Head chip and head unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a head chip which is mounted on an ink-jet type recording apparatus applicable to, for example, a printer and a facsimile.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, an ink-jet type recording apparatus is known in the technical field, in which a recording head for jetting ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles is employed to record characters and/or images on a recording medium. In such an ink-jet type recording apparatus, the recording head positioned opposite to the recording medium is provided on a head holder, and this head holder is mounted on a carriage so as to be scanned along a direction perpendicular to a transport direction of the recording medium.

In

FIG. 12

, there is shown an exploded/perspective view of one example of such a recording head.

FIGS. 13A and 13B

are sectional view of a major portion of this recording head.

FIG. 13A

is a sectional view of the recording head taken along the longitudinal direction of side walls.

FIG. 13B

is a sectional view of the recording head taken along the thickness direction of side walls. A plurality of grooves

102

are arranged in a piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

in a parallel manner. The respective grooves

102

are separated from each other by side walls

103

. One end portion of each of the grooves

102

in the longitudinal direction is elongated up to one end surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

, whereas the other end portion is not elongated up to the other end surface of this piezoelectric ceramic plate, and a depth thereof gradually becomes shallow. Also, an electrode

105

used to apply a driving electric field is formed on surfaces of both the side walls

103

on the opening side within each of the grooves

102

along the longitudinal direction.

A cover plate

107

is jointed via an adhesive agent

109

to the grooves

102

of the piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

on the opening side. This cover plate

107

has an ink chamber

111

that constitutes a concave portion which is communicated to the shallow other end portion of each of the grooves

102

and an ink supply port

112

that is penetrated through a bottom portion of this ink chamber

111

along a direction opposite to the direction of the grooves

102

.

A nozzle plate

115

is jointed on an end surface of a joint member made by the piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

and the cover plate

107

, at which the grooves

102

are opened. Nozzle openings

117

are formed in the nozzle plate

115

at such positions located opposite to the respective grooves

102

.

It should be noted that a wiring board

120

is fixed on such a surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

, which is located opposite to the nozzle plate

115

and also opposite to the cover plate

107

. A wiring line

122

which is electrically connected to each of the electrodes

105

by employing a bonding wire

121

or the like is formed on the wiring board

120

. A driver voltage may be applied via this wiring line

122

to the electrode

105

.

In the recording head constituted in this manner, when ink is filled from the ink supply port

112

into the respective grooves

102

and a predetermined driving electric field is applied via the electrode

105

to the side walls

103

on both sides of a predetermined groove

102

, the side walls

103

are deformed, so that a capacity formed within this predetermined groove

102

is change. As a result, the ink filled inside the grooves

102

may be jetted from the nozzle opening

117

.

For example, as shown in

FIG. 14

, in the case where ink is jetted from a nozzle opening

117

corresponding to a groove

102

a

, a positive driving voltage is applied to both electrodes

105

a

and

105

b

provided in the groove

102

a

, and also electrodes

105

c

and

105

d

located opposite to these electrodes

105

a

and

105

b

are grounded. As a consequence, a driving electric field directed to the groove

102

a

is effected to the side walls

103

a

and

103

b.

When this driving electric field is positioned perpendicular to the polarization direction of the piezoelectric ceramic plate

101

, both the side walls

103

a

and

103

b

are deformed along the direction of the groove

102

a

due to the piezoelectric thickness slip effect, so that the capacity defined inside the groove

102

a

is reduced to there by increase pressure. Thus, the ink may be jetted from the nozzle opening

117

.

However, since such a head chip employs a large amount of high-cost ceramic, there is a problem in that the manufacturing cost of the head chip is high.

To solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Hei 6-6375 has proposed such a head chip which is manufactured by the plate shaped board made of glass, piezoelectric ceramic plate made by arranging the pressure chambers in the array form on this plate-shaped board, and ink chamber plate made of glass.

In accordance with this head chip, since both the plate-shaped board and the ink chamber plate are made of low-cost glass materials, this head chip can be manufactured in low cost and also the manufacturing time can be shortened.

However, the above-explained head chip with employment of the glass board owns such a problem in that since the electrode for applying the voltage to the piezoelectric ceramic plate has to be formed by way of the oblique vapor deposition, the manufacturing cost is increased.

Also, when the wiring lines electrically conducted to this electrode are extracted, these wiring lines are processed by metal plating such as nickel plating or gold plating, and thereafter the metal plated-wiring lines has to be cut one by one by using a laser. Thus, there is another problem in that the process step becomes cumbersome, and the manufacturing cost is increased.

Furthermore, even when the wiring lines are directly formed on the glass board by way of the metal plating, there is another problem in that the fitting characteristic is deteriorated, and thus, the formed wiring lines may readily peel off from the glass board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and therefore, has an object to provide a method of manufacturing a head chip, while manufacturing cost is reduced, and also a manufacturing step is simplified.

In order to solve the above problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head chip in which: partition walls made of piezoelectric ceramic are arranged on two upper and lower sheets of a first board and a second board with predetermined intervals; chambers are defined between the respective partition walls; a driver voltage is applied to electrodes provided on side surfaces of the partition walls to change the capacity in the chambers; and the ink filled in the chambers is jetted from nozzle openings, characterized in that:

the first board and the second board are formed of a dielectric material, and also wiring lines, which are electrically conducted to the electrodes and elongated to the outside of the end portions of the partition walls in the longitudinal direction, are provided on the surface of either one of the first board and the second board; and

Further, the wiring lines include an inorganic conductive film as the lowermost layer and metal films formed thereon.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the dielectric material is glass.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the inorganic conductive film is made of at least one sort of material selected from the group consisting of ITO, SnO

2

, ZnO, and ATO.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the inorganic conductive film is elongated between one of the first board and the second board and end portions of the partition walls in the width direction, and also end portion of the elongated inorganic conductive film in the width direction and the electrodes are electrically conducted to each other.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the thickness of the inorganic conductive film is set to be equal to or less than 3 μm.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the electrodes and the metal films are formed by selective electroless plating.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the electrodes and the metal films are formed of a nickel layer and a gold layer.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that a nozzle plate having the nozzle openings is provided at the end portions of the partition walls in the longitudinal direction, at which the chambers are opened, and also an ink chamber that communicates with the respective chambers is provided on the other end portion side of the partition walls.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the nozzle plate is formed of a dielectric material.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the partition walls are formed by jointing two sheets of piezoelectric ceramic having different polarization direction in the thickness direction.

According to a eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that the regions corresponding to the chambers are provided with concave portions in one of the first board and the second board, which is provided with the wiring lines.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head chip characterized in that a driver circuit is provided with the region corresponding to the wiring lines in one of the first board and the second board, which is provided with the wiring lines.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a head unit characterized in that the head unit comprises the head chip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 and a head holder that mounts the head chip.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head unit characterized in that the head holder may detachably hold an ink cartridge in which ink is stored.

According to the present invention, while the board made of the dielectric material is employed, the inorganic conductive film, that has the better fitting characteristic with the dielectric material, is provided at the lowermost layer of the wiring line.

As a consequence, the manufacturing step can be made simple, and also the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Moreover, the wiring lines can be easily conducted to the electrodes without fail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1

is a perspective view showing a head chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2

is a perspective sectional view indicating the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3

is a sectional view representing the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along a parallel-arranging direction of a chamber, and also a sectional view of the head chip, taken along a line A-A′ thereof;

FIG. 4

is a sectional view showing another example of an inorganic conductive film according to the present invention, along a longitudinal direction of the chamber;

FIG. 5

is a top view showing a manufacturing method of the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6

is a sectional view representing the head chip corresponding to the respective manufacturing steps of

FIG. 5

along the parallel-arranging direction of the chamber;

FIG. 7

is a top view showing the manufacturing method of the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8

is a sectional view representing the head chip corresponding to the respective manufacturing steps of

FIG. 7

along the parallel-arranging direction of the chamber;

FIG. 9

is a perspective view indicating an assembly of a unit with employment of the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10

is a perspective view indicating an assembly of a unit with employment of the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11

is a perspective view showing a use mode of the unit with employment of the head chip according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12

is an exploded perspective view schematically indicating a recording head in accordance with a conventional technique;

FIG. 13

is a sectional view schematically indicating the recording head in accordance with the conventional technique; and

FIG. 14

is a sectional view schematically indicating the recording head in accordance with the conventional technique.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments.

FIG. 1

is a perspective view indicating a head chip according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2

is a sectional perspective view of the head chip.

FIG. 3A

is a sectional view showing a chamber along a parallel-arranging direction, and

FIG. 3B

is a sectional view of the chamber, taken along a line A-A′ of FIG.

3

A.

As shown in the figure, a plurality of chambers

13

, which are defined in a plurality of partition walls

12

made of piezoelectric ceramic by arranging in parallel the partition walls

12

with predetermined intervals, are provided on a plate-shape glass board

11

.

A piezoelectric ceramic plate is aligned and adhered to one side of the glass board

11

by an adhesive agent

26

, agent the partition walls

12

are formed by cutting out the piezoelectric ceramic plate using, for example, a disk-shape dice cutter. At this time, in order to cut out the piezoelectric ceramic plate completely, the surface of the glass board

11

is ground by the dice cutter, and concave portions

11

a

corresponding to the respective chambers

13

are formed in the glass board

11

. Of course, only the piezoelectric ceramic plate is completely cut out and the concave portions

11

a

may not be formed. Also, each of the partition walls

12

may be adhered with predetermined intervals.

This piezoelectric ceramic plate is formed by jointing two piezoelectric ceramic plates having different polarization direction in the thickness direction. Further, electrodes

14

for applying driving electric field are formed on the entire surface of the side surfaces of the partition walls

12

, which are surfaces of the respective chambers

13

.

Further, wiring lines

15

are provided on inner sides of end portions of the respective partition walls

12

in the longitudinal direction on the glass board

11

. The wiring line

15

has an inorganic conductive film

15

a

as the lowermost layer.

As the inorganic conductive film

15

a

, ITO (oxide of indium and tin), SnO

2

, ZnO, ATO (oxide of antimony and tin) or the like may be given. In this embodiment, ITO is used as the inorganic conductive film

15

a.

The wiring line

15

is formed of at least one layer of a metal film formed by selective electroless plating on the inorganic conductive film

15

a.

In this embodiment, the wiring line

15

is constituted of the inorganic conductive film

15

a

and two layers of a nickel metal film

15

b

and a gold metal film

15

c.

In addition, although the electrode

14

is constituted of the nickel metal film

15

b

and the gold metal film

15

c,

which are formed together with the wiring line

15

on the side surface of the partition wall

12

by the selective electroless plating.

Here, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is elongated along the chambers

13

defined on both sides between the glass board

11

and the respective partition walls

12

, and the end portion of the inorganic conductive film

15

a

in the width direction is firmly in contact with the electrode

14

. Thus, electrical conduction between the electrode

14

and the wiring line

15

is realized.

In the case where the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is elongated between the glass board

11

and the partition walls

12

as described above, if the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is too thick, adhesion malfunction is easy to occur when the partition walls

12

are adhered to the glass board

11

. Thus, there is a fear that displacement, peeling, or the like occurs when the partition walls

12

are driven. Therefore, it is preferable that the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is made relatively thinner, and preferably made to 3 μm or less.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

elongated between the glass board

11

and the partition wall

12

is formed along the longitudinal direction of the partition wall

12

, but the present invention is not limited thereto if the inorganic conductive film

15

a

can be electrically conducted to the electrode

14

provided on the side surface of the partition wall

12

. Only a portion of the inorganic conductive film

15

a

maybe elongated along the longitudinal direction. For instance, as indicated in

FIG. 4

, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is not elongated between the glass board

11

and the partition wall

12

, but may be alternatively provided so as to be in contact with the end surface of the partition wall

12

. In any cases, it is necessary that the electrode

14

is surely and electrically conducted with the wiring lines

15

. It should be noted that

FIG. 4

is a sectional view showing the chamber

13

along the longitudinal direction, and the electrode

14

is continued to the metal films

15

b

and

15

c

at the end portion thereof in the longitudinal direction.

On the other hand, a cover plate

16

formed of plate-shape glass is jointed to the partition walls

12

on the side opposite to the glass board

11

. Further,guide walls

17

made of plastic,for example, are adhered to both side surfaces of the glass board

11

and to the inner portions of the glass board

11

on the side of the end portions of the respective partition walls

12

in the longitudinal direction on the glass board

11

by the adhesive agent or the like. Then, an ink chamber

18

that communicates with the respective chambers

13

is defined by the guide walls

17

and partition walls

12

on the glass board

11

.

Further, the cover plate

16

is provided with an ink supply port

19

, which supplies ink to the ink chamber

18

defined on the glass board

11

and is bored through the cover plate

16

in the thickness direction.

It should be noted that the ink supply port

19

of the cover plate

16

is formed by sandblasting in this embodiment.

Here in this embodiment, the respective chambers

13

are divided into groups corresponding to respective colors consisting of black (B), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and four ink chambers

18

and four ink supply ports

19

are provided, respectively.

Further, a nozzle plate

20

is jointed to the end surfaces of the partition walls

12

, which are formed flush with the end surface of the glass board

11

, and nozzle openings

21

are pierced in the nozzle plate

20

at the positions opposite to the respective chambers

13

.

This nozzle plate

20

may be formed by, for example, plate-shape metal, plastic, glass, or polyimide film. Further, although not shown in the figure, a water repelling film having a water repelling property is provided to the surface of the nozzle plate

20

, which is opposite to a subject to be printed, in order to prevent adhesion of ink or the like.

Furthermore, a manufacturing method of a head chip in accordance with the above embodiment will be explained in detail. It should be noted that FIG.

5

and

FIG. 7

are top views showing manufacturing steps of the head chip. FIG.

6

and

FIG. 8

are cross sectional views of the chamber

13

along the parallel-arranging direction, which correspond to the manufacturing steps of FIG.

5

and

FIG. 7

, respectively.

First, as shown in FIG.

5

A and

FIG. 6A

, an ITO film that is the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is formed on the plate-shape glass board

11

and the ITO film is patterned with a predetermined shape, here, with an interval that is slightly wider than that of the chamber

13

.

There is no limitation on the forming method of the inorganic conductive film

15

a.

For example, after the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is formed by a sputtering method, an application method or the like, it may be patterned with photolithography or the like.

In addition, if the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is too thick, adhesion malfunction occurs when the partition walls

12

are adhered to the glass board

11

in the following step. Thus, there is a fear that displacement, peeling, or the like of the partition walls

12

occurs when the partition walls

12

are driven. Therefore, it is preferable that the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is made relatively thinner, and preferably made to 3 μm or less.

Next, as shown in FIG.

5

B and

FIG. 6B

, a piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

in which surfaces other than a bonding surface are previously coated with a resist

25

is adhered onto the inorganic conductive film

15

a

by the adhesive agent

26

. This piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is formed by jointing two sheets of piezoelectric ceramic plates

23

and

24

having different polarization direction in the thickness direction, the surfaces other than the bonding surface are coated with the resist

25

, and then, the piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is adhered to the glass board

11

by the adhesive agent

26

. It should be noted that the resist

25

may be provided after the piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is adhered to the glass board

11

.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.

5

C and

FIG. 6C

, the piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is cut out to form the partition walls

12

and the chambers

13

. In this embodiment, for example, the piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is cut out in the thickness direction with the width that is narrower by a predetermined width than the width of the inorganic conductive film

15

a

by using the disk-shape dice cutter, to thereby form the partition walls

12

and the chambers

13

.

At this time, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is cut out to the surface of the glass board

11

in order that the inorganic conductive film

15

a

provided on the glass board

11

is not electrically conducted within the chambers

13

. Thus, the concave portions

11

a

are formed. Of course, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

may be previously patterned into the cut-out condition.

Further, when the partition walls

12

are formed, since the piezoelectric ceramic plate

22

is cut out with the width that is narrower by a predetermined width than the width of the inorganic conductive film

15

a,

the inorganic conductive film

15

a

remains between both end portions in the width direction of the partition walls

12

and the glass board

11

along the longitudinal direction, and the side surfaces are exposed. The inorganic conductive films

15

a

formed on both sides of the respective chambers

13

are continuous with the inorganic conductive films

15

a

that become the wiring lines

15

at the rear of the partition walls

12

as shown in FIG.

6

C.

Next, as shown in FIG.

7

A and

FIG. 8A

, a starting catalyst containing palladium, platinum or the like is adsorbed over the entire surfaces of both the partition walls

12

and the inorganic conductive films

15

a,

namely surfaces other than the surface of the glass board

11

. Thereafter, the nickel metal film

15

b

and the gold metal film

15

c

are formed by selective electroless plating.

The wiring line

15

of three layers, that is constituted of the inorganic conductive film

15

a,

the nickel metal film

15

b

and the gold metal film

15

c,

is formed at the rear of the partition wall

12

by this selective electroless plating, and the two layers of the nickel metal film

15

b

and the gold metal film

15

c

are formed over the entire surface of the partition wall

12

. Further, the metal films

15

b

and

15

c

provided over the entire surface of the partition wall

12

are electrically conducted to the inorganic conductive film

15

a

provided between the partition wall

12

and the glass board

11

at the exposed side surface.

Next, as shown in FIG.

7

B and

FIG. 8B

, the resist

25

, which is formed on both the upper surface of the partition wall

12

and both end surfaces of the partition wall

12

in the longitudinal direction, and also unnecessary metal films

15

b

and

15

c

formed on the resist

25

are lifted off. As a result, such an electrode

14

, which is not short-circuited on both the side surfaces of the partition wall

12

and which is constructed of two layers made of the nickel metal film

15

b

and the gold metal film

15

c,

is formed on the side surface of the partition wall

12

.

As previously explained, both the metal films

15

b

and

15

c

which constitute the electrode

14

formed in this manner are electrically conducted with the inorganic conductive film

15

a

on the exposed side surfaces thereof. In other words, the electrode

14

is mutually and electrically conducted via the inorganic conductive film

5

a

to the wiring line

15

.

Thereafter, as indicated in

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 3

, the guide wall

17

made of plastic is fixed on the rear portion of each of the partition walls

12

, and also both the end surfaces of the glass board

11

along the parallel-arranging direction of the partition walls

12

by using the adhesive agent or the like, so that the ink chamber

18

is defined on the glass board

11

. Then, the cover plate

16

is fixed by using the adhesive agent or the like on the side opposite to the glass board

11

of the partition wall

12

, and also the nozzle plate

20

having a plate shape, in which the nozzle openings

21

are pierced, is fixed on the side end surface of the partition wall

12

of the glass board

11

with respect to each of the chambers

43

. Then, the outer shape of the resultant head chip is processed by dicing, and thus, a head chip

10

may be manufactured.

As explained above, in this embodiment, the inorganic conductive film

15

a

is patterned on the glass board

11

, and the selective electroless plating is performed on this inorganic conductive film

15

a.

As a result, the wiring lines

15

can be readily manufactured, and also the fitting characteristic between the glass board

11

and the wiring lines

15

can be improved.

Also, since the electrode

14

can be formed at the same time when the wiring lines

15

are formed, the entire manufacturing steps can be made simpler, and further, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by using a large amount of low-cost glass.

Furthermore, driving principle etc. of the head chip

10

are as described in the prior art, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

FIG. 9

is an exploded perspective view indicating a head chip unit on which the above-explained head chip

10

is mounted.

As illustrated in

FIG. 9

, a driver circuit

31

such as an integrated circuit for driving the head chip

10

is directly connected to the wiring line

15

, and this driver circuit

31

is mounted on the glass board

11

of the head chip

10

. Also, a base plate

33

made of aluminum is assembled on the side of the glass board

11

, and a head cover

34

is assembled on the side of the cover plate

16

in the head chip

10

. The base plate

33

is fixed to the head cover

34

such that an engaging shaft

34

a

of the head cover

34

is engaged with an engaging hole

33

a

of the base plate

33

, and the head chip

10

is sandwiched by both the base plate

33

and the head cover

34

. An ink conducting path

35

is formed on the head cover

34

, and this ink conducting path

35

is communicated with each of the ink supply ports

19

of the cover plate

16

.

Also, such a head chip unit

40

may be assembled with, for example, a tank holder, which detachably holds an ink cartridge, to be used.

FIG. 10A

shows an example of such a tank holder.

FIG. 10B

shows the tank holder

41

and the head chip unit

40

which is assembled with the tank holder

41

. The tank holder

41

shown in

FIG. 10

is formed to have substantially a box shape whose one surface is opened, and an ink cartridge (not shown) may be detachably held. A coupling portion

42

is provided on an upper surface of a bottom wall, and is coupled to the ink supply port

19

corresponding to an opening portion formed in the bottom portion of the ink cartridge. A plurality of the coupling portions

42

are provided with respect to each of color ink, for instance, black (B) ink, yellow (Y) ink, magenta (M) ink, and cyan (C) ink. An ink flow path (not shown) is formed inside the coupling portion

42

, and a filter

43

is provided at a tip portion of the coupling portion

42

which constitutes an opening of this ink flow path. The ink flow path forced inside the coupling portion

42

is communicated to the rear surface of the bottom wall. The respective ink flow paths are communicated to a head coupling port

46

which is opened in the partition wall of a flow path board

45

via an ink flow path (not shown) which is provided within the flow path board

45

provided on the side of the rear surface of the tank holder

41

. This head coupling port

46

is opened on the side of the side surface of the tank holder

41

, and a head chip unit holding portion

47

which holds the above-described head chip unit

40

is provided on the bottom portion of this partition wall. In the head chip unit holding portion

47

, there are provided a surrounding wall

48

and an engaging shaft

49

. The surrounding wall

48

surrounds the driver circuit

31

provided on the glass board

11

, and is formed into substantially a U-shape and positioned in an upright manner. The engaging shaft

49

is engaged with an engaging hole

40

a

formed in the base plate

33

of the head chip unit

40

provided inside the surrounding wall

48

.

As a consequence, the head chip unit

40

is mounted on this head chip unit holding portion

47

, so that a head unit

50

can be completed. At this time, the ink conducting path

35

formed in the head cover

34

is coupled to the head coupling port

46

of the flow path board

45

. As a result, the ink which is conducted from the ink cartridge via the coupling portion

42

of the tank holder

41

is conducted via the ink flow path formed in the flow path board

45

into the ink conducting path

35

of the head chip unit

40

, so that this ink is filled into both the ink chamber

18

and the chambers

13

.

Such a head unit

50

is mounted on, for instance, a carriage of an ink-jet type recording apparatus to be used.

FIG. 11

schematically shows an example of a use mode of the head unit

50

.

As shown in

FIG. 11

, a carriage

61

is movably mounted on one pair of guider ails

62

a

and

62

b

along a shaft direction. This carriage

61

is transported by way of a timing belt

65

which is suspended between a pulley

64

a,

that is provided on one end side of the guide rail

62

, and is coupled to a carriage driving motor

63

, and another pulley

64

b

that is provided on the other side of this guide rail

62

. A pair of transfer rollers

66

and

67

are provided along the guide rails

62

a

and

62

b

on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the carriage

6

l. These transfer rollers

66

and

67

are used to transport a recording medium “S” located below the carriage

61

along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of this carriage

61

.

The above-explained head unit

50

is mounted on the carriage

61

, and the above-explained ink cartridge may be detachably mounted on this head unit

50

.

In accordance with such an ink-jet type recording apparatus, while the recording medium “S” is fed, the carriage

61

is scanned along the direction perpendicular to this medium feeding direction, so that both a character and an image can be recorded on this recording medium “S” by the head chip.

While the present invention has been described with the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the construction described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, both the upper board and the lower board are formed by the dielectric material, and also, the inorganic conductive film is employed as the lowermost layer of the wiring lines which are electrically conducted to the electrode. Thus, the fitting characteristic between the wiring lines and the boards can be improved, and the manufacturing steps of the wiring lines can be made simple. Also, manufactured cost can be reduced.

Further, the inorganic conductive film is elongated between one of the upper and lower boards and the end portions of the partition walls in the width direction. Thus,the drawing out of the electrodes can be easily formed and also electrical conduction can be attained without fail.

Number	Name	Date	Kind
4929060	Sugimoto et al.	May 1990	A
5724187	Varaprasad et al.	Mar 1998	A
6095641	Kishi	Aug 2000	A

Number	Date	Country
1029678	Aug 2000	EP
5-94639	Apr 1993	JP
10146974	Jun 1998	JP
00029217	May 2000	WO

Head chip and head unit

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

US Classifications

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

Priority Claims (1)

US Referenced Citations (3)

Foreign Referenced Citations (4)