JP4306450B2 - Inkjet head manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet head manufacturing method, and more particularly to an inkjet head manufacturing method for manufacturing an inkjet head by assembling a flexible substrate, an actuator, and a cavity plate.

  As an apparatus for printing image data output from a personal computer, a facsimile or the like, there is a printer using an ink jet method. Various types of inkjet systems have been put into practical use, and higher speed, higher image quality, and lower price are being achieved.

  Inkjet heads of these types of printers include a cavity plate having a number of nozzle holes for ejecting ink onto paper, a pressure chamber filled with the ink, an actuator for applying ejection pressure to the pressure chamber, and the actuator The circuit board includes a wiring board for sending an electric signal for driving the drive circuit and a drive circuit. As the wiring board, a flexible board that can be easily connected and constitutes a high-density wiring is used.

  When manufacturing this ink jet head, first, an actuator is overlaid on a cavity plate, and then a flexible substrate is overlaid. (Patent Document 1).

Specifically, the actuators are stacked and bonded to the cavity plate so that a plurality of operating parts (piezoelectrically deforming parts in the case of piezoelectric actuators) provided on the actuator correspond to the pressure chambers. Then, the plurality of wiring patterns of the flexible substrate are solder-bonded to the surface electrode provided on the upper surface of the actuator in a one-to-one correspondence.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-240278

  Since the surface electrode on the upper surface of the actuator has the same pitch as the pressure chamber of the cavity plate, the wiring pattern of the flexible substrate and the surface electrode require the same high accuracy as the actuator and the cavity plate. Needless to say, there are problems such as poor bonding due to solder and short-circuiting between adjacent surface electrodes due to protrusion of solder. For this reason, there are more defects in the joint between the flexible substrate and the actuator than in the joint between the actuator and the cavity plate, and the defect is often found after completion as an inkjet head. The entire inkjet head including the cavity plate must be discarded.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an ink jet in which a defective connection between a flexible substrate and an actuator is discovered at an early stage so that a manufacturing process is not wasted and parts are not wasted. A method for manufacturing a head is provided.

In order to achieve this object, the ink jet head manufacturing method according to claim 1 has a plurality of nozzle holes for ejecting ink to the outside and a plurality of pressure chambers filled with ink for each nozzle hole. A cavity plate, an actuator having a plurality of operating portions for applying ink discharge pressure to each pressure chamber formed in the cavity plate, and a flexible substrate having a wiring pattern for supplying power to each operating portion of the actuator And a first assembly step of joining the flexible substrate and the actuator by connecting the wiring pattern and each of the operating parts,
Next to the first assembly step, an inspection process for inspecting whether or not each of the operating parts operates normally via the wiring pattern, and in the inspection process, the operating parts are normal via the wiring pattern. A second assembling step of joining the actuator to the cavity plate and the actuating portions to correspond to the pressure chambers.

  The inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 2 is the inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the cavity plate has the plurality of pressure chambers arranged in a planar shape, and the actuator includes the plurality of actuations. And a plurality of electrodes connected to each of the operating portions on a surface opposite to the cavity plate of the actuator. In the assembly step, the flexible substrate is overlaid on the opposite surface of the actuator in a state where the electrodes and the wiring pattern are connected, and the second assembly step is performed in the state in which the flexible substrate is overlaid on the flexible substrate. The actuator is overlapped and bonded to the cavity plate via an adhesive.

  The inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 3 is the inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible substrate has a driving integrated circuit that drives each of the operating parts via the wiring pattern. In the inspection step, it is inspected whether or not each of the operating parts normally operates via the driving integrated circuit.

  According to the ink jet head manufacturing method of the first aspect, first, the wiring pattern of the flexible substrate and each operating part of the actuator are connected and joined, and then each operating part normally operates via the wiring pattern. If it is normal, it is a manufacturing method that joins the cavity plate to the actuator if it is normal, so when the inspection is done with the flexible substrate and the actuator joined, it turns out that it does not work properly In this case, it is only necessary to discard the bonded flexible board and actuator without bonding the cavity plate, and it is not necessary to discard the cavity plate. .

  According to the method for manufacturing an ink-jet head according to claim 2, in addition to the effect produced by the method for manufacturing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, the actuator has a plurality of operating portions arranged in a plane, and a cavity plate of the actuator Has a plurality of electrodes arranged in a plane on the opposite surface, and the first assembly step is a state in which the flexible substrate is connected to each electrode and the wiring pattern. In the second assembly process, the actuator in a state of being overlapped with the flexible substrate is overlapped and bonded to the cavity plate via an adhesive, so that a flat surface is formed in each bonding process. It is sufficient to hold the whole with a simple jig, and the whole can be joined uniformly and reliably.

  According to the method for manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 3, in addition to the effect produced by the method for manufacturing the ink jet head according to claim 1 or 2, the flexible substrate is integrated for driving that drives each operating portion via a wiring pattern. Since it has a circuit and an inspection process is to inspect whether each operation part operates normally via a driving integrated circuit, connection of a flexible substrate and a driving integrated circuit, driving integration There is an effect that it is possible to comprehensively inspect the operation of the circuit, the operating state of each operating portion of the actuator, and the like.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a color ink jet printer as an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a color ink jet printer 100 includes an ink cartridge 61 filled with, for example, four color inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and an ink jet head 6 (hereinafter referred to as head 6) for printing on paper 62. A head unit 63 including the ink cartridge 61 and the head unit 63, a drive unit 65 that reciprocates the carriage 64 in a linear direction, and a head 6 that extends in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 64. A platen roller 66 and a purge device 67.

  The drive unit 65 includes a carriage shaft 71 disposed at the lower end portion of the carriage 64 and extending in parallel with the platen roller 66, a guide plate 72 disposed at the upper end portion of the carriage 64 and extending in parallel with the carriage shaft 71, and the carriage shaft 71. It consists of two pulleys 73 and 74 disposed between the guide plate 72 and at both ends of the carriage shaft 71, and an endless belt 75 spanned between the pulleys 73 and 74.

  When one pulley 73 is rotated forward and backward by driving the motor, the carriage 64 joined to the endless belt 75 is moved to the carriage shaft 71 and the guide plate 72 as the pulley 73 rotates forward and backward. And reciprocally moved in a linear direction.

  The paper 62 is fed from a paper feed cassette (not shown) provided on the side of the inkjet printer 100, introduced between the head 6 and the platen roller 66, and ejected from the head 6. Predetermined printing is performed, and then the paper is discharged. In FIG. 1, the paper feed mechanism and paper discharge mechanism for the paper 62 are not shown.

  The purge device 67 is provided on the side of the platen roller 66 and is disposed so as to face the head 6 when the head unit 63 is at the reset position. The purge device 67 includes a purge cap 81 that abuts against an opening surface of the nozzle 6 so as to cover a plurality of nozzle holes described later of the head 6, a pump 82 and a cam 83, and an ink storage portion 84. When the head unit 63 is at the reset position, the nozzle of the head 6 is covered with the purge cap 81, and defective ink containing bubbles and the like accumulated inside the head 6 is sucked by the pump 82 by driving the cam 83. The head 6 is recovered. The sucked defective ink is stored in the ink storage unit 84.

  The cap 85 covers the plurality of nozzle holes 15 (see FIG. 2) of the head 6 mounted on the carriage 64 that is returned to the reset position when printing is completed in order to prevent ink from drying.

  FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the head unit 63 with the nozzle hole 15 side up. As shown in FIG. 2, the head unit 63 is formed in a substantially box shape having an open top surface, and has a mounting portion to which four ink cartridges 61 can be detachably attached from above, and a bottom portion of the mounting portion. Are formed with ink supply passages 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d that can be connected to the ink discharge portions of the respective ink cartridges 61. The ink supply passages communicate with the lower surface of the bottom plate 5 of the head unit 63. The ink supply passages 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are provided with a packing 47 made of rubber or the like so as to be in close contact with an ink supply hole 19a described later.

  On the lower surface side of the bottom plate 5, four support portions 8 for arranging four heads 6 in parallel are formed in a stepped shape. A plurality of cavities 9a and 9b for fixing the head 6 with a UV adhesive material are formed in each support portion 8 so as to penetrate vertically.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the head 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the head 6 includes a laminated cavity plate 10, a plate-type piezoelectric actuator 20 that is bonded and laminated to the cavity plate 10 via an adhesive or an adhesive sheet, and an upper surface thereof. For electrical connection with an external device, the flexible substrate 40 is configured to be overlapped and joined, and ink is ejected downward from the nozzle hole 15 opened on the lower surface side of the cavity plate 10. The flexible substrate 40 is a COF (Chip On Film) on which a driver IC 41 (driving integrated circuit) is mounted, and a wiring pattern for supplying power to each operating portion of the piezoelectric actuator 20 is formed on one surface of the insulating film. Has been. Specifically, this wiring pattern is connected to surface electrodes 33 and 34 formed on the upper surface of the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 21 of the piezoelectric actuator 20.

  The cavity plate 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, and the piezoelectric actuator 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cavity plate 10. 5 is an exploded enlarged perspective view of the cavity plate 10 (cross section taken along the VV direction in FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 4, the cavity plate 10 is formed by laminating and bonding five thin metal plates, ie, a nozzle plate 11 and two manifold plates 12X and 12Y, a spacer plate 13 and a base plate 14 with an adhesive. Structure. In the present embodiment, each of these plates 12 to 14 is made of 42% nickel alloy steel plate (42 alloy) and has a thickness of about 50 μm to 150 μm. In addition, each of these plates 12-14 is not restricted to metal, For example, you may form with resin.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of narrow pressure chambers 16 extending in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base plate 14 are formed in the base plate 14 in two rows in a staggered pattern along the plane of the base plate 14. It is formed by an array. Further, on the spacer plate 13 side of the base plate 14, a throttle portion 16 d connected to each pressure chamber 16 and an ink supply hole 16 b connected to the throttle portion 16 d are recessed. Each ink supply hole 16 b communicates with the common ink chamber 12 a in the manifold plate 12 </ b> X via each ink supply hole 18 formed in the left and right side portions of the spacer plate 13. Here, the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the direction in which the ink flows in each throttle portion 16 d is smaller than the cross-sectional area in each pressure chamber 16. This is because the flow path resistance is increased by reducing the cross-sectional area of the throttle portion 16d.

  One end portion 16a of each pressure chamber 16 penetrates through the nozzle holes 15 in a staggered arrangement in the nozzle plate 11 with a small diameter that is formed in the staggered arrangement in the spacer plate 13 and the two manifold plates 12X and 12Y. The holes 17 communicate with each other.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the base plate 14 and the spacer plate 13 have two ink supply holes 19a and 19b for supplying ink from a common ink cartridge to the two common ink chambers 12a in the manifold plate 12, respectively. It has been drilled.

  The ink supply hole 19a of the base plate 14 is formed close to the end of the row formed by the plurality of pressure chambers 16 in order to reduce the size of the inkjet head. Further, since the ink supplied to the two ink supply holes 19a is supplied from a common ink cartridge, the two ink supply holes 19a are arranged close to each other. Since the two ink supply holes 19a supply ink to the corresponding two common ink chambers 12a via the two ink supply holes 19b formed in the spacer plate 13, the ink supply on the spacer plate 13 is performed. If two holes 19b are formed, the number of ink supply holes 19a on the base plate 14 may be one.

  As shown in FIG. 4, two common ink chambers 12 a and 12 b are provided on the two manifold plates 12 </ b> X and 12 </ b> Y so as to sandwich the row formed by the plurality of nozzle holes 15 in the nozzle plate 11. The common ink chambers 12 a and 12 b are located in a plane parallel to the surface formed by the plurality of pressure chambers 16 in the base plate 14, and the opening surfaces of the plurality of nozzle holes 15 in the nozzle plate 11 than the plurality of pressure chambers 16. Arranged on the side.

  Of the two manifold plates, the manifold plate 12X on the spacer plate 13 side has a common ink chamber 12a formed through the manifold plate 12X, and the manifold plate 12Y on the nozzle plate 11 side has the former manifold plate 12X. It is recessed so as to open only to the side. Then, by stacking the two manifold plates 12X and 12Y and the spacer plate 13, the common ink chambers 12a and 12b that are vertically overlapped each have one common ink chamber on each side of the row of the through holes 17 respectively. Form. Thereby, a sufficient amount of ink to be supplied to the plurality of pressure chambers 16 can be secured. The reason why two rows of common ink chambers are provided on both sides of the row of through holes 17 is to correspond to the pressure chambers 16 arranged in two rows.

  The nozzle plate 11 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of nozzle holes 15 for discharging ink having a minute diameter (in the present embodiment, about 25 μm) extend along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle plate 11. The holes are formed in a staggered arrangement at intervals of a minute pitch P.

  With the configuration of the cavity plate 10 described above, ink that has flowed into the common ink chambers 12a and 12b from the ink supply holes 19a and 19b formed in one end of the base plate 14 and the spacer plate 13 is transferred from the common ink chamber 12a to each ink. The ink is distributed to the pressure chambers 16 through the supply holes 18, the ink supply holes 16b, and the throttle portions 16d. Then, ink flows in the direction of the one end portion 16 a of each pressure chamber 16, passes through each through hole 17, and reaches the nozzle hole 15 corresponding to each pressure chamber 16.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the plate-type piezoelectric actuator 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the plate-type piezoelectric actuator 20 includes ten piezoelectric sheets 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. , 29 and 30 are stacked.

  Among the piezoelectric sheets 21 to 30, narrow individual electrodes 31 are provided on the upper surfaces of the piezoelectric sheets 24, 26, and 28 at positions corresponding to the pressure chambers 16 (see FIG. 5) provided in the cavity plate 10. Each is formed. Further, a discarded pattern electrode 32b, which is a land pattern that does not participate in the deformation of the piezoelectric sheet, is formed at a position corresponding to an end portion 32a of the common electrode 32 described later. A specific pattern of the individual electrode 31 will be described with reference to FIG.

  On the upper surface of the piezoelectric sheets 23, 25, 27, and 29, a strip-shaped common electrode 32 that is a common electrode for the plurality of pressure chambers 16 is formed. Further, a discarded pattern electrode 31b, which is a land pattern not involved in the deformation of the piezoelectric sheet, is formed at a position corresponding to the end portion 31a of the individual electrode 31. The discarded pattern electrodes 31b and 32b are formed to have the same thickness as the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32. When the piezoelectric sheets are laminated as will be described later, the piezoelectric sheet in the portion where the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 are not formed is recessed. It is corrected. The common electrode 32 and the discard pattern 31b are formed on the upper surface of the piezoelectric sheet 22, but the piezoelectric operation is not performed on the sheet.

  On the upper surface of the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 21, a surface electrode 33 for each of the individual electrodes 31 and a surface electrode 34 for the common electrode 32 extend along side edges extending in parallel with the arrangement direction of the individual electrodes 31. It is provided in two rows.

  Except for the lowermost piezoelectric sheet 30, all of the other piezoelectric sheets 21 to 28 further include the surface electrode 33, the individual electrode 31 and the disposal pattern electrode 31 b at the corresponding position (the same vertical position). Through holes 36 are formed so as to communicate with each other (see FIG. 7). Similarly, a through hole 37 is formed so that the surface electrode 34 and the end portion 32a of the common electrode and the discard pattern electrode 32b communicate with each other.

  The through holes 36 and 37 are filled with a conductive material, and are configured so that the individual electrodes 31 of each layer and the surface electrode 33 at a position corresponding thereto are electrically connected. 32 and the surface electrode 34 of the position corresponding to 32 are electrically connected.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an arrangement pattern of the individual electrodes 31 and the discard pattern electrodes 32b provided on the piezoelectric sheets 24, 26, and 28. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the pattern of the individual electrodes 31 in the row on one side of the long side end of each piezoelectric sheet 26 or the like is linear and in a direction orthogonal to the end edge of the piezoelectric sheet 26 or the like The pattern of the individual electrodes 31 in the other row is in a staggered position shifted by half with respect to the individual electrodes 31 in the other row, and the edge of the piezoelectric sheet 26 or the like It is formed to extend in a direction orthogonal to the part.

  Of the pattern of the individual electrodes 31 in each row formed on each piezoelectric sheet 26 and the like, the end 31Xa of the central individual electrode 31X extends to the edge of each piezoelectric sheet 26 and is exposed, and the end 31Xa. Is a mark for positioning as will be described later.

  Similarly, the end of the discarded pattern electrode 31b in the piezoelectric sheets 22, 23, 25, 27, and 29 provided at the position corresponding to the position of the extended individual electrode 31X and the end of the surface electrode 33 in the piezoelectric sheet 21 are the same. It is exposed from each piezoelectric sheet.

  The piezoelectric actuator 20 is integrated by printing electrodes on a plurality of ceramic green sheets constituting each of the piezoelectric sheets and filling the through holes with a conductive material, and then laminating and firing the ceramic green sheets. . As will be described later, when a high voltage is applied between the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 through the surface electrodes 33 and 34, each piezoelectric sheet between the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 is known. Polarization is performed to form an active part.

  The “actuating part” in the claims includes the active part, the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 sandwiching the active part. As will be described later, when the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the cavity plate 10 are joined, the “actuating portion” is disposed on a plane parallel to the plurality of pressure chambers 16 and in parallel with the arrangement of the pressure chambers 16. The The surface electrodes 33 and 34 are also arranged in a planar shape.

  When a driving voltage is applied between the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 and an electric field parallel to the polarization direction is generated in the active portion of the piezoelectric sheet, the “actuating portion” expands in that direction and has a corresponding pressure. Pressure can be applied to the ink in the chamber 16 and the ink can be ejected from the nozzle holes.

  A wiring pattern is formed on the flexible substrate 40 as schematically shown in FIGS. The wiring pattern includes a head ground line 44 connected to the surface electrode 34 for the common electrode of the piezoelectric actuator 20, an output line 48 connected to the surface electrode 33 for the individual electrode, and a control board on the main body side of the inkjet printer. It consists of a signal line 47 for receiving a discharge data signal, a timing signal, and the like, a drive circuit power supply line 46 for supplying power for driving the piezoelectric actuator 20, a drive circuit ground line 45, and the like.

  The driver IC 41 converts the ejection data signal serially sent from the control board on the main body side of the ink jet printer via the signal line 47 into a parallel signal corresponding to the individual electrode, and supplies power from the drive circuit power line 46. Based on this, a drive pulse is generated and applied to the individual electrode 31 of the piezoelectric actuator via the output line 48.

  The flexible substrate 40 is overlapped and bonded to the upper surface of the piezoelectric actuator 20. Specifically, a solder layer is formed on the terminal electrodes 44a and 48a corresponding to the surface electrodes 33 and 34 of the head ground line 44 and the output line 48 formed on the flexible substrate 40 in a known manner. The solder layer is melted and joined by heating while pressing on the surface electrodes 33 and 34 and pressing from the upper surface side of the flexible substrate 40 with a planar jig (not shown).

  After the joining, an inspection is performed as to whether or not each operating part of the piezoelectric actuator 20 operates normally. FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of this inspection apparatus. At this time, the head ground line 44 connected to the common electrode of the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the common potential of the drive circuit of the driver IC 41, that is, the drive circuit ground line 45 are not connected (the solder point 42 is open). Have been).

  This inspection apparatus has the same configuration as that described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-86358, and a stabilized power supply 90 is connected to the drive circuit power supply line 46 and the drive circuit ground line 45, and a drive power supply is connected to the driver IC 41. , And a control signal generation circuit 95 is connected to the signal line 47, and a discharge data signal and a timing signal for sequentially driving each operation unit of the piezoelectric actuator 20 are supplied. As a result, a drive pulse is sequentially applied from the driver IC 41 to each operating portion of the piezoelectric actuator via the output line 48, and the current flowing through the head ground line 44 at that time is detected by the current probe 91, and the current-voltage converter 92 is The drive waveform output from the driver IC 41 to the piezoelectric actuator 20 is reproduced. This drive waveform and the normal drive waveform stored in the waveform storage device 94 are compared, and it is determined whether or not each operating part of the piezoelectric actuator 20 operates normally. Thereby, not only the solder bonding state between the wiring patterns 44 and 48 and the surface electrodes 33 and 34 but also the circuit state inside the driver IC 41 and the connection state between the driver IC 41 and the wiring pattern are inspected.

  After the inspection, when it is found that the piezoelectric actuator 20 is operating normally, the cavity plate 10 is joined to the piezoelectric actuator 20.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the cavity plate 10 and the piezoelectric actuator 20 are stacked and fixed so that each pressure chamber 16 in the cavity plate 10 and each operating portion in the piezoelectric actuator 20 correspond to each other.

  A mark 39 indicating the position of the pressure chamber 16X corresponding to the extended individual electrode 31X is provided on the surface of the cavity plate 10 that is overlapped with the piezoelectric actuator 20. By combining the mark 39 and the end portion 31Xa of the extended individual electrode 31X exposed from the piezoelectric actuator 20, the end portion 31Xa of the extended individual electrode 31X can be used as an assembly mark of the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the cavity plate 10. Further, since the extended individual electrode 31X is directly used as an assembly mark, the pressure chamber 16 can be accurately arranged in correspondence with the actual position of the individual electrode 31.

  The cavity plate 10 and the piezoelectric actuator 20 are preferably fixed to each other with a thermosetting adhesive. This thermosetting adhesive is inserted between the cavity plate 10 and the piezoelectric actuator 20, and the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the cavity plate 10 to which the flexible substrate 40 is bonded are sandwiched by a flat jig and pressed while being heated. And done.

  Thereafter, the portion sandwiched between the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 of the piezoelectric sheets 23 to 28 is polarized. This polarization processing is performed by applying a normal discharge driving voltage between the drive circuit power supply line 46 and the drive circuit ground line 45 in the same manner as in the method described in JP-A-2002-160372. 47, by applying a discharge signal to all operating parts of the piezoelectric actuator, a normal positive drive voltage is applied to all operating parts via all output lines 48, while a negative high voltage is applied to the head ground line 44. To do. As a result, the portion of the piezoelectric sheets 23 to 28 sandwiched between the individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 32 is polarized by a voltage higher than the drive voltage during normal ejection. Then, after this polarization treatment, the solder point 42 is short-circuited with a conductive material.

  The polarization treatment may be performed before the inspection process or before the piezoelectric actuator 20 is fixed to the cavity plate 10 after the inspection process. When a thermosetting adhesive is used when the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the cavity plate 10 are fixed, the piezoelectric actuator 20 and the cavity plate 10 are not degraded as described above in order to prevent the polarization characteristics from being deteriorated by heating during the bonding. It is preferable to perform a polarization treatment after fixing the two.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the cavity plate 10 is formed in a flat plate shape, the plurality of pressure chambers 16 are arranged in a flat shape on the upper surface of the cavity plate, and the piezoelectric actuator 20 is formed in a flat plate shape. Since the piezoelectric actuator is provided with a plurality of operating portions and the surface electrodes 33 and 34 in a planar shape, the flexible substrate 40 is overlapped with the piezoelectric actuator 20 and pressed with a planar jig, whereby each of the flexible substrates 40 is arranged. The wiring pattern can be bonded to each of the surface electrodes 33 and 34 uniformly and reliably. Furthermore, the piezoelectric actuator 20 having the flexible substrate 40 is superimposed on the upper surface of the cavity plate 10 and pressed with a flat jig, so that the piezoelectric actuator 20 is bonded uniformly and reliably to each pressure chamber 16. As a result, the discharge performance from each nozzle hole 15 can be made uniform.

  The present invention has been described above based on the above embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be easily guessed.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the actuator is a piezoelectric type, but another type of actuator may be used.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a color ink jet printer as an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. The perspective view which turned up the nozzle side of the head unit is shown. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer head. An exploded perspective view of a cavity plate is shown. FIG. 5 is an exploded enlarged perspective view of the cavity plate (cross section taken along the VV direction in FIG. 3). It is a disassembled perspective view of a plate type piezoelectric actuator. It is a figure showing the arrangement pattern of the individual electrode and discard pattern electrode which were provided in the piezoelectric sheet. It is a disassembled expansion perspective view of a piezoelectric actuator and a cavity plate (VIII-VIII direction sectional drawing of FIG. 3). It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure for test | inspecting operation | movement of the joined flexible substrate and a piezoelectric actuator.

Explanation of symbols

10 Cavity plate 15 Nozzle hole 16 Pressure chamber 20 Piezoelectric actuator 31 Individual electrode (actuator)
33, 34 Surface electrode 40 Flexible substrate 41 Driver IC (integrated circuit for driving)
100 color inkjet printer

Claims (3)

Cavity plate having a plurality of nozzle holes for discharging ink to the outside and a plurality of pressure chambers filled with ink for each nozzle hole, and ink discharge to each pressure chamber formed in the cavity plate In an inkjet head manufacturing method comprising: an actuator having a plurality of operating parts for applying pressure; and a flexible substrate having a wiring pattern for supplying power to each operating part of the actuator.
A first assembly step in which the flexible substrate and the actuator are joined together by connecting the wiring pattern and the operating parts;
An inspection step for inspecting whether or not each of the operating portions normally operates through the wiring pattern after the first assembly step;
In the inspection step, when it is determined that the respective operating parts normally operate via the wiring pattern, the actuator is joined to the cavity plate and the respective operating parts are joined to the respective pressure chambers. And an assembling process. An ink jet head manufacturing method comprising: The cavity plate has the plurality of pressure chambers arranged in a plane, and the actuator has the plurality of operating portions arranged in a plane, and the surface of the actuator opposite to the cavity plate In the first assembly step, the flexible substrate is connected to each of the electrodes and the wiring pattern. Superimposed on the opposite surface of the actuator;
2. The method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein in the second assembly step, the actuator in a state of being overlapped with the flexible substrate is overlapped and bonded to the cavity plate via an adhesive. The flexible substrate includes a driving integrated circuit that drives the operating parts via the wiring pattern, and the operating part operates normally via the driving integrated circuit in the inspection step. The method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the ink jet head is inspected

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