Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6416155
-
Patent Number
6,416,155
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, October 26, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 9, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Barlow; John
- Stephens; Juanita
Agents
- Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 347 20
- 347 44
- 347 40
- 347 65
- 347 49
- 347 66
- 347 67
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An ink jet recording head comprising an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to the plurality of energy generating elements, being joined to the element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by the plurality of grooves on a joint area side to the element base, an orifice plate having a plurality of orifices having communication with the plurality of ink flow channels respectively and being mounted on the grooved top plate integrally, and a chip tank having supply passages for supplying ink to the plurality of ink flow channels.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, an ink jet recording cartridge having an ink jet recording head and a recording apparatus.
The present invention is applicable to a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, an apparatus having a printer unit such as a word processor, and further an industrial recording apparatus combined with various processors in a complex constitution for recording into a record medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, or the like. “Record” in this invention means not only giving an image having a meaning of characters or graphics to the record medium, but giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern.
2. Related Background Art
In various types of electronic equipment such as a computer, a word processor, a facsimile device, and a copying machine, an ink jet recording head which enables high-speed recording is widely used as a means for recording into record mediums without generating noises like ones generated by a dot impact printer.
Referring to
FIG. 23
, there is shown a schematic perspective view outlining a main portion of a conventional ink jet recording head. Referring to
FIG. 24
, there is shown its expanded sectional view.
As shown in
FIGS. 23 and 24
, an element base
112
having energy generating elements
102
(See
FIG. 24
) for generating energy used for discharging ink is joined to a grooved top plate
113
having grooves forming ink flow channels
105
, a wall portion
106
to be an ink flow channel wall, and a hollow
107
′ to be a common liquid chamber
107
for supplying ink to the ink flow channels
105
. The grooved top plate
113
includes an orifice plate
104
having a plurality of orifices
101
for communication with the ink flow channels
105
, with being integrally formed. The element base
112
is fixed to a base plate
111
, and further the element base
112
is mechanically contact-bonded to the grooved top plate
113
with a spring force of a pushing member
114
.
In recent years, a high-quality and high-density recording is required for this type of the ink jet recording head and it has brought with it a requirement of the orifices
101
having fine and accurate shapes. Accordingly, the orifices
101
are generally formed by laser processing suitable for fine processing. On the characteristics of the orifices, it is desirable that the orifices
101
have shapes converging in a direction from the side of the ink flow channels
105
to the outside, and therefore the orifices are irradiated for the processing with laser light in a direction from the side of the ink flow channels
105
to the orifice plate
104
.
As shown in
FIG. 24
, if the orifice plate
104
is perpendicularly irradiated with laser light (indicated by a long and two short dashes line
116
), the laser light is inevitably applied to a wall portion
113
a
of the grooved top plate
113
, by which the applied portion is scraped. This makes a hole from which ink leaks into the ink flow channels
105
, by which the ink cannot be discharged. Accordingly, laser light is applied diagonally (indicated by a long and two short dashes line
115
) so as to avoid the wall portion
113
a
when making the orifices
101
diagonally to the orifice plate (Angle of inclination: Approx. 70 to 83 deg). If ink is discharged diagonally to a record medium
103
in recording, however, the discharge direction becomes unstable or dot shapes formed on the record medium tend to be uniformless and enlarged, in other words, the recording quality is deteriorated. Particularly in color printing, a dotted point depends upon each color, by which color-shading or satellite significantly deteriorates an image in some cases in multipath printing at cockling of a record medium or in reciprocating printing.
Therefore, there is suggested a constitution for improving a recording quality by attaching an ink jet recording head to a recording apparatus in an inclined position so that ink is discharged perpendicularly to the record medium in a Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 4-211954.
While the invention in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 4-211954 was a practically effective, new problems were found in such a case that a large cockling (a wrinkle or an undulation) may be caused by an absorption of ink on a record medium, particularly a recording sheet or that a mist may adhere to the orifice plate and accumulated.
If the entire ink jet recording head is inclined, the orifice plate is not put in a parallel state with the record medium, but necessarily put in a slightly inclined (approx. 7 to 20 deg) state. Therefore, a large cockling of the record medium causes the record medium to be partially put in contact with the orifice plate since they are too close to each other, by which the recording quality may be partially degraded.
The mist adhering to and accumulated on the orifice plate is generally retained on the orifice plate under an adhering state without affecting the record medium. If the orifice plate is inclined as described above, however, the mist easily moves to one direction being affected by an inertia force caused by a reciprocating motion of the ink jet recording head, and therefore there is a possibility of the mist separating from the orifice plate to adhere to the record medium or the recording apparatus or other components. Particularly the possibility is significant if the adhering mist is accumulated to a large amount or if the ink jet recording head reciprocates at a high speed in high-speed recording.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording cartridge which enable high-quality recording without being so much affected by cockling of a record medium nor high-speed motion and further to provide a recording apparatus having these ink jet recording head and the ink jet recording cartridge.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head comprising an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to the plurality of energy generating elements, being joined to the element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by the plurality of grooves on a joint area side to the element base, an orifice plate having a plurality of orifices having communication with the plurality of ink flow channels respectively and being mounted on the grooved top plate integrally, and a chip tank having supply passages for supplying ink to the plurality of ink flow channels and having a shroud portion for shrouding the orifice plate, wherein a surface in the side of the plurality of orifices of the orifice plate is substantially parallel with the shroud portion of the chip tank and is inclined relative to the element base.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head comprising an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to the plurality of energy generating elements, being joined to the element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by the plurality of grooves on a joint area side to the element base, and an orifice plate having a plurality of orifices having communication with the plurality of ink flow channels respectively, having a recess surface formed on the area in which the plurality of orifices are arranged, and being mounted on the grooved top plate integrally, wherein an area closest to the plurality of orifices among surfaces in the side of the plurality of orifices of the orifice plate is substantially parallel with peripheral areas of the recess surface of the orifice plate and is inclined to the element base.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording cartridge comprising an ink jet recording head unit including an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink, a base plate for fixing the element base and, a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to the plurality of energy generating elements respectively, being joined to the element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by the plurality of grooves on a joint area side to the element base, and a head unit retaining member including an engaging groove portion where the ink jet recording head unit can be retained with the base plate inserted and a guide portion for guiding the ink jet recording head unit to the engaging groove portion by sliding the base plate.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording cartridge comprising an ink jet recording head unit for discharging ink, a head unit retaining member for retaining the ink jet recording head unit, and an ink tank retaining member for retaining an ink tank for containing ink, wherein the ink jet recording head unit is provided with an inlet to which ink is supplied, the ink tank retaining member is provided with an outlet tube for flowing out the ink connected to the ink tank, and the inlet is connected to the outlet tube so as to enable the ink to flow, and wherein the head unit retaining member is connected to the ink tank retaining member.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus comprising an ink jet recording head or an ink jet recording cartridge having the above constitution and a record medium conveying means for conveying a record medium arranged substantially perpendicularly to a discharge direction of ink discharged from the ink jet recording head or the ink jet recording cartridge.
In the present invention, the orifice plate is inclined to the element base, by which it can be arranged in parallel with the record medium surface and ink can be discharged perpendicularly to the record medium. Therefore, high-quality recording is achieved without being so much affected by cockling of a record medium or a high-speed motion.
Furthermore in a constitution in which a guide portion is arranged continuously from a head unit positioning reference surface of an engaging groove portion of a head unit retaining member, a head unit can be easily attached with a high positioning precision by sliding a base plate to an engaging groove portion along a guide portion continuously arranged from a head unit positioning reference surface when the head unit is attached to a head unit retaining member.
Furthermore, in a constitution in which an ink tank is attached to a head unit retaining member through an ink tank retaining member, a shock or vibrations generated at an attachment or detachment of the ink tanks can be relieved by the ink tank retaining member or a head unit fixing member, by which the shock or vibrations can be reduced before they are transmitted to the head unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a main portion perspective view of a head unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of the head unit without the chip tank shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a main portion sectional view of a recording apparatus including the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a partially expanded view of the recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a sectional view of a grooved top plate of the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 6
is a top plan view of the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 7
is a rear perspective view of the grooved top plate of the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 8
is a perspective view of a base plate of the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 9
is an explanatory diagram showing a method of connecting the head unit with a head unit retaining member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10
is an expanded view of one head unit fixing portion;
FIG. 11
is an expanded view of the other head unit fixing portion;
FIG. 12
is an inner face view of the head unit retaining member under a state of retaining the head unit;
FIG. 13
is an explanatory diagram showing a method of connecting an ink tank with an ink tank retaining member according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 14
is a bottom plan view of the ink tank retaining member;
FIG. 15
is a perspective view of the ink tank retaining member;
FIG. 16
is an explanatory front view showing a method of connecting the head unit retaining member with the ink tank retaining member according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 17
is an explanatory perspective view showing a method of connecting the head unit retaining member with the ink tank retaining member according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 18
is a partially sectional view of an ink jet recording cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 19
is an expanded view of a connecting portion between the head unit retaining member and the ink tank retaining member;
FIG. 20
is a plan view and a section view of an elastic member;
FIG. 21
is a rear elevation of the ink jet recording cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 22
is a bottom view of the ink jet recording cartridge shown in
FIG. 21
;
FIG. 23
is a main portion perspective view of a conventional head unit; and
FIG. 24
is a section view of the head unit shown in FIG.
23
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to accompanying drawings.
An ink jet recording head of this embodiment is described first. As described later, this ink jet recording head is of an integrated unit type assembled with a plurality of components, and therefore it is referred to as an ink jet recording head unit or simply as a head unit. In addition, a term “incline” in this specification means a state of not being perpendicular nor parallel to a criterion.
An entire constitution of a head unit
1
shown in
FIG. 1
is generally described. An element base
3
(See
FIGS. 2
to
4
) is laid on a base plate
2
and a grooved top plate
4
is joined to the top thereof with being contact-bonded by a pushing member
5
. Furthermore, a chip tank
6
for an ink supply is arranged above it with being fixed to the base plate
2
. At the rear of the base plate
6
, a wiring base
7
to which a flexible cable
41
(See
FIG. 17
) is connected is fixedly secured.
FIG. 2
,
FIG. 3
, and
FIG. 4
show a condition that the chip tank
6
is detached from the head unit in
FIG. 1
, a schematic sectional view of a recording apparatus including the head unit
1
, and a partially expanded view of the recording apparatus in
FIG. 3
, respectively.
FIG. 5
,
FIG. 6
,
FIG. 7
, and
FIG. 8
show a sectional view of a grooved top plate
4
having an orifice plate
10
, a top plan view of the head unit shown in
FIG. 1
, a rear perspective view of the grooved top plate
4
, and a perspective view of the base plate
2
, respectively. Referring to
FIGS. 2
to
6
, the constitution of the head unit
1
is described further in detail below. The element base
3
has one side (the lower side in
FIGS. 2 and 3
) on the base plate
2
and the other side (the upper side in
FIGS. 2 and 3
) on which there are arranged a plurality of energy generating elements
42
(See FIG.
4
). The energy generating elements
42
in this embodiment are electrical heat converting elements. The grooved top plate
4
has grooves
8
′ (See
FIG. 5
) forming ink flow channels
8
in a positional relationship in which they can be opposite to the plurality of energy generating elements
42
, respectively (See
FIG. 5
) and a hollow
9
′ (See
FIG. 5
) forming a common liquid chamber
9
which has communication with these grooves. By joining an element arrangement area of the element base
3
to a groove formation area of the grooved top plate
4
, a plurality of ink flow channels
8
are formed in this joint area. Furthermore, the orifice plate
10
is integrated with the grooved top plate
4
. On the orifice plate
10
, there are arranged a plurality of fine orifices
11
having communication with the ink flow channels
8
. In the same manner as for the conventional head unit, these orifices are inclined at approx. 10 deg to a direction of a flow of the ink flow channels
8
. All of the base plate
2
, the element base
3
, and the ink flow channels
8
are arranged substantially in parallel with each other. The orifice plate
10
is inclined at approx. 80 deg to the base plate
2
, the element base
3
, and the ink flow channels
8
and positioned substantially perpendicularly to the orifices
11
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, an inclined portion
12
having substantially the same angle of inclination as for the orifice plate
10
is formed on a surface of the base plate
2
opposite to the orifice plate
10
. In addition, in a gap formed by the element base
3
, the base plate
2
, and the orifice plate
10
, there is arranged a silicone layer
13
for protecting the orifice plate
10
. This silicone layer
13
has been made by injecting a silicone material toward the rear of the orifice plate
10
from silicone material injection aperture
14
(See
FIG. 6
) arranged on the both sides of the grooved top plate
4
and setting it. Before injecting the silicone material, it is preferable to incline this head unit
1
. In addition, an air in the gap formed by the element base
3
, the base plate
2
, and the orifice plate
10
is let escape from a slit
15
(See
FIG. 8
) arranged on the base plate
2
, and therefore no bubbles are included when the silicone layer
13
is formed. The base plate
2
is fixed to the element base
3
by means of conductive adhesive in a positional relationship in which the orifice plate
10
is spaced about 0.1 mm away from the base plate
2
.
As shown in
FIG. 7
, a processing reference surface
40
is formed on the grooved top plate
4
. This processing reference surface
40
is used as a surface for fixing a jig for a laser irradiation for a formation of the orifices
11
of the grooved top plate
4
, though it is not shown. In this constitution, an irradiation angle of laser rays at processing becomes more accurate by forming the grooved top plate
4
precisely, which leads to obtaining a more precise angle of the orifices
11
, in other words, a more precise ink discharge angle. In a bi-directional recording, a reciprocation density difference is generated due to a satellite at recording, while the reciprocation density difference can be reduced by adjusting a discharge angle by approx. ±2 deg, for example (more preferably, approx. ±1 deg). In this embodiment, the precision of controlling the discharge angle for reducing the reciprocation density difference as described above can be improved by arranging the processing reference surface
40
on the grooved top plate
4
.
In the chip tank
6
, there is arranged inlet tubes
17
each having a supply passage
16
having communication with the common liquid chambers
9
. In this embodiment, three common liquid chambers
9
are formed on the assumption that color printing with three color inks is performed, and therefore three supply passages
16
and three inlet tubes
17
are arranged. End portions in the outside of the three inlet tubes
17
(end portions in the side opposite to the end portions in contact with the grooved top plate
4
) are connected to a plane portion
18
forming an outer wall of the chip tank
6
. In other words, inlets
17
a
are located in this plane portion
18
.
In the chip tank
6
, the inlet tubes
17
are formed perpendicularly to a surface of a recording sheet
43
in the vicinity of the inlets
17
a
so as to obtain the inlets
17
a
of the chip tank
6
each having a circular form and so that a surface on which the inlets
17
a
are located is parallel to the surface of the recording sheet
43
(See
FIG. 3
) which is a record medium. The circular inlets
17
a
stabilizes the ink inflow and the arrangement of the surface where the inlets
17
a
are located in parallel to the surface of the recording sheet makes it possible to achieve a connection with other components safely and simply by a force applied perpendicularly to the surface of the recording sheet. As a result, each of the inlet tubes
17
in the chip tank is L-shaped. In addition, the inlet tubes
17
are connected with the grooved top plate
4
by filling a circumferential space with a silicone material and setting it in a state that the inlets
17
a
are contacted to the grooved top plate with pressure. In order to put the inlets
17
a
in contact with the grooved top plate
4
with pressure, the inlet tubes
17
have elasticity. The recording sheet (record medium)
43
is arranged substantially in parallel with the orifice plate
10
and substantially perpendicularly to the orifices
11
, and then it is conveyed to a recording sheet conveying means (record medium conveying means)
44
. The recording sheet conveying means
44
is not described here in detail, except that it includes a conveying roller or the like which is not shown.
In the chip tank
6
, a shroud portion
19
is arranged so that the orifice plate is shrouded and the shroud portion
19
protects the orifice plate
10
from a frictional force generated by a wiper of the recording apparatus which is not shown or an external force from a side portion. The shroud portion
19
is put substantially in parallel with the orifice plate
10
, in other words, inclined at about 80 deg to the element base
3
. This puts the shroud portion
19
in parallel with the recording sheet
43
, by which a distance between them is reduced.
A surface of the chip tank
6
(the top of the chip tank in
FIG. 1
) is formed substantially perpendicularly to the orifice plate
10
and the surface of the recording sheet, in other words, inclined at approx. 10 deg to the base plate
2
, the element base
3
, and the ink flow channels
8
. This secures a containing space for the inlet tubes
17
in the chip tank
6
. On the top of the chip tank
6
, there is arranged an edge portion
20
for scraping highly mucilaginous ink adhering to the wiper.
In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 5
or others, a recess surface
10
a
on which the plurality of orifices
11
are arranged is formed on the orifice plate
10
so as to obtain an appropriate length of nozzles which open as orifices. This recess surface
10
a
has the closest area
10
b
to the plurality of orifices. In this embodiment, the closest area
10
b
is substantially parallel to a peripheral area
10
c
of the recess surface
10
a
of the orifice plate
10
and is inclined to the element base.
The head unit (ink jet recording head)
1
having the above constitution is retained by a head unit retaining member
21
. As shown in
FIG. 9
, a head unit retaining member
21
is provided with an engaging groove portion
22
in which the head unit
1
can be retained by an insertion of the base plate
2
. The engaging groove portion
22
is provided between a rail-like head unit positioning reference surface
23
protruding to the inner surface of the head unit retaining member
21
and its opposite surface
24
, and a guide portion
23
a
is arranged continuously from the head unit positioning reference surface
23
. Therefore, the head unit
1
is retained by the head unit retaining member
21
with sliding the base plate
2
along a guide portion
23
a
so as to move to the engaging groove portion
22
. The guide portion
23
a
is arranged continuously from the head unit positioning reference surface
23
, and therefore the guide portion
23
a
acts as an assistance of positioning the head unit
1
. As shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11
, an elastic click portion
25
is arranged on an opposite surface
24
in order to contact the base plate
2
with pressure to the head unit positioning reference surface
23
. Furthermore by coating the engaging groove portion
22
with adhesive and hardening it, the fixing strength is improved.
FIG. 12
shows an inner surface of the head unit retaining member
21
under a state of retaining the head unit
1
. In this inner surface, three joint pins
26
are arranged. These joint pins
26
are formed so as to have substantially the same height as for the inlets
17
a
of the head unit
1
. The three inlets
17
a
are arranged so as to be opposite to the three joint pins
26
and so that they form two rows in parallel with each other.
In addition in the inner surface of the head unit retaining member
21
, there are arranged cylindrical portions
28
a
and
28
b
into which fixing screws
27
(See
FIGS. 16
,
17
,
18
, and
22
) can be penetratingly inserted; one cylindrical portion
28
a
is lower than the other cylindrical portion
28
b
so as not to interrupt an attachment of the head unit
1
. Additionally, a mating pin
29
is arranged.
Next, an ink tank
30
and an ink tank retaining member
31
shown in
FIG. 13
are described below. Since color recording with three color inks is assumed in this embodiment, three ink tanks
30
having the same shape are used here. These three ink tanks
30
aligned and retained by the ink tank retaining member
31
are attached to the head unit retaining member
21
for retaining the head unit
1
. Respective ink tanks
30
are detachable independently by an operation of respective levers
32
.
The ink tank retaining member
31
has an external shape which allows to be mounted on the inside of the head unit retaining member
21
. As shown in
FIGS. 14 and 15
, at the bottom of the ink tank retaining member
31
, there are arranged three outlet tubes
33
each having communication with three ink tanks
30
so as to flow out inks, three joint pins
37
opposite to these outlet tubes
33
and forming one of two rows in parallel with each other, two cylindrical portions
35
a
and
35
b
having tapped holes
34
into which screws
27
(See
FIGS. 16
,
17
,
18
, and
22
) are inserted, and two mating recess portions
36
. Three outlet tubes
33
are opposite to three inlet tubes
17
of the head unit
1
, three joint pins
37
are to three joint pins
26
of the head unit retaining member
21
, two cylindrical portions
35
a
and
35
b
are to two cylindrical portions
28
a
and
28
b
of the head unit retaining member
21
, and two mating recess portions
36
are opposite to two mating pins
29
of the head unit retaining member
21
. All of the three outlet tubes
33
and the three joint pins have the same height.
Subsequently, with reference to
FIGS. 16
to
19
, a description is made for a joint structure between the ink tank retaining member
31
under a state of retaining the ink tanks
30
and the head unit retaining member
21
a state of retaining the head unit
1
. As shown in
FIGS. 18 and 19
, the three outlet tubes
33
have the three inlets
17
a
via the elastic member
38
and the three joint pins
37
are opposite to the three joint pins
26
via the elastic member
38
so that the two mating recess portions
36
are mated with the two mating pins
29
. The screws
27
penetratingly inserted into the two cylindrical portions
28
a
and
28
b
are screwed in the tapped holes
34
of the two cylindrical portions
35
a
and
35
b
, by which the head unit retaining member
21
is connected to the ink tank retaining member
31
. Since one cylindrical portion
28
a
of the head unit retaining member
21
is lower than the other cylindrical portion
28
b
thereof, one cylindrical portion
35
a
of the ink tank retaining member
31
is higher than the other cylindrical portion
35
b
thereof, and therefore the total of the heights of the cylindrical portion
28
a
and the cylindrical portion
35
a
is substantially equal to the total of the heights of the cylindrical portion
28
b
and the cylindrical portion
35
b.
Referring to
FIG. 20
, there is shown an enlarged view of the elastic member. There are provided communication holes (hole portions)
39
in a portion between the outlet tubes
33
and the inlets
17
a
. There is no need, however, to arrange communication holes in a portion between the joint pins
37
and the joint pins
26
. It is also possible to form joint pins
37
each having a pipe shape similar in shape to the outlet tubes
33
at a formation of the ink tank retaining member
31
. In other words, the joint pins
37
are so-called dummy outlet tubes. In this case, be careful not to make any holes in portions of the elastic member
38
in contact with the joint pins
37
which are the dummy outlet tubes.
In the ink jet recording cartridge (See
FIGS. 21 and 22
) assembled as described above, inks are supplied from the ink tanks
30
to the orifices
11
sequentially through the outlet tubes
33
, the communication holes
39
of the elastic member
38
, the inlet tubes
17
, and the ink flow channels
8
. If the electrical heat converting elements which are the energy generating elements
42
are driven, heat energy is applied and it causes film boiling in the inks, by which the inks are discharged from the orifices
11
to the recording sheet
43
in the outside as its action.
In the ink jet recording cartridge of this embodiment having the above constitution, the orifice plate
10
is arranged in parallel with a surface of the recording sheet
43
and a row of the orifices
11
is arranged being inclined at approx. 3.58 deg in a paper feeding direction of the recording sheet
43
by the recording sheet conveying means
44
as shown in FIG.
22
. If the row of the orifices
11
is parallel to the paper feeding direction, all the orifices
11
have to be driven at a time when inks are discharged from all of the multiple orifices
11
vertically aligned in
FIG. 22
, and it is not preferable since it may cause an unstable ink fluid state in the common liquid chambers
9
and the ink flow channels
8
, a lack of ink, or a problem of power consumption. Therefore, with the row of the orifices
11
inclined to the paper feeding direction as described in this embodiment, driving timings of the energy generating elements can be shifted so as to avoid the above problems even if inks are discharged from all of the orifices
11
.
The head unit
1
is fixed to the head unit retaining member
21
; its positional precision is important to obtain high-quality printed images and therefore it is better to minimize an external force which may shift the head unit
1
to an incorrect position. For example, if the ink tanks are directly attached to the head unit in a constitution in which the ink tanks are detachable, an impact at the attachment may affect significantly the positional precision and deteriorate it. The head unit retaining member having a size large enough to be endurable to the impact or a special mechanism arranged for cushioning is not preferable from the viewpoint of downsizing or constitutional simplification. Accordingly in this embodiment, the ink tanks
30
are attached to the head unit retaining member
21
via the ink tank retaining member
31
, by which an impact at the attachment is relieved so as to restrain the deterioration of the positional precision of the head unit
1
.
The outlet tubes
33
of the ink tank retaining member
31
are put in contact with the inlets
17
a
of the head unit retaining member
21
with pressure via the elastic member
38
. The elastic member
38
prevents an ink leakage at joints and relieves an impact to the head unit
1
at attachment or detachment of the ink tanks
30
.
Additionally taking into consideration a balance of a load more or less applied from the ink tank retaining member
21
to the head unit
1
when the screws
27
are tightened, the joint pins
26
and
37
are disposed to be symmetrical relative to the outlet tubes
33
and the inlets
17
a
about a line between two tapped holes
34
so that the loading direction is parallel to the screwing direction. The positions of the tapped holes
34
are inclined at approx. 3.58 deg in correspondence with the head unit
1
attached being inclined at approx. 3.58 deg.
Although it is possible to apply welding or to use a locking mechanism instead of using the screws
27
or to fix the screws
27
with adhesive or silicone material as a fixing means between the head unit retaining member
21
and the ink tank retaining member
31
, fixing only with the screws
27
as described in this embodiment has not only an advantage that easy attachment or detachment makes it easy to reuse the components or to appropriate the components to another unit expansion, but also an advantage that a constitution is simplified and it leads to a reduction of the cost.
The screwing work, however, involves unevenness and unstableness of a positional relationship between a flute on the head of the screw
27
and a screwdriver or the directions. Therefore, the screw fixing portion is put to a depth at which the head of the screw is slightly higher than the outermost surface when the screw is dropped into the tapped hole, by which the screw position after the drop-in is stabilized and the process becomes stable. Therefore, the cylindrical portions
35
a
and
35
b
of the ink tank retaining member
31
have a difference of the height, taking into consideration of the connection between the cylindrical portions
28
a
and
28
b
of the unit retaining member
21
. In addition, the mating recess portions
36
and the mating pins
29
are disposed around the elastic member
38
.
Claims
- 1. An ink jet recording head, comprising:an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink; a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to said plurality of energy generating elements, being joined to said element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by said plurality of grooves on a joint area side to said element base; an orifice plate having a plurality of orifices having communication with said plurality of ink flow channels respectively and being mounted on said grooved top plate integrally; and a chip tank having a supply passage for supplying ink to said plurality of ink flow channels, wherein a surface in a side of said plurality of orifice of said orifice plate and an inner surface of said supply passage of said chip tank are substantially parallel with each other and are inclined and not perpendicular to a surface in a side of said plurality of energy generating elements of said element base.
- 2. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein there is arranged an inclined portion corresponding to said inclination of said orifice plate on a surface in a vicinity of said orifice plate on a base plate for fixing said element base.
- 3. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a surface of said chip tank opposite to the mounting surface onto said grooved top plate is inclined relative to a direction of said ink flow channels.
- 4. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein said supply passage of said chip tank has an L-shaped form.
- 5. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein said grooved top plate is provided with a processing reference surface which is to be a reference for a formation of said orifices.
- 6. An ink jet recording head according to claim 5, wherein said orifices are formed by laser processing and said processing reference surface is used for fixing a jig for a laser irradiation at said laser processing.
- 7. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein said energy generating elements are electrical heat converting elements for generating heat energy.
- 8. An ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein inks are discharged from said orifices by utilizing film boiling caused in the inks by the heat energy applied by said electrical heat converting elements. base.
- 9. An ink jet recording head according to claim 1,wherein said orifice plate has a recess surface formed on an area in which said plurality of orifices are arranged, and wherein an area closest to said plurality of orifices among the surfaces in the side of said plurality of orifices of said orifice plate is substantially parallel with peripheral areas of said recess surface of said orifice plate and is inclined to said element base.
- 10. An ink jet recording head according to claim 9, wherein said energy generating elements are electrical heat converting elements for generating heat energy.
- 11. An ink jet recording head according to claim 10, wherein inks are discharged from said orifices by utilizing film boiling caused in the inks by the heat energy applied by said electrical heat converting elements.
- 12. A recording apparatus having an ink jet recording head according to claim 1 or 9 and a record medium conveying means for conveying a record medium arranged substantially perpendicularly to a discharge direction in which inks are discharged from the ink jet recording head.
- 13. An ink jet recording cartridge, comprising:an ink jet recording head unit, including an element base having a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy used for discharging ink; a base plate for fixing the element base; and a grooved top plate having a plurality of grooves corresponding to said plurality of energy generating elements respectively, being joined to said element base, and having a plurality of ink flow channels formed by said plurality of grooves on a joint area side to said element base; and a head unit retaining member, including an engaging groove portion where the ink jet recording head unit can be retained with said base plate inserted; and a guide portion for guiding said ink jet recording head unit to said engaging groove portion by sliding said base plate.
- 14. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 13, wherein said engaging groove portion is arranged between a head unit positioning reference surface and an opposite surface opposite to the head unit positioning reference surface and wherein said guide portion is continuously arranged from said head unit positioning reference surface.
- 15. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 14, wherein said head unit retaining member is arranged at least in one of said head unit positioning reference surface and said opposite surface and has an elastic click portion for catching said base plate inserted in said engaging groove portion.
- 16. An ink jet recording cartridge, comprising:an ink jet recording head unit for discharging ink; a head unit retaining member for retaining the ink jet recording head unit; and an ink tank retaining member for retaining an ink tank for containing ink, wherein said ink jet recording head unit is provided with an inlet to which ink is supplied, said ink tank retaining member is provided with an outlet tube for flowing out the ink connected to said ink tank, and said inlet is connected to said outlet tube so as to enable the ink to flow; wherein said head unit retaining member is connected to said ink tank retaining member; and wherein said head unit retaining member and said ink tank retaining member are provided with joint pins opposite to each other respectively and wherein said inlets, said outlet tubes, and said joint pins are aligned in a plurality of rows.
- 17. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 16, wherein said joint pins of said head unit retaining member have substantially a same height as for said inlets of said ink jet recording head unit in a state that said ink jet recording head unit is retained by said head unit retaining member and wherein said joint pins of said ink tank retaining member have substantially a same height as for said outlet tubes.
- 18. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 16, further comprising an elastic member arranged between said inlets and said outlet tubes and having hole portions for communication of said inlets with said outlet tubes.
- 19. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 16., wherein said head unit retaining member is joined to said ink tank retaining member by screws.
- 20. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 16, wherein said plurality of rows formed by said inlets, said outlet tubes, and said joint pins are parallel to each other.
- 21. An ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 13 or 16, wherein said ink jet recording head unit discharges inks from said orifices by utilizing film boiling caused in the inks by heat energy applied by electrical heat converting elements.
- 22. A recording apparatus, comprising:an ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 13 or 16; and a record medium conveying means for conveying a record medium arranged substantially perpendicularly to a discharge direction of ink discharged from said ink jet recording head unit.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
10-306142 |
Oct 1998 |
JP |
|
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