Method of producing liquid droplet ejection head

• US 8,176,630 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2010
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kataoka, Masaki, Fukunaga, Hideki, Inoue, Hiroshi, Nishimura, Yuji, Hirakata, Susumu, Imazeki, Atsumichi
• Primary Examiner(s): ANGWIN, DAVID PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US12/815,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20100252528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 298/901, 347/20, 347/40, 347/44, 347/45, 347/65
• US Class Current: 29/890.1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/055 Devices for absorbing or preventing back-pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14233 of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14459 Matrix arrangement of the pressure chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/11 characterised by specific geometrical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49401 Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet

Abstract

A liquid droplet ejection head includes: a nozzle plate that has a plurality of nozzles ejecting a liquid droplet; a flow path member that includes: pressure generating chambers that communicate with the nozzles; and liquid supply paths through which liquid is supplied to the pressure generating chambers; and a damper portion that is disposed in at least one part of a region, the region being on the nozzle plate, corresponding to the liquid supply paths, the damper portion reducing a fluctuation of an ejection amount of the liquid droplets to enable stable ejection.

Claims

1. A method of producing liquid droplet ejection head comprising:

joining a flow path member plate and a protection member plate to opposite faces of a plate for nozzles, the protection member plate being disposed on a surface of the plate for nozzles that is on a liquid droplet ejection side of the plate for nozzles;

a first forming step including forming a flow path member including at least the flow path member plate, the flow path member having liquid supply paths and a damper portion in at least one part of a region, the region being on the plate for nozzles, corresponding to the liquid supply paths by etching a predetermined pattern into at least the flow path member plate, the damper portion reducing a fluctuation of an ejection amount of the liquid droplets to enable stable ejection;

after the first forming step, a second forming step including forming a nozzle plate by performing laser processing on the plate for nozzles from a side of the flow path member to form the nozzles;

wherein the protection member plate is separate from the damper portion and is in a periphery of the nozzles and at least one part of the damper portion, and

the damper portion is formed to include a damper reinforcement portion comprising a first part of the damper portion in which the protection member is disposed, and a damper function portion comprising a second part of the damper portion in which the protection member is not disposed, the second part of the damper portion being distinct from the first part of the damper portion.

2. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 1,

wherein

the plate for nozzles in joining comprises a flexible plate, and

the damper portion in the first joining has a same thickness as the nozzle plate in a stacking direction of the plates.

3. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the damper portion in the first forming step comprises a thin portion formed by reducing a thickness of the nozzle plate.

4. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 3, wherein the thin portion in the first forming step is independently disposed so as to correspond to at least one of the nozzles.

5. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 3,

wherein

the thin portion in the first forming step is formed by performing laser processing, and

the laser processing on the thin portion in the first forming step is simultaneously performed with the laser processing on the nozzles in the second forming step.

6. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 5,

wherein

the laser processing on the thin portion in the first forming step, and the laser processing on the nozzles in the second forming step are performed by using a mask,

wherein

the mask comprises:

thin portion openings of n or less; and

nozzle openings of from 2 to n, provided that n is a natural number.

7. A method for producing liquid droplet ejection head comprising:

joining a flow path member plate and a protection member plate to opposite faces of a plate for nozzles, the protection member plate being disposed on a surface of the plate for nozzles that is on a liquid droplet ejection side of the plate for nozzles;

a first forming step including forming a flow path member including at least the flow path member plate, the flow path member having liquid supply paths and a damper portion in at least one part of a region corresponding to the liquid supply paths by etching a predetermined pattern into at least the flow path member plate, the damper portion reducing a fluctuation of an ejection amount of the liquid droplets to enable stable ejection;

after the first forming step, a second forming step including forming a protection member in at least one part of a periphery of a portion, where nozzles are to be formed, of a surface of the plate for nozzles on a liquid droplet ejection side, and partitioning the damper portion into a damper reinforcement portion and a damper function portion by etching a predetermined pattern into at least one part of the protection member plate; and

after the second forming step, a third forming step including forming a nozzle plate by performing laser processing on the plate for nozzles from a side of the flow path member to form the nozzles;

wherein the protection member plate is separate from the damper portion and is in a periphery of the nozzles and at least one part of the damper portion, and

the damper reinforcement portion comprises a first part of the damper portion in which the protection member is disposed, and the damper function portion comprises a second part of the damper portion in which the protection member is not disposed, the second part of the damper portion being distinct from the first part of the damper portion.

8. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 7,

wherein

the plate for nozzles in the joining comprises a flexible plate, and

the damper portion has a same thickness as the nozzle plate in a stacking direction of the plates.

9. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 7, wherein the etching of the flow path member plate in the first forming step is simultaneously performed with the etching of the protection member plate in the second forming step.

10. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 7, wherein the damper portion in the first forming step comprises a thin portion formed by reducing a thickness of the nozzle plate.

11. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 7, wherein the thin portion in the first forming step is independently disposed so as to correspond to at least one of the nozzles.

12. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 7,

wherein

the thin portion in the first forming step is formed by performing laser processing, and

the laser processing on the thin portion in the first forming step is simultaneously performed with the laser processing on the nozzles in the third forming step.

13. The method for producing liquid droplet ejection head as claimed in claim 12,

wherein

the laser processing on the thin portion in the first forming step, and the laser processing on the nozzles in the third forming step are performed by using a mask,

wherein

the mask comprises:

thin portion openings of n or less; and

nozzle openings of from 2 to n, provided that n is a natural number.