Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6074048A/en
Timestamp: 2018-03-17 23:19:30
Document Index: 785206986

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'art 17', 'arts 17', 'art 17', 'art.\n10', 'art.\n14']

US6074048A - Ink jet recording head including interengaging piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric members and method of manufacturing same - Google Patents
Ink jet recording head including interengaging piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric members and method of manufacturing same
US6074048A
US6074048A US08239527 US23952794A US6074048A US 6074048 A US6074048 A US 6074048A US 08239527 US08239527 US 08239527 US 23952794 A US23952794 A US 23952794A US 6074048 A US6074048 A US 6074048A
US08239527
Osamu Ebisu
A piezoelectric member includes a flat part and a plurality of convex parts on the flat part, and at least a part of each convex part is a piezoelectric element. A non-piezoelectric member is made of non-piezoelectric materials, and includes a plurality of concave parts corresponding to the piezoelectric elements and a convex part formed between adjacent concave parts. The piezoelectric member and the non-piezoelectric member are engaged with each other by inserting each non-piezoelectric convex part between adjacent piezoelectric elements and an ink cavity is formed between a bottom surface of each concave part and a top surface of each piezoelectric element. Also between a side of the piezoelectric convex part and a side of the non-piezoelectric concave part is provided a space, and the space is filled with a filler.
An ink jet recording head for jetting ink in the form of a droplet from an ink nozzle by utilization of a piezoelectric effect has been well known in the art. Examples of such ink recording heads are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 4,819,614 and 4,752,788.
As was described with referring to FIG. 1, two deep grooves and one shallow groove are constructed in the piezo-electric plate 51; and the manufacturing cost of this piezo-electric plate 51 is relatively expensive. Particularly in the case when it is required to arrange ink cavities at a high density, the width of each groove (b) becomes as narrow as some μm, and it is considerably difficult for the present manufacturing technique to form such ink cavities in a piezo-electric plate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head which can be readily manufactured at a low manufacturing cost, and to achieve effective ink jetting by preventing cross-talk between ink cavities.
FIG. 13 shows a manufacturing step of the first embodiment;
FIGS. 14 (a) to (d), (a-1) to (a-7), (e-1), (f-1), (g-1), (e), (f), and (g) are diagrams for a description of the relationship between a pulse waveform of an applied voltage and a deformation of a piezo-electric plate;
FIG. 24 shows a step of manufacturing a piezo-electric member according to the sixth embodiment;
FIGS. 31 (a) and (b) is a cross-sectional views of an eleventh embodiment and a twelfth embodiment;
FIG. 38 (a) to (i) shows an ink nozzle of the embodiment.
A piezoelectric plate and a piezoelectric chip are made of piezoelectric materials as an integral piezoelectric member in a first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a multi-nozzle type ink jet recording head according to the embodiment. The ink jet recording head mainly comprises a paper supplying system 1, a main engine controller 2, a controller 3, a cleaning recovery system 4, an interface 5, a driver unit 6, a line head unit 7, an operation unit 8, a paper feeding tray 9, a body 10, and a recording paper cassette 11. The line head unit 7 is comprised of a multi-nozzle head 13 for four complementary colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the multi-nozzle head 13; and FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway view in perspective of the multi-nozzle head 13.
As shown in FIG. 4, on one surface of the piezoelectric member 17 which confronts with the non-piezoelectric member 18, a plurality of elongated grooves (convex portion 17a) are formed in the longitudinal direction at predetermined intervals along with the width of the member 18.
The non-piezoelectric member 18 is made of non-piezoelectric materials (exemplary materials will be described later), and a plurality of concave portions 18a are formed in the non-piezo electric member 18 to conform to the convex portions 17a in the piezoelectric member 17. For example, the length of the non piezoelectric member 18 is 2-50 mm; the width of each convex portion 17a is 20-150 μm; and the convex portions 17a are placed at intervals of 42,3-254 μm (pixel density: 60-100 dpi).
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-nozzle head 13. As shown in FIG. 5, when the convex portion 17a and the concave portion 18a are engaged with each other, a space is formed between their sides. Both sides of the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 are fixedly secured to each other with adhesive or the like, and hence ink cavities 29 are formed between the convex portions 17a and concave portions 18a.
An individual electrode 32 is provided on top of the convex portion 17a which is formed in the piezoelectric member 17; and an electrode 33 is provided on bottom of the piezo-electric electric member 17 in such a manner that it is confronted with the respective individual electrode 32 across the piezoelectric member 17.
Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, the whole surface of the convex portion 17a in the piezo-electric member 17 is covered with an insulating protection film (overcoat film) 17c (this coverage with the insulating protection film 17c can be omitted if a high ink resistance is applied).
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal-sectional view of the multi-nozzle head 13. A nozzle plate 19 which is made for instance of a polyamide film is provided to the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 as shown in FIG. 6, and a convergent ink nozzle 19a is formed in the nozzle plate 19 in such a manner that it is communicated with the ink cavity 29. The nozzle plate 19 is fixedly secured to the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 with epoxy adhesive or the like; and the ink nozzle l9a is formed in the nozzle plate 19 by excimer laser. For example, the nozzle plate 19 is made of a polyamide film (KAPUTON by Toray Industries, Inc.) which is 25-200 μm in thickness; and the diameter of the ink nozzle 19a is 10-100 μm.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an ink supplying inlet 35 is formed in the non-piezoelectric member 18 in such a manner that it is communicated with every ink cavity 29. Upper surface of the non-piezoelectric member 18 is covered with an ink cover 20 made of epoxy resin while sides of the piezo-electric member 17 are covered with a block plate 21 made of epoxy resin, and hence the ink supplying inlet 35 is fully covered. Further, slits 24 are formed on the ink cover 20 for supplying ink to the ink supplying inlet 35.
Rochelle salt (RS: NaKC4 H4 O6.4H2 O)
Ethylene diamin tartrate (EDT: C6 H14 N2 O6)
Dipotassium tartrate (DKT: K2 C4 H4 O6.1/2 H2 O)
Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP: NH4 H2 PO4)
(e.g.) CaTiO3
(e.g.) NaxWO3 (0.1<x<0.28),
Barium sodium niobate (Ba2 NaNb5 O15)
Potassium lead niobate (Pb2 KNb5 O15)
Lithium sulfate (LiSO4 H2 O)
Bismuth germanium (Bi12 GeO20)
Barium germanium Titanium (Ba2 Ge2 TiO8)
Barium lead niobate ((Ba-Pb)Nb2 O6)
Poly(vinyl fluoride)PVDF (--CH2 --CF2 --)n
Poly(vinyl fluoride)/PZT
Al2 O3, SiC, C, BaTiO3, BiO3, 3SnO2, Pb(Zrx, Ti1-x)O3, ZnO, SiO2, (1-x)Pb(Zrx, Ti1-x)O3 +(x)La2 O3, Zn1-x Mnx Fe2 O3, γ-Fe2 O3, SrO.6Fe2 O3, La1-x Cax CrO3, SnO2, transition metal oxide, ZnO-Bi2 O3, semi-conductive BaTiO3, β-Al2 O3, stabilized zirconia, LaB6, B4 C, diamond, TiN, TiC, Si3 N4, Y2 O2 S: Eu, PLZT, ThO2, --CaO.nSiO2, Ca5 (F,CI)P3 O12, TiO2, K2 O.nAl2 O3,
hydrogen bonding glass=HPO3, H3 PO4, SiO2, B2 O2, P2 O5, GeO2, As2 O3
glass oxide=SbO3, Bi2 O3, P2 O3, V2 O5, Sb2 O5, As2 O3, SO3, Zro2
glass fluoride=BeF2
glass chloride=ZnCl2
glass sulfide=GeS2, As2 S3
glass carbonate=K2 CO3, MgCO3
glass nitrate=NaNO3, KNO3, AgNO3
glass sulfate=Na2 S2 O3.H2 O, Tl2 SO4, alumite
glass silicate=SiO2
glass alkali silicate=Na2 O-CaO-SiO2
glass potassium lime=K2 O-CaO-SiO2
glass soda-lime=Na2 O-CaO-SiO2
Photosensitive resin, thick-film use photoresist resin, or the like may be utilized. It may be bakelite, fluororesin, or glass-epoxy resin (glass filler is mixed in epoxy).
Any metal can be used to cover a side of the non-piezoelectric member which is in contact with respective ink cavity.
As shown in FIG. 7, a sputter film of 10 μm-0.1 μm in thickness, such as an Au/Ni or Au/(Ni, Cr) film is provided on both top and bottom surfaces of an PZT piezoelectric plate which constitutes the piezoelectric member 17 by electroless plating, and hence electrode layers 32, 33 are formed.
As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of convex portions 17a are formed at a predetermined interval in the piezoelectric member 17 with an automatic dicing saw.
As shown in FIG. 9, the whole surface of the convex portion 17a is covered with the insulating protection film 17c made of amotphosour carbon. The thickness of the insulating protection film 17c is 0.5 μm.
As shown in FIG. 12, the concave portions 18a to be employed as the ink cavities 29 are formed in the non-piezoelectric member 18 by cutting elongated grooves with a dicing saw in such a manner that they are formed on the opposite surface of the member 18 to the ink-supplying inlets as well as they extend perpendicular to the ink-supplying inlets. (The dimension of the concave portion 18a is determined to engage itself with respective convex portion 17a.)
The piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 are adhered to each other with epoxy-type adhesive 18b; the nozzle plate 19 including the ink nozzle 19a which is communicated with respective ink cavity 29 is constructed to the front face of the member 17 and 18; the ink cover 20 is fixed over the ink-supplying inlet 35; then the block plate 21 is provided to both sides of the members 17 and 18 with adhesive.
FIGS. 14 (a) to (d) show embodiments of the relations between a pulse waveform of an applied voltage and deformation of the piezoelectric member 17. According to an image signal, the driver unit 6 applies a voltage across a selected pair of the individual electrode 32 and electrode 33; accordingly, an electric field is formed in A direction between the electrodes 32 and 33 as shown in FIG. 14 (a). Since the piezoelectric member 17 has been polarized in P direction, the convex portion 17a in the piezoelectric member 17 is expanded as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 14 (a) upon its vibration. As a result, the volume of the ink cavity 29 between the convex portion 17 and the concave portion 18a is decreased, and ink therein is jetted in the form of a droplet from the respective ink nozzle 19a to a recording paper (not shown).
When the application of the voltage across the electrodes 32 and 33 is suspended, the configuration of the convex portion in the piezoelectric member 17 is restored as shown by the solid line in FIG. 14 (a), and the volume of the ink cavity 29 is increased, as a result of which the ink is returned through the ink supplying inlet 35 to the ink cavity 29 to fill up the ink cavity so that the next ink jetting is ready.
The convex portion 17a expands upon its vibration and returns to its original shape upon suspension of an applied voltage. Since the non-piezoelectric member 18 and the convex portion 17a are not provided as an integral unit, vibration of the convex portion 17a is hardly transmitted to the non-piezoelectric member 18. Further, side walls of the ink cavity 29 are made of the non-piezoelectric member 18, which therefore an electric field generated across the electrodes does not enter therein. As a result, no vibration occurs at the side walls of the ink cavity 29.
By applying various waveforms of pulse signals shown by FIGS. 14 (a-1)-(a-7) in to the individual electrode 32, the following effects can be obtained.
When FIG. 14 (a-1) is applied, the volume of the ink cavity 29 is decreased rapidly, and ink is jetted from the ink cavity. However, in this case, the volume of the ink cavity 29 may be increased so fast to return to the original shape that bubbles may enter from the ink nozzle, and ink pressure for the next ink jetting is absorbed by these bubbles. Consequently, effective ink jetting is hindered.
When FIG. 14 (a-2) is applied, the volume of the ink cavity 29 is increased gradually to prevent the entering of bubbles. More specifically, the rapid change in the volume of the convex portion 17a after ink jetting is prevented by decreasing the pulse gradually, instead of decreasing it rapidly as shown by FIG. (a-1).
Pulses of FIGS. 14 (a-3) and (a-4) implement an ink jetting contrary to pulses of FIGS. 14 (a-1) and (a-2). When pulses of FIG. 14 (a-3) and (a-4) are applied, the ink cavity 29 is filled with ink first, then the volume of the ink cavity 29 is decreased to FIG. 14 jet the ink. Being Similar to (a-2), a gradual increase of pulse is achieved by FIG. 14 (a-4).
Pulses of FIGS. 14 (a-5) and (a-6) include a sub-pulse after a main pulse. When a high-speed printing is operated by utilization of high frequencies, satellite noise often occurs during ink jetting. To prevent any satellite noise, a sub-pulse in FIG. 14 (a-5) and (a-6) is applied to increase the volume of the respective ink cavity 29 by the degree to absorb a tail of an ink pole forcibly.
All of the pulses of FIGS. 14 (a-1)-(a-6), which have been described, and the pulses of FIGS. 14 (e-1)-(g-1), which will be described later, are implemented by applying a voltage to the electrode 32 according to image information. In contrast, the pulse of FIG. 14 (a-7) is implemented by applying a certain DV voltage to the electrode 33 but grounding the individual electrode 32 depending on image information, accordingly an electric field is generated between the electrodes 32 and 33. Image control by the utilization of the pulse of FIG. 14 (a-7) is accomplished by a switching circuit simply constructed, therefore, the manufacturing cost of a driver IC is reduced as well as it is easily operated.
The pulse of FIG. 14 (e-1) is implemented by raising a bias voltage to the individual electrode 32 by a predetermined level constantly. As a result, ink jetting can be operated with a small voltage, and running cost can be reduced remarkably.
Further, in the pulses of FIG. 14 (f-1) and (g-1), an AC-type component is added to a pulse waveform for single image information; therefore, the ink jetting can be cut sharply, and this overcomes the drawbacks in the conventional ink jet recording device. That is, especially when a number of pages are printed by the conventional pulse, a blunt ink cutting occurs and the recording papers are stained with dispersed ink, and the ink jetting direction is distorted. However, such image noise can be prevented by the utilization of the pulses of FIGS. 14 (f-1) and (g-1).
As a modification of the first embodiment, the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 may be engaged with each other without a space as shown by FIGS. 15 and 16; and a small groove 31' may be formed in the non-piezoelectric member 18 as an ink nozzle (or, the ink nozzle groove 31' is formed in the concave portion 17a). The configurations in FIGS. 15 and 16 exclude a nozzle plate, and reduce the manufacturing cost thereby.
The top of the convex portion 17a and the bottom of the inner surface of the concave portion 18a may be cut as a hollow as shown by FIG. 17. This configuration suppresses the entering of bubbles, so that ink jetting is improved. As a result, an applied voltage can be decreased.
Only sides of the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 may be fixedly secured to each other with the adhesive 18b (FIG. 4). Such partial adhesion does not decrease the pressure in the ink cavity 29 since the space between the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member is made sufficiently small herein. Furthermore, by leaving some parts of the member 17 or 18 not adhered to the other, the distortion of the piezoelectric member 17 which occurs outside the convex portion 17a due to the vibration can be compensated by an absorption slipping. Therefore, effective ink jetting can be achieved at a high-speed as excluding any cross-talk between ink cavities.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head according to the second embodiment. A convex portion 17a formed in a piezoelectric member 17 is shaped as a trapezoid as shown in FIG. 18, and the multi-head nozzle is formed by engaging the trapezoid-shaped convex portion 17a with a non-piezoelectric member shared with the first embodiment. Owing to its shape, the trapezoid-shaped convex portion 17a can be engaged with the non-piezoelectric member more easily, which therefore fabrication process can be simplified.
By forming the curvature R, the area of the non-piezoelectric member 18 which is in contact with the piezo electric member 17 is decreased; therefore, even in the case of eccentric engagement between the members 17 and 18, effective ink jetting can be achieved. Moreover, the curvature R suppresses the generation of bubbles in an ink cavity 29.
FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 20, concave portion 18a are formed both on top and bottom of the non-piezoelectric member 18 staggeringly, and they are engaged with a pair of piezoelectric members 17, respectively.
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 21, a pair of piezoelectric members 17 are arranged in such a manner that convex portions 17a in the piezoelectric members 17 face to each other, and a non-piezoelectric member 18 is disposed between the piezoelectric members 17. Concave portions 18a in the non-piezoelectric member 18 to be engaged with the convex portions 17a, respectively are made of resin, and hence ink cavities 29 are arranged in parallel.
FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-head nozzle according to this embodiment. The multi-nozzle head in this embodiment is substantially same as the multi-nozzle head in the first embodiment except the configuration of a piezoelectric member 17. That is, lower part of a convex portion 17a is a rigid insulating plate and upper part thereof is made of piezoelectric materials; and an individual electrode 32 and an electrode are disposed on top and bottom surface of the piezoelectric part respectively. The electrodes 33 correspond to the individual electrodes 32 one to one while the electrodes 33 in the area excluding any ink cavity are continuous as one electrode.
As shown in FIG. 24, the convex portion 17a to be engaged with a concave portion 18a in the non-piezoelectric member 18 is formed by cutting with a dicing saw as well the individual electrode 32 is provided on top surface of the convex portion 18a.
As shown in FIG. 25, a terminal connecting position is formed at a rear end of the individual electrode 32 and the electrode 33, and hence the piezoelectric member 17 is manufactured.
According to the multi-nozzle head thus constructed, a voltage is applied only across the concave portion 17a since the individual electrode 32 and the electrode 33 are provided on top and bottom surface of the piezoelectric concave portion 17a. Therefore, vibration is generated effectively and few electric field escapes are observed, therefore the applied voltage can be lowered remarkably. Also, the piezo electric member comprises only the convex portion 17a, so that vibration is hardly transmitted to adjacent ink cavities 29, as a result of which cross-talk between ink cavities can be prevented.
FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head which is a modification of the sixth embodiment. In the multi-nozzle head in FIG. 26, the convex portion 17a made for instance of a syntered body of PZT piezoelectric powder is formed on an alumina plate X2 or the like. The convex portion 17a is produced by applying application liquid where PZT piezoelectric powder has been dispersed to the alumina plate X2 (pattern application), then sintering the alumina plate X2.
FIG. 27 shows a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27, a convex portion 17a comprises a plurality of PZT piezoelectric layers, and electrode layers 32, 33 made for instance of palladium (four layers for each in the figure). In producing the convex portion 17a, the PZT piezoelectric layers, electrode layers 32, 33 are laid on each other by Green sheet method; wiring is provided to the electrode layers 32, 33; then the resulting multi-layer is cut into a predetermined size with a dicing saw. The multi-nozzle head is produced by engaging the piezoelectric member 17 thus constructed with the non-piezoelectric member 18 in the first embodiment.
FIG. 28 is a cross-section view of a multi-nozzle head in the eighth embodiment. The multi-nozzle head in this embodiment is substantially same as that in the first embodiment except that surface of a convex portion 17a in the piezo electric member 17 is covered with an insulating protection film 17c which is 10 μm in thickness and made of polyimide resin (HL-1110 by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), and a space 36 between a side of the convex portion 17a and a side of a concave portion 18a is filled with a filling and adhesive member 36a made of liquid epoxy adhesive (E30 by Konishi Co., Ltd.) together with an insulating protection film 17c.
Manufacturing of the multi-nozzle head in this embodiment is substantially same as the multi-nozzle head in the first embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 7-13 except the formation of the insulating protection film 17c and the filling of the space with the filling adhesive member 36a. The insulating protection film 17c is formed by applying polyimide resin to the piezoelectric member 17 by spincoat method, and sintering the application result at 180° C. for an hour. When engaging the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 with each other, the space 36 is filled with epoxy adhesive, and is syntered at 150° C. for half an hour.
This embodiment has the same advantage as the first embodiment in that vibration is hardly transmitted from the convex portion 17a to the non-piezoelectric member 18 since they are constructed independently from each other. Besides this, to fill the space 36 with the filling and adhesive member 36a and the insulating protection film 17c is advantageous in the followings.
A cavitation at the space 36 upon vibration of the piezoelectric member can be prevented, and no bubbles are generated in the ink cavity. Therefore, air damper by bubbles is prevented, and ink jetting is operated effectively. Also, the filling and adhesive member 36a for filling the space 36 can be functioned as the insulating protection film 17c, so that the insulating protection film 17c can be omitted from the multi-nozzle manufacturing procedure. Further, the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 are fixedly secured to each other with the filling and adhesive member 36a as adhesive.
The insulating protection film 17c can be generated by the following procedures (10)-(14).
thermoplastic resin such as saturated polyester resin, polyamide resin, acrylic resin, (aramido resin), ethylenevinyl acetate resin, ion bridging olefin polymerization (ionomer), styrene-butadiene block polymerization, polyacetal, polycarbonate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate polymerization, cellulose ester, polyimide, or styrol;
Photosensitive resin, thick-film use photoresist resin, or the like may be utilized. It may be bakelite, fluororesin, or glass.epoxy resin (glass filler is mixed in epoxy). The application is operated by well known application methods such as application, dip, or spray.
Particularly, polyamide resin, aramido resin, epoxy resin, phenoxy resin, fluoro silicone resin, fluororesin, glass.epoxy resin are the most effective among the all materials.
(11) evaporating of metal oxide.nitride.sulfide compound
A metal oxide compound (e.g., SiO2, SiO, CrO, Al2 O3), a metal nitride compound (e.g., Si3 N4, AlN), a metal sulfide compound (e.g., ZnS), or an alloy of these metals is coated by vacuum evaporation or spattering. Otherwise, the above listed plastics (10) may be applied or pariren???resin evaporated to these metals.
Particularly, Al2 O3 and Si3 N4 are superior to the other materials in the above.
durability (ink proof) : good (10), (13)>(11), (12)>(14) bad
The filling and adhesive member 36a may be made of the following materials instead of the epoxy adhesive described in the above.
FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of a piezoelectric member 17 in a multi-nozzle head according to the ninth embodiment. The multi-nozzle head herein is substantially same as the multi-nozzle head in the eight embodiment except that it does not include the electrode 33, also a conductive treatment is applied to a plate part 17d of the piezoelectric member 17 with Ag.
The manufacturing of the piezoelectric member is described hereunder. Masking is applied to one surface (top surface in FIG. 29) of a PZT piezoelectric plate (N-21 by Tokin, thickness=0.5 mm); and a paste comprised of zirconium powder blended into silver paste (NP-4910 by Noritake) is applied to the other surface (bottom surface in FIG. 29) in 200 μm thick, and thermal diffusion is operated in vacuo at 500° C. for an hour. By doing thermal diffusion, the metal in the paste diffuses from the surface to around 150 μm inward, and hence conductive treatment is applied to almost everywhere in the plate part 17d. Then, at room temperature, an Au/Ni.Cr spatter film is formed on the first mentioned surface (top surface in FIG. 29); the plate part 17d is polarized; and the plate part 17d is cut into a predetermined size.
By applying conductive treatment to the piezoelectric plate part 17d, the conductive film which is equivalent to the electrode 33 in the eighth embodiment is formed thereon; therefore, the electrode 33 is excluded in the ninth embodiment. Also, the voltage applied to the plate part 17d is reduced, which therefore voltage application to a convex part 17a becomes more effective.
FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view of a piezoelectric member 17 of a multi-nozzle head according to the tenth embodiment. The multi-nozzle head herein is substantially same as the multi-nozzle head in the eighth embodiment except that a plate part 17d of a piezoelectric member 17 is a conductive plate produced by applying conductive paste (NP-4909 by Noritake) which is 40 μm in thickness to a Cu plate which is 3 mm in thickens. A convex portion 17a is made of PZT (H5D, thickness=0.2 mm by the Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.). An individual electrode 32 and an electrode 33 are Au/Ni layers formed on both surfaces of the convex portion 17a.
In producing the piezoelectric member 17, a conductive paste is applied to a Cu plate X; a PZT plate X1 where metal plating has been applied to both top and bottom surfaces with Au/Ni is disposed on the Cu plate; it is heat cured at 150° C. for half an hour; then it goes thorough the same manufacturing procedures in the second embodiment which are shown in FIG. 23-25.
The plate part 17d may be comprised for instance of Al, Au, Ni, instead of Cu.
FIG. 31 (a) is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head in the eleventh embodiment. The multi-nozzle head in this embodiment is substantially same as the multi-nozzle head in the eighth embodiment except the followings.
In the piezoelectric member 17, a ratio in the thickness of a convex part 17a to a plate part 17d is 7:3; and the total thickness of the piezoelectric member 17 is 0.5 mm.
A part of the piezoelectric member 17 is engaged with the non-piezoelectric member 18 as shown in FIG. 31 (a), and a space 39 exists between the plate part 17d and the convex part of the non-piezoelectric member 18. The space 39 is filled with a filling and adhesive member 39a and the insulating protection film 17c. The piezoelectric member 17 is made of PZT (N-21 by Tokin); phenoxy resin (JA-7405 by 3M) is used as the filling and adhesive member 36a; and an epoxy resin film is employed as the insulating protection film 17c (CG-105 (W) tape type adhesive of 50 μm in thickness by Nichiban Co., Ltd).
In manufacturing the multi-nozzle head, the piezoelectric member 17 is covered with the insulating protection film 17c; a part of the piezoelectric member 17 is engaged with the non-piezoelectric member 18, and the engagement is fixed by filling a space 36 with a filling and adhesive member 36a as well as filling the space 39 with the filling and adhesive member 39a so that the space 39 is filled with the adhesive member 39a and the insulating protection film 17c, and heating at 150° C. for half an hour to harden the insulating protection film 17c and the filling and adhesive member 36a.
In the multi-nozzle according to the eleventh embodiment, it is not necessary to fully engage the piezoelectric member 17 and the piezoelectric member 18; therefore, components are hardly damaged during fabrication, and manufacturing cost can be reduced remarkably.
The filling and adhesive member 39a may be made of the materials (15)-(19) for the filling and adhesive member 36a in the eighth embodiment.
An embodiment 12 is substantially same as the eleventh embodiment except that a space 36 between a side of a convex portion 17a in a piezoelectric member 17 and a side of a concave portion in a non-piezoelectric member 18 is filled only with an insulating protection film 17c as shown in FIG. 31 (b). Stated otherwise, a filling and adhesive member 36 is not employed herein.
In producing a multi-nozzle head, the piezoelectric member 17 is covered with the insulating protection film 17c, and a part of the piezoelectric member 17 is engaged with the non-piezoelectric member. Also, by inserting a filling and adhesive member 39 into a space 39, the engagement is fixed, and by heating the filling and adhesive member 39 at 150° C. for half an hour, the insulating protection film 17c and the filling and adhesive member 36a are hardened.
Thus, the same effects in the eighth embodiment where the space 36 is filled both with the filling and adhesive member 36a and the insulating protection film 17c can be achieved by filling the same only with the insulating protection film 17c made of an epoxy resin film.
Substantially same as the piezoelectric member 17 in the tenth embodiment, a piezoelectric member 17 is comprised of a plate part 17d made of a conductive plate and a convex part 17a made of PXT, and an individual electrode 32 and an electrode 33 being Au/Ni layers are provided to top and bottom surfaces of the convex part 17a. The convex part 17a of the piezoelectric member 17 is covered with an insulating protection film 17c made of an aramido resin film (TX-I series, thickness=4 μm by Toray Industries, Inc.) A space 36 between a side of the convex part 17a in the piezoelectric member 17 and a concave part in the non-piezoelectric member 18 is filled only with the insulating protection film 17c. Since the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 are not fully engaged with each other, there exists a space 39 (about 200 μm) between the plate part 17d in the piezoelectric member 17 and a convex part in the non-piezoelectric member 18. The space 39 is filled with a filling and adhesive member 39a made of drop-type fluoro silicone resin (RTV rubber FE-61 by Shin-Etsu silicone Co., Ltd.) and the insulating protection film 17c.
The same effects in the eight embodiment where the space 36 is filled both with the filling and adhesive member 36a and the insulating protection film 17c are achieved by filling the space 36 only with the insulating protection film 17c made of an aramido resin film.
In producing the multi-nozzle head, silicon resin is applied to the piezoelectric member 17 with a bar coater until the convex portion 17a is sunk under the fluoro silicon resin; the piezoelectric member 17 is covered with the insulating protection film 17c, and is engaged with the non-piezoelectric member 18; then it is left at room temperature 25° C.) for 24 hours to harden the fluoro silicon resin.
The piezoelectric member 17 in this embodiment may be substituted by the one in the seventh embodiment where the convex portion 17a is multi-layer configuration including the PZT piezoelectric layers and the electrodes 32, 33 made of palladium laid on the alumina plate X2. In this case, deformation of the piezoelectric member is increased in proportion to the number of the piezoelectric layers, which therefore effective ink jetting is achieved with a low applied voltage, and running cost can be reduced.
FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-nozzle head in the fifteenth embodiment. The multi-nozzle herein is the same as the multi-nozzle head in the first embodiment except that the piezoelectric member 17 and the non-piezoelectric member 18 which are engaged with each other in their convex and concave parts are disposed on a base plate 15. Also a pillar 15a stands on the base plate 15a, and the pillar 15a supports an arm 15b to move the arm up and down. One end of the arm 15b is in contact with the upper surface of the non-piezoelectric member 18 and a compression spring 15c is disposed between the bottom surface of the arm 15b and the upper surface of the base plate 15, particularly the compression spring is placed at the other end of the arm 15b. In this construction, the non-piezoelectric plate 18 is compressed to be engaged with the piezoelectric plate 17 by utilization of the spring's elasticity, and the engagement is fixed.
Upon applying a voltage to a convex portion 17a in a piezoelectric member, ink in the ink cavity 29 is jetted from an ink nozzle 19a while the non-return valve 41 blocks the ink path between the ink supplying inlet 35 and the ink cavity 29. Due to the non-return valve 41, pressure loss can be minimized, and ink jetting efficiency is improved. Thus, the loss of pressure is prevented, so that an applied voltage and running cost can be decreased.
The shape of the ink nozzle 19a formed in the nozzle plate 19 may be selected from those in FIGS. 38 (a) to (j) in accordance with using environments, such as ink conditions.
Although in the above embodiments, the shape of the piezoelectric member 17 has the convex parts 17a on the rectangle plate part 17d; other shapes of piezoelectric member are applicable as long as a plurality of convex parts are formed on one surface of the piezoelectric member.
a first member including a plurality of first convex parts disposed in line on a part of a surface of the first member, in which at least a part of each of the first convex parts is a piezoelectric element;
a second member made of non-piezoelectric materials, including a plurality of concave parts which correspond to the first convex parts, respectively, and second convex parts each of which have side surfaces and are disposed between adjacent ones of the concave parts, in which the second member is engaged with the first member by inserting each second convex part between a couple of adjacent first convex parts and forming an ink cavity between a bottom of each concave part and a top of a respective first convex part; and
a plurality of electrodes being applied to the piezoelectric element included in each of the first convex parts,
a plurality of first gaps formed between a top surface of each of the non-piezoelectric second convex parts and the first member and a plurality of second gaps formed between a side surface of each of the non-piezoelectric second convex parts and the first member, and the first gaps and the second gaps are filled with a filling members,
wherein said filling member includes a film whereby said first member is engaged with said second member through said film.
2. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein when the first convex part is inserted into the non-piezoelectric concave part the first convex part and the non-piezoelectric concave part are movable with respect to each other.
3. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein one surface of the first member which includes the convex parts is covered with said film.
4. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the filling member for filling the first gaps includes a filling and adhesive member, the surface of the first member including the first convex parts is covered with said film and the film is adhered to the convex part with the filling and adhesive member, and the first filling member includes a part of the film besides the filling and adhesive member.
5. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the first member includes a base member and a piezoelectric chip which is disposed on the base member, the piezoelectric chip being equivalent to the piezoelectric element.
6. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 5, wherein the electrodes are disposed on surfaces of the corresponding piezoelectric chip, the surfaces opposing to each other.
7. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 6, wherein the piezoelectric chip is a lamination of piezoelectric layers.
8. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element is made of piezoelectric materials and the first member is an integral unit.
9. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 8, wherein conductive treatment is applied to the first member except the first convex part.
10. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element included in the first convex part is polarized in a same direction as an electric field formed by applying a voltage across the electrodes with a voltage applying means, and the polarization direction is substantially perpendicular to an ink jetting direction.
11. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 10, wherein a front end of each ink cavity along with the ink jetting direction is covered with a front member in which the ink nozzles are formed, a back end of each ink cavity along with the ink jetting direction is blocked with a block member, and an ink supplying slit communicating with the ink cavity is formed in the second member.
12. The multi-nozzle ink jet head of claim 11, wherein a non-return valve is constructed to the ink supplying slit.
13. A method of producing a multi-nozile ink jet head comprising the steps of:
producing a first member where a plurality of first convex parts are disposed in line, and at least a part of the first convex part is a piezoelectric element;
producing a second member from non-piezoelectric material, which includes a plurality of concave parts corresponding to the first convex parts, respectively, and a second convex part being disposed between adjacent concave parts;
forming a protection layer on one entire surface of the first member which includes all of the first convex parts and spaces therebetween; and
engaging the first member and the second member through said protection layer by inserting the first convex parts into respective non-piezoelectric concave parts, and an ink cavity is formed between a top surface of each of the first convex parts and a bottom of the respective non-piezoelectric concave part.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of producing the first member includes a step of laying piezoelectric material on a base member and cutting the piezoelectric material into a predetermined shape so that the piezoelectric elements of the first member are disposed on the base member in line.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein said protective layer is made of insulative material.
16. An ink jet head comprising:
a base plate made of a non-piezoelectric material;
a common electrode disposed on a surface of said base plate;
a plurality of piezoelectric members disposed on a same surface of said common electrode in line, each of said piezoelectric members being spaced from each other; and
a cover plate having a surface on which a plurality of concave portions are formed corresponding to said piezoelectric members, respectively, said cover plate being made of a single member, each of said piezoelectric members being integrally inserted into a respective one of said concave parts so that said surface of the cover plate is in contact with said common electrode.
17. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 16 further comprising a plurality of electrodes provided corresponding to said piezoelectric members, respectively.
18. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 16, wherein a space which is formed between a top surface of the piezoelectric member and a bottom surface of the respective one of the concave parts defines an ink cavity.
19. An ink jet head comprising:
a plurality of piezoelectric members disposed on a surface of said base plate in line, each of said piezoelectric members being spaced from each other; and
a cover plate having a surface on which a plurality of concave parts are formed corresponding to said piezoelectric members, respectively, said cover plate being made of a single member, all of said piezoelectric members disposed on the surface being integrally inserted into a respective one of said concave parts so that said surface of the cover plate is in direct contact with said base plate.
20. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 19, wherein an adhesive is filled between a side wall of said piezoelectric member and a side wall of the respective one of the concave parts.
21. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 19 further comprising a plurality of electrodes provided corresponding to said piezoelectric members, respectively.
22. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 19, wherein a space which is formed between a top surface of the piezoelectric member and a bottom surface of the respective one of the concave parts defines an ink cavity.
23. An ink jet head comprising:
a first member having a surface on which a plurality of first convex parts are formed in line, at least a part of each of said first convex parts being a piezoelectric element;
a layer which covers said surface and said first convex parts entirely;
a second member made of non-piezoelectric material, having a surface on which a plurality of concave parts are formed corresponding to the first convex parts, respectively, each of said convex parts being inserted into a respective one of said concave parts whereby said first member is engaged with said second member through said layer.
24. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 23 further comprising a plurality of electrodes provided corresponding to said convex parts, respectively.
25. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 23, wherein a space which is formed between a top surface of the convex part and a bottom surface of the respective one of the concave parts defines an ink cavity.
26. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 23, wherein said layer is made of an insulative material.
27. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 26, wherein said layer is a film.
28. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 23, wherein an adhesive is filled between a side wall of said convex part and a side wall of the respective one of said concave parts.
a first member made of a non-piezoelectric material, said first member of a surface on which a plurality of concave portions and a plurality of convex portions are alternately formed in a predetermined direction;
a single-continuous film which has a first surface and a second surface opposite to said first surface, said first surface being in contact with said convex portions of said first member; and
a second member having a base and a plurality of piezoelectric members provided on said base, said piezoelectric members corresponding to said concave portions with respect to said predetermined direction, respectively, each of the piezoelectric members having a portion which is in fixed contact with said second surface of said film over a two dimensional area that exceeds a line contact to confront a respective one of said concave portions through said film,
wherein said film is bent into said concave portions by the contact of said convex portions and of said piezoelectric members in a condition where no electrical field is applied to said piezoelectric members.
30. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 29, wherein said film is made of an organic material.
31. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 29, wherein each convex portion is in contact with the base through said film.
32. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 29, wherein said piezoelectric members vibrate when an electric field is applied thereto.
33. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 29, wherein the film is in contact with an apex of each of the piezoelectric members.
34. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 33, wherein the base of the second member is made of a non-piezoelectric material.
35. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 29, wherein the film is in contact with an apex of each of the piezoelectric members.
36. An ink jet head comprising:
a first member made of a non-piezoelectric material, said first member having a surface on which a plurality of concave portions and a plurality of convex portions are alternatively formed in a first direction;
a film which has a first surface and a second surface opposite to said first surface, said first surface being in contact with said convex portions of said first member; and
a second member having a base and a plurality of piezoelectric members provided on a surface of said base, said piezoelectric members being aligned in the first direction and protruding from said base in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, said piezoelectric members corresponding to said concave portions, respectively, each of the piezoelectric members having a width in the first direction and a height in the second direction, the width being shorter than the height, each of the piezoelectric members having a top surface in the second direction which is in contact with said second surface of said film to confront a respective one of said concave portions through said film,
wherein said film is bent into said concave portions by the contact of said convex portions and of said tops of said piezoelectric members in a condition where no electrical field is applied to said piezoelectric members.
37. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 36, wherein said film is made of an organic material.
38. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 36, wherein each convex portion is in contact with the base through said film.
39. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 36, wherein said piezoelectric members deforms in the second direction when an electric field is applied thereto.
40. The ink jet head as claimed in claim 36, wherein the film is a single continuous film.
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JP11071893A JP3314313B2 (en) 1993-05-12 1993-05-12 The ink-jet head
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US6074048A true US6074048A (en) 2000-06-13
ID=26436499
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