JPS62151345A - Liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a high-speed recording and to facilitate a liquid discharge control, by a method wherein, a plurality of liquid passages are accumulated parallel to each other, the liquid in the liquid passages are applied with a magnetic field, and each of a plurality of the liquid passages is provided with a pair of electrodes which apply an electric field to the liquid. CONSTITUTION:An upper cover member 103 is bonded on a nozzle forming member 104 to form nozzles 118, and orifice faces 108 are so formed as to face a recording medium. Ink is supplied to each of the nozzles 118 from ink supply portions 107. Using a conductive ink, electrodes 105, 106 are disposed on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the nozzles 118 formed in the magnetic field of a magnet 101 as apart from each other as possible, which results in an electric current of large effective component to the magnetic field. Thus, this construction facilitates accumulation and enables a high-speed recording.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting device, and more particularly to a liquid ejecting device suitable for use in a printer section of an inkjet printer or a facsimile printer.

[Prior Art] Non-impact recording methods have recently attracted particular attention because they generate negligible noise during recording compared to impact recording methods. Among these, the so-called inkjet recording method, which allows recording on plain paper without the need for special fixing treatment, is an extremely effective recording method, and various methods have been devised and improved in recent years. , are rapidly being put into practical use.

In this inkjet recording method, recording is performed by ejecting droplets of temporary recording material called ink using various energy application methods, and making the droplets adhere to a recording medium such as paper. be.

As a method of applying energy to form or fly such small droplets, for example, an electrode is placed near the orifice where ink is ejected, an electric field is generated, and the electric field is applied to the ink to generate an electrostatic effect. There is a so-called electric field control method in which small droplets of ink are ejected from an ejection port to fly. In addition, continuous vibration is applied to the ink to generate droplets, and the charge amount control is performed by controlling the charge of the droplets according to an external signal and making them fly between the deflection electrodes where a uniform field is applied for recording. There is a method. Furthermore, there is also a so-called atomization control method in which an electric field is generated between a nozzle and a charging electrode, and the electric field intensity is appropriately modulated according to a recording signal or the like to control the atomization state of droplets. In addition, there is also a so-called on-demand piezo vibration method, in which an electromechanical transducer (piezo vibration element) is placed near the ejection port, and small droplets are ejected by applying the mechanical vibration of the piezo vibration element to the ink according to an external signal. .

Among these, the atomization control method has an excellent feature in reproducing gradation images. On the other hand, to reproduce gradation images using other methods, it is necessary to change the number of ink droplets per unit area or change the droplet diameter, but the former method increases the recording time. The reality is that the latter method still does not provide sufficient gradation.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] The applicant of the present invention has considered these points and has
No. 44973, when the ink is energized and a magnetic field crossing the energizing current is applied to the ink, the ink is ejected from the passage (nozzle) according to the force applied to the ink to form ink droplets, In addition, when forming ink droplets, the amount of ink ejected is calculated from the detected value of the ink's vertical movement speed, and the comparison output obtained by comparing this calculated value with the value of the recording signal is used to determine the strength of the current or magnetic field. The present invention discloses a droplet forming device that forms ink droplets while controlling the amount of ink ejected.

The invention of JP-A No. 56-144973 enables variable liquid rts formation according to the recording signal using a simple control method, and widens the displacement width of the droplet.
This is always effective for halftone recording and multicolor recording.

On the other hand, in order to process a large amount of information in a short time, there is a strong demand for faster recording devices. In order to achieve high-speed processing of information in an inkjet recording device that records by ejecting ink, it is necessary to improve the frequency characteristics of each head or to integrate multiple heads to perform recording over a wide range. However, since there is a natural limit to the frequency characteristics of the head, it is desirable to integrate a plurality of heads in order to achieve a significant increase in speed.

In recent years, with the advancement of electronic technology, there are more opportunities to output images in color, and it is becoming increasingly common to obtain image output in a software manner by displaying images using color monitors. There is. On the other hand, it is difficult to create an inexpensive liquid ejecting device that can perform high-speed recording, freely express gradation, and record high-quality images, so color hard copies are becoming more difficult to achieve. It cannot be said that obtaining an image, that is, recording a multicolor image using a printer, is widely used.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention solves the problems and provides a liquid ejection device that is inexpensive and capable of high-speed recording by facilitating integration, and also allows for free and easy gradation expression. The purpose is to provide

Therefore, in the present invention, a liquid discharge member in which a plurality of liquid passages are integrated in parallel, a magnetic field generating means for applying a magnetic field to the liquid in the liquid passage, and a magnetic field generating means disposed in each of the plurality of liquid passages,
A means for applying an electric field to a liquid, comprising a pair of electrodes arranged not to face each other over the entire surface so that the electric field has a component perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid ejection member includes a first member provided with a plurality of grooves, and a second member that is bonded to the first member and covers the plurality of grooves when bonded to form a plurality of liquid passages. and the magnetic field generating means has a magnetic field arranged to apply a magnetic field in a direction that does not intersect the partition wall separating the liquid passages, and the pair of electrodes of the means arranged in each of the plurality of liquid passages. is arranged so as not to directly oppose the lower surface portion of the groove provided in the first member and the portion on the second member forming one liquid passage corresponding to the groove.

[Operation] That is, according to the present invention, the configuration or manufacturing process can be simplified due to the integration of the discharge member and the means,
Thus, it is possible to realize a liquid ejecting apparatus that can perform high-speed recording and also easily control the amount of liquid ejected.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, 101 is a permanent magnet, and its magnetic field is always acting in the direction indicated by an arrow 102 from top to bottom in the figure. Reference numeral 103 designates a plate-shaped upper lid member for constructing an integrated nozzle (multi-nozzle) of the liquid ejecting device, and the electrode 106 is patterned (see FIG. 2).

Reference numeral 104 denotes a member that forms a nozzle. For example, a groove is formed by cutting glass or the like, and a nozzle 118 is formed when the upper cover is joined to the groove. Further, an electrode 105 is formed on the nozzle forming member 104 so as to face the upper lid.

An ink supply section 107 communicates with an ink storage section (not shown) via a pipe or the like, and supplies ink to each nozzle 118 through a common liquid chamber. 108 is an orifice surface facing the recording medium.

In this example, a conductive ink in which electrolytic IT is dissolved in a normal ink liquid is used. 10'? l is the electrode 106 and 105. This figure shows the predicted current distribution in the ink when a current is passed between the ink and the ink.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the upper lid 103, where 201 is a substrate portion. Reference numeral 202 denotes an electrode portion connected to a signal line from the outside, that is, a recording signal supply source. A portion 203 is made of an insulating material, and insulates the conductor portions 205 from each other. The electrode 106 has an insulating layer portion 205 in its vicinity.
By not providing the ink, the ink is kept in direct contact with the ink.

FIGS. 3(A) and CB) show the - of the nozzle forming member 104.
A configuration example is shown. Here, 301 is a substrate part, and a groove 320 constituting the nozzle is formed by, for example, removing the nozzle partition wall 311 and the side wall 305 and performing a cutting process. The rear wall 312 can be finally attached by gluing or the like. 302 and 310 are conductive layer portions, and these conductive layer portions and the electrode 105 are formed by lithography or the like. A quiet layer 306 is formed over a portion from the vicinity of the electrode 105 to a portion where the back wall 312 is provided.

The formation of this insulating layer can also be performed using a known lamination lithography technique.

After forming the insulating layer, the back wall 312 is attached by adhesive or the like. Note that 307 is an ink supply hole for receiving ink into the liquid chamber.

FIGS. 4A and 4B explain that the Lorentz force acts according to Fleming's left-hand rule and conductive ink is ejected. Although it is preferable to arrange the electrodes parallel to the magnetic field so that the current component is perpendicular to the magnetic field, specifically on the sides of the groove 320, in this example, the multi-nozzle manufacturing process In consideration of simplicity, the top and bottom surfaces of the nozzle are shifted so that they do not directly oppose each other. 1uo6 and 105 were arranged. At this time, the electric field 109 can be decomposed into two components ix and iy, but the effective component i for the magnetic field (8) is
By arranging the electrodes as far apart as possible within the nozzle to increase x, a large ejection force f can be obtained and ejection efficiency increases.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of a drive circuit of a liquid ejecting device according to this example. Here, 501 is a power supply, 504 is a conductive ink, and 505 is a driver circuit. According to such a drive circuit, when the drive voltage signal 506 is manually applied, the ink layer 50
4, and ink is ejected according to the principle described in FIGS. 4(A) and CB). Control of discharge amount is
For example, this can be done by controlling the energization time width, that is, the signal width of the signal 506. For example, by making the time width longer, the amount of ink ejected can be increased, and by making the time width shorter, the amount of ink ejected can be decreased, so that gradation can be expressed more freely.

In this way, according to this example, electrodes are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the multi-nozzle head that uses conductive ink and is placed in a magnetic field, and the electrodes are arranged as far apart as possible. Since the effective component of the current with respect to the magnetic field is increased, it is possible to use multiple nozzles, and the ejection amount can be easily controlled.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a droplet forming device that is inexpensive and capable of high-speed recording by facilitating integration, and can also freely and easily express gradations. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of the liquid ejecting device of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the top lid member in the device shown in FIG. 3(A) and (B) are respectively a plan view and a front view showing one configuration example of a nozzle forming member in the apparatus shown in the first drawing, and FIGS. 4(A) and (B) are the apparatus shown in the first drawing. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of a drive circuit for driving the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101... Magnet, 102... Magnetic field, 103... Upper lid member, 104... Nozzle forming member, 105, 106... Electrode, 109... Electric field, 205.30 [i... Insulation Layer, 305... Side wall, 311... Nozzle partition, 501... Electron source, 504... Conductive ink, 505... Driver circuit, 506... Drive signal. ward ward-cause sakuge＜= ζ−＼−

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) a liquid discharge member in which a plurality of liquid passages are integrated in parallel; a magnetic field generating means for applying a magnetic field to the liquid in the liquid passage; and a magnetic field generating means disposed in each of the plurality of liquid passages, A means for applying an electric field to a liquid, characterized by comprising a pair of electrodes arranged not facing each other over the entire surface so that the electric field has a component perpendicular to the magnetic field. Liquid discharge device. 2) In the liquid ejection device according to claim 1, the liquid ejection member includes a first member provided with a plurality of grooves, and the liquid ejection member is bonded to the first member and covers the plurality of grooves at the time of bonding. a second member forming a plurality of liquid passages; the magnetic field generating means includes a magnet disposed to apply a magnetic field in a direction that does not intersect a partition wall separating the liquid passages; The pair of electrodes of the means arranged in each of the first member and the lower surface of the groove provided in the first member and the part on the second member forming one liquid passage corresponding to the groove. A liquid ejecting device characterized in that the device is arranged so as not to directly face the two. 3) In the droplet ejection device according to claim 1 or 2, the magnet is a permanent magnet, and the amount of liquid ejected is controlled by controlling the energization time between the pair of electrodes. A liquid ejecting device characterized in that: