JPH10315484A - Ink jet recorder and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder superior in recording reliability. SOLUTION: A holder 2a made from polycarbonate holds an ink jet recording head and comprises an ink passage for introducing ink to the head. A filter 3 set from a side of an ink introducing hole is fused to the holder 2a by a thermal fusing method. A penetration protruding material 23 in the fused section 22 that protrudes through a mesh of the filter 3 by being softened is formed on the upstream side of the filter 3 so that it does not deteriorate the characteristic of the device even when it drops down therefrom. At the thermal fusing, the holder 2a is held by means of a holding member of which shape is the same as that of an ink passage in the downstream side of the filter of the holder 2a so that it is possible to prevent softening or deforming of the lower face of the fused section 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink as small droplets and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an ink supply system used in an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as a recording apparatus) is provided to prevent printing defects caused by foreign matters mixed in the ink, dried ink, and the like. Is provided with a filter for removing these. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the vicinity of a filter of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the related art. An ink jet recording head (hereinafter, abbreviated as a head) 1 presses ink with a piezoelectric element or the like to discharge the ink. The holder 2 holds the head 1 and introduces ink into the head 1, has a divergent ink path corresponding to the ink flow path of the head 1, and is made of inexpensive polycarbonate material having excellent ink resistance. A wire mesh filter (filter in the figure) 3 made of stainless steel is fixed near the ink supply port of the holder 2 by a heat fusion method. The size of the mesh of this filter 3 is
25 μm, which is set to be somewhat smaller than the size of the nozzle of the head 1, so that the passage through the mesh does not block the flow path of the head 1.

[0003] The heat fusion method will be described with reference to FIG. The holder 2 is formed with a guide portion 21 for preventing the filter 3 from being displaced. Holder 2
The holder 2 is set at a fixed position on the holding member 6 with the ink inlet side of the holder 3 facing down, the filter 3 is inserted into the guide portion 21, and then the filter 3 is moved up and down by a brass heater chip 5 under predetermined conditions. And press with heat. The polycarbonate in the fused portion 22 of the holder 2 that has been heated and softened enters the mesh of the filter 3. The heater chip 5 is moved upward, and the softened polycarbonate is cooled and solidified to fix the filter 3 to the holder 2. The contact surface of the heater chip 5 is coated with Teflon so that the softened polycarbonate does not adhere.

A needle 4 disposed above the holder 2 is a needle for drawing ink from an ink tank (not shown), and is made of the same material as the holder 2 made of polycarbonate. For connecting each of the head 1, the holder 2, and the needle 4, a sealing material made of silicone having excellent ink resistance and sealing properties is used.

[0005] The holder 2 integrated as described above.
And the filter 3 have the following two problems. This will be described with reference to FIG. 5 which is a cross-sectional view showing the fused portion of the filter 3 enlarged. The first problem is that the penetrating protrusion 23 that is softened and penetrates the filter 3 is formed downstream of the filter 3 in the ink path. There is no problem when the protrusion 23 is firmly fixed. However, when the protrusion 23 is unstable and peels off, it peels off to reach the head 1 and obstructs the ink flow path, thereby deteriorating the ink discharge characteristics. In the worst case, it may be impossible to eject ink.

A second problem is that a side protrusion 24 which is softened and protrudes toward the ink introduction port is formed.
The side protrusions 24 protruding into the ink path cause the bubbles 7 to stay behind the ink during ink injection. If the staying air bubbles 7 leave here and reach the head 1 during recording, the ink ejection characteristics deteriorate.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having excellent recording reliability.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a head, a holder having an ink path for holding and introducing ink to the head, and a head disposed in the ink path of the holder and fused to the holder. The filter is fused to the holder from the upstream side of the ink path of the holder.

Since the filter is fused from the upstream side, the material of the holder which softens and penetrates the filter projects to the upstream side of the filter. I will not do it. Further, as a manufacturing method, when the filter is fused to the holder, the holder is held by a holding member having the same shape as the shape of the ink path of the holder downstream of the filter.

Therefore, the material of the holder is not softened and deformed or protrudes at a portion downstream of the filter.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples. FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing the vicinity of a filter fusion portion of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method thereof. The parts having the same functions as those of the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals.

A guide 21 for setting the filter 3 from the ink inlet side is formed on the ink inlet side of the holder 2a made of polycarbonate. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the side on which the filter 3 made of a stainless steel wire net is set in the holder 2a is opposite to the case of the prior art. The holding member 6a for holding the holder 2a includes:
It is made of a heat-resistant material such as aluminum, and is formed into a shape that can be inserted into the ink path downstream of the filter 3 of the holder 2a.

The method of fusing the filter 3 to the holder 2a is as follows. The holding member 6a is set at a predetermined position, the downstream ink path of the holder 2a is aligned with the holding member 6a, and the filter 3 is set on the guide portion 21 of the holder 2a. Next, the heater chip 5 is lowered and the filter 3
And the fused portion 22 of the holder 2a are heated and pressed to soften the fused portion 22 of the holder 2a and penetrate into the mesh of the filter 3. After a predetermined time, the heater chip 5 is raised, the holder 2a and the filter 3 are cooled, and the fused portion 22 of the holder 2a softened and solidified, and the filter 3 is fixed to the holder 2a.
An example of the fusion condition is as follows.
00 ° C, pressure 400g, holding time 2 seconds.

For connection of the head 1, the holder 2 and the needle 4, a sealing material made of silicone having excellent ink resistance and sealing properties was used as in the prior art. Also,
For the fusion of the filter 3, an ultrasonic fusion method can be adopted. FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the fused part 22 of the holder 2a and the filter 3 integrated in this manner.

Since the lower surface of the fused portion 22 is held by the holding member 6a, it does not soften by heating, has almost the original shape, and does not form a protrusion that peels off or protrudes. Further, since the penetration 23 formed by heating and softening and penetrating through the mesh of the filter 3 is formed on the upstream side of the filter 3, even if the filter 23
If the size of the mesh is larger than the size of the mesh, it is prevented from flowing downstream by the filter 3, and the head 1 is not clogged and an abnormality does not occur.

[0016]

According to the present invention, a head, an ink path for holding and introducing ink to the head, and a filter disposed in the ink path of the holder and fused to the holder are provided. Since the filter is fused to the holder from the upstream side of the ink path of the holder, the material of the holder that softens and penetrates the filter protrudes to the upstream side of the filter, and temporarily peels off. However, anything larger than the eyes of the filter does not reach the head.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which does not cause any problem in the head and has excellent recording reliability. Further, as a manufacturing method thereof, when the filter is fused to the holder, the holder is held by a holding member having the same shape as the shape of the ink path of the holder on the downstream side of the filter. There is no softening and deformation or protrusion at the part.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which is excellent in recording reliability without forming any debris on the downstream side of the filter or leaving bubbles in the holder.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing the vicinity of a filter fusion portion of a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a recording apparatus according to the related art.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing a recording apparatus according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a filter fusion portion of a recording apparatus according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head 2, 2a Holder 21 Guide part 22 Fusion part 23 Penetration protruding 24 Side protruding 3 Filter 4 Needle 5 Heater tip 6, 6a Holding member 7 Air bubble

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording head comprising: a holder having an ink path for holding and introducing ink into the ink jet recording head; and a filter disposed in the ink path of the holder and fused to the holder. The filter is fused to the holder from the upstream side of the ink path of the holder. 2. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the filter is fused to the holder, the holding member has the same shape as the shape of the ink path of the holder downstream of the filter. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: holding a holder.