JP2013233722A - Liquid injection head unit and liquid injection device - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid ejecting head unit and a liquid ejecting apparatus that are small in size and do not affect the circuit board even when ink leaks are provided.
When viewed in a horizontal plane, the ink discharge port 46 is provided at a position where it does not interfere with the head main body or the circuit board, so that ink leakage occurs at the connection between the ink cartridge and the ink head unit. Even if ink flows out from the ink outlet 46, ink leakage does not affect the circuit board.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head unit and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

A typical example of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid is an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink using a heater or a piezoelectric element as an actuator. In an ink jet recording apparatus, ink is introduced from a liquid tank through a supply tube or from a cartridge into an ink head unit as a liquid ejecting head unit.
The ink head unit has a head body including an ink inflow portion, a circuit board that sends a drive signal to the actuator, an actuator, a flow path unit, and a nozzle plate. The ink is sent to the head main body via the ink needle and ejected from the pressure chamber by the action of the actuator.

  The supplied ink may leak at the connection from the supply tube or cartridge to the ink inflow part. As a countermeasure, a connector is placed at a position away from the joint of the supply tube, or the leaked ink is absorbed. There has been proposed a structure in which an absorbing member is provided, or further, ink that leaks from the head body to the control board is prevented from flowing into the ink (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-82317 A

  However, in the structure described in Patent Document 1, when the ink head unit is to be miniaturized, the ink discharge port is provided outside the ink head unit. In addition, an area dedicated to traps must be provided, which may hinder miniaturization.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
The liquid ejecting head unit according to this application example is provided with a head body including a pressure chamber communicating with a nozzle that ejects liquid and an actuator that applies pressure to the pressure chamber, and is provided above the head body and is sent from the CPU. A circuit board that relays a received signal and supplies a drive signal to the actuator; a first flow path member that is above the circuit board and is connected from a liquid source via an ink supply needle; and above the circuit board and A second channel member having a second channel through which the liquid introduced below the first channel member flows after the first channel member, and the first channel member includes: It has at least a standing wall along the outer periphery, and has a discharge path that opens to an inner region of the outer periphery and faces the second flow path member, and the position on the plane of the discharge path is provided outside the head body. Being And wherein the Rukoto.

  According to this application example, since the discharge path is opened in the inner region of the wall surface along the outer periphery of the first flow path member and outside the head body, the ink flowing out from the discharge path adheres to the head body. In addition, the ink head unit and the entire liquid ejecting apparatus using the ink head unit can be reduced in size.

[Application Example 2]
In the liquid ejecting head unit, it is preferable that an ink trap is further provided inside the standing wall surface.

  In this application example, even if ink leaks from between the ink supply needle and the ink head unit and spreads inside the outer wall, if the amount is small, the leaked ink is adsorbed by the ink trap, so it adheres to the lower circuit board. Can be surely prevented.

[Application Example 3]
A liquid ejecting apparatus according to this application example includes the above-described liquid ejecting head unit.

  According to this application example, it is possible to obtain a liquid ejecting apparatus that can achieve the above-described effects.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink head unit according to the embodiment. (A) Top view of ink head unit, (b) Sectional view along line AA in (a). FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the ink head unit. FIG.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments. Hereinafter, the ink head unit is an example of a liquid ejecting head unit, and the ink jet recording apparatus 1 is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes an ink head unit 2. The ink head unit 2 is mounted on the carriage 4 together with the ink cartridge 3, and the carriage 4 is provided so as to be movable along the carriage shaft 9.

  A driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to the carriage 4 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7, so that the carriage 4 on which the ink head unit 2 is mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 9.

  The position of the carriage 4 in the direction along the carriage axis 9 is detected by the linear encoder 10, and a detection signal is transmitted as position information to a control unit (not shown). Thus, the control unit can control the ink ejection operation and the like while recognizing the position of the carriage 4 (ink head unit 2) based on the position information from the linear encoder 10.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a platen 5, and a recording sheet 6, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feeding mechanism 8, is wound around the platen 5 and conveyed.

  FIG. 2 shows an ink head unit 2 according to the present invention. The ink head unit 2 according to the embodiment includes a flow path member 12, a circuit board 13, a head body 14, and a head cover 15.

  The flow path member 12 is a member in which a liquid flow path for supplying ink from the ink cartridge 3 shown in FIG. 1 to the head body 14 is formed. Specifically, the flow path member 12 is configured by joining the first flow path member 17, the second flow path member 21, and the third flow path member 19 with the seal member 18 interposed therebetween.

  The first flow path member 17 includes an ink cartridge mounting portion 22 to which a plurality of ink cartridges 3 are detachably mounted on the upper surface. A plurality of ink introduction needles 23 are formed on the bottom of the ink cartridge mounting portion 22 corresponding to each of the ink cartridges 3 to be mounted. In the embodiment, four ink introduction needles 23 are arranged in a row corresponding to inks of four colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black).

  The ink introduced from the ink cartridge 3 through the ink introduction needle 23 falls downward, passes through the ink passage 25 provided in the third flow path member 19, and enters the second flow path 29 provided in the second flow path member 21. Sent to the head main body 14.

  The circuit board 13 has electrical components such as an IC and a resistor mounted on the surface. The circuit board 13 is disposed between the flow path member 12 and the head body 14, and a signal cable from a CPU (not shown) is connected to the connector 32. A signal from the CPU on the circuit board 13 is connected to a flexible cable 33 constituting the vibrator unit 45 of the head main body 14 so as to be converted into a drive signal for each pressure chamber and sent to the head main body 14. In addition, the circuit board 13 is provided with a flow path insertion hole 34 through which the second flow path 29 is passed, and the ink is sent to an ink supply path 70 described later.

  The head body 14 includes a vibrator unit 45, a head case 44, and a flow path unit 39. Furthermore, the vibrator unit 45 is fixed in a state in which the tip portion thereof is in contact with the diaphragm 51.

  FIG. 3A is a top view of the ink head unit 2 as viewed from the ink cartridge 3 side shown in FIG. Four ink cartridges 3 are arranged inside the upright wall 40 and are arranged in each of the ink introduction needles 23. Corresponding to each ink cartridge 3, an ink trap portion 41 is provided inside the standing wall 40. Further, an ink discharge port 46 is provided in the ink trap portion 41. Here, the ink discharge port 46 is provided in only one of the four ink cartridges, but may be provided for each ink cartridge.

  FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the flow path member 12 of the ink head unit 2 taken along the line AA in FIG. The 1st flow path member 17, the 3rd flow path member 19, and the 2nd flow path member 21 have overlapped in order from the top. An ink trap portion 41 is connected to the ink discharge port 46.

FIG. 4 is a view of the ink head unit 2 as viewed from the lower surface of the head cover 15. The left and right are reversed from FIG. The outer peripheral portion is the second flow path member 21, the connector 32 is at the inner right side, the circuit board 13 is at the inner center, the head cover 15 is inside the circuit board 13, the nozzle plate 49 is inside the head cover 15, and the nozzle plate 49 is inside the nozzle plate 49. Two nozzle rows 36 are provided. Near the four ends of the head cover 15, a flange portion 80 is provided, and a head cover reference hole 81 for positioning is opened at each end.
One nozzle row 36 is divided into three, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and the other one is assigned to black. However, one of the nozzle rows 36 may be assigned to cyan and magenta, and the other one may be assigned to yellow and black. The ink discharge port 46 is provided at a position where it does not interfere with the head main body 14 or the circuit board 13 when viewed in a horizontal plane, so that ink leakage occurs at the connection between the ink cartridge 3 and the ink head unit 2. Even if ink flows out from the ink discharge port 46, ink leakage does not affect the circuit board 13.

  FIG. 5 shows the head body 14. FIG. 4 is an assembly cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration in which a head case 44, a vibrator unit 45, and a flow path unit 39 are assembled. The vibrator unit 45 is fixed to the head case 44 through the fixing plate 42, and the piezoelectric element 43 is connected to the flexible cable 33. The piezoelectric element 43 is formed by stacking piezoelectric bodies 61 and electrodes 62 and 63 sandwiched alternately in the vertical direction. An inactive region that does not contribute to the vibration of the piezoelectric element 43 is fixed to the fixed plate 42.

  In addition, in the region of the vibration plate 51 facing each pressure generating chamber 38, an island portion 60 with which the tip portion of the piezoelectric element 43 abuts is provided. That is, a thin portion 58 having a thickness smaller than that of the other regions is formed in a region facing the peripheral edge of each pressure generating chamber 38 of the diaphragm 51, and island portions 60 are respectively provided inside the thin portion 58. Yes.

  The ink sent to the ink supply path 70 is sent to the pressure generation chamber 38 via the compliance unit 59 and the manifold 52. When the diaphragm 51 driven by the piezoelectric element 43 applies pressure to the ink in the pressure generating chamber 38, the ink is ejected from the nozzle row 36.

  As described above, the ink head unit 2 according to the present invention is provided with the ink trap portion 41 and the ink discharge port 46 in the standing wall 40 of the first flow path member 17 that forms the flow path member 12. The ink head unit 2 can be reduced in size while suppressing the influence on the circuit board 13 due to ink leakage. As a result, it is possible to provide a small ink ejecting apparatus while improving the reliability of the ink head unit 2.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet recording device, 2 ... Ink head unit, 4 ... Carriage, 5 ... Platen, 6 ... Recording sheet, 7 ... Timing belt, 8 ... Paper feed mechanism, 9 ... Carriage shaft, 10 ... Linear encoder, 12 ... Flow Road member, 13 ... Circuit board, 14 ... Head body, 15 ... Head cover, 17 ... First flow path member, 18 ... Seal member, 19 ... Third flow path member, 21 ... Second flow path member, 22 ... Ink cartridge Mounting portion, 23 ... ink introduction needle, 25 ... ink passage, 29 ... second flow path, 32 ... connector, 33 ... flexible cable, 34 ... flow passage insertion hole, 36 ... nozzle row, 38 ... pressure generation chamber, 39 ... Channel unit 40 ... Standing wall 41 ... Ink trap part 42 ... Fixed plate 43 ... Piezoelectric element 44 ... Head case 45 ... Vibrator unit 46 ... Ink discharge port DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Nozzle plate, 51 ... Diaphragm, 52 ... Manifold, 58 ... Thin part, 59 ... Compliance part, 60 ... Island part, 61 ... Piezoelectric body, 62 ... Electrode, 70 ... Ink supply path, 80 ... Flange part, 81 ... head cover reference hole.

Claims (3)

A head body including a pressure chamber communicating with a nozzle for ejecting liquid and an actuator for applying pressure to the pressure chamber;
A circuit board that is provided above the head body, relays a signal sent from the CPU, and supplies a drive signal to the actuator;
A first flow path member above the circuit board and connected from a liquid source via an ink supply needle;
A second flow path member having a second flow path above the circuit board and below the first flow path member and into which the introduced liquid flows next to the first flow path member;
The first flow path member has an upright wall along at least the outer periphery, and has a discharge path that opens to an inner region of the outer periphery and faces the second flow path member.
A position on the plane of the discharge path is provided outside the head main body. The liquid ejecting head unit according to claim 1,
A liquid ejecting head unit, further comprising an ink trap inside the upright wall. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid ejecting head unit according to claim 1.

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