JP2005119029A - Inkjet head unit and manufacturing method for inkjet head unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet head unit which improves the manufacturing efficiency of an inkjet head unit, and consequently can suppress manufacturing costs of an inkjet printer, and to provide a manufacturing method for an inkjet head unit. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet head unit 2 which consists of a plurality of inkjet heads 20 for discharging ink to a recording medium 13, and the manufacturing method for the inkjet head unit are provided. The inkjet head which includes an inkjet head chip 32 with ink discharge openings at a leading end face, an ink feeding passage 30 for guiding the ink to the inkjet head chip, and an ink filter 31c set in the ink feeding passage is formed. Thereafter, the plurality of the inkjet heads are combined and fitted to form the inkjet head unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet head unit and an inkjet head unit manufacturing method, and more particularly, to an inkjet head unit including a plurality of inkjet heads and an inkjet head unit manufacturing method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet printers that record predetermined images by ejecting ink onto recording media such as paper and plastic thin plates have been proposed and put into practical use. In many cases, the ink jet printer includes an ink jet head having a plurality of ink discharge ports, and further includes an ink jet head unit including the plurality of ink jet heads. For example, in a serial type ink jet printer, a predetermined image is formed on a recording medium by ejecting ink from each ink ejection port of the ink jet head toward the recording medium while moving the ink jet head unit in a predetermined direction. This is recorded (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, in the conventional inkjet head unit, there are many cases where an ink filter for removing foreign matter from ink is outside the inkjet head, and there is a possibility that foreign matter enters into the inkjet head by operating the inkjet head alone. Ink jet head unit that has passed this test by assembling a plurality of ink jet heads into a unit and placing an ink filter, etc., and then performing an ink ejection test to check whether ink can be ejected properly. Was mounted on an inkjet printer as a product.
JP 2001-310454 A

  However, as described above, when an emission test is performed after the inkjet head is unitized, if one of the inkjet heads constituting the inkjet head unit has an emission defect, the entire inkjet head unit is not suitable. It will be a good product. Therefore, the manufacturing efficiency of the ink jet head unit is deteriorated, resulting in a problem that the manufacturing cost of the ink jet printer increases.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet head unit and a method for manufacturing the inkjet head unit that can improve the manufacturing efficiency of the inkjet head unit and, as a result, can reduce the manufacturing cost of the inkjet printer.

The invention described in claim 1
An inkjet head unit composed of a plurality of inkjet heads that eject ink onto a recording medium,
An ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the tip surface;
An ink supply path for guiding ink to the inkjet head chip;
An ink filter provided in the ink supply path;
It is characterized in that a plurality of ink jet heads having a plurality of ink jet heads are assembled into a unit.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inkjet head unit is provided in the ink supply path, the ink supply path that guides ink to the inkjet head chip, and the ink supply path. A plurality of inkjet heads each including an ink filter are assembled into a unit, and each inkjet head is in a state where ink can be introduced by itself. An ink ejection test can be performed for each inkjet head. Thereby, it is possible to detect an ink jet head having a defect such as an ink ejection failure before it is unitized.

The invention described in claim 2
A method for manufacturing an inkjet head unit comprising a plurality of inkjet heads that eject ink onto a recording medium,
An ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the tip surface;
An ink supply path for guiding ink to the inkjet head chip;
An ink filter provided in the ink supply path;
Forming an inkjet head comprising:
Thereafter, an ink jet head unit is formed by assembling a plurality of the ink jet heads.

  As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the inkjet head chip having the ink discharge port on the tip surface, the ink supply path for guiding the ink to the inkjet head chip, and the ink filter provided in the ink supply path are provided. Since the inkjet head unit is formed by assembling a plurality of inkjet heads and then forming an inkjet head unit, ink can be introduced into a single inkjet head before being unitized into the inkjet head unit. Yes, an ink ejection test can be performed for each inkjet head before unitizing the inkjet head. Thereby, it is possible to detect an ink jet head having a defect such as an ink ejection failure before it is unitized.

  According to the invention described in claim 1 or 2, before the ink jet head is unitized, an ink ejection test can be performed for each ink jet head, and the ink jet head having a defect such as defective ink ejection is unitized. Therefore, the ink jet head unit can be formed only by a reliable ink jet head that has passed the ink ejection test. Therefore, the reliability of the assembled inkjet head unit can be improved, and the manufacturing efficiency of the inkjet head unit can be improved. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the inkjet printer can be suppressed.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the following is one embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention.

  First, an overall configuration of an inkjet printer including an inkjet head unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment is a serial ink jet printer, and includes an ink jet head unit 2, a carriage 3, a carriage rail 4, a moisture retention unit 5, a maintenance unit 7, and an ink tank. 25, an ink supply pipe 26, and a control device (not shown).

  A recording medium 13 on which an image is formed by the ink jet printer 1 is transported in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction A in FIG. 1 by passing through a recording region C in FIG. It is like that.

  The carriage 3 is mounted with an ink jet head unit 2 that is a unit formed by assembling a plurality of ink jet heads 20, and moves in the main scanning direction A from the home position area B to the maintenance area D along the carriage rail 4. . In the recording area C, main scanning on the recording medium 13 is performed by the operation of the carriage 3.

  During this main scanning, the inkjet head 20 discharges ink toward the recording medium 13 to form an image on the recording medium 13. Here, the inkjet head 20 may be placed vertically so that the nozzle ejection direction is vertically downward, or the inkjet head 20 may be placed horizontally so that the nozzle ejection direction is horizontal. Is possible. In any case, the ink jet head 20 is installed such that the nozzle surface 20a on which nozzle ejection openings for ejecting ink are arranged faces the recording medium 13.

  The ink tank 25 stores ink to be supplied to the inkjet head 20, and one or more ink tanks 25 are provided depending on the type of ink used. The ink supply pipe 26 is installed in such a manner that the inkjet head 20 and the ink tank 25 communicate with each other, and guides ink from the ink tank 25 to the inkjet head 20.

  The maintenance unit 7 is disposed in the maintenance area D, and includes a suction cap 8, a cleaning blade 11, an ink receiver 12, a suction pump 9, a waste ink tank 10, and the like. The maintenance unit 7 is configured to recover the ink ejection state of the inkjet head 20 to a good state by removing foreign matter in the inkjet head 20 through a series of maintenance operations.

The suction cap 8 communicates with the waste ink tank 10 via the suction pump 9 and is raised during the maintenance operation to cover the nozzle surface 20a of the inkjet head 20.
The suction pump 9 includes a cylinder pump and a tube pump. The suction pump 9 operates in a state where the suction cap 8 covers the nozzle surface 20a, thereby generating a suction force for sucking ink inside the inkjet head 20 together with foreign matter from the discharge port.

  The cleaning blade 11 removes ink adhering to the nozzle surface 20 a after ink suction of the inkjet head 20. The ink receiver 12 receives ink preliminarily ejected by the inkjet head 20 after the ink attached to the nozzle surface 20a is removed by the cleaning blade 11. The waste ink tank 10 stores ink sucked from the ink jet head 20 by the operation of the suction pump 9 and ink preliminarily ejected from the ink jet head 20.

  The moisturizing unit 5 is arranged in the home position area B and has the same number of moisturizing caps 6 as the inkjet head 20. The moisture retention cap 6 is configured to retain the ink of the inkjet head 2 by covering the nozzle surface 20a when the inkjet head 20 is in a standby state.

  The control device includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and controls each component of the inkjet printer 1. The memory stores image data formed on the recording medium 13 and a program for controlling each component of the inkjet printer 1. The CPU performs calculations based on image data and programs stored in the memory, and transmits a control signal to each component based on the calculation results.

Next, an ink jet head chip (hereinafter referred to as “head chip”) 32 and an ink supply path manifold 30 constituting the ink jet head 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the manifold 30 and the head chip 32 of this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the manifold 30 includes a long flat plate-shaped main body 31 and a flow path connecting portion 30 b having an ink introduction port 30 a.

The flow path connecting portion 30b is formed in an oval shape or a tubular shape having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners, and protrudes from one end surface of the main body portion 31 in the longitudinal direction.
On the inner surface of the main body 31 facing the head chip 32, a filtration groove 31 a and an introduction groove 31 b are extended so as to be parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the main body 31. As shown in part of FIG. 2 in the form of a mesh, the filter groove 31a is provided with an ink filter 31c for filtering ink. The filtration groove 31a is divided into an upstream side 31d and a downstream side 31e by the ink filter 31c, and the upstream side 31d is formed deeper. The ink flow path in the flow path connection part 30b and the upstream side 31d of the filtration groove part 31a are communicated with each other by the ink flow path formed in the main body part 31. The downstream side 31e of the filtration groove 31a is formed wider than the ink filter 31c. The introduction groove 31b is formed continuously on the downstream side 31e of the filtration groove 31a.
When the manifold 30 is attached to the head chip 32, the introduction groove 31 b is applied so as to cover the ink introduction port 32 a of the head chip 32.

The head chip 32 is a device that discharges ink filled in a pressurizing chamber 32b formed therein from a nozzle 32c. The head chip 32 is formed with a large number of ink flow paths 32d including pressurizing chambers 32b following the ink introduction port 32a, and a large number of nozzles 32c are arranged at each outlet of the ink flow path 32d. A nozzle plate 32e, in which the nozzle holes are processed in rows, is attached. Each of the pressurizing chambers 32b, 32b,... Is provided with a piezoelectric element that generates pressure (ejection force) for ejecting ink from the nozzle 32c. An electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element is formed in the head chip 32, and an electrode terminal 32f is exposed at the end of the head chip 32 opposite to the nozzle plate 32e to connect the flexible wiring board to the electrode. ing. The ink introduction port 32a is provided on one side surface of the head chip 32, and is not provided on the opposite side surface. The present invention is also useful for a head chip provided with ink inlets on both sides.
The discharge force may be generated by other means such as a heater element.
Further, the ink discharge ports which are the outlets of these nozzles 32c are arranged on the nozzle surface 20a shown in FIG. The inkjet head 20 is mounted on the carriage 3 so that the nozzle row direction and the main scanning direction A shown in FIG.

Next, an embodiment of the inkjet head unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 is a front view (a) and a bottom view (b) of the inkjet head unit 2 constituted by a plurality of inkjet heads 20. FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the inkjet head unit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the ink jet head unit 2 has the ink jet head 20 in which one manifold 30 is attached to one head chip 32, and eight same heads in the same direction are used as a unit. They are arranged and unitized so as to be stacked. As a result, the eight inkjet heads 20 are arranged with their side surfaces facing each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the end of the head chip 32 provided with the nozzle plate 32e protrudes from the manifold 30, and the cap 33 is fitted with the opening 33a of the cap receiving plate 33. A receiving plate 33 is attached. The cap receiving plate 33 receives the suction cap 8 and the moisturizing cap 6 and is in close contact with them.
One end of a flexible wiring board 34 is connected to each end of the nozzle plate 32e and the opposite end of the head chip 32. As shown in FIG. 4, a drive circuit board 35 is connected to the other end of the flexible wiring board 34. Further, the drive circuit board 35 is electrically connected to the printer body by a wiring means or an electrical connector (not shown) so that the eight head chips 32, 32,... Shown in FIG. Composed.
Further, the ink introduction members 36 to the manifold 30 are connected to the flow path connection portions 30b of the respective manifolds 30 as shown in FIG. The ink introduction member 36 is connected to the ink tank 25 via the ink supply pipe 26 shown in FIG.

Next, a method for manufacturing the inkjet head unit 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When the inkjet head unit 2 is manufactured, first, the head chip 32 is assembled by a method similar to the conventional method (step S1).
Next, the ink filter 31c is installed in the filtration groove 31a of the manifold 30 (step S2).

The manifold 30 provided with the ink filter 31c is assembled to the head chip 32 so that the introduction groove 31b of the manifold 30 covers the ink introduction port 32a of the head chip 32 (step S3). The head chip 32 is sealed to form the inkjet head 20 (step S4). Each inkjet head 20 is in a state where ink can be introduced alone.
If necessary, the inkjet head 20 is cleaned here (step S5).

  Then, the ink ejection test of the inkjet head 20 is performed for each inkjet head, and the actual ejection evaluation is observed (step S6). Here, an inkjet head having a defect such as an ink ejection defect is detected as a defective product and is not used in the subsequent processes.

Thereafter, the inkjet head unit 2 is formed using a plurality of inkjet heads 20 that have passed the ink ejection test (step S7). In the present embodiment, the same inkjet head 20 is used as a unit to form the inkjet head unit 2.
In this way, the inkjet head unit 2 is manufactured.

  As described above, the ink jet head unit in the present embodiment includes an ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the front end surface, an ink supply path for guiding ink to the ink jet head chip, and an ink filter provided in the ink supply path. Since each inkjet head is in a state where it is possible to introduce ink by itself, before each inkjet head is unitized, each inkjet head is assembled into a unit. An ink ejection test can be performed. Thereby, it is possible to detect an ink jet head having a defect such as an ink ejection failure before it is unitized.

  In addition, according to the method of manufacturing an ink jet head unit in the present embodiment, an ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the front end surface, an ink supply path for guiding ink to the ink jet head chip, and an ink filter provided in the ink supply path After that, an ink jet head unit is formed by assembling a plurality of ink jet heads, so that ink is applied to a single ink jet head before being unitized into the ink jet head unit. The ink ejection test can be performed for each ink jet head before the ink jet head is unitized. Thereby, it is possible to detect an ink jet head having a defect such as an ink ejection failure before it is unitized.

  As a result, an ink jet head unit can be formed only with a reliable ink jet head that has passed the ink ejection test. Therefore, the reliability of the assembled inkjet head unit can be improved, and the manufacturing efficiency of the inkjet head unit can be improved. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the inkjet printer can be suppressed.

The ink jet head unit and the method for manufacturing the ink jet head unit according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to other cases.
For example, the ink jet head is not limited to a configuration including a piezoelectric element in a head chip, and may be configured to include a heater, for example.

In the present embodiment, the inkjet head unit is configured by eight inkjet heads. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inkjet head unit may be configured by an appropriate number of inkjet heads. good.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the inkjet head unit is formed by arranging the inkjet heads having the same configuration in the same direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an inkjet head unit constituted by an appropriate inkjet head may be used. For example, an inkjet head unit configured by arranging a plurality of different types of inkjet heads for each type of ink may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the inkjet printer to which the inkjet head unit according to the present invention is applied reciprocally moves the inkjet head unit mounted on the carriage in the main scanning direction, while transporting the recording medium in the sub scanning direction. A serial head type ink jet printer that forms an image by ejecting ink from the ink jet head is used. However, the ink is ejected from the ink jet head of the ink jet head unit fixed to the printer main body, and the recording medium is transported to form an image. It is also possible to apply to a line head type ink jet printer which forms

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an inkjet printer including an inkjet head unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the manifold and head chip of one embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a front view of the inkjet head unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the ink jet head unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side perspective view of the inkjet head unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the inkjet head unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 2 Inkjet head unit 3 Carriage 4 Carriage rail 5 Moisturizing unit 6 Moisturizing cap 7 Maintenance unit 8 Suction cap 9 Suction pump 10 Waste ink tank 11 Cleaning blade 12 Ink receiver 13 Recording medium 20 Inkjet head 20a Nozzle surface 25 Ink tank 26 Ink supply pipe 30 Manifold (ink supply path)
30a Ink introduction port 30b Flow path connection part 31 Main body part 31a Filtration groove part 31b Introduction groove part 31c Ink filter 32 Head chip (inkjet head chip)
32a Ink introduction port 36 Ink introduction member A Main scanning direction

Claims (2)

An inkjet head unit composed of a plurality of inkjet heads that eject ink onto a recording medium,
An ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the tip surface;
An ink supply path for guiding ink to the inkjet head chip;
An ink filter provided in the ink supply path;
An ink-jet head unit comprising a plurality of ink-jet heads comprising a plurality of ink-jet heads. A method for manufacturing an inkjet head unit comprising a plurality of inkjet heads that eject ink onto a recording medium,
An ink jet head chip having an ink discharge port on the tip surface;
An ink supply path for guiding ink to the inkjet head chip;
An ink filter provided in the ink supply path;
Forming an inkjet head comprising:
Then, the inkjet head unit is formed by assembling a plurality of the inkjet heads.

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