JPS61256074A - Valve element and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate manufacture and to improve mass-productivity by blocking up a pipeline with a movable portion of a cut piece having a width a little smaller than the width of one wall surface of the inner wall of a pipe. CONSTITUTION:A fixing portion 4 of a rectangular cut piece is fixed to one wall surface of the rectangular inner pipe 2 of a pipe 1. The width of the cut piece is a little smaller than that of the wall surface to which the cut piece is fixed. A movable portion 3 of the cut piece is formed by bending at the end portion of the fixing portion 4 to block up a passage of the rectangular inner pipe 2. A lot of cut pieces 302 comprising a fixed portion and a movable portion are arranged on a base plate 301, and square grooves 303 are formed in the same array pitch as that of the cut pieces n the other base plate 304. After both base plates 301, 304 are superposed and fixed, a lot of valve elements can be obtained by cutting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a valve element and a method for manufacturing the same, and particularly to a valve element suitable for an inkjet head used in facsimiles and printers and a method for manufacturing the same.

(Prior art and its problems) Inkjet printers are rapidly being put into practical use because they are capable of recording on plain paper and are easy to print in color.

Conventionally, there are examples in which a valve element is incorporated into an inkjet head in order to improve halftone recording and increase recording speed. When applying a valve element to an inkjet head, the valve element must be able to control minute flow rates, have a small mass and be capable of high-speed operation, be highly reliable, and be easy to manufacture and mass-produce. It is necessary to have excellent sexual characteristics. An example of such a valve element is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-6777.

FIG. 4 (al) shows a perspective view of the conventional valve element.

In the figure, valve ll5401 has a fixed part 402 and a valve 404.
It consists of a support arm 403 that supports the valve. The valve 404 is located at the center of the valve portion 401.

Such a valve part 401 is fixed by a fixing part 402 to a valve seat 405 having a communication hole 406 in the center as shown in FIG. 4 tb+. The diameter of the valve 404 is slightly larger than the diameter of the flow hole 406. In addition, the support arm 403 and the valve 404 are connected to the valve seat 4.
It is separated from 05.

Examples of when such a valve element is used in an inkjet head include a valve with a diameter of several hundred μm, a valve seat with a diameter of several mm,
The film thickness of the valve seat is several tens of μm.

This valve element deforms in response to pressure from the forward direction, that is, from the flow hole side, depending on the strength of the support arm, and fluid flows from the gap created between the valve and the valve seat in response to this deformation. Furthermore, in response to pressure from the opposite direction, that is, from the expansion side, the valve is pressed against the valve seat, so fluid does not flow.

As mentioned above, conventional valve elements have a small valve mass and are capable of high-speed operation, and have a small valve shape, making it possible to control minute flow rates, but the valve seat and valve have a laminated structure. The structure is complicated because it is a small component, such as the need to separate the valve and valve seat in the middle of the stack.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, conventional valve elements are mechanically weak due to their ultra-fine structure, and when handling them, there are disadvantages in handling, such as the need to work carefully using a sharp set of bottles. .

Since such a valve element is mechanically weak, it has been necessary to use it by encasing it in other parts as shown in FIG. That is, after applying adhesive to the assembly part 504 having a counterbore and storing the valve element 502 in the counterbore, the other assembly part 5
In 01, the lid is fixed from above, but in this case, the adhesive flows and the valve and support arm become stuck to the valve seat.

(Object of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide a valve element that solves the problems of conventional valve elements, is easy to manufacture, has excellent mass productivity, and is easy to handle.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the present invention, a part of a section having a width slightly narrower than the width of the inner wall of the tube is fixed to one wall surface of the inner wall of the tube, and the movable part of the section is used to control the channel of the tube. A valve element characterized in that it is closed is obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, after forming a first thin film layer on a first substrate and patterning it into a predetermined shape, a second thin film layer is formed, and the second thin film layer is plated to generate tensile stress. After forming a pattern over the patterned first thin film layer and the first substrate and removing the first thin film layer, a second substrate having grooves formed thereon is aligned and fixed to the first substrate. A method for manufacturing a valve element is obtained.

(Example) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a valve element according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 (al shows a perspective cutaway view of the valve element of the present invention,
In the figure, a part of a rectangular section, ie, a fixing part 4, is fixed to one wall surface of a rectangular inner tube 2 of a tube 1 made of metal, glass, hard plastic, or the like. The width of the section is slightly smaller than the wall surface to which it is fixed. The other part of the section, that is, the movable part 3 is bent from the end of the fixed part 4 and is formed so as to close the flow path of the rectangular inner tube 2.

The flow rate of such a valve element varies depending not only on the size of the inner pipe 2 but also on the film thickness of the section and the length of the movable section 3 of the section. That is, even if the size of the inner tube 2 is determined, the minute flow rate can be adjusted within that range.

Although this embodiment shows a folded piece, a curved piece can of course also be used.

FIG. 1 (bl is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 1 (al) to explain the forward movement of the valve element of the present invention. When pressure is generated, the movable part 3 easily deforms in response to the pressure, and fluid flows from the gap created between the tip of the movable part 3 and the wall facing the fixed part 4.

FIG. 1+c+ shows a sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG. 1 Tal to explain the operation of the present invention in the opposite direction. In the figure, when pressure is generated to push up the movable section 3 of the section, the tip of the movable section 3 of the section is moved to the fixed section 4 of the section.
The fluid does not flow because it is pressed against the wall facing the wall.

Although various methods of manufacturing the valve element of the present invention can be considered, FIG. 2 shows a process diagram of an example of the method of manufacturing the valve element of the present invention.

In the process shown in FIG.
A metal material that can be easily etched such as copper is formed by vapor deposition, or a thin film layer 202 such as photoresist that is easy to remove is formed on the entire surface and then patterned.

In the +bl process, a metal such as nickel, which is easy to plate, is vapor-deposited through a film with excellent adhesion to the substrate, such as chromium, and then a metal material such as sulfur amino acid, whose stress can be adjusted relatively easily, is deposited. After nickel plating is performed under conditions that produce tensile stress, the pattern 203 that becomes the above-mentioned section is formed.
was formed. A part of the section 203 needs to be formed on the thin film layer 202 in order to be used as a movable part later.

(In the cl process, the thin film layer 202 is removed, the section 20
3 is plated under conditions where tensile stress is generated as described above, so that it is automatically bent by removing the thin film layer 202 to form the above-mentioned movable portion 205. The portion of the section 203 formed on the substrate becomes the fixing portion 204.

Furthermore, in the step fd), the rectangular groove 207t-formed metal or insulating substrate 206 is cut into a substrate 2.
A valve element is obtained by fixing with adhesive or the like while aligning to 01. At this point, the moving parts are housed within the tube, requiring no other assembly parts and being mechanically strong. Substrate 206
It is preferable to use glass or transparent plastic for easy alignment.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which valve elements are mass-produced by the valve element manufacturing method of the present invention. As is clear from the figure, a large number of sections 302 each consisting of a fixed part and a movable part are arranged on a substrate 301. Further, rectangular grooves 303 are formed in the other substrate 304 at the same arrangement pitch as the arrangement pitch of the sections. After the substrates 301 and 304 are stacked and fixed, a large amount of valve elements can be obtained by cutting.

The valve element according to the present invention and the method for manufacturing the same have been described above, and the valve element according to the present invention inherits the advantages of the conventional valve element, such as light weight, high-speed operation using thin film sections, and minute flow control. Further, since the valve element according to the present invention has a simple structure, it is not only easy to manufacture but also suitable for mass production. Furthermore, the valve element according to the present invention has the advantage that the movable section of the valve segment is housed within the tube, and is not only mechanically strong but also requires no other assembly parts.

(Effects of the Invention) The valve element according to the present invention is lightweight, so it can operate at high speed, and also allows minute flow control, so it can easily accommodate various inkjet head drive conditions. Furthermore, the valve element of the present invention has a simple structure consisting of only minute sections carved into a rectangular inner tube, and is therefore easy to manufacture and has excellent mass productivity. Furthermore, the valve element according to the present invention has a movable part housed in the pipe at the time of completion of manufacture, does not require any other assembly parts, and does not require the valve and valve seat to be fixed together with adhesive. This also improves reliability and yield.

Furthermore, the method for manufacturing a valve element according to the present invention can automatically deform a minute section using plating stress, which eliminates the need for detailed work and enables the production of valve elements with excellent reproducibility. There are effects that can be obtained in large quantities.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 ta+ is a perspective cut-away cross-sectional view of the valve element of the present invention, FIG. 1 tbl is a forward direction operation of the valve element according to the present invention shown in FIG. A-A' sectional view for explanation, FIG. 2 1al to (d) are process diagrams of an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a valve element of the present invention, and FIG. The perspective views, FIGS. 4 and 5, show exploded perspective views of conventional valve elements. In the figure, 1... tube, 2... rectangular inner tube, 3... movable part, 4... fixed part,
201...Group/Substrate, 2o2...Thin film layer, 20
3...Pattern that becomes the intercept, 2o4...
・Fixed part, 205...Movable part, 206...
...Substrate, 2o7...Rectangular groove, 301...
... Substrate, 302 ... Section, 303 ...
...Rectangular groove, 3046901.・Substrate, 401...
...Valve part, 40'2°゛°°°°fixing part, 403...
...Support arm, 404...Valve. 405... Valve seat, 406... Distribution hole,
501... Assembly part, 502... Valve element, 503... Adhesive, 504... Assembly part having counterbore. 1. , l'll-. Agent: Susumu Uchihara, patent attorney 11.・、2″7〈
'Ji 1 (branch) Half 2 cycles 0+! 1 z0φ 3σ4 6z

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A portion of a section having a width slightly narrower than the width of the one wall is fixed to one wall surface of the inner wall of the tube, and the movable portion of the section is used to block the channel of the tube. Characteristic valve element. (2) After forming a first thin film layer on a first substrate and patterning it into a predetermined shape, forming a second thin film layer and plating the second thin film layer to generate tensile stress; After forming a pattern on the patterned first thin film layer and the first substrate and removing the first thin film layer, aligning and fixing a second substrate in which a groove is formed to the first substrate. A method for manufacturing a valve element characterized by: