JP2013123882A - Liquid injecting head and liquid injecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of suppressing crosstalk without increasing the size of a flow path member.
A communication port that communicates with each pressure chamber has a second direction that is perpendicular to a first direction in which the pressure generation chambers are juxtaposed with each other. ) In different positions. Moreover, the thickness of the communication plate in which the communication port 19 is formed is significantly thicker than that of the flow path forming substrate in which the pressure generating chamber 14 is formed.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus that eject droplets from nozzles.

  As an ink jet recording head that is a typical example of a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid droplets, for example, a flow path forming substrate in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers are arranged in parallel, and each pressure generation on one side of the flow path forming substrate There are piezoelectric actuators provided corresponding to the chambers, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles by applying pressure to the pressure generating chambers by displacement of the piezoelectric actuators.

  In such a liquid ejecting head, the density of nozzles has been increased in recent years, and as a result, there is a problem that crosstalk occurs between flow paths such as adjacent pressure generating chambers.

  There are various proposals for solving such problems. For example, pressure chambers (pressure generation chambers) are arranged in a staggered manner, and ink droplets are ejected from adjacent nozzles at different timings. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-1276 A

  Even with the configuration described in Patent Document 1 and the like, the occurrence of crosstalk can be suppressed, but the head becomes large. A flow path member (flow path forming substrate) in which a flow path such as a pressure generating chamber is formed is formed of a relatively expensive substrate, for example, a silicon single crystal substrate. For this reason, it is desired to reduce the area of the flow path member as much as possible. This is because the cost can be reduced.

  However, if the pressure generating chambers are arranged in a staggered manner as described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the area of the flow path member is increased and the cost is increased.

  Such a problem is not limited to a liquid ejecting head such as an ink jet recording head, and similarly exists in liquid ejecting heads used in other devices.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can suppress crosstalk without increasing the size of a flow path member.

The present invention that solves the above-described problems includes a nozzle plate in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting droplets are formed, and a plurality of pressure generating chambers arranged in parallel in a first direction, and joined to the nozzle plate. A flow path member provided with a communication chamber communicating with the generation chamber and the nozzle, and pressure generating means for generating a pressure change in the pressure generation chamber, wherein the communication port is the first communication port. The liquid ejecting head is provided at different positions in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
In the present invention, the occurrence of crosstalk can be suppressed without increasing the size of the flow path member with the pressure generating chambers arranged in a line.

  Here, when the flow path member includes a liquid storage section that communicates with a plurality of the pressure generation chambers via supply paths, the flow path resistance of the supply path is different from the flow path resistance of the adjacent communication port. Preferably it is. In particular, it is preferable that the flow path resistance of the supply path decreases as the distance between the supply path and the communication port increases. Thereby, it becomes easy to make the injection accuracy, the landing position, etc. uniform between the nozzles.

  Adjacent communication ports may be provided so as to partially overlap in the first direction. Accordingly, the nozzles can be arranged close to each other, and the injection accuracy, the landing position, and the like can be easily made uniform.

  The nozzles corresponding to the pressure generating chambers arranged in a row may be arranged in a plurality of rows. Alternatively, the nozzles corresponding to the pressure generating chambers arranged in a line may be arranged in a line. By appropriately arranging the nozzle and the communication port, it becomes easy to make the injection accuracy, the landing position, and the like uniform.

  According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that can improve the ejection characteristics of liquid droplets by suppressing crosstalk, and has improved reliability.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the recording head according to the first embodiment. 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view and a partially enlarged view showing the recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a flow path of the recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a modification example of the flow path of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 6 is a plan view showing a flow path of a recording head according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a flow path of a recording head according to a third embodiment. It is a top view which shows the flow path of the recording head which concerns on other embodiment. It is a top view which shows the flow path of the recording head which concerns on other embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.
(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ink jet recording head I that is a liquid ejecting head includes a flow path member 10, a nozzle plate 30, and a case member 40.

  The flow path member 10 includes a flow path forming substrate 11, a protective substrate 12, and a communication plate 13. The flow path forming substrate 11 is formed with two rows in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers 14 are arranged in parallel in the width direction (first direction). In addition, an ink supply path 15 and a communication path 16 communicating with the pressure generation chamber 14 are provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber 14 of the flow path forming substrate 11.

  An elastic film 50 is formed on one surface side of the flow path forming substrate 11, and one surface of the pressure generating chamber 14, the ink supply path 15, and the communication path 16 is configured by the elastic film 50. An insulator film 55 is further formed on the elastic film 50. On the insulator film 55, a piezoelectric actuator (pressure generating means) 300 including a first electrode 60, a piezoelectric layer 70, and a second electrode 80 is provided. In the present embodiment, the first electrode 60 functions as a common electrode common to the plurality of piezoelectric actuators 300, and the second electrode 80 functions as an individual electrode independent of each piezoelectric actuator 300. One end of each lead electrode 90 is connected to the second electrode 80. A wiring substrate 121 provided with a drive circuit 120 is connected to the other end of the lead electrode 90. Each piezoelectric actuator 300 is provided corresponding to each pressure generation chamber 14, and pressure is applied to the liquid in the pressure generation chamber 14 by driving the piezoelectric actuator 300.

  The protective substrate 12 is bonded to the surface of the flow path forming substrate 11 on the piezoelectric actuator 300 side. The protective substrate 12 is provided with a holding portion 17 that is a space for protecting the piezoelectric actuator 300. The protective substrate 12 is provided with a through hole 18. The other end side of the lead electrode 90 extends so as to be exposed in the through hole 18, and the lead electrode 90 and the wiring substrate 121 are electrically connected in the through hole 18.

  The communication plate 13 is joined to the other surface side of the flow path forming substrate 11. A nozzle plate 30 is joined to the communication plate 13. That is, the nozzle plate 30 is joined to the surface of the flow path member 10 on the side of the communication plate 13. The nozzle plate 30 has a plurality of nozzles 31 corresponding to the pressure generation chambers 14. The communication plate 13 is provided with a communication port 19 for communicating each pressure generating chamber 14 and each nozzle 31.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the communication port 19 that communicates with each pressure generating chamber 14 has a second direction orthogonal to the first direction in which the pressure generating chambers 14 are arranged in parallel with the adjacent communication port 19. Are provided at different positions in the direction (left and right direction in the figure). As a result, the communication plates 13 constituting the flow path member 10 are provided with communication ports 19 in a plurality of rows with respect to the pressure generating chambers 14 arranged in a row (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, the communication ports 19 are provided in two rows of the first row 20A and the second row 20B with respect to the pressure generating chambers 14 arranged in a row.

  In the present embodiment, each nozzle 31 communicating with the communication port 19 is also provided at a position different from the adjacent nozzle 31 in the second direction. For example, in the present embodiment, the nozzles 31 are provided in two rows with respect to the pressure generating chambers 14 arranged in a row.

  With such a configuration, crosstalk between adjacent communication ports 19 can be suppressed. Specifically, when the ink droplets are ejected, deformation of the partition wall 21 that partitions the adjacent communication ports 19 is suppressed. That is, the influence (interference) of the pressure fluctuation at the one communication port 19 adjacent to the pressure fluctuation at the other communication port 19 is suppressed. Therefore, ink droplets can be ejected from each nozzle 31 satisfactorily. Further, since the pressure generating chambers 14 are arranged in a row, an increase in cost can be suppressed without increasing the area of the flow path forming substrate 11.

  In the configuration of the present embodiment, the thickness of the communication plate 13 in which the communication port 19 is formed is significantly thicker than that of the flow path forming substrate 11 in which the pressure generating chamber 14 is formed. For this reason, with the above-described configuration, crosstalk can be suppressed particularly effectively.

  The positional deviation amount d1 in the second direction between the communication port 19A in the first row 20A and the communication port 19B in the second row 20B is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, the communication port 19A and the communication port 19B are the first ones. 1 is slightly overlapped in the direction of 1. That is, the adjacent communication ports 19 are slightly overlapped in the first direction. In the present embodiment, the communication plate 13 is made of a silicon substrate having a plane orientation (110), and the communication port 19 is formed by anisotropically etching this silicon substrate. For this reason, the communication port 19 is configured by first wall surfaces 19a and 19b and second wall surfaces 19c and 19d that face each other substantially in parallel, and has an opening shape of a substantially parallelogram. The adjacent communication ports 19 are formed such that the second wall surface 19c of one communication port 19 and the second wall surface 19d of the other communication port 19 overlap in the first direction. That is, each communication port 19 is formed such that the second wall surface 19c of the communication port 19A in the first row 20A and the second wall surface 19d of the communication port 19B in the second row 20B overlap in the first direction. . Thereby, a deformation | transformation of the partition wall 21 which divides between the adjacent communicating ports 19 is suppressed effectively.

  Furthermore, each adjacent nozzle 19 can be arrange | positioned adjacently by providing so that the adjacent communicating port 19 may overlap in a 1st direction. In the present embodiment, the nozzles 31 communicate with each other in the vicinity of the end of the communication port 19 so that the nozzles 31 are close to each other. When the nozzles 31 are provided in a plurality of rows, it is necessary to control the landing position by adjusting the timing of ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 31 for each row. Since the nozzles 31 are provided close to each other, it is possible to relatively easily adjust the landing position.

  Of course, the position of the nozzle 31 with respect to each communication port 19 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, each nozzle 31 may be provided at the center of each communication port 19.

  Incidentally, the flow path resistance of the ink supply path 15 is preferably different from the flow path resistance of the adjacent ink supply path 15. In the configuration of the present embodiment, each ink supply path 15 preferably has different flow path resistances depending on whether it is connected to the communication port 19A of the first row 20A or the communication port 19B of the second row 20B. . That is, it is preferable that the flow path resistance of the ink supply path 15 becomes smaller as the communication port 19 communicates with the pressure generation chamber 14 at the tip side. In other words, the flow path resistance of the ink supply path 15 is preferably smaller as the distance between the ink supply path 15 and the communication port 19 is longer. Specifically, the flow resistance of the ink supply path 15A connected to the communication port 19A in the first row 20A is the flow resistance of the ink supply path 15B in which the communication port 19B in the second row 20B is connected via the pressure generation chamber 14. It is preferable that it is smaller than the road resistance. In the present embodiment, the width W1 of the ink supply path 15A is made wider than the width W2 of the ink supply path 15B so that the flow path resistance of the ink supply path 15A is smaller than the flow path resistance of the ink supply path 15B. (See FIG. 3). Thereby, it becomes easy to make the injection accuracy, the landing position, and the like uniform between the nozzles 31.

  The flow path member 10 in which such a flow path is formed is held by the case member 40. The case member 40 is provided with a recess 41 in which the flow path forming substrate 11 and the protective substrate 12 constituting the flow path member 10 are accommodated. The recess 41 is formed with a larger opening area than the flow path forming substrate 11, and ink chambers (liquid reservoirs) common to the plurality of pressure generating chambers 14 are provided on both outer sides of the flow path forming substrate 11 and the protective substrate 12. The manifold 100 is defined. The manifold 100 is defined by a case member 40 and a flow path member 10, and one side of the manifold 100 is sealed by a communication plate 13 joined to the outer periphery of the case member 40 together with the flow path forming substrate 11. The manifold 100 communicates with each of the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 via the communication path 16 and the ink supply path 15.

  The case member 40 is provided with an introduction path 42 that communicates with the manifold 100 and supplies ink to the manifold 100 (see FIG. 2). The case member 40 is provided with a connection port 43 that communicates with the through hole 18 of the protective substrate 12 and through which the wiring substrate 121 is inserted.

  In the ink jet recording head I having such a configuration, when ink is ejected, the ink is first taken in from the ink cartridge or the like through the introduction path 42 and the inside of the flow path from the manifold 100 to the nozzle 31 is filled with ink. Fulfill. Thereafter, a voltage is applied to each piezoelectric actuator 300 corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 14 in accordance with a signal from the drive circuit 120, so that the elastic film 50 and the insulator film 55 are bent and deformed together with the piezoelectric actuator 300. As a result, the pressure in the pressure generating chamber 14 is increased and ink droplets are ejected from the predetermined nozzle 31 via the communication port 19.

(Embodiment 2)
The present embodiment is another example of the arrangement of the communication ports. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the displacement d1 in the second direction between the communication port 19A in the first row 20A and the communication port 19B in the second row 20B is larger than that in the first embodiment. . That is, the communication port 19A and the communication port 19B are provided so as not to overlap in the first direction (the vertical direction in the figure).

  Thereby, when ejecting ink droplets, the deformation of the partition wall 21 that partitions the adjacent communication ports 19 is more reliably suppressed. Therefore, crosstalk between adjacent communication ports 19 can be effectively suppressed.

  In the configuration of the second embodiment, the position of the nozzle 31 with respect to each communication port 19 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, an end portion of the communication port 19 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the central portion of each communication port 19 may be used.

(Embodiment 3)
The present embodiment is another example of the arrangement of the communication ports. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the displacement d1 in the second direction between the communication port 19A in the first row 20A and the communication port 19B in the second row 20B is smaller than that in the first embodiment. . In the present embodiment, the second wall surface 19c of the communication port 19A in the first row 20A is formed to overlap the first wall surface 19a of the communication port 19B in the second row 20B in the first direction. As the positional deviation amount d1 is reduced in this way, in the present embodiment, the nozzles 31 are provided in a row.

  Of course, even with such a configuration, when ink droplets are ejected, deformation of the partition wall that partitions the adjacent communication ports 19 is suppressed, and crosstalk between the adjacent communication ports 19 can be suppressed. Further, by arranging the nozzles 31 in a row, it becomes easy to control the timing of ejecting ink droplets from each nozzle 31, and the landing accuracy of ink droplets can be improved.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although each embodiment of the present invention was described, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the communication port 19 formed by anisotropically etching the communication plate 13 made of a silicon substrate is exemplified, but the method of forming the communication port 19 is not particularly limited. The communication port 19 can also be formed, for example, by dry etching the communication plate 13 made of a silicon substrate. In this case, the opening shape of the communication port 19 can be an arbitrary shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening shape of the communication port 19 may be a polygon such as a quadrangle or a hexagon, or may be a slot or the like partially configured with a curved surface. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, even if the opening shape of the communication port 19 is a hexagon, the arrangement of the communication ports 19 and the arrangement of the nozzles 31 can be appropriately determined as in the above-described embodiment. . That is, regardless of the opening shape of the communication port 19, the arrangement of the communication ports 19 and the arrangement of the nozzles 31 can be appropriately determined as in the above-described embodiment.

  Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the communication ports are provided in two rows is illustrated, but, of course, the communication ports may be provided in three or more rows. Similarly, the nozzles may be provided in three or more rows.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the flow path member is formed by joining the flow path forming substrate and the communication plate is shown. However, the flow path formation substrate and the communication plate may of course be integrated. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the piezoelectric element is provided corresponding to each pressure generation chamber is illustrated, but the configuration of the piezoelectric element is not particularly limited. For example, the piezoelectric layer that configures each piezoelectric element includes a plurality of piezoelectric layers. You may provide continuously corresponding to a pressure generation chamber.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the thin film type piezoelectric actuator is exemplified as the pressure generating means for causing the pressure change in the pressure generating chamber, but the configuration of the pressure generating means is not particularly limited. The pressure generating means may be, for example, a longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric actuator, a thick film type piezoelectric actuator, or the like. Further, the pressure generating means may, for example, eject droplets from the nozzles by bubbles generated by the heat generated by the heat generating elements arranged in the pressure generating chamber, or the diaphragm by electrostatic force generated between the diaphragm and the electrodes. It may be one that deforms and ejects droplets from a nozzle.

  Further, the above-described liquid ejecting head I is mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus II. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of the ink jet recording apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a recording head unit 1 having an ink jet recording head I is provided with a cartridge 2 constituting an ink supply means in a detachable manner, and a carriage 3 on which the recording head unit 1 is mounted has an apparatus main body 4. The carriage shaft 5 is attached to the carriage shaft 5 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The recording head unit 1 ejects, for example, a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively.

  Then, the driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head unit 1 is mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 5. On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S that is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is wound around the platen 8. It is designed to be transported.

  Here, as the ink jet recording apparatus, a so-called serial type ink jet recording apparatus has been illustrated, but the present invention can of course be applied to a so-called line type ink jet recording apparatus.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking the liquid ejecting head as an example of the liquid ejecting head. However, the present invention is widely intended for the liquid ejecting head and the liquid ejecting apparatus including the same, Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid other than ink and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head. Examples of the liquid ejecting head include various recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, color material ejecting heads used for manufacturing color filters such as liquid crystal displays, organic EL displays, and FEDs (field emission displays). Examples thereof include an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation and a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flow path member, 11 Flow path formation board, 12 Protection board, 13 Communication board, 14 Pressure generation chamber, 15 Ink supply path, 16 Communication path, 17 Holding part, 18 Through-hole, 19 Communication port, 21 Partition wall, 30 Nozzle plate, 31 nozzle, 40 case member, 41 recess, 42 introduction path, 43 connection port, 50 elastic film, 55 insulator film, 60 first electrode, 70 piezoelectric layer, 80 second electrode, 90 lead electrode, 100 Manifold, 120 drive circuit, 121 wiring board, 300 piezoelectric actuator, I ink jet recording head, II ink jet recording apparatus

Claims (7)

A nozzle plate formed with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting droplets;
A flow path member that is joined to the nozzle plate and includes a plurality of pressure generation chambers arranged in parallel in a first direction and a communication port that communicates with the pressure generation chamber and the nozzle;
Pressure generating means for causing a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber,
The liquid ejecting head, wherein the communication port is provided at a position different from an adjacent communication port in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1,
The flow path member includes a liquid reservoir that communicates with the plurality of pressure generation chambers via supply paths,
The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein a flow path resistance of the supply path is different from a flow path resistance of an adjacent communication port. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 2,
The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the flow path resistance of the supply path decreases as the distance between the supply path and the communication port increases. In the liquid jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Adjacent communication ports are provided so as to partially overlap in the first direction. In the liquid jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A liquid ejecting head, wherein each nozzle corresponding to each pressure generating chamber arranged in a row is arranged in a plurality of rows. In the liquid jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A liquid ejecting head, wherein each nozzle corresponding to each pressure generating chamber arranged in a row is arranged in a row.   A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid ejecting head according to claim 1.

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