Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head used in a liquid ejection apparatus, and to a liquid ejection apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
The liquid supply system typically used in a liquid ejection apparatus is equipped with a main tank that stores liquid internally, a supply unit to which the main tank is removably attached, and a liquid ejection head connected to the supply unit through a supply tube. The liquid ejection head is equipped with a sub-tank section connected to the supply tube, a filter, a liquid chamber connected to the sub-tank section through the filter, an ejection element board that ejects liquid, and a flow channel that connects the liquid chamber and the ejection element board.
Liquid supplied from the supply tube first enters the sub-tank section, passes through the filter to reach the liquid chamber, and after that, passes through the flow channel to be ejected from the ejection element board. In such a liquid ejection head, bubbles containing gas dissolved in the liquid readily accumulate on the downstream side of the filter. If the bubbles adhere to the filter on the downstream side of the filter, the supply of liquid may be blocked in that portion.
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-307709 discloses technology in which a partition section provided with ribs is provided inside the liquid ejection head. By supporting the filter with the partition section, and causing the filter and the ribs to abut, the supply of liquid is ensured.
In the configuration of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-307709, depending on the temperature and the pressure of the liquid inside the liquid chamber, bubbles are produced, such as dissolved gas bubbles precipitated from the liquid inside the liquid chamber, and bubbles sucked inside from the ejection ports during the ejection of liquid droplets (ejection bubbles). Bubbles accumulate at the top inside the liquid chamber due to buoyancy of the bubbles themselves, but as the flow rate of liquid increases, such as during high-speed printing, the bubbles overcome buoyancy to move into the flow channel on the downstream side together with the liquid and reach the ejection element board, thereby creating a risk of ejection malfunction.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction.
A liquid ejection head according to the present invention is a liquid ejection head including an ejection element board that ejects liquid, wherein a flow channel that guides liquid to the ejection element board includes a first flow channel of wide cross-sectional area, and a second flow channel of narrow cross-sectional area, connected to the first flow channel and downstream to the first flow channel. The liquid ejection head includes at least one projecting member projecting out into the flow channel from a flow channel wall forming the second flow channel.
According to the present invention, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the present embodiment, a connecting section of the flow channel having a different cross-sectional area, such as a curved section, is designated the irregular flow channel connecting section, while the flow channel on the upstream side of the irregular flow channel connecting section is designated the first flow channel, and the flow channel on the downstream side of the flow channel connecting section, having a smaller cross-sectional area than the first flow channel, is designated the second flow channel. Herein, the cross-sectional area refers to the surface area (average cross-sectional area) of a flow channel plane orthogonal to the primary flow direction of the liquid.
In addition, in the liquid ejection head, liquid flows from the first flow channel to the downstream second flow channel, passes through a common liquid chamber, and is supplied to individual ejection ports.
When printing onto the print medium, the carriage 102 accelerates from a stopped state, and then moves at a constant speed through the scanning range of the print operation. At this point, liquid is ejected from the ejection ports of the liquid ejection head onto the print medium to form an image. After printing for one line is finished by scanning one or multiple times, the carriage 102 decelerates and stops. Subsequently, the print medium is feed a designated amount by the rotation of the transport roller 104 and the delivery roller.
In the liquid ejection apparatus 200, liquid supply tubes connected to liquid tanks (not illustrated) are provided, and connectors (not illustrated) on provided on the ends of the liquid supply tubes. When the liquid ejection head 100 is mounted onto the carriage 102, an airtight connection is made between the connectors and connector insertion ports 112, and liquid inside the liquid tanks is supplied to the liquid ejection head 100. Six types of liquid may be mounted onto the liquid ejection head 100, and connector insertion ports 112a to 112f are provided in correspondence with each of the liquid supply tubes to form individual flow channels.
Liquids supplied from the connector insertion ports 112a to 112c pass through individual flow channels and are supplied to individual liquid chambers on the ejection element board 12a. Liquids supplied from the connector insertion ports 112d to 112f pass through individual flow channels and are supplied to individual liquid chambers on the ejection element board 12b.
The ejection element boards 12a and 12b are equipped with energy-producing elements that produce energy used to eject liquid on one side of a silicon board having a thickness from 0.5 mm to 1 mm. In the present embodiment, heaters are used as the energy-producing elements, and electrical interconnects that supply power to each heater are formed by deposition technology. Additionally, multiple liquid flow channels and multiple nozzles corresponding to these heaters are formed by photolithography, while in addition, liquid chambers (not illustrated) for supplying liquid to the multiple liquid flow channels are formed to open on the back face.
Herein, the liquid supply system 311a including the connector insertion port 112a will be described primarily, but the five other liquid supply systems have a similar structure. Liquid supplied from the connector insertion port 112a is supplied by the liquid supply system 311a in communication with the connector insertion port 112a. Specifically, liquid passes through a filter pre-chamber 202a, a filter 203a that prevents the intrusion of foreign substances into the ejection element board 12a, a filter post-chamber 204a, and a filter chamber outlet 205a, and is supplied to the ejection element board 12a through a first flow channel 210a, a second flow channel 211a (second upstream flow channel), and a second flow channel 212a (second downstream flow channel).
One end of the second flow channel 211a is connected to the first flow channel 210a, while the other end is connected to the second flow channel 212a. The cross-sectional area of the second downstream flow channel 212a provided in the support member 303 is greater than the cross-sectional area of the second upstream flow channel 211a. A damper apparatus 113a in the upper section of the filter pre-chamber 202a absorbs pressure variations inside the liquid supply system during ejection.
The flow channel up to the second flow channel 211a is provided in the liquid supply unit 120, while the second flow channel 211a and the second flow channel 212a of approximately the same shape are provided in the support member 303. Consequently, a liquid supply system from the filter 203a to the ejection element board 12a is formed. Particularly, the pathway from the filter post-chamber 204a up to the second flow channel 212a constitutes a main flow channel 201a in which ejection bubbles produced during ejection, and flow channel bubbles formed by the union of ejection bubbles, move and accumulate.
As in
The arrangement interval of the adjacent second flow channels is approximately the same as the interval of the liquid chambers of the ejection element board 12a, and in the liquid supply system, the second flow channel 211a farther downstream than the irregular flow channel connecting section 213a has the smallest cross-sectional area. Also, by increasing the volume on the upstream side of the main flow channel 201a, a larger amount of ejection bubbles may accumulate without interfering with liquid supply. This is also effective at reducing the frequency of purge operations to discharge the bubbles inside the flow channels that increase with ejection.
The irregular flow channel connecting section 213a is the downstream end of the first flow channel 210a. Here, at the bottom of the first flow channel 210a, an inlet of the second flow channel 211a having a slot-shaped hole shape smaller than the face of the floor opens out, in a so-called “landing” structure.
In the main flow channel 201a of the liquid ejection head 100 according to the present embodiment, near the center in the Y direction of the second flow channel 211a, a projecting member 214a originating from the irregular flow channel connecting section 213a so as to divide the second flow channel 211a in half is provided. The adjacent second flow channels 211b and 211c are also provided with similar projecting members 214b and 214c. The projecting member 214a is a beam-like member that originates from the irregular flow channel connecting section 213a, or in other words the inlet of the second flow channel 211a, projects out from the inner side face of the second flow channel 211a, and goes across the second flow channel 211a.
Note that the flow resistance in the second flow channel 211a increases due to the projecting member 214a. To equalize this increase in flow resistance, the projecting members in the other adjacent second flow channels are made to have approximately the same length in the Z direction. By providing the projecting member 214a, the intrusion of flow channel bubbles into the second flow channel may be prevented, even when a large amount of liquid flows.
A flow channel bubble 300 remaining in the upper section of the main flow channel 201b due to the filter 203b in the upper section of the filter post-chamber 204b is the combination of the air in the unfilled volume when filling the flow channel with liquid as part of a purge operation, and ejection bubbles 301 produced near the ejection ports during ejection. During ejection, the ejection bubbles 301 are released from the vicinity of the ejection ports, float up inside the flow channels in communication with the liquid chambers due to the buoyancy of the ejection bubbles 301 themselves, and reach the upper section of the main flow channel 201b. A large number of ejection bubbles 301 reaching the upper section unite with the flow channel bubble 300 in the upper section of the main flow channel 201b, and the flow channel bubble 300 gradually grows in size.
Since a liquid meniscus is formed on the filter 203b, air is unable to escape to the filter pre-chamber 202b, and as the flow channel bubble 300 grows, the ratio of the main flow channel 201b occupied by the flow channel bubble 300 increases while the amount of liquid in the main flow channel 201b decreases.
The size of the flow channel bubble 300 is estimated from the cumulative number of ejections, and when the cumulative number exceeds a designated value, ejection is paused, and the flow channel bubble 300 is discharged by a purge operation. If the flow channel bubble 300 is small, liquid supplied from the filter 203b side flows around the flow channel bubble 300, and the flow channel bubble 300 does not move downstream much. However, if the flow channel bubble 300 grows large enough to cover the cross-section of the first flow channel 210b, the flow channel bubble 300 moves downstream together with the flow of supplied liquid (see
Since the force imparted by the flow of liquid also increases as the flow channel bubble 300 grows, as the flow of liquid becomes stronger, part of the flow channel bubble 300 enters the second flow channel 211b (see
However, in the present embodiment, the projecting member 214b is provided from the beginning section of the second flow channel 211b. Thus, the flow channel bubble 300 attempting to enter the second flow channel 211b abuts the projecting member 214b, the projecting member 214ab deforms the meniscus 302 of the flow channel bubble 300 into a concave shape, and the curvature of the flow channel bubble 300 increases. As the curvature increases, the flow channel bubble 300 deforms less readily, and attempts to maintain the current shape. Consequently, the entry of the flow channel bubble 300 into the second flow channel 211b is inhibited. Note that at this time, liquid passes around the flow channel bubble 300 and is supplied downstream.
If ejection stops, the flow channel bubble 300 floats up again (see
In this way, the projecting member 214b is able to prevent the intrusion of the flow channel bubble 300 into the second flow channel with almost no change in the cross-sectional area of the inlet of the second flow channel 211b, or in other words, without significantly increasing the flow resistance.
Note that as an incidental effect of the present embodiment, the configuration of the present embodiment allows for a larger amount of flow channel bubbles to be accumulated. In other words, it becomes possible to decrease the frequency of the purge operation for discharging flow channel bubbles, improve the utilization rate of the liquid ejection apparatus, and reduce waste liquid due to purge operations.
In this way, in the connecting section where the first flow channel and the second flow channel connect, a projecting member is provided on the flow channel wall forming the second flow channel. Consequently, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is similar to the first configuration, only the characteristic parts of the configuration will be described hereinafter.
Note that in the case of fabricating the liquid supply unit 120 by plastic molding, there is a risk that a narrow slot-shaped flow channel like the second flow channel of the present embodiment may deform due to shrinkage of the plastic. Specifically, the central area of the slot-shaped cross-section may become narrow and deform into an hourglass shape. In the extreme case, the central area may collapse and impede liquid supply capability. Such deformation of plastic molded components occurs more readily as the length in the Y direction of the ejection element board becomes larger.
According to a structure like the present embodiment, in which a projecting member for restricting the behavior of a flow channel bubble extends to the downstream end of the second flow channel of the liquid supply unit 120, the projecting member also acts as a reinforcing member that prevents deformation of the second flow channel. For this reason, such a structure is effective in the case of mounting an ejection element board that is long in the Y direction.
Note that the projecting member 214 may also be provided up to the second flow channel 212 where the support member 303 is provided.
In this way, in the connecting section where the first flow channel and the second flow channel connect, a projecting member that extends to the downstream end of the second flow channel is provided on the flow channel wall forming the second flow channel. Consequently, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is similar to the first configuration, only the characteristic parts of the configuration will be described hereinafter.
In the second flow channel of the liquid ejection head 100 according to the present embodiment, two projecting members 214 are provided. However, the number of projecting members is not limited to two, and two or more projecting members may be provided. The projecting members 214 are provided so as to approximately trisect the second flow channel 211 in the Y direction. The projecting members 214 originate near the irregular flow channel connecting section, and extend to the downstream end of the second flow channel 211.
In this way, in the connecting section where the first flow channel and the second flow channel connect, multiple projecting members are provided on the flow channel wall forming the second flow channel. Consequently, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is similar to the first configuration, only the characteristic parts of the configuration will be described hereinafter.
In this way, in the connecting section where the first flow channel and the second flow channel connect, a projecting member originating farther downstream than the irregular flow channel connecting section is provided on the flow channel wall forming the second flow channel. Consequently, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is similar to the first configuration, only the characteristic parts of the configuration will be described hereinafter.
In this way, in the connecting section where the first flow channel and the second flow channel connect, a projecting member originating farther upstream than the irregular flow channel connecting section is provided on the flow channel wall forming the second flow channel. Consequently, a liquid ejection head and a liquid ejection apparatus capable of reducing the occurrence of ejection malfunction may be realized.
In
In addition, to decrease flow resistance caused by the projecting member, the projecting member may also not completely extend across the second flow channel.
The projecting member is provided only on the side where the flow channel bubble moves above the first flow channel 210, or in other words the side to which the filter post-chamber 204 is shifted as seen from the second flow channel. Also,
Furthermore, if miniaturization of the liquid supply unit 120 is required, it is not necessary to provide a face orthogonal to the flow of liquid like with the landing structure.
In the above description, the supply system is a flow channel having a slot-shaped cross-section effective at increasing the density of liquid, but may also include a flow channel with a circular cross-section. For example, a flow channel in which a second flow channel of circular cross-section or elliptical cross-section connects to a first flow channel of slot-shaped cross-section, a flow channel in which a second flow channel of slot-shaped cross-section connects to a first flow channel of circular cross-section or elliptical cross-section, or a flow channel in which a first flow channel and a second flow channel both of circular cross-section or elliptical cross-section are connected is also acceptable.
In addition, the configurations of the projecting member according to the foregoing embodiments may also be combined to form the projecting member in each second flow channel.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-104847, filed May 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference wherein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015-104847 | May 2015 | JP | national |