Patent Grant
11453213
This disclosure relates to a driving method of a liquid feeding apparatus.
With the advance of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques (micromachining techniques) in recent years, there have been proposed liquid feeding apparatuses designed to feed a liquid in the order of micrometers.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-183494 discloses a micropump that utilizes an action of a fluid as a valve mechanism instead of using a mechanical valve structure while taking advantage of a characteristic of flow channel resistance that the flow channel resistance changes non-linearly with respect to a flow velocity. According to the micropump disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-183494, it is possible to feed a liquid in the order of micrometers with a simple and small configuration that uses a small number of components. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-183494 discloses a driving method in which a piezoelectric element in a membrane shape is used as a driving source, and the piezoelectric element is caused to function as a pump by changing a voltage applied to the piezoelectric element asymmetrically with respect to time.
Meanwhile, International Publication No. WO2013/032471 discloses an inkjet head using a piezoelectric element in a membrane shape. International Publication No. WO2013/032471 describes a driving method of a piezoelectric element aiming at ejecting liquid droplets and a driving method of a piezoelectric element aiming at circulating an ink in a liquid chamber.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving method of a liquid feeding apparatus including a liquid chamber configured to store a liquid, and a driving element provided in the liquid chamber and configured to circulate a liquid stored in the liquid chamber to an external unit by expanding and contracting a capacity of the liquid chamber along with application of a voltage, the method comprising: controlling the voltage applied to the driving element in such a way as to repeat a first period in which the voltage is changed from a first voltage to a second voltage and a second period which is a longer period than the first period and in which the voltage is changed from the second voltage to the first voltage; and controlling the voltage applied to the driving element such that an inflection point is provided to each predetermined interval during the first period based on a Helmholtz vibration period unique to the liquid feeding apparatus.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection head comprising: a pressure chamber communicating with an ejection port and configured to store a liquid to be ejected from the ejection port; an energy generation element provided in the pressure chamber and configured to generate energy to be used to eject the liquid from the ejection port; a supply flow channel configured to supply the liquid to the pressure chamber; a collection flow channel configured to collect the liquid from the pressure chamber; a liquid feeding chamber connected to the collection flow channel; a connection flow channel connecting the liquid feeding chamber to the supply flow channel; a driving element configured to circulate the liquid in the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, the collection flow channel, the liquid feeding chamber, and the connection flow channel by expanding and contracting a capacity of the liquid feeding chamber; and a control unit configured to control a voltage applied to the driving element, wherein the control unit controls the voltage applied to the driving element in such a way as to repeat a first period in which the voltage is changed from a first voltage to a second voltage and a second period which is a longer period than the first period and in which the voltage is changed from the second voltage to the first voltage, and the control unit controls the voltage applied to the driving element such that an inflection point is provided to each predetermined interval during the first period based on a Helmholtz vibration period unique to circulation flow channels including the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, the collection flow channel, the liquid feeding chamber, and the connection flow channel.
Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The liquid feeding apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-183494 and International Publication No. WO2013/032471 constantly move a liquid by repeating an operation to suddenly expand a capacity of a liquid feeding chamber and an operation to gradually contract the capacity while displacing the piezoelectric element (the actuator) in the membrane shape. However, according to the above-mentioned configurations, there may be a case where occurrence of residual vibration at a Helmholtz frequency unique to each liquid feeding apparatus causes individual vibration to overlap a change in capacity at the time of gradual contraction, thus resulting in a loss in liquid feeding amount. Here, if the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber is smaller and the liquid feeding amount becomes less, the aforementioned loss in liquid feeding amount has a larger impact on liquid feeding efficiency which is not negligible.
This disclosure has been made to solve the aforementioned problem, and an object thereof is to provide a driving method of a liquid feeding apparatus adopting a piezoelectric element having a membrane shape, which enables the apparatus to feed a liquid at high liquid feeding efficiency.
An actuator 104 of a membrane structure is provided as a driving element on a wall surface of the liquid feeding chamber 101. The actuator 104 includes a thin-film piezoelectric body 107 and a vibration plate 108. A wire (not shown) for supplying electric power and a wire (not shown) for providing a common potential (GND) are connected to the thin-film piezoelectric body 107. In the case where a voltage is applied to the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 through these wires, the vibration plate 108 is displaced in ±Z directions. Although AC is applied to the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 in a state of applying DC-BIAS in advance, only the AC waveforms will be illustrated below while disregarding the DC-BIAS for the purpose of simplifying the explanations.
Specific dimensions of the above-mentioned structure will be described below. In the liquid feeding apparatus of this embodiment, the dimensions of the liquid feeding chamber 101 are set to about 250 μm in X direction×about 120 μm in Y direction×about 250 μm in Z direction. The dimensions of the first connection flow channel 103 are set to about 200 μm in the X direction×about 25 μm in the Y direction×about 25 μm in the Z direction. The dimensions of the second connection flow channel 102 are set to about 25 μm in the X direction×about 15 μm in the Y direction×about 25 μm in the Z direction.
The above-described liquid feeding apparatus can be formed by using general-purpose MEMS techniques. For example, the liquid feeding apparatus can be formed by subjecting a Si substrate to any of vacuum plasma etching and anisotropic etching with an alkaline solution, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the liquid feeding apparatus may be formed by providing flow channels inclusive of the liquid feeding chamber 101 and the actuator 104 separately on different Si substrates and then attaching the flow channels to the actuator 104 by means of bonding or adhesion.
A unimorph piezoelectric actuator is used as the actuator 104. The unimorph piezoelectric actuator has a configuration in which the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 is formed on one surface side of the vibration plate 108. This actuator 104 can be formed by attaching the vibration plate 108 so as to block an opening of the liquid feeding chamber 101 and further attaching the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 to a surface thereof.
The material of the vibration plate 108 is not limited to a particular material as long as required conditions such as mechanical performances and reliability are satisfied. For example, materials such as a silicon nitride film, silicon, metals, and heat-resistant glass can be favorably used.
The thin-film piezoelectric body 107 can be deposited by using such a method as vacuum sputtering deposition, sol-gel deposition, and CVD deposition. In many cases, the deposited film is subjected to firing. While the firing method is not limited, it is possible to use a lamp-anneal heating method designed to perform firing around 650° C. at the maximum under an oxygen atmosphere, for instance. Meanwhile, in light of consistency with a process flow, the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 may be directly deposited on the vibration plate 108 and then integrally fired, or may be deposited on a different substrate from the vibration plate 108 and then released and transferred onto the vibration plate 108 after firing. Alternatively, the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 may be deposited on a different substrate from the vibration plate 108 and then subjected to integral firing after the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 is released and transferred onto the vibration plate 108.
As for the electrodes, it is preferable to select a Pt-based material in the case where the electrodes are supposed to undergo the firing process. However, an Al-based material can be selected if it is possible to segregate the firing process. In this embodiment, a PZT-based piezoelectric material is used for the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 as a material that renders the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 displaceable in a highly linear state, that is, in a highly responsive manner to the applied voltage.
In this embodiment, an SOI substrate in a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm is used as the vibration plate 108. A Ti/Pt/PZT layer in a thickness of about 1 to 3 μm is formed on a surface in the −Z direction of the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 as an electrode opposed to the vibration plate 108. Meanwhile, a Ti-based alloy layer is formed on a surface in the +Z direction of the thin-film piezoelectric body 107. This surface is coated with a SiN-based protection film serving as an outermost layer exposed to the atmosphere, thus sealing the entire actuator 104.
Then, the liquid feeding apparatus and a relay board for transferring the signal wire to the liquid feeding apparatus are attached to a not-illustrated holding frame, and the liquid feeding apparatus and the relay board are electrically coupled by wire bonding. Furthermore, manifolds serving as an inlet port and an outlet port for the liquid are connected to the first flow channel 105 and the second flow channel 106 and fixed thereto with an adhesive. Thus, formation of the liquid feeding apparatus is finished.
Next, a description will be given of a measurement method used in the case where the inventors of this disclosure actually conducted the liquid feeding by using the liquid feeding apparatus. The inventors adopted particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) generally known as a method of flow evaluation. The liquid for feeding was prepared by mixing purified water tailored to a clean room with glycerin for adjusting viscosity and with 1.2-hexanediol for adjusting surface tension such that the mixture had the viscosity of about 3 cps and the surface tension of about 30 mN/m. Tracer particles having diameters in a range from about 1 to 3 μm were mixed into the liquid thus prepared and the mixture was agitated for a while. After removing unnecessary bubbles by using a decompression apparatus, the liquid was put into the liquid feeding apparatus through a tube. In this instance, all liquid chambers inclusive of the liquid feeding chamber 101 and all flow channels were filled with the liquid not only by making use of a difference in hydraulic head pressure between a supply side and a discharge side but also by conducting an operation to forcibly suction the liquid from the discharge side.
The actuator 104 was continuously driven while repeatedly applying a unit waveform voltage at a period of 50 μsec. The unit waveform was generated by using an arbitrary waveform generation apparatus. The waveform thus generated was amplified with a bipolar high-speed AMP, and was supplied to the thin-film piezoelectric body 107 through the wires while causing the waveform to overlap the BIAS voltage.
The flow thus generated was measured by observing the tracer particles in the liquid under a microscope mounting a high-speed camera. A trigger of a driving signal for the actuator 104 was taken in as a start signal for the high-speed camera, and images of the tracer particles were shot before and after the driving. To be more precise, the image shooting was started 1 msec before the trigger signal. Coordinates of the tracer particles in the respective images corresponding to time points were analyzed and flow velocities and other data were obtained by using amounts of movement of the tracer particles per unit time.
Displacement rates of the vibration plate 108 were measured with a laser Doppler displacement meter and a change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 101 was calculated by integrating the obtained rates.
The voltage in the comparative example takes on a triangular voltage waveform that has heretofore been used in general. The voltage is increased from 0 V to 30 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t=0.0 μsec to time t=2.5 μsec. Then, the voltage is decreased from 30 V to 0 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t=2.5 μsec to time t=50.0 μsec. Thereafter, the aforementioned increase and decrease in voltage are repeated at a cycle of 50.0 μsec.
Meanwhile, in the first embodiment, the voltage is increased from 0 V to 25 V at the same gradient as that of the comparative example during a period from time t=0.0 μsec to time t≈2.1 μsec, and is maintained at 25 V during a period from time t≈2.1 μsec to time t≈5.0 μsec. Then, the voltage is increased from 25 V to 30 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t≈5.0 μsec to time t≈5.4 μsec, and is further decreased from 30 V to 0 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t≈5.4 μsec to time t=50.0 μsec. Thereafter, the aforementioned increase and decrease in voltage are repeated at a cycle of 50.0 μsec.
In each of the comparative example and the first embodiment, the voltage is increased in a relatively short period and is decreased in a relatively long period. As a consequence, the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 101 repeats sudden expansion and gradual contraction. Hence, repetition of the sudden expansion and the gradual contraction generates a constant flow heading in a definite direction.
Now, a mechanism for generating the constant flow in the liquid feeding chamber 101 will be briefly explained. In the case where the liquid feeding chamber 101 is suddenly expanded, a vortex is generated under a high flow velocity on the second connection flow channel 102 side where the flow channel resistance is low, and this vortex blocks the liquid that is likely to flow from the second flow channel 106 into the liquid feeding chamber 101. On the other hand, in the case where the liquid feeding chamber 101 is gradually contracted, no vortex is generated under a low flow velocity and the liquid slowly flows out of the liquid feeding chamber 101 to the second flow channel 106. In the meantime, on the first connection flow channel 103 side where the flow channel resistance is high, the liquid can flow into or out of the liquid feeding chamber 101 irrespective of the rate of expansion or contraction of the liquid feeding chamber 101. In other words, the constant flow in the X direction in
In the comparative example and in the first embodiment as well, a period of the residual vibration of the amount of change in capacity is about 8.0 μsec, which represents that a primary period Th of the Helmholtz vibration being unique to the liquid feeding apparatus used in this embodiment is about 8.0 μsec and its Helmholtz frequency is therefore about 125 kHz. Now, if the above-mentioned residual vibration overlaps the change in capacity at the time of gradual contraction, the liquid feeding amount is impaired as a consequence.
Nonetheless, a comparison between the comparative example and the first embodiment reveals that the amplitude in the first embodiment is kept lower than that in the comparative example presumably due to the following reason. Specifically, if a period for retaining the voltage at a constant value (or for reducing the gradient of the rise in voltage) is set up within the “expansion driving” period as in the first embodiment, such a change in gradient of the voltage possibly acts on the amplitude of the residual vibration in a diminishing manner. According to the observation by the inventors, the liquid feeding amount per period was about 0.7 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 4.5% in the comparative example, whereas the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.1 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 7.2% in the first embodiment. In other words, the first embodiment achieves the liquid feeding efficiency about 1.6 times as high as that of the comparative example.
A process of seeking out the voltage waveform in
A relation between the voltage and the displacement of the vibration plate 108 in the case of applying the voltage to the actuator 104 that receives a load from the fluid was associated by using a commercially available structure simulator (response characteristics of a vibration plate portion). Meanwhile, a relation between the displacement of the vibration plate 108 and the flow field generated by the displacement was associated by using a commercially available fluid simulator (flow characteristics). Moreover, “how the vibration plate 108 should be displaced in order to realize an ideal flow field” was sought while adjusting displacement information to be inputted to the commercially available fluid simulator. Furthermore, a “voltage waveform for realizing the obtained displacement” was sought by performing back calculation with the commercially available structure simulator.
To be more precise, in a submillimeter-sized structure, a slight phase difference attributed to a compression property of the fluid is developed between the displacement of the vibration plate 108 and the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 101. However, this phase difference does not have a large impact in light of the gist of this disclosure. Accordingly, this disclosure is based on the assumption that a linear relation is maintained between the displacement of the vibration plate 108 and the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber.
As described previously, the Helmholtz frequency Fh is set to Fh=125 kHz and the Helmholtz period Th is set to Th=8.0 μsec in the system shown in
In short, if any of the waveform voltages indicated with the solid lines in
With that in mind, the inventors have sought any factors possibly effective for suppressing the residual vibration out of characteristics common to the waveforms shown in
In the case where the voltage is increased during a Th×¼ period from the start of driving in the system having the Helmholtz vibration period Th, a restoring force is generated in a direction to contract the capacity during the subsequent Th×¼ period. Specifically, a force that acts on the actuator 104 is switched from a force in a direction to expand the liquid feeding chamber 101 to a force in a direction to contract the liquid feeding chamber 101 whereby a movement of the vibration plate 108 is switched from a movement to project downward to a movement to project upward. Accordingly, it is thought that restorative vibration can be effectively suppressed by applying the force in the opposite direction to each movement at the aforementioned switch timing (namely, at the time of each inflection point).
If the above-mentioned hypothesis is true, then the effect to suppress the restorative vibration can be expected even by using a simpler voltage waveform. To be more precise, in a rising period to increase the voltage to a target voltage from the start of driving, it is only necessary to increase the voltage first from an initial voltage to a predetermined value and then to raise the voltage further to the target voltage by applying a voltage having an absolute value of a gradient smaller than an absolute value of a gradient at the start of driving.
In
Meanwhile, in
Next, a description will be given of allocation of a driving waveform period for the expansion driving and a driving waveform period for the contraction driving. The driving waveform period for the expansion driving needs to maintain a high flow velocity enough for achieving the fluid valve function. For this reason, the period for the expansion driving may be set as appropriate based on the target voltage value and the flow velocity that needs to be brought about. As for the driving waveform period for the contraction driving, there is no advantage to further slowing down the flow velocity of the liquid as long as a small-vibration and low-velocity flow is available. Such an excessive reduction in velocity will prolong a driving period and end up in deterioration in liquid feeding efficiency per unit time period on the contrary. On the other hand, if the driving waveform period for the contraction driving is too short relative to the driving waveform period for the expansion, the impact of the residual vibration developed at the time of expansion is increased at the time of contraction, thereby deteriorating the liquid feeding efficiency. In view of the above, it is preferable to set the driving waveform period for the contraction driving in a range from equal to or above 3 times to equal to or below 100 times of the driving waveform period for the expansion driving.
There is a case where a waveform having a steep gradient with a period of 1 μsec, for instance, is used as a waveform for rapid expansion driving. For example, in the case of performing repeated operations each in a 10-kHz cycle including a driving waveform of 1 μsec for the rapid expansion driving and a driving waveform of 99 μsec for the flow contraction driving, the driving waveform period for the contraction driving is 99 times as long as the driving waveform period for the expansion driving. It was confirmed that the rapid expansion driving would bring about an imperfect response but might result in improvement in liquid feeding efficiency in some cases. In this regard, it is preferable to take account of setting the driving waveform period for the contraction driving equal to or below 100 times as long as the driving waveform period for the expansion driving at the maximum. Moreover, as a result of studies conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the driving waveform period for the contraction driving was most preferably set about 10 times as long as the driving waveform period for the expansion driving within the aforementioned range.
For example, assuming that the period for the expansion driving is set to 4 μsec and the period for the contraction driving is set to 46 μsec in a state of fixing the driving period to 50 μsec, a ratio (period for contraction driving)/(period for expansion driving) turns out to be around 11.5, which satisfies the aforementioned condition.
Note that the Helmholtz period Th of the liquid feeding apparatus needs to be equal to or below 25 μsec in order to set the period for the contraction driving 3 times or more than the period for the expansion driving in the state of setting the driving period of the actuator 104 to 50 μsec as seen in this embodiment.
Here, with reference to
As described above, according to this embodiment, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from a reference voltage to the target voltage in a short time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the target voltage to the reference voltage in a long time. Then, during the period for increasing the voltage up to the target voltage, the voltage is first increased to the predetermined value lower than the target voltage and then the voltage is further increased to the target voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient lower than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of the driving. Even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole.
The liquid feeding apparatus described with reference to
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a “retention period” is defined in the “contraction driving” period. Specifically, in the second embodiment, the voltage is increased to the target voltage in the same manner as the first embodiment, then the target voltage is retained for a period from time t=5.4 μsec to 19.9 μsec, and then the voltage is decreased at a constant gradient and brought back to the original voltage at time t=50.0 μsec as shown in
It is apparent that the second embodiment also reduces the amplitude as compared to the comparative example indicated with the dashed line. Moreover, as compared to the amount of change in capacity of the first embodiment shown in
In comparison of
The above-mentioned threshold timing, that is, the liquid feeding efficiency can be adjusted by use of the length of the retention period. As a result of studies conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the liquid efficiency corresponding to the retention period had its maximum value and an appropriate range of the retention period would preferably be set about 1.0 times to 2.5 times as long as the Helmholtz period unique to the system. If the retention period is set more than 2.5 times of the unique period, the period for contraction comes close to the period for expansion, and the function to move the liquid to the predetermined direction by using the difference in flow velocity cannot be fully obtained. On the other hand, the retention period also has an impact on structural designs and voltage conditions of the liquid feeding apparatus. From this point of view, it is preferable to set the retention period in a range from about (¼−⅛)×Th to (10+⅛)×Th.
As a result of studies conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the flow velocity at the time of feeding the liquid in the second embodiment was about 1.8 times as fast as the flow velocity in the comparative example. Moreover, it was confirmed that the liquid feeding amount per period was about 0.7 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 4.5% in the comparative example whereas the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.3 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 8.5% in the second embodiment. This result means that the second embodiment can reduce the loss in the liquid feeding amount more than the comparative example and can improve the liquid feeding efficiency as the liquid feeding apparatus by about 1.9 times. Moreover, even in the case of using the same liquid feeding apparatus, the second embodiment further improves the liquid feeding efficiency as compared to the first embodiment.
However, the maximum voltage acceptable to the liquid feeding apparatus of this embodiment is 30 V. Accordingly, it is not possible to apply the voltage waveform having the similar shape to that in
As described above, according to this embodiment, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from the reference voltage to the target voltage in a short time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the target voltage to the reference voltage in a long time. Then, during the period for increasing the voltage up to the target voltage, the voltage is first increased to the predetermined value lower than the target voltage and then the voltage is further increased to the target voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient lower than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of the driving. In the meantime, during the period for decreasing the voltage, the target voltage is retained for some time and then the voltage is changed into the reference voltage at the constant gradient. Even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole.
The respective element boards 4 are connected to the same electric wiring board 1202 through flexible wiring boards 1201. The electric wiring board 1202 is equipped with power supply terminals 1203 for receiving electric power and signal input terminals 1204 for receiving ejection signals. Meanwhile, circulation flow channels for forwarding an ink containing a coloring material and being supplied from a not-illustrated ink tank to the respective element boards 4 and collecting the ink not used for printing are formed in an ink supply unit 1205.
In this configuration, the respective ejection elements arranged in the element boards 4 eject the ink supplied from the ink supply unit 1205 in the Z direction of
As shown in
As shown in
The ink in a stable state stored in the pressure chamber 3 forms a meniscus at the ejection port 2. In the case where a voltage pulse is applied to the energy generation element 1 in accordance with an ejection signal, the ink in contact with the energy generation element 1 causes film boiling, and the ink is ejected as a droplet in the Z direction from the ejection port 2 by using growth energy of a bubble thus generated. Assuming that the direction (which is the Z direction in this case) to eject the liquid from the ejection port 2 is a direction from below to above, the ink is ejected from below to above. In actual ink ejection, the ink may be ejected from above to below in the direction of gravitational force. In this case, an upper side with respect to the direction of gravitational force corresponds to “below” and a lower side with respect to the direction of gravitational force corresponds to “above.”
The ink in an amount equivalent to that consumed as a result of an ejecting operation is supplied anew to the pressure chamber 3 by means of capillary forces of the pressure chamber 3 and the ejection port 2, whereby the meniscus is formed again at the ejection port 2. Note that the combination of the ejection port 2, the energy generation element 1, and the pressure chamber 3 will be referred to as an ejection element in this embodiment.
As shown in
The pressure chamber 3 is prepared for each ejection element. The supply flow channel 5 and the collection flow channel 6 are prepared for four of the ejection elements in the block. Each supply flow channel 5 supplies the ink to four of the pressure chambers 3 in common while each collection flow channel 6 collects the ink from four of the pressure chambers 3 in common.
Each liquid feeding chamber 22 and each connection flow channel 7 are prepared for every eight ejection elements, that is, for each flow channel block. The liquid feeding chamber 22 is arranged at such a position that overlaps the eight energy generation elements 1 on the XY plane. The liquid feeding chamber 22 is equipped with the liquid feeding mechanism 8 that can change a capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 22. The liquid feeding mechanism 8 circulates the ink in the eight pressure chambers 3 in common. The connection flow channel 7 is disposed almost at the center of the flow channel block in the Y direction and connects the liquid feeding chamber 22 to the supply flow channel. A position of the supply flow channel to be connected to the connection flow channel 7 is a position located upstream of a point where the supply flow channel is branched into the two supply flow channels 5.
Based on the above-described configuration, the ink supplied through a supply port 15 can be circulated to the supply flow channels 5, the pressure chambers 3, the collection flow channels 6, the liquid feeding chamber 22, and the connection flow channel 7 in this order by appropriately driving the liquid feeding mechanism 8. This circulation is conducted stably irrespective of the presence or the frequency of the ejecting operation so that the fresh ink can be constantly supplied to the vicinity of each ejection port 2. Though not illustrated in the drawings, it is preferable to provide a filter in the middle of the supply flow channel 5 in front of each pressure chamber 3 so as to prevent foreign substances, bubbles, and the like from flowing in. A columnar structure or the like can be adopted as such a filter.
The element board 4 can be manufactured by forming the structures in the first substrate 12 and the second substrate 13 in advance, respectively, and then attaching the first substrate 12 and the second substrate 13 to each other while interposing the intermediate layer 14 that includes a groove at a location serving as the connection flow channel 7 later as shown in
Now, a specific example of dimensions in the above-described structures will be described below. In this embodiment, the respective ejection elements, namely, the energy generation elements 1, the ejection ports 2, and the pressure chambers 3 are arranged at a density of 1200 npi (nozzles per inch) in the Y direction. The size of each energy generation element 1 is set to 20 μm×20 μm. A diameter of each ejection port 2 is set to 18 μm. A thickness of the ejection port 2, namely, a thickness of the ejection port forming member 11 is set to 5 μm. The size of each pressure chamber 3 is set to 100 μm in the X direction (length)×37 μm in the Y direction (width)×5 μm in the Z direction (height). Incidentally, the ink used therein has a viscosity of 2 cps and an ink ejection amount from each ejection port is set to 2 pL.
In this embodiment, a driving frequency of each energy generation element 1 is set to 15 kHz. This driving frequency is set up based on a time period required for a sequence including application of a voltage to the energy generation element 1, actual ejection of the ink, and refilling of each ejection element with the new ink in order to enable the next ejecting operation.
Meanwhile, in the element board 4 of this embodiment, the size of the liquid feeding chamber 22 is set to 250 μm in the X direction×120 μm in the Y direction×250 μm in the Z direction. The size of the connection flow channel 7 is set to 25 μm in the X direction×25 μm in the Y direction×25 μm in the Z direction.
This embodiment is designed to satisfy the relations of dimensions described above so as to set flow channel resistance and inertance of the connection flow channel 7 lower than flow channel resistance and inertance of a flow channel including a combination of the supply flow channels 5, the collection flow channels 6, and the pressure chambers 3. Here, the “flow channel resistance and inertance of the flow channel including a combination of the supply flow channels 5, the collection flow channels 6, and the pressure chambers 3” represents an aggregate of a sum of respective parallel flow channel resistance values of the two supply flow channels 5, the eight pressure chambers 3, and the two collection flow channels 6 and a sum of respective serial flow channel resistance values thereof. Note that the above-mentioned values of the dimensions of the respective components constitute a mere example and may therefore be changed as appropriate depending on the specifications required therefrom.
The diaphragm 21 is made of Si or the like having a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm. The thin-film piezoelectric body 24 is a PZT piezoelectric thin film having the dimensions of about 220 μm in the X direction×90 μm in the Y direction×2 μm in the Z direction.
In the case where a voltage is applied to the thin-film piezoelectric body 24 through the two electrodes 23, the diaphragm 21 is deflected together with the thin-film piezoelectric body 24 and the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 22 is thus changed. In other words, it is possible to change the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 22 by displacing the diaphragm 21 in the ±Z directions while changing the voltage applied to the two electrodes 23.
In the inkjet printing head 1200, quality of the ink (the liquid) may be deteriorated at an ejection port not used for an ejecting operation for a while due to a progress in evaporation of a volatile component. Moreover, if the degrees of such evaporation vary among the ejection ports depending on ejection frequencies, amounts of ejection or directions of ejection may also vary whereby unevenness in density or streaks may be observed in a printed image. Given this situation, the inkjet printing head 1200 is required to achieve the high liquid feeding efficiency in order to supply the fresh ink constantly to the vicinity of each ejection port. Now, a description will be given below of liquid feeding control with the inkjet printing head 1200 of this embodiment.
The Helmholtz resonance frequency of each flow channel block of this embodiment is set to about 100 kHz. The actuator 8 is driven by using this resonance frequency in this embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment as well, the liquid feeding efficiency can be improved by suppressing the increase and decrease in capacity associated with the Helmholtz vibration during the gradual contraction. As a consequence, it is possible to circulate the ink at a suitable velocity to the supply flow channels 5, the pressure chambers 3, the collection flow channels 6, the liquid feeding chamber 22, and the connection flow channel 7, and thus to stably supply the fresh ink to the vicinity of the ejection ports 2. As a consequence of observation by the inventors, it was confirmed that the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.0 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 7.0% in the case of performing the above-described driving by use of the ink at the viscosity of 2 cps.
Moreover, it was also confirmed that even in the case where the period in which no ejecting operation takes place lasts for several seconds to several tens of seconds, the normal ejecting operation was stably carried out thereafter without causing any ejection failures during the ejecting operation.
On the other hand, in the case where the voltage control is performed under the comparative example indicated with the dashed line in
As described above, according to this embodiment, the inkjet printing head configured to eject the ink from the ejection ports is provided with the circulation flow channels for circulating a portion of the ink located in the vicinity of each ejection port and the actuator located in the circulation flow channels and configured to function as a circulation pump. Moreover, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from the reference voltage to the target voltage in a short time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the target voltage to the reference voltage in a long time. In this case, during the period for increasing the voltage up to the target voltage, the voltage is first increased to the predetermined value lower than the target voltage and then the voltage is further increased to the target voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient lower than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of the driving. In the meantime, during the period for decreasing the voltage, the target voltage is retained for some time and then the voltage is changed into the reference voltage at the constant gradient.
According to this embodiment, even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole. As a consequence, it is possible to supply the fresh ink constantly to each ejection port and to stabilize the state of ejection thereof.
Meanwhile, the flow channel block of this embodiment is not limited only to the mode shown in
Meanwhile,
In the meantime, in this embodiment, the electrothermal conversion element is used as the energy generation element 1, and the ink is ejected by using the growth energy of the bubble generated by causing the film boiling therein. However, this disclosure is not limited to the above-described ejecting method. For example, the energy generation element may adopt any of elements of various modes such as the piezoelectric actuator, an electrostatic actuator, a mechanical/impact-drive actuator, a voice coil actuator, and a magnetostriction-drive actuator.
Moreover, the full-line printing head having the configuration in which the element boards 4 are arranged in the Y direction over the length corresponding to the width of the A4 size has been described as the example with reference to
Next, the control for achieving the change in capacity shown in
The liquid feeding apparatus described with reference to
In
The voltage in the comparative example takes on the triangular voltage waveform that has heretofore been used in general. The voltage is increased from 0 V to 30 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t=0.0 μsec to time t=47.5 μsec. Then, the voltage is decreased from 30 V to 0 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t=47.5 μsec to time t=50.0 μsec. Thereafter, the aforementioned increase and decrease in voltage are repeated at a cycle of 50.0 μsec.
Meanwhile, in the fourth embodiment, the voltage is increased from 0 V to 30 V during a period from time t=2.9 μsec to time t≈47.5 μsec, and is decreased from 30 V to 5 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t≈47.5 μsec to time t≈49.6 μsec. Then, the voltage is maintained at 5 V during a period from time t≈49.6 μsec to time t≈52.5 μsec, and is decreased from 5 V to 0 V at a constant gradient during a period from time t≈52.5 μsec to time t≈52.9 μsec. Thereafter, the aforementioned increase and decrease in voltage are repeated at a cycle of 50.0 μsec.
In each of the comparative example and the fourth embodiment, the voltage is increased in a relatively long period and is decreased in a relatively short period. As a consequence, the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber 101 repeats gradual expansion and sudden contraction. Hence, repetition of the gradual expansion and the sudden contraction generates a constant flow heading in an opposite direction to that in the first embodiment.
Now, a mechanism for generating the constant flow in the liquid feeding chamber 101 will be briefly explained.
In the case where the liquid feeding chamber 101 is gradually expanded, no vortex is generated under a low flow velocity and the liquid slowly flows into the liquid feeding chamber 101. Next, in the case where the liquid feeding chamber 101 is suddenly contracted, a vortex is generated under a high flow velocity on the second connection flow channel 102 side in the second flow channel 106 where the flow channel resistance is low, and this vortex blocks the liquid that is likely to flow from the liquid feeding chamber 101 into the second flow channel 106. In the meantime, on the first connection flow channel 103 side where the flow channel resistance is high, the liquid can flow into or out of the liquid feeding chamber 101 irrespective of the rate of expansion or contraction of the liquid feeding chamber 101. In other words, the constant flow in the opposite direction (the −X direction) to the X direction in
In the comparative example and in the fourth embodiment as well, a period of the residual vibration of the amount of change in capacity is about 8.0 μsec, which represents that the primary period Th of the Helmholtz vibration being unique to the liquid feeding apparatus used in this embodiment is about 8.0 μsec and its Helmholtz frequency is therefore about 125 kHz. Now, if the above-mentioned residual vibration overlaps the change in capacity at the time of gradual expansion, the liquid feeding amount is impaired as a consequence.
Nonetheless, a comparison between the comparative example and the fourth embodiment reveals that the amplitude in the fourth embodiment is kept lower than that in the comparative example presumably due to the following reason. Specifically, if a period for retaining the voltage at a constant value (or for reducing the gradient of the drop in voltage) is set up within the “contraction driving” period as in the fourth embodiment, such a change in gradient of the voltage possibly acts on the amplitude of the residual vibration in a diminishing manner. According to the observation by the inventors of this disclosure, the liquid feeding amount per period was about 0.7 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 4.5% in the comparative example, whereas the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.1 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 7.2% in the fourth embodiment. In other words, the fourth embodiment achieves the liquid feeding efficiency about 1.6 times as large as that of the comparative example.
As described previously, the Helmholtz frequency Fh is set to Fh=125 kHz and the Helmholtz period Th is set to Th=8.0 μsec in the system shown in
In short, if any of the waveform voltages indicated with the solid lines in
With that in mind, the inventors have sought any factors possibly effective for suppressing the residual vibration out of characteristics common to the waveforms shown in
Specifically, as with the first embodiment, the effect to suppress the restorative vibration can be expected even by using a simpler voltage waveform. To be more precise, in a falling period to decrease the voltage from the maximum voltage to the initial voltage, it is only necessary to decrease the voltage first from the maximum voltage to a predetermined value and then to bring the voltage further down to the initial voltage by applying a voltage having an absolute value of a gradient smaller than an absolute value of a gradient at the start of driving.
In
Meanwhile, in
Here, with reference to
As described above, according to this embodiment, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from the reference voltage to the maximum voltage in a long time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the maximum voltage to the reference voltage in a short time. Then, during the period for decreasing the voltage down to the reference voltage, the voltage is first decreased to the predetermined value higher than the reference voltage and then the voltage is further decreased to the reference voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient lower than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of the driving. Even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole.
The liquid feeding apparatus described with reference to
The fifth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the “retention period” is defined in the “expansion driving” period. Specifically, in the fifth embodiment, the voltage is decreased to the reference voltage in the same manner as the fourth embodiment, then the voltage is retained for a period from time t=2.9 μsec to 18.4 μsec, and then the voltage is increased at a constant gradient and brought up to the maximum voltage at time t=47.5 μsec as shown in
It is apparent that the fifth embodiment also reduces the amplitude as compared to the comparative example indicated with the dashed line.
The concept of the length of the retention period of this embodiment is the same as the second embodiment although the liquid feeding direction is opposite to that in the second embodiment. As a result of studies conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the liquid efficiency corresponding to the retention period had its maximum value and the appropriate range of the retention period would preferably be set about 1.0 times to 2.5 times as long as the Helmholtz period unique to the system. If the retention period is set more than 2.5 times of the unique period, the period for expansion comes close to the period for contraction, and the function to move the liquid to the predetermined direction by using the difference in flow velocity cannot be fully obtained. On the other hand, the retention period also has an impact on the structural designs and the voltage conditions of the liquid feeding apparatus. From this point of view, it is preferable to set the retention period in the range from about (¼−⅛)×Th to (10+⅛)×Th.
As a result of studies conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the flow velocity at the time of feeding the liquid in the fifth embodiment was about 1.8 times as fast as the flow velocity of the comparative example. Moreover, it was confirmed that the liquid feeding amount per period was about 0.7 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 4.5% in the comparative example whereas the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.3 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 8.5% in the fifth embodiment. This result means that the fifth embodiment can reduce the loss in the liquid feeding amount more than the comparative example and can improve the liquid feeding efficiency as the liquid feeding apparatus by about 1.9 times. Moreover, even in the case of using the same liquid feeding apparatus, the fifth embodiment further improves the liquid feeding efficiency as compared to the fourth embodiment.
As described above, according to this embodiment, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from the reference voltage to the maximum voltage in a long time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the maximum voltage to the reference voltage in a short time. Then, during the period for decreasing the voltage down to the reference voltage, the voltage is first decreased to the predetermined value higher than the reference voltage and then the voltage is further decreased to the reference voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient lower than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of the driving. In the meantime, during the period for increasing the voltage, the reference voltage is retained for some time and then the voltage is changed into the maximum voltage at the constant gradient. Even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole.
This embodiment is configured to circulate the ink in an opposite direction to the flowing direction of the ink realized in the third embodiment. Hence, the structure is the same as the third embodiment while only the driving method is different therefrom. Realization of the direction of circulation in the sixth embodiment has an advantage that the bubbles mixed in from the nozzle side, for example, can be collected on the supply port 15 side without flowing into the liquid feeding chamber 22.
In the above-described embodiment as well, the liquid feeding efficiency can be improved by suppressing the increase and decrease in capacity associated with the Helmholtz vibration during the gradual expansion. As a consequence, it is possible to circulate the ink at a suitable velocity to the supply flow channels 5, the pressure chambers 3, the collection flow channels 6, the liquid feeding chamber 22, and the connection flow channel 7, and thus to stably supply the fresh ink to the vicinity of the ejection ports 2. As a consequence of observation conducted by the inventors, it was confirmed that the liquid feeding amount per period was about 1.0 pL and the liquid feeding efficiency was about 7.0% in the case of performing the above-described driving by use of the ink at the viscosity of 2 cps.
Moreover, it was also confirmed that even in the case where the period in which no ejecting operation takes place lasts for several seconds to several tens of seconds, the normal ejecting operation was stably carried out thereafter without causing any ejection failures during the ejecting operation.
On the other hand, in the case where the voltage control is performed under the comparative example indicated with the dashed line in
As described above, according to this embodiment, the inkjet printing head configured to eject the ink from the ejection ports is provided with the circulation flow channels for circulating a portion of the ink located in the vicinity of each ejection port and the actuator located in the circulation flow channels and configured to function as a circulation pump. Moreover, the voltage is applied to the actuator 104 in such a way as to repeat the period for increasing the voltage from the reference voltage to the target voltage in a long time and the period for decreasing the voltage from the target voltage to the reference voltage in a short time.
In this case, during the period for increasing the voltage, the reference voltage is retained for some time and then the voltage is increased to the target voltage at a constant gradient. During the period for decreasing the voltage, the voltage is first decreased to the predetermined value higher than the reference voltage and is then decreased further down to the reference voltage by applying the voltage having the absolute value of the gradient smaller than the absolute value of the gradient at the start of driving.
According to this embodiment, even in the case of occurrence of the residual vibration having the Helmholtz frequency, the above-mentioned control can relax the change in capacity of the liquid feeding chamber associated with the residual vibration, thereby improving the liquid feeding efficiency of the liquid feeding apparatus as a whole. As a consequence, it is possible to supply the fresh ink constantly to each ejection port and to stabilize the state of ejection thereof.
This embodiment can also select other modes similar to those described in conjunction with the third embodiment.
In the above-described embodiments, the simplified waveforms as shown in
In each case, the waveform of the voltage to be applied to the actuator 104 only needs to be controlled during the expansion driving or the contraction driving such that the inflection point emerges in each predetermined interval based on the Helmholtz vibration period Th unique to the system. In this way, it is possible to obtain the effect of this disclosure to suppress the residual vibration.
Meanwhile, the embodiments have been described above on the premise that the initial voltage was set to 0 V, the target (maximum) voltage was set to 30 V, and the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber was supposed be increased more as the voltage became higher. However, it is needless to say that this disclosure is not limited only to these embodiments. For example, the voltage at the default state does not have to be equal to 0 V, or the actuator may be arranged in such a way as to reduce the capacity of the liquid feeding chamber more as the voltage becomes higher.
In any case, the voltage to be applied to the actuator may be controlled:
i) in such a way as to repeat a first period in which the voltage is changed from a first voltage to a second voltage and a second period which is a longer period than the first period and in which the voltage is changed from the second voltage to the first voltage; and
ii) in such a way that the inflection point emerges in each predetermined interval during the first period based on the period Th of the Helmholtz vibration unique to the system.
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-247865 filed Dec. 28, 2018, and No. 2019-177314 filed Sep. 27, 2019, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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