KR100191749B1 - Ink jet head having improved jet port surface, and ink jet apparatus equipped with the ink jet head - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an ink jet head capable of preventing the ink droplets deposited on the ejection opening surface from reaching the ejection openings arranged on the ejection opening surface, so that the ejection openings can be maintained in a state where defective ink ejection does not occur. The surface includes a waterproof area disposed surrounding the discharge ports, and a recess hydrophilic area disposed in an opposite outer area of one of the opposite outer sides of the waterproof area and disposed a predetermined distance away from the arrangement of the discharge holes. In the ink jet head, since the recess hydrophilic region receives ink droplets deposited on the ejection opening surface, desired printing can be achieved even when printing is performed at high speed or at a high driving frequency.

Description

[Name of invention]

An ink jet head having an improved ink ejection surface and an ink jet apparatus having the ink jet head

Detailed description of the invention

[Background of invention]

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ink jet head having an improved discharging outlet face that enables the ink jet head to always perform ink ejection in a stable state. The present invention also relates to an ink jet apparatus equipped with the ink jet head having an improved ejection head. The present invention also includes a process for producing the ink jet head having an improved discharge port surface.

[Related technical field]

In the recording system, many proposals have already been made. Among the proposed recording systems, the ink jet recording system is a non-impact recording system and has been attracting attention and is widely used because it can perform high speed recording in addition to the advantage of low noise.

Many suitable ink jet devices are known for implementing such an ink recording system. Among these ink jet apparatuses, many ink jet apparatuses based on a system for performing ink ejection by a method of generating film boiling by thermal energy are currently used because the direction of ink to be ejected is in a stable state. Because it can be maintained as desired. However, in such an ink jet apparatus, when ink droplets ejected from the ejection openings are applied in response to a recording signal, fine ink particles often flow through the ejection openings and the outlets other than the ejection openings, and very fine ink particles are often ejected from the ejecting openings. When the droplets reach the recording paper, they bounce back (hereinafter referred to as ink mist) and these fine ink droplets eventually pool a pool, which is a collection of fine ink particles on the ejection face of the ink jet head of the ink jet apparatus. Formed and deposited, there are still some problems to be solved, such as interrupting continuous ink ejection from the ejection openings near the ejection openings or often making some ejections incapable of performing ejection of ink.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 92-2111959 proposes a technique for solving the above problem by coating a discharge port surface of an ink jet head in which a plurality of discharge holes are arranged with a waterproof material.

1 schematically shows the configuration of the ink jet head described in the above patent publication having a discharge port surface coated with a waterproof material on its surface. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a waterproof film, reference numeral 102 denotes an ink supply port, and reference numeral 103 denotes a groove including a portion integrally formed with a nozzle, a liquid chamber, and a liquid path (not shown). Reference numeral 104 denotes a discharge top plate, reference numeral 104a denotes an ejection opening surface in which a plurality of ejection openings 104 are arranged, and reference numeral 105 denotes an element (not shown) for ejecting ink from the ejection openings. The substrate for ink jet heads is shown. Regarding FIG. 1, the waterproof film is formed over the entire area of n of the discharge port surface 104a.

According to the structure in which the waterproof film 101 is formed over the entire n area of the ejection opening surface 104a, the case where the ink mist exists in the peripheral region of the ejection openings is reduced, and because of this, the ejection performance of the ejection openings in the prior art The above-mentioned problems causing defects can be solved to some extent. However, in the case of an ink jet head having a discharge port surface coated with a waterproof film, when recording is performed at a high speed and continuously performed for a long time with a high frequency driving pulse and a high duty, the ink mist is gradually deposited on the discharge port surface. As a result, the remaining ink above is drawn into the ejection openings, resulting in a defect in the recording. It is difficult to sufficiently prevent the occurrence of such a problem with the technique described in the Japanese patent publication. This situation is obtained as a result of the experimental study of the present invention regarding the technique described in Japanese Patent Publication.

Incidentally, as described above, it is recognized that ink mist deposited on the ejection opening face of the ink jet head generally involves deterioration of the ink ejection performance.

However, the problem with this ink mist mechanism deposited on the ejection opening face, which negatively affects the ejection openings in terms of ink ejection performance, is still not sufficiently solved.

Next, the results obtained by the inventors' experimental studies on the mechanism of how the ink mist deposited on the ejection opening surface affects the ejection opening in terms of ink ejection performance will be described.

That is, for the ink jet head of the configuration as shown in FIG. 1 provided with the above-described waterproofing film on the ejection opening surface over almost the entire area, when recording is continuously performed at a high frequency driving pulse and a high recording speed for a long time, the ink mist Has resulted in increasing the arrangement in the region of the predetermined waterproofing film disposed on the ejection opening face away from the arrangement of the ejection openings. In particular, a large number of ink mist assemblies having a diameter of 300 µm to 500 µm often appear in regions of the waterproof film deposited on the surface of the ejection openings at a distance of about 500 µm to 1 mm from the arrangement of the ejection openings. Another result obtained by the inventors is that since the contact angle of the surface of the waterproof film with respect to the liquid (i.e. ink) is relatively large, the ink thus shows a large fluidity, and when the contact angle is 80 ° or more, the ink It is remarkably fluidized. In addition to these results, another result obtained by the present invention is that when the recording is continuously performed by reciprocating the ink jet head, the above-described ink mist aggregate is finally reached by the inertia force caused by the reciprocating motion or at the ejection openings. It starts to move by the weight of itself which is led into the ejection openings, which prevents the ejection openings from performing ink ejection.

In addition to the above-mentioned proposal, U.S. Patent No. 5,121,134 describes an ink jet head having a surface-treated discharge port surface, the discharge hole surface having a plurality of discharge holes arranged therein, and the peripheral area of each discharge hole has good solvent wettability. Each of the adjacent outlets, which are made to include a region having a solvent wettable property (i.e., a so-called hydrophilic region), is surrounded by a solvent non-wetting region (i.e., a so-called waterproof region). The patent document further discloses an ejection opening of an ink jet head of another configuration in which an annular area on the surface of the nozzle plate surrounding each nozzle is made of a solvent non-wetting area, and the remaining area of the face is made of a solvent wet area. It describes noodles. In some such cases, unavoidable problems entail a later case. That is, for example, when ink mists deposited on a watertight area located near each of the ejection openings are often gathered to grow into ink droplets of about 50 μm to 100 μm in diameter, the waterproof film area may be separated from the ink. Since they have a relatively large contact angle, and these ink droplets have increased flowability, the ink droplets eventually come to separate ink ejection openings by assembling other ink mists nearby to increase their size while the flowability increases. By reaching the hydrophilic zone, the grown ink droplets are drawn under each waterproof zone and eventually enter the ejection openings.

The above-described collection of ink mists, which are enlarged ink droplets on the discharge port surface, becomes easier when capping is performed. In particular, when the capping means for protecting the ejection openings and restoring the ejection performance is brought into contact with the ejection opening surface having the ink mist deposited on the ejection opening surface, these ink mists move along the periphery of the capping means, so that the ink droplets are enlarged. Gathered to provide. Thus, ink drops remain on the ejection opening surface when the capping means is detached. These ink droplets can be easily moved to the ejection opening surface because their size is significantly increased, and eventually reach the ejection openings, where the ink droplets are often drawn into the ejection openings, making some ejection openings impossible to perform their ejection.

[Summary of invention]

The main object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art and to provide an ink jet head having an improved ink ejection surface.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved ejection spout surface which can ensure stable ink ejection at all times even when the cleaning operation frequency by the cleaning member limited to the ejection spout surface is significantly reduced in the situation where ink ejection is continuously performed for a long time. It is to provide an ink jet head having.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved ink jet head in which ink mist deposited on the ejection opening surface is converted into a substantially fixed state so as not to be drawn into the ejection openings.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent the ink mist deposited on the discharge port surface from being moved when contacting the capping means to the discharge port surface, and to prevent the ink droplets left on the discharge port surface when the capping means is detached from entering the discharge port. It is to provide an improved ink jet head which is fixed in practice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet apparatus provided with the ink jet head.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making the ink jet head.

The present invention has been accomplished as a result of extensive research through experience by the inventors to achieve the above objects.

That is, as a result of the experimental study, the results obtained by the inventors of the present invention show that the belt-like shapes hydrophilic region maintains a predetermined distance from the arrangement of the discharge ports including the belt-shaped groove structure including the hydrophilic lower portion and the waterproof sidewall portion. When the belt-like hydrophilic region is formed in a waterproof layer disposed on the ejection opening surface of the ink jet head so as to be formed along the arrangement of a plurality of ejection openings formed on the ejection opening surface, the belt-shaped groove structure is formed with the corresponding part of the ink jet head. The ink mist formed by removing a predetermined portion and deposited near each discharge port is moved to the belt-type hydrophilic region without leaving any ink mist near each discharge port and growing these ink mists near each discharge port. It is moved.

The present invention has been accomplished based on these results.

Detailed Description of the Invention and Preferred Embodiments

The present invention relates to an ink jet head used in a bubble ink jet system belonging to an on-demand type ink jet system, and an ink jet head used in a piezo system belonging to an immediate responsive ink jet system. And ink jet heads used in continuous ink jet systems, and ink jet heads used in electrostatic suction ink jet systems. In any case where the present invention is applied, the ink jet head is provided with at least an ejection opening for ejecting ink, an ink path communicating with the ink ejection opening, and an energy generating element capable of generating energy for ejecting the ink through the ejection opening, The ink jet head has a discharge port surface on which the discharge holes are arranged. In any case, it is essential that the discharge port surface has a recess hydrophilic region disposed at the position of the discharge port surface separated by a predetermined distance from the discharge port.

A typical embodiment of the present invention relates to an ink jet head having an ejection opening surface having a plurality of ejection openings arranged therein, wherein a peripheral region of the ejection openings includes a waterproof region and a belt-type recess hydrophilic region, and a belt-type recess. The hydrophilic region (hereinafter referred to as the belt-shaped hydrophilic region) is characterized in that it is formed in an area of the discharge port surface which is spaced apart from the array of discharge holes by a predetermined distance and located adjacent to the waterproof area.

Exemplary embodiment 2 of the present invention relates to an ink jet head having a plurality of ejection openings arranged therein, wherein a peripheral region of the ejection openings includes a waterproof region and a partial waterproof region, and the partial waterproof region is formed from the arrangement of ejection openings. And a plurality of micro hydrophilic regions spaced apart in the waterproof region so as to divide the waterproof region into many micro waterproof regions formed in an area of the ejection opening surface spaced by a predetermined distance and located adjacent to the waterproof region.

An exemplary embodiment 3 of the present invention relates to an ink jet head having an ejection opening surface having a plurality of ejection openings arranged therein, wherein a peripheral region of the ejection openings includes a waterproof region and a belt-type recess hydrophilic region, and a belt-type recess. The hydrophilic region (hereinafter referred to as the belt-shaped hydrophilic region) is characterized in that it is formed in an area of the discharge port surface which is spaced apart from the arrangement of the discharge ports by a predetermined distance and located adjacent to the waterproof area.

In the present invention, the ink mist deposited around the ejection openings is formed by forming the above-described belt-like hydrophilic region in the region of the ejection opening surface which is spaced apart from the array of ejection openings by a predetermined distance and located adjacent to the waterproof region surrounding the ejection opening. Mist is transferred to and drawn into the hydrophilic region before it grows into larger ink droplets. Further, even when ink droplets traveling to the ejection openings are present on the ejection opening surface, the ink droplets are preferably prevented from entering the ejection openings by being preferably drawn into the belt-like hydrophilic region, so that the ejection openings are not affected by the ink drops. Maintain stable discharge performance.

Further, by forming the above-mentioned partial waterproof region having a plurality of micro hydrophilic regions spaced apart in the ejection opening surface, the generation of ink droplets on the ejection opening surface is provided with the ink repellent effect and the microscopic ink repellent area provided by the ink repellent region. It is effectively prevented by the ink separation effect provided by the hydrophilic region. Even when the enlarged ink droplets occur on the discharge port surface, these enlarged ink droplets are divided into micro ink droplets by the action of the micro hydrophilic regions, and the final micro ink droplets enter the micro hydrophilic region. Therefore, the ink drops on the ejection opening face are always prohibited from moving toward the ejection openings, so that the ejection performance of the ejection openings is not impossible and remains stable.

In the present invention, the partially waterproof region having many micro-hydrophilic regions spaced apart is effectively introduced into the micro-hydrophilic region before the ink mists deposited on the ejection face surface gather to provide moving ink droplets, and accidentally formed ink droplets The action of the micro hydrophilic regions is divided into micro ink droplets and the final micro ink droplets are designed to be drawn into and retained by the hydrophilic regions. Particularly preferred for the micro hydrophilic regions of the partially waterproof region are arranged so as to have a predetermined distance between each adjacent micro hydrophilic regions so that the growth ink droplets are effectively divided into micro ink droplets, so that the micro hydrophilic regions Can be retained. In general, the spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic regions is preferably 500 mu m or less, corresponding to the size of the moving ink droplets randomly moved on the ejection opening face of the conventional ink jet head. In a further preferred embodiment, it is determined within the range of several microns to 300 μm. In a further preferred embodiment, it is determined within the range of 65 μm to 200 μm. This means that not only ink droplets having a size of about 100 μm or less that are immovable or immovable but also other moving ink droplets are preferably introduced into the micro hydrophilic region or entered into the micro hydrophilic region and then smiled by the action of the micro hydrophilic region. It is divided into ink drops.

Next, a detailed description will be given of the generation and growth of ink mist on the ejection opening face of the conventional ink jet head. The detailed description will also be explained based on the drawings.

Ink mist deposition on the ejection opening surface of the ink jet head is generated during the recording operation. That is, when ink is ejected from the ejection opening of the ink jet head toward the recording member while moving the ink jet head to scan the recording surface of the recording member, fine particles of the ink are avoided when the ejected ink arrives on the recording surface of the recording member. It bounces back and forth, forming ink mists. In addition to this, fine ink particles are sometimes generated upon ejection of the main ink droplets from the ejection openings, thereby forming ink mists. Thus, the generated ink mists fly at the ejection opening surface with a slight time delay from the moment when the ejecting ink of the recording member reaches the recording surface when the ink jet head has already been moved for continuous ink ejection. Thus, ink mists are deposited on the ejection opening face of the ink jet head, and deposition of the ink mists is generated only in one side region of the ejection opening face opposite to the moving direction of the ink jet head. From the observation of the present inventors, it has been found that the area where deposition of ink mist has occurred and / or the area where growth of ink droplets has been seen is only in the area of the ejection opening surface separated by about 800 µm to 1.5 mm from the arrangement of the ejection openings.

Next, the inventors used the conventional ink jet head of the configuration as shown in FIG. 1 for several hours without the cleaning of the discharge port surface as described below, and having the discharge port surface waterproofed over the entire surface. The sruf will be explained by arbitrarily observing the result of the printing operation performed during and the surface state of the ejection opening face of the ink jet head with the microscope after each printing operation.

In particular, initial printing was done by operating the ink jet head. And visual observation was made at the position of the ink mist deposited on the discharge port surface.

As a result, it has been found that ink mists having a diameter of about 50 mu m are distributed substantially uniformly on the discharge port surface.

The ink jet head used above performed the printing operation continuously. Visual observation was again made at the positions of the ink mists deposited on the ejection opening surface. As a result, the number of ink mists having a diameter of about 50 mu m previously deposited is reduced, but it is known that ink droplets of about 100 mu m in diameter are uniformly distributed on the discharge port surface in the moving state. Based on the observed results, ink mists with a diameter of about 50 μm from the initial printing operation were merged by gathering newly deposited ink mists around them to form moving large-sized ink drops of about 100 μm in diameter after successive printing operations. These large-sized ink drops are randomly moved to be unevenly distributed on the discharge port surface. A diameter size of about 100 mu m from this is considered to be the minimum size for ink droplets to travel on the ejection opening surface.

The ink jet head used above entered the next printing operation. Then, a visual observation was made at the positions of the ink droplets on the discharge port surface. The observed result is that ink droplets with a diameter of about 300 µm to 400 µm are distributed on the ejection opening surface in a moving state. Based on the observed results, ink droplets of about 100 μm in diameter resulting from the second printing operation are collected with surrounding newly deposited ink mists and / or other ink droplets to form moving large-sized ink droplets, and It has been found that ink droplets can easily collect and move over the extended area of the ejection surface if other ink droplets and / or ink mist are around.

The ink jet head used above entered another printing operation. Then, a visual observation was made at the position where the ink droplets on the discharge port surface were located. As a result of observation, ink droplets having a diameter of about 500 mu m are unevenly distributed on the enlarged area of the ejection opening surface in the moving state, so that certain enlarged ink droplets are around the predetermined ejection openings.

With reference to the empirical results obtained above, the operation of the ink mists deposited on the waterproof discharge port surface of the conventional ink jet head referred to in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

When a printing operation using a conventional ink jet head is repeatedly performed, the ink mist 21 having a diameter of about 50 µm to 100 µm, deposited on the discharge port surface waterproofed over the entire surface, is used to grow its size. Ink droplets 22 having a diameter of about 500 mu m are provided in a state where they can be easily moved by collecting and moving newly deposited ink mists. These ink droplets 22 having a diameter of about 500 탆 often move arbitrarily on the discharge port surface to reach the peripheral area of the discharge port 20, so that an inertial force generated during the reciprocating operation of the ink jet head is generated, and the ink drops are ejected. Eject outlets are easily reached to reduce performance. In particular, when these ink droplets are moved to an area proximate the ejection opening 20, in particular to an area of about 1.5 mm or less from the arrangement of the ejection openings, the ink droplets provide large sized ink droplets of about 600 μm to 1 mm in diameter during their movement. Other ink droplets are collected, and these large-sized ink droplets easily reach the discharge port, and enter the discharge port to reduce the discharge performance.

As a result of the inventors' experimental studies on the movement of the ink mist deposited on the ejection opening surface when the capping means is contacted on the ejection opening surface, these ink mists are formed in the contact area 24 of the ejection opening surface to which the capping means is contacted. Collected forcibly within a certain area, the ink mists are easily collected to provide the superfluous coalesced liquid 23 and move toward the ejector immediately after the capping means are detached when the coalesced liquid is formed, so that the ejections are coalesced. It is filled with liquid.

According to the present invention, the occurrence of the above-described problems of the prior art can be effectively eliminated, so that the above-described belt-like hydrophilic region arranged along the ejection opening surface effectively moves the ink drops toward the ejection opening on the ejection opening surface, and in addition to this An island-like shaped hydrophilic region comprising a partial waterproof region not only forms ink droplets of about 100 μm or less in diameter, but also large droplets of size of about 100 μm or more in diameter The distribution serves to divide into small ink droplets having a diameter of about 100 mu m or more, and effectively prevents predetermined ink droplets generated on the discharge port surface from entering the island-like hydrophilic region and reaching the discharge holes.

Referring to the above description, a typical embodiment of the discharge port surface to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

On the ejection opening surface shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of ejection openings D having a bore of about 30 mu m are arranged at a predetermined arrangement density in the center region while maintaining a predetermined equal distance H from the respective opposite ends. It is arranged spaced apart, and at its actual center, a central waterproof area E is arranged. On each opposite outer side of the central waterproof region E, a recess hydrophilic region is arranged so as to be located after the central waterproof region. In particular, the first recessed hydrophilic region C1 having the width E and the second recessed hydrophilic region C2 having the width W are disposed with the central waterproofing region interposed therebetween, and the two recessed hydrophilic regions Are arranged along the arrangement of the ejection openings. On the opposite outer side of the two recessed hydrophilic regions, a first outer hydrophilic region B1 and a second outer hydrophilic region B2 are also arranged, each waterproof region such that each outer hydrophilic region is located after the corresponding recessed hydrophilic region. It includes a plurality of island-like hydrophilic recesses distributed apart.

In particular, for example, the distance H is designed to be about 35 μm to 110 μm, and the width of each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions C1 and C2 is designed to be 100 μm to 400 μm. .

Each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions C1 and C2 is designed to be shaped like a belt so that ink droplets can effectively move from the outer region of the discharge port surface to the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region toward the arrangement of the discharge holes. Prevent droplets from reaching the outlet.

Each of the other first and second outer hydrophilic regions B1 and B2 disposed on the outer side corresponding to the recess hydrophilic region on the discharge port surface may be, for example, a discharge port having a distance of 600 μm to 1.8 mm from the arrangement of the discharge holes D. It is arrange | positioned in the predetermined area | region of a surface, respectively. In a particular example, the island-like hydrophilic recesses in each outer hydrophilic region can be easily moved to, for example, larger ink droplets of about 500 micrometers in diameter so that the adjacent island hydrophilic hydrophilic droplets are divided into smaller ink droplets. It is designed to be spaced apart so as to have a predetermined interval between about 65 탆 and 200 탆 between the recesses.

The above-described recessed hydrophilic region and the above-described island-like hydrophilic region of the present invention provide an integrated body comprising a discharge port forming plate composed of a solvent-wetting resin and a waterproof film laminated on the surface thereof, wherein the laser beam is placed on the waterproof film side. It can be suitably formed by a method of irradiating the integrated body through laser processing to remove the selected portion of the waterproof film and the corresponding surface portion of the integrated body located below the waterproof film portion. The result obtained by this method is a cross section as shown in Fig. 11B, and reference numeral 5 denotes a recess hydrophilic region. As can be seen from the eleventh (b) diagram, the recess hydrophilic region 5 is an upright portion mainly composed of a waterproof film, which is composed of an exposed portion of a resin and a lower portion of the resin which serves as a hydrophilic region. (upstand) includes a grooved structure with side walls.

Thus, the ink drops entering the recessed hydrophilic region are attached to the hydrophilic lower part and the hydrophilic side wall portion, and these ink drops are fixed so as not to move easily on the ejection opening surface. The fixed ink drops are eventually removed by the cleaning member of the discharge port surface, which will be described later.

The depth of the recess hydrophilic region is appropriately determined according to the thickness of the waterproof film. In particular, when the thickness of the waterproof film is 0.1 µm to 0.2 µm, the depth is preferably 0.2 µm to 0.6 µm.

Now, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, when the capping member is in contact with the ejection opening surface, ink mists tend to easily gather to provide a liquid that is coalesced in an extremely large size. In order to effectively divide these coalesced liquid into small ink droplets, the waterproof area including a large number of microhydrophilic areas spaced apart is limited to a restricted area of the discharge port surface sealed by the capping means or another of the discharge hole surfaces to which the capping means will contact. It can be placed in one of the restricted areas.

As described above, each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions C1 and C2 is preferably formed in a belt shape. Alternatively, however, some of these hydrophilic regions are designed such that the belt-like portions are appropriately separated so that the configuration of the outer hydrophilic region is similar to that of the above-described external hydrophilic region, so long as the function of the composition effectively prevents the ink mists from moving toward the discharge ports. May be

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but includes other embodiments of FIG. In particular, an embodiment in which only the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions C1 and C2 are disposed on opposite sides of the outlet array, only the first and second outer hydrophilic regions B1 and B2 are opposite sides of the outlet array. An embodiment in which the hydrophilic treatment is provided only in one of the first recessed hydrophilic region C1 and the first outer hydrophilic region B1 is provided, for example, only in one of the embodiments disposed on the opposite side region of the discharge port arrangement. Include.

According to the present invention, the ink jet head provided on the above-described specific ejection orifice surface can preferably perform continuous high frequency printing, high-capacity printing and high-speed printing for a long time without generating a printing defect, and is deposited in an increased amount on the ejection orifice surface. The ink mists are effectively fixed such that they cannot move to the ejection openings. Further, the ink jet head along the head makes it difficult for ink droplets to reach the ejection openings, so that the amount of ink deposition removed by the cleaning member from the ejection opening is very small so that the cleaning pressure can be reduced so that the cleaning operation of the ejection opening surface can be performed. Thus, there is an advantage that the life of the waterproof portion of the discharge port surface is delayed.

The ejection opening surface of the ink jet head according to the present invention may take the predetermined pattern shown in Figs. 5 to 13 for the waterproof region and the hydrophilic region. It should be understood that the predetermined pattern of hydrophilic regions formed on each discharge port surface shown in these figures is formed after the waterproof film is formed over the entire area of the discharge port surface.

5 shows a pattern processed in the discharge port surface of the present invention. In Fig. 5, an ejection opening forming plate 1 provided on an upper plate having an ink supply port is shown, which is provided with an ejection opening surface 8 having a waterproof film formed thereon. The surface pattern of the ejection opening face of FIG. 5 is a pair of belt-type deposited on the opposite side of the ejection opening arrangement with a central waterproof region and a central waterproof region arranged with a plurality of ejection openings 4 spaced apart over the length 1. A plurality of island types deposited on the outer side of one of the recessed hydrophilic regions 5 and the belt-shaped recessed hydrophilic regions 5, respectively, and spaced apart to correspond to the regions of the waterproof film formed on the discharge port surface 8, respectively. It comprises a pair of outer hydrophilic regions 6 comprising hydrophilic recesses.

The distance H ₁ or H ₂ between the arrangement of outlets in the central waterproof region and the starting end of each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 and the width W ₁ or of each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 W ₂ ) is determined according to the type of ink used, the ejection opening size and other related conditions. A good view of this distance and width will be described later.

The length of each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 is preferably such that the outlets of the central waterproof region are almost equal to or larger than the length of the array region.

It is possible for the island-like hydrophilic recesses of the outer hydrophilic region 6 deposited on the outside of each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 to be slightly inclined or circular. However, a slightly inclined form is more preferable in view of effectively preventing the movement of ink mists or ink drops into the island-type recesses. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, each of the island recesses is hexagonal.

The area of each island type recess and the distribution density of island type recesses will be described in detail in Examples 1 to 3 which will be described later. In Fig. 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a predetermined area of the discharge port surface 8 to be contacted with the capping means.

The embodiment of the ejection spherical pattern shown in FIG. 6 is a modification of the pattern shown in FIG. The pattern shown in FIG. 6 includes not only the pattern shown in FIG. 5, but also a pair of belt-type recessed hydrophilic regions 5 and a belt-shape disposed with a central waterproof region interposed therebetween. A pair of outer hydrophilic regions (6) comprising a plurality of hexagonal island-like hydrophilic recesses disposed on an outer side of one of the recess hydrophilic regions and spaced apart to correspond to an area of the waterproof membrane formed on the discharge port surface, Each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 is configured with a plurality of protrusions arranged spaced apart around it, opposite the arrangement of the ejection openings.

The projections of each belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region are arranged spaced apart to replenish the space between each adjacent island recesses of the corresponding outer hydrophilic region 6.

By having a belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region constructed in this way, the continuity is set between the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 and the outer hydrophilic region 6 so that ink droplets disposed on the ejection opening surface can effectively enter these hydrophilic regions. Enter

The embodiment of the discharge port surface pattern shown in FIG. 7 is a variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the discharge port surface pattern includes a central waterproof region including an arrangement of the discharge ports 4 without arranging a predetermined external hydrophilic region. It comprises only a pair of belt-shaped recess hydrophilic regions 5 arranged on one of the opposing sides, respectively. In this embodiment, ink mists deposited around the discharge port 4 are moved to each belt-type recess hydrophilic region 5 and drawn in, so that the object of the present invention can be achieved as desired. Each of the two belted recessed hydrophilic regions is provided with a plurality of protrusions as in the case of the belted recessed hydrophilic region shown in FIG.

The embodiment of the ejection opening pattern shown in FIG. 8 is a variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, which pattern embodiment is arranged in only one of the opposing sides of the central waterproofing area including the arrangement of the ejection openings 4. The outer hydrophilic region is arranged in one outer region of the recess hydrophilic region and the discharge port surface 8, in particular the outer hydrophilic region comprises an outer hydrophilic region 6 arranged outside the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region.

An ink jet head provided with a discharge port surface having a hydrophilic region as shown in FIG. 8 is effective when used in a scanning ink jet apparatus in which ink is ejected only when the ink jet head is moved in a predetermined direction to perform recording. . In particular, in this type of ink jet apparatus, ink mists are basically deposited on the limited area of the ejection orifice surface 8 of the ink jet head which is located downstream in the direction of the ink jet head scanning while the ink is ejected. do. Therefore, the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 and the outer hydrophilic region 6 are disposed only in a limited area of the discharge port surface on which ink misses are deposited, thereby effectively preventing these deposited ink mists from reaching the discharge port, thereby making it desirable ink ejection. This can be maintained.

The embodiment of the discharge port surface shown in FIG. 9 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. In particular, this embodiment further comprises a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 further comprising a belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 deposited on the remaining outer side of the central waterproof region comprising an array of outlets 4. It includes. This embodiment can be said to correspond to a variation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

The hydrophilic region pattern shown in FIG. 9 performs one-direction recording, basically on a limited area of the ejection orifice surface 8 of the ink jet head located downstream of the direction of the ink jet head scanning while ink is ejected. In addition to the deposited ink mists, ink mists which are possibly located on other regions of the ejection opening surface located upstream in the direction of the ink jet head for scanning are introduced into the belt-type recess hydrophilic region 5 to be introduced into the ejection openings. It is effective for the ink jet apparatus of the kind described in FIG. 8 to prevent these ink mists from reaching, so that the desired ink ejection is maintained.

In the embodiment of the discharge port surface shown in FIG. 10, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, each of the hexagonal hydrophilic recesses of the two outer hydrophilic regions 6 is spaced so as to be perpendicular to the arrangement of the discharge port 4. A variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, replaced by a plurality of rectangular hydrophilic recesses arranged.

In this embodiment, each of the island-like hydrophilic recesses distributed in each outer hydrophilic region 6 may be formed in a rectangle as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be formed in a triangular shape with a base facing toward the arrangement of the outlets 4 and gradually narrowing toward the opposite side of the arrangement of the outlets 4. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 7 denotes a predetermined area of the discharge port surface to which the capping means will contact. In this embodiment, two hydrophilic regions 6 are each arranged in the region to which the capping means will contact.

According to this embodiment in which the outer hydrophilic region 6 is disposed overlapping the region to be in contact with the capping means, the capping generated because the ink droplets can be effectively divided to grow the liquid drawn into each outer hydrophilic region 6. The large coalesced liquid shown in FIG. 2 that may be generated during operation is effectively prevented, so that these liquids do not reach the discharge ports 4.

In the embodiment of the discharge port surface shown in FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b), each of the two outer hydrophilic regions 6 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is an outer belt-type recess hydrophilic region 9 Is a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, replaced by an outer belt-type recessed hydrophilic region 9 positioned to establish a watertight region between the corresponding belted recessed hydrophilic region 5). The hydrophilic region pattern of this embodiment can be easily formed by using a suitable patterning mask that can form a hydrophilic region pattern as shown in the figure.

FIG. 11 (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pattern shown in FIG. 11 (a). Each outer belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 9 of this embodiment comprises a grooved structure having a depth greater than the depth of the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5.

According to this embodiment, each of the two outer belt-shaped recess hydrophilic regions 9 having a relatively large depth effectively attracts the ink mists deposited on the ejection opening surface in the previous step, so that the ink drops are formed in the outer belt-shaped recess. It has a significant effect of dividing very effectively by the hydrophilic region 9 and drawing it into the outer belt-type recess hydrophilic region 9. Further, in this embodiment, each of the two outer belt-shaped recess hydrophilic regions is arranged in the predetermined region 7 of the ejection opening surface 8 to be contacted with the capping means as well as in the case of FIG. It is possible to effectively divide and grow the liquid entering into each outer hydrophilic region 6 so that the coalesced liquid to be produced during the capping operation can be prevented.

The depth of each outer belt-type recess hydrophilic region 9 is preferably 20 μm to 30 μm.

The belt-type recessed hydrophilic region 5 and the outer belt-type recessed hydrophilic region 9 provide an ejection opening with a waterproof treatment on the entire surface thereof, and irradiate the ejection opening surface with an excimer laser as described later, thereby covering the surface of the ejection opening surface. The selected portion of the constituting waterproofing material can be formed well by processing in such a way that it is removed to form a hydrophilic region. In this case, different belt-type recessed hydrophilic regions having different depths can be formed by repeating irradiation of the excimer laser for several hours using an appropriate patterning mask used to form a belt-shaped recessed hydrophilic region having a relatively large depth. Can be.

The embodiment of the discharge port surface shown in FIG. 12 is a combination of the pattern of the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 and the outer hydrophilic region 6 shown in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b). And a pattern of the outer belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 9 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the effects of each case are combined.

The embodiment of the discharge port surface shown in FIG. 13 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG.

This embodiment includes two inner hydrophilic regions each disposed on an outer side of one of the opposing outer sides of the central waterproofing region including a plurality of outlets 41 arranged along the array of outlets, each of the inner sides. The hydrophilic region comprises a plurality of semicircular hydrophilic recesses 51 arranged so that each semicircular hydrophilic recess is circumscribed with one of the discharge openings 41, the first outer hydrophilic region being outside of each inner hydrophilic region. And a second outer hydrophilic region are disposed outside each first outer hydrophilic region, the first outer hydrophilic regions each having a basic connection surface directed to the arrangement of the discharge ports and spaced apart along the arrangement of the discharge ports 41. A plurality of triangular recesses 61 arranged, the second outer hydrophilic regions each having a basic connection surface facing the arrangement of the ejection openings; A plurality of triangular recesses 61 ′ are arranged along the gap. In this embodiment, each triangular recess 61 in the first outer hydrophilic region is arranged to compensate for the spacing between each adjacent triangular recess in the first outer hydrophilic region.

According to this embodiment, ink mists or ink drops on the ejection opening face move toward the ejection openings to start coalescing, and these ink mists or ink drops are instantaneously drawn into the triangular recesses 61 'of the second hydrophilic region. And / or the watertight regions of the second outer hydrophilic region become narrower toward the array of ejection openings 41 due to the presence of the triangular hydrophilic recesses 61 'so that these ink mists or ink droplets do not move to the ejection openings. It is divided into micro ink droplets by the sets 61 '. And when there are predetermined ink drops passing through the second outer hydrophilic region, they are effectively drawn into the triangular hydrophilic recesses 61 of the first outer hydrophilic region, and are prevented from moving toward the arrangement of the ejection openings. Therefore, ink mists and / or ink droplets present in the outer region of the ejection opening face are preferably prevented from moving toward the arrangement of the ejection openings.

In addition, when there are predetermined ink drops passing through the first outer hydrophilic region, the predetermined ink drops enter the semicircular hydrophilic recess 51 of the inner hydrophilic region arranged to circumscribe the ejection openings as a whole and reach the ejection openings. Is effectively prevented, and if other ink drops or ink mists appear around the array of ejection openings, these other ink droplets or ink mists are also effective to draw into semi-circular recesses so that they do not reach the ejection openings. do. Thus, the ejection openings are always kept in a desirable state without being filled with ink drops.

In the above description, the distance between each semicircular hydrophilic recess 51 and the corresponding discharge port is preferably within the range from 35 µm to 200 µm. The width of each semicircular recess 51 is preferably in the range of 100 µm to 400 µm in order for each semicircular recess to effectively perform the ink taking-up function.

As is apparent from the above description, the ink jet head provided with the improved ejection opening surface according to the present invention solves the problem of defective printing due to the movement of ink mist deposited around the ejection opening of the prior art. The ink droplets present on the ejection opening surface are divided in whole and reliably by the above-mentioned hydrophilic region so as not to move toward the ejection openings, so that these ink droplets do not always reach the ejection openings so that the ejection openings are not filled with ink droplets. In this respect, the ejection openings perform an ink ejection function as desired, and there is a remarkable superiority that is difficult to expect from the conventional waterproof structure of the ejection opening surface of the ink jet head.

Ink mists or ink drops fixed by the above-mentioned hydrophilic regions can be effectively removed when performing the cleaning operation. This situation will be described with reference to FIG. 14, which shows an embodiment in which the ejection opening surface is cleaned by the edge 12 of the cleaning blade 11.

Referring to FIG. 14, the cleaning blade 11 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in contact with the discharge port surface 8 of the discharge port forming plate of the ink jet head through the edge of the cleaning blade to perform cleaning of the discharge port surface. Ink mists present in the belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region 5 disposed on the central waterproof region E surrounding the plurality of ejection openings 4 arranged in the ejection opening surface 8 and spaced apart in the ejection opening surface, or / And ink drops are removed. In particular, when the ink jet head is moved during scanning, the cleaning blade 11 contacts the discharge port surface through the edge in the direction indicated by the arrow coinciding with the movement of the ink jet head and slides along the discharge port surface 8. Ink drops held in the belted recessed hydrophilic region 5 are raked up from the belted recessed hydrophilic region by the edges 12 of the cleaning blade. In this process, the ink droplets are eliminated from continuously collecting and collecting ink mists present on the central waterproof region E to form the enlarged ink droplet 10.

Thus, the ink droplets deposited on the ejection opening surface 8 are continuously moved in this manner and wiped off by the cleaning blade 11. In this case, since the ink droplets to be wiped are very large in size, these ink droplets having an extra large size do not enter the discharge opening due to the super large surface tension when passing through the arrangement of the discharge opening 4 together with the cleaning member. .

An ink jet head provided with an improved ejection orifice surface having the specific hydrophilic region described above can be suitably made, for example, by the conventional method described in FIG.

First, the grooved top plate 3, the liquid path 31, and the discharge port forming plate 1, which are integral with a portion for forming a liquid chamber (not shown), are manufactured using a conventional injection molding technique (first step, Reference numeral 1A denotes the surface of the discharge port forming plate, and reference numeral 1B denotes the rear surface of the plate. The ejection opening forming plate is provided with 64 ejection openings arranged spaced at an array density of 360 dpi (the term dpi refers to dots per inch).

Then, the surface 1A (i.e., the ejection opening surface) of the ejection opening forming plate 1 of the grooved upper plate 3 thus obtained is made of a waterproofing material (second step, see S2 in FIG. 4). Is waterproof. The region supplied with the waterproof material does not extend to the entire region of the discharge port surface, but is limited to the selected region including the region where the cap is to be contacted. This is to prevent the waterproofing material from closing on the back side when the waterproofing material is supplied or when the supplied waterproofing material is dried. For example, the cap contact regions A, B, and C are respectively located at positions 0.6 占 퐉 from the corresponding edge of the discharge port surface as shown in FIG. 5, and the waterproof material providing region is located from the corresponding edge of the discharge port surface. Each cap contact area (A, B and C) with a distance of 0.5 mu m is expanded. If there is no fear that the waterproof material will close on the back side, the waterproof material can be supplied over the entire discharge port surface.

In this embodiment, the waterproof material is supplied to the discharge port surface in a thickness of 0.1 탆 to 0.2 탆 by a transfer coating technique. The supply of the waterproofing material can also be done by other conventional coating techniques such as roll coating techniques.

The thickness of the waterproof material supplied is not always limited to the above range. If necessary, the thickness of the waterproofing material can be changed as appropriate. In this case, however, if the thickness of the waterproofing material is too thin, a satisfactory waterproofing effect cannot be achieved. On the other hand, if it is too thick, there is a risk that the waterproofing material is removed, for example, when performing a cleaning operation.

Thereafter, in the discharge port surface of the discharge port forming plate 1 of the grooved upper plate 3, the discharge port supplied with the waterproof material in the second step is heat treated to harden the waterproof material into the waterproof film. Subsequently, the patterning mask MS provided with the opening corresponding to the predetermined belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region and the predetermined island-type hydrophilic recesses is formed on the surface of the waterproof film formed on the discharge port surface 1A of the discharge port forming plate. The belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region and the island-like hydrophilic recesses are formed by depositing and subsequently irradiating the excimer laser beam (ELA) (step 3, see S4 in the drawing).

In the above, irradiation of the excimer laser beam is performed under ²⁰⁰ mj / Cm ² and several pulse conditions when the thickness of the waterproof film is 0.1 to 0.2 탆.

Subsequently, the excimer laser beam is irradiated to the result obtained in the third step at the incident angle θ in the range of 5 ° to 10 ° through the rear face 1B of the discharge hole forming plate 1 to form a plurality of discharge holes 4. (Step 4, see S4 in the drawing). During this laser processing, carbon particles are often deposited on the discharge port surface. However, these carbon particles can be preferably removed by attaching the adhesive tape to the discharge port surface on which the carbon particles are deposited, and then peeling off the adhesive tape.

The grooved top plate 3 thus processed is coupled to a substrate for an ink jet head (not shown) including heat generating resistors capable of generating thermal energy for ejecting ink through the ejection openings so that the ink jet head is Is completed.

The grooved top plate 3 should be made of a specific material that is excellent in moldability and ink contact. In the present invention, the grooved top plate is made of a polysulfone material having excellent hydrophilicity to the ink and having a contact angle of about 60 °.

As the waterproofing material used to form the above-mentioned waterproofing material, fluorine-containing heterocleans such as commercially available CYTOP CTX-105 (trade name of Asahi Glass Corporation) and CYTOP CTX-805 (trade name of Asahi Glass Corporation) containing heterocyclic) polymer; Commercially available LUMIFLON (trade name of Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), FLUONATE (trade name of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Co., Ltd.), CEFRALCOAT (trade name of Central Glass Co., Ltd.), C-1 (Daikin Glass Co., Ltd.), TRIFLON (Mitsui Petro) Block copolymers of fluoro-olefins and vinyl-ethers such as Chemical Glass Co.) and KYNAR-SL / KYNAR-ADS (Atocam Company); Optical-radically polymerized fluorine-containing resin composites composed of reactive oligomers and reactive diluent monomers such as commercially available DEFENSA (trade name of ATOMEM Co., Ltd. product); Comb-shaped fluoro copolymers such as commercially available LF-40 (trade name of Soten-Kagi Co., Ltd.); Fluoro silicones such as commercially available KP801M (trade name of Shin-Ichi Chemical Co., Ltd. product); And copolymers with principal chains provided with per-fluoro cyclo-polymers such as the commercially available TeflonAF (trade name of DuPont Company). Of these materials, the CYTOP CTX-105 is most suitable. Incidentally, CYTOP-105 has an ink contact angle of about 70 degrees.

In the present invention, it is preferably used for the waterproofing material such that there is a relative distance difference of 10 ° or more between the contact angle of the ink with respect to the waterproofing material and the contact angle with respect to the hydrophilic region.

Next, the above-described recessed hydrophilic region 5 and outer hydrophilic region 6 to be formed on the discharge port surface in the present invention will be described in detail.

Each recess hydrophilic region 5 is preferably formed to be located parallel to the arrangement of the ejection openings while maintaining a predetermined distance H from the arrangement of the ejection openings. With respect to the recess hydrophilic region thus formed, the ejection openings of the recess hydrophilic region 5 and the ejection openings are configured to perform the ejection function as desired without causing defects in ejection due to ink mists deposited on the ejection opening surface. It is important that the distances H1 and H2 shown in FIG. 5 representing the distance between the arrays and the widths W1 and W2 shown in FIG. 5 representing the width of the recess hydrophilic region are well designed.

When the predetermined distances H1 and H2 between the respective recessed hydrophilic regions 5 and the arrangement of the ejection openings 4 are designed to be very narrow, ink droplets having a relatively large diameter are centered on the ejection opening surface 8. When present on the waterproof region E, these ink droplets contact some of the ejection openings 4 and the recess hydrophilic region 5 by the ink droplets so that the ink droplets retained in the recess hydrophilic region 5 are discharged ( 4) There is a risk of entering. This situation in which ink droplets are directed to the ejection openings is somewhat different depending on the bore of the ejection openings 4.

In any case, the distances H1 and H2 between the respective recessed hydrophilic regions 5 and the arrangement of the outlets 4 should be larger than the bores of the outlets. However, in the distances H1 and H2 between the respective recessed hydrophilic regions 5 and the arrangement of the ejection openings 4, if these distances are very large, the ink mists deposited on the central waterproof region E are easily moved. Ink droplets that can be larger than this 100 μm in diameter are collected, and these ink droplets move easily to reach some ejection openings 4 so that the ejection openings do not perform ejection functions. Therefore, the predetermined above distance is designed such that these ink mists deposited on the central waterproof region are easily drawn into the recess hydrophilic region 5.

The predetermined distances H1 and H2 satisfying the above conditions are designed to be values of about 1.2 times or more and 3.5 or less of the bores of the discharge ports. In particular, these predetermined distances are designed to be about 35 to 100 μm when the bores of the ejection openings are about 30 μm. In the case where predetermined distances are determined within this range, the above-described ink mists are effectively drawn in and maintained in the recess hydrophilic region 5 without reaching the ejection openings.

The widths W1 and W2 of the respective recessed hydrophilic regions 5 should not be so narrow that the respective recess hydrophilic regions can effectively enter and hold ink mist deposited on the ejection opening surface. In particular, when these widths are 100 μm or less corresponding to the minimum diameter of the movable ink drops, the function of receiving each of the recessed hydrophilic regions receiving the movable ink drops becomes unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is preferable that the lower limits of the widths W1 and W2 are larger than 100 µm. In addition, if the widths W1 and W2 are very large, the respective recessed hydrophilic regions are satisfactory in retaining the movable ink droplets on the ejection opening surface, but the problem is that the respective recessed hydrophilic regions extend widely over the ejection opening surface. Entails. Therefore, the widths W1 and W2 have an upper limit. In particular, the width W1 and W2 of each of the recess hydrophilic regions is preferably designed such that the upper limit thereof is 400 占 퐉 or less while being careful that ink droplets are present on the ejection opening surface by the cleaning operation.

Incidentally, when each of the recessed hydrophilic regions 5 has a width exceeding the upper limit, the residual ink sometimes remains in the recessed hydrophilic regions without being removed in the execution of the cleaning operation, and in the recess hydrophilic regions When the residual ink remains for a long time, it eventually becomes unable to perform the desired function.

Next, an embodiment made by the inventors in order to find the good conditions of the hydrophilic regions described above will be described in detail.

[Experiment 1]

In this experiment, six ink jet head samples are prepared according to the above-described method of preparing the ink jet head, each ink jet head sample being arranged on the opposite side of one of the opposite sides of the arrangement of the ejection openings on the ejection opening face. Each of the island patterned hydrophilic regions, each island patterned hydrophilic region having a plurality of micro hydrophiles spaced apart while maintaining a predetermined distance L between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses; It includes a waterproof area including recesses.

The distance L was determined differently for each ink jet head sample.

The micro hydrophilic recesses of the island patterned hydrophilic region include micro recesses formed at each intersection of an exact square framing pattern of 0.4 mm pitch in a predetermined waterproof region of the discharge port surface. The distance L is the distance between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses.

Six ink jet head samples, sample numbers 1 to 6, were made different for distance L, as shown in Table 1. Five ink jet heads were prepared in each of the six ink jet heads.

For each of the six ink jet head samples, each of the five ink jet heads was subjected to a printing operation at a driving frequency of 6.2 KHz, so that ink was ejected from all the ejection openings to print 60 lines of characters on A4 size recording paper. This printing operation was performed five times in succession without cleaning the discharge port surface.

The five printed sheets thus printed were visually observed whether there was a white line caused by some ejection openings filled with ink during ink ejection.

The observed results were reviewed based on the following criteria. The results reviewed are shown in a table.

(Circle): When all 5 ink jet heads performed with high performance,

(Triangle | delta): Out of 5 ink jet heads, when only one to four performed printing satisfactorily,

X: When a defect of ink ejection to several ejection openings occurred in all five ink jet heads,

Based on this result, it was discovered that 65 micrometers-200 micrometers are preferable for the range of the distance L mentioned above.

[Experiment 2]

In this experiment, six ink jet head samples are prepared according to the above-described method of preparing the ink jet head, each ink jet head sample being arranged on the opposite side of one of the opposite sides of the arrangement of the ejection openings on the ejection opening face. Each of the island patterned hydrophilic regions has a discharge port surface having only an island patterned hydrophilic region, and each island patterned hydrophilic region includes a watertight region including a plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses having predetermined regions S spaced apart from each other. . The area S was determined differently for each ink jet head sample.

The hydrophilic recesses of the island patterned hydrophilic region include micro recesses formed at each intersection of an exact square framing pattern of 0.4 mm pitch in a predetermined waterproof region of the discharge port surface. The area S is the area of each of the minute recesses formed at each intersection of the square framing pattern.

Six ink jet head samples, sample numbers 7-12, were made different for area S, as shown in Table 2. Five ink jet heads were prepared in each of the six ink jet heads.

For each of the six ink jet head samples, each of the five ink jet heads was printed in the same manner as in Experiment 1.

The five printed sheets thus printed were visually observed whether there was a white line caused by some ejection openings filled with ink during ink ejection.

The observed results were reviewed based on the following criteria. The results reviewed are shown in a table.

(Circle): When all 5 ink jet heads performed with high performance,

(Triangle | delta): Out of 5 ink jet heads, when only one to four performed printing satisfactorily,

X: When a defect of ink ejection to several ejection openings occurred in all five ink jet heads,

Based on this result, the range of the above-described area S has been found to be a 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ² preferred.

[Experiment 3]

In this experiment, six ink jet head samples are prepared according to the above-described method of preparing an ink jet head, each of which has two ink jet head samples arranged on the opposite side of one of the opposing sides with an arrangement of the ejection openings on the ejection opening surface. Each of the island patterned hydrophilic regions has a discharge port surface each having only an island patterned hydrophilic region, and each island patterned hydrophilic region includes a watertight region including a plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses spaced at a predetermined distribution density per unit area. The distribution density of the micro hydrophilic recesses was determined differently for each ink jet head sample.

Six ink jet head samples, samples 13 to 18, were made different for the distribution density of microhydrophilic recesses distributed per unit area, as shown in Table 2. Five ink jet heads were prepared in each of the six ink jet heads.

For each of the six ink jet head samples, each of the five ink jet heads was printed in the same manner as in Experiment 1.

The five printed sheets thus printed were visually observed whether there was a white line caused by some ejection openings filled with ink during ink ejection.

The observed results were reviewed based on the following criteria. The results reviewed are shown in a table.

(Circle): When all 5 ink jet heads performed with high performance,

(Triangle | delta): Out of 5 ink jet heads, when only one to four performed printing satisfactorily,

X: When a defect of ink ejection to several ejection openings occurred in all five ink jet heads,

Based on this result, it was found that the range of the above-described distribution density of the micro hydrophilic recesses is preferably 35% to 65%.

In the present invention, with respect to the above-described central waterproof region, one or more specific hydrophilic regions are formed in the above-described patterns, in which one or more specific hydrophilic regions are satisfied, and in any case, a highly reliable ink jet head is provided. .

The ink jet head according to the present invention having the ejection opening surface processed as described above can be preferably mounted in an ink jet apparatus as described later, so that preferable printing can be performed by applying a printing signal.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the ink jet head provided with the ink jet head according to the present invention.

In the ink jet apparatus shown in FIG. 15, the lead screw 5005 is rotated by the drive transport gears 5001 and 5009 by the forward and backward rotation of the drive motor 5013. The lead screw has a helical groove 5004 to which the pins (not shown) of the carriage HC engage as the carriage HC reciprocates in the a and b directions. The carriage is equipped with an ink jet carriage IJC. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a sheet confiding plate for limiting printing originals moving along the direction of the carriage HC on the platen 5000. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote optical couplers which operate as groove position detecting means for detecting the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage and for changing the rotational direction of the drive motor 5013, respectively. Reference numeral 5016 denotes support means for supporting a capping member 5022 that operates to cap the front of the ink jet head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes suction means for sucking the inside of the capping member, and performs recovery of the ink jet head through the inner opening 5023 of the capping member.

Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade. Reference numeral 5019 denotes a moving member that allows the cleaning blade to move in the front-rear direction. These means are supported by the body support plate 5018. The cleaning blade is not limited to this configuration only, and conventional cleaning members may be used.

Reference numeral 5012 denotes a lever for starting the suction recovery operation. Reference numeral 5020 denotes a cam. The cam is in contact with a portion of the carriage HC when the carriage reaches its home position, as a result of which the cam is moved to the left of FIG. 15 and the cam coordinates with the drive gear 5009 to change the transport route.

The ink jet apparatus is such that each capping, cleaning and suction recovery operation is performed well by the operation of the lead screw 5005 at an appropriate corresponding position when the carriage HC moves to an area on the home position side. This is designed.

Alternatively, the system can be designed such that these operations can be performed at conventional timing.

Operations such as printing, recovery, and the like in the above-described ink jet apparatus are controlled by a control mechanism as shown in the block diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 176 denotes a CPU, i.e., a central processing unit including an interface to which an external print signal is input. The CPU stores a program ROM containing a program for controlling the system and various data (including data relating to printing and print data applied to the ink jet head). The CPU also stores a dynamic RAM that can store the number of printed dots and the frequency of the ink jet to be replaced with a new one.

Reference numeral 172 denotes driving means including a gate array operative to control the supply of print data to the ink jet head 173 and also to drive the ink jet head based on data from the interface, ROM, and RAM. Is displayed. Reference numeral 171 denotes a frequency controller operative to change the drive frequency for the drive means 172. In this embodiment, the fast drive frequency and the normal print frequency are well controlled.

Reference numeral 174 denotes a cleaning means (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning blade), which operates when the ink jet head arrives at a predetermined cleaning position to clean the ejection surface of the ink jet head. Reference numeral 175 denotes a means for cleaning the cleaning blade before the cleaning blade is used for cleaning the ejection surface of the ink jet head or after it is used for cleaning the ejection surface of the ink jet head. Reference numeral 177 denotes capping means operative to perform capping on the ejection opening face of the ink jet head when discomfort occurs during a data processing or printing operation or when the ink jet head is in a standby state.

Next, the interaction between the ink jet head, the capping means and the cleaning means will be described in detail.

17 shows an embodiment of cleaning the cleaning blade before cleaning the ejection surface of the ink jet head IJH, an example of cleaning the ejection surface of the ink jet head, and capping means on the ejection surface of the ink jet head during the suction recovery operation. The contacting embodiment is schematically illustrated. The relative positional relationship of the capping means 177 and the cleaning means 174 is not limited as shown in FIG.

Next, the practical skill of the embodiment shown in FIG. 17 will be described. In the following description it should be understood that the ink jet head has a discharge port surface having the above-described surface structure shown in FIG.

From Fig. 17, when the ink jet head IJH is moved to a predetermined home position before performing the printing operation, the cleaning blade 174 rubs with the discharge port surface of the ink jet head IJH to clean the discharge port surface. . In this case, the cleaning blade 174 first contacts the side face 175 of the ink jet head IJH, and then moves along the direction of the ink jet head IJH to clean the ejection surface of the ink jet head. And the cleaning operation of the discharge port surface of the ink jet head is performed by the first external hydrophilic region B1, the first belt-type recess hydrophilic region C1, the central waterproofing region E, and the second belt-type recess hydrophilic region. (C2) and the second outer hydrophilic region B2.

Above, the cleaning surface of the cleaning blade 174 is first rubbed with the side 175 of the ink jet head IJH described above. As a result, the ink droplets on the cleaning surface of the cleaning blade 174 transferred from the ejection opening of the ink jet head are preferably removed during the cleaning of the ejection opening surface of the ink jet head, so that the cleaning surface of the cleaning blade is provided with the ejection surface of the ink jet head. It is kept clean when it is to be cleaned. Therefore, the ejection opening face of the ink jet head is well cleaned as desired.

Incidentally, the side 175 of the ink jet head IJH to be rubbed with the clean blade 174 may be provided on its surface with an additional material such as an aluminum plate or an adsorbent material. In this case, it has been improved that an effective cleaning for the cleaning blade can be achieved.

After the discharge port surface of the ink jet head is cleaned in the above-described manner, the camping means 177B is in contact with the discharge port surface of the ink jet head IJH to protect the discharge port surface.

Then, the suction pump 177C connected to the camping means 177B is activated to perform suction recovery for the ejection opening of the ink jet head, and the ink removed from the ejection opening is the adhesive material 177A disposed in the capping means 177B. Received by).

It is possible that the cleaning operation is performed before the ink jet head performs the suction recovery processing using the capping means in a continuous printing operation. In this case, ink deposition generated on the ejection opening surface for performing the suction recovery process can be preferably removed so that high performance printing can always be achieved.

EXAMPLE

The present invention is provided herein in order to achieve the described purpose, and will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples which are intended not to limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1

Using polysulfone, a grooved top plate 3 provided with 64 nozzles at an array density of 360 dpi was prepared by conventional injection molding techniques. Then, the waterproofing material including CYTOP CTX-105 was supplied by the conventional transfer coating technique on almost the entire area of the surface of the grooved top plate (i.e., the discharge port surface) having a thickness of 0.1 mu m. The grooved upper plate 3 having the discharge port surface to which the waterproofing film was supplied was heat-treated to cure the supplied waterproofing material to form the waterproofing film 1. Then, 0.4 mm for each width W1 and W2, 0.05 mm for each distance H1 and H2, and 0.15 mm area of each hydrophilic recess for island-shaped distributed hexagonal hydrophilic recesses. ^The excimer laser beam was irradiated to the ejection spherical surface through a patterning mask provided with a specific opening satisfying the condition of providing a hydrophilic region as shown in FIG. 5 with a distribution density of hydrophilic recesses of ² and per unit area of 40%. Irradiation of the excimer laser was done under ²⁰⁰ mj / cm ² and one pulse condition. Then, the excimer laser beam was irradiated through the rear surface opposite to the ejection opening forming surface at an incident angle θ of 10 ° to form a plurality of ejection openings.

The grooved top plate thus processed is coupled to a substrate for an ink jet head including heat generating resistors capable of generating thermal energy for ejecting ink from the ejection openings, thereby forming an ink jet head.

In this way, five ink jet heads were obtained.

Example 2

Patterning Misc width 0.4 mm, distance H 1 0.05 mm, for each island-shaped hexagonal hydrophilic recesses, the area of each hydrophilic recess is 0.15 mm ² and the distribution density of hydrophilic recesses per unit area. 5 ink jet heads were obtained by repeating the procedure of Example 1 except that a specific opening satisfying the condition of providing a hydrophilic region shown in FIG. 8 at 40% was replaced by a provided patterning mask.

Comparative Example 1

The procedure of Example 1 was repeated except that it was supplied to the entire area of the waterproofing film discharge port face and no processing therefor was performed to obtain five ink jet heads.

Comparative Example 2

Five ink jet heads were obtained by repeating the procedure of Example 1 except that the discharge port surface was left in a so-called hydrophilic region without any treatment.

The ink jet heads obtained in each of Example 1 and the first and second comparative examples were examined in the following manner. That is, each ink jet head was mounted in the above-described ink jet apparatus. Reciprocating operation printing was performed using an ink jet device at a driving frequency of 6.2KHz, in which ink was ejected from all the ejection ports to print 60 lines of characters on A4 size recording paper, and this printing operation was performed five times in succession. All.

The ink jet head obtained in Example 2 was examined in the following manner. That is, each ink jet head was mounted in the above-described ink jet apparatus.

Using the ink jet apparatus, one-side printing was performed at a driving frequency of 6.2KHz, in which ink was ejected from all the ejection ports to print 60 lines of characters on A4 size recording paper, and this printing operation was performed five times in succession. All.

The five sheets of paper thus obtained were visually observed whether there was a white line caused by some ejection openings filled with ink during ink ejection.

The observed results were reviewed based on the following criteria. The results reviewed are shown in a table.

(Circle): When all 5 ink jet heads performed with high performance,

(Triangle | delta): Out of 5 ink jet heads, when only one to four performed printing satisfactorily,

X: When a defect of ink ejection to several ejection openings occurred in all five ink jet heads,

From the results obtained, it has been found that the fixed ink jet heads each having a specific ejection surface treated according to the present invention can perform high performance printing without being affected by ink mists deposited on the ejection surface even in the case of high frequency printing. .

As described above, the present invention provides an ink jet head having an improved ejection opening surface in which a plurality of ejection openings are arranged spaced apart from each other, wherein the ejection opening surface is a waterproof area arranged to surround the array of ejection openings, and a predetermined distance from the arrangement of ejection openings. A belt-shaped recess hydrophilic region disposed in the spaced apart region and a water-repellent region other than the water-repellent region around the arrangement of the discharge ports, wherein the other water-repellent regions are spaced apart from each other. In the ink jet head according to the present invention, ink droplets generated on the ejection opening surface during printing by ejecting ink from the ejection openings are effectively drawn into and maintained in a hydrophilic region located around the array of ejection openings or from the arrangement of ejection openings without growing ink droplets. It is moved away. Because of this, the ink jet head according to the present invention can effectively prevent the ink ejected from the ejection openings from coalescing with the ink droplets formed on the ejection opening surface, and the ejection opening can be prevented from being deposited due to the deposition of other ink. The occurrence of defects can be effectively prevented, so that high performance, high reliability printing is stably and continuously provided even when printing is performed at an improved printing speed or / and a high driving frequency. In addition, the ink jet head according to the present invention has a waterproof area of the head which has improved durability, improved durability of the head itself, the interval at which the cleaning operation is performed may be delayed, and the cleaning means contacts with the cleaning operation. It is excellent in that the pressure can be significantly reduced.

The ink jet apparatus according to the present invention is bonded to high speed printing because the interval at which the cleaning operation is performed can be significantly delayed.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a conventional ink jet head having a discharge port surface waterproofed over its entire surface.

2 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the ink mist deposited on the discharge port surface of the conventional ink jet head.

3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the surface state of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

4 is a schematic flowchart of a step of obtaining a surface-treated discharge port surface for an ink jet head according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the surface pattern of the discharge port surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention;

7 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

8 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

9 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

10 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 (a) is a schematic diagram showing another example of the surface pattern of the discharge port surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a-a 'of FIG. 11 (a).

12 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface pattern of the discharge port surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the surface pattern of the ejection opening surface in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an operation of cleaning the discharge port surface of the ink jet head according to the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an ink jet head apparatus provided with the ink jet head according to the present invention.

16 is a schematic diagram showing a control mechanism for controlling printing in the ink jet head of the present invention.

17 is a schematic diagram showing the interrelationship between the ink jet head, the capping means and the cleaning blade in the ink jet head according to the present invention.

Claims (81)

A plurality of discharging outlets arranged in an arrangement direction and a plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port, wherein each of the ink paths generates energy for generating energy for discharging ink from the discharge port; An ink jet head provided with an element and provided with an ejection opening surface on which a waterproof surface is formed and on which the ejection openings are arranged, the ejection opening surface is a central water repellent zone disposed around the ejection openings, And at least one recessed hydrophilic zone disposed in an outer region of the central waterproof region and disposed along the arrangement direction of the ejection openings by a predetermined distance away from the ejection openings. Jet head. The ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is a long elongated rectangle and is recessed with respect to the waterproof surface. The ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is a discontinuous recess hydrophilic region. The ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises a plurality of minute hydrophilic recesses disposed to be spaced outside the recess hydrophilic region. The grooved structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge port surface such that the base member constituting the discharge port surface is exposed in a grooved structure. Ink jet head comprising a. The ink jet head according to claim 5, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is formed by performing laser processing on a predetermined portion of the discharge port. 4. The recessed hydrophilic region of claim 1, wherein the recessed hydrophilic region is an area away from the array of outlets by a distance of about 1.2 to 3 times the diameter of the outlet, in which micro hydrophilic recesses are adjacent to each other. An ink jet head, characterized in that located in. The ink jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recess hydrophilic region has a width in a range of 100 µm to 400 µm. The ink jet head of claim 4, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are distributed while maintaining a distance between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 μm and 200 μm. The method of claim 4, wherein the ink jet head according to an area of 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ² characterized in that each of said hydrophilic minute recess. The ink jet head of claim 4, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. A plurality of discharge ports arranged in an arrangement direction and each of the plurality of ink paths communicating with the discharge port, each of the ink paths being provided with an energy generating element for generating energy for discharging ink from the discharge port; And an ink jet head provided with an ejection opening surface on which a waterproof surface is formed and on which the ejection openings are arranged, wherein the ejection opening surface is located at a central waterproof region disposed around the ejection opening, and on an area on the first side of the central waterproof region. A first recessed hydrophilic region disposed along the arrangement direction of the ejection openings and spaced apart from the ejection openings by a distance, and a second side of the central waterproofing region facing the first side with the central waterproofing region interposed therebetween; Disposed in an area of the image and spaced apart from the discharge holes by a predetermined distance The ink jet head comprises a second recessed hydrophilic zone disposed along the column direction. 13. The ink jet head of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is a long elongated rectangle and is recessed relative to the waterproof surface. 13. The ink jet head of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is a discontinuous recessed hydrophilic region. 13. The ink jet head of claim 12, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises a plurality of minute hydrophilic recesses disposed apart from each other in an outer region of each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions includes a groove-shaped structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge hole surface such that the basic member constituting the discharge hole surface is exposed in a grooved structure. Ink jet head, characterized in that. 17. The ink jet head of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is formed by performing laser processing on each predetermined portion of the discharge port. 15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is located in an area separated by a distance of 1.2 to 3 times the diameter of the outlet from the arrangement of the outlets. Featuring an ink jet head. The ink jet head according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions has a width in the range of 100 µm to 400 µm. 16. The ink jet head of claim 15, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart while maintaining a spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 micrometers and 200 micrometers. The method of claim 15, wherein the ink jet head, each area of the fine hydrophilic recesses, characterized in that 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ^2. 16. The ink jet head of claim 15, wherein the micro dimensional recesses are spaced apart at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. 15. The ink jet head of claim 12, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises an additional recess hydrophilic region disposed outside each of the first and second recess hydrophilic regions. 24. The ink jet head of claim 23, wherein each of said additional recessed hydrophilic regions is a long elongated rectangle and recessed relative to said waterproof surface. The liquid crystal display of claim 12, wherein the discharge port surface comprises: a first outer hydrophilic region in which the plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart from the outside of the first recess hydrophilic region, and the plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses are formed in the second recess. And a second outer hydrophilic region spaced apart from the set hydrophilic region. 27. The ink jet head of claim 25, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises an additional recess hydrophilic region disposed outside each of the first recessed hydrophilic region and the second outer hydrophilic region. A plurality of ejection openings and a plurality of ink paths communicating with the ejection openings, each of the ink paths being provided with an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the ejection opening, wherein a waterproof surface is formed thereon An ink jet head provided with an ejection opening surface on which the ejection openings are arranged, wherein the ejection opening surface has a central waterproof region disposed around the ejection opening, and a first water droplet having a plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses disposed therein. And second hydrophilic regions, wherein the first hydrophilic region is disposed on a first side of the central waterproof region, and the second hydrophilic region is on a second side of the central waterproof region facing the first side. An ink jet head, characterized in that disposed on. 28. The ink jet head of claim 27, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses of each of the two hydrophilic regions are distributed while maintaining a spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 micrometers and 200 micrometers. The method of claim 27, wherein the ink jet head, characterized in that the two hydrophilic regions of each of the fine hydrophilic recesses each area of 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ^2. 28. The ink jet head of claim 27, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses of each of the two hydrophilic regions are distributed at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. An ink jet head and a capping means, wherein the ink jet head includes a plurality of ejection openings arranged in an arrangement direction and a plurality of ink paths respectively communicating with the ejection openings, each ink path including ink from the ejection openings; An energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting is provided, wherein the ink jet head is provided with an ejection opening surface on which a waterproof surface is formed and the ejection openings are arranged, and the capping means protects the ejection openings, In the ink jet apparatus capable of performing a recovery process for the ejection openings, the ejection opening surface of the ink jet head is disposed in a central waterproof region disposed around the ejection openings, and an outer region of the central waterproof region, At least one recessed hydrophilic zero away from the outlets And a recess hydrophilic region is arranged along the arrangement direction of the discharge ports. 32. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 31 wherein the recess hydrophilic region is a long elongated rectangle and is recessed with respect to the waterproof surface. 32. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 31 wherein the recess hydrophilic region is a discontinuous recess hydrophilic region. 32. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises a plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses disposed to be spaced apart from each other outside the recess hydrophilic region. 32. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the recess hydrophilic region includes a groove-shaped structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge port surface such that the basic member constituting the discharge port surface is exposed in a grooved structure. . The ink jet apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is formed by performing laser processing on a predetermined portion of the discharge port. 34. An ink jet apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is located in a region separated by a distance of about 1.2 to 3 times the diameter of the ejection openings from the arrangement of the ejection openings. . 34. An ink jet apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 33 wherein the recess hydrophilic region has a width in the range of 100 µm to 400 µm. 35. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 34 wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart while maintaining the spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 micrometers and 200 micrometers. The method of claim 34, wherein the ink jet system, characterized in that each area of the fine hydrophilic recesses of 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ^2. 35. The ink jet head of claim 34, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. An ink jet head and a capping means, wherein the ink jet head includes a plurality of ejection openings arranged in an array direction and ink paths each of which communicates with the ejection opening, and each of the ink paths ejects ink from the ejection opening. An energy generating element is provided for generating energy for the ink jet head, and the ink jet head is provided with an ejection opening surface on which a waterproof surface is formed and the ejection openings are arranged, and the capping means protects the ejection openings. An ink jet apparatus capable of carrying out a recovery process for an electric field, wherein the discharge port surface of the ink jet head is disposed in a central waterproof area disposed around the discharge ports, an area on a first side of the central waterproof area, and the discharge port Along the arrangement direction of the discharge holes at a distance of a predetermined distance A first recess hydrophilic region disposed and an area on the second side facing the first side with the central waterproof region interposed therebetween and disposed along the arrangement direction of the discharge apertures by a predetermined distance away from the discharge apertures; An ink jet apparatus comprising two recessed hydrophilic regions. 43. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 42 wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is a long elongated rectangle and is recessed with respect to the waterproof surface. 43. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 42 wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is a discontinuous recessed hydrophilic region. 43. The ink jet head of claim 42, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises a plurality of minute hydrophilic recesses spaced apart from an outer region of each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions. 43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions comprises a grooved structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge port surface such that the basic member constituting the discharge port surface is exposed in a grooved structure. An ink jet device, characterized in that. 47. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 46, wherein said first and second recessed hydrophilic regions are formed by performing laser processing on respective predetermined portions of said discharge port. 45. The apparatus of any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions is located in an area spaced 1.2 to 3 times the diameter of the outlet from the array of outlets. An ink jet device, characterized in that. 45. The ink jet apparatus according to any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions has a width in the range of 100 µm to 400 µm. 46. The ink jet apparatus of claim 45, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart while maintaining a spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 micrometers and 200 micrometers. The method of claim 45, wherein the ink jet system, characterized in that each of the hydrophilic areas of the minute recess of 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ^2. 46. The ink jet head of claim 45, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses are spaced apart at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. 43. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises an additional recess hydrophilic region disposed outside each of the first and second recess hydrophilic regions. 55. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 53, wherein each of said additional recess hydrophilic regions is a long elongated rectangle and is recessed with respect to said waterproof surface. 45. The method of claim 42, wherein the discharge port surface is characterized in that the plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses and the first outer hydrophilic region and the plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses are disposed spaced apart from the outside of the first recess hydrophilic region And a second outer hydrophilic region spaced apart from the second recessed hydrophilic region. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises additional recess hydrophilic regions in which each of the first and second outer hydrophilic regions is disposed outside. An ink jet head and a capping means, each ink jet head including a plurality of discharge ports and a plurality of ink paths each communicating with the discharge port, each of the ink paths for discharging ink from the discharge port; An energy generating element for generating energy is provided, wherein the ink jet head is provided with an ejection opening surface on which a waterproof surface is formed and the ejection openings are arranged, and the capping means protects the ejection openings, and the ejection openings are provided. An ink jet apparatus capable of performing a recovery process for the ink jet apparatus, wherein the ejection opening surface has a first waterproofing portion having a central waterproof region disposed around the ejection openings, and a plurality of micro hydrophilic recesses disposed therein and spaced apart from each other; Two hydrophilic regions, wherein the first hydrophilic region is on a first side of the central waterproof region; And the second hydrophilic region is disposed on a second side of the central waterproofing region opposite the first side. 59. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 57 wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses of each of the two hydrophilic regions are distributed while maintaining the spacing between each adjacent micro hydrophilic recesses between about 65 micrometers and 200 micrometers. The method of claim 57, wherein the ink jet apparatus is characterized in that the two hydrophilic regions, each of the micro-recesses each hydrophilic area of 0.10mm ² to 0.25mm ^2. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 57, wherein the micro hydrophilic recesses of each of the two hydrophilic regions are distributed at a distribution density of 35% to 65% per unit area. An ink jet including a plurality of ejection openings arranged in an arrangement direction, and a plurality of ink paths each provided with an energy generating element for communicating with the ejection opening and for generating energy for ejecting ink from the ejection opening, respectively; A method of manufacturing a head, comprising the steps of: providing a grooved top plate integrally provided with a plurality of dedicated portions for forming a liquid chamber, a liquid path and a discharge port forming plate, forming a waterproof film on the discharge hole forming plate, A rectangular hydrophilic region extending in the outer side of the region in which the ejection openings are arranged and spaced apart from the arrangement of the ejection openings by a predetermined distance on the surface of the waterproof film formed on the ejection opening forming plate, And a stipple type in which a plurality of micro hydrophilic regions are distributed therein. disposing a patterning mask provided with an opening corresponding to a predetermined pattern for forming a hydrophilic region, and irradiating the waterproof film on the discharge hole forming plate through the patterning mask to form a laser beam Forming a hydrophilic region and said stippled hydrophilic region, and forming said plurality of ejection openings in said ejection opening forming plate by performing laser processing on said ejection opening forming plate. The ink jet of claim 4, wherein the recess hydrophilic region includes a groove-type structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge hole surface such that the existing member constituting the discharge hole surface is exposed in a grooved structure. head. 63. The ink jet head according to claim 62, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is formed by performing laser processing on the predetermined portion of the discharge port surface. 16. The grooved structure of claim 15, wherein each of the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions includes a grooved structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge hole surface such that the existing member constituting the discharge hole surface is exposed to the grooved structure. Ink jet head, characterized in that. 65. The ink jet head of claim 64, wherein the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions are formed by performing laser processing on respective predetermined portions of the discharge port surface. 32. The ink jet of claim 31, wherein the recess hydrophilic region includes a groove-shaped structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge port surface such that the existing member constituting the discharge port surface is exposed in a grooved structure. Device. 67. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 66, wherein the recess hydrophilic region is formed by performing laser processing on the predetermined portion of the discharge port surface. 46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein each of the first and second recess launch regions includes a groove-shaped structure formed by removing a predetermined portion of the discharge port surface such that the existing member constituting the discharge port surface is exposed to the recessed structure. Ink jet device, characterized in that. 69. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 68, wherein the first and second recessed hydrophilic regions are formed by performing laser processing on the respective predetermined portions of the discharge port surface. A plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; And an ejection opening surface, comprising: an ejection opening surface on which the ejection openings are arranged; And a periphery of the waterproof discharge port surrounding the discharge holes and having a first side, a second side, and a discontinuous hydrophilic area, wherein the discontinuous hydrophilic area includes a plurality of portions each having hydrophilic property with respect to the discharge periphery area. And portions are spaced apart in the discontinuous hydrophilic region, located on at least one side of the region around the ejection opening and spaced a predetermined distance from the region around the ejection opening. 71. The ink jet head of claim 70, wherein the discontinuous hydrophilic region is located on both sides of the region around the discharge port. An ink jet apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; And an ink jet head including a discharge port surface; And (a-1) an ejection opening surface in which the ejection openings are arranged, (a-2) an area around the waterproof ejection opening surrounding the ejection openings and having a first side and a second side, and (a-3). Discontinuous hydrophilic region—The discontinuous hydrophilic region includes a plurality of portions each having hydrophilic properties with respect to the region around the discharge port, which portions are spaced apart in the discontinuous hydrophilic region, at least of the region around the discharge port. Located on one side and spaced apart from the area around the discharge port, and (b) including a cleaning blade for cleaning the discharge port surface as a result of relative movement with the discharge port surface through wiping. An ink jet apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 73. The ink according to claim 72, wherein the discontinuous hydrophilic region located in the ejection opening surface is disposed on the downstream side of the ejection opening surface determined according to the relative movement of the cleaning blade as wiping the ejection opening surface. Jet device. 73. The ink jet apparatus according to claim 72, further comprising capping means for protecting the ejection opening through capping, wherein the capping means is also used to recover the ejection opening to restore ejection performance. 71. The ink jet head of claim 70, wherein the discharge port surface further comprises a continuous hydrophilic region. 76. The ink jet head of claim 75, wherein the continuous hydrophilic region is disposed between the region around the waterproof discharge port and the discontinuous hydrophilic region. 71. The ink jet head of claim 70, wherein the discontinuous hydrophilic region is provided in a recess formed in the discharge port surface on at least one of the first and second sides. An ink jet apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; An ejection opening surface having an ejection opening surface in which the ejection openings are arranged; A region surrounding the water discharge port and having a first side and a second side; And a discontinuous hydrophilic region, wherein the discontinuous hydrophilic region includes a plurality of portions having hydrophilic properties with respect to the region around the discharge port, which portions are spaced apart in the discontinuous hydrophilic region, and at least one of the region around the discharge port. An ink jet head positioned on said one side of said ink jet head, said ink jet head being spaced a predetermined distance from said area around said discharge port; And (b) capping means used to recover the ejection openings to protect the ejection openings through capping and to restore ejection performance. An ink jet head, comprising: a plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; An ejection opening surface having an ejection opening surface in which the ejection openings are arranged; A region surrounding the water discharge port and having a first side and a second side; And a recess hydrophilic region surrounding the waterproof region and positioned along the arrangement direction of the ejection openings on the at least one side of the ejection opening peripheral region and spaced apart from the ejection opening peripheral region by a predetermined distance. . An ink jet apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; And an ejection opening surface—the ejection opening surface includes an ejection opening surface in which the ejection openings are arranged, an enclosure surrounding the ejection openings, and a region surrounding the ejection openings having a first side and a second side, and surrounding the waterproof region. An ink jet head comprising a recessed hydrophilic region located along an arrangement direction of the ejection openings on the at least one side of the recess and spaced apart from the peripheral region around the ejection opening; And (b) a cleaning braid for cleaning the ejection opening as a result of relative movement with the ejection opening through wiping. An ink jet apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of discharge holes arranged in an array direction; A plurality of ink paths each of which communicates with the discharge port and each has an energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink from the discharge port; And an ejection opening surface—the ejection opening surface includes an ejection opening surface in which the ejection openings are arranged, an enclosure surrounding the ejection openings, and a region surrounding the ejection openings having a first side and a second side, and surrounding the waterproof region. An ink jet head comprising a recessed hydrophilic region located along an arrangement direction of the ejection openings on the at least one side of the recess and spaced apart from the peripheral region around the ejection opening; And (b) capping means used for a plurality of the ejection openings to protect the ejection openings through capping and to restore ejection performance.