JP2012240211A - Ink-jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink-jet recording head in which a part between a supporting member and a recording element substrate is sealed without a space by adhesives while maintaining high productivity, and to provide a method of manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: The ink-jet recording head has: a recording element substrate including a discharge-port array to discharge recording liquid; a supporting member to support the recording element substrate; and the adhesives to bond the recording element substrate and the supporting member to each other. The supporting member has a plurality of recording-liquid supply ports to supply the recording liquid to the discharge-port array. Protrusions are provided on a surface, in contact with the adhesives bonding the recording element substrate, of the supporting member and at longitudinal ends of the recording-liquid supply ports, located at both ends, in the plurality of recording-liquid supply ports.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and a manufacturing method thereof.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet recording head. The ink jet recording head includes a recording element substrate 101 on which an ejection port for discharging a recording liquid is formed, and a recording liquid channel 106 for holding and fixing the recording element substrate 101 and supplying the recording liquid to the recording element substrate 101. The supporting member 109 having the above is provided.

  When the back surface of the recording element substrate 101 and the bonding surface 115 of the support member 109 are bonded, if the sealing property between the back surface of the recording element substrate 101 and the bonding surface 115 of the support member 109 is insufficient, the recording element substrate 101 and There may be a case where the recording liquid leaks from the support member 109. In order to cope with this problem, it is necessary to stably apply the adhesive 104 to the joint surface 115 without interruption, and to seal the recording element substrate 101 and the joint surface 115 of the support member with the adhesive 104.

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, although not shown, when the back surface of the recording element substrate and the bonding surface of the support member are bonded, the support member is bonded to a region surrounding the recording liquid supply port of the recording element substrate. A V-shaped groove is provided on the surface. The adhesive is held in the groove to prevent the adhesive from being disconnected, thereby improving the sealing performance between the recording element substrate and the joint surface of the support member.
Incidentally, in recent years, a molded product is used for the support member 109 from the viewpoint of cost, workability, and the like. The support member 109 of the molded product has a poor flatness of the bonding surface 115. Therefore, the recording element substrate is fixed by the following method.

  First, the adhesive 104 is applied to the joint surface 115 of the support member 109 by a drawing application method using a dispenser (not shown). Then, the recording element substrate 101 whose position and posture accuracy are ensured is brought into contact with the adhesive 104 above the bonding surface 115 by a predetermined height, for example, about 80 μm. Then, the adhesive 104 is cured while maintaining this state. Thereafter, the recording element substrate 101 is fixed by sealing the periphery of the recording element substrate 101 and the electrical connection portion of the recording element substrate 101 with a sealant and thermosetting.

  By the above method, the recording element substrate 101 can be bonded and fixed without being affected by the flatness of the bonding surface 115 of the support member 109.

JP 2006-212902 A

  In this method, the recording element substrate 101 is fixed in a state of floating on the adhesive 104. Therefore, if the height of the upper end of the adhesive 104 is not uniform over the entire area of the applied adhesive 104 and there is no portion having a height of 80 μm, the adhesive 104 cannot contact the recording element substrate 101 and seal Defects can occur. Therefore, when applying the adhesive 104, it is necessary not only to prevent breakage of the adhesive 104 but also to stabilize the height.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the state of the adhesive 104 when the adhesive 104 is applied to the joint surface 115 of the support member 109.

  FIG. 1A shows a state of the joint surface 115 of the support member 109 when the adhesive 104 is applied. The adhesive 104 is also applied onto the partition wall 108 to seal between the periphery of the recording liquid channel 106 of the support member 109 and the periphery of the recording liquid supply port 105 of the recording element substrate 101. Enlarged views of part a in FIG. 2 (a) are shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 2 (c). Arc-shaped corners 117 are formed on the locus of the applied adhesive 104. In the vicinity of the corner 117, a region b where the direction of the surface tension γ is concentrated is generated. In the region b where the surface tension γ is concentrated, the height of the upper end of the adhesive 104 is increased. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 2C, the flow α of the adhesive 104 to the region b occurs in the surrounding region c, and the height of the upper end of the adhesive 104 is lowered. As a result, the height of the upper end of the adhesive 104 becomes uneven, and there is a possibility that the adhesive 104 and the back surface of the recording element substrate 101 do not come into contact with each other at a portion where the adhesive height is low. For this reason, the seal between the recording element substrate 101 and the support member 109 becomes insufficient, and the probability that the recording liquid leaks increases.

  Incidentally, in recent years, shrinking of the recording element substrate 101 has been promoted for cost reduction. Accordingly, it is necessary to narrow the gap between the recording liquid channels formed on the support member 109. However, if the width is narrowed, trapped bubbles are trapped, and the recording liquid flow is hindered. Cannot be converted. Further, it is conceivable to prevent the trapping of bubbles by making the partition wall 108 thinner and widening the recording liquid channel 106. However, in order to accurately form the shape of the partition wall 108 made of resin, a certain width or more is necessary from the viewpoint of moldability. From these points, when the shrinkage of the recording element substrate 101 proceeds, the pitch 112 of the recording liquid flow path 106 becomes larger than the pitch 111 of the recording liquid supply port 105 as shown in FIG. The direction increases the probability of recording liquid leakage.

  As described above, particularly in the longitudinal direction of the outer peripheral portion of the recording element substrate 101 and in the vicinity of the region where the surface tension is concentrated, the margin for the height of the upper end of the adhesive at the time of application decreases, resulting in a decrease in productivity. It was.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head in which high productivity is maintained and a support member and a recording element substrate are sealed with an adhesive without a gap, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an ink jet printer according to the present invention includes a recording element substrate having an ejection port array for ejecting a recording liquid, a support member for supporting the recording element substrate, and the recording In an ink jet recording head having a plurality of recording liquid supply ports for supplying a recording liquid to an ejection port array, the support member includes an element substrate and an adhesive for bonding the support member. On the surface in contact with the adhesive for adhering the recording element substrate, there are convex portions at the longitudinal ends of the recording liquid supply ports located at both ends of the recording liquid supply port group.

  According to the present invention, when the adhesive is applied to the joint surface of the support member with the recording element substrate, the height of the upper end of the adhesive is stabilized. Therefore, the support member and the recording element substrate can be sealed with an adhesive without a gap.

It is a schematic diagram in a prior art example. It is a plane schematic diagram in a conventional example. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram in a conventional example. It is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of an inkjet recording head. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording element substrate. It is a schematic diagram in the Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a plane schematic diagram in the Example of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the structure which has the same function in an accompanying drawing, and the description may be abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet recording head. In the inkjet recording head, recording liquids (not shown) of three colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are stored in a recording liquid storage chamber. Further, an absorber (not shown) for holding each recording liquid is stored in the recording liquid storage chamber. A recording element substrate 1 for recording liquid discharge is attached to the joint surface 15 at the bottom of the support member 9 formed by molding. In the embodiment described below, the support member 9 is formed of a resin material mixed with 35% glass filler in order to improve the shape rigidity.

  5A and 5B are schematic views of the recording element substrate 1. FIG. 5A shows the recording medium side (front surface), and FIG. 5B shows the support member 9 side (back surface). A heat generating element (not shown), a flow path (not shown), a discharge port 3 and a recording liquid supply port 5 for discharging a recording liquid are formed in the recording element substrate 1 in advance. The recording element substrate 1 is bonded to the electric wiring substrate 2. As shown in FIG. 4, device holes 20 for incorporating the recording element substrate 1 and electrode terminals 21 corresponding to the electrodes 7 of the recording element substrate 1 are formed in the electrical wiring board 2. Furthermore, an external signal input terminal 22 for receiving a drive control signal from the recording apparatus main body is provided, and the external input terminal 22 and the electrode terminal 21 are connected by a copper foil wiring.

(Embodiment)
Embodiments according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. The support member 9 and the joining surface 15 shown in FIG. 6 are formed by molding. The support member 9 has a recording liquid supply path 6 for supplying the recording liquid, and a partition wall 8 is formed so that the recording liquids are not mixed.

  A cylindrical convex portion 16 is formed at the longitudinal end of the recording liquid supply path located at the outer peripheral portion in the recording liquid supply path. The shape of the convex portion 16 is determined in consideration of molding material characteristics, adhesive property values, and the like.

  In FIG. 7, the schematic diagram of the Example in the manufacturing method of this invention is shown. First, as shown in FIG. 7A, the adhesive 4 is applied onto the joint surface 15 while moving in the direction of the arrow by a drawing application method using the dispenser 31. Note that the adhesive 4 can be applied by a transfer method.

  FIG. 8 shows a state of the bonding surface 15 when the adhesive 4 is applied. As shown in FIG. 8A, the adhesive 4 is applied on the joint surface 15 including the convex portions 16. The adhesive 4 is applied to the joint surface 15 by the application needle of the dispenser 31. However, as shown in FIG. 8B, the flow of the adhesive 4 at the outer peripheral portion is blocked by the convex portion 16, and the adhesive at the outer peripheral portion is bonded. The height of the upper end of the agent 4 becomes uniform. In addition, if the shape of this convex part 16 is not restricted to a cylindrical shape, for example, if it is a prismatic shape, it will become possible to apply the flow of the adhesive agent 4 perpendicularly to the convex part 16 side surface, and will inhibit the flow of an adhesive agent more. I can do it.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the recording element substrate 1 is brought into contact with the convex portion 16, and is fixed to the support member 9 by adhesion. As a result, the gap between the support member 9 and the recording element substrate 1 can be sealed without a gap. Further, at this time, the presence of the convex portion 16 makes it possible to always make a distance greater than the height of the convex portion 16 between the recording element substrate 1 and the support member 9. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the adhesive 4 from being crushed more than necessary when the recording element substrate 1 is bonded, and to prevent the adhesive 4 from protruding laterally from entering the recording liquid flow path 6.

1: Recording element substrate 2: Electrical wiring substrate 3: Discharge port 4: Adhesive 5: Recording liquid supply port 6: Recording liquid flow path 7: Electrode 8: Partition wall 9: Support member 10: Lid 15: Bonding surface 16: Convex Part 20: Device hole 21: Electrode terminal 22: External input terminal 31: Dispenser

Claims (7)

A recording element substrate having an ejection port array for discharging a recording liquid; a support member for supporting the recording element substrate; and an adhesive for joining the recording element substrate and the support member. In the inkjet recording head having a plurality of recording liquid supply ports for supplying the recording liquid to the ejection port array, the support member is on a surface of the support member that is in contact with an adhesive that bonds the recording element substrate, An ink jet recording head, comprising: a plurality of recording liquid supply ports having convex portions at longitudinal ends of the recording liquid supply ports located at both ends. The inkjet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the convex portion is a cylindrical shape. The inkjet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the convex portion is a prismatic shape. A recording element substrate having an ejection port array for discharging a recording liquid; a support member for supporting the recording element substrate; and an adhesive for joining the recording element substrate and the support member. The support member is a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having a plurality of recording liquid supply ports for supplying a recording liquid to an ejection port array, and the support member is positioned at both ends of the plurality of recording liquid supply ports. A convex portion is formed at the longitudinal end of the recording liquid supply port, an adhesive is applied to the surface on which the convex portion is formed, the convex portion is brought into contact with the recording element substrate, and the adhesive is used to A method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head, comprising bonding a support member to the recording element substrate. 5. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive is applied onto a surface of the support member to be bonded to the recording element substrate by a drawing application method. 5. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive is applied onto a surface of the support member to be bonded to the recording element substrate by a transfer method. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 4, wherein the support member is formed by molding.

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