KR20110069359A - Inkjet print head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An inkjet print head is provided to control the temperature of a head part by using a temperature control flow passage. CONSTITUTION: An inkjet print head comprises a head part(110), a dummy channel(120) and a temperature control flow passage(130). A plurality of main channels(112) is formed on the head part in order to discharge ink. The main channel is composed of a nozzle and an ink chamber(42). The dummy channel is formed in the head part in order to be located on the side part of the main channel. The dummy channel receives ink. The temperature control flow passage is formed to make the ink pass by the inside of the head part.

Description

Inkjet print head

The present invention relates to an inkjet printhead, and more particularly, to an inkjet printhead capable of easily controlling the temperature of the head portion during continuous ejection of ink.

In general, an inkjet printhead is a structure that converts an electrical signal into a physical force so that ink is ejected in the form of droplets through a small nozzle.

Recently, piezoelectric inkjet printheads are also used in industrial inkjet printing. For example, by spraying ink made by melting metals such as gold and silver on a printed circuit board (PCB) to form a circuit pattern directly, or manufacturing industrial graphics, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), Used for solar cells.

In general, an inkjet print head has a structure such as an inlet and an outlet for inflow and outflow of ink from a cartridge, a reservoir for storing the inflowing ink, and a chamber for transmitting the driving force of the actuator to move the ink in the reservoir to the nozzle. Can be.

However, the conventional inkjet print head generates heat inside the actuator when vibration of the actuator is generated at high speed or ink is continuously discharged, thereby changing the temperature of the head including the above configuration.

Therefore, a problem arises in that the amount of ink ejected by such a temperature change is not constant, and the amount changes with time.

In addition, a method of attaching a heater or a sensor around the head may be used to solve such a problem, but such a structure has a disadvantage in that a number of processes are required during assembly and manufacturing costs are high by the equipment. Thus, there is a need for techniques to solve these problems.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is directed to an inkjet head and a method for manufacturing the inkjet head capable of easily controlling the temperature of the ink to be ejected during the continuous ejection of the ink.

An inkjet printhead according to the present invention includes a head portion having a nozzle for discharging ink and a plurality of main channels formed with ink chambers connected to the nozzles, respectively; A dummy channel formed in the head part so as to be located at the side of the nozzle and the ink chamber, and receiving the ink; And a temperature control flow path configured to receive ink from the dummy channel and allow the ink to pass through the inside of the head portion.

In addition, the temperature control flow path of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may be located between the ink chamber and the reservoir receiving ink.

In addition, the temperature control flow path of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may be formed to surround the damper connecting the ink chamber and the nozzle.

In addition, the head portion of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention includes a plurality of reservoirs for storing the ink to supply ink to each of the ink chambers, and ink inlets respectively formed to inject external ink into the reservoir. It can be characterized by.

In addition, the ink inlet of the inkjet print head according to the present invention may be characterized in that it comprises a plurality of filtering holes for filtering the incoming foreign matter.

In addition, the dummy channel of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may be formed on both sides of the head portion.

In addition, the dummy channel of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may include a dummy chamber formed in a shape corresponding to the ink chamber.

In addition, the dummy channel of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may be formed in a shape corresponding to the nozzle, and may include a dummy nozzle for replacing the ink of the temperature control flow path.

The inkjet printhead according to the present invention includes a temperature control flow path formed to receive ink from a dummy channel and the ink passes through the inside of the head part, so that the temperature of the head part can be constantly controlled by the temperature control flow path. It is possible to prevent the problem that the temperature is increased by increasing the heat capacity of the head portion at the time of ejection of the ink.

In addition, since the temperature control flow path can be easily manufactured through an etching process or the like, the present invention is simpler to manufacture than a separate temperature control means, and the cost can be reduced.

An inkjet printhead according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described in detail a specific embodiment of the present invention.

However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and those skilled in the art who understand the spirit of the present invention may deteriorate other inventions or the present invention by adding, modifying, or deleting other elements within the scope of the same idea. Other embodiments that fall within the scope of the inventive concept may be readily proposed, but they will also be included within the scope of the inventive concept.

In addition, the components with the same functions within the scope of the same idea shown in the drawings of each embodiment will be described using the same reference numerals.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating an inkjet printhead according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the AA direction of the inkjet printhead of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an inkjet of FIG. 1. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the BB direction from the print head, and FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the temperature control flow path in the inkjet print head of FIG. 1.

1 to 4, the inkjet print head 100 may include a head unit 110, a dummy channel 120, and a temperature control flow path 130.

The head unit 110 may form one body and may be connected to the adapter and the ink tank. In this case, a plurality of main channels 112 may be formed in the head part 110 including nozzles 54 for discharging ink therein and ink chambers 42 connected to the nozzles 54.

In the main channel 112, ink inlets 50 for injecting ink are formed in a number corresponding to each ink chamber 42. In this case, the dummy channel 120 may be provided on the side of the main channel 112 temporarily and not actually used.

Here, the head part 110 may form an assembly by adhering the flow path plate 10, the intermediate plate 20, and the nozzle plate 30 to each other. However, the head 110 is not limited to this structure and can be manufactured as a single body that is not separated separately. At this time, a detailed description of the flow path plate 10, the intermediate plate 20 and the nozzle plate 30 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 4, the dummy channel 120 may be provided in the head 110 to be located at both sides of the main channel 112 as described above. In this case, a plurality of dummy channels 120 may be formed, and the number of dummy channels 120 may be set in various ways according to a designer's intention.

Here, the dummy channel 120 may be a preliminary channel of ink supply, which may be provided separately from the main channel 112 and may be used according to a designer's intention when ejecting ink.

In addition, like the main channel 112, the dummy channel 120 may be provided with the dummy nozzle 122 and the dummy chamber 124 in parallel with the nozzle 54 and the ink chamber 42, respectively. .

At this time, the dummy chamber 124 may be connected to the ink inlet 50 for injecting the ink, respectively, the dummy chamber 124, when the ink is injected into the main channel 112 in the ink tank together with the dummy chamber ( 124).

In addition, the dummy chamber 124 may be provided such that the portion of the intermediate plate 20 is connected to the reservoir 44, the ink chamber 42, and the damper 46. Therefore, the ink injected into the dummy chamber 124 is moved to the temperature control flow path 130 while filling the reservoir 44, the ink chamber 42, and the damper 46.

2 to 4, the temperature control flow path 130 may be formed inside the head portion 110 to pass from the dummy channel 120 to the periphery of the ink chamber 42 of the main channels 112. Can be. In this case, the temperature control passage 130 may be a passage connecting the dummy channels 120 located at both sides of the main channel 112 to each other.

In this case, the temperature control channel 130 may be formed on the intermediate plate 20, and may be formed together to be provided between the damper 46 and the reservoir 44 during the etching process. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is an effect that the temperature control flow path can be easily produced.

Therefore, since the heat exchange occurs with the head portion 110 by the temperature control flow passage 130 formed to pass through the interior of the head portion 110, the heat capacity of the head portion 110 itself is increased and its temperature is increased. It will solve the rising problem.

In addition, the present embodiment can simply manufacture the temperature control flow path 130 without the need to install a separate temperature control means for adjusting the temperature of the head portion 110, since the temperature can be exchanged through the ink It is possible to reduce the cost while being manufactured simply.

Hereinafter, the components shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described in detail.

The head unit 110 may include a flow path plate 10, an intermediate plate 20, and a nozzle plate 30.

A plurality of ink chambers 42 may be formed in the flow path plate 10, and an ink inlet 50 for introducing ink may be provided. In this case, the ink inlet 50 is provided to be directly connected to the reservoir 44, and the reservoir 44 serves to supply ink to the ink chamber 42 through the restrictor 48.

The ink chamber 42 is provided below the position at which the piezoelectric actuator 52 is mounted. At this time, the portion of the flow path plate 10 that forms the ceiling of the ink chamber 42 serves as a diaphragm.

Therefore, when a driving signal is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 52 for ejecting ink, the internal volume of the ink chamber 42 is changed while the diaphragm below the piezoelectric actuator 52 is deformed.

As a result, the ink in the ink chamber 42 is discharged to the outside through the damper 46 and the nozzle 54 by the increase in the pressure in the ink chamber 42.

In addition, the piezoelectric actuator 52 may have an electrode electrically connected to the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and may be made of PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) ceramic material, which is a piezoelectric material.

The intermediate plate 20 may include a reservoir 44 extending in the longitudinal direction and a damper 46 connecting the nozzle 54 and the ink chamber 42.

The reservoir 44 receives ink from the ink inlet 50 and supplies ink to the ink chamber 42, and the reservoir 44 and the ink chamber 42 are connected to each other by the restrictor 48.

The damper 46 receives ink discharged by the piezoelectric actuator 52 from the ink chamber 42 and discharges the ink to the outside through the nozzle 54.

In addition, the damper 46 may be formed in a multi-stage shape, and by this structure it is possible to adjust the amount of ink received from the ink chamber 42 and the amount of ink proceeding to the nozzle 54.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a head part in an inkjet print head according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main channel in the head part of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a head part of FIG. 5. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating a dummy channel.

5 to 7, the inkjet print head 200 may include a head portion 210, a dummy channel 220, and a temperature control flow path 230.

Here, since the configuration of the head portion 210 and the dummy channel 220 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as the previous embodiment, a detailed description thereof may be omitted.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the temperature control flow path 230 may be formed to surround the damper 46 of the main channel 212, and ink may be filled in the inner space.

In this case, the temperature control flow path 230 may be formed on the intermediate plate 20, which is provided together with the damper 46 and the reservoir 44 during the etching process.

Here, the dummy channel 220, like the main channel 212, may be provided in parallel with the nozzle 54 and the ink chamber 42, and the dummy nozzle 222 and the dummy chamber 224 may be provided side by side. .

Therefore, in this embodiment, there is an effect that the temperature control flow path can be easily produced. In addition, the path of the temperature control flow path 230 may be variously set according to the intention of the designer.

As a result, in the present embodiment, since the heat exchange occurs with the head portion 210 by the temperature control flow path 230 formed to pass through the interior of the head portion 210, the heat capacity of the head portion 210 itself is increased and its temperature is increased. This solves the problem of rising.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating an inkjet print head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the A-A direction of the inkjet print head of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B direction in the inkjet print head of FIG. 1.

4 is a plan view illustrating a temperature control flow path in the inkjet print head of FIG. 1.

5 is a plan view illustrating a head unit in the inkjet print head according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view for describing a main channel in the head of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a dummy channel in the head of FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 .... Euro Plate 20 .... Middle Plate

30 ... nozzle plate 42 ... ink chamber

44 .... Reservoir 46 .... Damper

48 .... Lister 50 .... Ink Inlet

52 .... Piezo Actuator 54 .... Nozzle

110 ... head 112. Main channel

120 .... dummy channel 122 .... dummy nozzle

124 .... dummy chamber 130 ... temperature control flow path

Claims (8)

A head part having a nozzle for ejecting ink and a plurality of main channels formed with ink chambers respectively connected to the nozzles; A dummy channel formed in the head part so as to be positioned at a side of the main channel and receiving the ink; And A temperature control flow path configured to receive the ink from the dummy channel and allow the ink to pass through the head portion; Inkjet print head comprising a. The method of claim 1, The temperature control flow path, And an inkjet printhead positioned between the ink chamber and a reservoir receiving ink. The method of claim 1, The temperature control flow path, And a damper connecting the ink chamber and the nozzle. The method of claim 1, And the head portion includes a plurality of reservoirs storing the ink to supply ink to each of the ink chambers, and ink inlets respectively formed to inject external ink into the reservoirs. 5. The method of claim 4, The ink inlet, An inkjet printhead comprising a plurality of filtering holes for filtering incoming foreign matter. The method of claim 1, The dummy channel is An inkjet print head, characterized in that formed on both sides of the head portion. The method of claim 1, The dummy channel is And a dummy chamber formed in a shape corresponding to the ink chamber. The method of claim 1, The dummy channel is And a dummy nozzle formed in a shape corresponding to the nozzle and for replacing the ink in the temperature control flow path.

Images