JPH06126962A - Assembling method for ink jet head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the assembling method for an ink jet head to be placed on a heater board in the state of positioning accurately a top plate component. CONSTITUTION:One of a plurality of top plate components 104 placed on a tray 302 is retained and taken out, and the taken-out top plate component 104 is carried to a temporary positioning station 304, and then the gripping of the top plate component 104 is released and the component is placed on the temporary positioning station 304. The top plate component 104 is positioned on the given position at the temporary positioning station 304, and the positioned top plate component 104 is retained and taken out, and the taken-out top plate component 104 is carried to a heater board, and then the gripping of the top plate component 104 is released and the component is placed on the heater board.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mounts a head nozzle of a printing head for ejecting ink on a heater board on which a plurality of heaters are formed and a top plate member having nozzles corresponding to the respective heaters. The present invention relates to a method for assembling an ink jet head to be assembled by.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, when ejecting ink to print on a sheet, a printing head that heats the ink to form bubbles and prints by a so-called bubble jet method is advantageous in improving printing accuracy. Therefore, it has been developed and put into practical use. In an assembling apparatus for assembling such a bubble jet type printing head, a heater for heating the ink, and an ejection port for ejecting the foamed ink heated and boiled by the heater toward the paper, It must be accurately positioned on the order of microns. For example, the printing accuracy is about 360 dpi (dotts per
In order to achieve high accuracy of inch), 64 discharge holes must be arranged at equal intervals within a range of about 4.5 mm.
The arrangement pitch at this time is as fine as about 70 microns.

Here, the formation of the discharge holes at such an extremely small interval is allowed in the orifice plate mounted on the front surface of the top plate member by using an ultra-precision processing device such as a laser processing machine. It is possible to form the discharge holes with a predetermined high precision, and when forming the heater, by using the ultra-precision etching technology, similarly, on the heater board with an allowable predetermined high precision. , A heater can be formed.

[0004]

Here, in the conventional assembling apparatus, the heater on the heater board and the discharge hole formed on the orifice plate have their axes accurately aligned with each other. In order to place the top plate on top of it, the heater board and the top plate were individually set using a dedicated jig, and the heater and the discharge holes were observed alternately with a metal microscope. However, the position is manually adjusted.

Further, when the top plate is supplied onto the heater board, in order to hold the top plate, the suction portion set on the lower surface of the finger member is kept in the suction state, and the operator attaches a large number of top plates. For example, one top plate is moved from the stored tray to the vicinity of the suction part of the finger member by sandwiching it with a pin set, and the top plate is visually adsorbed to the suction part of the finger member.

For this reason, conventionally, it has been pointed out that since the top plate is attached to the finger member by visual observation, accurate positioning cannot be performed, and there is a variation depending on the operator. Further, since the top plate is manually attached to the finger member, there is a possibility that the top plate and the finger member may be broken due to excessive force. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling an ink jet head that can be placed on a heater board in a state where a top plate member is accurately positioned. Is.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an ink jet head assembling method according to the present invention has a head nozzle of a print head for ejecting ink, a heater board on which a plurality of heaters are formed. In the method for assembling an ink jet head, in which a top plate member having nozzles corresponding to the respective heaters is attached, the first take-out process is performed by holding and taking out one of the plurality of top plate members placed on the tray. Process,
A first carrying step of carrying the taken-out top plate member to a temporary positioning station; a first placing step of releasing the holding of the top plate member and placing it on the temporary positioning station; and the temporary positioning A positioning step of positioning the top plate member at a predetermined position in the station;
A second taking-out step of holding and taking out the positioned top plate member, a second carrying step of carrying the taken-out top board member to the heater board, and releasing the holding of the top board member, And a second mounting step of mounting the heater board on the heater board.

Further, in the method for assembling the ink jet head according to the present invention, the positioning step is performed to position the top plate member in a horizontal plane. In the method for assembling the ink jet head according to the present invention, the positioning step includes a first sub-step of moving the top plate member along a horizontal first direction and pressing the top plate member against the first reference member. , A second sub-step of moving the top plate member along a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction and pressing it against the second reference member, and the positioned top plate member is predetermined. And a third sub-step of detecting whether or not it has been moved to the position.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An assembling apparatus 1 for carrying out an embodiment of an ink jet head assembling method according to the present invention will be described below.
The configuration of 0 will be described. (Description of Ink Jet Cartridge 200 and Head Nozzle 100) First, a schematic configuration of an ink jet cartridge 200 having the head nozzle 100 assembled by the assembling apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. .

This ink jet cartridge 200
As shown in FIG. 1, it is roughly configured by an ink tank 202 and a head nozzle 100. Further, the head nozzle 100 includes a heater board 102 having a heater 112 for heating ink, as shown in FIGS.
Positioned on the heater board 102, a partition for partitioning a plurality of ink flow paths, a common liquid chamber for distributing ink to each ink flow path, and a cylindrical shape for supplying ink to the common liquid chamber The top plate 104 having the ink receiving ports 118 and the like, and the orifice plate 108 integrally attached to the front surface of the top plate 104 and having a plurality of ejection ports 106 respectively corresponding to the respective ink flow paths. It should be noted that in this embodiment, these discharge ports 1
Nos. 06 are arranged at equal intervals over a length of about 4.5 mm, and by providing the intervals, the print density of the head nozzle 100 is as high as about 360 dpi (dotts per inch).

(Description of Assembly Device 10) The assembly device 10 for the head nozzle 100, that is, the grooved top plate 104 will be described below.
The configuration of the assembling apparatus 10 for assembling the above in the state of being accurately positioned on the heater board 102, and the assembling method will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

<Description of Overall Structure of Assembly Device 10> As shown in FIG. 4, this assembly device 10 has a surface plate 12 whose mounting posture is accurately positioned in a horizontal state on a base (not shown).
Is equipped with. The assembling device 10 is mounted on the surface plate 12.
First, a grooved top plate 104 (hereinafter simply referred to as a top plate), to which an orifice plate 108 is attached, which is one of the components of the head nozzle 100 assembled in step 1, is stipulated to be adjustable in position. Position adjusting mechanism 14 and the other component, the heater board 102, which is fixed to the upper surface of the front end portion of the base member 208 in advance while being accurately positioned, regulates the mounting position of the heater board 102. 2 position adjusting mechanism 16 is provided.

The first position adjusting mechanism 14 includes a surface plate 12
A first x-axis stage 18 which is directly placed on the surface and is movable along the x-axis direction (a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing) with respect to the surface plate 12, and is placed on the first x-axis stage 18. The first z-axis stage 20 is movable along the z-axis direction (vertical direction in the figure) with respect to the first x-axis stage 18, and is mounted on the first z-axis stage 20. , A first y-axis stage 22 movable along the y-axis direction (left and right direction in the drawing) with respect to the first z-axis stage 20, and a spacer 24 on the first y-axis stage 22. A base end portion is mounted via the mounting mechanism 26, and the top plate 104 is detachably attached to the front end portion, and the mounting mechanism 2
6 and a first positioning mechanism 27 for performing positioning of the grooved top plate 104 placed on the heater board 102 with respect to the heater board 102. The configurations of the attachment mechanism 26 and the first positioning mechanism 27 will be described later in detail.

On the other hand, the second position adjusting mechanism 16 includes the surface plate 1
A second x-axis stage 28 which is directly mounted on the second side of the second position adjusting mechanism 14 adjacent to the first position adjusting mechanism 14 and is movable in the x-axis direction with respect to the surface plate 12; Two
Mounted on the x-axis stage 28 of No. 2 and movable along the z-axis direction described above with respect to the second x-axis stage 28.
Z-axis stage 30 and a second y-axis stage 32 mounted on the second z-axis stage 30 and movable along the y-axis direction described above with respect to the second z-axis stage 30.
And a base member 208 disposed on the second y-axis stage 32 and to which the heater board 102 is attached and fixed.
A second positioning mechanism 33 that fixes the second y-axis stage 32 with the second y-axis stage 32 accurately positioned,
A bonding force generation mechanism 34 for bonding the top plate 104 to the heater board 102 with a predetermined bonding force. The second positioning mechanism 33 and the joining force generating mechanism 34
The configurations will be described later in detail.

Here, each axis stage 18, 20, 22;
Although not shown, 28, 30, and 32 are respectively provided with drive motors, and these drive motors correspond to the corresponding drivers 36a, 36b, 36c, 36d, 36e, 36f.
Is connected to a control unit 38 that controls the overall control. Under the control of the control unit 38, these drive motors are driven by the first position adjusting mechanism 14
In the above, the top plate 104 is placed at a predetermined position above the heater board 102, and the second position adjusting mechanism 16 is used.
In the above, the heater boards 102 are driven and controlled so that the heater boards 102 are respectively positioned so as to come to a predetermined position with respect to the surface plate 12.

On the other hand, the control unit 38 is provided on the top plate 10.
Although it is necessary to accurately detect the position of the top plate 4 in order to accurately position it, the first position detecting mechanism 40 that accurately detects the position of the top plate 104 based on the image captured by the top plate 104.
However, it is necessary to accurately detect the position of the heater board 102 in order to accurately position the heater board 102. However, the second position detection mechanism that accurately detects the position of the heater board 102 based on an image captured by the heater board 102. 42 are both connected to the control unit 38 via the image processing device 44.

Here, the first position detecting mechanism 40 is
The first objective lens 40a and the first objective lens 40a are arranged in front of the orifice plate 108 of the grooved top plate 104 which is accurately gripped at the tip thereof by the mounting mechanism 26 which will be described later in detail. First holding lens 40a
Objective lens holder 40b and first epi-illumination device 40
c and the first light source 4 for this first epi-illuminator 40c
0d, a first optical system 40e for discriminating the in-focus state, a first lens barrel 40f for housing these optical devices, and an image of the orifice plate 108 observed through the first objective lens 40a. It is composed of a first ITV camera 40g to be projected.

The image information of the first ITV camera 40g is sent to the above-mentioned image processing device 44 via the first signal converter 46. The first focus determination optical system 40e is connected to the control unit 38 via the first focus state detector 48. Here, the first position detection mechanism 40 is attached / fixed to the above-described surface plate 12 via a first support post (not shown).

The second position detecting mechanism 42 described above is also used.
Is disposed above the heater board 102 accurately placed on the second y-axis stage 32 by a second positioning mechanism 33, which will be described in detail later, and includes a second objective lens 42a and A second objective lens holder 42b that holds the second objective lens 42a, a second epi-illumination device 42c, a second light source 42d for the second epi-illumination device 42c, and a focus state are determined. Second optical system 42e
And a second lens barrel 42f for housing these optical devices,
The second ITV camera 42g projects an image of the heater board 102 observed through the second objective lens 42a.

The image information of the second ITV camera 42g is sent to the above-mentioned image processing device 44 via the second signal converter 50. The second focusing optical system 42e is connected to the control unit 38 via the second focusing state detector 52. Here, the second position detecting mechanism 42 is attached / fixed to the above-described surface plate 12 via a second support (not shown).

In this embodiment, the optical axis of the first objective lens 40a in the first position detecting mechanism 40 and the optical axis of the second objective lens 42a in the second position detecting mechanism 42 are used. The assembly work position α is defined at the intersection of the positions. At this assembly work position α,
It is preferable that the two optical axes described above intersect correctly, but even if they do not actually intersect, there is substantially no problem by performing the calibration operation described later.
Actually, it is extremely difficult to perform an operation for aligning the two optical axes so as to correctly intersect the two optical axes, and it is premised that they do not intersect as in this embodiment. The deviation amount Δx is calculated by the calibration operation, and the calculated deviation amount Δx is numerically taken into consideration in the position adjusting operation in the first and second position adjusting mechanisms 14 and 16, so that the deviation amount Δx is substantially You can ignore it. The calibration operation for calculating the deviation amount Δx will be described in detail later.

On the other hand, the assembling apparatus 10 has a discharge port 106.
The heater board 102 and the top plate 104 after the corresponding discharge heaters 112 are matched with each other are adhered to each other via an ultraviolet curable adhesive so that the relative positional relationship between the two does not change. Therefore, in other words, the temporary attachment mechanism 54 is provided to temporarily fix the both. The temporary attachment mechanism 54 is located on both sides of the tip of the attachment mechanism 26, and each tip is connected to the pair of light guides 56 directed to the adhesive placement site and the base ends of both the light guides 56. And an ultraviolet light source 58 that emits ultraviolet light.

Then, the image processing device 44 described above uses the orifice plate based on the image information obtained from the first and second ITV cameras 40g and 42g through the first and second signal converters 46 and 50. It is configured to calculate the formation position of the ejection port 106 formed in 108 and the arrangement position of the ejection heater 112 arranged on the heater board 102, and send the calculation result to the control unit 38. . Further, the image processing device 44 includes an ITV monitor 64 for confirming a measurement image, a keyboard 62 for inputting a device adjustment program and data, and a CRT monitor 6 for displaying data.
6 is connected, and the man-machine interface is established.

The above-mentioned control unit 38 has the first
And the second focus state detectors 48 and 52, and the data input from the image processing device 44 is calculated by a predetermined algorithm, and based on the calculation result, via the respective stage drivers 36a to 36f, The corresponding axis stages 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32 are appropriately drive-controlled to adjust the relative positions of the top plate 104 and the heater board 102, so that the ejection port 106 and the corresponding ejection heater 112 are mutually made. So that they match, and after this match,
The temporary attachment mechanism 54 is activated, the ultraviolet light source 58 is activated, and a control operation for curing the adhesive agent interposed between the heater board 102 and the top plate 104 is executed.

Here, the control unit 38 includes an operation panel 66 for operating the assembling apparatus 10, a keyboard 68 for setting / changing an operation program, a CRT monitor 70 for displaying data, and a printer for recording data. 72, a data disk 74 for storing data, and a program disk 76 in which an operation program is stored are connected to establish a man-machine interface.

<Description of Attachment Mechanism 26> Next, referring to FIG. 5, the attachment mechanism 2 to which the top plate 104 is attached.
The configuration of No. 6 will be described in detail. This attachment mechanism 26
Is a spacer 24 on the first y-axis stage 22 described above.
The main body 26a is attached and fixed via the.
At the tip of the main body 26a, a pair of suction members 26b,
26c are parallel to each other and are spaced apart by a predetermined distance, and are attached so as to project toward the front (along the y-axis direction). Are formed of transparent plate glass.

Suction holes 26d and 26e are opened on the lower surfaces of the suction members 26b and 26c, respectively, and these suction holes 26d and 26e correspond to the suction members 26b and 2, respectively.
The communication pipes 26f and 26g penetrating through the inside of 6c are respectively defined by the end openings of the communication pipes 26f and 26g.
It is selectively connected to a negative pressure generating mechanism and a positive pressure generating mechanism (not shown) via respective switching valves (not shown).

Then, in the state where the switching valve is connected to the negative pressure generating mechanism, the top plate 104 is sucked by the suction members 26b, 26 via the suction force generated in the suction holes 26d, 26e.
It is designed to be suction-held on the lower surface of c. On the other hand, in the state in which the switching valve is connected to the positive pressure generating mechanism, the air ejected from these suction holes 26d, 26e (back ejected) is sucked and held by the suction members 26b, 26c until now. The plate 104 forces the suction members 26b, 2
It will be pulled downward from 6c.

As described above, the pair of suction members 26b, 2
In the state where the top plate 104 is suction-held on the lower surface of 6c, the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 of the top plate 104 is just the suction member 26.
The posture is set between the b and 26c, and the orientation plate 108 is set to face forward.

<Description of First Positioning Mechanism 27> Also,
The heater board 1 of the top plate 104 released from here and dropped onto the heater board 102 is attached to the attachment mechanism 26.
A first positioning mechanism 27 for accurately positioning the position with respect to 02 is provided. The first positioning mechanism 27 extends along the x-axis direction on the heater board 102 of the top plate 104, that is, the discharge ports 106 corresponding to each other.
So that the discharge heater 112 and the discharge heater 112 are aligned with each other, the x-axis positioning portion 27A for performing positioning along the arrangement direction and the y-axis direction, that is, the rear surface of the orifice plate 108 is in close contact with the front end surface of the heater board 102. Therefore, a y-axis positioning portion 27B for positioning is provided.

<< Explanation of x-axis positioning portion 27A >> First, x
In the shaft positioning portion 27A, on the other hand, in this embodiment, the first suction member 26b on the far side in the drawing is defined as the reference side, and the suction member 26b on the reference side is defined.
Is fixed to the main body 26a. On the other hand, the second suction member 26c on the front side in the drawing has the main body 26a.
On the other hand, it is movably supported along the x-axis direction. In the x-axis positioning portion 27A, the end surfaces of the pair of suction members 26b and 26c facing each other, that is,
The end faces facing each other where the space defining the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 is defined are defined as the position regulating faces.

The movable suction member 26c has a continuous member 2 at its rear portion, which extends to a midway portion of the main body 26a.
6h are integrally connected. On the other hand, a guide shaft 26i extending along the x-axis direction is attached to the main body 26a. Then, the connecting member 26h is attached to the guide shaft 26i via the slide guide 26j.
It is movably supported along the x-axis direction.

On the other hand, a first drive cylinder (not shown) is mounted on the main body 26a so as to face the intermediate portion of the connecting member 26h. The piston rod of this first drive cylinder projects along the x-axis direction so as to be driven back and forth, and the tip of this protrudes from the above-mentioned connecting member 26h.
It is connected to the. In this way, the first driving cylinder reciprocally drives the corresponding piston rod at a high speed, so that the suction member 2 continuously connected through the connecting member 26h.
6c is reciprocally driven at high speed along the x-axis direction, that is, vibrated.

<< Explanation of y-axis positioning section 27B >> Next, y
As shown in FIG. 5, the shaft positioning portion 27B includes a pair of engaging pieces 26m and 26n that are engageable with the front surface of the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 placed on the heater board 102.
Are provided parallel to each other with a gap between them in a state of being lowered. These engagement pieces 26m and 26n are provided corresponding to the pair of suction members 26b and 26c, respectively, and are arranged so as to be located outside the corresponding end faces for position regulation. The engaging pieces 26m and 26n are connected to the inside of the connecting pieces 26p and 26q, which extend further outward than their outer ends along the upper edges of the front end surfaces of the corresponding suction members 26b and 26c. The respective upper ends are connected to the respective end portions. The outer ends of these connecting pieces 26p and 26q are y
The front ends of the connecting members 26r and 26s extending along the axial direction are attached.

On the other hand, second drive cylinders 26t extending along the y-axis direction are provided at both ends of the main body 26a. Respective piston rods 26u of the second drive cylinders 26t project so as to be driven back and forth along the y-axis direction, and their tips are connected to the above-mentioned connecting members 26r, 26r.
They are connected to the rear ends of 26s, respectively.

In this way, this second drive cylinder 2
6t reciprocally drives the corresponding piston rod 26u at high speed, so that the engagement pieces 26m and 26n connected via the connection pieces 26p and 26q are reciprocally driven at high speed along the y-axis direction, that is, vibration. As a result, the orientation plate 108 is positioned along the y-axis direction of the top plate 104 so that the orifice plate 108 is in close contact with the front end surface of the heater board 102.

Since the mounting mechanism 26 is configured in this manner, the top plate 104 sucked and held by the pair of suction members 26b and 26c reaches the first position adjustment mechanism 14 above the heater board 102. When the suction is released, the top plate 104 drops onto the heater board 102, and at the dropped position,
The position of the top plate 104 along the x axis with respect to the heater board 102 is defined by the operation of the x axis positioning portion 26A.
Further, the operation of the y-axis positioning portion 26B defines the position along the y-axis with respect to the heater board 102. The position adjusting operation of the mounting mechanism 26 will be described later in detail.

<Description of Second Positioning Mechanism 33> Next,
Base member 2 to which heater board 102 is attached in advance
The configuration of the second positioning mechanism 33 for mounting the 08 on the second y-axis stage 32 in the accurately positioned state will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

Similar to the first positioning mechanism 27 described above, the second positioning mechanism 33 positions the x-axis positioning portion 33A for positioning the base member 208 on the second y-axis stage 32 along the x-axis direction. And a y-axis positioning portion 33B for positioning along the y-axis direction,
Furthermore, the z-axis positioning part 33C along the z-axis direction is provided.

The base member 208 to be positioned by the second positioning mechanism 33 is shown in FIG.
As is apparent from the above, a rectangular main body portion 208a and a heater board mounting portion 208b protruding forward from the center of the front end of the main body portion 208a and having the heater board 102 mounted and fixed on the upper surface thereof are integrally formed. ing.

The heater board 102 is previously attached and fixed to the heater board attaching portion 208b with a predetermined accuracy. Therefore, the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is attached is
By positioning the heater board 102 with respect to the y-axis stage 32, the heater board 102 is positioned with respect to the second y-axis stage 32.

This second positioning mechanism 33 will be described in detail with reference to the second y-axis stage 32 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
It is provided with a mounting body 33a mounted on the upper side and formed in a substantially L-shaped side surface, and a positioning base 33c supported on the upright inner side surface of the body 33a so as to be vertically movable via a slide guide 33b. .

<< Explanation of x-axis positioning portion 33A >> As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of x-axis positioning projections 33d protruding upward are provided on the positioning table 33c as the x-axis positioning portion 33A. , 33e are integrally formed in a state of being arranged along the y-axis direction. The main body portion 2 of the base member 208 is attached to the x-axis positioning protrusions 33d and 33e.
The position of the base member 208 along the x-axis is uniquely defined by abutting one side edge of the 08a along the y-axis,
That is, the x-axis direction is positioned.

On the other hand, as described above, the main body portion 208 of the base member 208 is attached to the x-axis positioning protrusions 33d and 33e.
In order to force a state in which one side edge of the a along the y-axis is in contact, one side edge of the base member 208 that contacts the x-axis positioning protrusions 33d and 33e is opposite to the other side edge of the base member 208. An x-axis regulating lever 33f is provided so that it is possible. The x-axis restricting lever 33f has its base end pivotally supported about the first support shaft 33g so that the x-axis restricting lever 33f can rotate about the first support shaft 33g. Is receiving. The tip of the x-axis regulating lever 33f, which is the abutting end, is set to abut the substantially central portion of the other side edge of the base member 208.

<Explanation of y-axis positioning portion 33B> Further, on the positioning table 33c, as the y-axis positioning portion 33B, one y-axis positioning projection 3 protruding upward is provided.
3i is integrally formed in a state of being close to one x-axis positioning protrusion 33e. This y-axis positioning protrusion 3
3i has a base member 208 whose position in the x-axis direction is defined in advance.
By abutting the tip edge of the main body portion 208a along the x-axis, the position of the base member 208 along the y-axis is uniquely defined, that is, the y-axis direction is positioned.

On the other hand, in order to force the state in which the tip edge of the main body portion 208a of the base member 208 along the x-axis is in contact with the y-axis positioning protrusion 33i, the y-axis positioning protrusion 33i is attached to the y-axis positioning protrusion 33i. A substantially L-shaped y-axis restricting lever 33j is provided so as to be able to come into contact with the rear end edge of the base member 208 that is in contact with the front end edge of the base member 208. The y-axis restricting lever 33j is pivotally supported at an intermediate portion (that is, a bent portion forming an L shape) so as to be rotatable around the second support shaft 33k, and
The second torsion spring 33l receives a rotational urging force counterclockwise in the drawing. The rear end, which is the contact end of the y-axis regulating lever 33j, is set so as to contact the substantially central portion of the rear end edge of the base member 208.

Here, the positioning base 3 of the base member 208
When attaching / detaching to / from 3c, the x-axis and y-axis regulating lever 33
The biasing force of f and 33j must be released.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the release mechanism 33D is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the release mechanism 33D includes a release cylinder 33m attached to one side edge of the positioning base 33c, and a release cylinder 33m that projects from the release cylinder 33m along the x-axis direction so as to be movable back and forth. The penetrating rod 33n and the piston rod 33
a pair of penetrating holes 33p, which are provided in a state of standing upright on the n side, and formed on the positioning table 33c so as to extend along the x-axis direction,
33q, and release pins 33r and 33s that are taken out in a state of slightly protruding from the upper surface of the positioning base 33c and that can come into contact with the x-axis regulating lever 33f and the y-axis regulating lever 33j from the clockwise side, respectively. Has been done.

Here, in the release mechanism 33D, the release cylinder 33m is in the non-released state, and the piston rod 3
It is urging to pull in 3n. As a result, the pair of release pins 33r and 33s are separated from the corresponding x-axis regulating lever 33f and y-axis regulating lever 33j, respectively.
Thus, in the non-released state, the x-axis regulating lever 33f and the y-axis regulating lever 33j are rotated counterclockwise by the urging forces of the corresponding torsion springs 33h and 33l, respectively, and the base member is rotated. Position and hold 208.

On the other hand, the releasing cylinder 33m biases the piston rod 33n in the protruding state in the released state. As a result, the pair of release pins 33r and 33s abut on the corresponding x-axis regulating lever 33f and y-axis regulating lever 33j, respectively, and make them correspond to the torsion spring 33.
It is rotated in the clockwise direction against the biasing force of h and 33l. Therefore, the abutting ends of the x-axis restricting lever 33f and the y-axis restricting lever 33j are separated from the other side edge and the rear end edge of the base member 208, respectively, thus positioning and holding the base member 208. Will be canceled.

<Explanation of z-axis positioning portion 33C> On the other hand, the above-mentioned z-axis positioning portion 33C, as shown in FIG. A pair of first and second projections 33t and 33u arranged in parallel along the direction (only the first projection 33t is shown in FIG. 7, but in FIG. 6, the first and second projections 33t are not shown). , 33u are shown in broken lines.)
And a third protrusion 33 formed in a state of protruding upward at the center of the upper surface of the rear end of the positioning table 33c.
v is formed.

Here, the first to third protrusions 33t
The protrusion lengths of up to 33 v are accurately specified in advance so that they are the same as each other. As a result, the first and second protrusions 3
Since 3t and 33u contact the upper surface of the positioning table 33c and the third protrusion 33v contacts the lower surface of the base member 208, the position of the base member 208 on the positioning table 33c along the z-axis direction is accurately. Will be regulated.

In this embodiment, a suction mechanism 33E for sucking the base member 208 toward the positioning table 33c is provided in order to surely achieve the above-mentioned contact state. As shown in FIG. 7, the suction mechanism 33E is provided on a positioning table 33c, and has a ring-shaped suction pad 33w having an open upper surface, and the suction pad 33w.
To connect a suction source (not shown) to the positioning table 33c.
It is composed of a connecting pipe 33x formed so as to penetrate therethrough.

Here, the height of the suction pad 33w is set to be slightly higher than the height of each of the above-mentioned three protrusions 33t, 33u, 33v. As a result, the base member 2
With the 08 mounted on the positioning table 33c, the open edge of the suction pad 33w is in close contact with the lower surface of the base member 208 over the entire circumference. Then, when a suction source (not shown) is activated, the base member 208 is forcibly attracted toward the positioning base 33c, and as a result, the first and second protrusions 33t and 33u are securely attached to the upper surface of the positioning base 33c. The state in which the third protrusion 33v abuts on the lower surface of the base member 208 is forcibly set.

By constructing the second positioning mechanism 33 in this manner, the base member 208 on the positioning table 33c is accurately positioned along the x-axis direction, the y-axis direction, and the z-axis direction. Will be positioned in. As a result, in this embodiment, when the top plate 104 is attached to the heater board 102, only the relative position of the top plate 104 with respect to the heater board 102 should be defined via the first positioning mechanism 27. It will be good.

<Description of Bonding Force Generating Mechanism 34> Next, when the top plate 104 is positioned / placed on the heater board 102, a bonding force generating mechanism 34 for generating a bonding force between the two members.
Will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The joining force generating mechanism 34 includes a guide shaft 34a attached to the tip of the main body 33a so as to vertically move therethrough, and the upper end of the guide shaft 34a is fixed to the lower surface of the positioning base 33c. There is. The upper end of the guide shaft 34a has a washer 34 for adjusting the joining force.
b is screwed, and by rotating the washer 34b, the axial position of the washer 34b with respect to the guide shaft 34a is changed.

On the other hand, a coil spring 34c for generating a joining force is wound around the outer circumference of the guide shaft 34a. The upper end of the coil spring 34c is locked to the lower surface of the washer 34b and the lower end thereof is Body 33a
Is locked to the upper surface of. Here, the coil spring 34c supports the weight of the positioning table 33c and the parts mounted on the positioning table 33c, and is contracted to a certain degree. An elastic repulsive force is generated, and this elastic repulsive force is defined as the joining force.

Since the joining force generating mechanism 34 is constructed in this manner, when the top plate 104 is placed on the heater board 102, the positioning table 33c on which the heater board 102 is positioned and placed is as described above. By pressing the top plate 104 against the heater board 102 so as to descend by a fixed amount, the above-described predetermined joining force is generated between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 between them. . In addition, the change of the joining force is performed by the above-mentioned Washer 34.
This is achieved by rotating b and biasing it along the axial direction of the guide shaft 34a, thereby changing the initially set length of the coil spring 34c.

<Explanation of Calibration Chart 78> Here, as shown in FIG. 9, a calibration chart 78 used in a calibration operation described in detail later is provided on the positioning table 33c of the above-mentioned second positioning mechanism 33. It is fixed.
The calibration chart 78 has a base member 208 accurately positioned at a predetermined position by the second positioning mechanism 33.
The heater board 102 is accurately arranged at a position separated by a predetermined distance along the x-axis, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

In particular, the formation state is such that the first calibration surface 78a is defined from the front end surface of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78, and the first calibration surface 78a is accurately perpendicular to the x-axis direction. It is set so as to extend and extend in the same vertical plane as the front end face of the heater board 102.
Further, a second calibration surface 78b is defined from the upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78, and the second calibration surface 78b is defined.
Is set to extend exactly horizontally along the z-axis direction and to extend in the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the heater board 102. Further, a third calibration surface 78c is defined from the side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78 on the side where the heater board 102 is disposed, and the third calibration surface 78c is defined.
c is set to extend vertically exactly along the y-axis direction.

Here, the first to third calibration surfaces 78a to 7
A calibration reference point 78d is defined by the intersection of 8c. As a result, when the calibration chart 78 is photographed by the first position detection mechanism 40, only the first calibration surface 78a is photographed, and the calibration reference point 78 is photographed, as shown in FIG.
d is photographed as an intersection of corners located in the upper right portion of the screen 40A, and when photographed by the second position detecting mechanism 42, only the second calibration surface 78b is taken as shown in FIG. This calibration reference point 78d is captured as an intersection of the corners located in the lower right part of the screen 42A.

In FIG. 9 illustrating the calibration chart 78, reference numerals 80a and 80b denote adhesives for temporarily attaching the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 to each other. These adhesives 80a and 80b are formed so as to have ultraviolet curability that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and as shown in the figure, they are preliminarily attached to both ends of the rear end edge of the heater board 102, respectively. Is set.

(Head nozzle 10 in the assembling apparatus 10)
Description of assembly method of 0) Hereinafter, referring to FIG.
The control unit 3 in the assembling apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration
A method of assembling the head nozzle 100 under the control of No. 8 will be described in detail.

<Outline of Assembly Method> First, the outline of the assembly method will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. First, when the assembling operation is instructed, the variable N indicating the number of assembling is set to "1" in step S10. Then, in step S12, the initialization of the drive motors for the respective axis stages 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32 is executed, and subsequently in step S14, the respective axis stages 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32 are executed.
Perform home search for the drive motor of. These steps S
12 and step S14, each axis stage 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32 is moved to the surface plate 12
It is possible to move accurately to any position specified for.

After that, in step S16, the above-mentioned calibration chart 78 is used for calculating in advance the deviation amount between the detection positions of the first and second position detection mechanisms 40 and 42 as the calibration amount Δx. The calibration operation is performed to calibrate the deviation between the detection positions of the first and second position detection mechanisms 40 and 42. The calibration operation constitutes one of the features of the present invention, and will be described in detail later as a subroutine. When the calibration operation in step S16 is completed, the variable N is reset to "1" in step S18, and the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is attached in advance is supplied from the supply position onto the second positioning mechanism 33 of the second position adjusting mechanism 16 via a supply robot (not shown). . Then, in the subsequent step S22, the supplied base member 208 is accurately positioned. Here, in this positioning operation, based on the operation of the second positioning mechanism 33 described above, the heater board 1 is operated together with the operation of performing positioning in the three axial directions with respect to the main body 33a.
Of the discharge heaters 112a to 112e on 02, the displacement amount of the discharge heater 112c located at the center serving as a reference from the assembly work position α in the x-axis direction which is the arrangement direction of these discharge heaters 112a to 112e ( x _h ) is accurately measured, and the deviation amount is measured by the second IT.
Since it is performed based on the image taken by the V camera 42g, it includes an accurate alignment operation in the z-axis direction with respect to the assembly work position α on the upper surface of the heater board 102 in order to accurately focus the image. The supply operation and the positioning operation of the base member 208, that is, the heater board 102 will be described later in detail as a subroutine.

Following the supply and positioning operation of the heater board 102, in step S24, the top plate 104 is moved from the storage position to the first positioning mechanism 27 of the first position adjusting mechanism 14 via a supply robot (not shown). Supply. Then, in the subsequent step S26, the supplied top plate 104 is temporarily placed on the heater board 102 on the base member 208 which has been positioned in advance via the second positioning mechanism 33 in step S22. The supply operation and the temporary placement operation of the top plate 104 are
This will be described later as a subroutine.

The heater board 1 to be assembled in this way
02 and the top plate 104 are both supplied, and the top plate 104 is temporarily placed on the positioned heater board 102, in step S28, the relative positional relationship along the x-axis direction is accurately defined, In step S30, the bonding operation of the both is executed. Then, when the bonding operation ends, in step S32, the assembly as a finished product is discharged to the finished product discharging position via a robot not shown. The details of the x-axis positioning operation and the bonding operation will be described later as a subroutine.

Then, in step S34, it is judged whether or not all the assembling operations have been completed and all the finished product discharging operations have been completed.
If it is judged to be O, that is, if it is judged that the assembling operation is not completed yet and the assembling operation is being performed, the process proceeds to step S36, where the variable N is incremented by "1", and at step S38. , It is determined whether the variable N has reached a predetermined number. In this step S38, N
When it is determined to be O, that is, when the assembly execution number N is determined to be less than the predetermined number of times, specifically, it is determined to be less than the predetermined number of times after executing the earliest calibration operation. In this case, since it is determined that the reliability of the previously calculated calibration amount Δx is still maintained, the process returns to step S20 described above to execute the assembly operation without newly executing the calibration operation, The following assembly control procedure is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if YES in step S38, that is, if it is determined that the number N of assembly executions is the predetermined number of times since the earliest calibration operation was executed, it is judged that the temperature change has occurred. Based on environmental changes, the above-mentioned calibration amount Δ
There is a possibility that x has changed, the calibration operation is executed again, and in order to newly calculate this calibration amount Δx, the process returns to step S16 described above, and the assembly control procedure thereafter is repeatedly executed.

That is, when the assembling accuracy is on the order of millimeters, no problem will occur even if the above-described calibration operation is first executed and the obtained calibration amount Δx is used throughout the entire working period of one day. If, as in this embodiment, the assembly accuracy is required to have a micron order, the change in the calibration amount Δx due to the temperature change described above greatly affects the assembly accuracy. On the other hand, in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is preferable to execute this calibration operation every one assembly operation. However, if the calibration operation is performed every single assembly operation in this way, the assembly time becomes long, the assembly efficiency is reduced, and the product cost is adversely affected. In this way, in order to achieve both the maintenance of the assembly system and the assembly efficiency, the calibration operation is set to be re-executed every predetermined number of assembly operations in this embodiment.

Here, after the calibration operation is executed in step S16, the variable N is reset to "1" in step S18. Therefore, the number of times of assembling in this assembling operation is counted again as the first time and continues. In the assembling operation, the number of times of assembling is incremented by "1". In addition, the above-mentioned step S34
If it is determined to be YES, that is, if it is determined that all the assembling operations have been completed and all finished product discharging operations have been completed, this assembly control procedure is completed at this point.

The individual control procedures outlined in the above-mentioned assembly control procedure will be described in detail below as subroutines, but in reality, as already described above, 360 dp
In order to achieve high-density printing accuracy of i, a top plate 104 integrally provided with an orifice plate 108 in which a large number of ejection openings 106 are formed at equal intervals in a length of about 4.5 mm.
At least 64 discharge ports 106 and discharge heaters 112 are mounted on the heater board 102 on which 68 discharge heaters 112 are formed at a similar arrangement pitch in a corresponding state. An extremely accurate positioning operation and a delicate joining force addition operation are required.

However, in the following description of the assembly control procedure, if 68 discharge ports 106 and a large number of discharge heaters 112 are to be illustrated and described as they are, it will be rather unclear and the description will be omitted. Since it becomes complicated, the orientation plate 108 will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 13, five ejection ports 106, specifically, first to fifth ejection ports 106 a to 106 e are formed, and five ejection ports 106 a to 106 e are formed on the heater board 102. The heater 112, specifically, the one in which the first to fifth ejection heaters 112a to 112e are formed, will be described in a simplified state.

<Detailed Description of Each Subroutine>
Various subroutines in the assembly control procedure schematically described with reference to FIG. 12 will be described in detail.

<< Explanation of Calibration Operation in Step S16 >> First, FIGS. 14 and 15 and FIG.
Also, the control procedure of the calibration operation in step S16 described above will be described with reference to FIG. That is, as shown as a flow chart in FIG. 14, when this calibration operation is started, the second position adjusting mechanism 1 is started in step S16A.
By driving the second x-axis stage 28 of No. 6, as shown in FIG. 15, the calibration chart 78 is adjusted so that its calibration reference point 78d is
The first and second position detecting mechanisms 40, 42 are moved until they coincide with the assembly work position α defined by the intersection of the optical axes of the objective lenses 40a, 42a.

Then, in step S16B, the first
The calibration chart 78 is photographed from the front by using the first ITV camera 40g of the position detection mechanism 40. Also,
In step S16C, the calibration chart 78 is photographed from above using the second ITV camera 42g of the second position detection mechanism 42. As a result, the image photographed using the first ITV camera 40g is as shown in FIG. 10 described above, and the image photographed using the second ITV camera 42g is as shown in FIG. 11 described above. Projected.
Therefore, in step S16D, step S16B
The image photographed in step S16E is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the first signal converter 46, and in step S16E,
The image photographed in step S16C is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the second signal converter 50.

Then, in step S16F, the first
Based on the image taken through the ITV camera 40g of
The distance x ₁ from the left end of the screen to the calibration reference point 78d is electrically measured, and in step S16G, the distance x ₂ from the left end of the screen to the calibration reference point 78d based on the image taken through the second ITV camera 42g. Is measured electrically. Thereafter, in step S16h, calculates the x ₁ -x _2, the results, define the above-mentioned shift amount (calibration amount) [Delta] x and.

Then, in step S16I, the deviation amount Δx as the calculation result is stored in the memory and the data disk 78 in the control unit 38, and in step S1.
At 6J, the second x-axis stage is moved so as to return the positioning table 33c on which the calibration chart 78 is placed to the supply position where the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is previously fixed is supplied. 28 is controlled. In this way, a series of calibration operations is completed and the original main routine is returned to.

Here, in this calibration operation, the first and second ITV cameras 40g and 42g photograph the same calibration reference point 78d of the calibration chart 78, and the left end of the screen up to the same calibration reference point 78d. Since the distances x ₁ and x ₂ from the first objective lens 4 and the second objective lens 4 are determined by Δx defined as the difference between these distances x ₁ and x _2.
The shift amounts of the optical axes of 0a and 42a are obtained.

<< Explanation of heater board supply operation in step S20 >> Next, the control procedure of the heater board supply operation in step S20 described above will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. As already described many times, the heater board 102 is previously positioned and fixed on the heater board mounting portion 208b of the base member 208 with a predetermined accuracy. Therefore, supplying the heater board 102 means that the base member 208 is moved to the second positioning mechanism 33.
It means supplying above.

First, when the heater board supply operation is started, in step S20A, a supply robot (not shown) is operated, the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is attached is grasped and taken out from the storage position, and adhesive (not shown) is attached. It is transferred onto the agent coating jig. Then, in step S20B, a predetermined position of the heater board 102 on the base member 208 placed on the adhesive application jig,
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the adhesive 8 is provided on both sides of the rear edge of the heater board 102 via an adhesive application mechanism (not shown).
0a and 80b are applied respectively.

As described above, the adhesives 80a and 80b are composed of an ultraviolet curable adhesive that cures by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, that is, exhibits adhesive strength.
In other words, at the time of this application, these adhesives 80
The a and 80b do not exhibit any adhesiveness and function only as a liquid.

After that, in step S20C, the heater board 102 to which the adhesives 80a and 80b are applied.
The base member 208 to which is attached is conveyed onto the second positioning mechanism 33 located at the standby position, and the step S2 is performed.
At 0D, the grip of the base member 208 by the transport robot is released, and the base member 208 is placed on the second positioning mechanism 33. The standby position of the second positioning mechanism 33 is defined by the position shown in the figure, which is separated from the above-described assembly work position α by a predetermined distance along the x-axis direction, as shown in FIG. In this way, a series of heater board supply operations are ended, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Explanation of Positioning Operation of Heater Board in Step S22 >> Next, referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 18, FIG. 19 and the above-mentioned FIGS. 6 to 8,
The positioning operation of the heater board 102 in step S22 will be described.

First, the second positioning mechanism 33 for positioning the heater board 102 is placed in the standby state before the heater board 102 is conveyed.
Since the releasing mechanism 33D shown in FIG. 8 is activated and the releasing cylinder 33m is driven so as to push out the corresponding piston rod 33n, the releasing pins 33r and 33s on the piston rod 33n are respectively connected to the x-axis regulating levers 33f and y. The shaft restricting levers 33j are engaged with each other and moved to a position where they are largely separated from the base member 208, that is, a separated position.

When the positioning operation is started in the state where the second positioning mechanism 33 is set in the standby state in this way, the driving of the release cylinder 33m is released in step S22A. As a result, the corresponding piston rod 33n moves so as to be pulled inward by the urging force of the return spring (not shown) incorporated therein. Therefore,
Release pins 33r and 33s on the piston rod 33n
Are x-axis regulating lever 33f and y-axis regulating lever 33j, respectively.
Will be separated from.

In this way, the base member 208 is x
Since the shaft restricting lever 33f is biased to rotate counterclockwise by the biasing force of the first torsion spring 33h,
A pair of x-axis positioning projections 33d, which are pushed along the x-axis direction from the separated position to form the x-axis positioning portion 33A,
33e, the position in the x-axis direction is defined. On the other hand, the base member 208 is pushed from the separated position along the y-axis direction by the y-axis restricting lever 33j being biased by the biasing force of the second torsion spring 33l in the counterclockwise direction so as to be pushed out along the y-axis direction. It comes into contact with the y-axis positioning protrusion 33i forming the axis positioning portion 33B, and the position in the y-axis direction is defined. That is, by releasing the driving force of the release cylinder 33m, the base member 208 is accurately positioned along the x-axis and y-axis directions.

After the step S22A is executed in this way, the driving of the suction mechanism 33E is started in the step S22B. With this start, a suction source (not shown) is activated, and the suction force from this suction source acts on the suction pad 33w via the connecting pipe 33x, and as a result, the base member 208 is attracted downward and the z-axis is drawn. Positioning part 33
The first and second protrusions 33t and 33u forming C reliably contact the upper surface of the positioning 33c, and the third protrusion 33v surely contacts the lower surface of the base member 208. That is, by driving the suction mechanism 33E, the base member 208 is accurately positioned at the position along the z-axis direction.

In this way, the base member 208 is accurately positioned in the three axial directions with respect to the main body 33a by the positioning operation of the second positioning mechanism 33. In addition, the base member 208 moves the second positioning mechanism 3 by the operation of the suction mechanism 33E.
3 to the position accurately positioned by the main body 33a
Even if it moves, it will be reliably retained.

When this step S22B is completed, then, in step S22C, the second position adjusting mechanism 1
6 is activated to move the base member 208 positioned and held by the second position detection mechanism 33 from its standby position to the assembly work position α. Then, in step S22D, the base member 20 brought to the assembly work position α is
The image of the upper surface of the heater board 102 on the image transmission device 8 is transmitted to the second focus state detector 52 via the second optical system 42e for focus determination.

Then, in step S22E, in the second focus state detector 52, z from the focus position is detected.
Since the focus deviation amount Δz in the axial direction, that is, the in-focus position is the designed setting position in the z-axis direction, the heater board 10
2 Amount of focus deviation Δ in the z-axis direction at the assembly work position α
z is measured, and the measured focus shift amount Δz is transmitted to the control unit 38 in step S22F. After that, in step S22G, the control unit 38
Internally, the movement amount Z ₂ of the second z-axis stage 30 is calculated based on the focus shift amount Δz, and in step S22H, the second z-axis stage 30 is moved based on the calculated movement amount Z _2. By driving, the position in the z-axis direction at the assembly work position α on the upper surface of the heater board 102 is accurately defined.

Next, in step S22I, the upper surface of the heater board 102 is photographed by the second ITV camera 42g of the second position detecting mechanism 42, and in step S22J, the photographed image information is converted into the second signal. Converter 50
And is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the. Here, an image of the heater board taken by the second ITV camera 42g is shown in FIG. In the image projected by the second ITV camera 42g, since the position in the z-axis direction at the assembly work position α on the upper surface of the heater board 102 is accurately defined in the steps S22D to S22H, the image is focused. The image is clear and accurate.

Here, as shown in FIG. 19, the discharge heaters 112a to 112e are formed in advance on the heater board 102 with a predetermined forming accuracy, and the second positioning mechanism 33 described above performs a predetermined positioning operation. If it is executed, the discharge heater 112c located in the middle will be shown in the image. Then, as long as the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is projected, the following assembling operation is set to be possible.

Therefore, in step S22K, it is determined whether or not the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is projected, and if it is determined that it is not projected in step S22K, the following assembling operation is not performed. Since it becomes possible, an alarm is issued in step S22L, and the control procedure thereafter is ended. On the other hand, in step S22K, the discharge heater 112 located in the middle is
If it is determined that c is projected, the process proceeds to step S22M, where the assembly work position α of the discharge heater 112c is
The amount of displacement x _{h from} is measured along the x-axis direction. Incidentally, for the measurement of the deviation amount x _h along the x-axis direction, when the discharge heater 112c located at the center is shifted on the right side of the screen to the center line, denoted by the sign (+), it is shifted to the left In this case, it is set so that the symbol (-) is attached.

Here, in this embodiment, as a means for distinguishing the discharge heater 112c located in the middle among the five discharge heaters 112a to 112e from other discharge heaters 112c, as shown in FIGS. An identification mark 82 is drawn at a position adjacent to the discharge heater 112c. That is,
In the above-described step S22K, when the identification mark 82 is recognized in the image, it is determined that the ejection heater 112c located in the middle is projected, and when the identification mark 82 cannot be recognized. Is set so that it is determined that the discharge heater 112c is not projected.

The amount of displacement x _h along the above-mentioned x-axis direction
Is defined as the distance from the center position of the image to the center position of the middle discharge heater 112c, and the center position of this image and the assembly work position α are set so as to match in advance. After measuring the shift amount x _h in the x-axis direction in this way, this shift amount x _h is measured in step S22N.
It transmits the _h to the control Yunitsuto 38, in step S22O, stores the shift amount x _h in the memory of the control Yunitsuto 38.

Thereafter, in step S22P, the first
First optical system 40e for focus determination of the position detection mechanism 40
The image of the front end surface of the heater board 102 on the base member 208 brought to the assembling work position α is transmitted to the first focus state detector 48 via. Then, in step S22Q, the first focus state detector 48 moves the heater board 102 along the y-axis direction so that the focus state is achieved, that is, the focus is adjusted. The second y-axis stage 32 is driven to move. And
When the focusing operation ends in step S22Q,
In step S22R, the second y-axis stage 32 is further moved and driven by the thickness t ₁ of the orifice plate 108 described above so that the second y-axis stage 32 is further moved from the in-focus position.

As described above, the heater board 102 in the y-axis direction is previously formed by the thickness t ₁ of the orifice plate 108.
The top plate 104 is assembled on the heater board 102 by offsetting the position of the front end face of the heater board 102, and the orifice plate 108 fixed in advance to the front end face of the top plate 104 is closely attached to the front end face of the heater board 102. In this state, the focus of the first position detecting mechanism 40 on the surface of the orifice plate 108 is
Accurate matching is achieved without executing any focus detection operation. In this way, the series of heater boards 102
Then, the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Description of Supplying Operation of Top Plate 104 in Step S24 >> Next, referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 20, FIGS. 21 to 23, and FIG. 17, described above, the top plate 104 in step S24 will be described. The supply operation will be described. First, when the supply operation of the top plate 104 is started, in step S24A, a supply robot (not shown) is driven to generate a suction force in a suction hole (not shown) opened in the lower surface of the finger 300, In step S24B, as shown in FIG. 21, the finger 300 is moved to just above a predetermined one top plate 104 in the storage tray 302 in which a large number of top plates 104 are stored. Then, in step S24C, the top plate 104 is sucked into the suction hole by slowly lowering the finger 300, and thus is held on the lower surface of the finger 300.

After that, in step S24D, the finger 300 is moved, and the top plate 1 sucked and held by the finger 300 is moved.
04 is a positioning table 306 of a temporary positioning station 304 arranged between the storage tray 302 and the assembling apparatus 10.
Then, in step S24E, the suction force in the suction hole disappears. As a result, the top plate 104 is dropped on the positioning table 306 and placed on it. Then, in step S24F, the finger 30
0 is temporarily returned to the standby position.

Here, on the positioning base 306, the first and second reference pieces 308 and 310 for positioning the top plate 104 in the y-axis direction are fixed in a state of being separated from each other in the x-axis direction. Has been done. Also, this positioning table 306
A third reference piece 312 for positioning in the x-axis direction is fixed on the top at a position abutted by moving the top plate 104 whose position in the y-axis direction is determined in the x-axis direction. ing. In addition, around the positioning table 306, the top plate 104, which is positioned on the front surface and is placed on the front surface, is rearward along the y-axis direction (that is, the first and second reference pieces 308, 31).
A first y-axis direction moving mechanism 314 for moving the top board 1 placed on the side and mounted on the top board 1
The x-axis direction moving mechanism 316 for moving 04 along the x-axis direction toward the third reference piece 312 is located at the rear side, and the positioning in the x-axis and y-axis directions is completed. A second y-axis direction moving mechanism 318 for moving the plate 104 forward along the y-axis direction (that is, in a direction away from the first and second reference pieces 308 and 310) is provided, respectively. There is. Here, each moving mechanism 314, 316, 3
18 is an actuator 314a, 316a, 318a
And corresponding actuators 314a, 316a, 31
Actuating pieces 314b, 316b, 3 driven to project from 8a
18b and.

Further, around the positioning table 306,
Top plate 104 positioned on this positioning table 306
However, a positioning detection mechanism 320 for detecting whether or not it has been positioned at a predetermined position is provided. This positioning detection mechanism 320, as shown in FIG.
2 positioned (i.e., the side that contacts the first and second reference pieces 308 and 310) and the third reference piece 31.
2) which passes directly outside of a corner portion (a corner portion to be detected) formed by two sides facing each other) and tilts with respect to the x-axis and the y-axis, for example, tilts at 45 degrees. It is composed of a pair of photocouplers having an optical axis.

By configuring the positioning detection mechanism 320 in this way, the top plate 104 can be used as the first and second reference pieces 30.
When the positioning operation is completed without contacting the 8, 310, or the third reference piece 312, the above-described detected corner portion of the top plate 104 is always positioned outward as compared with the case where the positioning is accurately performed. It is biased, and as a result, the above-mentioned optical axis is blocked. That is, in this one embodiment,
When the light emitted from the light emitting element 320a forming the photo coupler is received by the light receiving element 320b without blocking the optical axis at the time when the positioning detection operation is started, the top plate 104 is positioned on the positioning base 306. It is determined that the light is correctly positioned at the predetermined position above, the optical axis is blocked, and the light emitting element 32
When the light emitted from light source 0a is not received by light receiving element 320b, it is determined that top plate 104 has not been accurately positioned at a predetermined position on positioning table 306.

Then, in step S24F, the top plate 1
When the placing operation of 04 on the positioning table 306 is completed,
In step S24G, the first y-axis direction moving mechanism 3
14, the actuator 314a drives the corresponding operating piece 314b to push it out along the y-axis direction to drive the rear surface of the top plate 104 to the first and second reference pieces 308, 310.
Abut the front surface of. As a result, the top plate 104 can be positioned on the positioning table 306 in the y-axis direction. After that, in the state where the positioning state in the y-axis direction is maintained, in step S24H, the x-axis moving mechanism 3
16, the actuator 316a drives the corresponding operating piece 316b by pushing it out along the x-axis direction to bring the side surface of the top plate 104 into contact with the side surface of the second reference piece 312. As a result, the top plate 104 is moved to the x position on the positioning table 306.
Axial positioning will be achieved.

After that, in step S24I, the above-mentioned positioning detecting mechanism 320 is activated to detect whether or not the positioning is accurately performed at a predetermined position. If NO in step S24I, that is, if the positioning is not accurate, an alarm is issued in step S24J and the subsequent control procedure is stopped. On the other hand, when it is determined YES in step S24I, that is, when it is determined that the positioning is accurate, the top plate 104 is positioned by the positioning table 3
The position on the horizontal plane 06 is accurately positioned at a predetermined position, and thereafter, the holding operation of the positioned top plate 104 and the heater board 1 are performed.
The supply operation to 02 is started.

That is, if YES is determined in step S24I, first, in step S24K, the y-axis moving mechanism 314 and the x-axis moving mechanism 316 are activated in the opposite directions, and the corresponding actuating sides 314b and 316b are actuated respectively. It moves so as to be drawn into 314a and 316b,
The top plate 104 is movable on the positioning table 316. After that, in step S24L, the finger 300 is moved from the standby position and is again positioned immediately above the top plate 104. In this state, as shown in FIG.
The y-axis direction abutting piece 322 integrally formed on the front lower surface of 0 is located immediately in front of the positioned top plate 104. Then, in step S24M, the second
Activating the y-axis moving mechanism 318 of the actuator 31
8a pushes the corresponding operating piece 318b along the y-axis direction to drive the front surface of the top plate 104 into contact with the rear surface of the abutting piece 322. As a result, the top plate 104 is moved along the y-axis direction on the positioning table 306, contacts the abutting piece 322 of the finger 300 from the rear in a state of having a predetermined positional relationship, and is positioned immediately below the finger 300. Will be done.

Thereafter, in step S24N, a suction force is generated in the suction hole of the finger 300. As a result,
The top plate 104 is sucked by the lower surface of the finger 300 and held by this. Here, as apparent from the above description, the holding position of the top plate 104 on the finger 300 is always positioned at an accurate position based on the position positioned by the temporary positioning station 304. In this way, the series of supply operations of the top plate 104 is completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Explanation of Temporary Placement Operation of Top Plate 104 in Step S26 >> Next, referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 24, the temporary placement operation of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 in Step S26 will be described. . Here, as already described, since the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 are both actually microfabricated parts, they may be damaged when an excessive force is applied. Therefore, prior to the x-axis direction alignment operation of step S28, the temporary placement operation of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 is executed.

First, when the temporary placement operation is activated, as shown in step S26A, the first position adjusting mechanism 14 is driven to maintain a sufficient gap between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102. , The top plate 104 is moved directly above the heater board 102. Thereafter, in step S26B, the top plate 104 is moved downward along the z-axis direction to move the top plate 10
The gap between 4 and the heater board 102 is shortened. Then, in step S26C, the top plate 104 is attached to the heater board 1.
02 drop on.

In this state, the top plate 104 is placed on the heater board 102 in a state where its placement position is not precisely defined. Therefore, in step S26D, the engagement pieces 26m and 26n of the first positioning mechanism 27 are moved to move the orifice plate 108 to the heater board 1.
The front end face of 02 is applied. Furthermore, step S26
In E, as a preparation for the x-axis direction alignment operation, a thickness calibration operation of the top plate 104 is performed, and the positional relationship between the top plate 104 and the suction members 26b and 26c in the first positioning mechanism 27 is set to an optimum state. To do. In this way, the series of temporary placement operations of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 are completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Explanation of Positioning Operation of Top Plate 104 to Heater Board 102 in X-axis Direction in Step S28 >> Next, referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 25 and FIGS. Board 10
The positioning operation in the x-axis direction with respect to the heater board 102 of No. 4 will be described.

In the temporary placement operation of the top plate 104 described above, the mounting mechanism 26 is moved to the designed mounting position by driving the first position adjusting mechanism 14, and then the top plate is moved from the mounting mechanism 26. 104 to the heater board 102
This temporary placing operation is executed by dropping the sheet up and positioning it at the above-mentioned designed mounting position. Here, as already described above, the arrangement pitch of the discharge ports 106 formed on the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 and the discharge heaters 112 formed on the heater board 102 is on the order of micron, so that the design Not only the above absolute alignment but also the relative alignment of the discharge port 106 with respect to the discharge heater 112 is performed so that the discharge heater 112 and the discharge port 106 corresponding to each other are within a predetermined position accuracy. Then, the positioning operation must be performed so that they are combined with each other. In addition, these discharge ports 10
Since the arrangement direction of the heater 6 and the discharge heater 112 is set in the x-axis direction, the heater board 102 of the top plate 104 is arranged.
The final alignment with respect to is defined to be performed via image processing only along the x-axis direction.

First, when the x-axis alignment operation is started, the top plate 104 is offset in step S28A. That is, in this one-sided operation, as shown in FIG. 26, from the state where the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 of the top plate 104 is located between the suction members 26b and 26c, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the movable suction member 26c is moved toward the fixed suction member 26b, and the ink receiving port 118 is abutted against the fixed suction member 26b. And in FIG.
29, the movable suction member 26c is returned to its original position, and as shown in FIG. 29, both suction members 26b and 26c are integrally driven, that is, the mounting mechanism 26 is driven as a whole.
By moving the top plate 104 to a predetermined position, the offset operation of the top plate 104 is completed.

When the shifting operation of the top plate 104 is completed,
Next, in step S28B, as shown in FIG.
First optical system 4 for focusing determination of the first position detection mechanism 40
An orifice plate 1 attached to the front of a top plate 104 temporarily placed on the heater board 102 via 0e.
The front image of 08 is transmitted to the first focus state detector 48. Then, in step S28C, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104 are integrated along the y-axis so that the first focus state detector 48 achieves the focus state, that is, the focus state is achieved. Second to move
The y-axis stage 32 is driven to move.

Here, in this focusing operation, step S of the positioning operation of the heater board 102 described above is performed.
22P to S22R, the first IT has already been
Since the focus of the V camera 40g is substantially aligned with the front surface of the orientation plate 108, this focusing operation is completed within a very short time, and the front surface of the orientation plate 108 is out of the focusing range. It will be surely prevented that the focusing operation becomes impossible.

When the focusing operation is completed in step S28C, the first operation is performed in step S28D.
First ITV camera 40g in the position detection mechanism 40 of
Then, the front surface of the orifice plate 108 fixed to the front surface side of the top plate 104 temporarily placed on the heater board 102 is photographed. Since the image of the orientation plate 108 photographed by the first ITV camera 40g has been subjected to the focusing operation as described above, as shown in FIG. 31, it becomes a clear image with accurate focus. There is.

Thereafter, in step S28E, the image photographed in step S28C is processed by the first signal converter 4
6 to the image processing device 44, and the step S28
In F, the ejection hole 10 that is determined to be closest to the above-described central ejection heater 112c from the center of the screen based on the image captured through the first ITV camera 40g.
The distance x _H to the center position of 6 is measured electrically. Here, as described in the positioning operation of the heater board 102 in step S22, the center line of the screen is
This distance x _H corresponds to the assembly work position α, and represents the amount of displacement along the x-axis direction from the assembly work position α to the discharge hole 106 to be combined with the central discharge heater 112c.

When the amount of displacement x _H of the discharge port 106 corresponding to the central discharge heater 112c from the center line has been measured, in step S28G, the central discharge heater 112c and the corresponding discharge port 112c are measured. The top plate 104 including the orifice plate 108 in which the discharge port 106 is formed in order to exactly match the upper and lower sides with 106.
, The amount of movement x required to move along the x-axis direction
_T is calculated from the following arithmetic expression. x _T = x _h −x _H + Δx

Next, in step S28H, it is determined whether or not this movement amount x _T is smaller than the adjustment standard range C for the x-direction alignment stored in advance on the data disk. When it is determined YES in step S28H, that is, when the movement amount x _T is determined to be smaller than the adjustment standard range C, the control unit 38 causes the discharge heaters 112 of the heater board 102 and the top plate 104. Of the discharge hole 106 formed in the orifice plate 108 of
It is judged that the positions in the x-axis direction match each other, and this x
The control procedure of the axial alignment operation is ended, and the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, if it is determined NO in step S28H described above, that is, if the movement amount x _T is greater than the adjustment standard range C, in step S28I, the first x-axis drive is performed. The stage 18 is driven to move the top plate 104 by an amount corresponding to this moving amount x _T , and the process returns to step S28D described above. By positioning the top plate 104 with respect to the heater board 102 in this manner, the discharge heater 112c located at the center of the heater board 102 and the discharge heater 112c in the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 are positioned.
The center lines of the ejection port 106 that is closest to the center of the nozzles coincide with each other in the x-axis direction. In this way, a series of alignment operations of the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 along the x-axis direction are completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Explanation of Adhesion Operation of Top Plate 104 to Heater Board 102 in Step S30 >> Next, referring to FIG.
Referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 33, the heater board 102 of the top plate 104 in step S30.
The bonding operation for the top will be described.

The top plate 10 in step S28 described above.
Positioning of the No. 4 heater board 102 in the x-axis direction
When the operation is completed, first, in step S30A,
The first z-axis stage 2 in the first position adjusting mechanism 14
0 to activate the entire first positioning mechanism 27
The first and second suction members 26b and 26c by a predetermined amount D
_F Only down along the z-axis. This first and second
The suction members 26b, 26c of the
As shown in Fig. 33, the contact is made.
The heated top plate 104 is below the heater board 102.
In the joining force generating mechanism 34
Push downward against the urging force of the coil spring 34c.
Will be lowered.

Here, the first z-axis stage 20 described above is used.
The predetermined descending amount D _{F at} is the top 10 accompanying this descending.
4 and the pressing force of the heater board 102, the biasing force generated in the coil spring 34c is set to a value sufficient to act as a predetermined joining force between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102.

Thus, the heater board 102 and the top plate 1
In the state in which a predetermined joining force has been generated between the light source No. 04 and No. 04, the ultraviolet light source 58 emits ultraviolet light in step S30B. The ultraviolet rays are introduced to the pair of suction members 26b and 26c that are transparent to ultraviolet rays through the pair of light guides 56, and the adhesives 80a and 8c are transmitted in a state where they are transmitted.
0b is irradiated. As a result, these adhesives 80a, 8
Since 0b has ultraviolet curability, these adhesives 8
0a and 80b start curing, that is, exhibit adhesiveness. That is, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104 are
The adhesive 80 is adhered to each other with a predetermined joining force.
They will be bonded to each other via a and 80b.

As described above, this joining force generating mechanism 3
When changing the joining force in No. 4, washer 34b
Is achieved by rotating and moving along the axial direction of the guide shaft 34a to change the deformation amount of the coil spring 34c.

After that, in step S30C, after waiting for a predetermined time, until the adhesives 80a and 80b are completely cured, in step S30D, the first z of the first position adjusting mechanism 14 is restored. Axis stage 20
To activate the entire first positioning mechanism 27,
The first and second suction members 26b, 26c are raised along the z-axis direction by the same amount of rise U _F as the amount of fall D _F described above. As a result, the first and second suction members 26b, 26c
Will rise until it is located above the top plate 104 and stand by. In this way, a series of control procedures for the bonding operation are ended, and the original main routine is returned to.

<< Description of Finished Product Discharging Operation in Step S32 >> Next, with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 34, the finished product discharging operation in step S32 will be described. In step S30 described above, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104, which are aligned with each other, are adhered to each other via the adhesives 80a and 80b, thus forming a finished product assembly. When the finished product is finally formed in this way, the discharging operation of the finished product is started.

When the discharging operation is started, first, in step S32A, the switching valve (not shown) in the first positioning mechanism 27 is switched and controlled so as to be connected to the positive pressure generating mechanism. As a result, compressed air is ejected (reverse ejection) from the pair of suction holes 26d and 26e, and the assembly of the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 as a finished product is pressed downward. After this, step S32
At B, the first z-axis stage 20 is activated again,
The mounting mechanism 26, and thus the first positioning mechanism 27 as a whole, is raised so that the ink receiving port 118 mounted on the upper surface of the top plate 104 is pulled out downward between the suction members 26b and 26c. In this way, the first positioning mechanism 27 becomes freely movable in the horizontal plane.

Thereafter, in step S32C, the switching valve is controlled to switch to the atmosphere open position, and the reverse injection operation is stopped.
Further, in step S32D, the second z-axis stage 30 of the second position adjusting mechanism 16 is activated to lower the entire second positioning mechanism 33. And step S3
In 2E, the first position adjustment mechanism 14 is activated to return the entire attachment mechanism 26 from the assembly work position α to the standby position.

On the other hand, in step S32F, the releasing mechanism 33D of the second positioning mechanism 33 is activated to release the clamped state of the base member 208 in the x-axis and y-axis directions, and in step S32G, the suction mechanism 33E is driven. To stop the holding state of the base member 208 in the z-axis direction. In this way, the second positioning mechanism 33 extends to the base member 208, and hence the heater board 104 and the top plate 102 mounted on the base member 208.
However, it becomes removable. After this, step S3
At 2H, the second position adjusting mechanism 16 is activated to return the entire second positioning mechanism 33 from the assembly work position to the standby position. And finally, step S32I
In step 2, the base member 208 of the finished product is gripped via the supply robot (not shown), the finished product is taken out from the second positioning mechanism 33, and is conveyed to the finished product storage station (not shown). In this way, a series of discharge operations of finished products is completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

As described in detail above, by performing the assembling apparatus 10 of this embodiment and the assembling method in the assembling apparatus 10, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104, which are microfabricated parts, are excessively attached to them. The discharge heater 112 of the heater board 102 and the discharge port 106 of the top plate 104 can be accurately and accurately combined with each other and bonded to each other without being damaged by applying an assembling force. become.

In particular, in the above-described embodiment, the assembly apparatus 10 makes it possible to eliminate the manual operation from the work and achieve the fully automatic work. As a result, according to the assembling apparatus 10, even if the plurality of tops 104 arranged in the tray 302 at arbitrary positions and postures are held by the fingers 300, the temporary positioning is performed once. Since it is held again by the finger 300 while being accurately positioned at a predetermined position in the station 304, the supply position to the heater board 102 is accurately defined. As a result, even in the method of assembling the ink jet head that requires fine alignment, the top plate 104 can be reliably placed on the heater board 102. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment and can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0133]

As described above in detail, in the method of assembling the ink jet head according to the present invention, the head nozzle of the print head for ejecting ink is provided on each heater board on which a plurality of heaters are formed. In the method of assembling the ink jet head, which is assembled by attaching the top plate member on which the corresponding nozzle is formed,
A first take-out step of holding and taking out one of the plurality of top plate members placed on the tray, and a first carrying step of carrying the taken-out top plate members to a temporary positioning station,
A first mounting step of releasing the grip of the top plate member and mounting it on the temporary positioning station; and a positioning step of positioning the top plate member at a predetermined position in the temporary positioning station. Second take-out step of holding and taking out the top board member, a second carrying step of carrying the taken-out top board member to the heater board, and releasing the holding of the top board member to obtain the heater board. It is characterized by comprising a second placing step of placing it on top.

Further, in the method of assembling the ink jet head according to the present invention, the positioning step is characterized in that the positioning of the top plate member is carried out in a horizontal plane. In the method for assembling the ink jet head according to the present invention, the positioning step includes a first sub-step of moving the top plate member along a horizontal first direction and pressing the top plate member against the first reference member. , A second sub-step of moving the top plate member along a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction and pressing it against the second reference member, and the positioned top plate member is predetermined. And a third sub-step of detecting whether or not it has been moved to the position.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling the ink jet head which can be mounted on the heater board in a state where the top plate member is accurately positioned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink jet cartridge which is detachably attached to an ink jet recording apparatus incorporating a head nozzle assembled by the method for assembling an ink jet head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a head nozzle as an assembly target in the assembly apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the configuration of a heater board that defines one of the constituent features of the head nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an embodiment of a head nozzle assembling apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing the configurations of an attachment mechanism and a first positioning mechanism in the first position adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a configuration of a second positioning mechanism in the second position adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a joining force generating mechanism together with a second positioning mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing the configuration of a release mechanism in the second positioning mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an attached state of a calibration chart.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image of a calibration chart taken by a first ITV camera in a first position detecting mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an image of a calibration chart taken by a second ITV camera in the second position detecting mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of an assembling method in the assembling apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing, in a simplified state, a heater board and a top plate that form a head nozzle, for the sake of clarity in explaining the assembly method.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of a calibration operation as a subroutine.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state during a calibration operation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a heater board supply operation as a subroutine.

FIG. 17 is a standby position of the first and second positioning mechanisms,
It is a perspective view which shows an assembly work position.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of a positioning operation of the heater board as a subroutine.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an image of a heater board taken by a second ITV camera.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing, as a subroutine, a control procedure of a top plate supply operation, which is a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a temporary positioning station.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a positioning detection operation in the positioning detection mechanism.

FIG. 23 is a side view for explaining a state in which the finger holds the top plate positioned by the temporary positioning station.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of a temporary table top placing operation as a subroutine.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of an alignment operation of the top plate with respect to the heater board in the x-axis direction.

FIG. 26:

FIG. 27:

FIG. 28:

FIG. 29 is a diagram sequentially showing a procedure of a biasing operation of the top plate.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a photographing state of an orifice plate in an x-axis alignment operation with respect to a heater board of a top plate.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an image of an ejection port of an orifice plate taken by a first ITV camera.

FIG. 32 is a flow chart showing the bonding operation between the top plate and the heater board.

FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining a joining force generation state.

FIG. 34 is a flow chart showing a discharging operation of an assembly as a finished product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Assembly device, 14 1st position adjustment mechanism, 16 2nd position adjustment mechanism, 18 1st x-axis stage, 20 1st z-axis stage, 22 1st y-axis stage, 26 attachment mechanism, 27th 1 positioning mechanism, 28 2nd x-axis stage, 30 2nd z-axis stage, 32 2nd y-axis stage, 33 2nd positioning mechanism, 34 joining force generation mechanism, 38 control unit, 40 1st Position detection mechanism, 42 Second position detection mechanism, 44 Image processing device, 100 Head nozzle, 102 Heater board, 104 Groove top plate, 106 Discharge port, 108 Life plate, 110 substrate, 112 Discharge heater, 200 Ink jet cartridge , 202 ink tank, 300 finger, 302 top plate storage tray, 304 temporary positioning station, 30 6 Positioning table, 308 1st reference piece, 310 2nd reference piece, 312 3rd reference piece, 314 1st y-axis direction movement mechanism, 316 x-axis direction movement mechanism, 318 2nd y-axis direction movement Mechanism 320 positioning detection mechanism 322 abutting piece.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical indication location H04N 1/034 8721-5C (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Orikasa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A head for an ink jet, wherein a head nozzle of a printing head for ejecting ink is assembled by mounting a top plate member having nozzles corresponding to each heater on a heater board having a plurality of heaters formed thereon. In the assembling method, a first take-out step of holding and taking out one of a plurality of top plate members placed on a tray, a first carrying step of carrying the taken-out top plate members to a temporary positioning station, and A first placing step of releasing the holding of the top plate member and placing it on the temporary positioning station; a positioning step of positioning the top plate member at a predetermined position in the temporary positioning station; A second take-out step of holding and taking out the top plate member, and a second step of conveying the taken-out top plate member to the heater board 2. A method of assembling an ink jet head, comprising: a second carrying step; and a second placing step in which the top plate member is released from the grip and placed on the heater board. 2. The method for assembling an ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein in the positioning step, the positioning of the top plate member in a horizontal plane is executed. 3. In the positioning step, a first sub-step of moving the top plate member along a horizontal first direction and pressing it against a first reference member, and the first direction are orthogonal to each other. The second sub-step of moving the top plate member along the horizontal second direction and pressing it against the second reference member, and whether or not the positioned top plate member is moved to a predetermined position. 3. A method for assembling an ink jet head according to claim 1, further comprising a third sub-step of detecting.