JPS60208247A - Liquid jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the lowering in the function or reliability of a recording head and to further promote the densification of orifices by reducing posibility for generating shortcircuit between electrodes, by forming an energy generator on the oblique surface directed to the end surface of a substrate. CONSTITUTION:In a liquid jet recording head 401, a heat generating resistance layer 404 and a selection electrode 408 are laminated to the upper surface of a substrate 403 in order from the substrate side and an oblique surface B is provided to one end of the substrate 403 so as to have a predetermined angle alpha to the horizontal direction of the substrate while a pair of electrodes (a common electrode 409 and the selection electrode 408) and a heat generation part 402 comprising the heat generating resistance layer 404 connected to both electrodes is arranged to said oblique surface B at the predetermined position thereof. The heat generating resistance layer 404, the common electrode 409 and the selection electrode 408 are respectively patterned at desired positions in a shape and size such that the heat generation part 402 as an emitting energy part is arranged between the common electrode 409 and the selection electrode 408 and, further, the selection electrode 408 is provided only to the upper surface of the substrate 403 while the common electrode 409 is provided to the under surface of the substrate and connected to the heat generating resistance layer 404 at the terminal part thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a recording head that is used in a liquid jet recording apparatus that jets a liquid as a recording liquid as flying f4i droplets and performs recording using the droplets.

The r-kujiendo recording method (liquid jet recording method) is 1φ//
method, that is, electrostatic attraction method by applying high voltage, Lt
There are two types of recording liquid ejecting methods: a method that uses 6-electron f to apply mechanical vibrations or changes to the recording liquid, and a method that heats the recording liquid to cause a rapid increase in volume and uses the resulting pressure. This is a method of recording by generating small droplets of recording liquid and distributing them onto a recording material such as paper, and the noise generated during recording is extremely small to the extent that it is difficult to judge whether or not the noise is generated during recording. 1. Note 1: t'+i speed recording is ``F-capable'' and can be recorded without the need for special processing such as kl clearing on so-called neck paper, and various types of t'+i speed recording have recently become popular The first tlf has been investigated.

Among them, for example, applying thermal energy to liquid
b for droplet ejection; Based on the change, liquid is ejected from the orifice (liquid ejection hole) at the tip of part 1 to the recording by the acting force, and flying droplets are formed.
The method of recording by depositing the droplets on a recording material such as paper is not only very effectively applied to the so-called drop-on-demand recording method, but also allows the recording part to be a full 1ine type. Since a multi-orifice recording head can be easily implemented, it is being used as a method for obtaining high-resolution, high-quality images at high speed.

The recording head section of a device used in a recording method applying this method is a part that communicates with the orifice provided for discharging liquid and the aA orifice, and is the part where the energy for discharging the liquid acts on the liquid. The apparatus includes a liquid discharge part having a liquid flow path in which a certain energy application part is a part of the structure, and an energy generator serving as one stage that generates the energy.

Typical examples showing the structure of such a liquid jet recording head are shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 2(b) and FIG. 2.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show an example of a liquid jet recording head that uses thermal energy as ejection energy.

Figure 1(a) is a front partial view seen from the orifice side,
FIG. 1(b) is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line X--Y in FIG. 1(a).

The recording disk FI01 printed in these figures is formed on a base body +03 on which an electrothermal converter 102 as an energy generator is provided on the surface thereof, at a predetermined depth and a line density of J. Groove A 1 & 10 where a predetermined number of grooves are provided
4 is joined so as to cover the liquid discharge part 106 including an orifice +05 for discharging liquid. The liquid discharge part 108 has a thermal effect in which the thermal energy generated from the orifice +05 and the electrothermal converter +02 acts on the liquid to generate bubbles, causing a sudden change in state due to expansion and contraction of the volume. Part +07.

The heat action part +07, which is an energy action part, is located above the heat generation part 108 of the air-thermal converter 102, and has a heat action surface 109 as blood that comes into contact with the liquid of the heat generation part 108 as its lower surface. There is.

The heating resistance layer 111 includes a layer Il for generating heat.
Electrodes 113 and 114 for supplying current to l are provided on the surface thereof, and a heat generating portion +08 is formed by a heat generating resistive layer between these electrodes.

゛The electrode 113 is a common electrode for the heat generating part of each liquid discharging part, and the electrode 114 is a selection electrode for selectively generating heat in the heat generating part of each liquid discharging part. It is provided along the liquid flow path.

In the heat generating section 108, the protective layer 112 is formed of a liquid filling the heat generating resistive layer I11 and the liquid flow path of the liquid discharging section 10B in order to chemically and physically protect the heat generating resistive layer Ill from the liquid used. It also has the protective function of the heat generating resistor layer III which isolates the electrodes 113 and 114 from passing through the liquid and prevents a short circuit between the electrodes 113 and 114. Furthermore, the layer 11 which prevents electrical leakage between adjacent electrodes is also included. I'm doing J.

The liquid flow path provided in each liquid discharge part is
: In JAL, they are communicated via a common liquid chamber (shown in the figure) that forms part of the liquid flow path. an electrode 113 connected to an electrothermal converter submerged in each liquid discharge part;
114 is protected by the protective layer 1iiii and is provided so as to pass through the common liquid chamber 114 on the upstream side of the heat acting section due to its design.

On the other hand, the liquid jet recording vent shown in the partial cross-sectional view of its main part in Figure 2 acts as an energy generator. : This is an example using a string.

In this record, the energy generated by the piezoelectric 44'/115 is transmitted to the body overnight through the energy acting part 107 and the Lukey generating surface +09, and the energy is transferred to the liquid through the mechanical part 107. The liquid droplet is ejected from the orifice due to the vibration or displacement of the liquid.

In such a liquid jet recording head.

As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional energy generator 208 is
At a predetermined position on one surface of the base 203, the fJ! , was placed.

Therefore, the common electrode 213 has a folded shape, and since the common electrode 213 and the selection electrode 214 are arranged in an intersecting pattern, the plurality of energy generators 208 are arranged to sandwich the common electrode.

When this kind of pole wiring is applied to 7, since the electrodes 213 and 214 are densely arranged next to each other, the protective layer effectively has the protective function as described above. It is not easy to stack them, and short circuits between the upper electrodes 213 and 214 or electrical leakage to the liquid that is in contact with them through the protective layer often occurs. There was a problem of shortening the lifespan.

Furthermore, by providing a large number of electrodes 213 and 214, there are many punch ink points, especially in the wiring of the common electrode, and the density of the punch ink increases. (high), which caused a decrease in reliability.

On the other hand, when increasing the density of a plurality of orifices, generally the distance between each of the energy sections corresponding to each of these orifices is narrowed so as to obtain the desired orifice richness, that is, the distance between each electrode is reduced. or the height of the orifice by narrowing the width of each electrode! I've been doing a lot of grading.

On the other hand, if the spacing between the electrodes is made too narrow, short circuits and electrical leaks between the 7E electrodes 213 and 214 may occur as mentioned above (brittleness becomes higher, and the l
If tJ is made thinner than necessary, it may cause the function of 'It1.81 to be reduced. There was a limit to the progress of densification due to the structure.

The unissued II was made in view of these issues,
As mentioned above, it has a structure that prevents short-circuits between the pair of electrodes, which prevents deterioration in the function and reliability of the recording head, and allows for conventional liquid jet recording.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid jet recording head capable of further increasing the density of the orifice, which has been a limit in the prior art.

``-'' can be achieved by the following present invention.

That is, the liquid jet recording head of the present invention includes an orifice for forming flying droplets, an energy generator that generates energy used to form the droplets, and the energy acting on the liquid. In a liquid jet recording head having an energy acting part which is a part where the energy generating body is formed, at least a part of the base body on which the energy generating body is formed is a slope facing an end surface of the base body, and the energy generating body is formed on the slope surface. It is characterized by a well-formed body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The print head of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a print head applied to a liquid jet recording method that uses thermal energy as droplet ejection energy.

FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are schematic diagrams for explaining an example of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention.

FIG. 4(a) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of an example of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention, FIG. 4(b) is an enlarged view of the main part A of the recording head shown in FIG. 4(a), and FIG. Figure 4 (c) is a partial front view of the record shown in Figure 4 (a) and the Rad as seen from the orifice side, and Figure 4 (d) is the electrical heat of the record shown in Figure 4 (a). FIG. 3 is a schematic partial plan view of a base body provided with a converter.

In the liquid jet recording head 401 of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(d), a heating resistor layer 404, a selection electrode, and a selective electrode are provided on the upper surface of the base 403 in order from the 4
08 are laminated, and one end of the base body 403 is provided with a slope B having a predetermined angle α with respect to the horizontal direction of the base body, and a pair of electrodes (common A heat generating section 402 consisting of electrodes 409 and selection?It8!408) and a heat generating resistor layer 404 connected to these electrodes.
is installed.

The base body 403 is further reinforced by a support plate 410.

Photothermal resistance layer 404, common type 8+409 and selection electrode 40
No. 8 is shaped and patterned in such a manner that a heat generating section 402 as a discharge process failure generating section is arranged between a common electrode 409 and a selective electrode 408 at a position of +91 degrees, respectively, and Furthermore, the selection electrode 408
It is provided only on the top surface of 3, and the common type &
409 is provided, and is connected to the heating resistor layer 404 at its end.

The common electrode 408 is formed over the entire surface of the substrate 403 in order to reduce the number of bonding points, reduce the possibility of connection failures, etc., and improve recording reliability.
It is preferable to be embodied and submerged.

By wiring the selective electrode 408 and the common electrode 409 separately in this way, the heat generating section 402 can be arranged as shown in FIG.
In the conventional example such as the one shown in FIG. J4i 408 has become possible, and it has become possible to narrow the intervals between the plurality of heat generating parts 402.

Therefore, the selection electrode 408 and the common electrode 409 are connected to the base 40.
Preferably, the wires are wired separately on both opposing sides of the wire.

After this, the installation of these heat generating parts 402'
321W/1, compared to the conventional) 2 pieces/■
It becomes ti) ability to become crystallized to about 111,
The orifice installed in the heat generating part 402 has been made to have a high density.

Furthermore, by wiring the common electrode and the selection 7 electrode separately, the structure is such that short circuits between these electrodes are less likely to occur.

Although not shown in the figure, at least the liquid flows or remains in the base body on which the heat generating resistive layer 404 and electrodes 408 and 409 of a predetermined shape are provided, and the heat generating portion 402 is disposed at a predetermined position. A protective layer is provided on the heat generating part and the electrode in the region D.

This protective layer consists of the parts 8! 408, 409 and the heat generating part 4.
In addition to chemically and physically protecting the heat generating resistive layer constituting 02 from the liquid present in these parts, it also prevents short circuits between the electrodes that occur through the liquid, and the same type of electrodes, especially between the selection electrodes 408. The purpose of this invention is to prevent electrical corrosion of the electrodes caused by contact between the energized electrodes and the liquid, and to efficiently transfer the thermal energy generated in the heat generating part to the liquid. It is provided.

A substrate 403 having such a structure on its surface, as shown in FIGS. 4(a) to 4IA(c),
A side wall 414 and a top plate 406 are provided, which communicate with an orifice 405 and the orifice 13, and supply liquid to a liquid flow path 415 having a heat action section 407 which is a discharge energy action section, and the liquid flow path. A common liquid chamber 412 is formed so as to correspond to the liquid flow path 415 having the heat acting part 407 or the heat generating part 402 . The liquid flow path 415 is communicated with the liquid flow path 415 through a common liquid chamber 412 that includes a part of the M flow path 415 at its upstream side.

The selection electrode 408 is protected by the protective layer and is provided so as to pass under the common liquid chamber on the upstream side of the heat acting section.

In this example, the liquid is water on the substrate of inclined surface B.
It is discharged in the direction C corresponding to the angle α with respect to the i direction. Therefore, in order to obtain a liquid ejection direction of a predetermined ψ, it is sufficient to cut off the end of the base body 403 by 9 degrees so as to have a predetermined inclination angle α.
#l The oblique angle α can be appropriately selected from the range of 5° to 95°, preferably 15° to 45°, depending on the form of the recording apparatus in which the recording head is installed.

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) show other examples of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention.

FIG. 5(a) is a schematic sectional view of another example of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention, and FIG. 5(b) is a schematic sectional view of the main part of the recording head shown in FIG. 5(a). FIG.

In the record of this example, the orifice 50 is 501.
5 is provided at a predetermined position on the top plate 506, and droplets are ejected in a direction perpendicular to the inclination angle α of the inclined surface B of the base. The structure other than this is the same as the example shown in No. 414, and each part is given the same number as the number given in FIG.

The substrate 403 of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention is a plate made of silicon, glass, ceramic fuchs, etc., or a metal plate made of aluminum, etc.
Use an insulating material, such as an insulating layer of metal oxide such as zirconium oxide or tar/tal oxide, provided by a method such as vapor deposition, sputtering, or fermentation treatment on a predetermined surface of the metal. I can do it.

As the support 410, any material can be used as long as it can reinforce the recording head, but at least it has good adhesion to the common electrode 409, and
In order to improve the electrical function of 09, it is preferable to have conductivity on the side that is in close contact with the common electrode 403.
! A beam made of a conductive material such as , low resistance Si, SUS, etc. can be used.

Note that a conductive adhesive is used to bond the base and this support.

Heat generating section 402 of an unexploited liquid jet recording head
The material 1 that can form the heat generating resistor layer 404 is when energized.

Almost anything can be used as long as it can generate the heat desired by JfT.

Examples of such materials include tantalum nitride, nichrome, silver-palladium alloys, and semi-silicon bodies, as well as metals such as hafnium, lanthanum, zirconium, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, chromium, vanadium, and their alloys. Preferred materials include those fluorides.

Among these materials that can form the heat generating resistor layer 404, the one with the most inferior properties as a heat generating resistor layer is hacnium fluoride, which is superior to quintic vanadium fluoride, lanthanum difluoride, and fluoride. Tantalum oxide, vanadium fluoride, and niobium fluoride are superior in that order.

The heating resistance layer 404 can be formed using the above-mentioned materials by a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or the like.

The layer thickness of the heating resistor M404 is determined according to various conditions such as its area, material, shape and size of the heat acting part, and actual power consumption so that the amount of heat generated per unit time is the desired value. It is determined as appropriate, but usually 0.001 to 5 units, preferably o,
It is assumed to be oi~1u.

The materials that can form the electrodes 408 and 409 include most of the commonly used electrode materials, such as metals such as Al, Ag, Au, Pt, and Cu. It can be formed using a deposition method or the like.

The protective layer provided on the electrodes 408 and 409 and the heat generating part 4012 is made of inorganic materials such as metal oxides, metal nitrides, and metal carbides, and organic materials such as resin, and has the characteristics required depending on the location where it is provided. It can be formed from one or more materials appropriately selected so as to satisfy the following.

Although the liquid jet recording head of the present invention described so far uses an electrothermal converter as an energy generator to generate energy for ejecting droplets, the present invention is not limited to this, of course. A piezoelectric element or the like may be used as the energy generator.

In the liquid jet recording head of the present invention having the structure as described above, the liquid can be ejected in an oblique direction at a desired angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the recording head. 5. For example, it has become possible to meet the design requirements of a recording device to obtain better matching between the recording gutter and the recording material.

Furthermore, the recording head of the present invention has a structure suitable for wiring the common electrode and the selective upper electrode separately on different planes, and by wiring these electrodes in this way, the conventional folded electrode pattern In addition, the recording head of the present invention has a structure in which short circuits are less likely to occur between these electrodes. Furthermore, if the common electrode is integrated as one electrode, and especially if a conductive material is used as the support and the common electrode is bonded with a conductive adhesive, the common electrode will be more firmly integrated. 1, for example, the conductive adhesive flows into the lower part of the side surface formed on the base, and high reliability can be obtained from the common electrode.

Hereinafter, the liquid recording jet recording head of the present invention will be explained in more detail according to Examples.

Example 1 1. "S4 The liquid jet recording head of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) was manufactured.

First, alumina base 403 (35a+mX 37mm
The substrate was cut diagonally along the − side of X O, 5 mm) to form a slope B having an inclination angle of 30° with respect to the substrate surface.

Next, a heating resistance layer 3 is placed on the upper surface of the base body 403 having the slope B.
As 04, a vapor deposited layer of Ta-Al alloy with a thickness of 0.2μ was provided, and this layer was etched using a pattern mask having a predetermined shape.Next, Au was deposited on both sides of the substrate 403 by vapor deposition. The Ta-Al alloy layer on the upper surface having the slope B is further etched using a pattern mask having a predetermined shape to form a predetermined shape as shown in FIG. 4(d). and the number of electrodes 408 and 409 and the heat generating part 402 connected to these electrodes (20 scales x 10
ou) was formed. The arrangement density of the formed heat generating portions 402 was 32 pieces/■.

Furthermore, SiC is laminated by vapor deposition on the surface where the heat generating part 402 and the electrodes 408 and 409 are provided, and after forming a protective layer of SiC with a thickness of 1.9 μm, A 20-layer photosensitive tri-film is laminated on the base 403 provided with the heat generating portion 402, and exposed and developed using a predetermined pattern mask to form the orifice 4.
05. A liquid flow path 415 and a common liquid chamber 412 were provided, and a top plate 406 made of glass was further provided using an epoxy adhesive.

Finally, a support 410 made of an A1 plate is adhered to the surface of the base 403 on which the common electrode 408 is deposited on the entire surface using a conductive adhesive, and liquid jet recording is performed as shown in FIG. 4(L).・Completed νF.

The liquid jet recording head of the present invention is a high-speed multi-orifice recording head in which orifices are arranged at a density of 32/.

After 1J recordings using the liquid jet recording head of the present invention, high-resolution, high-quality images were produced at high speed, and the reliability was also high during long-term use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1(a) is a schematic front partial view of a surface provided with an orifice of a conventional liquid jet recording head.
b) is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the dashed-dotted line X-Y in FIG. 1(a), FIG. FIG. 4(a) is a partial plan view of a base body provided with an energy generating body according to an example of conventional liquid jet recording; FIG. Figure (b) is similar to Figure 4 (a).
), an enlarged view of the main part A of the recording head shown in FIG.
) is a partial front view of the recording head shown in FIG. 4(a) as seen from the orifice side, and FIG. 4(d) is a substrate on which the electrothermal converter of the recording head shown in FIG. 4(a) is provided. FIG. 5(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of the liquid jet recording head of the present invention, and FIG. 5(b) is a schematic partial plan view of FIG. 4(a).
) is a schematic front partial view and perspective view of the main part of the recording head. 101.401,501+Recording head 102: Electrothermal converter 103,203,403: Base body 104, groove plate 105.405,505 Niorifice 106: Liquid discharge section 107,407: Heat action section 108.
402: Heat generating part 109: Heat action surface II! , 404:
Heat generating resistance layer 112: Protective layer 113.213,409:
Common electrode 114.214.408: Selection electrode 208: Energy generator 406.408.508: Top plate 41o: Support body 411
: Conductive adhesive 412: Common liquid chamber 413: Ponding 414: Liquid flow path wall 415: Liquid flow path B: Slope C, D: Liquid discharge direction α: Inclination angle Y of slope B Fig. 1 (a) 1 Figure (b) Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 (a) Figure 4 (b) Figure 4 (C) Figure 4 (d)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A liquid having an orifice for forming a flying liquid extraction, an energy generator that generates energy used to form the droplet, and an energy generator that is a part where the energy acts on the liquid. In the jet recording head, at least a portion of the base on which the energy generating body is formed is an inclined surface facing an end surface of the base body, and the +iii energy generating body is formed on the 5+ mi 1−. #5 Liquid injection record Ghent.