JP2005225029A - Manufacturing method of inkjet head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a power feeding member and manufacturing costs for connecting this from being wasted. <P>SOLUTION: There are set a passage unit fabrication process of fabricating a passage unit including an ink passage which leads to nozzles, an actuator unit fabrication process of fabricating an actuator unit including a piezoelectric sheet which changes a volume of a pressure chamber, and a joint body fabrication process of fabricating a joint body by jointing the passage unit and the actuator unit to each other. There are also set a measurement process of measuring frequency characteristics of impedance for every activity part of the piezoelectric sheet included in the joint body, and a judgment process of judging whether or not an inkjet head is a good one on the basis of a deviation of a difference Fa-Fr between an antiresonance frequency Fa whereby the impedance becomes maximum and a resonance frequency Fr whereby the impedance becomes minimum. Moreover, there is included an FPC joint process of connecting an FPC as the power feeding member to the inkjet head judged as the good one by the judgment process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an inkjet head of an inkjet printer that performs printing by discharging ink.

  Inkjet printers include an inkjet head that ejects ink onto a substrate. As an inkjet head, a plurality of pressure chambers to which ink is supplied and a piezoelectric element corresponding to the pressure chamber are provided. By applying a potential to the piezoelectric element and driving it, pressure is generated in the pressure chamber and corresponds to the pressure chamber. A device that ejects ink from each nozzle is known. Such an ink jet head includes a flow path member in which an ink flow path including a pressure chamber and a nozzle is formed by laminating thin metal plates subjected to opening processing and the like, and a piezoelectric element sandwiched between electrodes. Generally, it is manufactured by joining. When ink is ejected from the nozzles, a potential is applied to the electrodes that sandwich the piezoelectric element via a power supply member such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) by the control device.

  One of the manufacturing processes of an inkjet head includes a determination process for determining an accuracy failure of a flow path member, a bonding failure between the flow path member and a piezoelectric element, and the like. In this determination step, these defects are determined by ejecting ink from an inkjet head that has been assembled. However, if the determination process is performed after the assembly of the ink jet head is completed, there is a problem in that a component cost and a manufacturing cost must be applied to a defective ink jet head. Therefore, at the stage where the power feeding member is connected to the piezoelectric element, the natural frequency of the piezoelectric element is measured by applying a potential to the electrode via the FPC, and the flow path member and the piezoelectric element are joined based on the measurement result. A technique for determining a state defect is known (see Patent Document 1). According to this technique, since these defects can be found without ejecting ink, it is possible to reduce useless component costs and manufacturing costs.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-64175 (FIG. 5)

  In the above-described technique, a failure in the bonding state between the flow path member and the piezoelectric element is determined by measuring the natural frequency of the piezoelectric element in a state where the FPC that is the power feeding member is bonded. However, when it is determined that the bonding state between the flow path member and the piezoelectric element is poor, the FPC must be discarded together with the ink jet head, so that the manufacturing cost for connecting the FPC and the FPC is wasted. In addition, there is a possibility that the measurement value is influenced by the resistance of the FPC itself, stray capacitance, and the like, and there is a problem that a reliable measurement result cannot be obtained.

  Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an ink-jet head capable of obtaining a highly reliable measurement result with less wasteful manufacturing cost for connecting the power supply member and the power supply member. .

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The inkjet head manufacturing method of the present invention includes a flow path unit manufacturing step of manufacturing a flow path unit in which a plurality of individual ink flow paths are formed from a pressure chamber to a nozzle that discharges ink, and bonding to the flow path unit. An actuator unit manufacturing step of manufacturing an actuator unit including a piezoelectric body that changes the volume of the pressure chamber in accordance with deformation, and the flow path unit and the actuator unit A bonded body manufacturing step of manufacturing a bonded body of a unit and the actuator unit, and for the piezoelectric body included in the bonded body, frequency characteristics of impedance are measured for each region facing one or a plurality of the pressure chambers. The measurement process and the frequency at which the impedance is a maximum for the plurality of regions. Based on at least one of a distribution Fa−Fr between the vibration frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr having a minimum impedance, a distribution of the resonance frequency Fr, and an impedance distribution at the resonance frequency Fr, A determination step for determining whether or not the product is a non-defective product, and a power supply member joining step for joining a power supply member to the actuator unit that is joined to the joined body determined to be a good product in the determination step.

  According to the present invention, since the determination process is performed before the power supply member is joined, the power supply member is not joined to the defective joined body. Production costs are not wasted. In addition, the measurement result is not affected by the resistance or stray capacitance of the power supply member itself, and it can be determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product with higher accuracy than the above-described technique.

  In the present invention, in the determination step, when all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the bonded body are 30% or less, it is determined that the bonded body is a non-defective product. It is preferable to do. According to this, it can be determined uniformly with high accuracy whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product.

  Further, in the present invention, in the determination step, it is determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product based on the distribution of the difference Fa−Fr and the distribution of the resonance frequency Fr regarding the plurality of regions. preferable. According to this, it can be determined whether the joined body is a non-defective product with higher accuracy.

  In addition, in the present invention, in the determination step, all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the joined body are equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and the plurality of differences in the joined body When all the deviations of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the region are equal to or less than the second predetermined value, it is preferable to determine that the joined body is a non-defective product. According to this, it can be determined whether the joined body is a non-defective product uniformly with higher accuracy.

  In the present invention, in the determination step, the joined body is a non-defective product based on the distribution of the difference Fa−Fr, the distribution of the resonance frequency Fr, and the distribution of the impedance at the resonance frequency Fr regarding the plurality of regions. It is preferable to determine whether or not there is. According to this, it can be determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product with higher accuracy.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in the determination step, all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the joined body are equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and the deviations of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr It is preferable to determine that the joined body is a non-defective product when all are equal to or lower than the second predetermined value and all of the impedance deviations at the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr are equal to or lower than the third predetermined value. According to this, it can be determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product with even higher accuracy.

  In addition, in the present invention, in the joined body manufacturing step, the flow path unit and the plurality of actuator units are joined, and in the determining step, a plurality of regions corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joined body. A plurality of differences Fa−Fr are equal to or less than a first predetermined value set for the actuator unit, and a plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the plurality of actuator units in the joint body. All of the deviations of the average value for each of the actuator units are equal to or less than a fourth predetermined value set for the joined body, and all of the deviations of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joined body. Is less than or equal to the second predetermined value set for the actuator unit. And the deviation of all the average values of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the plurality of actuator units in the joint body for each actuator unit is set for the joint body. And all of the impedance deviations at the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joint are less than or equal to a third predetermined value set for the actuator unit, and All of the deviations of the average value for each of the actuator units of the impedance at the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the plurality of actuator units in the joint are at least a sixth predetermined value or less set for the joint. In any case It is preferred that the conjugate is determined as non-defective. According to this, even when the ink jet head includes a plurality of actuators, it can be determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product with higher accuracy.

  The present invention further includes a step of classifying the joined body determined to be a non-defective product in the determination step into one of a plurality of grades based on the measurement result obtained in the measurement step. It is preferable. According to this, it is possible to make the ink discharge characteristics between the ink jet heads uniform by performing ink discharge control on the ink jet heads corresponding to the grade determined in advance.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable to perform measurement using a network analyzer in the measurement step. According to this, compared with the case where it measures using an impedance analyzer, it can measure rapidly.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Overall head structure>
An ink jet head manufactured by a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet head 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. The inkjet head 1 includes a head main body 70 having a rectangular planar shape extending in the main scanning direction for ejecting ink onto a sheet, and an ink that is disposed above the head main body 70 and supplied to the head main body 70. And a base block 71 that is a reservoir unit in which two ink reservoirs 3 that are flow paths are formed.

  The head body 70 includes a flow path unit 4 in which an ink flow path is formed, and a plurality of actuator units 21 bonded to the upper surface of the flow path unit 4 with an epoxy-based thermosetting adhesive. Both the flow path unit 4 and the actuator unit 21 are configured by laminating a plurality of thin plates and bonding them together. A flexible printed wiring board (FPC) 50, which is a power supply member, is bonded to the upper surface of the actuator unit 21 with solder and pulled out to the left or right.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the head main body 70. As shown in FIG. 3, the channel unit 4 has a rectangular planar shape extending in one direction (main scanning direction). In FIG. 3, a manifold channel 5 which is a common ink chamber provided in the channel unit 4 is drawn with a broken line. Ink is supplied into the manifold channel 5 from the ink reservoir 3 of the base block 71 through the plurality of openings 3a. The manifold channel 5 is branched into a plurality of sub-manifold channels 5 a extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the channel unit 4.

  Four actuator units 21 each having a trapezoidal planar shape are bonded to the upper surface of the flow path unit 4 in a zigzag manner and arranged in two rows so as to avoid the openings 3a. Each actuator unit 21 is arranged such that its parallel opposing sides (upper side and lower side) are along the longitudinal direction of the flow path unit 4. The oblique sides of the adjacent actuator units 21 partially overlap in the width direction of the flow path unit 4.

  The lower surface of the flow path unit 4 facing the adhesion area of the actuator unit 21 is an ink ejection area in which a large number of nozzles 8 (see FIG. 5) are arranged in a matrix. A pressure chamber group 9 in which a large number of pressure chambers 10 (see FIG. 5) are arranged in a matrix is formed on the surface of the flow path unit 4 facing the actuator unit 21. In other words, the actuator unit 21 has a dimension that spans many pressure chambers 10.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the base block 71 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel. The ink reservoir 3 in the base block 71 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped hollow region formed along the longitudinal direction of the base block 71. The ink reservoir 3 communicates with an ink tank (not shown) through an opening (not shown) provided at one end thereof, and is always filled with ink. The ink reservoir 3 is provided with two openings 3b in a pair along the extending direction so as to be connected to the openings 3a in a region where the actuator unit 21 is not provided. .

  The lower surface 73 of the base block 71 protrudes downward from the periphery in the vicinity of the opening 3b. The base block 71 is in contact with the flow path unit 4 only in the portion 73a near the opening 3b of the lower surface 73. Therefore, a region other than the portion 73a near the opening 3b on the lower surface 73 of the base block 71 is separated from the head main body 70, and the actuator unit 21 is disposed in this separated portion.

  The base block 71 is bonded and fixed in a recess formed on the lower surface of the grip portion 72 a of the holder 72. The holder 72 includes a gripping portion 72a and a pair of flat projections 72b extending from the upper surface of the gripping portion 72a at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal thereto. The FPC 50 bonded to the actuator unit 21 is disposed along the surface of the protruding portion 72b of the holder 72 via an elastic member 83 such as a sponge. And driver IC80 is installed on FPC50 arrange | positioned on the protrusion part 72b surface of the holder 72. FIG. The FPC 50 is electrically joined to the actuator unit 21 of the head main body 70 by soldering so as to transmit the drive signal output from the driver IC 80 to the actuator unit 21.

  Since the heat sink 82 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is closely disposed on the outer surface of the driver IC 80, the heat generated in the driver IC 80 can be efficiently dissipated. A substrate 81 is disposed above the driver IC 80 and the heat sink 82 and outside the FPC 50. The upper surface of the heat sink 82 and the substrate 81 and the lower surface of the heat sink 82 and the FPC 50 are bonded by seal members 84, respectively.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a region surrounded by a one-dot chain line drawn in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, four sub-manifold channels 5 a extend in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the channel unit 4 in the channel unit 4 facing the actuator unit 21. A large number of individual ink flow paths from the outlet to the nozzle 8 are connected to each sub-manifold flow path 5a. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the individual ink flow paths. As can be seen from FIG. 5, each nozzle 8 communicates with the sub-manifold flow path 5 a via the pressure chamber 10 and the aperture or throttle 13. In this manner, the individual ink flow paths 7 extending from the outlets of the sub-manifold flow paths 5 a to the nozzles 8 through the apertures 13 and the pressure chambers 10 are formed in the head main body 70 for each pressure chamber 10.

<Head cross-section structure>
As can be seen from FIG. 5, the head main body 70 includes the actuator unit 21, the cavity plate 22, the base plate 23, the aperture plate 24, the supply plate 25, the manifold plates 26, 27, 28, the cover plate 29, and the nozzle plate 30. A total of 10 sheet materials are laminated. Among these, the flow path unit 4 is composed of nine plates excluding the actuator unit 21.

  As will be described in detail later, the actuator unit 21 is formed by stacking four piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 (see FIG. 7) and arranging electrodes, so that only the uppermost layer becomes an active part when an electric field is applied. A layer having a portion (hereinafter simply referred to as a “layer having an active portion”), and the remaining three layers are non-active layers having no active portion. The cavity plate 22 is a metal plate in which a large number of substantially rhombic holes constituting the gap of the pressure chamber 10 are provided within the pasting range of the actuator unit 21. The base plate 23 is a metal plate in which a communication hole 23 a between the pressure chamber 10 and the aperture 13 and a communication hole 23 b from the pressure chamber 10 to the nozzle 8 are provided for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22.

  The aperture plate 24 is a metal plate provided with a communication hole from the pressure chamber 10 to the nozzle 8 in addition to the hole serving as the aperture 13 for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22. The supply plate 25 is a metal plate provided with a communication hole between the aperture 13 and the sub-manifold channel 5 a and a communication hole from the pressure chamber 10 to the nozzle 8 for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22. The manifold plates 26, 27, and 28 are metal plates each provided with a communication hole from the pressure chamber 10 to the nozzle 8 for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22 in addition to the sub-manifold channel 5 a. The cover plate 29 is a metal plate provided with a communication hole from the pressure chamber 10 to the nozzle 8 for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22. The nozzle plate 30 is a metal plate in which the nozzles 8 are provided for one pressure chamber 10 of the cavity plate 22.

  These ten sheets 21 to 30 are stacked in alignment with each other so that the individual ink flow paths 7 as shown in FIG. 5 are formed. The individual ink flow path 7 is first directed upward from the sub-manifold flow path 5a, extends horizontally at the aperture 13, then further upwards, extends horizontally again at the pressure chamber 10, and then from the aperture 13 for a while. It goes from the diagonally downward direction to the nozzle 8 to the vertically downward direction.

  As is apparent from FIG. 5, the pressure chamber 10 and the aperture 13 are provided at different levels in the stacking direction of the plates. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, in the flow path unit 4 facing the actuator unit 21, the aperture 13 communicating with one pressure chamber 10 is seen in plan view with another pressure chamber 10 adjacent to the pressure chamber 10. It can be arranged at the same position. As a result, the pressure chambers 10 are in close contact with each other and are arranged at high density, so that high-resolution image printing is realized by the inkjet head 1 having a relatively small occupation area.

  On the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate 23 and the manifold plate 28, on the upper surfaces of the supply plate 25 and the manifold plates 26 and 27, and on the lower surface of the cover plate 29, there are escape grooves 14 for allowing excess adhesive to flow. Is provided so as to surround the opening formed. The presence of the escape groove 14 prevents the adhesive at the time of bonding the plates from protruding into the individual ink flow path, and the flow resistance is fluctuated.

<Details of channel unit>
Returning to FIG. 4, a pressure chamber group 9 composed of a large number of pressure chambers 10 is formed in the pasting range of the actuator unit 21. The pressure chamber group 9 has a trapezoidal shape substantially the same size as the pasting range of the actuator unit 21. One pressure chamber group 9 is formed for each actuator unit 21.

  As is apparent from FIG. 4, each pressure chamber 10 belonging to the pressure chamber group 9 communicates with the nozzle 8 at one end of the long diagonal, and the sub-manifold flow path via the aperture 13 at the other end of the long diagonal. 5a is communicated. As will be described later, on the actuator unit 21, individual electrodes 35 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) having a substantially rhombus shape and slightly smaller than the pressure chamber 10 are arranged in a matrix so as to face the pressure chamber 10. It is arranged. In FIG. 4, in order to make the drawing easy to understand, the nozzle 8, the pressure chamber 10, the aperture 13, and the like, which should be drawn with broken lines in the flow path unit 4, are drawn with solid lines.

  The pressure chambers 10 are adjacently arranged in a matrix in two directions of the arrangement direction A (first direction) and the arrangement direction B (second direction). The arrangement direction A is the longitudinal direction of the inkjet head 1, that is, the extending direction of the flow path unit 4, and is parallel to the shorter diagonal line of the pressure chamber 10. The arrangement direction B is an oblique side direction of the pressure chamber 10 that forms an obtuse angle θ with the arrangement direction A. Both acute angle portions of the pressure chamber 10 are located between two adjacent pressure chambers.

  The pressure chambers 10 adjacently arranged in a matrix in two directions of the arrangement direction A and the arrangement direction B are separated along the arrangement direction A by a distance corresponding to 37.5 dpi. Further, 16 pressure chambers 10 are arranged in the arrangement direction B in one actuator unit 21.

  A large number of pressure chambers 10 arranged in a matrix form a plurality of pressure chamber rows along the arrangement direction A shown in FIG. The pressure chamber rows are the first pressure chamber row 11a and the second pressure depending on the relative position with respect to the sub-manifold channel 5a when viewed from the direction (third direction) perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. It is divided into a chamber row 11b, a third pressure chamber row 11c, and a fourth pressure chamber row 11d. Each of the first to fourth pressure chamber rows 11a to 11d is periodically arranged in the order of 11c → 11d → 11a → 11b → 11c → 11d → ... → 11b from the upper side to the lower side of the actuator unit 21. Has been placed.

  In the pressure chambers 10a constituting the first pressure chamber row 11a and the pressure chambers 10b constituting the second pressure chamber row 11b, a direction (fourth direction) orthogonal to the arrangement direction A when viewed from the third direction. ), The nozzle 8 is unevenly distributed on the lower side of the sheet of FIG. The nozzles 8 face the lower end portions of the corresponding pressure chambers 10. On the other hand, in the pressure chambers 10c constituting the third pressure chamber row 11c and the pressure chambers 10d constituting the fourth pressure chamber row 11d, the nozzles 8 are unevenly distributed on the upper side in FIG. 4 in the fourth direction. Yes. The nozzles 8 are opposed to the vicinity of the upper end portions of the corresponding pressure chambers 10 respectively. In the first and fourth pressure chamber rows 11a and 11d, when viewed from the third direction, more than half of the pressure chambers 10a and 10d overlap the sub-manifold channel 5a. In the second and third pressure chamber rows 11b and 11c, almost the entire region of the pressure chambers 10b and 10c does not overlap with the sub manifold channel 5a when viewed from the third direction. Therefore, for the pressure chambers 10 belonging to any pressure chamber row, the width of the sub manifold channel 5a is made as wide as possible while preventing the nozzle 8 communicating therewith from overlapping with the sub manifold channel 5a. 10 can be supplied smoothly.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the head main body 70 includes a plurality of peripheral edges having the same shape and the same size as the pressure chambers 10 along the long side of the parallel sides forming a pair of trapezoidal pressure chamber groups 9. The gaps 15 are arranged in a straight line over the entire long side. The peripheral gap 15 is defined by a hole having the same shape and the same size as the pressure chamber 10 formed in the cavity plate 22 being closed by the actuator unit 21 and the base plate 23. That is, the ink flow path is not connected to the peripheral gap 15, and the opposing electrode 35 is not provided in the peripheral gap 15. That is, the peripheral gap 15 is not filled with ink.

  Further, in the head main body 70, a large number of peripheral gaps 16 are arranged in a straight line along the short sides of the parallel sides that form a pair of trapezoidal pressure chamber groups 9. . Further, in the head main body 70, a large number of peripheral gaps 17 are arranged in a straight line along the entire hypotenuses of the trapezoidal pressure chamber group 9. The peripheral gaps 16 and 17 both penetrate the cavity plate 22 in a region of a regular triangle in plan view. No ink flow path is connected to the peripheral gaps 16, 17, and no individual electrodes 35 are provided in the peripheral gaps 16, 17. That is, like the peripheral gap 15, the peripheral gaps 16 and 17 are not filled with ink.

<Details of actuator unit>
Next, the configuration of the actuator unit 21 will be described. A large number of individual electrodes 35 are arranged in a matrix on the actuator unit 21 in the same pattern as the pressure chamber 10. Each individual electrode 35 is disposed at a position facing the pressure chamber 10 in plan view.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view of the individual electrode 35. As shown in FIG. 6, the individual electrode 35 is arranged at a position facing the pressure chamber 10 and is accommodated in the pressure chamber 10 in a plan view, and is connected to the main electrode region 35 a and has a pressure. The auxiliary electrode region 35 b is disposed at a position facing the outside of the chamber 10.

  7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the actuator unit 21 includes four piezoelectric sheets 41, 42, 43, and 44 formed to have the same thickness of about 15 μm. These piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are continuous layered flat plates (continuous flat plate layers) so as to be disposed across a number of pressure chambers 10 formed in one ink discharge region in the head main body 70. . Since the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are arranged as a continuous flat plate layer across a large number of pressure chambers 10, the individual electrodes 35 can be arranged on the piezoelectric sheet 41 with high density by using, for example, a screen printing technique. It has become. For this reason, the pressure chambers 10 formed at positions corresponding to the individual electrodes 35 can be arranged with high density, and high-resolution images can be printed. The piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are made of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic material having ferroelectricity.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the main electrode region 35 a of the individual electrode 35 formed on the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 41 has a substantially rhombic planar shape that is substantially similar to the pressure chamber 10. The lower acute angle portion of the substantially rhomboid main electrode region 35 a extends and is connected to the auxiliary electrode region 35 b facing the outside of the pressure chamber 10. A circular land portion 36 electrically connected to the individual electrode 35 is provided at the tip of the auxiliary electrode region 35b. As shown in FIG. 7, the land portion 36 faces a region of the cavity plate 22 where the pressure chamber 10 is not formed. The land portion 36 is made of, for example, gold containing glass frit, and is adhered on the surface of the extending portion in the auxiliary electrode region 35b as shown in FIG. Although the illustration of the FPC 50 is omitted in FIG. 7, the land portion 36 is electrically joined to a contact provided on the FPC 50. When performing this joining, it is necessary to press the contact of the FPC 50 against the land portion 36. Since the pressure chamber 10 is not formed in the area of the cavity plate 22 facing the land portion 36, reliable bonding can be performed by sufficient pressing.

  A common electrode 34 having the same outer shape as the piezoelectric sheet 41 and a thickness of approximately 2 μm is interposed between the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 41 and the lower piezoelectric sheet 42. Both the individual electrode 35 and the common electrode 34 are made of, for example, a metal material such as an Ag—Pd system.

  The common electrode 34 is grounded in a region not shown. As a result, the common electrode 34 is kept at an equally constant potential in the region corresponding to all the pressure chambers 10, that is, the ground potential in the present embodiment. In addition, the individual electrode 35 is a driver via an FPC 50 and a land portion 36 including separate lead wires for each individual electrode 35 so that the potential of each individual electrode 35 corresponding to each pressure chamber 10 can be controlled. It is connected to IC80.

<Driving method of actuator unit>
Next, a method for driving the actuator unit 21 will be described. The polarization direction of the piezoelectric sheet 41 in the actuator unit 21 is the thickness direction. That is, the actuator unit 21 has one piezoelectric sheet 41 on the upper side (that is, separated from the pressure chamber 10) as a layer in which the active portion is present and three piezoelectric sheets on the lower side (that is, close to the pressure chamber 10). It has a so-called unimorph type structure in which 42 to 44 are inactive layers. Therefore, when the individual electrode 35 is set to a predetermined positive or negative potential, for example, if the electric field and the polarization are in the same direction, the electric field application portion sandwiched between the electrodes in the piezoelectric sheet 41 acts as an active portion, and is polarized by the piezoelectric lateral effect. Shrink in the direction perpendicular to the direction.

  In the present embodiment, a portion of the piezoelectric sheet 41 sandwiched between the main electrode region 35a and the common electrode 34 functions as an active portion that generates distortion due to the piezoelectric effect when an electric field is applied. On the other hand, the three piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 below the piezoelectric sheet 41 are not applied with an electric field from the outside, and therefore hardly function as active parts. Accordingly, a portion of the piezoelectric sheet 41 sandwiched mainly between the main electrode region 35a and the common electrode 34 is contracted in a direction perpendicular to the polarization direction due to the piezoelectric lateral effect.

  On the other hand, the piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 are not spontaneously displaced because they are not affected by the electric field, and therefore, the piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 are not displaced in the direction perpendicular to the polarization direction between the upper piezoelectric sheet 41 and the lower piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44. A difference is caused in the distortion, and the entire piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 try to be deformed so as to protrude toward the non-active side (unimorph deformation). At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower surface of the actuator unit 21 composed of the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 is fixed to the upper surface of the partition wall (cavity plate) 22 that partitions the pressure chamber. The sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so as to protrude toward the pressure chamber. For this reason, the volume of the pressure chamber 10 is reduced, the pressure of the ink is increased, and the ink is ejected from the nozzle 8. Thereafter, when the individual electrode 35 is returned to the same potential as that of the common electrode 34, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 return to the original shape and the volume of the pressure chamber 10 returns to the original volume. Inhale.

  As another driving method, the individual electrode 35 is set to a potential different from that of the common electrode 34 in advance, and the individual electrode 35 is once set to the same potential as the common electrode 34 every time there is an ejection request, and then again individually at a predetermined timing. The electrode 35 can be at a different potential from the common electrode 34. In this case, when the individual electrodes 35 and the common electrode 34 are at the same potential, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 return to their original shapes, so that the volume of the pressure chamber 10 is in an initial state (the potentials of the two electrodes are different). ) And the ink is sucked into the pressure chamber 10 from the side of the sub manifold channel 5a. Thereafter, at the timing when the individual electrode 35 is set to a potential different from that of the common electrode 34 again, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so as to protrude toward the pressure chamber 10, and the pressure on the ink increases due to the volume reduction of the pressure chamber 10. Ink is ejected.

<Inkjet head manufacturing method>
Next, a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 1. As shown in FIG. 8, the inkjet head 1 includes a flow path unit manufacturing process, an actuator unit manufacturing process, a head body (joined body) manufacturing process, a measurement process, a determination process, an FPC (power supply member) bonding process, and a grade classification process. It is included.

  The flow path unit manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing the flow path unit 4 shown in FIG. In the flow path unit manufacturing step, each plate 22-30 of the cavity plate 22, the base plate 23, the aperture plate 24, the supply plate 25, the manifold plates 26, 27, 28, the cover plate 29, and the nozzle plate 30 is an individual ink flow path. 7 is joined with an adhesive in a state of being aligned so as to form the inside.

  The actuator unit manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing the actuator unit 21. In the actuator unit manufacturing process, the plurality of individual electrodes 35, the piezoelectric sheet 41, the common electrode 34, and the piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 are sequentially sintered by sintering.

  The head main body manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing the head main body 70. In the head body manufacturing process, the flow path unit 4 manufactured in the flow path unit manufacturing process and the actuator unit 21 manufactured in the actuator unit manufacturing process are joined by an adhesive. At this time, the partial region of the actuator unit 21 including the active portion corresponding to each individual electrode 35 and the partial region of the flow channel unit 4 constituting the individual ink flow channel 7 corresponding to the individual electrode 35 are joined together. A joined body is produced in the head body 70.

  The measurement step is a step of measuring the frequency characteristics of the impedance of the active portion of each joined body in the head main body 70 manufactured in the head main body manufacturing step. As will be described later, the frequency characteristic of the impedance of the active part changes based on the joined state of the joined body corresponding to the active part. A method for measuring the frequency characteristics of impedance in the measurement process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method for measuring the frequency characteristics of impedance in the active portion. As shown in FIG. 9, a network analyzer 200 is used for measuring the frequency characteristics of the impedance in the active part. The frequency characteristics of the impedance are measured by sequentially bringing the probe of the network analyzer 200 into contact with the individual electrode 35 corresponding to the active part to be measured using a robot or the like.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of frequency characteristics of impedance in the active part. The vertical axis represents impedance, and the horizontal axis represents frequency. As shown in FIG. 10, the frequency characteristic of the impedance in the active portion has a resonance frequency Fr that is a frequency at which the impedance is minimized and an anti-resonance frequency Fa that is a frequency at which the impedance is maximized. The resonance frequency Fa is higher than the resonance frequency Fr. Note that the impedance value at the resonance frequency Fr is defined as a resonance impedance Zr.

  The determination step is a step of determining whether or not the head main body 70 is a good product based on the frequency characteristics of the impedance of the active part of each joined body measured in the measurement step. Whether or not the head main body 70 is a non-defective product is determined as follows: (a) In all the actuator units 21, the deviation of the difference between the anti-resonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr of the active part corresponding to each individual electrode 35 (hereinafter referred to as Fa-Fr deviation). ) Is within 30% of the average value (first predetermined value), and in each head body 70, the average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 is the average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21. Is within 15% of the average value averaged over all the units. (B) In all the actuator units 21, the deviation of the resonance frequency Fr of the active portion corresponding to each individual electrode 35 (hereinafter referred to as Fr deviation) is average. And within each actuator unit 21 in each head body 70. The average value of the Fr deviation is within 5% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21, and (c) each of the individual actuator units 21 has an individual value. The deviation of the resonance impedance Zr of the active portion corresponding to the electrode 35 (hereinafter referred to as Zr deviation) is within 30% (third predetermined value) of the average value, and the Zr deviation in each actuator unit 21 in each head body 70. Is determined to be within 15% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Zr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21. Only the head main body 70 determined to be a non-defective product in the determination process proceeds to the next FPC bonding process.

  The FPC joining process is a process of joining the terminals of the FPC 50 corresponding to the individual electrodes 35 of the actuator unit 21 of the head main body 70 determined to be non-defective in the determination process by soldering.

  The grade classification process is a process of classifying the head main body 70 to which the FPC 50 has been joined by the FPC joining process by grading based on the measurement results obtained by the measurement process. One inkjet printer uses the inkjet head 1 in which the head body 70 with the same rating is incorporated.

<Judgment criteria in judgment process>
Next, the determination criteria (a) to (c) in the determination step will be described in detail in order.

(About criteria (a))
As described above, when a potential is applied from the individual electrode 35, the active portion is distorted and contracted in the direction perpendicular to the polarization direction, that is, the long side direction of the individual electrode 35 due to the piezoelectric lateral effect. In such a thin plate-like piezoelectric member, a constant indicating the amount of expansion / contraction with respect to the voltage applied to the piezoelectric member is expressed by the following equation as a piezoelectric constant d ₃₁ .

Here, the electromechanical coupling constant k ₃₁ is a constant (k ₃₁ <1) indicating the efficiency with which the electric energy applied to the active part is converted into mechanical energy in the long side direction of the active part, and is a piezoelectric property of the active part. Indicates activity. The dielectric constant ε ₃₃ is a constant indicating the ease of polarization, and the compliance S is a constant indicating the strain rate with respect to the stress. Therefore, by grasping the electromechanical coupling constant k ₃₁ , it is possible to grasp the driving state of the active portion corresponding to each individual electrode 35, that is, the ejection state such as the ejection speed and volume of the ink ejected from each nozzle 8. . The electromechanical coupling constant k ₃₁ is in the relationship represented by the following equation with the resonance frequency Fr and the anti-resonance frequency Fa.

Thus, in the piezoelectric member described above, the value of the electromechanical coupling constant k ₃₁ becomes larger antiresonant frequency fa / resonance frequency fr is increased, conversely, the electromechanical coupling constant k ₃₁ is reduced and the anti-resonant frequency fa / Resonance frequency fr has a smaller value. In many cases, the value of the anti-resonance frequency fa / resonance frequency fr is increased when the difference between the anti-resonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr is increased. Accordingly, when the difference between the anti-resonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr increases, the piezoelectric constant d ₃₁ increases, so that the ink ejection speed increases and the volume of ink ejected increases. Conversely, the majority of cases where the value of the antiresonance frequency fa / resonance frequency fr is small is when the difference between the antiresonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr is small. When the difference between the anti-resonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr becomes smaller, the piezoelectric constant d ₃₁ becomes smaller, so that the ink ejection speed becomes lower and the volume of the ejected ink becomes smaller. In this way, since the piezoelectric characteristics can be known by comparing the difference between the anti-resonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr between the active portions in the actuator unit 21, the ejection speed and volume of the ink ejected from each nozzle 8. The tendency of the discharge state such as can be grasped. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not the head body 70 is a good product by subtracting whether each joined body is a good product.

  As a measurement result of the plurality of joined bodies, for each Fa-Fr deviation (see determination criterion (a)), the average value of the ink ejection speed, the 3σ value of the ink ejection speed, the average value of the volume of the ejected ink, Table 1 shows the ratio of the 3σ value to the average value of the ink volume.

  In the head main body 70, the smaller the variation in the ink ejection speed and the volume of the ink droplets, the better the ejection state. Here, in the ink ejection speed, the variation is determined by comparing the 3σ values of the ink ejection speed. However, in the ink volume, the smaller the ink, the smaller the ink that is generated with the ink droplets during ejection. Considering that the absolute amount of variation increases as the volume of ink increases, the variation is determined by comparing the ratio of the 3σ value to the average value of the volume of ink. Further, the measurement results are shown in FIG. The abscissa represents Fa-Fr deviation (%), the left side of the vertical axis represents the ink ejection speed (m / sec), and the right side of the vertical axis represents the volume (pl) of the ejected ink. The rhombus marks in the figure indicate the average value of the ejection speed of the ink from the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation, and the square marks are the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation. The average value of the volume of the ejected ink is shown. Further, the variation in the ink ejection speed is in the range of ± 3σ value, and the variation in the ink volume is represented by the ratio (%) of the 3σ value to the average value. As shown in FIG. 11, also in the actuator unit 21, when the Fa-Fr deviation, which is the deviation of the difference between the antiresonance frequency Fa and the resonance frequency Fr, increases, the ink ejection speed increases, and the volume of ink ejected increases. growing. Conversely, when the Fa-Fr deviation is small, the ink ejection speed is low, and the volume of the ejected ink is small. Here, when the Fa-Fr deviation is increased by 35% or more in the + direction, the ink ejection speed is rapidly increased, and the volume of the ejected ink is rapidly decreased and the variation is increased. This is because the pressure for ejecting ink becomes too high and the ejected ink droplets are separated. On the contrary, when the Fa-Fr deviation increases by 35% or more in the-direction, the variation in the ink ejection speed and the volume rapidly increases.

  Therefore, the head main body 70 in which the Fa-Fr deviation is outside the range of -30% to 30% in all the active portions is determined as a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, The average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in the unit 21 is preferably within 15% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  Furthermore, the range of the Fa-Fr deviation in which the ink ejection speed and volume are stable is within 20%. Therefore, when a higher-quality head main body 70 is required, it is preferable to determine that the head main body 70 in which the Fa-Fr deviation is outside the range of -20% to 20% in all active portions is a defective product. . When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, The average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in the unit 21 is preferably within 10% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  In addition, the range of the Fa-Fr deviation in which the ink ejection speed and volume are more stable is within 10%. Therefore, when an even higher quality head main body 70 is required, it is determined that the head main body 70 in which the Fa-Fr deviation is outside the range of -10% to 10% in all active portions is a defective product. preferable. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, The average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in the unit 21 is preferably within 5% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fa-Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

(Judgment criteria (b))
The resonance frequency Fr is influenced by the constrained state of the active part, that is, the joined state of each layer in each joined body, the joined state of each plate in the flow path unit 4, and the joined state of each joined body and the flow path unit 4. When the restraint state of the active part is strong, the resonance frequency Fr of the active part becomes high. In this case, the ejected ink speed tends to decrease and the volume tends to decrease. This is because the thickness in the stacking direction in each bonded state is increased. On the contrary, when the restraint state of the active part is weak, the resonance frequency Fr of the active part is lowered. In this case, the speed of the ejected ink tends to increase and the volume tends to increase. This is because the thickness in the stacking direction in each bonded state is reduced. Thus, the joining state of the members involved in each active part can be determined by comparing the resonance frequencies Fr between the active parts. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not the head body 70 is a good product by subtracting whether each joined body is a good product.

  As the measurement results of the plurality of joined bodies, the average value of the ink ejection speed, the 3σ value of the ink ejection speed, the average value of the volume of the ejected ink, and the ink for each Fr deviation (see determination criterion (b)) Table 2 shows the ratio of the 3σ value to the average value of the volume.

  Further, the measurement results are shown in FIG. The horizontal axis represents Fr deviation (%), the left side of the vertical axis represents the ink ejection speed (m / sec), and the right side of the vertical axis represents the volume (pl) of ejected ink. The rhombus marks in the figure indicate the average value of the ejection speed of the ink from the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation, and the square marks are the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation. The average value of the volume of the ejected ink is shown. Further, the variation in the ink ejection speed is in the range of ± 3σ value, and the variation in the ink volume is represented by the ratio (%) of the 3σ value to the average value. As shown in FIG. 12, also in the actuator unit 21, when the Fr deviation, which is the deviation of the resonance frequency Fr, increases, the ink ejection speed decreases and the volume of the ejected ink decreases. Conversely, when the Fr deviation is small, the ink ejection speed is increased and the volume of the ejected ink is increased. When the Fr deviation is increased by 12% or more in the + direction, the ink ejection speed is rapidly decreased, and the volume of the ejected ink is rapidly decreased and the variation is increased. This is because the thickness of each bonded state in the stacking direction is partially extremely thick due to excessive filling of the adhesive. Conversely, when the Fr deviation increases by 12% or more in the negative direction, the ink ejection speed and the variation in volume increase. In particular, when the Fr deviation is increased by 12% or more in the negative direction, the ink discharge speed is decreased and the volume of the discharged ink is decreased. This is because at least one of the bonding states is defective.

  Therefore, the head main body 70 in which the Fr deviation is outside the range of −10% to 10% in all the active portions is determined as a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, It is preferable that the average value of the Fr deviation in the unit 21 is within 5% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  Further, the Fr deviation range in which the ink ejection speed and volume are stable is within 6%. Therefore, when a higher-quality head main body 70 is required, it is preferable to determine that the head main body 70 in which the Fr deviation is outside the range of −6% to 6% in all active portions is defective. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, It is preferable that the average value of the Fr deviation in the unit 21 be within 3% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  In addition, the Fr deviation range in which the ink ejection speed and volume are more stable is within 3%. Therefore, when an even higher quality head body 70 is required, it is preferable to determine that the head body 70 whose Fr deviation is outside the range of −3% to 3% in all active portions is a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, It is preferable that the average value of the Fr deviation in the unit 21 be within 1.5% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Fr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

(About criteria (c))
The resonance impedance Zr is influenced by the polarizability of the active part. When the polarizability of the active part is low, the resonance impedance Zr of the active part becomes high. In this case, the ejected ink speed tends to decrease and the volume tends to decrease. On the contrary, when the polarizability of the active part is high, the resonance impedance Zr of the active part becomes low. In this case, the speed of the ejected ink tends to increase and the volume tends to increase. Thus, the uniformity of the material characteristic in the piezoelectric sheet 41 can be determined by comparing the resonance impedance Zr between the active portions.

  As the measurement results of the plurality of joined bodies, the average value of the ink ejection speed, the 3σ value of the ink ejection speed, the average value of the volume of the ejected ink, and the ink for each Zr deviation (see determination criterion (c)) Table 3 shows the ratio of the 3σ value to the average value of the volume.

  Further, the measurement results are shown in FIG. The horizontal axis represents the Zr deviation (%), the left side of the vertical axis represents the ink ejection speed (m / sec), and the right side of the vertical axis represents the volume (pl) of the ejected ink. The rhombus marks in the figure indicate the average value of the ejection speed of the ink from the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation, and the square marks are the nozzles 8 corresponding to the active portions classified for each deviation. The average value of the volume of the ejected ink is shown. Further, the variation in the ink ejection speed is in the range of ± 3σ value, and the variation in the ink volume is represented by the ratio (%) of the 3σ value to the average value. As shown in FIG. 13, in the actuator unit 21 as well, when the Zr deviation, which is the deviation of the resonance impedance Zr, increases, the ink ejection speed decreases and the volume of the ejected ink tends to decrease. On the other hand, when the Zr deviation decreases, the ink ejection speed increases and the volume of the ejected ink tends to increase. When the Zr deviation is increased by 35% or more in the + direction, the ink ejection speed is rapidly decreased, and the volume of the ejected ink is rapidly decreased and the variation is increased. Conversely, when the Zr deviation increases by 35% or more in the-direction, the ink ejection speed increases rapidly, and the volume of the ejected ink decreases rapidly and the variation increases. This is because the pressure for ejecting ink becomes too high and the ejected ink is separated.

  Therefore, the head main body 70 having a Zr deviation outside the range of −30% to 30% in all active portions is determined as a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, The average value of the Zr deviation in the unit 21 is preferably within 15% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Zr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  Further, the Zr deviation range in which the ink ejection speed and volume are stable is within 20%. Therefore, when a higher-quality head main body 70 is required, it is preferable that the head main body 70 having a Zr deviation outside the range of −20% to 20% in all active portions is determined as a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, It is preferable that the average value of the Zr deviation in the unit 21 is within 10% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Zr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  In addition, the Zr deviation range in which the ink ejection speed and volume are more stable is within 10%. Therefore, when an even higher quality head body 70 is required, it is preferable to determine that the head body 70 having a Zr deviation outside the range of −10% to 10% in all active portions is a defective product. When a plurality of actuator units 21 are joined to the head body 70, it is desirable that the discharge characteristics be uniform among the actuator units 21. For this purpose, in addition to the above-described determination criteria, The average value of the Zr deviation in the unit 21 is preferably within 5% of the average value obtained by averaging the average value of the Zr deviation in each actuator unit 21 over all the actuator units 21.

  In the preferred embodiment described above, since the FPC 50 is bonded only to the head main body 70 in which all the bonded bodies are determined to be non-defective products in the determination step, the FPC 50 and the FPC 50 are connected even if the head main body 70 is defective. The manufacturing cost for connection is not wasted. In addition, since the determination process is performed in a state where the FPC 50 is not bonded, it is possible to determine whether the bonded body in the head body 70 is a non-defective product without being affected by the resistance or stray capacitance of the FPC 50 itself. Can

  In this embodiment, since only the head body 70 in which all of the Fa-Fr deviation, the Fr deviation, and the Zr deviation are in the non-defective range is determined as non-defective, whether or not the joined body is non-defective with extremely high accuracy. Can be determined.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the head main body 70 determined to be a non-defective product in the determination step is graded according to the discharge characteristics, the discharge characteristics can be made uniform in the plurality of head main bodies 70 as well.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the frequency characteristic of the impedance in the active part is measured by the network analyzer 200, the measurement can be performed more quickly than in the case where the measurement is performed using the impedance analyzer.

  In the present embodiment, in the determination step, the head body 70 is determined to be a non-defective product only when the head body 70 satisfies all of the determination criteria (a) to (c). It is not limited to any one or two of criteria (a) to (c), that is, criteria (a), criteria (b), criteria (c), criteria (a). ) And (b), determination criteria (a) and (c), and determination criteria (b) and (c) may be determined so that the head body 70 is determined to be a non-defective product. In this case, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the head main body 70 is a non-defective product as compared with the case where all of the determination criteria (a) to (c) are determined.

  In this embodiment, the frequency characteristic of the impedance in the active part is measured by the network analyzer 200. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration in which the impedance analyzer measures the impedance may be used. In this case, a more precise measurement result can be obtained as compared with the case where measurement is performed by the network analyzer 200.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made as long as they are described in the claims. . For example, in the present embodiment, whether or not the head main body 70 is a non-defective product is determined by setting predetermined criteria for the resonance frequency Fr, the anti-resonance frequency Fa, and the resonance impedance Zr. The configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and a configuration in which the determination is made directly from the waveform pattern of the frequency characteristic of the impedance in the active portion may be used.

1 is an external perspective view of an inkjet head manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the inkjet head shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a head body included in the inkjet head shown in FIG. 1. It is an enlarged view of the area | region enclosed with the dashed-dotted line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to a pressure chamber of the head body shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a plan view of individual electrodes formed on the actuator unit depicted in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the actuator unit depicted in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the ink jet head illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the measuring method of the frequency characteristic of the impedance in the measurement process shown by FIG. It is an example of the frequency characteristic of the impedance in an active part measured in the measurement process shown by FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the Fa-Fr deviation of the active portion of each joined body in the actuator unit depicted in FIG. 5 and the ink ejection speed and volume. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the Fr deviation of the active portion of each joined body in the actuator unit depicted in FIG. 5 and the ink ejection speed and volume. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the Zr deviation of the active portion of each joined body in the actuator unit depicted in FIG. 5 and the ink ejection speed and volume.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet head 4 Flow path unit 5 Manifold 8 Nozzle 7 Individual ink flow path 10 Pressure chamber 12 Aperture 17 Ink flow path 21 Actuator unit 34 Common electrode 35 Individual electrodes 41-44 Piezoelectric sheet 50 FPC
70 Head body 101 Inkjet printer 200 Network analyzer

Claims (9)

A flow path unit production step for producing a flow path unit in which a plurality of individual ink flow paths reaching a nozzle for discharging ink through a pressure chamber are formed;
An actuator unit manufacturing step of manufacturing an actuator unit that is joined to the flow path unit and includes a piezoelectric body that changes the volume of the pressure chamber with deformation;
A joined body producing step of producing a joined body of the flow path unit and the actuator unit by joining the flow path unit and the actuator unit;
For the piezoelectric body included in the joined body, for each region facing one or more of the pressure chambers, a measurement step of measuring frequency characteristics of impedance,
The distribution of the difference Fa−Fr between the anti-resonance frequency Fa, which is the frequency at which the impedance is maximum, and the resonance frequency Fr, at which the impedance is minimum, the distribution of the resonance frequency Fr, and the impedance at the resonance frequency Fr regarding the plurality of regions. A determination step of determining whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product based on at least one of the distributions;
A method of manufacturing an ink jet head, comprising: a power feeding member joining step for joining a power feeding member to the actuator unit joined to the joined body determined to be non-defective in the determination step.   In the determination step, when all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the bonded body are 30% or less, it is determined that the bonded body is a non-defective product. The manufacturing method of the inkjet head of Claim 1.   2. In the determination step, it is determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product based on a distribution of a difference Fa-Fr and a distribution of a resonance frequency Fr regarding the plurality of regions. The manufacturing method of the inkjet head as described in 2.   In the determination step, all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the joint body are equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and a plurality of differences corresponding to the plurality of regions in the joint body are included. 4. The method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 3, wherein, when all the deviations of the resonance frequency Fr are equal to or less than a second predetermined value, it is determined that the joined body is a non-defective product.   In the determination step, it is determined whether or not the joined body is a non-defective product based on the distribution of the difference Fa−Fr, the distribution of the resonance frequency Fr, and the distribution of the impedance at the resonance frequency Fr regarding the plurality of regions. The method of manufacturing an ink-jet head according to claim 1.   In the determination step, all of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the joined body are equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and all of the deviations of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr are second predetermined values. 6. The inkjet head according to claim 5, wherein the joined body is determined to be a non-defective product when all of the impedance deviations at the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr are equal to or less than a third predetermined value. Manufacturing method. In the joined body manufacturing step, joining the flow path unit and the plurality of actuator units,
In the determination step,
All of the deviations of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joint are less than or equal to a first predetermined value set for the actuator unit, and A deviation of an average value of each of the plurality of differences Fa−Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the actuator unit for each of the actuator units is equal to or less than a fourth predetermined value set for the joined body;
All of the deviations of the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joint are less than or equal to a second predetermined value set for the actuator unit, and the plurality of actuators in the joint A deviation of an average value for each actuator unit of a plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to a plurality of the regions in the unit is less than or equal to a fifth predetermined value set for the joined body; and
All of the deviations in impedance at a plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in each actuator unit in the joint body are equal to or less than a third predetermined value set for the actuator unit, and In the case where all of the deviations of the average value for each of the actuator units of the impedance at the plurality of resonance frequencies Fr corresponding to the plurality of regions in the actuator unit are at least one of the sixth predetermined value or less set for the joined body The method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the joined body is determined to be a non-defective product.   The step of classifying the joined body determined to be a non-defective product in the determination step into any of a plurality of grades based on a measurement result obtained in the measurement step. The manufacturing method of the inkjet head of any one of 1-7.   The method for manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein a measurement is performed using a network analyzer in the measuring step.

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