JPH1086389A - Ink jet printing head and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a more inexpensive ink jet printing head of high quality improved in assembling properties and good in energy efficiency. SOLUTION: Heating elements 11, individual electrodes 12 and a common electrode 13 are formed on a heating element substrate 51 and resin layers 14 are subsequently formed. The resin layers 14 are at least removed at the upper parts of the heating elements 11 and the bonded parts with the passage groove walls of a passage forming member. The end surfaces most on the side of an ink emitting direction of the resin layers 14 are made inside a cutting position 52. The resin layers are cut at this cutting position to obtain a heater chip. The passage forming member is almost positioned to be placed on the upper part of the heater chip and minutely vibrated in the arranging direction of the heating elements 11 to fit the passage groove walls in the recessed parts of the resin layers 14. Further, the passage forming member is struck against the end surfaces on the emitting orifice side of the resin layers. By this constitution, the alignment of the heating elements is performed in the arranging direction thereof and the direction crossing the same at a right angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal type ink jet print head in which bubbles are generated in ink by the heat generated by a heating element, and the ink is caused to fly by the pressure of the bubbles to perform recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventionally known thermal ink jet head is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-9876.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3 (1999), a channel substrate in which a plurality of triangular prism-shaped nozzle flow paths, a common liquid chamber, and an ink supply port are formed by anisotropic etching, and a heater corresponding to each nozzle flow path by an LSI process And a wiring and a drive circuit, and then, a synthetic resin layer is used to bond the heater heat generating region groove and a heater substrate provided with a bypass groove connecting the flow path to the ink reservoir. This manufacturing method is suitable for high-density, long-length, and mass production, but has a low degree of freedom in the design of the flow path due to the use of anisotropic etching, and because the nozzle surface is formed by dicing. And the quality of the nozzle is low.

Further, in an example described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-118443, a flow channel and a nozzle forming surface are integrally formed by resin molding, and an injection port is machined with a laser, and a corresponding heater is formed. An ink jet print head is manufactured by bonding to a chip. According to this method, the degree of freedom in designing the flow path is high, and the unit cost of the parts is low, but there is a problem that an assembling process of minute parts is required.

[0004] To improve this problem, for example,
JP-A-5-12011, JP-A-5-12420
No. 3, JP-A-7-314680, and the like have been proposed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-
In the manufacturing methods described in JP-A-112011 and JP-A-5-124203, a positioning mark and a positioning method between a top plate member and a heater chip are proposed. Recognition of the alignment mark from two directions perpendicular to the array surface is required, and an expensive alignment device including its control is required. Also, in JP-A-7-314680,
In a configuration in which a heater chip and a member with a flow channel are joined, an end portion of the heater chip on the side where the heating element is provided is covered with a connection wall of the member with a flow channel. With this configuration, the position of the nozzle plate from the heating element can be adjusted even when the end positions of the heater chips vary. However, even in this configuration, the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
As in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 203, it is necessary to adjust the alignment from two directions, and the assembly process itself is not simplified.

Also, for example, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-89073, a method has been proposed in which a recess corresponding to the flow path wall is provided on the heater chip side, and a wall member is fitted into the recess. I have. According to this method, the positioning of the heating elements in the arrangement direction can be easily performed. However, in this document, the bottom surface of the concave portion is configured to be lower than the surface of the heater that acts on the ink. In such a configuration, the heat acting surface has the same height as the ink flow path,
Bubbles generated in the ink also grow in the direction of the ink ejection port and in the opposite direction, and thus have a problem of poor energy efficiency. In addition, since the concave portion is formed by patterning the insulating layer that insulates the substrate and the wiring, it is necessary to perform wiring under the wall member unless another interlayer insulating layer, which is another insulating layer, is formed. And the degree of freedom of wiring is small, and the layer forming process becomes complicated. Furthermore, even in this configuration, precise alignment adjustment is required for the ink flow direction.

[0006] Similarly, as an ink jet print head in which a wall member is fitted in a concave portion on the heater chip side, there is one described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-60435, for example. In this head, the resin layer is provided with a resin layer other than the joint portion with the wall member and the heater portion.
In the same manner as the head described in JP-A No. 3 (1999) -1999, the growth of bubbles generated on the heater portion is controlled by the resin layer, the alignment property in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged is improved, and the adhesive is prevented from protruding. I have. However, in this document,
It does not describe anything about the positioning or assembling method in units of minute components, nor does it describe the positioning in the ink flow direction.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has improved the assemblability of an ink jet print head using minute flow path forming parts, and has improved energy efficiency and lower cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a high quality ink jet print head.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an ink jet print head comprising a heater chip and a flow path forming member joined to each other, wherein a plurality of ink jets are ejected to the flow path forming member. Forming a common ink chamber groove in which the nozzle ejection port, the plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the nozzle ejection port and the plurality of individual flow channel grooves communicate with each other, and a plurality of the heater chips corresponding to the nozzle ejection port. Forming a resin layer having a concave portion corresponding to at least the flow channel wall between the individual flow channels, placing the flow channel forming member substantially on the heater chip, and mounting the heater element. The chip and the flow path forming member are micro-vibrated relatively at least in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged, and the flow path groove walls are fitted into the concave portions formed by the resin layer to thereby arrange the heating elements in the arrangement direction. It is characterized in that the positioning.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an ink jet print head in which a heater chip and a flow path forming member are joined to each other, wherein a plurality of nozzle jets for jetting ink to the flow path forming member and the nozzles are provided. Forming a plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the ejection ports and a common ink chamber groove communicating with the plurality of individual flow channel grooves, and providing the heater chip with a plurality of heating elements corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports; Forming a convex resin layer corresponding to the individual flow channel at least on the downstream side in the ink flow direction of the heat generating element, substantially positioning and mounting the flow channel forming member on the heater chip, The heater chip and the flow path forming member are micro-vibrated relatively at least in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged, and the flow path wall between the individual flow path grooves is fitted between the convex resin layers. It is characterized in that for positioning the alignment direction of the heating elements.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet print head according to the first or second aspect, the heater chip and the flow path forming member are positioned and placed at least relatively. It is characterized in that a minute vibration is caused in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged, and vibration of a rotational component on the plane of the joint surface is also performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an ink jet print head according to the second aspect, wherein:
The resin layer is formed such that an end face on the nozzle ejection port side is inside the end face of the heater chip, and moves the flow path forming member toward the common ink chamber groove side, thereby forming the flow path forming member. Is abutted against the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side, and positioning is performed in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the heating elements are arranged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an ink jet print head in which a heater chip and a flow path forming member are joined together, wherein a plurality of nozzle injection openings for jetting ink to the flow path forming member and the nozzles are provided. Forming a plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the ejection ports and a common ink chamber groove in which the plurality of individual flow channel grooves communicate, providing a plurality of heating elements in the heater chip corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports, Further, a resin layer is formed on at least a portion corresponding to a flow channel wall between the individual flow channels so that an end face on the nozzle injection port side is inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is formed. The heating element is moved from the heating element side to the common ink chamber groove side, and the flow path forming member is abutted against the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side, and is positioned in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the heating elements. It is characterized in that performing the determining.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet print head according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the plurality of heater chips are formed on a wafer, and after the formation of the resin layer, the heater chip is formed. It is characterized in that it is cut into chips further on the ink ejection direction side than the end surface on the ink ejection direction side.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet print head, a heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports for ejecting ink corresponding to the heating elements, and corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports. A channel forming member formed with a plurality of individual flow channel grooves and a common ink chamber groove in which the plurality of individual flow channel channels communicate with each other; and on the heater chip, the nozzle ejection port side of the heating element Is provided with a resin layer forming a convex portion, an end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side is located inside an end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is formed of the resin layer. It is characterized in that it is in contact with the end face on the nozzle outlet side.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet print head, a heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports for ejecting ink corresponding to the heating elements, and the nozzle ejection ports are provided. A flow path forming member formed with a plurality of individual flow path grooves and a common ink chamber groove in which the plurality of individual flow path grooves communicate with each other; at least a flow path between the individual flow path grooves on the heater chip; A resin layer is provided in a portion corresponding to the road groove wall, an end surface of the resin layer on the nozzle injection port side is located inside an end surface of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is formed of the resin layer. The layer is in contact with the end face on the nozzle ejection port side.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet print head according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the end face of the heater chip on the nozzle ejection port side is separated from the flow path forming member. Is what you do.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet print head, a heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports provided at positions above the heating elements and ejecting ink, and the nozzle ejection nozzles are provided. A plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the openings and a flow channel forming member formed with a common ink chamber groove communicating with the plurality of individual flow channel grooves, and at least the individual flow channel groove on the heater chip upper surface; A resin layer is formed correspondingly, and a flow channel wall between the flow channels is fitted between the resin layers.

[0018]

1 and 2 are process diagrams showing an example of a method of manufacturing an ink jet print head according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is also manufactured by a heater chip manufacturing process. FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views of an example of a positional relationship between the heating element and the resin layer, FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views of an example of a bonding step between the heater chip and the flow path forming member, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the same. In the figure, 1 is a heater chip, 2 is a channel forming member, 3 is a joint member, 4 is a heat sink, 11 is a heating element, 12 is an individual electrode, 13 is a common electrode, 14 is a resin layer, 21 is a channel groove, 22 is a channel groove wall, 2
3 is a discharge port, 24 is a common liquid chamber, 25 is a discharge port forming surface, 2
6 is an ink supply pipe, 27 is a projection, 31 is a sealant injection hole,
32 is a fitting pin, 41 is a joint fixing hole, 42 is a sealant injection hole, 43 is an external wiring relay board, 51 is a heating element board, 52 is a cutting position, 53 is a cleaning liquid, 54 is an electrical connection, and 55 is an electrical connection. It is an adhesive for temporary fixing.

In FIG. 1A, a heating element 11, an individual electrode 12 and a common electrode 13 connected to the heating element 11, a drive circuit (not shown) and the like are formed on a silicon wafer by, for example, an LSI manufacturing process. The substrate 51 is used. FIG. 3A shows a pattern of the formed heating element 11, the individual electrode 12, and the common electrode 13. In FIG. 3, the direction from the bottom to the top is the direction in which ink is ejected. On the heating element 11, a protective film or the like for protecting the heating element 11 from the pressure at the time of growth and disappearance of bubbles and for insulating may be formed.

Next, in FIG. 1B, the heating element substrate 5
A thin resin layer 14 is applied to the surface of the substrate 1 and patterned. The resin layer 14 is provided on the ink ejection direction side of the heating element 11 and on the common liquid chamber 24 side. 14 is removed. Further, the position of the cutting position 52 indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 3B is a position to be an end surface of the heater chip, and the end surface of the resin layer 14 on the ink ejection direction side of the heating element 11 is the cutting position 52. It is formed so that it may become inside. FIG. 3C shows an XX cross section in FIG. 3B.

As the resin layer 14 formed in this step,
Photosensitive resin, particularly, for example, P manufactured by Ciba-Geigy
robidem (registered trademark), manufactured by Du-Pont
A photosensitive polyimide resin such as Yralin PI2722 (registered trademark) is suitable in terms of patterning accuracy and productivity. In addition, for example, dry film such as ORDYL (registered trademark) manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Co., RISTON (registered trademark) manufactured by Du-Pont, or non-photosensitive polyimide;
For example, PLX manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., U-Vani manufactured by Ube Industries, Ltd.
sh or the like can be used. For the non-photosensitive resin, a patterning method using a laser or the like can be applied.

In FIG. 1C, the heating element substrate 51 is cut at a cutting position 52 by, for example, dicing or the like, and becomes an individual heater chip 1. At this time, FIG.
As shown in (B), since the resin layer 14 does not exist at the cutting position 52, burrs and the like of the resin layer do not occur, and problems such as deterioration of sharpness due to adhesion of the resin to the dicing blade also occur. do not do. Further, cutting accuracy by dicing is not required as described later. For this reason, the cutting process is greatly simplified. The heater chip 1 cut by dicing or the like is cleaned with, for example, a cleaning liquid 53 in order to remove dicing powder during dicing.

On the other hand, as a board for fixing the chip, an external wiring relay board 43 for electrical connection between the chip and the outside is formed as an integral component formed on the surface of Al.
Is produced. Of course, the heat sink 4 and the external wiring relay board 43 may be separate bodies. The heat sink 4 has a joint fixing hole 41 for fixing the joint member 3 and a sealant injection hole 42 for injecting a sealant.
Is provided.

In FIG. 2A, this heat sink 4
The cleaned heater chip 1 is positioned and joined with an adhesive having good heat conductivity such as silver epoxy. FIG.
In (B), the heater chip 1 and the external wiring relay board 43 are connected by wire bonding, a TAB method, or an electrical connection 54 such as an anisotropic conductive film.

Further, the flow path forming member 2 is separately manufactured by, for example, resin molding. In the flow path forming member 2, flow path grooves 21 are formed corresponding to the respective heating elements 11 at the time of molding, and the common liquid chambers 24 and the common liquid chambers 2 communicating with the respective flow path grooves 21 are formed.
An ink supply pipe 26 for supplying ink to the ink jet head 4 is formed. Further, the discharge ports 23 are formed by laser processing or the like corresponding to the respective heating elements 11. FIG. 5 shows a cross section of the flow channel forming member 2 and the heater chip 1 in the direction of the flow channel 21. FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the flow path forming member 2 and the heater chip 1 in the arrangement direction of the heating elements 11. The ink supply pipe 26 is shown in FIG.
It is shown in (C).

In FIG. 2C, the flow path forming member 2 is joined to the heater chip 1. The heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 may be joined using, for example, an adhesive or by pressure welding. Here, an adhesive is used, but in the case of pressure contact, the following steps may be performed without applying the adhesive, and the pressure contact may be fixed with a spring material or the like.

At the time of joining, first, the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 are positioned. At room temperature, a solid adhesive is thinly applied to the joint surface of the flow path forming member 2, and is roughly positioned and mounted on the heater chip 1. FIG. 4A shows a state before joining, and FIGS. 5B and 5A show a state in which the flow path forming member 2 is placed on the heater chip 1. The positioning performed at this time does not need to be performed accurately. For example, as shown in FIG.
2 may be on the resin layer 14.

In the state shown in FIGS. 4B and 5A, a weaker pressing force F is applied than the flow path forming member 2 side, and the flow path forming member 2 is pressed against the heater chip 1, and in this state, the heat sink 4 And heater chip 1 and flow path forming member 2
Are slightly vibrated relatively at least in the direction in which the heating elements 11 are arranged. Due to the vibration f, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), the flow channel wall 22 of the flow channel forming member 2 fits into the concave portion where the resin layer 14 on the heater chip 1 is removed by patterning. Are aligned in the arrangement direction. Since the vibrations here include not only the direction in which the heating elements 11 are arranged but also a rotation component on the surface on which the heating elements 11 are formed, the positioning can be performed quickly.

After the alignment of the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction is performed in this manner, the alignment in the ink flow direction is performed. FIG. 5B shows a state where the alignment of the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction has been performed. From this state, the flow path forming member 2 is pressed toward the common liquid chamber 24 (that is, rightward in FIG. 5). As a result, FIG.
As shown in (C), the discharge port forming surface 25 where the discharge port 23 of the flow path forming member 2 is formed is abutted against the end face of the resin layer 14 on the heater chip 1 on the side of the discharge port 23, and the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 are completed.

In general, in the cutting step shown in FIG.
The positional accuracy of the resin layer 14 manufactured using a patterning technique used in a manufacturing process or the like is better. Therefore, by performing the alignment in the ink flow direction using the end surface of the resin layer 14 as described above, the heating element 11
Can be precisely controlled.
Here, as shown in FIG. 5C, the step d2 of the discharge port forming surface 25 is made larger than the distance d1 from the end face of the resin layer 14 on the side of the discharge port 23 to the end face of the heater chip 2. The influence of the end face of the heater chip 2 is eliminated.

Returning to FIG. 2C, in a state where the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 are aligned as described above, the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 are bonded with, for example, an instant adhesive. It is temporarily fixed with a temporary fixing adhesive 55 such as a UV adhesive. Then, the adhesive previously applied is melted and adhered by heating to complete the joining. In the case of pressure fixing, the fixing member may be mounted in this step.

In FIG. 2D, a fitting pin 32 of the joint member 3 for supplying ink shown in FIG. 6 is inserted into a joint fixing hole 41 provided in the heat sink 4, and It is positioned with respect to the ink supply pipe 26. The joint member 3 has an ink flow path for supplying ink from the ink tank to the ink supply pipe 26, and the ink flow path and the ink supply pipe 26 of the flow path forming member 2 are determined by positioning the joint member 3. Are connected. Then, the fitting pin 32 of the joint member 3
Is fixed from the back surface of the heat sink 4 by heat staking or an adhesive.

Next, a sealant such as silicon or modified epoxy resin is injected through a sealant injection hole 31 provided on the ink jet side of the joint member 3 and is cured. Alternatively, a sealant may be injected from the sealant injection hole 42 provided in the heat sink 4 and cured. The injected sealant also enters the gap between the end face of the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 shown in FIG. 5C, that is, the gap of several tens μm between d1 and d2 by capillary force. Thereby, since the flow path forming member 2 is fixed to the heater chip 1, a head that is strong against external impact can be obtained. The sealant also fixes the electrical connection 54 connecting the heater chip 1 and the external wiring relay board 43 and the like. Thus, an ink jet print head is completed.

By manufacturing an ink jet print head by such a manufacturing process, a pattern obtained by an LSI manufacturing process such as photofabrication is used, so that the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 can be precisely formed.
Can be aligned and the alignment is performed by fitting and butting, so that equipment such as image recognition and precise position control is not required, and assembly can be performed with a simple and inexpensive assembling apparatus. In addition, since the cutting process of the heater chip 1 does not require positional accuracy, surface accuracy, and high quality, and does not cut the resin layer, the cutting of the resin layer does not generate burrs and the like, and processing can be performed at high speed and at low cost. .

In the manufactured ink jet print head, the growth of bubbles generated on the heating element 11 can be controlled by the resin layer 14 formed before and after with respect to the ink flow direction of the heating element 11, and the pressure due to the bubbles can be reduced. It can be used effectively. In particular, as shown in FIGS.
By slightly separating the end surface of the resin layer 14 on the heating element 11 side with respect to the ink flow direction of the heating element 11 from the end of the heating element 11, bubbles grow in the direction of the discharge port 23, and the pressure due to the bubbles is increased. In the direction of the discharge port 11. Therefore, energy efficiency is high and high quality printing is possible.

In the vicinity of a portion of the flow channel 21 formed in the flow channel forming member 2 communicating with the common liquid chamber 24, a projection 27 projects into the flow channel 21 to narrow the ink flow channel. I have. As a result, the pressure caused by the bubbles generated on the heating element 11 is not released to the common liquid chamber 24 side, and the pressure is efficiently propagated in the direction of the discharge port 23, and is used as a discharge force to improve energy efficiency. I have. In this configuration, the resin layer 14 is further formed rearward with respect to the ink flow direction of the heating element 11, further narrows the ink flow path together with the protrusion 27, and further suppresses the transmission of pressure to the common liquid chamber 24. doing.

However, if the flow path of the ink is too narrow, the flow path resistance at this portion becomes large, and it may not be possible to keep up with the resupply of the ink after the ink is ejected. Further, when the resin layer 14 is thickened to narrow the ink flow path, the step of the concave portion on the heating element 11 becomes large, and a vortex is generated at the time of re-supply of the ink, thereby decreasing the ink supply speed. For this reason, it is important for both the efficient ejection and the re-supply of the ink to provide the convex portion 27 with an appropriate thickness and reduce the diameter from both.

Further, when the resin layer 14 is made thicker, a large skirt-like shape disorder occurs at the lower portion during patterning, which is not preferable as a positioning pattern. When the resin layer 14 is thin, patterning is easy,
Butting of the flow path forming member 2 becomes difficult. in this way,
In the alignment step, the thickness of the resin layer 14 is also important.

As a specific example, the heating element 11 is set to 42.5
arranged at a pitch of μm (equivalent to 600 dpi), and the resin layer 14
Can have a thickness of 10 μm. This thickness is sufficient to protect wirings, circuits, and the like on the heater chip 1 from intrusion of ink.
Thus, the pressure of the air bubbles generated on 1 can be satisfactorily played in the role of narrowing the flow path in order to efficiently transmit the pressure in the direction of the discharge port without escaping to the common liquid chamber 24 side. Also, the contact of the flow path forming member 2 can be performed well. Note that the thickness of the resin layer 14 is 5 times the height of the individual flow channel 21.
% Or more and 30% or less is good.

In addition, the tip width of the flow channel wall 22 is 10 μm.
m, and the distance d1 from the end face of the resin layer 14 closest to the discharge port to the end face of the heater chip 1 in FIG.
μm, and the level difference d2 of the discharge port forming surface 25 is set to 40 μm so as to satisfy the relationship of d1 <d2. Accordingly, the positional relationship between the heating element 11 and the discharge port 23 can be accurately defined regardless of the positional accuracy of the heater chip 1 at the time of cutting, the variation in manufacturing can be reduced, and a high-quality inkjet print head can be manufactured. Can be manufactured.

In the above-described first embodiment, the heating element 11
The ink jet print head of the side shooter type ejecting the ink in a direction substantially parallel to the surface on which the heat generating element 11 is formed is shown in an oblique direction (to about 45).
The same applies to the type that discharges in (ii). Further, although the resin layer 14 is provided before and after with respect to the flow direction of the ink of the heating element 11, it is needless to say that any one of them has the respective effects. Further, by patterning the portion of the heater chip 1 corresponding to the common liquid chamber 24 in correspondence with the groove for the common liquid chamber 24 of the flow path forming member 2, the alignment by the above-described vibration is further facilitated. In addition, the resin layer 14 as the alignment and protective layer is not limited to the configuration of only one layer,
It may have a structure of three or more layers.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an example of a positional relationship between a heating element and a resin layer manufactured in a heater chip manufacturing process in a second embodiment of the ink jet print head of the present invention, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the joining process of a flow path formation member. The reference numerals in the drawings are the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 6, and only the differences will be described below.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), the resin layer 14 is patterned in a comb-tooth shape which is removed at the heating element 11 and at the ink flow path ahead. The configuration is such that the adjacent heating elements 11 are separated by a resin layer 14. The end face of the tip of the pattern of the comb-like resin layer 14 is the heater chip 1.
And is formed so as to be inward from the end face of the flow path forming member 2 so as to be in contact with the discharge port forming surface 25 of the flow path forming member 2.

Since the manufacturing process of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, different points will be mainly described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1A, as shown in FIG.
After the individual electrodes 12 and the common electrode 13 are formed, FIG.
7B, the resin layer 14 is formed as shown in FIG. Then, the cutting position 52 in FIG.
And a heater chip 1 is obtained. The heater chip 1 is cleaned in FIG. Then, FIG.
2, the heater chip 1 is mounted on the heat sink 4, and is connected to the external wiring relay board 43 by an electrical connection 54 in FIG.

In FIG. 2 (C), the flow path forming member 2 is joined to the heater chip 1, but the heating element 11
The conventional technology is applied to the alignment in the arrangement direction. By this alignment, as shown in FIG. 7 (C), the channel groove wall 22 of the channel forming member 2 is placed on the resin layer 14.

After the alignment of the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction is performed, the alignment in the ink flow direction is performed.
FIG. 8B shows a state in which the alignment of the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction has been performed. From this state, the flow path forming member 2 is pressed toward the common liquid chamber 24 (ie, rightward in FIG. 8). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8C, the corner of the flow path forming member 2 abuts against the end face of the resin layer 14 on the heater chip 1 on the side of the discharge port 23, and the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 is completed.
Also in this example, by setting an interval so that the end face of the heater chip 1 does not contact the flow path forming member 2, the cutting process of the heater chip 1 can be simplified, and the flow path length is accurately determined. be able to. Subsequent steps are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, it is difficult to position the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction.
The step of flattening the bonding surface of the heater chip 1 can be simplified by joining with the flow path forming member 2 with an intervening member, which is effective in reducing the cost of the heater chip 1. Further, since the joining is made of the resins, the joining can be surely performed, and the pressure leak between the heating elements 11 can be reliably prevented. Further, since the cross section of the flow path of each ink becomes wider by the thickness of the resin layer 14, the flow path groove 21 formed in the flow path forming member 2 can be made shallower.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the ink ejection direction is the 45 ° direction. However, as in the first embodiment, the same configuration can be applied to the substantially parallel side shooter type.
Further, the resin layer 14 can be provided in a portion other than the portion shown in FIG. For example, a configuration may also be provided in which the resin layer 14 is removed only on the upper side of the heating element 11 and near the cutting position 52 of the heater chip 1 on the side of the discharge port 23 of the heating element 11.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a third embodiment of the ink jet print head of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 to 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 28 denotes a recess of the injection port surface, 29 denotes a projection for positioning, 33 denotes a projection, 4
Reference numeral 4 denotes an opening. In the third embodiment, an example of a roof shooter type will be described. Since the manufacturing process of the roof shooter type is also substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, the different points will be mainly described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1A, a plurality of heating elements 11 and individual electrodes 1 connected to the heating elements 11 are provided on a heating element substrate 51.
2. A common electrode 13, a drive circuit, and the like are provided in an LSI manufacturing process, and a resin layer 14 is applied thereon and patterned in FIG. 1B. The resin layer 14 formed at this time is
The resin layer 14 is removed from a portion that is provided in the individual flow channel from the heating element 11 to the common liquid chamber 24 and is joined to the flow channel wall 22 of the flow channel forming member 2. In FIG. 1 (C), the cutting is performed at the cutting position 52, and the heater chip 1 is obtained. The heater chip 1 is cleaned in FIG. 1D and mounted so as to cover the opening 44 on the heat sink 4 in FIG. Then, electrical wiring is made.

The flow path forming member 2 is provided with an outer shape, a common liquid chamber 24, a convex portion 27, an injection port surface recess 28, and the like by molding.
The discharge port 23 is processed by a laser or the like. This flow path forming member 2 is mounted on the heater chip 1. At this time, the alignment of the heating elements 11 in the arrangement direction is performed as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10 (B), the flow path forming member 2 is substantially positioned and mounted on the heater chip 1 and slightly vibrated right and left in FIG. This is performed by fitting the flow channel wall 22 of the path forming member 2 between the resin layers 14. In addition, positioning in the direction along the individual flow path is performed by forming positioning protrusions 29 at both ends of the common liquid chamber 24 of the flow path forming member 2, and attaching the heater chip to the positioning protrusions 29. By attaching the flow path forming member 2 so that the contact portions 1 come into contact with each other, it can be easily performed.

Thereafter, a silicone or epoxy sealing agent is applied to the joint member 3, inserted into the opening 44 of the heat sink 4, and sealed between the back surface and the end surface of the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2. The joint member 3 is provided with a protrusion 33 for sealing at an end face portion of the heater chip 1, and a sealant is filled between the joint member 3 and a protrusion receiver provided on the flow path forming member 2. Sealing of the side portion between the flow path forming member 2 and the joint member 3 is performed.

Thus, even in the roof shooter type ink jet print head, the heater chip 1 and the flow path forming member 2 can be easily positioned. Moreover, in the completed ink jet print head, the resin layer 14 used for alignment narrows the individual flow paths together with the convex portions 27 of the flow path forming member 2, so that the pressure of the bubbles generated on the heating element 11 is shared. The energy efficiency is improved without propagating to the liquid chamber 24. Also,
The heating element 1 is formed by the end surface of the resin layer 14 on the heating element 11 side.
Since the growth of bubbles generated on the surface 1 is regulated in the ink ejection direction, the generated energy can be used more efficiently.

In the above-described example, the alignment in the direction along the individual flow path is performed by the positioning projections 29 formed at both ends of the common liquid chamber 24 of the flow path forming member 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in FIG.
A resin layer for positioning may be formed on the right side of, and the flow path forming member 2 may be brought into contact with this resin layer.

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a resin layer is formed on a heater chip after patterning a heating element, wiring, and the like. The flow path forming member on which the flow path groove and the common ink chamber groove are formed is substantially positioned and mounted on the heater chip, and only microvibration is applied. And positioning of the heating elements in the arrangement direction can be performed. Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the vibration of the rotational component is also performed, so that
The channel groove walls can be easily fitted, and the positioning of the heating elements in the arrangement direction can be quickly performed. As described above, since positioning can be performed without requiring image recognition, precise position control, and the like, assembly can be easily performed with an inexpensive assembly apparatus. In addition, in the manufactured ink jet print head, the growth of bubbles generated on the heating element is controlled by the resin layer, and the pressure at the time of bubble growth is efficiently used in the direction of ink ejection, and the ink is supplied from the ink common liquid chamber. Since it is possible to select a configuration that does not increase the flow path resistance at the time of re-supply of the ink jet, it is possible to achieve both energy efficiency and drive frequency.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side is formed so as to be inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is formed as a common ink chamber groove. Side, and the flow path forming member is abutted against the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle injection port side, thereby performing positioning in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the heating elements are arranged. By performing such positioning, positioning can be performed in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the heating elements without the need for image recognition or precise position control. Can be performed. Also, since the precision of forming the resin layer is higher than the processing precision of the end face of the heater chip, it is possible to precisely define the shape of the individual ink flow path, and to produce a high-quality inkjet print head with no variation in production. it can. Further, since the flow path forming member is positioned by abutting the resin layer, the end face of the heater chip and the flow path forming member are separated from each other. The head is obtained.

In particular, when a plurality of heater chips are formed on a wafer and cut as in the sixth aspect of the present invention, the resin layer is cut further on the ink jet direction side than the end face on the ink jet direction side. By forming chips, the resin layer is not cut at the time of cutting, so that there is no generation of burrs due to cutting of the resin layer, and the deburring step can be omitted. In addition, for example, in dicing or the like, a problem such as deterioration of sharpness due to adhesion of resin to the blade does not occur. Furthermore, since positioning is performed by the resin layer as described above, in the step of cutting the heater chip, positional accuracy, surface accuracy, and quality are not required, so that processing can be performed at high speed and at low cost.

According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the present invention, the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle outlet side is located inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is located on the resin layer on the nozzle outlet side. Since the ink jet head is configured to be in contact with the end face, a high-quality ink jet print head in which the shape of the individual ink flow path is precisely defined is obtained. At this time, since the end face of the heater tip on the nozzle ejection port side and the flow path forming member are separated from each other as in the invention according to claim 9, the space therebetween can be used as a filling portion of the sealant, and the ejection characteristic is improved. A stable inkjet printhead is obtained.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the roof shooter type ink jet print head, a resin layer is provided in an individual flow path between the heating element and the common ink chamber, and a flow path is formed between the resin layers. Since the channel groove walls between the channel grooves of the member are fitted to each other, even in a roof shooter type ink jet print head, positioning of the heating elements in the arrangement direction is easy at the time of manufacturing, and bubbles generated on the heating elements are formed. There is an effect that the propagation of the pressure due to the growth of the ink to the common ink chamber side is restricted, and an ink jet print head having high energy efficiency can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart showing an example of a method for manufacturing an ink jet print head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a process diagram (continued) illustrating an example of a method of manufacturing the inkjet print head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a positional relationship between a heating element and a resin layer manufactured in a heater chip manufacturing process in an example of a manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the inkjet print head of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a joining process of a heater chip and a flow path forming member in an example of a manufacturing method of the inkjet print head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is another explanatory diagram of an example of a joining step of a heater chip and a flow path forming member in an example of a method of manufacturing the inkjet print head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the inkjet print head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a positional relationship between a heating element and a resin layer manufactured in a heater chip manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of the inkjet print head of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a joining process of a heater chip and a flow path forming member in a heater chip manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of the inkjet print head of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a third embodiment of the ink jet print head of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the ink jet print head of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heater chip, 2 ... Flow path forming member, 3 ... Joint member, 4 ... Heat sink, 11 ... Heating element, 12 ... Individual electrode, 13 ... Common electrode, 14 ... Resin layer, 21 ... Flow path groove, 22 ... Flow Channel groove wall, 23 ... Discharge port, 24 ... Common liquid chamber,
25: ejection port forming surface, 26: ink supply tube, 27: convex portion, 28: ejection port surface concave portion, 29: positioning convex portion, 3
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sealant injection hole, 32 ... Fitting pin, 33 ... Projection, 41
... Joint fixing hole, 42 ... Sealant injection hole, 43 ... External wiring relay board, 44 ... Opening, 51 ... Heating element board, 52
... Cutting position, 53 ... Cleaning liquid, 54 ... Electrical connection, 55 ...
Adhesive for temporary fixing.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued from the front page (72) Inventor Kahei Kura 2274 Hongo, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an ink jet print head comprising joining a heater chip and a flow path forming member, wherein a plurality of nozzle jets for jetting ink to the flow path forming member and a plurality of nozzles corresponding to the nozzle jets. Forming a common ink chamber groove in which the individual flow channel and the plurality of individual flow channels communicate with each other, providing a plurality of heating elements on the heater chip corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports, Forming a resin layer having a concave portion corresponding to the wall of the flow channel, placing the flow channel forming member on the heater chip substantially in position, and placing the heater chip and the flow channel forming member at least in the heating element Characterized in that the micro-vibration is performed relatively in the arrangement direction, and the flow channel wall is fitted in the concave portion formed by the resin layer to position the heating element in the arrangement direction. A method for manufacturing a jet print head. 2. A method for manufacturing an ink jet print head comprising joining a heater chip and a flow path forming member, wherein a plurality of nozzle jets for jetting ink to the flow path forming member and a plurality of nozzles corresponding to the nozzle jets. Forming a common ink chamber groove in which the individual flow channel and the plurality of individual flow channels communicate with each other, and providing a plurality of heating elements in the heater chip corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports, and forming at least the ink of the heating element. A convex resin layer is formed on the downstream side in the flow direction so as to correspond to the individual flow channel grooves, and the flow channel forming member is substantially positioned and placed on the heater chip, and the heater chip and the flow channel are formed. The forming member and the heating element are vibrated relatively at least in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged, and the flow channel walls between the individual flow channels are fitted between the convex resin layers to arrange the heating elements. A method for manufacturing an ink jet print head, comprising: 3. After the heater chip and the flow path forming member are substantially positioned and mounted, the microchip vibrates at least relatively in the direction in which the heating elements are arranged, and also vibrates the rotational component on the plane of the bonding surface. 3. The method for manufacturing an ink jet print head according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed together. 4. The resin layer is formed such that an end face on the nozzle ejection port side is inside the end face of the heater chip, and moves the flow path forming member to the common ink chamber groove side. The ink jet print head according to claim 2, wherein the flow path forming member is abutted against an end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side, and positioning is performed in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the heating elements are arranged. Production method. 5. A method for manufacturing an ink jet print head comprising joining a heater chip and a flow path forming member, wherein a plurality of nozzle jets for jetting ink to the flow path forming member and a plurality of nozzles corresponding to the nozzle jets. Forming a common ink chamber groove in which the individual flow channel communicates with the plurality of individual flow channels; providing a plurality of heating elements in the heater chip corresponding to the nozzle ejection openings; A resin layer is formed in a portion corresponding to the flow channel groove wall so that the end face on the nozzle injection port side is inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow channel forming member is shared by the heat generating element from the heat generating element side. It is moved to the ink chamber groove side, the flow path forming member is abutted against the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side, and positioning in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the heating elements are arranged is performed. Manufacturing method of an inkjet print head. 6. The method according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the heater chips are formed on the wafer, and after the resin layer is formed, the heater layer is cut into chips further on the ink ejection direction side than the end surface on the ink ejection direction side of the resin layer. A method for manufacturing an ink jet print head according to claim 4. 7. A heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports for ejecting ink corresponding to the heating elements, a plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports, and a plurality of the individual flow paths. A channel forming member formed with a common ink chamber groove communicating with the channel groove, and a resin layer forming a convex portion on the nozzle ejection port side of the heating element is provided on the heater chip; The end face of the resin layer on the nozzle outlet side is located inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member is in contact with the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle outlet side. An ink-jet printhead, characterized in that: 8. A heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports for ejecting ink corresponding to the heating elements, a plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports, and a plurality of the individual flow paths. A channel forming member formed with a common ink chamber groove communicating with the channel groove; and a resin layer provided on at least a portion corresponding to a channel groove wall between the individual channel grooves on the heater chip. The end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side is located inside the end face of the heater chip, and the flow path forming member contacts the end face of the resin layer on the nozzle ejection port side. An ink-jet printhead, comprising: 9. The ink jet print head according to claim 7, wherein an end surface of the heater chip on the nozzle ejection port side is separated from the flow path forming member. 10. A heater chip having a plurality of heating elements, a plurality of nozzle ejection ports provided at positions on the heating elements for ejecting ink, and a plurality of individual flow channel grooves corresponding to the nozzle ejection ports. A channel forming member formed with a common ink chamber groove communicating with the individual channel groove, wherein a resin layer is formed on the upper surface of the heater chip at least corresponding to the individual channel groove, An ink jet print head, wherein a flow channel wall between flow channels is fitted between the resin layers.