LIQUID DISCHARGE HEAD AND LIQUID DISCHARGE APPARATUS

• US 20170313076A1
• Filed: 04/12/2017
• Published: 11/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Okushima, Shingo, Karita, Seiichiro, Aoki, Takatsuna, Nagai, Noriyasu
• Granted Patent: US 10,086,613 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/155 for line printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1603 of the front shooter type
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1632 machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/12 with ink circulating through the whole print head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/19 Assembling head units
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/20 Modules

Abstract

A liquid discharge head including a first recording element substrate, a second recording element substrate, and a third recording element substrate successively arranged in a longer direction of the liquid discharge head, the first, second, and third recording element substrates each including a discharge port configured to discharge a liquid and an energy-generating element configured to generate energy used for discharging the liquid; a first support member supporting an end part of the first recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate and an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the first recording element substrate; and a second support member supporting an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the third recording element substrate and an end part of the third recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate.

Claims

1. A liquid discharge head comprising:

a first recording element substrate, a second recording element substrate, and a third recording element substrate successively arranged in a longer direction of the liquid discharge head, the first, second, and third recording element substrates each including a discharge port configured to discharge a liquid and an energy-generating element configured to generate energy used for discharging the liquid;

a first support member supporting an end part of the first recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate and an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the first recording element substrate; and

a second support member supporting an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the third recording element substrate and an end part of the third recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate.

2. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, further comprising a support plate supporting the first and second support members.

3. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the first support member includes a first opening fluidly communicating with the first recording element substrate and a second opening fluidly communicating with the second recording element substrate, and the second support member includes a third opening fluidly communicating with the second recording element substrate and a fourth opening fluidly communicating with the third recording element substrate.

4. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, further comprising a first end part support member supporting that end part of the first recording element substrate which is opposite to that end part of the first recording element substrate which is on the side of the second recording element substrate.

5. The liquid discharge head according to claim 4, wherein the first end part support member includes a fifth opening fluidly communicating with the first recording element substrate.

6. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third recording element substrates are linearly arranged.

7. The liquid discharge head according to claim 3, wherein the second recording element substrate includes a flow path communicating with the second opening and the third opening.

8. The liquid discharge head according to claim 7, further comprising a cover member on that face of the second recording element substrate which is opposite to that face of the second recording element substrate on which the discharge port is provided, the cover member forming part of a wall of the flow path.

9. The liquid discharge head according to claim 8, wherein the cover member has a thickness less than the thickness of the first support member and than the thickness of the second support member.

10. The liquid discharge head according to claim 8, wherein the cover member has a thickness of 0.1 mm or less.

11. The liquid discharge head according to claim 8, wherein the cover member is formed of a silicon substrate.

12. The liquid discharge head according to claim 8, wherein the cover member is formed of a resin film.

13. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third recording element substrates are linearly arranged in a prescribed direction, and a length of the second recording element substrate in the prescribed direction is more than a length of the first support member in the prescribed direction.

14. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid discharge head is a page-wide liquid discharge head in which a plurality of recording element substrates including the first, second, and third recording element substrates are arranged.

15. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the first support member is spaced from the second support member.

16. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a cover member forming part of a wall of a flow path is provided on that face of each of the first, second, and third recording element substrates which is opposite to that face of each of the first, second, and third recording element substrates on which the discharge port is provided.

17. The liquid discharge head according to claim 16, wherein a distance between the first support member and the second support member is more than a distance between the cover member and the cover member which are adjacent to each other.

18. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure chamber containing the energy-generating element, wherein a liquid in the pressure chamber is circulated between the pressure chamber and an outside of the pressure chamber.

19. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising a liquid discharge head and a conveyor configured to convey a recording medium, the liquid discharge head including:

a first recording element substrate, a second recording element substrate, and a third recording element substrate successively arranged in a longer direction of the liquid discharge head, the first, second, and third recording element substrates each including a discharge port configured to discharge a liquid and an energy-generating element configured to generate energy used for discharging the liquid;

a first support member supporting an end part of the first recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate and an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the first recording element substrate; and

a second support member supporting an end part of the second recording element substrate on a side of the third recording element substrate and an end part of the third recording element substrate on a side of the second recording element substrate.