Hydrophilic ink passage
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorsSatoru Miyashita, Kiyohiko Takemoto
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an ink passage having surface which has a film comprising a fine particle of an inorganic oxide having a hydrophilic group. The surface of the ink passage according to the present invention has a high hydrophilicity and can rapidly remove bubbles formed within the ink passage. The recording head according to the present invention need not conduct filling of a liquid in the course of transportation and can be transported in an empty state.
Claims16
A process for coating a base material of an ink passage, said process comprising the steps of:
- a) coating the base material with a sol comprising fine particles of an inorganic oxide dispersed therein thereby to form a resultant coating, and
- b) drying the resultant coating, said fine particles comprising an inorganic oxide having a hydrophilic group and being present in said coating in a size and an amount that impart sufficient hydrophilicity to the base material to cause rapid discharge of bubbles formed within the ink passage, wherein the base material comprises a resin, silicon, glass, a ceramic, a metal or a composite material, and the drying step (b) is conducted by heating the resultant coating to a heat deformation temperature of the base material.
A process as claim in claimed 1 wherein said resultant coating consists essentially of said fine particles.
A process as claim in claimed 5 wherein said fine particles are composed mainly of an oxide of at least one element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, zirconium, silicon, titanium, tin, indium, zinc, lead, germanium, hafnium, chromium, copper, iron, cobalt, nickel, manganese, vanadium, niobium, tantalum and molybdenum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.