JPH11342607A - Ink jet recording head and manufacture of elastic plate therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording head capable of forming an island section at high precision and good workability. SOLUTION: A laminate member 4 is so constituted that a high polymer oriented film 3 which is elastically deformable and has a resistance to etching and an etchable metallic thin plate 1 are laminated. A recess section 7 is formed on the thin plate 1 by sand blasting such that a region of an island section remains and the recess section 7 is penetrated by the etching to form a diaphragm section 9, thereby preventing excessive sand blasting and reducing a thickness (d) to be etched by holding a high projection property. As a result, it is possible to prevent reduction of the precision due to side-etching.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle opening by changing the volume of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening by a piezoelectric vibrator in a longitudinal vibration mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4A, a recording head using a piezoelectric vibrator in a longitudinal vibration mode as an actuator has a pressure generating chamber 20, an ink supply port, and a flow path forming substrate 21 for partitioning a reservoir. And one surface thereof is sealed by a nozzle plate 23 having a nozzle opening 22 communicating with the pressure generating chamber 20, and the other surface is sealed by an elastic plate 25 elastically deformed by the displacement of the piezoelectric vibrator 24. Has been stopped.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the elastic plate 25 is formed on the surface of the elastically deformable substrate with an island portion 27 extending in the axial direction of the pressure generating chamber in accordance with the arrangement pitch of the pressure generating chambers 20. It is configured. As a result, the displacement of the piezoelectric vibrator 24 having a relatively small cross-sectional area can be reduced.
Due to the rigidity of the pressure chamber 7, the pressure can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generating chamber 20.

[0004] Such a diaphragm 25 is formed by etching the periphery thereof using a stainless steel plate as a substrate so as to leave an island portion 27 to form an elastically deformable diaphragm portion.

[0005]

On the other hand, if the arrangement pitch of the pressure generating chambers is reduced along with the high-density printing and the width must be reduced inevitably, the ejection characteristics of ink droplets are largely affected. High precision is required for the shape and area of the island portion.

However, stainless steel and the like suitable for forming a diaphragm are processed by isotropic etching.
Since etching is also performed in the thickness direction, island portions cannot be formed according to the etching pattern, and there is a problem that the island portion is greatly affected by etching conditions.

For this reason, it is conceivable to form an island portion by using a sand blast method which can erode vertically on the surface of the substrate. However, the sand blast method can be processed with high perpendicularity, but the processing accuracy in the thickness direction is high. Therefore, not only the thickness of the island portion is not uniform, but also a through hole may be formed in a substrate having a thickness of at most about 100 μm. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head using an elastic plate having high productivity and a highly accurate island portion. is there. Another object of the present invention is to propose a method for manufacturing an elastic plate suitable for the above-mentioned ink jet recording head.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a part of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is sealed by an elastically deformable elastic plate and the elastic plate is provided. A piezoelectric vibrator, which expands and contracts in the axial direction, is fixed to an island formed on the surface of the piezoelectric element so as to face the pressure generating chamber so that one end of the piezoelectric vibrator is in contact with the piezoelectric vibrator, and the diaphragm is elastically deformed to eject ink droplets. In the ink jet recording head, the elastic plate is made of a material obtained by laminating an elastically deformable thin film having etching resistance and an etchable thin plate, and the thin plate is subjected to sandblasting so as to leave a region of the island portion. A concave portion is formed, and the concave portion is penetrated by etching to form a diaphragm portion.

[0009]

The thickness to be etched is reduced by taking advantage of the high projecting property while preventing excessive sandblasting, thereby suppressing a decrease in accuracy due to side etching.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an elastic plate suitable for an ink jet recording head using a piezoelectric vibrator in a longitudinal vibration mode as an actuator by a manufacturing method thereof. Thickness 10 to 100 that can secure rigidity as an island portion
An adhesive 2 is applied to one side of a metal thin plate 1 having a thickness of 30 μm, preferably 30 μm, for example, a stainless steel plate in a thickness of 0.5 to 3 μm, and after the adhesive 2 is pre-dried, a thickness of 1 to 10 μm, preferably A laminated material 4 is formed by bonding a stretched polymer film 3 of about 4 μm, for example, a stretched film of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin (I). In this embodiment, the bonding is performed via the adhesive layer. However, the same effect can be obtained by using another bonding method such as heat welding to laminate and fix the laminated material.

Next, a photosensitive resin film 5 is adhered to the surface of the stainless steel plate of the laminating material 4 (II), and the photosensitive resin film 5 is exposed and developed using a mask having a pattern to be etched. The photosensitive resin film 5 'is left in the region to be etched, and an etching protective film is formed so that the diaphragm portion becomes the through hole 6.
I).

Using the etching protection film 5 'as a shielding material, sand blast is performed to form a recess 7 having a predetermined depth in the stainless steel plate 1 (IV).

Next, when the stainless steel plate 1 is etched using the photosensitive resin film 5 'as an etching protective film,
The stainless steel plate 1 is flattened by erosion of the uneven portion on the bottom surface of the concave portion 7 roughened by sandblasting, and is etched according to the pattern of the etching protective film (V).

Needless to say, the etching time is shortened because the thickness d to be etched is smaller than when a stainless steel plate is etched from its surface.
Therefore, etching proceeds with extremely little side etching. When the etching reaches the layer of the adhesive 2, the etching operation is stopped (VI), and the photosensitive resin film 5 'is removed as necessary. 8 is formed on the surface of the stretched polymer film 3, and the exposed region of the polymer film 3 functions as the diaphragm 9 (VII).

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which has a thickness of 10 to 1 having durability against ink.
A metal thin plate 10 having a thickness of 00 μm, preferably 30 μm, for example, a stainless steel plate was set on the substrate 11 (I), and a photosensitive resin film 12 was attached to the surface of the stainless steel plate 10 (II) to form a pattern to be etched. Exposure and development of the photosensitive resin film 12 using a mask,
The photosensitive resin film 12 'is left in a region to be an island portion, and a through hole 13 is formed in a region to be a diaphragm portion ((III)).

Sandblasting is performed until the photosensitive resin film 12 'reaches the substrate 11 using the photosensitive resin film 12' as a shielding material (I
(V) (V), small pieces 14 of stainless steel serving as island portions protected by the photosensitive resin film are formed on the substrate 1 at a constant pitch.
1 is formed.

When the sandblasting is completed, the photosensitive resin film 12 'is removed (VI), and the thin plate 15 serving as a diaphragm portion of the elastic plate, for example, polyphenylene sulfide (P)
PS) The adhesive is uniformly applied to one surface of the resin film to form an adhesive layer 16, and the surface of the small piece 14 is positioned and pressed (VII).

When the adhesive 16 is solidified and turned up while being deformed from the end of the working substrate 11, the small pieces 14 are separated from the working substrate 11 and transferred to the thin plate 15, and the small pieces 14 are arranged at the pitch of the pressure generating chambers. An elastic plate having the coincident island portions 17 is completed (VIII).

In the above-described embodiment, polyphenylene sulfide (P) is used as the thin plate serving as the main body of the elastic plate.
PS) resin, but other polymer materials that can be stretched, for example, polyimide (PI) resin, polyetherimide (PEI) resin, polyamideimide (PAI) resin, polybalavanic acid (PPA) resin, polysulfone ( P
SF) resin, polyethersulfone (PES) resin resin, polyetherketone (PEK) resin, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) resin, polyolefin (A
PO) resin, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) resin, aramid resin, polypropylene resin, vinylidene chloride resin, polycarbonate resin and the like can also be used.

In the above embodiment, the case where only the island portions 8 and 17 are formed has been described.
As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of an elastic plate having a thick portion having the same thickness as the island portion also in a region supported by another member, for example, a head frame or the like, the island portions 8, 17 Of the island portions 8 and 17
Thick portions 8 ′ and 17 ′ can be formed around the periphery.

[0021]

As described above, in the present invention,
A part of the pressure generating chamber that communicates with the nozzle opening is sealed with an elastically deformable elastic plate, and the island that is formed on the surface of the elastic plate so as to face the pressure generating chamber expands and contracts in the axial direction. In an ink jet recording head that fixes the vibrator so that one end of the vibrator is in contact with it and ejects ink droplets by elastically deforming the diaphragm, the elastic plate is elastically deformable and can be etched with a thin film having etching resistance. The thin plate is made of a laminated material, and the thin plate is formed with a concave portion by sandblasting so as to leave the region of the island portion, and the diaphragm portion is formed by penetrating the concave portion by etching, so that it is high while preventing excessive sandblasting. An elastic plate that reduces the thickness to be etched by taking advantage of the projection properties and suppresses the decrease in accuracy due to side etching It can be configured.

In addition, since the sand blast only forms a concave portion, the management of the sand blasting process can be simplified, and the through-hole may be formed in the etching process, so that the management can be simplified and the productivity is improved. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1 (I) to 1 (VII) are views showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording head of the present invention in a process of manufacturing an elastic plate.

FIGS. 2 (I) to (VIII) are views showing another embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention in the process of manufacturing an elastic plate.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention in the form of an elastic plate.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an ink jet recording head using a piezoelectric vibrator in a longitudinal vibration mode, and a diagram illustrating an example of an elastic plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Metal thin plate 2 Adhesive 3 Polymer stretched film 5 Photosensitive resin film 7 Concave part formed by sandblasting 8 Island part 9 Diaphragm part

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is partly sealed with an elastically deformable elastic plate, and an island formed on the surface of the elastic plate so as to face the pressure generating chamber has a pressure. An ink jet recording head that fixes a generating element so that one end thereof abuts and discharges ink droplets by elastically deforming a diaphragm portion, wherein the elastic plate is elastically deformable and is etched with a thin film having etching resistance. An ink jet recording head comprising a material obtained by laminating a possible thin plate, forming a concave portion by sandblasting the thin plate so as to leave an area of the island portion, and penetrating the concave portion by etching to form a diaphragm portion. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure generating element is a piezoelectric vibrator that expands and contracts in an axial direction. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the elastic plate is formed by laminating the thin film and the thin plate via an adhesive layer. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the elastic plate is formed by laminating the thin film and the thin plate by heat welding. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the elastic plate has a thick portion surrounding the island portion and leaving a diaphragm portion. 6. The thin film is a stretched polymer film,
2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein said thin plate is made of metal. 7. A pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is partially sealed with an elastically deformable elastic plate, and an island formed on a surface of the elastic plate so as to face the pressure generating chamber has a pressure. An ink jet recording head that fixes the generating element so that one end thereof abuts and discharges ink droplets by elastically deforming the diaphragm, wherein the elastic plate matches the arrangement pitch of the islands by sandblasting. An ink jet recording head configured by transferring a small piece formed releasably from a thin film capable of being elastically deformed. 8. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the pressure generating element is a piezoelectric vibrator that expands and contracts in an axial direction. 9. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the small pieces are fixed via the adhesive layer. 10. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein said small pieces are made of metal. 11. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the thin film is formed of a stretched polymer film. 12. A thin film which is elastically deformable, has etching resistance, and is elastically deformable as a diaphragm portion.
Forming a photosensitive resin layer corresponding to the projected shape of the island portion and the arrangement pitch on the thin plate made of a material obtained by laminating a thin plate having rigidity as an island portion and capable of being etched; A method of forming a concave portion by sandblasting using the layer as a shielding material; and a step of penetrating the concave portion by etching. 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of removing the photosensitive resin layer. 14. A step of fixing a thin plate having rigidity as an island portion to a work substrate, and forming a photosensitive resin layer on the surface of the thin plate, the photosensitive resin layer corresponding to the projected shape and arrangement pitch of the island portions; An ink jet method comprising: a step of forming a small piece that becomes an island portion by forming a through hole by sandblasting using a photosensitive resin layer as a shielding material; and a step of transferring the small piece to an elastically deformable thin film as a diaphragm portion. A method for manufacturing an elastic plate of a recording head. 15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of forming an adhesive layer on the transfer surface side of the thin plate. 16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of removing the photosensitive resin layer.