JPH11291497A - Ink jet recording head and ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the rigidity of a wall which partitions-a pressure generating chamber of a fluid passage forming substrate without increasing the thickness of the wall partitioning the chamber. SOLUTION: A lining material 110 includes a partitioning wall 111, which is joined to the side of a piezoelectric vibrator of a fluid passage forming substrate 10 to partition a recess 112 which forms a space so as not to hinder the motion of the vibrator. The wall 111 is fixed to the substrate 10 so as to oppose to partition walls 11 of the substrate 10 to receive the displacement of a piezoelectric body part at the time of delivery of ink droplets by means of the wall 111 of the material 110, thereby limiting the deformation of the walls 11 of the substrate 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type recording head and an ink jet type recording head in which a part of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is expanded and contracted by an actuator which bends and vibrates to discharge ink droplets from the nozzle opening. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording head has a piezoelectric vibration type in which a pressure generating chamber is mechanically deformed to pressurize ink, and a heating element is provided in the pressure generating chamber to generate air bubbles generated by the heat of the heating element. And a bubble jet type in which the ink is pressurized by the pressure of the above. The recording heads of the piezoelectric vibration type are further classified into two types, a first recording head using a piezoelectric vibrator that is displaced in the axial direction, and a second recording head using a piezoelectric vibrator that bends and displaces. . The first recording head is capable of high-speed driving and high-density recording. On the other hand, when the piezoelectric vibrator is processed by a cutting operation, or when the piezoelectric vibrator is fixed to the pressure generating chamber, the first recording head is required to perform three operations. There is a problem that a dimensional assembly operation is required and the number of manufacturing steps is increased.

On the other hand, the second recording head uses a silicon single crystal substrate as a base material, forms channels such as pressure generating chambers and reservoirs by anisotropic etching, and forms a piezoelectric vibrator. Since the elastic film can be formed extremely thin and the pressure generating chamber and the piezoelectric vibrator can be formed with high precision by the technique of forming the film by the film forming technique such as the sputtering of the piezoelectric material, the opening area of the pressure generating chamber is made as small as possible. Thus, the recording density can be improved.

[0004]

However, in order to increase the recording density, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the wall defining the pressure generating chamber, and the rigidity of the wall defining the pressure generating chamber decreases. There are problems such as crosstalk and defective ejection of ink droplets.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to increase the pressure generation chamber of a flow path forming substrate without increasing the thickness of a partition that partitions the pressure generation chamber. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus which can increase the rigidity of a partition for partitioning the ink.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A flow path forming substrate having a row of pressure generating chambers communicated with the nozzle openings on one surface and partitioned by a plurality of partition walls, and having an elastic film constituting a part of the pressure generating chambers on the other surface, In an ink jet recording head having a piezoelectric vibrator in a region corresponding to a pressure generating chamber, a partition wall that is joined to the piezoelectric vibrator side of the flow path forming substrate and that defines a concave portion having a space that does not hinder its movement. An ink jet type recording head is characterized in that a backing member having the following is fixed to the flow path forming substrate such that the partition wall faces the partition wall of the flow path forming substrate.

In the first aspect, the displacement of the piezoelectric active portion is received by the backing material fixed to the flow path forming substrate, and the deflection of the partition walls of the flow path forming substrate is suppressed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the entire surface of the partition wall facing the flow path forming substrate is
An ink jet recording head is characterized by being joined to the flow path forming substrate.

In the second aspect, the backing material is securely fixed to the flow path forming substrate, and crosstalk is reliably prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, only the elastic membrane and the lower electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator are formed at the joint between the flow path forming substrate and the partition wall. An ink jet recording head is characterized in that:

[0011] In the third aspect, the backing material and the flow path forming substrate are joined via the elastic film and the lower electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator, thereby reliably preventing crosstalk.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein only the elastic film is formed at the joint of the flow path forming substrate and the partition wall. In the head.

[0013] In the fourth aspect, the backing material and the flow path forming substrate are joined only through the elastic film, and crosstalk is reliably prevented.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the partition wall has a communicating portion communicating the adjacent recess. .

[0015] In the fifth aspect, since the recesses are communicated with each other by the communicating portion, the pressure fluctuation in each recess is reduced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the communication portion does not face a surface of the partition wall facing the flow path forming substrate. It is in.

In the sixth aspect, the communicating portion does not reduce the surface of the partition wall facing the flow path forming substrate, and crosstalk is reliably prevented.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the width of the concave portion of the backing material is selected to be greater than the width of the pressure generating chamber. In the recording head.

In the seventh aspect, the rigidity of the diaphragm facing each pressure generating chamber is not increased by the partition wall.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, a dry fluid is sealed and sealed in a space in a concave portion of the backing material. In the recording head.

In the eighth aspect, the durability of the piezoelectric layer is improved.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the flow path forming substrate and the backing material are formed of the same material. In the head.

In the ninth aspect, deformation due to joining of the backing material is prevented.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the flow path forming substrate is formed of a silicon single crystal substrate, and the pressure generating chamber is formed by anisotropic etching. An ink jet recording head is characterized in that each layer of the piezoelectric vibrator is formed by film formation and lithography.

In the tenth aspect, an ink jet recording head having high-density nozzle openings can be manufactured in a large amount and relatively easily.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to tenth aspects, a reservoir communicating with the pressure generating chamber is defined in the flow path forming substrate, and the nozzle having the nozzle opening is defined. An ink jet recording head is characterized in that the plates are joined.

In the eleventh aspect, an ink jet recording head that discharges ink from the nozzle openings can be easily realized.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to tenth aspects, the flow path forming substrate includes a common ink chamber for supplying ink to the pressure generating chamber; A flow path unit for forming a flow path communicating with the nozzle opening is joined to the ink jet recording head.

In the twelfth aspect, ink is ejected from the nozzle openings via the flow path unit.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus comprising the ink jet recording head according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects.

According to the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing head crosstalk and discharging ink satisfactorily.

[0032]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on embodiments.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross section of one of the pressure generating chambers in the longitudinal direction and the width direction. It is a figure showing a structure.

As shown in the figure, the flow path forming substrate 10 is a single crystal silicon substrate having a plane orientation (110) in this embodiment. As the flow path forming substrate 10, usually 150 to 3
A thickness of about 00 μm is used.
Those having a thickness of about 0 to 280 μm, more preferably about 220 μm are suitable. This is because the arrangement density can be increased while maintaining the rigidity of the partition wall between the adjacent pressure generating chambers.

One surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 is an opening surface, and the other surface is formed with an elastic film 50 of 1-2 μm in thickness made of silicon dioxide previously formed by thermal oxidation.

On the other hand, a silicon single crystal substrate is anisotropically etched on the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate
Row 1 of pressure generating chambers 12 partitioned by a plurality of partition walls 11
3 are arranged in a substantially U-shape so as to surround three rows of two rows and two rows 13 of the two pressure generating chambers 12, and each pressure generating chamber 12 and the reservoir 14 are communicated with a constant fluid resistance. Ink supply ports 15 are formed. In addition,
The reservoir 1 is located at a substantially central portion of the reservoir 14 from outside.
4 is provided with an ink introduction hole 16 for supplying ink.

Here, in the anisotropic etching, when a silicon single crystal substrate is immersed in an alkaline solution such as KOH, the substrate is gradually eroded and the first (111) plane perpendicular to the (110) plane and the first (111) plane A second (1) which forms an angle of about 70 degrees with the (111) plane and forms an angle of about 35 degrees with the (110) plane.
11) plane, and the etching rate of the (111) plane is about 1/1 compared to the etching rate of the (110) plane.
This is performed using the property of being 80.
By such anisotropic etching, two first (11
Precision processing can be performed based on depth processing of a parallelogram formed by the 1) plane and two oblique second (111) planes, and the pressure generating chambers 12 can be arranged at high density. it can.

In this embodiment, the long side of each pressure generating chamber 12 is formed by the first (111) plane, and the short side is formed by the second (111) plane. The pressure generating chamber 12 is provided on the flow path forming substrate 1.
It is formed by etching until it reaches the elastic film 50 almost through 0. Here, the elastic film 50 is
The amount attacked by the alkaline solution for etching the silicon single crystal substrate is extremely small. Each ink supply port 15 communicating with one end of each pressure generating chamber 12 is formed shallower than the pressure generating chamber 12. That is, the ink supply port 15
Is formed by etching (half-etching) the silicon single crystal substrate halfway in the thickness direction. Note that the half etching is performed by adjusting the etching time.

Further, on the opening side of the flow path forming substrate 10,
A nozzle plate 18 in which a nozzle opening 17 communicating with the ink supply port 15 of each pressure generating chamber 12 on the opposite side is formed is fixed via an adhesive or a heat welding film. The thickness of the nozzle plate 18 is, for example, 0.1 to 1
mm, the coefficient of linear expansion is 300 ° C. or less, for example, 2.5 to
It is made of 4.5 [× 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.] glass-ceramic or non-rusting steel. The nozzle plate 18 entirely covers one surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 on one surface, and also serves as a reinforcing plate for protecting the silicon single crystal substrate from impact and external force.

Here, the size of the pressure generating chamber 12 for applying the ink droplet ejection pressure to the ink and the size of the nozzle opening 17 for ejecting the ink droplet depend on the amount of the ejected ink droplet, the ejection speed, and the ejection frequency. Optimized. For example,
When recording 360 ink droplets per inch, the nozzle openings 17 need to be formed with a diameter of several tens of μm with high precision.

On the other hand, the thickness of the elastic film 50 on the opposite side of the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 is, for example, about 0.5 μm.
A lower electrode film 60, a piezoelectric film 70 having a thickness of, for example, about 1 μm, and an upper electrode film 80 having a thickness of, for example, about 0.1 μm are formed by lamination in a process to be described later. (Piezoelectric element) 300 is constituted. Here, the piezoelectric vibrator 300 refers to a portion including the lower electrode film 60, the piezoelectric film 70, and the upper electrode film 80. Generally, the piezoelectric vibrator 30
0 is used as a common electrode, and the other electrode and the piezoelectric film 70 are patterned for each pressure generating chamber 12. Here, a portion which is constituted by one of the patterned electrodes and the piezoelectric film 70 and in which a piezoelectric strain is generated by applying a voltage to both electrodes is referred to as a piezoelectric active portion 320. In the present embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 is used as a common electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator 300, and the upper electrode film 80 is used as an individual electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator 300. Absent. In any case, the piezoelectric active portion is formed for each pressure generating chamber. In the example described above, the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 function as a diaphragm, but the lower electrode film may also serve as the elastic film.

In this embodiment, a piezoelectric active portion 320 composed of a patterned piezoelectric film 70 and an upper electrode film 80 is provided in a region facing the pressure generating chamber 12.
The piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80 constituting the piezoelectric active portion 320 are continuously extended to a region facing the ink supply port 15 and the reservoir 14. The lead electrode 100 is connected to the upper electrode film 80 in a region facing the reservoir 14 via a contact hole 90a described later.

Here, a process for forming the piezoelectric film 70 and the like on the flow path forming substrate 10 made of a silicon single crystal substrate will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 3A, first, a silicon single crystal substrate wafer serving as the flow path forming substrate 10 is
Thermal oxidation is performed in a diffusion furnace at 0 ° C. to form an elastic film 50 made of silicon dioxide.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a lower electrode film 60 is formed by sputtering. Pt or the like is preferable as the material of the lower electrode film 60. This is because a piezoelectric film 70 to be described later, which is formed by sputtering or a sol-gel method, has a thickness of 600 to 100 in an air atmosphere or an oxygen atmosphere after the film formation.
This is because it is necessary to perform crystallization by firing at a temperature of about 0 ° C. That is, the material of the lower electrode film 60 must be able to maintain conductivity at such a high temperature and in an oxidizing atmosphere. In particular, when PZT is used for the piezoelectric film 70, the conductivity of the material by diffusion of PbO is increased. It is desirable that there is little change in sex, and Pt is preferred for these reasons.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, a piezoelectric film 70 is formed. Sputtering can be used to form the piezoelectric film 70. In the present embodiment, however, a so-called sol in which a metal organic substance is dissolved and dispersed in a solvent is applied, dried, gelled, and fired at a high temperature. A so-called sol-gel method for obtaining a piezoelectric film 70 made of a metal oxide is used. As a material for the piezoelectric film 70, a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) -based material is suitable when used in an ink jet recording head.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, an upper electrode film 80 is formed. The upper electrode film 80 only needs to be a material having high conductivity, and many metals such as Al, Au, Ni, and Pt, and a conductive oxide can be used. In the present embodiment, P
t is formed by sputtering.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3E, the upper electrode film 80 and the piezoelectric film 70 are patterned so that a piezoelectric vibrator is provided for each pressure generating chamber 12. FIG. 3E shows a case where the piezoelectric film 70 is patterned with the same pattern as the upper electrode film 80. However, as described above, the piezoelectric film 70 does not necessarily need to be patterned. This is because, when a voltage is applied using the pattern of the upper electrode film 80 as an individual electrode, an electric field is applied only between each upper electrode film 80 and the lower electrode film 60 which is a common electrode. This has no effect. However, in this case, it is necessary to apply a large voltage to obtain the same excluded volume. Therefore, it is preferable to pattern the piezoelectric film 70 as well. After that, the lower electrode film 60 may be patterned to remove unnecessary portions, for example, the vicinity of the inside of the edges on both sides in the width direction of the pressure generating chamber 12. The removal of the lower electrode film 60 is not necessarily performed, and when it is removed, the thickness may be reduced without removing all of the lower electrode film 60.

Here, the patterning is performed by forming a resist pattern and then performing etching or the like.

The resist pattern is formed by applying a negative resist by spin coating or the like, and performing exposure, development, and baking using a mask having a predetermined shape. In addition,
Of course, a positive resist may be used instead of the negative resist.

The etching is performed using a dry etching apparatus, for example, an ion milling apparatus. In addition,
After the etching, the resist pattern is removed using an ashing device or the like.

As the dry etching method, a reactive etching method or the like may be used other than the ion milling method. It is also possible to use wet etching instead of dry etching, but the patterning accuracy is somewhat inferior to the dry etching method, and the upper electrode film 8
Since the material of 0 is also limited, it is preferable to use dry etching.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, an insulator layer 90 is formed so as to cover the periphery of the upper electrode film 80 and the side surfaces of the piezoelectric film 70. The material of the insulator layer 90 is
In this embodiment, a negative photosensitive polyimide is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a contact hole 90a is formed in a portion facing the reservoir 14 by patterning the insulator layer 90. This contact hole 90a is provided with a lead electrode 100 described later.
And the upper electrode film 80.

Next, for example, a conductor such as Cr-Au is formed on the entire surface and then patterned to form the lead electrode 100.

The above is the film forming process. After forming the film in this manner, as shown in FIG. 4C, the silicon single crystal substrate is subjected to anisotropic etching with the above-described alkali solution to form the pressure generating chamber 12 and the like.

In this embodiment, a backing material 110 is provided on the elastic film 50 on the side of the piezoelectric active portion.
In a region of the backing material 110 that faces the pressure generation chamber 12 on the side of the joint with the elastic film 50, a space g that has the same pitch as the partition walls 11 that partition the pressure generation chamber 12 and does not contact the upper electrode film 80 is formed. The partition wall 11 that partitions the recess 112 that can be secured
One. The partition wall 111 is fixed to the surface of the elastic film 50 by an adhesive or the like so as to face the partition wall 11 of the flow path forming substrate 10. Further, one end of the recess 112 is provided with an opening 113 for drawing out a cable or the like.

As described above, it is preferable that the backing material 110 be removed to the lower electrode film 60 and adhere directly to the elastic film 50 from the viewpoint of adhesive strength. However, after removing up to the piezoelectric film 70 due to structural restrictions, the lower electrode film 6
0 may be adhered. In any case, the joining between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the backing material 110 is favorably performed.

The size of the concave portion 112 defined in the partition wall 111 of the backing material 110 is not particularly limited as long as the size does not hinder the driving of the piezoelectric active portion. In the embodiment, since the width W1 of the concave portion 112 is selected to be larger than the width W2 of the pressure generation chamber 12, the elastic film 50 in a region opposed to the pressure generation chamber 12 is selected.
Does not increase rigidity.

In the above-described series of film formation and anisotropic etching, a large number of chips are simultaneously formed on one wafer, and after completion of the process, a flow path of one chip size as shown in FIG. It is divided for each forming substrate 10. Also,
The divided flow path forming substrate 10 is sequentially bonded to the nozzle plate 18 and the backing material 110 to form an ink jet recording head. Thereafter, the ink jet recording head is fixed to the holder 105, mounted on a carriage, and incorporated in the ink jet recording apparatus.

With such a configuration, the flexural deformation of the elastic film 50 is received by the partition walls 11 for partitioning the pressure generating chambers 12 for ejecting ink droplets and the partition walls 111 of the backing material 110, and the deformation of the pressure generating chambers 12. Area. As a result, the stress acting on the pressure generating chamber 12 at the time of ejecting ink droplets causes the partition wall 11 that separates the other pressure generating chambers 12.
, And the occurrence of crosstalk is prevented.

As described above, for example, the thickness 90 of the partition wall 11 that partitions the pressure generation chamber 12 using a silicon single crystal substrate is used.
μm, a flow path forming substrate 10 having a depth of 220 μm, and a thickness of
Backing material 110 having a partition wall 111 having a height of 100 μm
Was formed and ink droplets were ejected. As a result, the relative displacement due to the deflection at the center of the partition wall 11 defining the pressure generating chamber 12 was 4.3.

On the other hand, when the ink droplets were ejected without fixing the backing material 110, the relative displacement due to the deflection at the center of the partition wall 11 defining the pressure generating chamber 12 was 4.7.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment in which the backing material 110 is fixed, the pressure generating chamber
It became clear that the displacement of the partition 11 of No. 2 was reduced by about 10%.

Further, the backing material 110 is
By using the same material as described above, the deformation of the entire recording head caused by the difference in thermal expansion with the nozzle plate 18 made of a different material can be prevented without causing deflection due to the difference in thermal expansion. Can be suppressed as compared with a conventional recording head that does not use the recording head.

The ink-jet head thus configured takes in ink from an ink inlet 16 connected to an external ink supply means (not shown), fills the inside from the reservoir 14 to the nozzle opening 17 with ink, and then supplies the ink to the outside (not shown). By applying a voltage between the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 via the lead electrode 100 in accordance with the recording signal from the drive circuit of FIG. The pressure in the generation chamber 12 increases, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle opening 17.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a view showing a cross-sectional structure in a longitudinal direction and a width direction of a pressure generating chamber according to Embodiment 2.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the depth d of the concave portion 112 of the backing material 110 is increased, and the water content is set deeper in the concave portion 112 so as not to contact the upper electrode film 80. Embodiment 4 is the same as Embodiment 1 except that a porous material 114 impregnated with a small amount of silicone oil or the like is loaded, and a dry inert gas is filled and the opening 113 is sealed with an adhesive 115.

According to the present embodiment, the infiltration of air in the external environment can be prevented, the piezoelectric film 70 can be isolated from moisture, and deterioration due to moisture absorption and a decrease in dielectric strength can be prevented.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 3, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a cross-sectional structure in a longitudinal direction and a width direction of a pressure generating chamber.

In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the backing material is a first backing material 120 and the first backing material 120.
And a second backing material 130 that is fixed to the second backing material 130.

The first backing material 120 includes each pressure generating chamber 1
2, a through groove for forming a concave portion 122 having a space that does not hinder the driving of the piezoelectric active portion is formed, and the opposite side of the through groove is sealed with a second backing material 130. ing. Each of the recesses 122 is partitioned by a partition wall 121, and at the end of the partition wall 121 on the opposite side to the flow path forming substrate 10 and substantially at the center of the pressure generating chamber 12 in the longitudinal direction, adjacent recesses 122 are formed. Is provided, and thereby all the recesses 122 are communicated.

The first backing material 120 and the second
The material of the backing material 130 is not particularly limited, but a silicon single crystal substrate, glass ceramic, or the like, which is the same material as the flow path forming substrate 10, can be used.

The other basic structure is the same as that of the above embodiment.

With such a configuration, as in the above-described embodiment, the stress acting on the pressure generating chamber is prevented from propagating to the partition, and the occurrence of crosstalk is prevented. Further, in the present embodiment, the piezoelectric active portion is
And completely shut off from the outside, it is possible to prevent malfunctions caused by the outside environment. Further, since the recesses 122 are communicated with each other via the communication portion 123, pressure fluctuations in the recesses 122 can be absorbed.

The position at which the communicating portion 123 for communicating each concave portion 122 is provided is not limited to the present embodiment, and may be provided at any place on the partition wall 121. However, from the viewpoint of preventing crosstalk, it is preferable that the joint between the partition wall 121 and the flow path forming substrate 10 be as large as possible. It is preferable to form them so as not to come into contact with. Further, in the present embodiment, the backing material is made of two members in order to facilitate the formation of the communication portion 123, but is not limited to this.

(Other Embodiments) The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the basic configuration of the ink jet recording head is not limited to the above.

For example, the shape of the backing material is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and as shown in FIG.
4 may be formed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the backing material is formed of two members and the concave portion that covers the piezoelectric active portion is formed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be formed. Needless to say, the backing material may be composed of three or more members.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the reservoir 14 is formed together with the pressure generating chambers 12 in the flow path forming substrate 10, but a member forming the common ink chamber may be provided so as to overlap the flow path forming substrate 10. Good.

FIG. 9 shows a partial cross section of the ink jet recording head thus constructed. In this embodiment, the sealing plate 160, the common ink chamber forming plate 170, the thin plate 180, and the ink chamber side plate 190 are sandwiched between the nozzle substrate 18A in which the nozzle openings 17A are formed and the flow path forming substrate 10A. A nozzle communication port 31 that communicates with the pressure generating chamber 12A and the nozzle opening 17A is provided so as to penetrate them. That is, the common ink chamber 32 is defined by the sealing plate 160, the common ink chamber forming plate 170, and the thin plate 180, and each of the pressure generating chambers 12 </ b> A and the common ink chamber 32 are formed in the sealing plate 160. The ink is communicated via the ink communication hole 33. Further, the supply plate 32 is provided in the sealing plate 160.
Also, an ink introduction hole 34 for introducing ink from outside is formed. Also, the thin plate 180 and the nozzle substrate 18
A is formed between the ink chamber side plate 190 and the ink chamber side plate 190 at a position facing each of the supply ink chambers 32. The thin wall 180 is allowed to absorb, thereby preventing unnecessary positive or negative pressure from being applied to the other pressure generating chambers via the common ink chamber 32. it can. The thin plate 18
0 and the ink chamber side plate 190 may be formed integrally.

Also in such an embodiment, the above-described backing material is joined to the region opposite to the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10A and facing the partition that divides the pressure generating chamber. Deflection of the flow path forming substrate can be suppressed.

In each of the embodiments described above, a thin film type ink jet recording head which can be manufactured by applying a film forming and lithography process is described as an example.
Of course, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a piezoelectric film is formed by laminating substrates to form a pressure generating chamber, or a piezoelectric film is formed by attaching a green sheet or by screen printing, or a piezoelectric film formed by crystal growth. The present invention can be applied to ink jet recording heads having various structures, such as those that form a recording medium.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the connection portion between the upper electrode film and the lead electrode may be provided at any place, and may be at any end or the center of the pressure generating chamber. .

Further, the example in which the insulator layer is provided between the piezoelectric vibrator and the lead electrode has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The conductive film may be thermally welded, and the anisotropic conductive film may be connected to the lead electrode, or may be connected using various bonding techniques such as wire bonding.

As described above, the present invention can be applied to ink-jet recording heads having various structures, as long as the gist of the present invention is not contradicted.

The ink jet recording head of each of these embodiments constitutes a part of a recording head unit having an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge and the like, and is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of the ink jet recording apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 10, recording head units 1A and 1B having an ink jet recording head are
Cartridges 2A and 2B constituting ink supply means are provided detachably, and a carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted is provided on a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus main body 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction. I have. The recording head units 1A and 1B are, for example,
Each of them ejects a black ink composition and a color ink composition.

The driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted moves along the carriage shaft 5. Moved. On the other hand, the apparatus main body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown), is wound around the platen 8. It is designed to be transported.

[0090]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the backing material having the partition wall that partitions the concave portion formed of a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric film is fixed to the flow path forming substrate such that the partition wall faces the partition wall of the flow path forming substrate, By receiving the displacement of the piezoelectric body active portion at the time of ink droplet ejection also by the backing material fixed via the elastic film, the deflection of the partition wall of the flow path forming substrate can be suppressed, and crosstalk can be prevented. In addition, the active material of the piezoelectric body is sealed by the backing material and is blocked from the outside, so that a malfunction due to the external environment can be prevented. Further, at this time, by providing a communication portion that connects the adjacent concave portions to the partition wall of the backing material, the mutual deformation can be absorbed and the deflection of the flow path forming substrate can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment of the present invention in a longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers and an arrangement direction of the pressure generating chambers.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a thin film manufacturing process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a thin film manufacturing process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of an ink jet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chambers and an arrangement direction of the pressure generating chambers.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet recording head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of an ink jet recording head according to a third embodiment of the present invention in a longitudinal direction of pressure generating chambers and an arrangement direction of the pressure generating chambers.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a backing material according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an ink jet recording head according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 flow path forming substrate 11 nozzle opening 12 pressure generating chamber 50 elastic film 60 lower electrode film 70 piezoelectric film 80 upper electrode film 90 insulating layer 100 lead electrode 110 backing material 111 partition wall 112 recess

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A flow path forming substrate having, on one surface thereof, a row of pressure generating chambers which are communicated with a nozzle opening and partitioned by a plurality of partition walls, and having an elastic film constituting a part of the pressure generating chambers on the other surface. In the ink jet recording head having a piezoelectric vibrator in a region corresponding to the pressure generating chamber, a concave portion which is joined to the piezoelectric vibrator side of the flow path forming substrate and has a space that does not hinder the movement thereof An ink jet recording head, characterized in that a backing material provided with a partition wall for partitioning is fixed to the flow path forming substrate such that the partition wall faces a partition wall of the flow path forming substrate. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the entire surface of the partition wall facing the flow path forming substrate is joined to the flow path forming substrate. 3. The ink jet recording method according to claim 2, wherein only the elastic film and the lower electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator are formed at the joint of the flow path forming substrate and the partition wall. head. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein only the elastic film is formed at the joint of the flow path forming substrate and the partition wall. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall has a communication portion that connects the adjacent concave portions. 6. The ink jet recording head according to claim 5, wherein the communicating portion does not face a surface of the partition wall facing the flow path forming substrate. 7. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a width of the concave portion of the backing material is selected to be larger than a width of the pressure generating chamber. 8. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a drying fluid is sealed in a space in the concave portion of the backing material. 9. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein said flow path forming substrate and said backing material are made of the same material. 10. The piezoelectric vibrator according to claim 1, wherein the flow path forming substrate is formed of a silicon single crystal substrate, the pressure generating chamber is formed by anisotropic etching, and each layer of the piezoelectric vibrator is formed. And an ink jet recording head formed by a lithography method. 11. The flow path forming substrate according to claim 1, wherein a reservoir communicating with the pressure generating chamber is defined in the flow path forming substrate, and a nozzle plate having the nozzle opening is joined thereto. Inkjet recording head. 12. The flow path forming substrate according to claim 1, wherein a common ink chamber for supplying ink to the pressure generating chamber and a flow communicating the pressure generating chamber and the nozzle opening are provided in the flow path forming substrate. An ink jet recording head, wherein a flow path unit forming a path is joined to the ink jet recording head. 13. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising the ink jet recording head according to claim 1.