JP2008221745A - Liquid jet head and liquid jet apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet head and liquid jet apparatus in which a highly-accurate installation is taken into consideration. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid jet head 10 is provided with a nozzle face 11, in which a nozzle (n) for injecting a liquid is arranged and which has a nearly square configuration viewed from above, and a flange part 70 which is provided on the outside periphery of the nozzle face 11 in the plane view. The flange part 70 has a projection 72 formed by projecting at the positions corresponding to four corners of the nozzle face 11, respectively. When installing the liquid jet head 10, the posture of the nozzle face 11 is regulated by abutting the end surface of the projection 72 on the supporting surface 81 of a support plate 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus used for pattern application (arrangement) of a functional liquid in ink jet printing, display panel, metal wiring, battery, and biochip manufacturing, and a liquid ejecting head mounted on the apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, inkjet printers suitable for printing on paper are widely known as liquid ejecting apparatuses. In general, a carriage that reciprocates (scans) a printing paper is used to eject liquid. A liquid ejecting head (hereinafter referred to as a head) including a nozzle is attached. For example, in Patent Document 1, the head is attached to the carriage by fixing a wing-like support portion formed on the head with a screw.

JP 62-161573 A

  The mounting of the head is an important process for defining the parallelism (elevation angle) between the nozzle forming surface and the paper surface. However, when trying to define these with high accuracy, the configuration according to Patent Document 1 has not been sufficient.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus in consideration of high-precision mounting.

  The liquid ejecting head according to the present invention includes a nozzle surface on which a nozzle for ejecting liquid is disposed, and a flange portion provided facing the outer edge of the nozzle surface in plan view, And a flange portion having a convex portion formed so as to protrude from the outermost shape portion.

  According to the example of the present invention, when the liquid ejecting head is attached via the flange portion, the posture (elevation angle) of the nozzle surface can be defined in a multipoint manner at the outermost portion away from the center of gravity of the nozzle surface. Thereby, the attitude | position of a nozzle surface is prescribed | regulated with high precision.

  The liquid ejecting head of the present invention is provided with a nozzle for ejecting liquid, a nozzle surface formed in a substantially square shape in plan view, and facing the outer edge of the nozzle surface in plan view. And a flange portion having convex portions formed so as to protrude at locations corresponding to the four corners of the nozzle surface.

  According to the example of the present invention, when the liquid ejecting head is attached via the flange portion, the position (elevation angle) of the substantially rectangular nozzle surface is set at four locations (convex portions) corresponding to the four corners away from the center of gravity of the nozzle surface. ) Can be defined by a multipoint equation. Thereby, the attitude | position of a nozzle surface is prescribed | regulated with high precision.

Preferably, the convex portion protrudes in the same direction as the nozzle surface in the plan view and in the opposite direction.
According to the example of the present invention, even when the flange portion is supported on the same side as the nozzle surface or on the opposite side, high-precision attachment can be performed.

Preferably, a plurality of attachment holes are provided in the flange portion.
According to the example of the present invention, the liquid ejecting head can be fixed by the fixing means different from each other in the plurality of mounting holes. For this reason, it is possible to flexibly fix the mounting position of the liquid jet head.

Preferably, the mounting hole is provided in the convex portion.
According to the example of the present invention, since the liquid ejecting head can be fixed via the mounting hole at the convex portion that defines the posture of the nozzle surface, high-accuracy mounting is possible.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention includes the liquid ejecting head and a head support portion that supports the liquid ejecting head at the convex portion.

  According to the example of the present invention, when the liquid jet head is attached via the flange portion, the head support portion supports the portions (convex portions) corresponding to the four corners away from the center of gravity of the nozzle surface, thereby forming a substantially rectangular shape. The posture (elevation angle) of the shaped nozzle surface can be defined with high accuracy.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting head in which the plurality of mounting holes are provided, a head support portion that supports the liquid ejecting head at the convex portion, and the liquid ejecting head include the one mounting hole. And a second fixing means different from the first fixing means for fixing the liquid ejecting head to the head supporting part at the other mounting hole. .

  According to the example of the present invention, when the liquid jet head is attached via the flange portion, the head support portion supports the portions (convex portions) corresponding to the four corners away from the center of gravity of the nozzle surface, thereby forming a substantially rectangular shape. The posture (elevation angle) of the shaped nozzle surface can be defined with high accuracy. Further, the mounting position of the liquid ejecting head can be flexibly fixed by using different first fixing means and second fixing means.

Preferably, the first fixing means is a member formed by solidifying the fluid material flowing into the one mounting hole, and the second fixing means is a rigid body passing through the other mounting hole.
According to the example of the present invention, the liquid ejecting head is fixed with high accuracy without a large external force by the first fixing means, and is firmly fixed by the second fixing means.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Note that the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these forms. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the vertical and horizontal scales of members or portions may be represented differently from actual ones for convenience of illustration.

(Regarding the configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus)
First, the configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  A printer 1 as a liquid ejecting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a paper feed roller 2 for feeding paper P from a paper tray (not shown), a transport roller 3 and a driven roller 4 for transporting the paper P. A platen 5 for supporting the paper P and a head unit 6 provided to face the platen 5 are provided. Although not shown, the printer 1 includes an ink supply mechanism for supplying ink as a liquid to the head unit 6 and a drive device for performing electrical drive control of the head unit 6. Yes.

  The printer 1 is a so-called line-type printing apparatus, and ejects (discharges) ink droplets from a head unit 6 to a desired position on the paper P at a timing synchronized with the conveyance (scanning) of the paper P. Then, an image is formed by the landed ink droplets.

(Head configuration and mounting structure)
Next, the configuration of the head and its mounting structure will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a head mounting structure viewed from the nozzle surface side. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the head.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head unit 6 includes a head 10 as a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle surface 11 on which nozzles n for ejecting (discharging) ink are disposed, and a head support unit that supports the head 10. As a support plate 80.

  The support plate 80 plays a role as a base for supporting the plurality of heads 10 and is formed of a highly rigid material such as metal. The support plate 80 has a smooth support surface 81, and a penetrating portion 82 and a screw hole 83 provided corresponding to the attachment of each head 10.

  On the nozzle surface 11, the nozzles n constitute a nozzle array 12 having a line arrangement with a predetermined pitch. In the present embodiment, eight rows of nozzle arrays 12 are provided per nozzle surface 11, and each nozzle array 12 on the same nozzle surface 11 ejects ink of different color types or paper P (see FIG. 1). ) To complement the pitch of the scanning trajectory.

  Each head 10 in the head unit 6 is attached so as to complement the scanning range for the paper P (see FIG. 1) related to the respective nozzle array 12. Thereby, the head unit 6 can perform marking at a continuous pitch over the entire width of the paper P (see FIG. 1). As described above, the head unit 6 is composed of a plurality of heads 10 because it is difficult to manufacture the long nozzle array 12 as a single module, and the specifications can be changed by changing the arrangement structure of the heads 10. This is in view of the fact that it can be easily changed.

Here, the detailed configuration of the head 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the head 10 includes a main body assembly 40, a liquid introduction assembly 20, and a seal member 30 that is sandwiched between the main body assembly 40 and the liquid introduction assembly 20.

  The main assembly 40 includes a main body case 50 that forms a base, an intermediate substrate 47 that includes a connector cable 46 for supplying an electrical signal, and an actuator unit 45. The main body case 50 is a molded product of hard resin, and has a rectangular parallelepiped base portion 51 and a flange portion 70 formed in a bowl shape with respect to the base portion 51 as means for attaching to the support plate 80 (see FIG. 2). have. The detailed structure of the flange portion 70 will be described later.

  The actuator unit 45 includes a piezoelectric element 41 formed in a comb shape corresponding to the arrangement of the nozzles n, a flexible circuit board 43 on which an electric circuit including a drive control IC 42 for the piezoelectric element 41 is formed, and a piezoelectric element 41. And a metal support plate 44 that supports the metal plate. The support plate 44 of the actuator unit 45 is fixed to the side wall of the penetrating portion 48 formed near the center of the main body assembly 40 (the main body case 50 and the intermediate substrate 47). The connection terminal 43a of the flexible circuit board 43 is connected to a connection terminal (not shown) provided on the intermediate board 47 side by a conductive adhesive or the like.

  In the main body case 50, a communication channel 53 (see a cross-sectional view) communicating with the nozzle n is formed next to the through-hole 48, and a cylindrical opening 53 a at one end thereof is provided in the intermediate substrate 47. The upper surface of the main assembly 40 is exposed through the formed through hole. Further, the protrusion 54 formed for positioning on the upper surface of the main body case 50 passes through the positioning hole 55 formed in the intermediate substrate 47 and protrudes to the upper surface side of the main body assembly 40.

  In the lower part of the main body case 50 (see the cross-sectional view), a nozzle plate 61 in which a nozzle n is formed in a SUS plate, a flow path plate 62 in which a silicon substrate is etched to form a recess corresponding to the flow path, A laminate of a flexible sheet 63 forming the canopy of the flow path and a canopy plate 64 having a partially cutout portion is attached.

  Thus, the ink is supplied to the nozzle n through the communication channel 53 of the main body case 50, the reservoir 66 provided for each nozzle array 12 (see FIG. 2), and the cavity 67 provided for each nozzle n. A portion of the canopy plate 64 directly above the cavity 67 is a movable portion 65 that is movable via a flexible sheet 63, and one end of the piezoelectric element 41 is fixed to the movable portion 65. Thus, the pressure of the cavity 67 is controlled by driving the piezoelectric element 41, and ink is ejected from the nozzle n as droplets.

  The liquid introduction assembly 20 includes a case 21 that forms a base, and a hollow needle-like introduction portion 22. In the present embodiment, eight introduction portions 22 are provided corresponding to the eight rows of nozzle arrays 12 (see FIG. 2) provided on the nozzle surface 11. The case 21 is formed with a communication channel 23 that communicates with each introduction portion 22 via a foreign substance removal filter (not shown). The communication channel 23 has an opening on the lower side of the liquid introduction assembly 20. is doing.

  The seal member 30 is formed in a thin plate shape, and includes a seal portion 33 that seals the communication portion between the communication channel 23 and the communication channel 53 in a state of being sandwiched between the liquid introduction assembly 20 and the main body assembly 40. I have. In addition, the seal member 30 includes a positioning hole 34 into which a protruding portion 54 protruding to the upper surface side of the main assembly 40 is inserted, and a convex portion 35 formed around the positioning hole 34. The seal member 30 can be formed of various elastic materials such as rubber and elastomer, but it is preferable to select an elastomer from the viewpoint of ease of molding and difficulty of adhesion of foreign matter.

Next, the mounting structure of the head 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
When the head 10 is viewed in a plan view (viewpoint from the upper side in FIG. 2 and the lower side in FIG. 3), the nozzle surface 11 has a rectangular shape. Further, in the same plan view, the flange portion 70 in the main body case 50 is formed in a frame shape so as to surround the outer edge of the nozzle surface 11.

  The flange portion 70 has columnar convex portions 71 and 72 formed so as to protrude in the same direction as the nozzle surface 11 and in the opposite directions at locations corresponding to the four corners of the nozzle surface 11, and both the nozzle surface 11. At locations corresponding to the short sides, columnar convex portions 73 and 74 are formed so as to protrude in the same direction as the nozzle surface 11 and in the opposite direction. The end surfaces 71 a and 72 a of the convex portions 71 and 72 and the end surfaces 73 a and 74 a of the convex portions 73 and 74 are formed as surfaces parallel to the nozzle surface 11. The flange portion 70 is formed with attachment holes 75 and 76 that penetrate from the end surface 73a to the end surface 74a, and a pair of engagement holes 77 are formed at locations corresponding to one long side of the nozzle surface 11. ing.

  In attaching the head 10, first, the case 21 and the connector cable 46 are passed through the through portion 82 of the support plate 80 formed slightly larger than the outer shape of the case 21, and the end surface 72 a of the convex portion 72 of the head 10 is passed through the support plate 80. This is brought into contact with the support surface 81. As a result, the parallelism between the nozzle surface 11 and the support surface 81 is defined by a multipoint method at locations corresponding to the four corners away from the center of gravity of the nozzle surface 11 (end surface 72a of the convex portion 72). Thereby, the parallelism between the nozzle surface 11 and the support surface 81 is defined with high accuracy. The level of the end surface 74 a of the convex portion 74 is the same as the end surface 72 a or slightly separated from the support surface 81.

  Since the level of each end surface 72a is an important factor that defines the posture of the nozzle surface 11 (parallelism with respect to the support surface 81), the manufacturing accuracy itself must be high. For this reason, the metal mold | die which concerns on the shaping | molding of the flange part 70 is comprised by the part (frame | frame) in which the part which prescribes | regulates the level of the end surface 72a became independent, and the said level can be adjusted.

  Positioning of the translation component (XY component) parallel to the nozzle surface 11 and the vertical rotation component (θ component) in the head 10 is performed via the adjustment pin 90 engaged with the engagement hole 77 while observing the nozzle array 12. Done.

  When the head 10 is positioned in this way, an adhesive (such as a commercially available instantaneous adhesive) as a fluid material (first fixing means) is injected into the mounting hole 75 provided in the flange portion 70 to solidify the adhesive. Thus, the head 10 and the support plate 80 are temporarily fixed. Note that a thermosetting resin, a photocurable resin, or the like can be used instead of the adhesive.

  After the temporary fixing, the head 10 is permanently fixed through the mounting hole 76 of the flange portion 70 and the screw hole 83 of the support plate 80 using the screw 91 as a rigid body (second fixing means). Here, the diameter of the mounting hole 76 is slightly larger than the diameter of the screw 91 in view of the adjustment of the positioning of the head 10. When the screw 91 is tightened in the main fixing, the deviation of the adjustment position of the head 10 is suppressed by the temporary fixing previously performed. In this embodiment, the screw 91 is used for the permanent fixing of the head 10, but it may be replaced with a pin or a rivet.

  2 is merely an example, and the flange portion 70 may be supported on the nozzle surface 11 side as in a modified example to be described later. In this case, the head 10 is attached using the end surface 71a of the convex portion 71 as an attachment surface. The convex portions 71 and 72 are formed on both sides of the flange portion 70 (on the same side as the nozzle surface 11 and on the opposite side) in consideration of the flexibility of the mounting manner of the head 10.

(Modification)
Next, a modification will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the location corresponding to previous embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted about the overlapping content.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a head mounting structure according to a modification.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the head 10 according to this modification is viewed in a plan view (viewpoint from the upper side in FIG. 4), the flange portion 70 has outer edges extending from both long sides of the nozzle surface 11 to four corners. Are divided and formed. And the flange part 70 has an opening in the column-shaped convex part 71 which protruded and formed in the location corresponding to the four corners of the nozzle surface 11 on the same side as the nozzle surface 11, and the end surface 71a of the convex part 71. Mounting holes 75 and 76 formed in the above manner. In addition, the convex part (corresponding to the convex part 72 of the previous embodiment) formed so as to protrude on the opposite side to the nozzle surface 11 does not exist in this modification.

  In attaching the head 10, the base portion 51 of the main body case 50 is passed through the through portion 82 of the support plate 80, and the end surface 71 a of the convex portion 71 of the flange portion 70 is brought into contact with the support surface 81 of the support plate 80. After positioning, an adhesive is injected into the mounting hole 75 of the flange portion 70 to temporarily fix the head 10, and the screw 91 is used to pass through the mounting hole 76 of the flange portion 70 and the screw hole 83 of the support plate 80. The head 10 is permanently fixed.

  As in this modification, the shape of the flange portion and the position of the mounting hole according to the present invention can be various aspects within the scope of the invention, and the convex portion is on one side of the flange portion. It may be formed only on. In addition, when the attachment hole is formed so as to have an opening on the end surface of the convex portion, it can be fixed at a location (end surface of the convex portion) that defines the posture of the nozzle surface, so that highly accurate attachment is possible.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
For example, although the end surfaces 71a and 72a of the convex portions 71 and 72 in the above-described embodiment are smooth surfaces parallel to the nozzle surface 11, they are formed into a spherical shape so that the head 10 is point-supported. Also good.
Moreover, in embodiment which concerns on FIG. 2, FIG. 3, it is good also as an aspect which provides a through-hole in the convex parts 71 and 72, flows an adhesive agent into the said through-hole, and adheres and fixes. As a result, the fixing accuracy can be further improved.
Moreover, each structure of embodiment can combine these suitably, can be abbreviate | omitted, or can combine with the other structure which is not shown in figure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a main configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus. The figure which shows the attachment structure of the head seen from the nozzle surface side. The figure which shows the structure of a head. The figure which shows the attachment structure of the head which concerns on a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 6 ... Head unit, 10 ... Head as a liquid ejecting head, 11 ... Nozzle surface, 12 ... Nozzle array, 20 ... Liquid introduction assembly, 40 ... Main body assembly, 50 ... Main body case, 70 ... flange part, 71-74 ... convex part, 71a-74a ... end face, 75, 76 ... mounting hole, 77 ... engagement hole, 80 ... support plate as head support part, 81 ... support surface, 82 ... penetrating part, 83 ... Screw hole, 91 ... Screw as second fixing means (rigid body), n ... Nozzle.

Claims (8)

(A) a nozzle surface on which nozzles for ejecting liquid are disposed;
(B) a flange portion provided facing the outer edge of the nozzle surface in plan view,
A flange portion having a convex portion formed to protrude from the outermost portion of the nozzle surface;
A liquid jet head comprising: The nozzle surface is formed in a substantially square shape in the plan view;
The protrusions are formed so as to protrude at locations corresponding to the four corners of the nozzle surface, respectively.
The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1. The convex portion is formed so as to protrude in the same direction as the nozzle surface in the plan view and in the opposite direction.
The liquid jet head according to claim 1. A plurality of mounting holes are provided in the flange portion,
The liquid jet head according to claim 1. The mounting hole is provided in the convex portion;
The liquid ejecting head according to claim 4. (A) the liquid jet head according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
(B) a head support portion that supports the liquid jet head at the convex portion;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: (A) the liquid jet head according to claim 4 or 5,
(B) a head support portion that supports the liquid jet head at the convex portion;
(C) first fixing means for fixing the liquid ejecting head to the head support portion in one mounting hole;
(D) second fixing means different from the first fixing means for fixing the liquid jet head to the head support portion in the other attachment hole;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: The first fixing means is a member formed by solidifying the fluid material flowing into the one attachment hole,
The second fixing means is a rigid body that passes through the other mounting hole.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7.

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