Methods for producing piezoelectric actuator, ink-jet head, and ink-jet printer using aerosol deposition method, piezoelectric actuator, ink-jet head, and ink-jet printer

Abstract

In a method for producing a piezoelectric actuator for an ink-jet head, a piezoelectric material layer included in thin film layers is formed on a vibration plate with AD method by jetting aerosol which contains particles of a piezoelectric material and a carrier gas, from a film-forming nozzle to the vibration plate while moving the film-forming nozzle relative to the vibration plate in a direction perpendicular to a scanning direction of the ink-jet head. Accordingly, even when thickness distribution occurs in the thin film layer formed with the AD method, it is possible to suppress, as much as possible, any degradation in printing quality due to the thickness distribution.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an ink-jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an ink-jet head;

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along IV-IV line in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along V-V line in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6A to 6C are explanatory views of producing steps of the ink-jet head;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a film-forming apparatus;

FIG. 8A is a view showing a positional relationship between a vibration plate and a film-forming nozzle in a certain area of the vibration plate when a piezoelectric material layer is formed, FIG. 8B is a view showing a positional relationship between the vibration plate and the film-forming nozzle in another area of the vibration plate when a piezoelectric material layer is formed, and FIG. 8C is a view showing a relationship between a jet-area and active portions;

FIGS. 9A to 9C are views showing a film-formation state of a piezoelectric material layer when the film-forming nozzle is relatively moved in a direction parallel to a scanning direction, FIG. 9A being a plan view of the ink-jet head, FIG. 9B being a side view of a piezoelectric actuator seen from the scanning direction, and FIG. 9C being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from a paper feeding direction;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the ink-jet head having the piezoelectric material layer formed by the film-forming step in FIGS. 9A to 9C, and is a view showing dots formed on a recording paper by the ink-jet head;

FIGS. 11A to 11C are views showing a film-formation state of a piezoelectric material layer when the film-forming nozzle is relatively moved in a direction parallel to the paper feeding direction, FIG. 11A being a plan view of the ink-jet head, FIG. 11B being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the scanning direction, and FIG. 11C being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the paper feeding direction;

FIG. 12A is a plan view of the ink-jet head having the piezoelectric material layer formed by the film-forming step of FIGS. 11A to 11C and is a view showing dots formed on a recording paper by the ink-jet head, and FIG. 12B is a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the paper feeding direction;

FIGS. 13A to 13C are views showing a film-formation state of a piezoelectric material layer of a first modification, FIG. 13A being a plan view of an ink-jet head, FIG. 13B being a side view of a piezoelectric actuator seen from the scanning direction, and FIG. 13C being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the paper feeding direction;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of an ink-jet head of a second modification;

FIGS. 15A to 15C are views showing a film-formation state of a piezoelectric material layer of a third modification, FIG. 15A being a plan view of a piezoelectric actuator (ink-jet head), FIG. 15B being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the scanning direction, and FIG. 15C being a side view of the piezoelectric actuator seen from the paper feeding direction;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of an ink-jet head of a fourth modification;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of an ink-jet head of a fifth modification;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an ink-jet head of a sixth modification, corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an ink-jet head of a seventh modification, corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a line-type ink-jet head of a eighth modification; and

FIG. 21A is a plan view of an ink-jet head having a piezoelectric material layer formed by a film-forming nozzle relatively moving in a direction parallel to the scanning direction, and FIG. 21B is a side view of a piezoelectric actuator seen from the scanning direction.

Claims

1. A method for producing an ink-jet head including a channel unit having a plurality of pressure chambers each of which extends in a predetermined direction and which are arranged along a plane, and a plurality of jetting nozzles which communicate with the pressure chambers respectively and which jet an ink onto a recording medium; and a piezoelectric actuator having a substrate disposed on one surface of the channel unit to cover the pressure chambers, and a plurality of thin film layers disposed on one surface of the substrate, the thin film layers including a piezoelectric material layer, the method comprising: a step for forming the thin film layers of the piezoelectric actuator on the substrate; anda step for attaching the channel unit to the substrate,wherein in the step for forming the thin film layers, at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and a carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is a direction intersecting with the predetermined direction.

2. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction is a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction.

3. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein the slit of the film-forming nozzle has a slit-length to an extent that a jetting area formed by the aerosol jetted from the slit to the substrate covers at least one of the pressure chambers.

4. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction is a direction perpendicular to a relative-movement direction in which the recording medium is moved relative to the ink-jet head upon performing recording using the ink-jet head.

5. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein: the jetting nozzles are arranged to form, on the recording medium, a plurality of dots arranged in an arrangement direction at an equal spacing distance; anda relative-movement direction in which the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to the substrate is the arrangement direction in which the dots are arranged.

6. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein: the jetting nozzles are arranged at least in an arrangement direction; anda relative-movement direction in which the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to the substrate is the arrangement direction in which the jetting nozzles are arranged.

7. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 6, wherein: the jetting nozzles are arranged in a matrix form in a first arrangement direction and a second arrangement direction intersecting with the first arrangement direction; andthe relative-movement direction in which the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to the substrate is an arrangement direction same as one of the first arrangement direction and the second arrangement direction, in which jetting nozzles among the jetting nozzles are arranged in a number greater than that of jetting nozzles arranged in the other of the first and second arrangement directions.

8. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein in the aerosol jetting, the aerosol is jetted to a plurality of jetting areas, of the substrate, arranged in a relative-movement direction in which the recording medium is moved relative to the ink-jet head while the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to each of the jetting areas.

9. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein in the aerosol jetting, the piezoelectric material layer is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles of a piezoelectric material and a carrier gas, from the slit of the film-forming nozzle to the substrate.

10. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 9, wherein the piezoelectric material layer is formed on the substrate on the other surface thereof on a side opposite to the channel unit.

11. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein: the ink-jet head is a serial-type ink-jet head which jets the ink from the jetting nozzles onto the recording medium transported in a transporting direction perpendicular to a predetermined scanning direction while moving in the scanning direction; anda relative-movement direction in which the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to the substrate is the transporting direction in which the recording medium is transported.

12. The method for producing the ink-jet head according to claim 1, wherein: the ink-jet head is a line-type ink-jet head having the jetting nozzles arranged at an equal spacing distance in an arrangement direction perpendicular to a transporting direction in which the recording medium is transported; anda relative-movement direction in which the film-forming nozzle is moved relative to the substrate is the arrangement direction of the jetting nozzles.

13. A method for producing an ink-jet printer including an ink-jet head which is provided with a channel unit having a plurality of pressure chambers, and a plurality of jetting nozzles which communicate with the pressure chambers respectively and which jet an ink onto a recording medium; and a piezoelectric actuator having a substrate disposed on the channel unit to cover the pressure chambers, and a plurality of thin film layers disposed on one surface of the substrate, the thin film layers including a piezoelectric material layer; and a moving unit which moves the ink-jet head relative to the recording medium in a relative-movement direction; the method comprising: a step for producing the ink-jet head by forming the thin film layers of the piezoelectric actuator on the substrate and by attaching the channel unit to the substrate; anda step for providing the movement unit;wherein in forming the thin film layers, at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and a carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is a direction intersecting with the relative-movement direction.

14. The method for producing the ink-jet printer according to claim 13, wherein the ink-jet head includes a plurality of heads which jet a plurality different color inks respectively.

15. A method for producing a piezoelectric actuator which has a substrate and a plurality of thin film layers disposed on the substrate and including a piezoelectric material layer, and in which a plurality of active portions extending in a predetermined direction are defined in the piezoelectric material layer, the method comprising: a step for forming the piezoelectric material layer on the substrate; anda step for forming another thin film layer other than the piezoelectric material layer on the substrate;wherein at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and a carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is a direction intersecting with the predetermined direction.

16. The method for producing the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 15, wherein the at least one thin film layer is the piezoelectric material layer.

17. The method for producing the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 15, wherein the thin film layers include a metal plate and an insulation layer; and the at least one thin film layer is the insulation layer.

18. The method for producing the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 15, wherein the active portions are portions, of the piezoelectric material layer, sandwiched between electrodes.

19. An ink-jet head which jets an ink, comprising: a channel unit having a plurality of pressure chambers each of which extends in a predetermined direction and which are arranged along a plane, and a plurality of jetting nozzles which communicate with the pressure chambers respectively and which jet the ink; anda piezoelectric actuator having a substrate disposed on one surface of the channel unit to cover the pressure chambers, and a plurality of thin film layers disposed on one surface of the substrate, the thin film layers including a piezoelectric material layer;wherein in at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers, thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction intersecting with the predetermined direction is higher than thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction perpendicular to the intersecting direction.

20. The ink-jet head according to claim 19, wherein the at least one thin film layer is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction.

21. An ink-jet printer comprising: an ink-jet head including a channel unit having a plurality of pressure chambers and a plurality of jetting nozzles which communicate with the pressure chambers respectively and which jet an ink onto a recording medium; and a piezoelectric actuator having a substrate disposed on the channel unit to cover the pressure chambers, and a plurality of thin film layers disposed on one surface of the substrate, the thin film layers including a piezoelectric material layer; anda moving unit which moves the ink-jet head relative to the recording medium in a relative-movement direction,wherein in at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers, thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction intersecting with the relative-movement direction is higher than thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction perpendicular to the intersecting direction.

22. The ink-jet printer according to claim 21, wherein the at least one thin film layer is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and a carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is a direction intersecting with the relative-movement direction.

23. A piezoelectric actuator which is used to jet a liquid, comprising: a substrate; anda plurality of thin film layers which includes a piezoelectric material layer and which are disposed on the substrate,wherein a plurality of active portions extending in a predetermined direction are defined in the piezoelectric material layer; andin at least one thin film layer among the thin film layers, thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction intersecting with the predetermined direction is higher than thickness uniformity of the thin film layer in a direction perpendicular to the intersecting direction.

24. The piezoelectric actuator according to claim 23, wherein the at least one thin film layer is formed by jetting aerosol, which contains particles forming the thin film layer and a carrier gas, from a slit formed in a film-forming nozzle while moving the film-forming nozzle having the slit relative to the substrate in a direction which is a width direction of the slit and is the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction.

25. The piezoelectric actuator according to claim 24, wherein the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction is a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction.