Back to results
US 6,332,671 B1Granted
Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorsTomoaki Takahashi, Noriaki Okazawa, Ryoichi Tanaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ink jet recording head of the type in which a passage unit is formed as a layer structure made up of a passage forming plate and an elastic plate. The elastic plate is formed with a thick portion and a thin film portion. The thick portion bonded to the common ink chamber is used as a beam structure deformable toward the common ink chamber. The beam structure is deformed to create a flexure in a thin film sealing the common ink chamber.
Claims21
An ink jet recording head comprising:
- a passage forming plate including a plurality of pressure chambers which communicate with respective nozzle orifices and which are arrayed with a partition wall disposed between adjacent two of said pressure chambers, and a common ink chamber which communicates with a plurality of ink supplying portions each communicating with at least one end of a corresponding one of said pressure chambers;
- an elastic plate bonded to said passage forming plate;
- and
- a pressure generating system provided for each of said pressure chamber, wherein
- said elastic plate is formed with a thick portion and a thin film portion,
- a part of said thick portion is constructed as a beam structure,
- a part of said thin film portion is flexible.
4 more elements
A method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head comprising:
- a passage forming plate including a plurality of pressure chambers which communicate with respective nozzle orifices and which are arrayed with a partition wall disposed between adjacent two of said pressure chambers, and a common ink chamber which communicates with a plurality of ink supplying portions each communicating with at least one end of a corresponding one of said pressure chambers;
- an elastic plate bonded to said passage forming plate;
- and a pressure generating system, provided for each of said pressure chamber, for varying pressure within a corresponding one of said pressure chambers, said method comprising:
- a laminating step of forming said elastic plate by laminating a high polymer film on a metal plate member;
- and
- a photo etching step, following said laminating process, of removing a portion of said metal plate member located correspondingly to at least said common ink chamber to provide a thin film portion formed of a high polymer film, while creating a long and narrow beam structure, which is deformable toward said common ink chamber, correspondingly to an outer edge portion of said common ink chamber using a thick portion formed of unremoved portion of said metal plate member and said high polymer film layered on said unremoved portion, wherein
- said beam structure is deformed using a contraction force of said high polymer film which is thermally contracted by a temperature variation in said photo etching process, to thereby deflect said thin film portion to be disposed correspondingly to said common ink chamber, and
- in this state said elastic plate is bonded to said passage forming plate.
5 more elements
A passage forming unit for an ink jet recording head, said unit comprising:
- a passage forming plate which at least partially defines a plurality of arrayed pressure chambers communicating with respective nozzle orifices, and which at least partially defines a common ink chamber communicating through ink supplying portions with said pressure chambers;
- an elastic plate fixed to said passage forming plate, said elastic plate having a side band portion, a beam structure portion and a thin film portion bounded at least by said side band portion and said beam structure portion, said thin film portion forming a deformable wall of said common ink chamber, said side band portion being located between said common ink chamber and said pressure chambers,
- wherein a rigidity of said beam structure portion is smaller than a rigidity of said side band portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.