FLOW PATH MEMBER, LIQUID EJECTING HEAD AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS

• US 20150352855A1
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Published: 12/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: NAWANO, Masahisa, TAKINO, Fumiya
• Granted Patent: US 9,370,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17563 Ink filters
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/19 for removing air bubbles

Abstract

The invention is to provide a liquid ejecting head including a flow path member which allows a capacity of an air bubble chamber to be increased as much as possible and in which a filter is not clogged even when the variation of a liquid consumption amount is large, and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the flow path member. Alternatively, the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting head including a flow path member which allows a capacity of an air bubble chamber to be increased as much as possible while being miniaturized in a transporting direction and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the flow path member.

Claims

1. A liquid ejecting head comprising:

a head main body that ejects an ink droplet from a nozzle group having nozzle openings of which positions on a liquid ejecting surface are different from each other in a first direction;

a flow path member that includes a flow path which supplies a liquid to the head main body, a filter which is provided in the middle of the flow path, a filter chamber which is formed of an upstream filter chamber on a upstream side and a downstream filter chamber on a downstream side of the filter and accommodates the filter, and an air bubble chamber which communicates with the filter chamber on the upstream side and stores air bubbles removed by the filter;

a first nozzle group and a second nozzle group of which positions on the liquid ejecting surface in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction are different from each other, and the positions are overlapped with each other at least in a portion in the first direction; and

a branched flow path in which the flow path of the flow path member is branched in the middle of the path and then communicates with the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group,

wherein the air bubble chamber is provided for each branched flow path.

2. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1,

wherein the first nozzle group includes a first nozzle row and a second nozzle row along the first direction, and the second nozzle group includes a third nozzle row and a fourth nozzle row along the first direction,

wherein regarding the position in the first direction, an amount of overlap between the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row is smaller than an amount of overlap of the first nozzle row and the third nozzle row,

wherein regarding the position in the first direction, an amount of overlap between the third nozzle row and the fourth nozzle row is smaller than an amount of overlap between the second nozzle row and the fourth nozzle row,

wherein a first communication air bubble chamber to which the air bubbles in the air bubble chamber corresponding to the nozzle row are mutually movable is commonly provided in the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row,

wherein a second communication air bubble chamber to which the air bubbles in the air bubble chamber corresponding to the nozzle row are mutually movable is commonly provided in the third nozzle row and the fourth nozzle row, and

wherein the first communication air bubble chamber is one air bubble chamber which is provided for each branched flow path, and the second communication air bubble chamber is the other air bubble chamber which is provided for each the branched flow path.

3. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 2,

wherein the head main body is configured that the first nozzle row and the third nozzle row are provided on a single nozzle plate, and the second nozzle row and the fourth nozzle row are provided on a single nozzle plate.

4. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 2,

wherein the head main body are in plural, and each of head main bodies includes a plurality of nozzle rows corresponding to the first communication air bubble chamber, and a plurality of nozzle rows corresponding to the second communication air bubble chamber.

5. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 2,

wherein the flow path includes a first branch point that branches in the middle of the flow path, and a second branch point which branches closer to the downstream side than the first branch point,

wherein the first communication air bubble chamber corresponds to one filter chamber of a flow path branched at the first branch point, and

wherein the second communication air bubble chamber corresponds to the other filter chamber of a flow path branched at the first branch point.

6. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1,

wherein the air bubble chamber is two-dimensionally disposed on a surface in parallel with the liquid ejecting surface,

wherein the first branch point is a branch point which branches out the flow path extending to one side in the direction orthogonal to the first direction and the flow path extending to the other side, and

wherein the second branch point is a branch point which branches out the flow path extending to one side in the first direction and the flow path extending to the other side.

20. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid ejecting head according to claim 1.

7. A flow path member comprising:

a flow path that supplies a liquid to a head main body which ejects an ink droplet from a liquid ejecting surface;

a filter that is provided in the middle of the flow path;

a filter chamber that accommodates a filter which is formed of an upstream filter chamber on an upstream side and a downstream filter chamber on a downstream side of the filter; and

an air bubble chamber that communicates with the upstream filter chamber and stores air bubbles removed through the filter,

wherein the filter is disposed along a vertical direction orthogonal to the liquid ejecting surface, and in the vertical direction, and

wherein an outlet part of a communication flow path which communicates with the upstream filter chamber among the flow paths is disposed at a position lower than an upper end of the filter in the vertical direction.

8. The flow path member according to claim 7,

wherein an area surrounding the direction along the filter of the upstream filter chamber and the air bubble chamber is defined by the outer wall portion,

wherein the communication flow path is disposed by passing through the air bubble chamber, and includes a flow path wall portion which partitions the communication flow path and the air bubble chamber, and

wherein one side surface of the upstream filter chamber, the air bubble chamber, and the communication flow path is defined by the fixing member which is commonly fixed to the outer wall portion and the flow path wall portion.

9. The flow path member according to claim 8,

wherein a member including the outer wall portion and the flow path wall portion is a resin-molded member, and

wherein a fixing trace of the fixing member and the outer wall portion and a fixing trace of the fixing member and the flow path wall portion are discontinuous.

10. The flow path member according to claim 8,

wherein the fixing member is a film, and the outer wall portion and the flow path wall portion are fixed by welding.

11. The flow path member according to claim 8, further comprising:

a middle wall portion that is provided between the upstream filter chamber and the air bubble chamber,

wherein the middle wall portion is fixed to the fixing member, and

wherein a fixing trace of the fixing member and the middle wall portion and the fixing trace of the fixing member and the outer wall portion are discontinuous.

12. The flow path member according to claim 7,

wherein when seen from a thickness direction orthogonal to the filter, the flow path member includes a concavity, in which a conductive plate in a planar shape is disposed, at a position facing the filter, and at least a portion of the air bubble chamber is disposed so as not to face the concavity, and

wherein in the thickness direction, a dimension of the air bubble chamber is greater than a dimension of the filter chamber.

13. The flow path member according to claim 12,

wherein the flow path member includes the filter chamber on each of both sides of the concavity in the thickness direction.

14. The flow path member according to claim 13,

wherein in the middle of the flow path from an inlet of the flow path which is provided in the flow path member to an outlet part of the communication flow path, the flow path is branched in the thickness direction.

15. The flow path member according to claim 7,

wherein a plurality of the filters are disposed along a filter surface and a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, and

wherein the communication flow path is provided to extend to a position between the plurality of filters along the filter surface and in the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction.

16. The flow path member according to claim 7,

wherein the inlet of the flow path which is provided in the flow path member is provided at a position biased to one side from a center portion along the filter surface and in the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, the flow path wall portion which defines the communication flow path is provided to extend to the position between the plurality of filters from the biased position, and

wherein a fixing wall portion to which the fixing member is fixed is provided at a position symmetrical with the flow path wall portion along the filter surface and in the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction.

17. A liquid ejecting head comprising the flow path member and the head main body according to claim 7.

18. A liquid ejecting head comprising the flow path member and the head main body according to claim 8.

19. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 17, further comprising:

a circuit board that is electrically connected to the head main body;

a cover member that accommodates the circuit board and the flow path member,

wherein the circuit board includes a connector which is connected to an external wiring,

wherein the flow path member includes a feeding needle which supplies a liquid to the flow path,

wherein the cover member includes a connector exposing hole which exposes the connector to the outside of the cover member and an exposing portion which exposes the feeding needle to the outside of the cover member, and

wherein the connector and the feeding needle are disposed at the same position in the vertical direction orthogonal to the liquid ejecting surface.