JPH10151747A - Ink jet recording head, ink jet recording head cartridge, and ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an energy generation means correspond with an ink channel easily through a simple facility without requiring high accuracy alignment. SOLUTION: A plurality of electrothermal converters 102 are arranged at a constant pitch on a multilayer circuit board 101. A plurality of channel walls 107 are formed on a top plate 105 and ink channels 107a are arranged at a constant pitch when the multilayer circuit board 101 is bonded to the top plate 105. The ink channels 107a and the electrothermal converters 102 are arranged to satisfy the relationships PN=n×PH (n is an integer larger than 1) and 0< dW<=PH-dH, where PN is the pitch of the ink channels 107a, dW is the width of the channel wall 107 at a part abutting against the integrated circuit board 101, PH is the pitch of the electrothermal converter 102 and dH is the width thereof in the arranging direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink by applying energy generated by an energy generating element to ink in an ink flow path, an ink jet recording head cartridge using the ink jet recording apparatus, and an ink jet recording apparatus. It relates to a recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an ink jet recording head has a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, a liquid chamber for temporarily holding ink supplied from an external ink tank or the like, and each ejection port and liquid chamber. And an energy generating means provided for each of the liquid paths in order to give ejection energy to the ink in the liquid paths. The ink supplied to the liquid chamber is guided to the liquid path by capillary action, and when the energy generated by the energy generating means is applied thereto, the ink in the liquid path is discharged from the discharge port as ink droplets. Then, the ink ejected from the ejection port adheres to the recording medium, thereby performing recording on the recording medium.

[0003] Among such ink jet recording heads, particularly, an ink jet recording head which discharges ink by using thermal energy can arrange a plurality of discharge ports at a high density, thereby enabling high-definition recording. In addition, there are advantages such as easy downsizing of the head itself.

A conventional ink jet recording head using thermal energy will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional inkjet recording head using thermal energy, taken along the direction in which ink flow paths are arranged. As shown in the figure, a plurality of electrothermal transducers 50 are provided on a substrate 501 made of silicon or the like as energy generating means.
2 are arranged, thereby achieving high density. Further, the top plate 505 in which the plurality of flow path walls 507 are formed at the same pitch as the arrangement pitch of the electrothermal transducers 502 is arranged such that the flow path walls 507 are positioned between the electrothermal transducers 502 and the substrate 50
1 is joined. Thus, the ink flow path 507a for causing the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter 502 to act on the ink and the electrothermal converter 502 have a one-to-one correspondence. When a predetermined current is supplied to the electrothermal converter 502, the electrothermal converter 502 generates heat and the ink on the electrothermal converter 502 is heated. As a result, bubbles are formed in the ink flow path 507, and ink is ejected from an ejection port (not shown) by the pressure generated by the growth of the bubbles.

[0005] Here, as shown in FIG. 14, when a position shift occurs at the time of joining the substrate and the top plate and a part of the electrothermal converter 502 comes into contact with the top plate 505, the electrothermal conversion is performed. Body 5
Since the contact area between the ink 02 and the ink becomes small, the size of the bubble formed in the ink flow path 507a becomes small, and a desired ejection pressure cannot be obtained. As a result, the ejection of ink becomes unstable, the amount of ink ejection is small, and the printing becomes thin. In the worst case, the ejection port surface may be wet due to unstable ejection, resulting in non-ejection. Therefore, the electrothermal converter 502 and the ink flow path 507a
Is an important technical element in manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-104354 discloses a technique for aligning the electrothermal transducer with the ink flow path.
It is disclosed that the positions of the electrothermal transducer and the ink flow path are recognized by an image processing technique, and after moving to a predetermined position, the substrate and the top plate are joined. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-890
No. 73 discloses that positioning is performed by providing a concave portion for positioning between the electrothermal transducers of the substrate and fitting a wall between the ink flow paths of the top plate into the concave portion. I have.

[0007]

However, among the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording heads, those which recognize the position by image processing, use an image processing apparatus or a high-precision positioning when joining the substrate and the top plate. Equipment is required, which leads to unnecessary capital investment. Further, it takes time for image recognition and position adjustment, and the production efficiency is not very good. Further, when the substrate is provided with a concave portion for alignment, the structure of the substrate becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, if displacement occurs or the fitting is insufficient, ejection failure occurs, which causes a reduction in yield.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet recording head which does not require high-precision alignment, and can easily make the energy generating means correspond to the ink flow path with simple equipment. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head cartridge and an ink jet recording apparatus which can obtain stable ink ejection while suppressing manufacturing costs by using such an ink jet recording head.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording head according to the present invention comprises a substrate provided with a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink at a constant pitch. A plurality of flow path walls along the ink ejection direction are formed at an equal pitch,
A top plate member that forms a plurality of ink flow paths that act on the ink by applying energy from the energy generating element to the ink by being joined to the substrate, wherein the pitch of the ink flow paths is PN; When the width of the wall at the contact portion with the substrate is dW, the pitch of the energy generating elements is PH, the width of the energy generating elements in the arrangement direction is dH, and n is an integer of 2 or more, PN = The ink flow path and the energy generating element are provided so as to satisfy a relationship of n × PH and 0 <dW ≦ PH−dH.

[0010] According to the above configuration, even when the substrate and the top plate member are arbitrarily joined, (n-1) energy generating elements always exist in the ink flow path. As a result, stable ejection can be obtained without requiring high-precision alignment for disposing the energy generating element in the ink flow path.

[0011] Further, the energy generating element is (n-
1) Dividing into n groups such that every other group becomes the same group, and based on the printing result of driving the energy generating elements and ejecting ink for each group, only the energy generating elements of a predetermined group are By being driven, good printing can be obtained. To do this,
A part of the wiring pattern connected to the energy generating elements other than the predetermined group may be cut.
This cutting can be performed by flowing an overcurrent to the wiring pattern to blow the wiring pattern.

Further, the energy generating element may be an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. In this case, in particular,
The ink can be ejected from an ejection opening formed at the tip of the ink flow path by utilizing film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer.

[0013] The ink jet cartridge of the present invention comprises:
The ink jet recording head according to the present invention includes an ink tank for storing ink to be supplied to the ink jet recording head.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, or holds the ink jet cartridge according to the present invention detachably, and discharges ink from a discharge port of the ink jet recording head based on a recording signal. And record it.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. 1 along the longitudinal direction of the ink flow path. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the ink jet recording head 100 includes a laminated circuit board 101 and a top plate 105 joined to the laminated circuit board 101. The top plate 105 has a plurality of discharge ports 108 for discharging ink, a common liquid chamber 106 for temporarily holding ink supplied from an ink tank (not shown) via an ink receiving port 109, and a discharge port for ink. Ink flow path 10 communicating each discharge port 108 and the common liquid chamber 106 along the direction
A plurality of flow path walls 107 for forming 7a are formed. The flow path walls 107 are formed at an equal pitch, and the ink flow paths 107a formed by joining the top plate 105 to the integrated circuit substrate 101 are also arranged at an equal pitch. The top plate 105 is formed integrally with a resin, and as the material thereof, a resin such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene having excellent ink resistance is preferable. May be used.

The laminated circuit board 101 is composed of a Si substrate, and a plurality of electrothermal transducers 102 are provided at equal pitches as energy generating means for generating discharge energy to act on ink in the ink flow path 107a. In addition, an electric wiring (not shown) of Al or the like for supplying electric power thereto is provided. The electrothermal transducer 102 and the electric wiring are formed by a film forming technique.

Here, the arrangement of the ink flow path 107a and the electrothermal converter 102 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the arrangement pitch of the ink flow paths 107a is PN,
The arrangement pitch of the electrothermal transducers 102 is PH, the flow path wall 107
The width at the contact portion with the laminated circuit board 101 is dW, and the width of the electrothermal transducers 102 in the arrangement direction is dH. At this time,
The ink flow path 107a and the electrothermal converter 102 are arranged so as to satisfy the relational expressions of PN = n × PH (n is an integer of 2 or more) (1) and 0 <dW ≦ PH−dH (2) ing.

In this embodiment, PN = 70.5 μm (36
0 dpi), dW = 5 μm, PH = 35.25 μm, d
H = 30 μm and n = 2.

By arranging the ink flow path 107a and the electrothermal converter 102 as described above, FIGS.
As shown in (1), no matter what positional relationship the laminated circuit board 101 and the top plate 105 are joined, one electrothermal transducer 102 always exists in the ink flow path 107a. Therefore, when the laminated circuit board 101 and the top plate 105 are joined, precise alignment is not required, and as a result, both can be easily aligned with simple equipment.

Here, when every other electrothermal transducer 102 is divided into groups A and B, at least one of the electrothermal transducers 102 is present in each ink flow path 107a. I do. Therefore, as shown in the circuit configuration of the laminated circuit board 101 shown in FIG. 5, by connecting the electrothermal transducers 102 of the group A and the electrothermal transducers 102 of the group B in parallel to the common electrode, Alternatively, it becomes possible to select the energization to the B group.
Further, even when the driving IC 123 is provided as in the laminated circuit board 121 shown in FIG. 12, the electrothermal converter 122 of the group A and the electrothermal converter 122 of the group B are output to the output of the driving IC 123. Alternatively, the power supply may be connected in parallel so that energization of the A group or the B group can be selected.

On the other hand, the ink jet recording head 100 of the present embodiment has a printed circuit board 200 as shown in FIG.
Is electrically connected to This printed wiring board 200
Is mounted on an ink jet recording head cartridge to be described later, and relays an electric signal between the ink jet recording head 100 and the ink jet recording apparatus. The printed wiring board 200 is provided with wire bonding pads 201 which are connected to individual electrodes provided on the laminated circuit board 101 of the ink jet recording head 200 by wire bonding. Then, each of these wire bonding pads 2
01 is connected to the main body contact pad 202, with the one connected to the group A and the one connected to the group B being wired through different paths.
The main body contact pads 202 are divided into an A group and a B group and arranged in two rows.

As described above, the group A and the group B can be selected for driving the electrothermal transducer 102. However, the electrothermal transducer 102 cannot always be arbitrarily selected, and the positional relationship between the electrothermal transducer 102 and the ink flow path 107a is not limited. Is selected according to

For example, the electrothermal converter 102 of group A
Only when the electrothermal transducer 10 of the group B is driven.
It is assumed that print inspection was performed in two cases, that is, when only 2 was driven, and that the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

[0026]

[Table 1] In Table 1, Samples 1 to 3 correspond to FIG.
To (c). The symbol in Table 1 is
Indicates a good printing state, Δ indicates a slightly poor printing state, and X indicates a poor printing state. From Table 1, it can be seen that good printing can be obtained by selecting the electrothermal converter 102 of the group B for the sample 1 and good printing can be obtained by selecting the electrothermal converter 102 of the group A for the sample 2. I understand. Regarding the sample 3, good printing can be obtained regardless of whether the electrothermal converter 102 in the group A or the group B is selected.

The procedure for selecting which group of the electrothermal transducers 102 to select will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, the electrothermal transducers 102 of group A are driven to perform a print inspection on group A (S15).
1) Then, the electrothermal transducers 102 of the group B are driven to perform a print inspection on the group B (S15).
2). These print inspections may be print inspections generally performed in a conventional ink jet recording head manufacturing process.

When the print inspection is completed, the printing state when the group A is driven is compared with the printing state when the group B is driven (S153). as a result,
If the printing state when the group A is driven is better, the wiring pattern shown in FIG. 6 is cut off at the portion of the PCB so that the electrothermal converters 102 in the group B cannot be energized (S154). ). If the printing state when the group B is driven is the same as that when the group A is driven, or is better than when the group A is driven, the wiring pattern shown in FIG. Then, the power supply to the electrothermal transducers 102 of the group A is disabled (S155). As a result, an ink jet recording head that achieves good printing with a simple configuration can be achieved without providing a control unit for selecting which group should be driven on the recording apparatus main body side.

The above-mentioned wiring pattern of the printed wiring board 200 may be cut mechanically by a cutter or the like, or may be cut by passing an overcurrent, but only the necessary pattern is surely cut. From the perspective of doing
It is preferable that the fuse be blown by an overcurrent. Although the case where the pattern of the printed wiring board 200 is cut is shown here, the pattern on the laminated circuit board 101 may be cut.

Next, an example of an ink jet recording head cartridge and an ink jet recording apparatus using the above-described ink jet recording head 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the ink jet recording head cartridge of the present invention using the above-described ink jet recording head 100. FIG.
9 is an external perspective view of the inkjet recording head cartridge shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention in which the ink jet recording head cartridge shown in FIG. 9 is mounted.

The ink jet recording head cartridge according to the present embodiment has a head unit IJU and an ink tank integrated with each other, and has a large ink storage ratio. This ink jet recording head cartridge is of a disposable type which is fixedly supported by positioning means and electric contacts of the carriage HC provided in the ink jet recording apparatus, and is detachable from the carriage HC.

In FIG. 8, the head unit IJU is
This is a unit of the type that discharges ink by generating thermal energy in response to an electric signal and causing film boiling in the ink. The ink jet recording head 100 includes the above-described laminated circuit board 101 and the top plate 105, and a printed wiring board. 200, the support 2100, and the holding spring 1350
And an ink supply path member 1600.

The laminated circuit board 101, the top plate 105 and the printed wiring board 200 are as described above,
The description is omitted.

The support 2100 is a printed circuit board 200
The back surface of the head unit IJU is supported by a flat surface, and is formed of, for example, metal, and forms a structural member of the head unit IJU. The holding spring 1350 has an M shape, and the top plate 10 is located at the center of the M shape.
5 and the portion corresponding to the ink flow path of the top plate 105 is similarly pressed by the front droop 1351 by line contact. The foot portion of the pressing spring 1350 is engaged with the back surface of the support 2100 through the hole 3121 of the support 2100, so that the laminated circuit board 101 and the top plate 105 are sandwiched between the support 2100. . As a result, the laminated circuit board 101 and the top plate 105 are urged by the holding spring 1350 and the front sag 1351 and are fixed to the support 2100 by pressure. Support 2100
Are two positioning projections 10 provided on the ink tank.
12 and two positioning holes 2101, 19 respectively engaging with the two heat-fusion holding projections 1800.
00. In addition, the support 2100 is provided with an ink supply pipe 1603 capable of supplying ink from the ink tank.
It also has a hole 2102 that allows the passage of (described below).
Attachment of the printed wiring board 200 to the support 2100 is performed by sticking with an adhesive or the like.

The cover member 2200 forms the outer wall of the ink jet recording head cartridge and also forms a portion for accommodating the head unit IJU. The ink supply path member 1600 is connected to the ink supply pipe 16 described above.
03 is connected to the ink conduit 1 by being connected thereto.
601 is provided in a cantilever form in which the connection side with the ink supply pipe 1603 is fixed.

Since the ink supply path member 1600 is molded, the ink supply path member 1600 is not only inexpensive and formed with high positional accuracy, but also cantilevered by the ink conduit 1601 so that the ink conduit 1601 can be used even in mass production. The pressure contact state of the top plate 105 with the ink receiving port can be stabilized. In this example, the sealing adhesive is poured from the ink supply path member side under this pressure contact state.

The ink supply path member 1600 is fixed to the support 2100 by fixing the holes 190 in the support 2100.
1190, the back side pins (not shown) of the ink supply path member 1600 are inserted into the holes 1901, 19 of the support 2100.
This can be easily performed by projecting through the base material 02 and thermally bonding the portion projecting to the back surface side of the support 2100. The slightly protruding region on the back side of the heat-sealed portion is accommodated in a recess (not shown) in the side wall surface of the head unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank.
Is accurately obtained.

The ink tank is a cartridge body 100
0, ink absorber 1050, and ink absorber 1050
Is inserted from the side of the cartridge main body 1000 opposite to the head unit IJU mounting surface, and a lid 1100 for sealing the cartridge is inserted. Ink absorber 1
050 is arranged in the cartridge main body 1000.
The supply port 1200 is a supply port for supplying ink to the head unit IJU, and is provided by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a process before the head unit IJU is arranged in the cartridge main body 1000. An injection port for impregnating 1050 ink. In the ink jet cartridge of this example, the portion where the ink can be injected into the ink tank is the air communication port 14.
01 and the supply port 1200. However, the rib 2300 provided on the inner surface of the cartridge body 1000 and the partial rib 2500 provided on the inner surface of the lid 1100,
By providing a configuration in which the in-tank air existence regions formed by the ink absorbers 2501 and 2501 are provided in a portion communicating from the atmosphere communication port 1401 side, and provided over a corner region farthest from the supply port 1200. Maintains good ink supply. Therefore, it is important that relatively good and uniform ink injection into the ink absorber 1050 is performed through the supply port 1200. This method is extremely effective in practice.

The rib 2300 is connected to the cartridge body 100.
Behind the cartridge body 1000, four ribs parallel to the carriage moving direction (only two upper ribs are shown in FIG. 12) are provided to prevent the ink absorber 1050 from coming into close contact with the surface of the cartridge body 1000. . Also, partial ribs 2501,
2500 is provided on the inner surface of the lid 1100 on the extension in the direction in which the rib 2300 extends.
Unlike 00, it is in a divided state. As a result, the space where air is present is increased more than the former. In addition,
The partial ribs 2500 and 2501 are distributed on a surface that is less than half the total area of the lid 1100. The ribs 2300 and the partial ribs 2500 and 2501 reliably stabilize the ink in the corner area farthest from the supply port 1200 of the ink absorber 1050, and reliably supply the ink to the supply port 12.
It can be guided to the 00 side by capillary force.

The atmosphere communication port 1401 is provided in the cartridge body 1100 to communicate the inside of the ink tank with the atmosphere. A liquid material 1400 is disposed inside the air communication port 1401, and thereby the air communication port 1401 is provided.
Ink is prevented from leaking.

The ink storage space of the ink tank has a rectangular shape. Here, the above-described arrangement of the ribs is particularly effective because it has long sides on the side surfaces. By providing a rib on the entire lid 1100, the ink supply from the ink absorber 1050 can be stabilized.

The head unit IJU is surrounded except for the lower opening by the ink tank and the cover member 2200 that covers the head unit IJU after the head unit IJU is mounted thereon. The carriage is mounted on the carriage on the apparatus main body side. At this time, since the lower opening is close to the carriage, a substantially four-sided surrounding space is formed. Therefore,
Ink jet recording head 100 in this surrounding space
The heat generated from is effective in dispersing uniformly in this space and keeping this space at a uniform temperature. However, a slight rise in temperature may occur when the inkjet recording head 100 is driven continuously for a long period of time.
For this reason, in this example, a slit 1700 having a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the ink jet recording head cartridge in order to assist the natural heat radiation from the support 2100, and the entire head unit IJU is prevented while preventing a temperature rise. Make the temperature distribution uniform without being affected by the environment.

As shown in FIG. 9, when assembled as an ink jet recording head cartridge, the ink is supplied from the supply port 1200 of the ink tank to the hole 2102 provided in the support 2100 and the ink supply path member 1600 provided on the middle and back side of the ink supply path member 1600. Ink supply pipe 1603 arranged through the mouth
Through the ink conduit 16 in the ink supply path member 1600
After being guided to 01 and passing through the inside thereof, it flows into the common liquid chamber through the ink receiving port of the top plate 105. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection between the supply pipe and the conduit described above, whereby sealing is performed and an ink supply path is secured.

As described above, the ink supply path member 160
Since the top plate 105, the top plate 105, and the cartridge body 1000 are integrally formed parts, not only the assembling accuracy becomes high, but also the quality of mass production is extremely effective. Further, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, excellent wear characteristics can be surely exhibited.

Next, the outline of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 shows an overview of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The lead screw 5005 in which the spiral groove 5004 is engraved is connected to the drive motor 50.
13 and the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5
It is rotationally driven through 009. The carriage HC carries an ink jet recording head cartridge IJC, and is engaged with the spiral groove 5004 by a pin (not shown) provided on the carriage HC. Further, the carriage HC is slidably guided by a guide rail 5003, so that it can reciprocate in the directions of the arrows a and b. The paper holding plate 5002 is a carriage H
The recording medium P is pressed against the platen roller 5010 over the moving direction of C.

The photocouplers 5007 and 5008 constitute a home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage HC in this area and performing reverse rotation of the driving motor 5013 in the rotation direction and the like. Cap member 502 for capping the front surface of the inkjet recording head
Reference numeral 2 is supported by a support member 5016, further includes a suction unit 5015, and performs suction recovery of the ink jet recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap. A support plate 5019 is attached to the main body support plate 5018,
The cleaning blade 5017 slidably supported by the support plate 5019 is moved in the front-rear direction by driving means (not shown). The form of the cleaning blade 5017 is not limited to the illustrated one, and it is needless to say that a known one can be applied to this embodiment. The lever 5021 is used to start the suction recovery operation, and moves with the movement of the cam 5020 abutting on the carriage HC, and the driving force from the driving motor 5013 is transmitted by a known transmission means such as a gear 5024 or clutch switching. Movement is controlled.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery processes are performed at corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage HC reaches the home position side area. If a desired operation is performed at a known timing, any of the embodiments can be applied.

In the recording apparatus described above,
The image forming apparatus further includes a control unit that includes a recording signal supply unit that supplies a recording signal for driving the mounted inkjet recording head to the inkjet recording head, and includes a control unit that controls driving of the inkjet recording apparatus.

Next, another embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 11A to 11C are enlarged cross-sectional views of another embodiment of the ink jet recording head of the present invention along the direction in which the ink flow paths are arranged.
Indicates various positional relationships between the ink flow path and the electrothermal converter.

In this embodiment, as compared with the above-described embodiment, the electrothermal transducer 112 has a finer structure, and the ink flow path 11 is formed so as to satisfy the above equations (1) and (2).
7a and the electrothermal converter 112 are arranged. Specifically, PN = 70.5 μm (360 dpi), dW = 3
μm, PH = 23.5 μm, dH = 20 μm, and n = 3.

By arranging the ink flow path 117a and the electrothermal converter 112 in this manner, the arrangement shown in FIGS.
As shown in (2), no matter what positional relationship the laminated circuit board 111 and the top plate 115 are joined, the two electrothermal converters 112 always exist in the ink flow channel 117a. Therefore, when the laminated circuit board 111 and the top plate 115 are joined, precise alignment is not required, and as a result, both can be easily aligned with simple equipment.

Here, when every second electrothermal converter 112 is divided into group A, group B, and group C, at least any two groups of electrothermal converters are provided in each ink flow path 117a. There are 112. Then, two of the three groups are arbitrarily combined and a print inspection is performed. As a result, it is assumed that the result shown in Table 2 is obtained.

[0056]

[Table 2] In Table 2, Samples 1 to 3 correspond to FIG.
This corresponds to the cases (a) to (c). The meanings of the symbols in Table 2 are the same as in Table 1. As shown in Table 2, for sample 1, electrothermal transducers 11 of groups B and C were used.
It can be seen that good printing can be obtained by selecting No. 2 and good printing can be obtained by selecting the electrothermal converters 112 of the A group and the B group for the sample 2. Also,
Regarding the sample 3, good printing can be obtained even when any two groups of the electrothermal transducers 112 of the group A, the group B, and the group C are selected.

Therefore, according to the printing result, a predetermined 2
A part of the wiring connected to the remaining group of electrothermal converters 112 is cut off so that power cannot be supplied to the other group of electrothermal converters 112. Accordingly, an optimum printing state can be obtained regardless of the positional relationship between the laminated circuit board 111 and the top plate 115.

According to the present invention, there is provided a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. Thus, in a print head and a printing apparatus of a type in which a change in the state of ink is caused, excellent effects can be obtained. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which This is effective because heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, causing film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, air bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding one-to-one to this drive signal can be formed. It is. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As this pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, The present invention also includes a configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal transducer for a plurality of electrothermal transducers, or absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening corresponds to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, in the case of a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the effect of the heat radiation and heat storage appears greatly, so that the present invention is particularly effectively applied. can do. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies its length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as a single integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the ink supply from the apparatus main body by being electrically connected to the apparatus main body by being mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head which enables the recording or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and printing Pre-discharge means for performing another discharge can be used.

Further, the types and the number of the recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for a single color ink but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. In other words, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to the printing mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be configured integrally with the printing head or by a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus having at least one of the full-color recording modes.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to one provided as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a word processor or a computer as an integral or separate unit, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, A facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function may be employed.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, the pitch of the ink flow path, the width of the flow path wall at the contact portion with the substrate, the pitch of the energy generating elements, and the width of the energy generating elements in the arrangement direction are respectively set. By defining, even if the substrate and the top plate member are arbitrarily joined, the energy generating element can be arranged in the ink flow path. As a result, equipment for high-precision alignment and a special structure for the recording head itself are not required, and the substrate and the top plate member can be easily joined without increasing the manufacturing cost.

Further, the energy generating elements are divided into n groups such that every (n-1) energy generating elements are in the same group, and the energy generating elements are driven for each group to discharge ink. By driving only the energy generating elements of a predetermined group, it is possible to achieve good printing quality while eliminating the need for highly accurate alignment. In order to drive only a predetermined group of energy generating elements, if a part of a wiring pattern connected to an energy generating element of a group other than the predetermined group is cut, the necessary energy generating elements can be driven with a simple configuration. Can be done. Especially,
In this cutting, an overcurrent is applied to the wiring pattern to be cut to blow it out, so that only the necessary wiring pattern can be cut reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of an ink jet recording head of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head shown in FIG. 1 along a longitudinal direction of an ink flow path.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head shown in FIG. 1 along an arrangement direction of ink flow paths.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing various positional relationships between an ink flow path and an electrothermal converter when the top plate and the laminated circuit board are joined at an arbitrary position in the ink jet recording head shown in FIG. is there.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a laminated circuit board of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG.

6 is a diagram showing a schematic wiring pattern of a printed wiring board to which the ink jet recording head shown in FIG. 3 is connected.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for selecting a group of electrothermal transducers of the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the ink jet recording head cartridge of the present invention.

9 is an external perspective view of the ink jet recording head cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 11A to 11C are enlarged cross-sectional views of another embodiment of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, taken along the direction in which the ink flow paths are arranged. FIGS. 3 shows various positional relationships with the converter.

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of a laminated circuit board provided with a driving IC, which can be applied to the ink jet recording head of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ink jet recording apparatus using thermal energy, taken along a direction in which liquid paths are arranged.

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13, showing a case where a displacement between the substrate and the top plate occurs.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Ink jet recording head 101, 111, 121 Laminated circuit board 102, 112, 122 Electrothermal transducer 105, 115 Top plate 106 Common liquid chamber 107 Channel wall 107 a, 117 a Ink channel 108 Discharge port 109 Ink port 123 Drive IC 200 printed wiring board 201 pad for wire bonding 202 pad for body contact

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A substrate on which a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink are provided at an equal pitch, and a plurality of flow path walls along an ink discharging direction are formed at an equal pitch. And a top plate member that forms a plurality of ink flow paths that act on the ink by the energy generated by the energy generating element by being bonded to the substrate, wherein the pitch of the ink flow paths is PN, When the width of the flow path wall at the contact portion with the substrate is dW, the pitch of the energy generating elements is PH, the width of the energy generating elements in the arrangement direction is dH, and n is an integer of 2 or more, The ink flow path and the energy generating element are provided so as to satisfy a relationship of PN = n × PH and 0 <dW ≦ PH−dH. Kujetto recording head. 2. A print result obtained by dividing the energy generating elements into n groups such that every (n-1) energy generating elements are in the same group, and driving the energy generating elements to discharge ink for each group. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein only a predetermined group of energy generating elements are driven based on the following. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein a part of a wiring pattern connected to energy generating elements of a group other than the predetermined group is cut. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 3, wherein the cutting is performed by flowing an overcurrent to the wiring pattern to blow the wiring pattern. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the energy generating element is an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. 6. The ink jet according to claim 5, wherein the ink is ejected from an ejection opening formed at a tip of the ink flow path using film boiling generated by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. Recording head. 7. An ink jet recording head cartridge comprising: the ink jet recording head according to claim 1; and an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to the ink jet recording head. 8. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising the ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording head ejects ink from the ink jet recording head based on a recording signal to perform recording. 9. An ink jet recording apparatus which detachably holds the ink jet cartridge according to claim 7, and performs recording by discharging ink from an ink jet recording head of the ink jet cartridge based on a recording signal.