JP2006224463A - Liquid ejection head, liquid ejection cartridge, liquid ejection device, and liquid ejection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejection head preventing deterioration of ejection stability. <P>SOLUTION: In the liquid ejection head 23 which supplies liquid 2 through a flow channel 45 to a liquid chamber 58 provided with an ejection port 43a and a pressure generating element 53 to eject the liquid 2 from the ejection port 43a by the pressure generating element 53, the pressure generating element 53 is provided to a circuit board 51 which constitutes a part of the liquid chamber 58 and a part of the flow channel 43 has an exposing part 51a at its end surface with its inorganic silicon material exposed, and an elution preventing part 54a comprising the inorganic silicon material which prevents elution of the inorganic silicon material is so provided near the exposing part 51a as to face the flow channel 43. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head in which a part of a substrate made of an inorganic silicon material forms a part of a flow path, a liquid discharge cartridge and a liquid discharge apparatus including the liquid discharge head, and a liquid discharge by the liquid discharge apparatus Regarding the method.

  The liquid is supplied to the liquid chamber provided with the nozzle and the pressure generating element through the flow path having a fine structure, and the liquid is pressurized by the energy generated by the pressure generating element, and the liquid is supplied from the nozzle provided in the liquid chamber. As a liquid ejecting apparatus to be ejected, for example, there is an ink jet printer apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an ink jet printer apparatus) that ejects ink onto a recording sheet and prints an image or a character on the recording sheet.

  This ink jet printer apparatus has the advantages of low running cost, apparatus miniaturization, and easy colorization of printed images. In an inkjet printer device, for example, from an ink cartridge filled with a plurality of colors of ink, through a flow path, an ink liquid chamber provided with a pressure generating element such as a heating resistor or a piezo element, a nozzle serving as a discharge port, or the like Ink is supplied to a head chip including In an ink jet printer apparatus, ink is ejected from nozzles by pressing ink supplied to an ink liquid chamber with a heating resistor by the generation of overheated bubbles or by vibration of a piezo element. As a result, in the ink jet printer apparatus, ink can be landed on the recording paper as the object, and images and characters can be printed.

  In such an ink jet printer apparatus, after printing is not performed for a long period of time, in order to appropriately discharge ink, precipitates are generated in the flow path and the nozzle or deposited on the wall surface of the flow path and the nozzle. An ink having liquid stability that does not cause adhesion of an object is used. In particular, in a thermal ink jet printer apparatus using a heating resistor, ink is used such that precipitates do not adhere to the heating resistor that repeatedly generates heat as the number of ink ejections increases. However, in the ink jet printer apparatus, the material forming the member may elute from the member that forms the flow path and the liquid chamber and directly contacts the ink.

  In a thermal inkjet printer, elution occurs from a circuit board on which a heating resistor is provided. This circuit board constitutes part of the flow path and part of the liquid chamber. Since the circuit board constitutes flow paths and liquid chambers that require high accuracy, silicon wafers made of inorganic silicon-containing materials such as silicon, silicon oxide, and glass substrates that are easy to perform microfabrication and provide high processing accuracy Is used. As a result, in the ink jet printer apparatus, the heating resistor can be formed with high accuracy, the dimensional accuracy of the flow path and the liquid chamber is increased, and ink can be appropriately discharged, and the discharge characteristics are good.

  However, when manufacturing the head chip, the surface on which the heating resistor of the silicon wafer is provided can be subjected to surface treatment such as oxidation treatment in the manufacturing process, but the surface that becomes a part of the flow path is formed by dicing. It is a formed surface, and it is difficult to perform surface treatment. For this reason, the surface forming part of the flow path is in a state where the silicon wafer is exposed, and the silicon wafer is in direct contact with the ink containing a large amount of alkali metal ions such as sodium (or exhibiting alkalinity in some cases). become.

  In the head chip, when ink directly contacts the surface from which the silicon wafer is exposed, silicon and silicon-containing materials are eluted from the surface forming part of the flow path. On the other hand, since the surface constituting the liquid chamber provided with the heating resistor is subjected to surface treatment, silicon and silicon-containing materials are not eluted even when the ink is in direct contact.

  The eluted silicon or silicon-containing material becomes supersaturated in the ink due to the volatilization of the solvent in the ink, and precipitates to clog the nozzle, causing ink non-ejection and the like.

  In addition, the eluted silicon and silicon-containing material are deposited on the heating resistor and cause kogation. Thus, in the head chip in which kogation occurs on the heating resistor, the ink cannot be heated appropriately, the ink cannot be ejected in a predetermined direction, or the ink cannot be heated. Cause non-ejection.

  For these reasons, in an ink jet printer apparatus using such a head chip, the ink ejection characteristics are degraded, and the quality of the printed image is degraded. In particular, in an ink jet printer apparatus, when ink is not ejected for a long period of time, the ejection characteristics are remarkably deteriorated due to silicon or silicon-containing material eluted from the exposed portion where the silicon wafer is exposed, and the quality of the printed image is also remarkably high. It will decline.

  In order to solve the above problems, in order to prevent elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials in the ink, an additive is added, the content of alkali metal is suppressed, the material forming the flow path is changed, etc. Such a proposal has been made.

  For example, Patent Document 1 shown below proposes that quaternary ammonium ions and alkanolamino ions are added to the ink to suppress elution of the inorganic silicon-containing material. Further, Patent Document 2 proposes to suppress elution of inorganic silicon-containing materials by setting the total content of alkali metals in the ink to 700 ppm or less. Patent Document 3 proposes to suppress elution of the inorganic silicon-containing material by including a microcapsule in which a colorant is included in an ink and having a zeta potential of −20 V or less. Patent Document 4 describes that elution of inorganic silicon-containing materials is suppressed by adding sulfonium ions, arsonium ions, or the like to the ink.

  However, although these proposals can suppress the elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials from the inorganic silicon material such as a silicon wafer into the ink, they affect the physical properties of the ink, such as the storage stability of the ink. There will be many restrictions on designing.

JP 2002-173619 A JP 2002-206064 A JP 2002-211122 A JP 2002-256188 A

  The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head capable of preventing silicon and silicon-containing materials from eluting from a substrate into the liquid, a liquid discharge cartridge and a liquid discharge apparatus including the liquid discharge head, and a liquid discharged to the liquid discharge apparatus. The present invention provides a liquid discharge method that discharges appropriately.

  The liquid discharge head according to the present invention supplies the liquid to the liquid chamber provided with the discharge port and the pressure generating element through the flow path, and causes the pressure generating element to discharge the liquid from the discharge port. The circuit board has an exposed portion where the inorganic silicon material is exposed to the flow path on the end surface, and the elution of the inorganic silicon material is prevented in the vicinity of the exposed portion. An elution preventing portion made of an organic silicon material is provided facing the flow path.

  A liquid discharge cartridge according to the present invention is provided in a liquid discharge device that discharges liquid, and includes a liquid storage portion that stores liquid, and a discharge port and a pressure generating element that flow from the liquid storage portion through a flow path. And a liquid discharge head for discharging the liquid from the discharge port by the pressure generating element. The pressure generating element is provided on a circuit board constituting a part of the liquid chamber. The inorganic silicon material has an exposed part exposed to the flow path, and an elution preventing part made of an organic silicon material for preventing the elution of the inorganic silicon material is provided to face the flow path in the vicinity of the exposed part. It is characterized by that.

  In addition, the liquid ejection device according to the present invention ejects a liquid and is provided in the apparatus main body, a liquid storage part that is provided in the apparatus main body, stores the liquid, and discharges the liquid from the liquid storage part through the flow path and generates pressure. A liquid discharge cartridge having a liquid discharge head that supplies the liquid chamber provided with the element and discharges the liquid from the discharge port by the pressure generation element; and the pressure generation element is provided on a circuit board constituting a part of the liquid chamber. The circuit board has an exposed portion where the inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path, and an elution preventing portion made of an organic silicon material for preventing the elution of the inorganic silicon material is provided in the vicinity of the exposed portion. It is provided to face the flow path.

  The liquid discharge method according to the present invention includes an apparatus main body, a liquid storage section that is provided in the apparatus main body, and stores a liquid, and a discharge port and a pressure generating element are provided from the liquid storage section through a flow path. The liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharge cartridge that includes a liquid discharge head that supplies a liquid chamber and discharges liquid from a discharge port using a pressure generation element. The pressure generation element is provided and constitutes a part of the liquid chamber. The liquid is supplied to the liquid chamber through the exposed portion of the end surface of the circuit board to which the inorganic silicon material is exposed and the flow path facing the elution preventing portion for preventing the elution of the inorganic silicon material provided in the vicinity of the exposed portion. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port.

  According to the present invention, an organic silicon material is formed in the vicinity of an exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material of a substrate forming a part of a flow path is exposed, and silicon and silicon-containing inorganic silicon material are prevented from being eluted. Since the elution preventing part is provided, it is possible to prevent the inorganic silicon-containing material from being eluted from the exposed part in the liquid. As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to prevent the inorganic silicon-containing material from adhering to the pressure generating element to cause kogation, and the discharge port is not clogged with the inorganic silicon-containing material, thereby preventing the discharge port from being clogged. can do.

  Accordingly, in the present invention, the liquid can be appropriately guided to the discharge port through the flow path, and the liquid supplied to the liquid chamber can be appropriately pressed by the pressure generating element, so that stable discharge is performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the discharge characteristics from deteriorating and to form a high-quality image.

  Further, in the present invention, even when the liquid is not discharged for a long period of time, it is possible to prevent the inorganic silicon-containing material from eluting from the exposed portion of the substrate, so there is no kogation of the pressure generating element or clogging of the discharge port. The liquid can be appropriately discharged even after a long period of non-discharge.

  Hereinafter, a liquid discharge head, a liquid discharge cartridge, a liquid discharge apparatus, and a liquid discharge method to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. The liquid ejection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is an ink jet printer apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a printer apparatus) 1 that prints images and characters by ejecting ink or the like onto a recording paper P traveling in a predetermined direction. This printer apparatus 1 is a so-called line-type printer in which ejection ports (nozzles) are arranged in a substantially line shape in the width direction of the recording paper P, that is, in the direction of the arrow W in FIG. Device.

  2 and 3, an ink jet printer head cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a liquid ejection cartridge) that ejects ink 2 that is a recording liquid for recording an image, characters, and the like on a recording paper P is used. 3) and an apparatus main body 4 to which the head cartridge 3 is mounted. In the printer 1, the head cartridge 3 can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 4, and the ink tanks 5 y, 5 m, 5 c, and 5 k that store ink 2 can be attached to and detached from the head cartridge 3. It has become. In the printer apparatus 1, for example, four ink tanks can be used: a yellow ink tank 5y, a magenta ink tank 5m, a cyan ink tank 5c, and a black ink tank 5k. In the printer apparatus 1, the head cartridge 3 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 4 and the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k that can be attached to and detached from the head cartridge 3 can be exchanged as consumables. .

  In such a printer apparatus 1, the recording paper stored in the tray 65 a is mounted by mounting the tray 65 a that stores the recording paper P in a stacked manner on the tray mounting portion 6 provided on the front bottom surface side of the apparatus main body 4. P is fed into the apparatus main body 4 from the paper feed port 65 of the tray mounting portion 6 and travels within the apparatus main body 4. In the printer apparatus 1, print data corresponding to character data or image data input from an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer is printed as characters or images on the recording paper P traveling in the apparatus body 4. 4 is delivered to the paper discharge port 66 on the front side.

  The ink 2 for printing contains a pigment and a solvent for dissolving or dispersing the pigment.

  As the coloring matter, conventionally known dyes, pigments, colored polymer fine particles and the like can be used alone or in combination, but it is particularly preferable to use a water-soluble dye. As the water-soluble dye, any of acid dyes, direct dyes, basic dyes, reactive dyes, and food dyes may be used.

  Specifically, yellow water-soluble dyes include C.I. I. Direct Yellow 1, 8, 11, 12, 24, 26, 23, 24, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 44, 46, 62, the same 63, 75, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 89, 95, 99, 113, 27, 28, 33, 39, 44, 50, The same 58, 85, 86, 88, 89, 98, 100, 110, etc. may be mentioned, and any one or a mixture of these may be used.

  Examples of the magenta direct dye include C.I. I. Direct Red 1, 2, 2, 4, 9, 13, 17, 20, 20, 197, 201, 218, 220, 224, 225, 226, 227, same 228, 229, 230, 321 and the like, and any one or a combination of these may be used.

  Examples of cyan direct dyes include C.I. I. Direct Blue 1, 2, 6, 8, 15, 22, 25, 41, 71, 76, 77, 78, 80, 86, 90, 98, the same 106, 108, 120, 158, 160, 163, 165, 168, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 199, 199, 200, 201, 202, The same 203, 207, 225, 226, 236, 237, 246, 248, 249, etc. may be mentioned, and any one or a mixture of these may be used.

  Examples of black direct dyes include C.I. I. Direct Black 17, 19, 22, 32, 38, 51, 56, 62, 71, 74, 75, 77, 94, 105, 106, 107, 108, 112, 113, 117, 118, 132, 133, 146, etc., and any one or a mixture of these may be used.

  Examples of yellow acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Yellow 1, 3, 7, 7, 19, 19, 23, 25, 29, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 49, 59, 61, 70, 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 98, 99, 110, 111, 112, 114, 116, 118, 119, 127, 128, 131, 135, 141, 142, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, etc., and any one or a mixture of these may be used. .

  Examples of magenta acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Red 1, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 32, 35, 37, 42, 51, 52, 57, 75, 77, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 92, 94, 97, 106, 111, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 138, 143, 145, 154, 155, 158, 168, 180, 183, 184 186, 194, 198, 199, 209, 209, 211, 215, 216, 217, 219, 249, 252, 254, 256, 257, 262, 262 265, 266, 274, 276, 282, 283 The 303, the 317, the 318, the 320, the 321, there may be mentioned the same 322, etc., they are used by mixing any one or more of these.

  Examples of cyan acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Blue 1, 7, 9, 15, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 40, 41, 43, 45, 54, 59, 60, 62, 72, 74, 78, 80, 82, 83, 90, 92, 93, 100, 102, 103, 104, 112, 113, 117, 120, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 138, 140, 142, 143, 151, 154, 158, 161, 166, 167, 168 170, 171, 175, 182, 183, 183, 184, 187, 192, 199, 203, 204, 205, 229, 234, 236, etc. Yes, any one or a combination of these It is needed.

  Examples of black acid dyes include C.I. I. Acid Black 1, 2, 2, 7, 26, 29, 31, 31, 44, 48, 50, 51, 52, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 72, 76, 77, 94, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 115, 118, 119, 121, 122, 131, 132, 139, 140, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 191 and the like, and any one or a mixture of these may be used. The content of the coloring matter is determined in consideration of the viscosity, drying property, ejection stability, color developing property, storage stability of the printed matter, and the like.

  As the solvent, water that is low in viscosity and easy to handle or a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble organic solvent is used. Here, deionized water is preferable as the water. Moreover, as the water-soluble organic solvent mixed with water, alcohols having an effect of preventing the ink 2 from drying are preferable.

  Examples of the alcohols of the water-soluble organic solvent include aliphatic monohydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, and polyhydric alcohol derivatives.

  Examples of the aliphatic monohydric alcohol include lower alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, s-butyl alcohol, and t-butyl alcohol.

  Examples of the polyhydric alcohol include alkyl glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol and glycerol, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, and thiodiglycol.

  Examples of the polyhydric alcohol derivatives include lower alkyl ethers of the above-described polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, cellosolve, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and lower carboxylic acid esters of the above-described polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol diacetate. It is done.

  When the solvent contains at least one of the above-mentioned water-soluble organic solvents or water is added, alcohol amines such as monotriethanolamine and ditriethanolamine, amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylketoneamide , Ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone, or ethers such as dioxane may be appropriately contained. Furthermore, you may add additives, such as various surfactant, an antifoamer, a pH adjuster, or an antifungal agent, in a solvent.

  From the above configuration, the ink 2 is a mixture of a pigment, a solvent, and other additives, mixed at a predetermined blending ratio, and stirred with a screw or the like while being heated to room temperature or about 40 ° C to 80 ° C. It can be prepared by dispersing.

  In the ink 2 described above, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the yellow ink is stored in the ink tank 5y, the magenta ink is stored in the ink tank 5m, and the cyan ink is stored in the ink tank 5c. Black ink is stored in the ink tank 5k.

  Next, referring to the drawings, the head cartridge 3 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 2 constituting the printer apparatus 1 and the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k that can be attached to and detached from the head cartridge 3 will be described. I will explain.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the head cartridge 3 for printing on the recording paper P is mounted from the upper surface side of the apparatus body 4, that is, from the direction of arrow A in FIG. Print.

  The head cartridge 3 discharges the ink 2 described above into fine particles by energy generated by pressure generating means using, for example, an electrothermal conversion type or an electromechanical conversion type, and the main cartridge 3 The ink 2 in a droplet state is sprayed on the surface. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the head cartridge 3 has a cartridge main body 21, and ink tanks 5 y, 5 m, 5 c, 5 k which are containers in which the ink 2 is stored in the cartridge main body 21. Installed. Hereinafter, the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k are also simply referred to as the ink tank 5.

  The ink tank 5 that can be attached to and detached from the head cartridge 3 has a tank body 11 that is molded by injection molding a resin material such as polypropylene having strength and ink resistance. The tank main body 11 is provided with an external communication hole 12 serving as a hole for taking in external air at the center of the upper surface, and an ink supply unit 13 for sending the ink 2 to the cartridge main body 21 of the head cartridge 3.

  In the tank main body 11, when the stored ink 2 is sent from the ink supply unit 13 to the cartridge main body 21, the air corresponding to the reduced amount of the ink 2 in the ink storage unit 12 becomes the external communication hole 12. Is taken inside.

  The ink supply unit 13 is provided at a substantially central portion on the lower side of the tank body 11. The ink supply unit 13 is a substantially projecting nozzle that communicates with the inside of the tank main body 11, and the tip of the nozzle is fitted into a connection unit 27 of the head cartridge 3 described later, whereby the tank of the ink tank 5. The main body 11 and the cartridge main body 21 of the head cartridge 3 are connected. Then, the ink 2 is supplied to the cartridge main body 21 via the ink supply unit 13.

  Further, the ink tank 5 has a locking projection 14 and an engagement step 15 which are fixing means for fixing to a mounting portion 22 of the cartridge main body 21 described later. The locking protrusion 14 is a protrusion that is formed so as to protrude from the side surface on the other end side in the long side direction of the ink tank 5, and is engaged with a latch lever 25 of the mounting portion 22 described later. The engagement step portion 15 is a step portion formed on one end side in the long side direction of the ink tank 5 and is engaged with an engaged piece 26 formed on a side surface of the mounting portion 22 described later. The ink tank 5 is fixed and attached to the cartridge body 21 by the locking projection 14 and the engagement step 15.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the ink tank 5 having the above-described configuration includes, for example, a remaining amount detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of the ink 2 in the ink storage unit 12 and the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k. And an identification unit for identifying.

  Next, the head cartridge 3 to which the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k containing the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks 2 configured as described above are mounted will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the head cartridge 3 includes the ink tank 5 and the cartridge main body 21, and the cartridge main body 21 has mounting portions 22y, 22m, 22c, 22k (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a mounting portion 22), an ink discharge head 23 that discharges the ink 2, and a head cap 24 that protects the ink discharge head 23.

  The mounting portion 22 to which the ink tank 5 is mounted is formed in a substantially concave shape, and the four ink tanks 5 are stored side by side in a direction substantially perpendicular to the width direction of the recording paper P, that is, in the running direction of the recording paper P. . As shown in FIG. 2, a partition wall 22a for partitioning the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k for the respective colors is provided between the ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k for the respective colors. Yes.

  When the ink tank 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 22, a latch lever 25 is provided on the side surface facing the locking protrusion 14 of the ink tank 5, and a locking hole 25 a formed in the latch lever 25. The locking protrusions 14 are locked to each other. Further, the mounting portion 22 is provided with an engaged piece 26 on a side surface of the ink tank 5 facing the engaging step portion 15, and the engaged piece 26 is engaged with the engaging step portion 15. The The mounting portion 22 is configured such that the locking protrusion 14 of the ink tank 5 and the locking hole 25a of the latch lever 25 are locked, and the engagement step portion 15 and the engaged piece 26 are engaged with each other. The tank 2 is fixed and attached.

  The ink tanks 5y, 5m, 5c, and 5k are attached to the mounting portions 22y, 22m, 22c, and 22k at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the mounting portions 22y, 22m, 22c, and 22k. , 5k ink supply unit 13 is connected. The connection unit 27 includes an ink supply path that supplies the ink 2 to the ink discharge head 23 that discharges the ink 2 provided on the bottom surface of the cartridge main body 21 from the ink supply unit 13 of the ink tank 5 mounted on the mounting unit 22. Become.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the connection portion 27 is sealed so that the ink 2 does not leak from the ink reservoir portion 31 that stores the ink 2 supplied from the ink tank 5 and the connection portion between the connection portion 27 and the ink supply portion 13. A sealing member 32 that removes impurities in the ink 2, and a valve mechanism 34 that opens and closes a supply path to the ink ejection head 23 side. In the connection portion 27, an ink outflow path 35 provided on the ink discharge head 23 side of the valve mechanism 34 is connected to the ink discharge head 23. In the connection portion 27, the valve of the valve mechanism 34 is opened to cause the ink 2 to flow into the ink outflow path 35, the ink 2 is supplied to the ink discharge head 23, and the valve is closed, so that the ink outflow path of the ink 2 The supply to the ink discharge head 23 is stopped, and the supply of the ink 2 to the ink discharge head 23 is stopped.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the ink discharge head 23 is supplied with the ink 2 from the connection portion 27 described above, and forms a flow path plate 41 that forms a flow path for guiding the supplied ink 2 to each nozzle 53. The head chip 42 for discharging the ink 2 supplied through the flow path, the nozzle sheet 43 on which the nozzles 43a for discharging the ink 2 are formed, and the frame 44 on which the nozzle sheet 43 is bonded.

  The flow path plate 41 is provided for each color, and is formed of a material such as metal that has rigidity that does not easily deform and ink resistance to the ink 2 to be stored. The flow path plate 41 extends over a length corresponding to the width of the recording paper P in the width direction of the recording paper P in which the nozzles 43a are arranged in parallel so that the ink 2 is supplied to the nozzles 43a of each color described later. Are formed in a substantially line shape. The flow path plate 41 is provided on the upper surface of the flow path section 46 having an ink flow path 45 formed in a length corresponding to the width of the recording paper P, and the connection section 27. And an ink supply pipe 47 for supplying the ink 2 from the ink outflow path 35 to the ink flow path 45. The flow path part 46 has a notch part 46a that is notched in a concave shape so as to dispose a head chip 42 to be described later on the surface opposite to the surface on which the ink supply pipe 47 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the head chip 42 that ejects the ink 2 includes a circuit board 51 and a film 52 for forming an ink liquid chamber 58 for each nozzle 43 a.

  The circuit board 51 has a control circuit made up of a logic IC (Integrated Circuit), a driver transistor, etc. formed on a board made of an inorganic silicon material such as silicon, silicon oxide, glass substrate or the like. The circuit board 51 is provided with a heating resistor 53 that heats the ink 2 under the control of a control circuit as a pressure generating element.

  The end surface of the circuit board 51 is a portion cut out by dicing or the like in the manufacturing process, and is difficult to oxidize, and thus becomes the first exposed portion 51a where the inorganic silicon material is exposed. The first exposed portion 51 a constitutes a part of the ink flow path 45 and comes into direct contact with the ink 2 flowing in the ink flow path 45. Further, the surface 51b of the circuit board 51 on which the heating resistor 53 is provided is easily oxidized in the manufacturing process, so that the surface is oxidized and the inorganic silicon material is not exposed.

  The film 52 is formed with, for example, an exposure-curing dry film resist on the surface on which the heating resistor 53 of the circuit board 51 is formed, and the nozzles 43a except for the portion communicating with the ink flow path 45 described above by a photolithography process. It is formed so as to surround the periphery. A nozzle sheet 43 (to be described later) is bonded to the film 52 on the surface opposite to the circuit board 51.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the head chip 42 is bonded by bonding the circuit board 51 to the notch 46 a of the flow path plate 41. The circuit board 51 and the notch 46a of the flow path plate 41 are bonded by an adhesive layer 54 made of an organic silicon material made of, for example, a silicone adhesive containing a siloxane bond. The end surface of the adhesive layer 54 on the ink flow path 45 side is adjacent to the first exposed portion 51a, constitutes a part of the ink flow path 45, and silicon and silicon-containing materials are eluted from the first exposed portion 51a. This is the first elution preventing unit 54a that prevents this.

  In the head chip 42, since the first elution preventing portion 54a made of a silicone adhesive is provided in the vicinity of the first exposed portion 51a where the silicon wafer of the circuit board 51 is exposed, the first exposed portion 51a Silicon and silicon-containing materials can be prevented from eluting into the ink 2.

  The area of the first elution preventing portion 54a is in the range of 5% to 200% with respect to the area of the first exposed portion 51a where the silicon wafer is exposed. The area of the first elution preventing portion 54 a can be adjusted by the thickness of the adhesive layer 54 provided between the circuit board 51 and the flow path plate 41. When the area of the first elution prevention part 54a is smaller than 5%, that is, the thickness of the adhesive layer 54 between the circuit board 51 and the flow path plate 41 is thin, and the area of the first elution prevention part 54a is the first. When the area of the exposed portion 51a is 1/20, it becomes impossible to sufficiently prevent elution of silicon and silicon-containing material from the first exposed portion 51a.

  On the other hand, when the area of the first elution preventing part 54a is larger than 200%, that is, the adhesive layer 54 is thick, the area of the first elution preventing part 54a is twice the area of the first exposed part 51a. If it is larger than that, the low-molecular organic silicon will be eluted from the first elution preventing portion 54a into the ink 2. As a result, when the area of the first elution preventing portion 54a is larger than 200%, the eluted low molecular organic silicon adheres on the heat generating thermal resistor 56 and causes kogation or the nozzle 43a. It may cause clogging. Therefore, by setting the area of the first elution preventing portion 54a to be in the range of 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the area of the first exposed portion 51a, silicon or silicon is removed from the first exposed portion 51a. The elution of inclusions can be prevented, and the low-molecular organic silicon can also be prevented from being eluted from the first elution preventing portion 54a.

  The head chips 42 as described above are arranged in a staggered manner for each color as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the head chips 42 are arranged so as to be alternately arranged in the width direction of the recording paper P across the ink flow path 45 for each color. In the ink ejection head 23, the ink flow path 45 may be formed by providing the flow path plate 41 between the head chips 42 and bonding the nozzle sheet 43 to the flow path plate 41 and the film 52 of the head chip 42. However, here, in order to attach the nozzle sheet 43 to the head chip 42 with high accuracy, dummy chips 55 having the same thickness as the head chip 42 are provided between the head chips 42 as shown in FIGS. . The dummy chips 55 provided between the head chips 42 form a part of the ink flow path 45 between the head chips 42.

  Like the circuit substrate 51 of the head chip 42, the dummy chip 55 includes a dummy substrate 56 made of an inorganic silicon material and a film 57 laminated on the dummy substrate 56, and has the same thickness as the head chip 42. It has become. Since the dummy chip 55 is formed with the same thickness as the head chip 42, the height of the portion where the head chip 42 is provided is the same as the height of the portion where the dummy chip 55 is provided. Thereby, the nozzle sheet 43 is bonded to the head chip 42 and the dummy chip 55 with high accuracy.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the dummy substrate 56 constitutes a part of the ink flow path 47 in the same manner as the circuit substrate 51 of the head chip 42, and has a second exposed portion 56 a where the inorganic silicon material is exposed. Have. Similarly to the film 52 of the head chip 42, the film 57 is also formed on the dummy substrate 56 with an exposure curing type dry film resist.

  The dummy substrate 56 is bonded with an adhesive layer 54 of a silicone adhesive made of an organic silicon material that bonds the head chips 42 to the flow path plate 41. Further, an adhesive layer 54 made of a silicone adhesive is filled in a gap between the head chip 42 and the dummy chip 55 between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56. By providing the adhesive layer 54 between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56, the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56 are more firmly fixed to the flow path plate 41, and the ink is interposed between the head chip 42 and the dummy chip 55. 2 is prevented from leaking.

  The end surface of the adhesive layer 54 provided between the dummy substrate 56 and the flow path plate 46 constitutes a part of the ink flow path 45 as in the first elution prevention portion 54a described above, and the adjacent dummy substrate. The second elution preventing portion 54b prevents silicon and silicon-containing material from being exposed from the 56 second exposed portions 56a. Further, the end surface of the adhesive layer 54 provided between the circuit board 51 and the dummy substrate 56 is formed of silicon or silicon from the first exposed portion 51a of the adjacent circuit substrate 51 and the second exposed portion 56a of the dummy substrate 56. It becomes the 3rd elution prevention part 54c which prevents that an inclusion is exposed.

  When the dummy chip 55 is provided between the head chips 42, the first elution preventing part 54 a provided between the circuit board 51 and the flow path plate 41 and the dummy substrate 56 and the flow path plate 41 are provided. The total area of the second elution preventing portion 54b and the third elution preventing portion 54c provided between the circuit board 51 and the dummy substrate 56 is the same as the first exposed portion 51a and the dummy substrate 56 of the circuit board 51. The range of 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the combined area of the second exposed portions 56a.

  Therefore, even when the dummy chip 55 is provided between the head chips 42, the circuit area is obtained by combining all areas of the first elution preventing unit 54a, the second elution preventing unit 54b, and the third elution preventing unit 54c. As described above, the first exposed portion 51a of the substrate 51 and the second exposed portion 56a of the dummy substrate 56 have a total area of 5% or more and 200% or less, as described above. The elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials can be prevented from the first exposed portion 51a and the second exposed portion 56a, and the low molecular organic silicon can also be prevented from being eluted from the elution preventing portion 54a.

  The nozzle sheet 43 is a sheet-like member having a thickness of about 10 μm to 15 μm, and about 100 to 5000 nozzles 43 a having a reduced diameter toward the discharge surface 23 a are arranged in parallel for each color.

  The frame 44 has an opening 44 a that opens for each color over the width of the recording paper P. The flow path plate 41 and the head chip 52 are fitted into the opening 44a. The nozzle sheet 43 is bonded to the surface of the frame 44 on the side where the head chip 42 and the dummy chip 55 are inserted, whereby the nozzle sheet 43 is attached to the films 52 and 57 of the head chip 42 and the dummy chip 55, respectively. By being bonded to the flow path plate 41, an ink liquid chamber 58 for pressurizing the ink 2 is formed.

  In the ink discharge head 23 having the above-described configuration, the control circuit of the circuit board 51 of the head chip 42 controls the heating resistor 53, and the selected heating resistor 53 is, for example, about 1 to 3 microseconds. During this period, a pulse current is supplied to heat the heating resistor 53, and the ink 2 in the ink chamber 58 is ejected from the nozzle 43a as ink droplets i.

  Specifically, the ink droplet i is ejected by the control circuit of the circuit board 51 driving and controlling the heating resistor 53, supplying a pulse current to the selected heating resistor 53, and the heating resistor 53. Heat rapidly. Then, in the head chip 42, as shown in FIG. 8A, bubbles b are generated in the ink 2 in the ink liquid chamber 58 in contact with the heating resistor 53. In the head chip 42, as shown in FIG. 8B, in the ink liquid chamber 58, the ink 2 is pressurized while the bubble b expands, and the pushed ink 2 becomes the ink droplet i to form a nozzle. It is discharged from 43a. After the ink droplet i has been ejected, the ink 2 is supplied to the ink liquid chamber 58 through the ink flow path 45, thereby returning to the state before ejection again.

  In the ink discharge head 23, the first exposed portion 51a where the silicon wafer of the circuit substrate 51 of the head chip 42 is exposed and the vicinity of the second exposed portion 56a of the dummy substrate 56 of the dummy chip 55, specifically, the circuit substrate. 51 and the first elution preventing part 54 a and the second elution preventing part 54 b made of silicone adhesive between the dummy substrate 56 and the flow path plate 41, and a third elution preventing part between the circuit board 51 and the dummy substrate 56. 54 c is provided adjacent to the first exposed portion 51 a and the second exposed portion 56 a, so that the first exposed portion 51 a and the second exposed portion 56 a constitute a part of the ink flow path 45. Even if the ink 2 is in direct contact with the ink 2, it is possible to prevent silicon and silicon-containing materials from eluting from the first exposed portion 51a and the second exposed portion 56a.

  In this ink discharge head 23, since elution of silicon and silicon-containing material from the first exposed portion 51a and the second exposed portion 56a can be prevented, silicon and silicon-containing material adhere to the heating resistor 53, and the It is possible to prevent the occurrence of gating. In addition, since the ink discharge head 23 can prevent the elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials, the nozzle 43a can be prevented from being clogged with silicon and silicon-containing materials. For these reasons, in the ink discharge head 23, the ink 2 can be appropriately supplied to the ink liquid chamber 58 via the ink flow path 45, and the ink 2 supplied to the ink liquid chamber 45 can be appropriately pressurized. Therefore, it is possible to discharge in a predetermined discharge direction, prevent deterioration of discharge characteristics such as non-discharge, and form a high-quality image.

  Further, in this ink ejection head 23, even when the ink 2 is not ejected for a long period of time, silicon or silicon-containing material is generated from the first exposed portion 51 a of the circuit board 51 and the second exposed portion 56 a of the dummy substrate 56. Since elution can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the heating resistor 53 from causing kogation or clogging of the nozzle 43a, and the ink 2 can be appropriately ejected even after a long period of non-ejection. it can. Thus, the ink discharge head 23 can form a high-quality image even if the ink 2 is discharged after a long period of non-discharge.

  Further, in the ink discharge head 23, the head chip 42 is taken into consideration when silicon or a silicon-containing material is eluted from the circuit substrate 51 of the head chip 42 or the dummy substrate 56 of the dummy chip 55 when the head chip 42 is manufactured. And it is not necessary to design the dummy chip 55, and the freedom degree of design spreads.

  In addition, since the ink discharge head 23 can prevent elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials, even if the number of discharges of the ink 2 is increased, stable discharge can be performed.

  The head cap 24 provided on the discharge surface 23a of the ink discharge head 23 described above is a cover provided to protect the ink discharge head 23 as shown in FIG. evacuate. The head cap 24 is provided with a pair of engaging protrusions 24a provided in the opening / closing direction at both ends in the direction of arrow W in FIG. 2 and excess ink 2 attached to the ejection surface 23a of the ink ejection head 23 provided in the longitudinal direction. And a cleaning roller 24b for sucking. The head cap 24 is engaged with a pair of engagement grooves 23b provided on the ejection surface 23a of the ink ejection head 23 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrow W direction in FIG. The ink tank 5 is opened and closed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the short direction of the ink tank 5, that is, the arrow W direction in FIG. In the head cap 24, during the opening / closing operation, the cleaning roller 24 b rotates while contacting the ejection surface 23 a of the ink ejection head 23, so that excess ink 2 is sucked and the ejection surface 23 a of the ink ejection head 23 is cleaned. To do. For the cleaning roller 24b, for example, a highly hygroscopic member, specifically, a sponge, a nonwoven fabric, a woven fabric, or the like is used. The head cap 24 closes the ejection surface 23a so that the ink 2 in the ink ejection head 23 is not dried when the printing operation is not performed.

  Next, the apparatus main body 4 constituting the printer apparatus 1 to which the head cartridge 3 configured as described above is mounted will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the apparatus main body 4 includes a head cartridge mounting portion 61 to which the head cartridge 3 is mounted, and a head cartridge holding mechanism 62 for holding and fixing the head cartridge 3 to the head cartridge mounting portion 61. A head cap opening / closing mechanism 63 that opens and closes the head cap, a paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 that supplies / discharges the recording paper P, a paper supply port 65 that supplies the recording paper P to the paper supply / discharge mechanism 64, and a paper supply / discharge And a paper discharge port 66 from which the recording paper P is output from the mechanism 64.

  The head cartridge mounting portion 61 is a recess in which the head cartridge 3 is mounted, and performs printing on the traveling recording paper as data. Therefore, the ejection surface 23a of the ink ejection head 23 and the paper surface of the traveling recording paper P are substantially the same. The head cartridge 3 is mounted so as to be parallel. The head cartridge 3 may need to be replaced due to ink clogging or the like in the ink discharge head 23. Since the head cartridge 3 is a consumable item that is not frequently replaced like the ink tank 5, the head cartridge 3 is attached to the head cartridge mounting portion 61. On the other hand, the head cartridge holding mechanism 62 is detachably held.

  The head cartridge holding mechanism 62 is a mechanism for detachably holding the head cartridge 3 on the head cartridge mounting portion 61, and a knob 62 a provided on the head cartridge 3 is provided in the locking hole 62 b of the apparatus main body 4. The head cartridge 3 can be positioned, held and fixed so as to be crimped to a reference surface 4a provided in the apparatus main body 4 by engaging with a biasing member such as a spring (not shown).

  The head cap opening / closing mechanism 63 has a drive unit that opens and closes the head cap 24 of the head cartridge 3. The head cap 24 is opened when printing is performed, and the ink ejection head 23 is exposed to the recording paper P. Thus, when printing is completed, the head cap 24 is closed to protect the ink discharge head 23.

  The paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 has a drive unit for transporting the recording paper P, transports the recording paper P supplied from the paper feed port 65 to the ink ejection head 23 of the head cartridge 3, and is ejected from the nozzle 43a. The ink droplet i has landed, and the printed recording paper P is conveyed to the paper discharge port 66 and discharged outside the apparatus. Specifically, the paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 pulls out the recording paper P from the tray 65a by the paper supply roller 71, and reverses one of the recording paper P drawn by the pair of separation rollers 72a and 72b rotating in opposite directions. The recording paper P is transported to the roller 73 and the transporting direction is reversed, and then the recording paper P is transported to the transporting belt 74, and the recording paper P is transported to the position facing the ink ejection head 23 by the transporting belt 74. The paper feed port 65 is an opening for supplying the recording paper P to the paper supply / discharge mechanism 64, and a plurality of recording papers P can be stacked on the tray 65a or the like. The paper discharge port 66 is an opening through which ink droplets i land and discharge the printed recording paper P.

  In the printer apparatus 1 having the above configuration, printing is controlled by a control circuit (not shown in detail) that controls printing based on print data input from an information processing apparatus provided outside. Specifically, the printer apparatus 1 includes a head cap opening / closing mechanism 63, a paper supply / discharge mechanism 64, and a belt lifting / lowering mechanism (not shown) that lifts and lowers the transport belt 74 provided in the control circuit. Control is performed by control units that respectively control the supply of current supplied to the power supply 23. When performing printing, the printer device 1 operates as follows by the control unit to perform printing.

  First, in order to cause the printer apparatus 1 to execute the printing operation, the user operates the operation button 4a provided on the apparatus body 4 to instruct the control unit to start printing. In the printer apparatus 1, when the control unit is instructed to start printing, the head cap opening / closing mechanism 63, the paper feeding / discharging mechanism 64, the belt lifting mechanism, and the like are driven by the control signal from the control unit, as shown in FIG. In addition, printing is possible.

  The head cap opening / closing mechanism 63 drives the drive unit to move the head cap 24 toward the tray 65a with respect to the head cartridge 3. Thereby, in the printer apparatus 1, the nozzle 43a of the ink discharge head 23 is exposed to the outside.

  The belt lifting mechanism raises the conveyor belt 74 so that the conveyor belt 74 is substantially parallel to the ejection surface 23 a of the ink ejection head 23.

  The paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 drives the drive unit to cause the recording paper P to travel. Specifically, the paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 pulls out the recording paper P from the tray 65 a by the paper supply roller 71, and the recording paper P drawn by the pair of separation rollers 72 a and 72 b rotating in opposite directions to the reversing roller 73. After transporting and reversing the transport direction, the recording paper P is transported to the transport belt 74, the recording paper P transported to the transport belt 74 is held at a predetermined position by the platen plate 75, and the recording paper P is discharged onto the ejection surface 23a. To face.

  Next, in the printer apparatus 1, the current supplied to the heating resistor 53 provided in the ink ejection head 23 is controlled by the control unit based on print data input from an external information processing apparatus. Thereby, in the printer apparatus 1, the heating resistor 53 is heated based on the print data input from the information processing apparatus, and the ink droplet i is ejected from the nozzle 43 a to the recording paper P conveyed to the printing position. Then, an image, characters and the like made of ink dots are printed by landing.

  In the printer apparatus 1, when the ink droplet i is ejected from the nozzle 43 a, the same amount of ink 2 as that of the ink droplet i is ejected from the ink tank 5 through the connection portion 27 into the ink liquid chamber 58. To be replenished. In the ink discharge head 23, the ink 2 is replenished from the ink tank 5 into the ink liquid chamber 58 every time the ink droplet i is discharged.

  Next, in the printer apparatus 1, the conveyance belt 74 of the paper supply / discharge mechanism 64 is driven by the control unit, and the recording paper P that has been printed is discharged from the paper discharge port 66.

  In the printer device 1 described above, the first elution prevention unit 54a and the second elution prevention unit provided between the circuit board 51 of the head chip 42 and the dummy board 56 of the dummy chip 55 and the flow path plate 41. 54b and a third elution preventing part 54c provided between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56 are provided in the vicinity of the first exposed part 51a of the circuit board 51 and the second exposed part 56a of the dummy board 56. Therefore, even if the first exposed portion 51a of the circuit board 51 and the second exposed portion 56a of the dummy substrate 56 constitute the ink flow path 45 and are in direct contact with the ink 2, the first exposed portion It is possible to prevent silicon and silicon-containing materials from eluting from 51a and the second exposed portion 56a. Thereby, in the printer apparatus 1, it can prevent that a silicon | silicone or a silicon-containing material adheres on the heating resistor 53, and a kogation arises. Further, in the printer device 1, silicon and silicon-containing materials do not clog the nozzle 43 a, and the nozzle 43 a can be prevented from clogging.

  For these reasons, in the printer apparatus 1, the ink 2 can be appropriately supplied to the ink liquid chamber 58 via the ink flow path 45, and the ink 2 supplied to the ink liquid chamber 45 can be appropriately pressurized. The ink 2 can be ejected in a predetermined direction, and a high-quality image can be formed without causing problems such as non-ejection.

  In the printer device 1, even if the ink 2 is not ejected for a long time, the first elution prevention is provided in the vicinity of the first exposed portion 51 a of the circuit board 51 and the second exposed portion 56 a of the dummy substrate 56. By providing the portion 54a, the second elution preventing portion 54b, and the third elution preventing portion 54c, it is possible to elute silicon and silicon-containing materials from the first exposed portion 51a and the second exposed portion 56a. Therefore, the kogation of the heating resistor 53 and the clogging of the nozzle 43a can be prevented, and the ink 2 can be appropriately ejected even after a long period of non-ejection.

  Further, since the printer device 1 can prevent elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials, even if the number of ejections of the ink 2 is increased, ejection can be performed stably.

  In the above-described printer apparatus 1, the head chip 42 that heats and discharges the ink 2 with one heating resistor 53 has been described as an example. A plurality of heating resistors 53 may be provided for the nozzle 43a, and a head chip 42 that can control the ejection direction by heating each heating resistor 53 at different timings may be provided.

  Further, the above-described printer apparatus 1 employs an electrothermal conversion method in which the ink 2 is heated by the heating resistor 53 and the ink 2 is ejected from the nozzle 43a. Electromechanical conversion systems in which ink 2 is ejected from a nozzle electromechanically by an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 55-65559, 62-160243, and 2- 270561 gazette) may be adopted.

  Further, in the head cartridge 3 described above, the ink tank 5 can be attached to and detached from the cartridge main body 21, but it is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. That is, since the head cartridge 3 itself is handled as a consumable and can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 4, the ink tank 5 can be integrated with the cartridge main body 21. .

  In the above description, the line type printer device 1 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a serial type in which the head cartridge moves in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the recording paper P. The present invention can also be applied to other liquid ejection devices.

  Examples and comparative examples in which inks to which the present invention is applied were actually prepared will be described below.

<Example 1>
In Example 1, the yellow ink was adjusted as follows. When preparing a yellow ink, 3% by weight of direct yellow 132, 10% by weight of glycerin, 10% by weight of 2-pyrrolidone as a dye, a surfactant (Olfin E1010 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: polyoxy) The yellow ink was prepared by uniformly mixing the mixture so that the ethylene alkyl ether) was 0.5% by weight and the ion-exchanged water was 76.5% by weight, followed by filtration with a filter having a pore size of 2 μm. This yellow ink is designated as ink composition 1 in Table 1.

  In Example 1, the ink discharge head 23 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 was produced as follows. First, a heating resistor 53 (heater resistance 100Ω) made of a Ta-based resistor having a length of 20 μm and a thickness of 0.2 μm is formed on a circuit substrate 51 made of a silicon wafer, and a film 52 is laminated on the circuit substrate 51. A dummy chip 55 was produced by attaching a film 57 to the head substrate 42 and the dummy substrate 56 made of a silicon wafer. The circuit board 51 is subjected to surface treatment on the surface on which the heating resistor 53 is provided, and the end surface facing the ink flow path 45 has a first exposed portion 51a where the silicon wafer is exposed. Similarly, the dummy substrate 56 also has a second exposed portion 56a where the silicon wafer is exposed at the end face facing the ink flow path 45.

  Next, a plurality of the obtained head chips 42 are arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIG. 5, dummy chips 55 are arranged between the head chips 42, and the ink chips 45 are disposed inside the head chips 42 and the dummy chips 55. It adheres to the flow path plate 41 on which the is formed. Here, adhesion between the circuit board 51 of the head chip 42 and the dummy board 56 of the dummy chip 55 and the flow path plate 46 is made from a silicone adhesive (TSE3941M) made of Toshiba GE silicone (indicated by A in Table 1). Adhesion is carried out with an adhesive layer 54 interposed therebetween. An end surface constituting a part of the ink flow path 45 of the adhesive layer 54 provided between the circuit board 51 and the flow path plate 41 is a first elution preventing portion 54a. The end surface of the adhesive layer 54 provided between the two is the second elution preventing portion 54b. The adhesive layer 54 is also provided between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56, and the end surface constituting a part of the ink flow path 45 of the adhesive layer 54 is the third elution preventing part 54c.

  Further, when the adhesive layer 54 is provided, the thickness of the adhesive layer 54 between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56 and the flow path plate 41 and the thickness of the adhesive layer 54 between the circuit board 51 and the dummy board 56 are adjusted. Thus, the total area of the first elution prevention part 54a, the second elution prevention part 54b, and the third elution prevention part 54c is relative to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. The adhesive layer 54 was provided so as to be 5%. Next, the head chip 42, the dummy chip 55 and the flow path plate 41 bonded together were fitted to the frame 42, and the nozzle sheet 43 was bonded to the frame 42 to produce the ink discharge head 23 (hereinafter, reference numerals are omitted). .)

<Example 2>
In the second embodiment, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board are adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 10% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 3>
In Example 3, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board are adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 15% of the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 4>
In Example 4, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 20% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 5>
In Example 5, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board are adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 30% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 6>
In Example 6, the thickness of the circuit base, the adhesive layer between the dummy substrate and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit substrate and the dummy substrate is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second Except that all areas of the elution part 5 and the third elution part are 50% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board, the same as in Example 1. An ink discharge head was produced.

<Example 7>
In Example 7, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 100% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 8>
In Example 8, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 200% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 9>
In Example 9, blue ink was used instead of yellow ink. When preparing the blue ink, 3% by weight of direct blue 199, 10% by weight of glycerin, 10% by weight of 2-pyrrolidone as a dye, a surfactant (Orphine E1010 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: polyoxyethylene alkyl) A blue ink was prepared by uniformly mixing 0.5% by weight of ether) and 76.5% by weight of ion-exchanged water and filtering with a filter having a pore size of 2 μm. This blue ink is designated as ink composition 2 in Table 1.

  In Example 9, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 20% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Example 10>
In Example 10, an ink discharge head was produced in the same manner as in Example 4 except that a silicone adhesive (TSE3975C) (shown as B in Table 1) made by Toshiba GE Silicone was used as the silicone adhesive.

<Example 11>
In Example 11, an ink ejection head was produced in the same manner as in Example 9 except that a silicone adhesive (TSE3975C) (shown as B in Table 1) made by Toshiba GE Silicone was used as the silicone adhesive.

<Example 12>
In Example 12, an ink discharge head was used in the same manner as in Example 4 except that Toray Dow Corning silicone adhesive (SE9176 CLEAR) (indicated by C in Table 1) was used as the silicone adhesive. Was made.

<Example 13>
In Example 13, an ink ejection head was used in the same manner as in Example 9, except that a silicone adhesive made of Toray Dow Corning Silicone (SE9176 CLEAR) (indicated by C in Table 1) was used as the silicone adhesive. Was made.

<Comparative example 1>
Comparative Example 1 was the same as Example 4 except that an epoxy resin adhesive (manufactured by Huntsman Advanced Materials) Araldite Rapid (indicated by D in Table 1) was used instead of the silicone adhesive. An ink ejection head was prepared.

<Comparative example 2>
Comparative Example 2 was the same as Example 9 except that an epoxy resin adhesive (manufactured by Huntsman Advanced Materials) Araldite Rapid (indicated by D in Table 1) was used instead of the silicone adhesive. An ink ejection head was prepared.

<Comparative Example 3>
In the comparative example 3, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board 5 and the dummy board and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second Example 1 except that all areas of the elution part and the third elution part are 1% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. An ink discharge head was produced.

<Comparative Example 4>
In Comparative Example 4, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board is adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 1 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 500% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Comparative Example 5>
In Comparative Example 5, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board are adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 10 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 1% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

<Comparative Example 6>
In Comparative Example 6, the thickness of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path plate, and the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy board are adjusted, and the first elution preventing unit, the second The ink is the same as in Example 12 except that the entire area of the elution part and the third elution part is 1% with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. A discharge head was produced.

  Next, the ink discharge heads of Examples 1 to 13 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 were provided in a head cartridge, and the head cartridge was stored at 60 ° C. for 1 week. The head cartridge after storage and the ink cartridge filled with the ink prepared in each of the examples and comparative examples were mounted on the printer apparatus, and the following test 1 was performed.

  Specifically, in Test 1, a continuous discharge test was performed by driving the pressure generating element by applying 0.8 W of electric power to the pressure generating element with a pulse current of 1.5 μsec pulse width and a frequency of 10 kHz.

  Further, the ink is extracted from the ink flow path of the head cartridge after being stored at 60 ° C. for one week, and the content of silicon contained in the extracted ink is quantified with an ICP emission spectroscopic analyzer (SPS7800 manufactured by Seiko Instruments Inc.). analyzed. The silicon content is obtained by measuring silicon and silicon-containing material eluted from the silicon wafer of the circuit board and measuring the result.

  Table 1 below shows the evaluation results of the continuous discharge tests of Examples 1 to 12 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 and the silicon content.

  From the results shown in Table 1, an adhesive layer made of a silicone adhesive is interposed between the circuit board of the head chip and the dummy board of the dummy chip and the flow path plate, and between the circuit board and the dummy board. A first elution prevention unit, a second elution prevention unit, and a third elution prevention unit for preventing the silicon and silicon-containing material from eluting from the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate whose end faces facing the ink flow path; Examples 1 to 13 in which the areas of these elution prevention parts are 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board are silicone adhesives Comparative Example 1 or Comparative Example 2 that does not use the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention unit are all comparative examples in which the combined area is smaller than 2% or larger than 200% 3-Compared with Comparative Example 6, Evaluation of the continued discharge test is excellent, the content of silicon was less.

  Since Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 use an epoxy adhesive for the adhesive layer, it was not possible to suppress the elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials from the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, and the elution was caused. Silicon or silicon-containing material adhered to the heating resistor, causing kogation, or the eluted silicon or silicon-containing material clogged the nozzle, resulting in clogging of the nozzle. For this reason, in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the ejection became unstable from around 10 million times continuously, and ink was not ejected after 2000 to 50 million times, resulting in non-ejection.

  In Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, since the elution of silicon could not be suppressed, the content of silicon contained in ink 2 was 88 ppm or 93 ppm, which is much more silicon than Examples 1 to 13. There was a large amount of elution of silicon-containing materials. For these reasons, in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, when stored in a non-ejection state for a long period of time, the ejection characteristics deteriorate.

  Moreover, in Comparative Example 3, Comparative Example 5 and Comparative Example 6, a silicone adhesive is used for the adhesive layer, but all of the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention unit are combined. Since the exposed area is as small as 1% of the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, it is possible to suppress the elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials from the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate. As in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, kogation of the heating resistor and clogging of the nozzles occur, and the discharge becomes unstable from around 10 million times continuously, resulting in 2000 to 50 million times. Then it became non-ejection.

  Moreover, in Comparative Example 3, Comparative Example 5 and Comparative Example 6, since the elution of silicon and silicon-containing materials could not be suppressed, the silicon content was 75 ppm or more, respectively, compared with Examples 1 to 13. There was much more elution amount of silicon and silicon-containing materials. For these reasons, in Comparative Example 3, Comparative Example 5 and Comparative Example 6, when stored in a non-ejection state for a long period of time, the ejection characteristics deteriorate.

  In Comparative Example 4, an adhesive layer made of a silicone adhesive is provided between the circuit board and the flow path plate. However, the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention Since the total area of all the parts is 500% larger than the total area of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board, the content of silicon eluted from each exposed part of the circuit board and the dummy board is 2 ppm. Low molecular organic silicon is eluted from the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention unit, and this low molecular organic silicon causes a kogation of the heating resistor, Clogging occurred. For this reason, in Comparative Example 4, the ejection became unstable after 10 million times of continuous ejection, and no ink was ejected after 2000 to 50 million times, resulting in no ejection. Thereby, in the comparative example 4, when it preserve | saves in a non-ejection state for a long period of time, a discharge characteristic will fall.

  In contrast to these Comparative Examples 1 to 6, in Examples 1 to 13, a silicone adhesive is used between the circuit board and the dummy board and the flow path board and between the circuit board and the dummy board. An adhesive layer is interposed, and there is a first elution preventing portion between the circuit board and the flow path plate, and there is a second elution preventing portion between the dummy board and the flow path plate. There is a third elution prevention part, and these elution prevention parts constitute a part of the ink flow path and are adjacent to the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. It was possible to prevent silicon and silicon-containing materials from eluting from the exposed portion of the film. In Examples 1 to 13, the total area of the first elution prevention part, the second elution prevention part, and the third elution prevention part is the sum of the exposed parts of the circuit board and the dummy board. 5% or more and 200% or less of the area prevents low-molecular organic silicon from being eluted from the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention unit. did it. As a result, in Examples 1 to 13, no kogation occurred on the heating resistor and nozzle clogging did not occur. Therefore, stable ejection of 180 million times or more became possible, and the ink contained in the ink The silicon content was very low.

  Also, among the examples, as shown in Examples 2 to 6 and Examples 9 to 13, all of the first elution prevention unit, the second elution prevention unit, and the third elution prevention unit By making the area 10% or more and 50% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, it is possible to further prevent silicon and silicon-containing materials from eluting from the exposed portions. Therefore, continuous discharge can be performed 200 million times or more and stable discharge can be performed continuously.

  Therefore, in Examples 1 to 13, stable ejection is possible even when stored in a non-ejection state for a long period of time, and elution of inorganic silicon-containing material and low molecular organic silicon is prevented. A high-quality image can be formed.

1 is a perspective view showing a printer apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a head cartridge provided in the printer apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the head cartridge. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between an ink tank and an ink discharge head in the head cartridge. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an ink discharge head. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ink discharge head. It is sectional drawing which shows what bonded the head chip and the dummy chip to the flow-path board. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where bubbles are generated in the heating resistor, and FIG. 2B shows a state where ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle. It is sectional drawing shown typically. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a part of the printer device. FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a partially transparent state in which the head cap is open in the printer apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer apparatus, 2 Ink, 3 Inkjet printer head cartridge, 4 Apparatus main body, 5 Ink tank, 21 Cartridge main body, 23 Ink ejection head, 23a Ejection surface, 41 Flow path plate, 42 Head chip, 43 Nozzle sheet, 44 Frame , 45 Ink channel, 51 Circuit board, 51a Exposed portion, 52 film, 53 Heating resistor, 54 Adhesive layer, 54a Elution prevention portion, 55 Dummy chip, 56 Dummy substrate 56 Exposed portion, 57 Film, 58 Ink liquid chamber

Claims (28)

In a liquid discharge head that supplies liquid to a liquid chamber provided with a discharge port and a pressure generating element through a flow path, and discharges the liquid from the discharge port with the pressure generating element.
The pressure generating element is provided on a circuit board constituting a part of the liquid chamber,
The circuit board has an exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
In the vicinity of the exposed portion, an elution preventing portion made of an organic silicon material for preventing elution of the inorganic silicon material is provided facing the flow path.   2. The liquid ejection according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board is bonded to a flow path plate forming the flow path with an adhesive layer made of the organosilicon material, and an end surface of the adhesive layer is an elution preventing portion. head.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the pressure generating element is a heating resistor.   2. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic silicon material is silicon, silicon oxide, or glass.   The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the organosilicon material contains a siloxane bond. Between the adjacent circuit boards, a dummy board that is bonded to the flow path plate by an adhesive layer that is continuous with the adhesive layer that bonds the circuit board to the flow path board is disposed,
The dummy substrate has a further exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
The adhesive layer for adhering the dummy substrate facing the flow path to the flow path plate and the end surface of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate are further elution preventing portions, The liquid discharge head according to claim 2.   The total area of all the elution preventing portions is 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, respectively. The liquid discharge head described. In a liquid ejection cartridge provided in a liquid ejection apparatus that ejects liquid,
A liquid container for containing the liquid;
A liquid discharge head for supplying the liquid from the liquid storage section through a flow path to a liquid chamber provided with a discharge port and a pressure generating element, and discharging the liquid from the discharge port with the pressure generating element;
The pressure generating element is provided on a circuit board constituting a part of the liquid chamber,
The circuit board has an exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
In the vicinity of the exposed portion, an elution preventing portion made of an organic silicon material for preventing elution of the inorganic silicon material is provided facing the flow path.   9. The liquid ejection according to claim 8, wherein the circuit board is bonded to a flow path plate forming the flow path by an adhesive layer made of the organosilicon material, and an end surface of the adhesive layer is an elution preventing portion. cartridge.   9. The liquid ejection cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the pressure generating element is a heating resistor.   9. The liquid discharge cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the inorganic silicon material is silicon, silicon oxide, or glass.   9. The liquid discharge cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the organosilicon material contains a siloxane bond. Between the adjacent circuit boards, a dummy board that is bonded to the flow path plate by an adhesive layer that is continuous with the adhesive layer that bonds the circuit board to the flow path board is disposed,
The dummy substrate has a further exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
The adhesive layer for adhering the dummy substrate facing the flow path to the flow path plate and the end surface of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate are further elution preventing portions, The liquid discharge cartridge according to claim 9.   14. The total area of all the elution preventing portions is 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, respectively. The liquid discharge cartridge as described. In a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid,
The device body,
A liquid container provided in the apparatus main body for containing the liquid; and supplying the liquid from the liquid container through a flow path to a liquid chamber provided with an outlet and a pressure generating element. A liquid discharge cartridge having a liquid discharge head for discharging the liquid from the discharge port;
The pressure generating element is provided on a circuit board constituting a part of the liquid chamber,
The circuit board has an exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
In the vicinity of the exposed portion, an elution preventing portion made of an organic silicon material for preventing the elution of the inorganic silicon material is provided facing the flow path.   16. The liquid ejection according to claim 15, wherein the circuit board is bonded to a flow path plate forming the flow path by an adhesive layer made of the organosilicon material, and an end surface of the adhesive layer is an elution preventing portion. apparatus.   The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the pressure generating element is a heating resistor.   16. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the inorganic silicon material is silicon, silicon oxide, or glass.   The liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organosilicon material includes a siloxane bond. Between the adjacent circuit boards, a dummy board that is bonded to the flow path plate by an adhesive layer that is continuous with the adhesive layer that bonds the circuit board to the flow path board is disposed,
The dummy substrate has a further exposed portion where an inorganic silicon material is exposed at the end surface facing the flow path,
The adhesive layer for adhering the dummy substrate facing the flow path to the flow path plate and the end surface of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate are further elution preventing portions, The liquid ejection device according to claim 16.   21. The total area of all the elution preventing portions is 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate. The liquid discharge apparatus as described. An apparatus main body, a liquid storage section provided in the apparatus main body, storing the liquid, and supplying the liquid from the liquid storage section through a flow path to a liquid chamber provided with a discharge port and a pressure generating element; A liquid discharge method by a liquid discharge apparatus comprising a liquid discharge cartridge having a liquid discharge head for discharging the liquid from a discharge port with a pressure generating element,
Elution that is provided with a pressure generating element and that exposes the inorganic silicon material on the end surface of the circuit board that constitutes a part of the liquid chamber, and that prevents the inorganic silicon material provided near the exposed portion from eluting A liquid discharge method, wherein the liquid is supplied to the liquid chamber through the flow path facing the prevention unit, and the liquid is discharged from the discharge port.   23. The circuit board according to claim 22, wherein the circuit board is bonded to a flow path plate forming the flow path with an adhesive layer made of the organosilicon material, and an end surface of the adhesive layer serves as an elution preventing portion. Liquid ejection method.   23. The liquid discharging method according to claim 22, wherein the pressure generating element is a heating resistor.   The liquid discharging method according to claim 22, wherein the inorganic silicon material is silicon, silicon oxide, or glass.   The liquid ejection method according to claim 22, wherein the elution preventing part includes a siloxane bond.   Between the adjacent circuit boards, the inorganic silicon material on the end face of the dummy substrate bonded to the flow path plate by the adhesive layer continuous with the adhesive layer for bonding the circuit board to the flow path board is formed in the flow path. Further exposed portion exposed and the adhesive layer for adhering the dummy substrate facing the channel to the channel plate and further elution prevention of the end surface of the adhesive layer between the circuit board and the dummy substrate 24. The liquid discharging method according to claim 23, wherein the liquid is supplied to the liquid chamber through the flow path facing the portion.   28. The total area of all the elution preventing portions is 5% or more and 200% or less with respect to the total area of the exposed portions of the circuit board and the dummy substrate, respectively. The liquid discharge method as described.

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