Patent Grant
9108413
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid droplet discharge device including a wiping member that wipes a liquid droplet discharge surface of a liquid droplet discharge head, and a method of manufacturing the liquid droplet discharge device.
2. Related Art
A liquid droplet discharge device such as an inkjet printer has many advantages in which noise during recording is extremely small, high-speed printing is possible, ink choices vary, cheap plain paper can be used, or the like. For example, as shown in
The nozzle plate 1 is formed with the liquid repellent layer 17 on a large substrate, and then is cut into the nozzle plate 1 of a single item size (see, JP-A-2010-240852). For this reason, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1.
As shown in
However, in order to cover the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1 with the fixing plate 18, since there is a need to increase a size of the nozzle plate 1, there is a problem in that the costs of the nozzle plate 1 increase or the like.
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a liquid droplet discharge device capable of preventing the peeling-off of the liquid repellent layer even when the liquid droplet discharge surface is not covered by the fixing plate on the end portion of the nozzle plate, and a method of manufacturing the liquid droplet discharge device.
An aspect of the invention is directed to a liquid droplet discharge device that has a liquid droplet discharge head in which a liquid repellent layer is coated on a liquid droplet discharge surface of a nozzle plate; a fixing plate that fixes the liquid droplet discharge head to a head supporter; and a wiping member that wipes the liquid droplet discharge surface by a relative movement with the liquid droplet discharge head, wherein the liquid repellent layer is continuously coated to an end surface of the nozzle plate over a boundary between the liquid droplet discharge surface and the end surface, and the fixing plate does not overlap the liquid droplet discharge surface and fixes the liquid droplet discharge head to the head supporter, at least on an end portion of the nozzle plate located on an initial point side of wiping using the wiping member.
In this configuration, the liquid repellent layer is continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface to a middle position in a thickness direction of the end surface of the nozzle plate. For this reason, when the wiping member comes into contact with the nozzle plate, the wiping member does not come into contact with the edge of the liquid repellent layer. Therefore, even in the end portion of the nozzle plate located on the initial point side of wiping using the wiping member, since there is no need for a structure in which the liquid droplet discharge surface of the nozzle plate overlaps the fixing plate, the size of the nozzle plate can be reduced. Thus, the costs of the nozzle plate can be reduced.
The liquid droplet discharge device of the aspect of the invention may be configured such that, on the end surface, a boundary between a portion coated with the liquid repellent layer and a non-coated portion is closer to the liquid droplet discharge surface than a back surface of the liquid droplet discharge surface, wherein the liquid droplet discharge surface is defined as a front surface of a nozzle plate and the back surface of the liquid droplet discharge surface is defined as a back surface of the nozzle plate. In this configuration, the liquid repellent layer is continuously formed across the liquid droplet discharge surface to the coated portion of the end surface. It is possible to realize a configuration in which the liquid repellent layer is continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface to the boundary between the portion of the end surface coated with the liquid repellent layer and the non-coated portion.
The liquid droplet discharge device of the aspect of the invention may be configured such that the end surface includes a first end surface connected to the back surface of the liquid droplet discharge surface, and a second end surface connected to the first end surface and parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface, and the liquid repellent layer is continuously coated from the liquid droplet discharge surface to the second end surface. In this configuration, by forming the liquid repellent layer from the side of the liquid droplet discharge surface, it is possible to reliably realize a configuration in which the liquid repellent layer is continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surface of the nozzle plate.
The liquid droplet discharge device of the aspect of the invention may be configured such that, for example, the second end surface extends along a surface parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface, and the end surface includes a third end surface that is connected to the liquid droplet discharge surface and the second end surface between the liquid droplet discharge surface and the second end surface.
The liquid droplet discharge device of the aspect of the invention may be configured such that the second end surface includes an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to both the liquid droplet discharge surface and the first end surface.
The liquid droplet discharge device of the aspect of the invention may be configured such that the second end surface includes a concave-shaped curved surface.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method suitable for manufacturing the liquid droplet discharge device and having the following configuration. That is, the method of manufacturing the liquid droplet discharge device that has a liquid droplet discharge head in which a liquid repellent layer is coated on a liquid droplet discharge surface of a nozzle plate, a fixing plate that fixes the liquid droplet discharge head to a head supporter, and a wiping member that wipes the liquid droplet discharge surface by a relative movement with the liquid droplet discharge head, the method includes forming nozzle holes on the substrate; forming a plurality of grooves on one main surface of the substrate; coating the liquid repellent layer on the main surface; and cutting the substrate along the plurality of grooves to obtain individual pieces of a plurality of nozzle plates.
In the aspect of the invention, after the grooves are formed along a region in which the nozzle plates are cut with respect to one surface of the substrate, the liquid repellent layer is formed on the one surface of the substrate, then, the substrate is cut along the grooves to obtain the nozzle plates. For this reason, it is possible to easily realize a configuration in which the liquid repellent layer is continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surface of the nozzle plate.
According to the aspect of the invention, in the forming of the nozzle holes and in the forming of the grooves, it is preferable that the nozzle holes and the grooves be concurrently formed on the substrate. In this configuration, the number of process can be reduced.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
Embodiments of the invention will be described referring to the drawings. In addition, in the following description, as a liquid droplet discharge device to which the invention is applied, an ink jet printer will be described as an example. Furthermore, in the following description, in order to easily understand the correspondence to the configuration described referring to
Overall Configuration of Liquid Droplet Discharge Device
Herein, at a position corresponding to a home position of the carriage 3, that is, near one end portion of the carriage shaft 5, a cap member 9 is provided which seals the liquid droplet discharge surface of the liquid droplet discharge head 10. A suction unit (not shown) configured to suck the inside of the cap member is connected to the cap member 9. In the present embodiment, a plurality of cap members 9 is provided in response to the number of the liquid droplet discharge heads 10. The cap member 9 seals the liquid droplet discharge surface of the liquid droplet discharge head 10, thereby to prevent the ink from drying near the nozzle holes of the liquid droplet discharge head 10. Furthermore, the cap member 9 functions as an ink receiver when performing the flushing operation of ejecting the ink droplet from the nozzle holes or the suction operation of sucking the inside of the cap member 9 using the suction unit at a predetermined timing to forcibly discharge the ink or the like from the nozzle holes.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the wiping member 4 is provided which is constituted by a cleaning blade or the like that wipes the liquid droplet discharge surface of the liquid droplet discharge head 10, in adjacent to the cap member 9. Thus, when bringing the leading end portion of the wiping member 4 into slide-contact with the liquid droplet discharge surface of the liquid droplet discharge head 10, by moving the carriage 3 at the predetermined timing, it is possible to carry out the cleaning operation of wiping the liquid droplet discharge surface.
Configuration of Liquid Droplet Discharge Head 10
As shown in
On the bottom surface side of the case 150, four liquid droplet discharge heads 10 are placed in the state of being uniformly positioned in the main scanning direction X, and each of the four liquid droplet discharge heads 10 is directed to a long side in the main scanning direction X. Each of the four liquid droplet discharge heads 10 is fixed to the case 150 using the metallic fixing plate 18. The fixing plate 18 has a bottom plate portion 181 formed with four opening portions 180 at positions corresponding to the liquid droplet discharge heads 10, and a side plate portion 182 that is bent at a right angle from an outer edge of the bottom plate portion 181, and the liquid droplet discharge heads 10 and the side plate portion 182 are fixed to each other by an adhesive or the like.
As shown in
The nozzle plate 1 is constituted by a silicon single crystalline substrate in which the plurality of nozzle holes 11 is arranged in the auxiliary scanning direction Y at a pitch corresponding to the dot formation concentration, and a liquid droplet discharge surface 1a is formed by the one surface thereof. In the present embodiment, two rows of the nozzle rows are formed by providing 180 nozzle holes 11 in rows at a pitch of 180 dpi. Herein, the nozzle plate 1 is a rectangular plate material, and a long side thereof is directed in the main scanning direction X. Thus, the nozzle holes 11 are arranged in the auxiliary scanning direction Y to form the nozzle row, and the nozzle rows are arranged in parallel in the main scanning direction X. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the nozzle plate 1 is, for example, substantially 65 μm.
The flow path substrate 23 is manufactured by the silicon single crystalline substrate, like the nozzle plate 1. On the upper surface (the surface of the common liquid chamber substrate 24 side) of the flow path substrate 23, a thin elastic film 30 formed of silicon dioxide is formed by the thermal oxidation. In such a flow path substrate 23, a plurality of pressure chambers 31 partitioned by a plurality of partitions is formed in response to each nozzle hole 11, by anisotropic etching processing. On the outer side of the row of the pressure chamber 31 in the flow path substrate 23, a communication space portion 33 is formed which partitions a part of the common liquid chamber 32 as a chamber into which the common ink of each pressure chamber 31 is introduced. The communication space portion 33 communicates with each pressure chamber 31 via the ink supply path 34.
On the elastic film 30 of the upper surface (the surface of an opposite side to the nozzle plate 1 side) of the flow path substrate 23, a piezoelectric element 35 is provided for each of the pressure chambers 31, and such a piezoelectric element 35 has a structure in which a metallic lower electrode film, a piezoelectric layer formed of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the like, and an upper electrode film made of a metal are sequentially stacked. The piezoelectric element 35 is a piezoelectric vibrator of a so-called bending mode, and is formed so as to cover the upper portion of the pressure chamber 31.
On the flow path substrate 23 formed with the piezoelectric element 35, the common liquid chamber substrate 24 having a penetrated space portion 36 penetrating in the thickness direction is placed. The common liquid chamber substrate 24 is manufactured by the use of the silicon single crystalline substrate, like the flow path substrate 23 and the nozzle plate 1. The penetrated space portion 36 in the common liquid chamber substrate 24 communicates with the communicated space portion 33 of the flow path substrate 23 to partition a part of the common liquid chamber 32. On the upper surface (the surface of an opposite side to the flow path substrate 23) of the common liquid chamber substrate 24, a drive IC 38 for driving each piezoelectric element 35 is provided. Each terminal of the drive IC 38 is connected to an extraction wiring extracted from the individual electrodes of each piezoelectric element 35 via a bonding wire (not shown) or the like. Moreover, each terminal of the drive IC 38 is electrically connected to a control unit (not shown) of the liquid droplet discharge device 200 via an external wiring 39 such as a flexible print cable (FPC), and various signals such as the print signal from the control unit side are supplied via the external wiring 39.
On the upper surface side of the common liquid chamber substrate 24, the compliance substrate 25 is placed. In a region, in the compliance substrate 25, facing the penetrated space portion 36 of the common liquid chamber substrate 24, an ink introduction port 40 for supplying the ink from the ink introduction needle 20 side to the common liquid chamber 32 is formed so as to penetrate in the thickness direction. Furthermore, a region other than the ink introduction port 40 of the region facing the penetrated space portion 36 of the compliance substrate 25 is a flexible portion 41 formed extremely thinly, and the upper opening of facing the penetrated space portion 36 is sealed by the flexible portion 41, whereby the common liquid chamber 32 is partitioned and formed. Such a flexible portion 41 functions as a compliance portion that absorbs the pressure fluctuation of the ink in the common liquid chamber 32.
The unit case 26 is a member in which an ink introduction path 42 for supplying the ink introduced from the ink introduction needle 20 side (see
The nozzle plate 1, the flow path substrate 23, the common liquid chamber substrate 24, the compliance substrate 25, and the unit case 26 are joined to one another, by placing an adhesive, a thermal welding film or the like therebetween and being heated in the stacked state, thereby to constitute the liquid droplet discharge head 10.
The liquid droplet discharge head 10 configured in this manner is attached to the carriage 3 so that the row direction of the nozzle holes 11 is matched with the auxiliary scanning direction Y in the state of the head assembly 110. Moreover, each liquid droplet discharge head 10 takes the ink from the ink cartridge 2 to the common liquid chamber 32 side via the ink introduction path 42 and the ink introduction port 40, and fills the ink flow path (a kind of the liquid flow path) from the common liquid chamber 32 to the nozzle hole 11 with the ink. Moreover, by supplying the drive signal from the drive IC 38 to the piezoelectric element 35 and performing the bending deformation of the piezoelectric element 35, the pressure fluctuation is caused in the ink in the corresponding pressure chamber 31, and the liquid droplet of the ink is discharged from the nozzle hole 11 by the use of the pressure fluctuation of the ink.
Configuration of Nozzle Plate 1 and Periphery Thereof
As shown in
In such a liquid droplet discharge head 10, as shown by an arrow −X, when the carriage 3 moves to the home position, the wiping member 4 slides on the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a of the liquid droplet discharge head 10 from one side X1 to the other side X2, thereby to remove the dirt from the ink. At that time, the end portion 107 of the one side X1 in which the end surface 102 is located in the nozzle plate 1 becomes an initial point of wiping. In contrast, as shown by an arrow +X, when the carriage 3 moves from the home position, as shown by an alternate long and short dash line, the wiping member 4 slides on the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a of the liquid droplet discharge head 10 from one side X1 to the other side X2. At that time, the end portion 107 of the other side X2 in which the end surface 102 is located in the nozzle plate 1 becomes an initial point of wiping.
When performing such a cleaning operation, in the present embodiment, in the nozzle plate 1, all the four end surfaces including the end surfaces 101 and 102 have the configuration described below so that the liquid repellent layer 17 is not peeled off from the edge by the contact with the wiping member 4. In addition, since all the four end surfaces of the nozzle plate 1 have the same configuration, in the following description, the configurations of the end surfaces 101 and 102 will be described, and the description of other end surfaces will be omitted.
First, a step portion facing the liquid droplet discharge side is formed on the end surface 101 of the nozzle plate 1, and as a result, a first end surface 101a connected to the back surface 1b of an opposite side to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a is at a right angle, and a second end surface 101b facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 101a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 101a are formed on the end surface 101. Herein, the second end surface 101b is formed to be parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and a third end surface 101c perpendicular with respect to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, the second end surface 101b and the back surface 1b is formed between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the second end surface 101b. Furthermore, on the second end surface 101b and the third end surface 101c, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed over the boundary between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the end surface 101 from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and thus, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are formed in the corner portions of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the third end surface 101c. In contrast, since the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on the back surface 1b and the first end surface 101a, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed in the corner portions of the back surface 1b and the first end surface 101a. Thus, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position of the end surface 101 in the thickness direction. In the present embodiment, the boundary between the portion coated with the liquid repellent layer 17 and the non-coated portion in the end surface 101 is an approximately intermediate position between the back surface 1b of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a. However, in the end surface 101, it is preferable that the boundary between the portion coated with the liquid repellent layer 17 and the non-coated portion be located at a position that is closer to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a than the back surface 1b of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a. According to such a configuration, there is an advantage that a groove 12 described below may be shallowly formed.
Furthermore, like the end surface 101, the step portion facing the liquid droplet discharge side is also formed on the end surface 102 of the nozzle plate 1. As a result, a first end surface 102a connected to the back surface 1b of an opposite side to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a at a right angle, and a second end surface 102b facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 102a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 102a are formed on the end surface 102. Herein, the second end surface 102b is formed to be parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and a third end surface 102c perpendicular with respect to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, the second end surface 102b, and the back surface 1b is formed between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the second end surface 102b. Furthermore, on the second end surface 102b and the third end surface 102c, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and thus, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are formed in the corner portions of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the third end surface 102c. In contrast, since the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on the back surface 1b and the first end surface 102a, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed in the corner portions of the back surface 1b and the first end surface 102a. Thus, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position of the end surface 102 in the thickness direction.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the bottom surface portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 does not overlap the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a (the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a of the liquid droplet discharge head 10) of the nozzle plate 1 in the end portions 106 ad 107 in which the end surfaces 101 and 102 are located. In addition, in the present embodiment, since the liquid droplet discharge head 10 and the side plate portion 182 of the fixing plate 18 are fixed to each other by an adhesive or the like, the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 does not overlap the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a in any end portion of the nozzle plate 1, and fixes the liquid droplet discharge head 10 to the case 150.
Main Effect of the Present Embodiment
As described above, in the liquid droplet discharge head 10 of the present embodiment, the liquid repellent layer 17 is continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1. For this reason, when the wiping member 4 comes into contact with the nozzle plate 1, the wiping member 4 does not come into contact with the edge of the liquid repellent layer 17. Therefore, even in the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1 located on the initial point side of wiping using the wiping member 4, since there is no need for a structure in which the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a of the nozzle plate 1 overlaps the fixing plate 18, the size of the nozzle plate 1 can be reduced. Therefore, the costs of the nozzle plate 1 can be reduced.
Method of Manufacturing the Liquid Droplet Discharge Head 10
An example of a method of manufacturing the liquid droplet discharge head 10 shown in
In order to manufacture the nozzle plate 1 of the liquid droplet discharge head 10 shown in
In the present embodiment, first, in the process of forming the grooves shown in
Next, in the process of forming the nozzle holes shown in
Next, in the process of forming the thin plate shown in
Next, in the process of forming the liquid-resistant protective layer shown in
Next, the liquid repellent treatment for allowing the substrate 100 to have the liquid repellent properties with respect to the ink is performed. Specifically, in the liquid repellent layer coating process shown in
Thereafter, in the cutting process, after bonding the dicing tape onto the first surface 100a or the second surface 100b of the substrate 100, the substrate 100 is irradiated with laser along the grooves 12, as shown in
In order to manufacture the liquid droplet discharge head 10 using the nozzle plate 1 manufactured in this manner, as described referring to
As shown in
In the present embodiment, in the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1, the corner of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a side has an obliquely chamfered shape. For this reason, the first end surface 101a connected to the back surface 1b at a right angle, and the second end surface 101b constituted by an inclined surface facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 101a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 101a are formed on the end surface 101. Furthermore, like the end surface 101, the first end surface 102a connected to the back surface 1b at a right angle, and the second end surface 102b constituted by an inclined surface facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 102a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the second end surface 102a are formed on the end surface 102.
Furthermore, on the second end surfaces 101b and 102b, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed over the boundary between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the end surfaces 101 and 102 from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a. However, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on the first end surfaces 101a and 102a, and the boundary between the portion coated with the liquid repellent layer 17 and the non-coated portion in the end surface 101 is located at a position that is closer to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a than the back surface 1b of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 also does not overlap the nozzle plate 1 in the end portions 106 and 107.
In this manner, in the liquid droplet discharge head 10 of the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the liquid repellent layer 17 is also continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1. For this reason, when the wiping member 4 shown in
The nozzle plate 1 having such a configuration can be realized, by forming the grooves 12 having a cross-section of a V shape shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, in the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1, the corner of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a side has a concavely curved notched shape. For this reason, the first end surface 101a connected to the back surface 1b at a right angle, and the second end surface 101b constituted by an concaved curved surface facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 101a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 101a are formed on the end surface 101. Furthermore, like the end surface 101, the first end surface 102a connected to the back surface 1b at a right angle, and the second end surface 102b constituted by a concaved curved surface facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 102a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the second end surface 102a are also formed on the end surface 102. Furthermore, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the second end surfaces 101b and 102b. However, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on the first end surfaces 101a and 102a.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 also does not overlap the nozzle plate 1 in the end portions 106 and 107.
In this manner, in the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the liquid repellent layer 17 is also continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1. For this reason, when the wiping member 4 shown in
The nozzle plate 1 having such a configuration can be realized by forming the grooves 12 having a cross-section of a U shape shown in
Configuration of Nozzle Plate 1 or the Like
In Embodiment 1, although the nozzle holes 11 have the approximately same internal radius and penetrate through the nozzle plate 1, in the present embodiment, as shown in
In the nozzle plate 1 having such a configuration, as in Embodiment 1, the nozzle plate 1 is also formed with the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 on the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the back surface 1b, and the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 is also formed on the inner surface of the nozzle holes 11. Furthermore, in the nozzle plate 1, the liquid repellent layer 17 is formed on the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and the liquid repellent layer 17 is also formed on the inner surface of the nozzle holes 11.
In the present embodiment, the same stage portion as that of Embodiment 1 is formed on the end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1. For this reason, the first end surface 101a connected to the back surface 1b at a right angle, and the second end surface 101b facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 101a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 101a are formed on the end surface 101 of the nozzle plate 1. Furthermore, the second end surface 101b is formed to be parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and the third end surface 101c perpendicular to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, the second end surface 101b, and the back surface 1b is formed between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the second end surface 101b. Furthermore, like the end surface 101, the end surface 102 of the nozzle plate 1 is also formed with the first end surface 102a connected to the back surface 1b of an opposite side at a right angle, and the second end surface 102b facing the liquid droplet discharge side between the first end surface 102a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a on the inner side of the first end surface 102a are formed. Furthermore, the second end surface 102b is formed to be parallel to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and the third end surface 102c perpendicular to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, the second end surface 102b, and the back surface 1b is formed between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the second end surface 102b. Herein, on the second end surfaces 101b and 102b and the third end surfaces 101c and 102c, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are continuously formed over the boundary between the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the end surfaces 101 and 102 from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a, and the third end surfaces 101c and 102c. However, the liquid-resistant protective layer 16 and the liquid repellent layer 17 are not formed on the first end surfaces 101a and 102a. Herein, the boundary between the portion coated with the liquid repellent layer 17 and the non-coated portion is located at an approximately central position between the back surface 1b of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a and the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a. However, on the end surfaces 101 and 102, it is preferable that the boundary between the portion coated with the liquid repellent layer 17 and the non-coated portion be located at a location that is closer to the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a than the back surface 1b of the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a. According to such a configuration, there is an advantage in that the first concave portions 13a and the grooves 12 for forming the nozzle portion described below may be shallowly formed.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 also does not overlap the nozzle plate 1 in the end portions 106 and 107.
In this manner, in the present embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, the liquid repellent layer 17 is also continuously formed from the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a to the middle position in the thickness direction of the end surfaces 101 and 102 of the nozzle plate 1. For this reason, when the wiping member 4 shown in
Method of Manufacturing Nozzle Plate 1
An example of a method of manufacturing the nozzle plate shown in
In the present embodiment, an example of a manufacturing method of forming the grooves 12 by the use of a part of the processes of forming the nozzle holes 11 will be described. More specifically, first, in the first concave portion forming process (the nozzle hole forming process) shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, in the thinning process shown in
Next, in the second concave portion forming process (the nozzle hole forming process) shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, in the liquid-resistant protective layer forming process shown in
Next, in the liquid repellent coating process shown in
Thereafter, in the cutting process, after bonding the dicing tape onto the first surface 100a or the second surface 100b of the substrate 100, the substrate 100 is irradiated with laser along the grooves 12, as shown in
In the above-mentioned embodiment, although the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 does not overlap the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a in all of the end portions of the nozzle plate 1, it may be adopt a configuration in which, when fixing the liquid droplet discharge head 10 by the fixing plate 18, the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 overlaps the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a in the end portions other than the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1. In such a configuration, since the end portions other than the end portions 106 and 107 of the nozzle plate 1 also correspond to the short side, the size of the nozzle plate 1 remains small. Therefore, like a configuration in which the bottom plate portion 181 of the fixing plate 18 does not overlap the liquid droplet discharge surface 1a in all of the end portions of the nozzle plate 1, the costs of the nozzle plate 1 can be reduced.
In the above-mentioned embodiment, in the processes shown in
Although the liquid droplet discharge head 10 of the liquid droplet discharge device 200 used for the piezoelectric element has been described in the above-mentioned embodiment, the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be variously changed within the scope of the technical idea of the invention. The invention may be applied to the liquid droplet discharge head 10 that uses electrostatic force for a driving unit, a heater element or the like, as driving unit. Furthermore, the invention can be applied to a liquid droplet discharge device other than an ink jet printer, by changing the liquid material discharged from the nozzle holes 11.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-094516, filed Apr. 18, 2012 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-094516 | Apr 2012 | JP | national |
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-225059 | Aug 2005 | JP |
| 2010-240852 | Oct 2010 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130278673 A1 | Oct 2013 | US |
