JPH11240160A - Method of manufacturing ink jet recording head and ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head which can easily form a wall member of an ink passage having a desired relatively large thickness at a desired portion. SOLUTION: A solid layer is formed on a portion of a substrate corresponding to an ink passage in which an energy generator which communicates with a discharge port for discharging ink and generates energy used for discharging ink from the discharge port is arranged. A solid layer arranging step of providing a pattern, a wall member arranging step of providing a material in an uncured state to be a wall member of the ink passage on a top plate, and And a solid layer removing step of removing the solid layer to form the ink passage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head for performing recording by discharging ink, and an ink jet recording head manufactured by the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses are provided integrally or separately as output terminals of information processing apparatuses such as word processors and computers, as well as copying apparatuses combined with information reading apparatuses and the like, and information transmitting and receiving functions. It is widely used in facsimile machines, machines for printing on fabrics, and the like. This ink jet recording apparatus has a feature that a high-definition image can be recorded at a high speed by discharging ink as fine droplets from a discharge port at a high speed. Especially,
An ink-jet system that uses an electrothermal converter as an energy generator that generates energy used to discharge ink, and uses a foam of the ink generated by the heat energy generated by the electrothermal converter to discharge the ink. 2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus has been attracting attention in recent years because it is suitable for high definition of an image, high-speed recording performance, miniaturization of a recording head and an apparatus, and further, colorization.

[0003] An ink jet recording head (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "head") used in an ink jet recording apparatus is usually provided with a plurality of discharge ports. Electrothermal converters that generate thermal energy used for discharging ink from the discharge ports are provided on the substrate corresponding to the respective ink flow paths. The electrothermal converter mainly includes a heating resistor, electrode wiring for supplying power to the heating resistor, and an insulating protective film for protecting these.

Many heads have a basic structure in which a substrate provided with an electrothermal transducer and a top plate provided with ink passages are joined. Each of the ink flow paths included in the ink passage has an end opposite to the discharge port communicating with the common ink chamber, and the ink supplied from the ink tank is stored in the common ink chamber. The plurality of ink flow paths and the common ink chamber are collectively referred to as an “ink path”.

[0005] The ink supplied to the common ink chamber is guided to the respective ink flow paths from here, and forms a meniscus near the ejection port and is held. By selectively driving the electrothermal transducer in this state, the ink on the heat acting surface is rapidly heated and boiled by utilizing the generated thermal energy, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port based on this. I do.

[0006] One conventional example of such a head manufacturing method is as follows.
It is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,317.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the process. Electrothermal converter 2 arranged corresponding to the ink passage
A solid layer 28 made of, for example, a positive photosensitive resin is provided on a portion where the ink passage is to be formed on the substrate 27 on which the substrate 7 is provided (FIG. 1A). On top of that, a layer made of an active energy ray-curable material to be the ink passage wall forming member 22 is provided so as to cover the solid layer 8 (FIG. 2B). Further, a top plate 24 provided with a concave portion 29 communicating with the ink supply port 26 is further laminated thereon (FIG. 3C). After that,
A photomask 32 is provided at a portion corresponding to the common ink chamber, and an active energy ray is irradiated in the direction of the arrow to cure the irradiated portion of the active energy ray-curable material (FIG. 4D). Then, the solid layer removing liquid is introduced from the ink supply port 26 or the like as shown by the arrow (FIG. 4E), and
8 is removed. Thus, an ink passage communicating with the ejection port 33 is formed (FIG. 6F).

[0007]

However, in such a method, the bonding strength between the layer made of the active energy ray-curable material that becomes the ink passage wall forming member 22 and the top plate 24 is biased. In some cases, a small gap was formed, and ink leaked from the gap, which eventually hindered the strength and durability of the head itself.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head which can easily manufacture a high precision ink jet recording head having excellent strength and durability with good workability.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an ink passage in which an energy generator communicating with a discharge port for discharging ink and generating energy used for discharging ink from the discharge port is disposed. A solid layer disposing step of providing a solid layer in a pattern on a portion of the substrate which has been formed; a wall member disposing step of disposing a wall member of the ink passage on a top plate; A step of bringing the substrate and the top plate close to each other so that the semi-cured wall member covers the solid layer; and a solid layer removing step of removing the solid layer to form the ink passage. And a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head including:

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-precision ink jet recording head manufactured by such a manufacturing method and having excellent strength and durability.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims. is there.

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 2 (1) to 2 (7) are schematic sectional views showing the steps of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2A: A portion where an ink passage is to be formed on a 2-mm-thick aluminum substrate 1 provided with two rows of electrothermal transducers 14 for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink. Then, a first solid layer 2 was formed to a thickness of 20 μm. The solid layer 2 is removed after each of the steps described below, and the remaining space forms an ink passage. As the solid layer 2, "MF-5" manufactured by Tokyo Ohka
8 "was used.

FIG. 2 (2): A room temperature curable resin 8 a was applied as an adhesive layer to a portion of the substrate 1 where the solid layer 2 was not provided by a dispenser. “Epicoat 828” manufactured by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd. (100 parts by weight) as the room temperature curable resin 8a
A mixture of FUJI-CURE-6010 (manufactured by Fuji Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd., 50 parts by weight) and a filler further mixed at 30% by weight was used. Using a G19 needle,
Discharge pressure 0.8 kg / cm ² , coating speed 30 mm / sec
c, Coating was performed at a distance of 0.3 mm between the substrate and the needle. Further, this was heated in an oven at 75 ° C. for 1 hour to bring the room temperature curable resin 8a into a semi-cured state.

FIG. 2 (3): As the top plate 5, a 2 mm-thick aluminum plate having a supply port 4 and subjected to an ink resistant treatment was used. With the top plate 5 facing upward, a room-temperature curable resin 8 serving as a wall member of an ink passage was applied from a dispenser 8b to the center (2.0 mm width). The cold-setting resin 8 is obtained by removing the filler from the cold-setting resin 8a. Using a G21 needle, discharge pressure was 3.0 kg / cm ² , and coating speed was 30 mm / s.
ec, coating was performed at a distance of 0.2 mm between the top plate and the needle. The room-temperature-curable resin 8 does not contain a filler, but is kept at a relatively large thickness in a convex shape by surface tension at the side end of the top plate. This was left for 1 hour at room temperature under vacuum.

The reason why the heating (2) is performed under vacuum (under reduced pressure) while the heating is performed under atmospheric pressure is as follows. Since the adhesive layer is mainly for joining the substrate 1 and the top plate 5, even if there are some bubbles in the resin, it does not matter much. On the other hand, the cold-setting resin 8 of (3)
Is directly in contact with the solid layer 2 which will later become a fine ink flow path, and if there is a bubble there is a risk that the shape of the ink flow path will change or a plurality of discharge ports will be connected. Therefore, the defoaming process is performed under vacuum. Here, it may be performed under vacuum from the stage of the resin application step.

Note that the process of FIG.
Although it has been described that the process is performed after the processes of (1) and (2), the process may be performed before the process of FIGS. 2A and 2B or concurrently.

FIG. 2 (4): The substrate 1 and the top plate 5 were joined with the top plate 5 facing down. Since the resin is in a pre-cured state, the two are joined under relatively light pressure. Here, the common ink chamber 10 is not filled with resin, but if resin enters, it may be cut to reach the solid layer 2 as shown in FIG. 7 (5). Thereafter, a main curing treatment was performed at 30 ° C. for 24 hours and then at 120 ° C. for 1 hour.

FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view showing an ink jet recording head during manufacture corresponding to this step. FIG.
In (a), three pairs (a total of six) of heads are formed on one substrate 1. FIG. 2D is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the dashed line AA ′ in FIG.

FIG. 2 (5): The center of the row of electrothermal transducers 14 is cut with a diamond saw having a blade width of 1 mm (along the dashed line BB ′ in FIG. Separated to the head. Note that several beams (not shown) are provided at the supply port 4 portion of the top plate 5. That is, the strength of the top plate 5 is maintained because the top plate 5 is not completely separated from the front and rear of the common ink chamber 10. FIG. 3 shows an ink jet recording head being manufactured corresponding to this process.
It is shown in a schematic perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 2 (6): Ethyl cellosolve was sprayed from above the top plate 5 to remove the solid layer 2, and the ink passage communicating with the discharge port 9 was opened.

FIG. 2 (7): The lid plate 13 was bonded on the top plate 5. Next, the ink supply members 15 and 15a are supplied to the supply ports 4 located at both ends of the common ink chamber 10 of the head.
Was attached. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the ink jet recording head manufactured according to the present embodiment as viewed from the direction of arrow B.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a manufacturing process of an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The main differences from the first embodiment are that the thickness of the top plate 5 is partially different in this embodiment and that no resin is applied to the substrate 1 side. As in this embodiment, if a portion corresponding to the plurality of ink flow paths is thinner than the other portions as the top plate, a so-called space for forming a space for filling a material to be a wall member of the ink passage is formed. This is preferable because the number of spacers can be reduced.

FIG. 5A: FIG. 2A in the first embodiment
Is almost the same as

FIG. 5 (2): As the top plate 5, an aluminum plate partially subjected to an ink-resistant treatment having a different thickness was used. The outer thickness h1 of the top plate 5 was 2 mm, and the difference h2 between the outer and inner thicknesses was 0.1 mm. First, a room temperature curable resin 8 (the same material as that applied to the top plate 5 in Example 1) was applied to the center portion (2.0 mm in width) of the top plate 5 under the same conditions as in Example 1. Next, the same cold-setting resin 8 as before was applied to both sides of the top plate at a discharge pressure of 0.2 kg / cm ² . On both sides, unlike the central part, a thin resin may be applied.

FIGS. 5 (3)-(6): This is almost the same as FIGS. 2 (4)-(7) in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a manufacturing process of an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The main difference from the second embodiment is that there is no hole in the upper part of the top plate 5 in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6A: FIG. 5A in the second embodiment.
Is almost the same as

FIG. 6 (2): As the top plate 5, an aluminum plate which has been subjected to an ink-resistant treatment without a hole at the top is used. h
The numerical values of 1, h2, other manufacturing conditions, and the like are almost the same as those in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 (3): FIG. 5 (3) in Embodiment 2
Is almost the same as

FIG. 6 (4): FIG. 5 (4) in the second embodiment
Is almost the same as In this embodiment, since there is no hole in the upper part of the top plate 5, the strength is more effective than that of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 (5): Since there is no hole in the upper part of the top plate 5, the removing liquid is sprayed from the side of the head (from the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) to remove the solid layer 2 and open the ink passage. I let it. As described above, in this embodiment, since the top plate having no hole at the top is used, it is not necessary to newly attach a lid plate.

(Embodiment 4) FIGS. 7 (1) to 7 (7) are schematic sectional views showing the steps of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 7A: FIG. 6A in the third embodiment.
Is almost the same as

FIG. 7 (2): As the top plate 5, a 2 mm-thick aluminum plate having a supply port 4 and not subjected to an ink-resistant treatment was used. With the top plate 5 facing upward, the room temperature curable resin 8 was applied to both sides (1.2 mm width) from a dispenser 8b. This room temperature curable resin 8 is manufactured by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd. "Epicoat 828" (100 parts by weight) and Fuji Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd. "Fuji Cure-601".
0 "(50 parts by weight). This was applied using a G21 needle at a discharge pressure of 2.0 kg / cm ² , an application speed of 30 mm / sec, and a distance between the top plate and the needle of 0.1 mm. The cold-setting resin 8 is maintained in a convex shape at the end of the top plate by surface tension. This was heated in an oven at 75 ° C. for 1 hour to obtain a semi-cured state.

FIG. 7 (3): The substrate 1 and the top plate 5 were joined with the top plate 5 facing down. Since the resin is in a semi-cured state, the two are joined under relatively light pressure. As a result, the thickness is about 1
A resin layer of 00 μm was formed.

FIG. 7D: The same room temperature curable resin 8 as described above was filled in from the ink supply port 4 and cured. Details were performed in the following procedure. First, the resin was filled up to below the top plate 5. Subsequently, vacuum defoaming treatment was performed at room temperature for 1 hour. Subsequently, at 30 ° C. for 24 hours, then at 120 ° C.
C. for 1 hour to bring the resin into a fully cured state. Next, the resin was filled up to the upper portion of the supply port 4 and heated at 60 ° C. for 6 hours to bring the resin into a semi-cured state. The reason why the main hardened state is not suddenly set is to prevent the substrate from warping due to hardening shrinkage.

FIG. 7 (5): The resin 8 in the vicinity of the supply port 4 is applied to the solid layer 2 by a diamond saw narrower than the supply port 4.
To form an ink chamber 10. As a result, the resin covering the side surface of the top plate 5 functions as an ink-resistant layer. Next, heating was performed at 120 ° C. for 1 hour, and the resin that was in a semi-cured state in the previous step was fully cured. Here, 1
Even when heated at 20 ° C., the substrate does not warp because the amount of the main curing resin is relatively small.

FIG. 7 (6): The center of the row of electrothermal transducers 14 was cut with a diamond saw and separated into two heads.

FIG. 7 (7): Ethyl cellosolve was sprayed from above the top plate 5 to remove the solid layer 2 and open the ink passage.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing a manufacturing process of an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The main difference from the fourth embodiment is that in the present embodiment, the resin applied to the top plate and the resin to be filled are different. Desirably, the former resin has a relatively high viscosity to form voids, and the latter resin has a relatively low viscosity in order to have high ink resistance and to be able to spread to fine parts.

In this embodiment, the same resin 8 as the cold-setting resin used in Embodiment 4 was used as the filling resin.
As the coating resin, a resin 8a was used which was further thickened by further mixing a filler at 30% by weight with respect to the same room temperature curable resin.

[0043]

As described above, in the present invention, since the uncured material to be the wall member of the ink passage is provided on the top plate, the joining strength between the wall member and the top plate is high, and the strength and durability are excellent. Ink jet recording head can be manufactured. In addition, since the uncured material serving as the wall member of the ink passage is held at the side end of the top plate using surface tension, a wall member of the ink passage having a desired relatively large thickness is desired. Can be easily formed at the position of As in this embodiment, if a portion corresponding to the plurality of ink flow paths is thinner than the other portions as the top plate, a so-called space for forming a space for filling a material to be a wall member of the ink passage is formed. This is preferable because the number of spacers can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a conventional example of a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows the process in order from (1).

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the inkjet recording head during manufacture, corresponding to a part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing an ink jet recording head manufactured by the manufacturing method of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows the process in order from (1).

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and shows the process in order from (1).

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the ink jet recording head according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and shows the process in order from (1).

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, and shows the process in order from (1).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Solid layer 4 Supply port 5 Top plate 8 Room temperature curable resin 8a Room temperature curable resin 8b Dispenser 9 Discharge port 10 Common ink chamber 13 Cover plate 14 Electrothermal converter 15, 15a Ink supply member

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A solid layer on a portion of a substrate corresponding to an ink passage in which an energy generator communicating with a discharge port for discharging ink and generating energy used for discharging ink from the discharge port is disposed. A solid layer arranging step of providing the material in a pattern shape in a pattern, and a material in an uncured state to be a wall member of the ink passage is held on a top plate by using surface tension at a side end portion of the top plate. A wall member disposing step to be provided; a proximity step of bringing the substrate and the top plate close to each other so that the material in the uncured state covers the solid layer; and removing the solid layer to form the ink passage. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, comprising: a solid layer removing step. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the top plate faces upward in the solid layer disposing step, and the top plate faces downward in the proximity step. 3. In the wall member disposing step, after the material in the uncured state is provided on the top plate, the material in the uncured state is brought into a semi-cured state by performing a heat treatment. 3. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to item 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the step of disposing the wall member, the uncured material is provided on the top plate and then left under reduced pressure. 5. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, further comprising a main curing step of main curing the material in a pre-cured state between the proximity step and the solid layer removing step. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a cutting process is performed between the main curing step and the solid layer removing step to obtain a plurality of ink jet recording heads. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of disposing the solid layer and the step of disposing the wall member are performed in this order. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of disposing the wall member is performed before the step of disposing the solid layer. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of disposing the solid layer and the step of disposing the wall member are performed in parallel. 10. The ink path includes a plurality of ink flow paths in which the energy generators are arranged, and a common ink chamber for storing ink supplied to the plurality of ink flow paths. 2. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to item 1. 11. A portion of the top plate corresponding to the plurality of ink flow paths is made thinner than other portions, and the material before curing is provided on a thin portion of the top plate in the wall member disposing step. A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 10. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the common ink chamber is formed by a cutting process. 13. An ink jet recording head manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1.