Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-26
2001-01-16
Beatty, Robert (Department: 2852)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C216S027000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06174040
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on application No. 9-18497 filed in Japan, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printing head for recording an image by discharging an ink drop from a nozzle according to an image signal and making this adhere to a recording medium such as a recording paper, and also relates to an inkjet printing head manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been conventionally known an inkjet printing head for discharging an ink drop from a nozzle by pressurizing ink stored in an ink chamber by means of a piezoelectric actuator.
In this type of inkjet printing head, there has been the general practice of forming a plurality of recess portions in an ink chamber forming member, covering the recess portions with a diaphragm and a nozzle plate formed of a thin plate of a metal or the like to this by fixation with an adhesive and making the inside of each of the aforementioned recess portions covered with this diaphragm and so forth serve as an ink chamber. As a method for forming such an ink chamber forming member, there is a forming method achieved by growing a metal layer into a specified pattern utilizing a resist by electroforming.
However, when forming an ink chamber forming member by electroforming, a thick film is formed by controlling electrification of a metal plating liquid, and this has led to the problem that much time is required for obtaining a metal layer of a desired thickness and therefore the production cost increases. Furthermore, since the ink chamber is formed by fixing by the adhesive the diaphragm and so forth to the ink chamber forming member manufactured through the above processes, an assembling process with coating of the adhesive is required, and this has also caused a cost increase.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved inkjet printing head and inkjet printing head manufacturing method.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an easily manufacturable inkjet printing head and inkjet printing head manufacturing method.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a low-manufacturing-cost inkjet printing head and inkjet printing head manufacturing method.
In order to achieve the above objects and other objects, an inkjet printing head of an embodiment comprises an ink chamber forming member constructed of a ceiling plate made of a photosensitive glass provided with a plurality of recess portions by pattern exposure and etching and a glass thin plate which is integrally connected to a recess portion formation surface of this ceiling plate by heat treatment, and the inside of each of the aforementioned recess portions covered with the glass thin plate serves as an ink chamber.
In this inkjet printing head, it is preferable to form the aforementioned glass thin plate with a photosensitive glass raw material identical to that of the aforementioned ceiling plate. Furthermore, a nozzle communicating with the ink chamber may be formed on the ceiling plate by pattern exposure and etching.
Furthermore, the inkjet printing head manufacturing method of an embodiment comprises an exposure process for subjecting a photosensitive glass to pattern exposure, an etching process for forming a plurality of recess portions by etching the exposed photosensitive glass, a heat treatment process for crystallizing the etched photosensitive glass and a connecting process for integrally connecting by a heat treatment the glass thin plate to the recess portion formation surface of the crystallized photosensitive glass.
According to the aforementioned inkjet printing head and its manufacturing method, the ink chamber forming member can be manufactured in a shorter time than in a case where a member having a recess portion for an ink chamber is formed by electro forming, therefore allowing the production cost to be reduced. Since this is not the one in which the ink chamber is formed by fixing a plurality of members with an adhesive, the process for coating the adhesive is eliminated to allow the assembling process to be simplified. Furthermore, since the ink chamber wall surface made of glass has a good wettability for a watercolor ink, the flow of ink due to a capillary phenomenon becomes smooth and the generation of air bubbles can be prevented.
In a case where the glass thin plate to be connected to the ceiling plate is formed of a photosensitive glass of the same raw material, an adhesive strength increases more than in a case where glass thin plates of different materials are connected together, thereby allowing a long operating life to be achieved.
Furthermore, in a case where a nozzle communicating with the ink chamber is formed at the ceiling plate, there is no need for separately providing a nozzle plate, therefore allowing the production cost to be further reduced.
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Beatty Robert
Minolta Co. , Ltd.
Sidley & Austin
LandOfFree
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