formed of nickel, It is possible to provide a highly reliable head that is resistant to alkaline liquids.

FIGS. 26A to 26D are schematic sectional views for explaining a third embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19A, a resist 31 was applied to both surfaces of a 15 μm thick SUS substrate 100 having alignment holes or marks 100a. Here, as the resist, P made by Tokyo Ohka
MERP-AR900 was used.

[0220] Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
Exposure was performed using an exposure apparatus (MPA-600, manufactured by Canon Inc.) in accordance with the alignment hole 100a of No. 00, and the resist 103 in the portion where the second liquid flow path was to be formed was removed. The exposure was performed at an exposure amount of 800 mJ / cm ² .

Next, as shown in (c), the SUS substrate 100 on which the resists 103 on both sides are patterned is immersed in an etching solution (an aqueous solution of ferric chloride or cupric chloride) and exposed from the resist 103. After etching the exposed portion, the resist was removed.

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

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment, the second liquid flow path 4 can be obtained with high accuracy without displacement of the heater. In addition, since the flow path is formed by SUS, acid or alkaline And a highly reliable liquid ejection head can be provided.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, by disposing the wall of the second liquid flow path in advance on the element substrate, the electrothermal converter and the second liquid flow path can be connected. Positioning can be performed with high accuracy. In addition, since the second liquid flow path can be formed simultaneously on a large number of element substrates on the substrate before cutting and separation, a large amount of low-cost liquid discharge head can be provided.

In the liquid discharge head obtained by performing the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the heating element and the second liquid flow path are positioned with high precision. The pressure of foaming due to the heat generated by the electrothermal transducer can be efficiently received, and the discharge efficiency is excellent.

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

FIG. 27 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a liquid discharge head cartridge including the above-described liquid discharge head. The liquid discharge head cartridge is mainly composed of a liquid discharge head 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 flow path (not shown) through which the discharged liquid to be discharged flows is formed.

The pressing spring 78 is a member for applying an urging force in the direction of the element substrate 1 to the grooved member 50. With this urging force, the element substrate 1, the separation 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 a discharge liquid such as ink and a foaming liquid for generating bubbles, which are supplied to the liquid discharge head. Outside the liquid container 90, a positioning portion 94 for arranging a connection member for connecting the liquid ejection head and the liquid container and a fixed shaft 95 for fixing the connection portion are provided. The discharge liquid is supplied from the discharge liquid supply path 92 of the liquid container to the discharge liquid supply path 81 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path 84 of the connection member.
And the discharge liquid supply paths 83, 71, 21 of each member
To the first common liquid chamber. Similarly, the foaming liquid is supplied from the supply path 93 of the liquid container to the foaming liquid supply path 82 of the liquid supply member 80 via the supply path of the connecting member, and is supplied via the foaming liquid supply paths 84, 71, and 22 of the respective members. The liquid is supplied to the second liquid chamber.

In the above-described liquid discharge head cartridge, a description has been given of the supply form and the liquid container that can supply even when the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are different liquids. The supply path and the container for the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid do not have to be separated.

It is to be noted that the liquid container may be refilled with the liquid after each liquid is consumed before use. For this purpose, it is desirable to provide a liquid inlet in the liquid container. Further, the liquid discharge head and the liquid container may be integrated or may be separable.

<Liquid Discharge Apparatus> FIG. 28 shows a schematic configuration of a liquid discharge apparatus equipped with the above-described liquid ejecting head. In the present embodiment, a carriage HC of a liquid ejection apparatus, which will be described using an ink ejection recording apparatus using ink as an ejection liquid, is a head cartridge in which a liquid tank section 90 containing ink and a liquid ejection head section 200 are detachable. And reciprocate in the width direction of the recording medium 150 such as recording paper conveyed by the recording medium conveying means.

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

In the liquid ejection 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 It has a shaft 115 and the like. With this recording apparatus and the liquid ejection method performed by this recording apparatus, a recorded matter of a good image could be obtained by ejecting liquid to various recording media.

FIG. 29 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 printing apparatus 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 drive 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.

The recording medium which can be applied to the recording apparatus as described above and to which a liquid such as ink is applied includes plastics, cloth, aluminum, etc. used for various papers, OHP sheets, compact discs and decorative plates, etc. Metal materials such as copper and copper, leather materials such as cow skin, pig skin and artificial leather, wood materials 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-mentioned recording apparatus, 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 the discharge liquid used in these liquid discharge devices, a liquid suitable for each recording medium and recording conditions may be used.

<Recording System> 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. 30 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 embodiment 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 is yellow (Y), magenta (M). , Cyan (C), and black (Bk) are fixedly supported in parallel by a holder 202 at predetermined intervals 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.

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

Under 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 non-recording media as described in the above embodiments. The transport belt 206 is drawn around a predetermined path by various rollers, and is driven by a driving roller connected to a motor driver 305.

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

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 metals, plastics, 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-treatment is a fixing treatment for promoting the fixing of the ink to the recording medium to which the ink has been applied by heat treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, or the like, or a cleaning treatment applied to the recording medium and remaining unreacted after the pre-treatment. And the like.

Although the present embodiment has been described using a full-line head as the head, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a small-sized head as described above is conveyed in the width direction of the recording medium to perform recording. It may be something.

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

When the ink has been consumed, the insertion portion of the ink filling means (such as an injection needle or the like) is inserted into the air communication port 521 of the ink container, the connection portion with the head, or a hole formed in the wall of the ink container. It is sufficient to insert a part of 531 and fill the ink container with the ink in the ink filling means through the insertion portion.

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

Although the head kit of this embodiment has been described as including the ink filling means, the head kit does not have the ink filling means, and is a separable type ink container filled with ink. The head and the head may be housed in a kit container 510.

In FIG. 31, only the ink filling means for filling the ink container with ink is shown. In addition to the ink container, a foaming liquid filling means for filling the foaming liquid into the foaming liquid container is provided. It may be in a form contained in a kit container.

Next, an embodiment of a cleaning system for a liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1 of Cleaning System for Liquid Discharge Head) FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a cleaning system for a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1100 denotes a print head as the above-described liquid ejection head. In addition, the ink supply system shown in the drawing is arranged in a positional relationship in which the upper part of the drawing is vertically upward and the lower part is vertically lower in the installation state of the textile printing apparatus of this example.

The role of each of the ink supply paths shown in FIG. 33 will be described.

The sub tank 1200 is the ink tank 140
The ink replenished from 0 or the like is temporarily stored so that the ink level can be maintained at a constant level. The print head 1100 and the sub tank 1200 are schematically illustrated.
They are connected by a pressurization path 1120a and a discharge path 1120b. The tube pump 1300 has the pressure path 11
The ink provided in the pressure path 1120a is provided on the print head 1100 side.

Hereinafter, ink circulation in the ink supply system having such a configuration will be described.

In FIG. 33, the ink in the sub-tank 1200 is pressurized by the tube pump 1300, and as shown by the arrow a in the drawing, the print head 11 joined by the pressurizing path 1120a and the head joint 1150.
It is pumped inside 00. The ink pressure-fed into the print head 1100 circulates therein, and at the same time, slightly discharges the ink from the ink discharge ports of the print head 1100. Thereafter, the circulating ink is again transferred to the head joint 1150 and the discharge path 1 as shown by the arrow b in the drawing.
The process returns to the sub tank 1200 via 120b.

When replacing the ink type, the ink tank 1400 is removed from the sub-tank 1200, the ink path is emptied, and the ink tank 1400 is replaced with a pure water tank 1410. By performing the same operation as the above-described ink circulation, the inside of the ink path can be washed with pure water.

Part of the pure water flows out of the head nozzles in the same manner as in the ink circulation operation, thereby cleaning the inside of the head, and partly circulating to clean the inside of the discharge path 1120b.

After the cleaning operation has been performed to some extent, the pure water tank 1410 is removed and the ink is circulated again, so that all the pure water remaining in the ink path can be discharged from the head nozzle portion, and the cleaning of the ink path is completed. . Thereafter, a new ink type tank is inserted. By circulating the ink in the ink tank (not shown), the drainage remaining in the path is discharged from the nozzle portion of the print head 1100 to complete the cleaning.

(Second Embodiment of Cleaning System for Liquid Discharge Head) FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram for explaining another embodiment of a cleaning system for a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the print head 1100 and the sub-tank 1200 are connected by one ink supply path 1120 and the print head 11
It is characterized in that the nozzle portion (discharge port surface) of No. 00 is covered with a cap 1500 and ink is sucked. That is, ink is supplied to the print head 1100 through the ink supply path 1120, and ink is supplied from the nozzle unit to the tube pump 160 connected to the cap 1500.
At 0, it is sucked and discharged.

Also in this embodiment, when replacing the ink type with another ink, a pure water tank 1410 is attached to the sub-tank 1200 and the suction operation by the cap 1500 and the tube pump 1600 is performed, as in the first embodiment. The ink supply path 1120 and the print head 1
100 can be cleaned.

After the cleaning operation has been performed to some extent, the pure water tank 1410 is removed, and a suction operation is performed in a state where the pure water tank 1410 has been removed to suck out all the pure water remaining in the ink path. Thereafter, a new ink type tank is inserted. By replacing the ink tank for replacement (not shown) and circulating the ink, the drainage remaining in the path is discharged from the nozzle portion of the print head 1100 to complete the cleaning.

(Third Embodiment of Cleaning System for Liquid Discharge Head) FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram for explaining still another embodiment of a cleaning system for a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. This embodiment has the same basic configuration as that of the second embodiment, except that the print head 1100 and the sub-tank 12
The difference is that there are two ink supply paths that connect 00 and 00.

As described above, when there are two or more ink supply paths, if the size of the pure water tank 1410 is increased, one pure water tank 1410 can correspond to a plurality of sub-tanks 1200.

After operating the above-described cleaning system, the mixed liquid (drained liquid) containing the cleaning liquid remaining in the print head can be completely removed by preliminary discharge.

FIGS. 36 and 37 are a side view and a perspective view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such an ink jet printing apparatus can be provided with the above-described cleaning system for the mounted ink jet head.

In these figures, reference numeral 1004 denotes a cloth as a print medium, which is unwound according to the rotation of an unwind roller 1310 driven by a motor (not shown), and which is conveyed through intermediate rollers 1320 and 1330.
Leads to. The conveying unit 1200 is provided at a portion facing the printing unit 1100. After being conveyed in a substantially horizontal direction by the conveying unit 1200, the winding roller 1500 is provided via a feed roller 1214 and intermediate rollers 1520, 1530, and 1540. Wound up by

[0275] Inside the frame 1050, a pair of parallel guide rails 1 are provided in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the fabric 1004.
120 are arranged. A head carriage 1003 is mounted on the guide rail 1120 via a ball bearing 1111 so that the head carriage 1003 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction along the pair of guide rails. The head carriage 1003 is driven by a drive motor (not shown) fixed to one side wall of the frame 1050 via a drive belt (not shown). The head carriage 10
A head unit 1101 for forming an image on the cloth 1004 is attached to the inner lower surface of 03.

The head unit 1101 includes the cloth 100
A plurality of ink jet heads having a large number of ink ejection ports arranged in the same direction as the transport direction of No. 4 are provided for each ink color in the same direction as the main scanning direction. Further, as described later, two heads having different print resolutions for each ink color are provided. Such a head unit 1101 moves two times in the transport direction of the cloth 1004.
A set is provided. These two sets of head units 110
1 is configured to scan the same scanning area as the cloth 1004 is conveyed, and the arrangement of dots formed by ink ejection during the scanning is complementary to each other, such as a checker pattern. It is typical.

The ink jet head of each head unit may have a plurality of ink storage tank units 1 if necessary.
300 to each relay tube 10 which is an ink supply path
Various kinds of ink are supplied through 30. These ink supply paths are connected to the head carriage 1
Since it moves in the same manner as 003, it is arranged in a caterpillar (not shown) for ease of movement and prevention of breakage. The cleaning system for the head described above is provided in the ink supply path. With this cleaning system, the ink in the head can be quickly cleaned, so that the ink type can be easily replaced.

A capping unit 1200 is provided below the home position when the head unit 1101 moves in the main scanning direction. The capping unit 1200 is in contact with the ejection opening surface of each head during non-printing, and each head moves to a home position, which is one side facing the capping unit 1200, during non-printing, thereby performing capping. It is something to be done.

[0279]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since a liquid ejection head having a structure having two liquid flow paths can be easily cleaned, it is possible to easily and quickly change the type of ink as a liquid. Particularly, when the above-described liquid discharge head having the two-liquid flow path structure is applied to a textile printing apparatus, an excellent effect is obtained.

According to the liquid ejection method, head, and the like of the present invention based on the above-described novel ejection principle using a movable member, a synergistic effect between the generated bubble and the movable member displaced by the bubble can be obtained. Since the liquid in the vicinity of the discharge port can be efficiently discharged, the discharge efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional bubble jet discharge method, head, and the like.

Further, 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 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 such as recovery. Along with this, the recovery time can be shortened, the loss of liquid due to the recovery can be reduced, and the running cost can be significantly reduced.

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 liquid droplets are achieved, and high-speed recording by high-speed liquid ejection and high image quality are achieved. Recording could be enabled.

Further, by using a liquid that is easily foamed or a liquid that does not easily generate deposits (burns) on the heating element as the foaming liquid in the head having the two flow paths, the degree of freedom in selecting the ejection liquid is increased. Liquids that were difficult to be discharged by the conventional bubble jet discharge method, such as high-viscosity liquids that became high and hardly foamed, and liquids that easily formed a volume on the heating element, could be discharged well.

Further, a liquid which is weak to heat could be discharged without adversely affecting the liquid by heat.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the present invention, the above-described liquid discharge head can be manufactured with high accuracy, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing can be performed easily at low cost.

Further, by using the liquid discharge head of the present invention as a liquid discharge recording head for recording, higher quality recording could be achieved.

Further, it was possible to provide a liquid discharge apparatus, a recording system, and the like in which the liquid discharge efficiency and the like of the liquid were further improved by using the liquid discharge head of the present invention.

Further, by using the head cartridge and the head kit of the present invention, the head can be easily used and reused.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a conventional head.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in the head of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a flow of a liquid according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a liquid ejection head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partially broken perspective view of a liquid ejection head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a liquid ejection head (two flow paths) according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a liquid ejection head according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the operation of the movable member.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a structure of a movable member and a first liquid flow path.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a structure of a movable member and a liquid flow path.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining another shape of the movable member.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a heating element area and an ink ejection amount.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement relationship between a movable member and a heating element.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a relationship between a distance between an edge of a heating element and a fulcrum and a displacement amount of a movable member.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement relationship between a heating element and a movable member.

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a shape of a driving pulse.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a supply path of the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the head of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a process chart for explaining the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a process diagram for describing the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a process diagram for describing the method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid ejection head cartridge.

FIG. 28 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid ejection device.

FIG. 29 is a device block diagram.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a liquid ejection recording system.

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of a head kit.

FIG. 32 is a view for explaining a liquid flow path structure of a conventional liquid discharge head.

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a cleaning system for a liquid ejection head according to the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram for explaining another embodiment of the cleaning system for the liquid ejection head according to the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the cleaning system for the liquid ejection head of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of the ink jet textile printing apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

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

Claims (13)

[Claims] A first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region that generates bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member for displacing the pressure toward the flow path side to guide the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, the method comprising: cleaning the liquid discharge head upstream of the first liquid flow path. A cleaning liquid is supplied in a pressurized state toward an outlet side, and a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid overflows from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path, and the mixed liquid that does not overflow is temporarily stored in the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid is circulated by returning the cleaning liquid into the tank. Kiyoshi way. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a supply path of the cleaning liquid and a return path of the mixed liquid are different. 3. A first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member for displacing the pressure toward the flow path side to guide the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, the method comprising: cleaning the liquid discharge head upstream of the first liquid flow path. A cleaning method for a liquid discharge head, comprising: supplying a cleaning liquid toward an outlet side; and sucking and discharging a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path. 4. The method for cleaning a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the supply pressure of the cleaning liquid is kept constant. 5. The cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning is started by exchanging the liquid supply means in the first liquid flow path with the cleaning liquid supply means. Cleaning method for liquid ejection head. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the supply unit is a replaceable tank. 7. A pre-discharge of a mixed liquid containing the cleaning liquid present in the first liquid flow path from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path after the cleaning step. 7. The method for cleaning a liquid discharge head according to any one of Items 1 to 6. 8. A first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generating region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the flow path side and guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, the liquid discharge head being upstream of the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head. Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the discharge port side in a pressurized state to overflow a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path; and the mixed liquid which does not overflow Cleaning fluid circulation by circulating the cleaning fluid by returning to the temporary storage tank of the cleaning fluid Cleaning system for a liquid discharge head which comprises a stage. 9. A first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the flow path side and guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path; and a mechanism for mounting a liquid discharge head, the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid in a pressurized state toward the discharge port side to the upstream side of the liquid supply means and causing a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid to overflow from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path; The cleaning liquid is circulated by returning the mixed liquid into the temporary storage tank for the cleaning liquid. Liquid discharge apparatus characterized in that it comprises a washing liquid circulation means. 10. A first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating air bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the flow path side and guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path, the liquid discharge head being upstream of the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head. Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid toward the discharge port side, and discharge means for sucking and discharging a mixed liquid of the liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path. A cleaning system for liquid ejection heads. 11. A first liquid flow path having a first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, a second liquid flow path having a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and the first liquid flow path. The first liquid is disposed between the flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and sets the free end to the first liquid based on pressure generated by bubbles in the bubble generation area. A movable member that displaces the pressure toward the flow path side and guides the pressure toward the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path; and a mechanism for mounting a liquid discharge head, the first liquid flow path of the liquid discharge head Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid toward the discharge port side, and discharge means for sucking and discharging a mixed liquid of liquid and the cleaning liquid from the discharge port of the first liquid flow path. A liquid ejection device characterized by including: 12. A liquid discharge apparatus which discharges a liquid from the liquid discharge head according to claim 9 and performs recording by attaching the liquid to a cloth. 13. The method according to claim 13, wherein the cleaning liquid is circulated and the inside of the liquid discharge head is emptied, and then the cleaning liquid supply unit is replaced with a new liquid supply unit of the first liquid flow path. The method for cleaning a liquid discharge head according to claim 1.