USRE39474E1 - Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers - Google Patents
Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- USRE39474E1 USRE39474E1 US10/319,491 US31949102A USRE39474E US RE39474 E1 USRE39474 E1 US RE39474E1 US 31949102 A US31949102 A US 31949102A US RE39474 E USRE39474 E US RE39474E
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- jet recording
- recording head
- pressure generating
- forming
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 title abstract description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 44
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 33
- 239000012212 insulator Substances 0.000 claims description 59
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 18
- 229910052814 silicon oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 18
- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 claims description 16
- 238000006073 displacement reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 15
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 claims description 15
- 239000011368 organic material Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000004642 Polyimide Substances 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 229920001721 polyimide Polymers 0.000 claims description 9
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 9
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 239000000615 nonconductor Substances 0.000 abstract description 11
- 239000010410 layer Substances 0.000 description 73
- 229920002313 fluoropolymer Polymers 0.000 description 12
- KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorane Chemical compound F KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 229910021421 monocrystalline silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 4
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006866 deterioration Effects 0.000 description 3
- BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N platinum Chemical compound [Pt] BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ammonia Chemical compound N QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- KWYUFKZDYYNOTN-UHFFFAOYSA-M Potassium hydroxide Chemical compound [OH-].[K+] KWYUFKZDYYNOTN-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 2
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 2
- HFGPZNIAWCZYJU-UHFFFAOYSA-N lead zirconate titanate Chemical compound [O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[Ti+4].[Zr+4].[Pb+2] HFGPZNIAWCZYJU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052451 lead zirconate titanate Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910021529 ammonia Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000000368 destabilizing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003989 dielectric material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010292 electrical insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000020169 heat generation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002955 isolation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052697 platinum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000006116 polymerization reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003672 processing method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002035 prolonged effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011241 protective layer Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004904 shortening Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004544 sputter deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
- B41J2/1628—Manufacturing processes etching dry etching
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
- B41J2/14233—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1607—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements
- B41J2/161—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
- B41J2/1629—Manufacturing processes etching wet etching
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1631—Manufacturing processes photolithography
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/164—Manufacturing processes thin film formation
- B41J2/1646—Manufacturing processes thin film formation thin film formation by sputtering
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14387—Front shooter
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14491—Electrical connection
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an ink-jet recording head having piezoelectric layers formed on a surface of an elastic sheet which forms part of pressure generating chambers communicating with nozzle orifices from which ink drops are allowed to issue by displacement of the piezoelectric layers.
- ink-jet recording heads are classified as one of two types depending on the piezoelectric vibrator used; one type uses a vibrator of a longitudinally vibrating mode which extends and contracts along its own axis and the other type uses a vibrator of a flexing or flexural vibrating mode.
- the first type of ink-jet recording heads is capable of changing the volume of each pressure generating chamber by contacting an end face of the piezoelectric vibrator with the elastic sheet and has the advantage of being suitable for high-density printing.
- the manufacturing process of this type of head is complicated since it involves not only a difficult step of segmenting the piezoelectric elastic sheet into a combtooth-shaped pattern in registry with the pitch on which nozzle orifices are arranged but also the step of fixing the individual piezoelectric vibrators in an appropriate positional relationship with the respective pressure generating chambers.
- the second type of ink-jet recording heads has the advantage of enabling the piezoelectric vibrators to be mounted on the elastic sheet by a relatively simple process in which a green sheet of piezoelectric material is attached to a substrate is conformity with the shape of individual pressure generating chambers and baked.
- a certain area is required to permit flexural vibrations and this introduces difficulty in achieving high-density arrangement of piezoelectric vibrators.
- This proposal eliminates the need to attach the piezoelectric vibrators onto the elastic sheet and offers the advantage of not only enabling the piezoelectric vibrators to be mounted by the precise and yet simple lithographic techniques but also reducing the thickness of each piezoelectric vibrator by a sufficient amount to permit fast driving.
- the piezoelectric layer is so thin that compared to the attached type of piezoelectric vibrator, the rigidity is small enough to increase the chance of stress concentration near the boundaries of each pressure generating chamber and this causes the disadvantage of shortening the life of the elastic sheet, piezoelectric vibrators and even the electrodes.
- the piezoelectric constant is only about a third to half of the value for the piezoelectric vibrator that is formed by baking an attached green sheet and this requires driving at high voltage; then, both the upper and lower electrodes will experience surface discharge along the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer which increases the chance of a leakage current of flowing between the two electrodes, thereby destabilizing the issuance of ink droplets.
- a further problem is that if the piezoelectric vibrator is segmented or divided in correspondence with individual pressure generating chambers, the areas of lateral sides that are exposed to air atmosphere are increased so that the individual piezoelectric vibrators are prone to deteriorate due to the moisture in air atmosphere.
- the present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and has as an object providing an ink-jet recording head in which the stress concentration near the boundaries of each pressure generating chamber is sufficiently reduced to prevent the breakage of the upper electrode.
- Another object of the invention is to provide an ink-jet recording head which, in addition to the stated advantage, is capable of preventing not only the occurrence of a leakage current through the piezoelectric layer held between the upper and lower electrodes to thereby stabilize the issuance of ink droplets, but also the deterioration of piezoelectric vibrators.
- an ink-jet recording head comprising: an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers; nozzle orifices, each communicating with the pressure generating chamber; piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having, a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other; an electrical insulator layer having windows, wherein the electric insulator layer covers the upper electrodes; and a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes via the windows of the electrical insulator layer.
- the upper electrodes are situated inward of the pressure generating chambers, so they will not experience any abrupt displacements at the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers and hence are damage-free.
- an ink-jet recording head comprising: an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers; nozzle orifices, each communicating with the pressure generating chamber; piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having, a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrodes are formed inside of the areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber; an electrical insulator layer having windows, wherein the electrical insulator layer covers the upper electrodes; and a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes via the windows of the electrical insulator layer.
- the second aspect is effective not only in preventing the stress concentration due to the abrupt displacement at the boundaries of each of the pressure generating chambers, but also in ensuring good electrical insulation between the upper and lower electrodes and complete isolation from air atmosphere by means of the electrical insulator layer.
- FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink-jet recording head according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2A shows the structure of a longitudinal section of a single pressure generating chamber in the ink-jet recording head
- FIG. 2B shows the layout of conductor patterns with particular reference to the relative positions of pressure generating chambers, upper electrodes and a lower electrode;
- FIG. 3A shows the structure of a longitudinal section of a single pressure generating chamber in an ink-jet recording head according to another embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 3B shows the layout of conductor patterns with reference to the relative positions of pressure generating chambers, upper electrodes and a lower electrode;
- FIG. 4A shows the structure of a longitudinal section of a pressure generating chamber in an ink-jet recording head according to yet another embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 4B shows the structure of two pressure generating chambers in a section that is taken in a direction in which they are oriented side by side;
- FIGS. 5-I to 5 -II′ show the second half of a method of processing a single-crystal silicon substrate to fabricate the ink-jet recording head of the invention
- FIG. 6-I to 6 -II′ show the second half of the processing method
- FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section of another type of ink-jet recording head to which the electrode structure of the invention is applicable in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section of an exemplary ink-jet recording head that employs flexing vibrators.
- FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the invention and FIGS. 2A and 2B show the structure of a section of one pressure generating chamber as taken in the longitudinal direction.
- numeral 1 refers to an ink channel forming substrate which is open on one side and provided on the other side with an elastic sheet 2 of silicon oxide.
- the substrate 1 is a single-crystal silicon substrate which is etched anisotropically to from pressure generating chambers 3 and reservoirs 4 , as well as ink supply ports 5 in the form of recesses that communicate with the pressure generating chambers 3 and reservoirs 4 through a certain resistance to fluid flow.
- Those areas of the elastic sheet 2 which face the individual pressure generating chambers 3 are provided with piezoelectric vibrators 6 that are mounted independently of each other by a film deposition technique in the respective generating pressure chambers 3 .
- Each piezoelectric vibrator 6 comprises in superposition of a lower electrode 10 formed on a surface of the elastic sheet 2 to cover the substantial areas of each pressure generating compartment 3 and each ink supply port 5 , a piezoelectric layer 11 formed in such a way that it does not extend beyond the area of the pressure generating chamber 3 in which the elastic sheet 2 is exposed and such that it is slightly narrower than the width of the pressure generating chamber 3 , and an upper electrode 12 formed on a surface of each piezoelectric layer 11 .
- the piezoelectric layers 11 and upper electrodes 12 are each formed in such a way that the sides 11 a and 12 a on the nozzle orifice side and the sides 11 b and 12 b on the ink supply port side are each located inward of the boundaries 3 a and 3 b of the pressure generating chamber 3 in a longitudinal direction and desirably inward of the partition walls of each pressure generating chamber in the direction of width.
- a thin electrical insulator layer 13 is formed to cover at least the peripheral edge of the top surface of the upper electrode 12 and the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11 .
- the insulator layer 13 is formed of any material that permits film formation by a suitable deposition technique or which can be trimmed by etching as exemplified by silicon oxide, silicon nitride or an organic material, preferably a photosensitive polyimide having low rigidity and good electrical insulating property.
- a window 13 a is formed in a selected area of the upper electrode 12 on the insulator layer 13 to have the upper electrode 12 partly exposed to establish connection to a conductor pattern 14 .
- One end of the conductor pattern 14 is connected to the upper electrode 12 via the window 13 a and the other end extends to a suitable connection terminal.
- the conductor pattern 14 is formed in the smallest possible width that ensures positive supply of a drive signal to the upper electrode 12 .
- Shown by 15 is a nozzle plate with nozzle orifice 16 that communicate with the pressure generating chambers 3 at one end; the nozzle plate 15 is fixed in such a way as to close the open side of the ink channel forming substrate 1 .
- Shown by 17 in FIG. 1 is a flexible cable for supplying a drive signal to the piezoelectric vibrators 6 and numeral 18 designates a head case.
- a drive signal supplied from an external drive circuit to each piezoelectric vibrator 6 via the flexible cable 17 passes through the conductor pattern 14 to be applied to the upper electrode 12 , whereupon the piezoelectric vibrator 6 flexes to reduce the volume of the pressure generating chamber 3 .
- the ink in the pressure generating chamber 3 is given a sufficient pressure to be partly ejected as an ink drop from the nozzle orifice 16 .
- the piezoelectric vibrator 6 reverts to the initial sate, whereupon the volume of the pressure generating chamber 3 increases to allow the ink in the reservoir 4 to flow into the pressure generating chamber 3 via the ink supply port 5 .
- the piezoelectric layer 11 which is a component of each piezoelectric vibrator 6 , is formed in such a size that the two ends 11 a and 11 b are located inward of the boundaries 3 a and 3 b of the pressure generating chamber 3 .
- no part of the piezoelectric layer 11 or the upper electrode 12 is positioned at the boundary 3 b and subject to the effect of a sharp displacement gradient.
- the piezoelectric layers 11 and the upper electrodes 12 are entirely free from breaking due to mechanical fatigue.
- FIG. 8 shows a conventional type of ink-jet recording head in which a piezoelectric layer 11 ′ extends near to an end portion of the head to serve as an insulator layer between the lower electrode 10 and an upper electrode 12 ′, of which an extension is used as a lead-out electrode.
- the piezoelectric layer 11 ′ is located at the end 3 b of the pressure generating chamber 3 and a sharp displacement gradient will occur in the area of the piezoelectric layer 11 ′ which faces the boundary 3 b to thereby increase the chance of the piezoelectric vibrator 6 of breaking.
- the conductor pattern 14 connected to the upper electrode 12 is formed on a surface of the insulator layer 13 and has a sufficient spacing from the lower electrode 10 to provide the necessary insulation resistance for preventing surface discharge; in addition, the static capacity and the piezoelectric loss are reduced to such low levels that one can avoid the drop in response speed and prevent heat generation.
- the piezoelectric layer 11 which will readily change in piezoelectric constant and other characteristics upon moisture absorption has the top surface isolated from air atmosphere by means of the upper electrode 12 and the insulator layer 13 , which are both formed of a dense film, whereas the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11 are isolated from air atmosphere by means of the insulator layer 13 . Therefore, the piezoelectric layer 11 will not absorb moisture but can maintain its initial characteristics for a prolonged time.
- the conductor pattern 14 is connected to only one end of the upper electrode 12 .
- the conductor pattern 14 may extend to a lateral side of the upper electrode 12 and a plurality of windows 13 a, 13 b and 13 c are formed in the insulator layer 13 facing the upper electrodes 12 , such that the conductor pattern 14 is connected to the upper electrode 12 via these windows 13 a to 13 c.
- This design is effective in supplying a drive signal to the upper electrode 12 with the smallest possible response delay.
- windows 13 a, 13 b and 13 c are formed in the insulator layer 13 in conformity with the shape of the connections to the conductor pattern 14 .
- windows larger than the connections to the conductor pattern 14 may be formed in the insulator layer 13 in all areas except selected portions ⁇ L, ⁇ L′ and ⁇ L′′ of the periphery of the top surface of the upper electrode as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B .
- the piezoelectric layer 11 has its surface covered with the upper electrode 12 which is formed of a dense film of platinum or any other suitable metal whereas the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11 are covered with the insulator layer 13 such that the piezoelectric layer 11 is entirely isolated from air atmosphere to prevent the deterioration by atmospheric moisture or the like and the surface discharge occurring along the lateral sides.
- the windows in the insulator layer occupy the greater part of the displacement region of the piezoelectric layer 11 and only the upper electrode 12 is superposed on that region of the piezoelectric layer 11 ; as a result, the increase in rigidity due to the rigidity of the insulator layer 13 is minimized to permit the piezoelectric layer 11 to be displaced by a greater amount per unit voltage than in the previous embodiments.
- the recording heads of the types described above can basically be fabricated by anisotropic etching of a single-crystal silicon substrate used as a preform and processed as described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .
- the opposite surfaces of the single-crystal silicon substrate 20 are thermally oxidized or otherwise processed to form silicon oxide films 21 and 22 .
- a conductive layer 23 working both as a diaphragm and as a lower electrode is formed by sputtering Pt on one side of the substrate to prepare a preform.
- a piezoelectric layer 24 typically made of PZT (lead zirconate-titanate) is formed on a surface of the conductive layer 23 and a conductive layer is also formed as an upper electrode successively.
- both the upper electrode and the piezoelectric layer are etched successively by a photo-lithographic technique in conformity with the shape of the pressure generating chambers.
- the lower electrode is patterned by a photo-lithographic technique.
- the silicon oxide film 22 on the other side of the single-crystal silicon substrate 20 is patterned by a photo-lithographic technique in conformity with the shape of the pressure generating chambers.
- Hydrofluoric acid is used as an etchant to etch the silicon oxide film 22 during the patterning process and the piezoelectric layer 24 can effectively be protected from the hydrofluoric acid by simply coating a resist on the layer (FIG. 5 -I).
- a fluoroplastic protective film 26 is formed in a thickness of about 6 ⁇ m over the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25 (FIG. 5 -II).
- a suitable fluoroplastic resin is whirl coated in a thickness of about 2 ⁇ m and dried by heating at 120° C. for 20 min. By repeating these procedures three times, the desired protective film 26 can be formed in intimate contact with the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25 with the degree of polymerization being adequately increased.
- FIG. 5 -II′ Another method of forming the fluoroplastic protective film 26 is shown in FIG. 5 -II′.
- a suitable resin film 27 is attached to the other side of the preform and the entire assembly is immersed in a fluoroplastic resin solution such that the latter is deposited to cover the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25 .
- the deposited fluoroplastic coating 28 is preannealed at 100° C. for about 30 min, then heated at 200° C. for 30 min until the coating 28 cures to such a hardness that it can serve as a protective film.
- the resin film 27 may be stripped off, whereupon the unwanted areas of the fluoroplastic protective film 29 are also removed.
- the patterned silicon oxide film 22 is immersed in a 5 to 20 wt % aqueous potassium hydroxide solution held at 80° C. to perform etching for about 1 to 2 h.
- etching goes through the single-crystal silicon substrate until it stops at the silicon oxide film 21 on the other side, to thereby form recesses 30 which serve as pressure generating chambers (FIG. 6 -I).
- the fluoroplastic protective film 28 effectively prevents the piezoelectric layer from being damaged by the aqueous potassium hydroxide solution.
- those areas of the silicon oxide film 21 serving as an etching stopper which are exposed in the recesses 30 and the silicon oxide film 22 serving as an anisotropic etching pattern are stripped away with a hydrofluoric acid solution or a liquid mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ammonia.
- the fluoroplastic film 26 ( 28 ) is etched away with an oxygen plasma (FIG. 6 -II).
- the etching may be performed in such a way that windows 31 are formed in at least those areas of the fluoroplastic film 26 ( 28 ) on top of the conductive layer 25 serving as the upper electrode which provide connections to the conductor pattern whereas the resin film 26 ( 28 ) remains intact on the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 24 .
- the fluoroplastic film 26 ( 28 ) is adapted to function just like the insulator layer 13 used in the previous embodiments (FIG. 6 -II′).
- an insulator film 13 may be additionally formed in the manner already described above.
- the recording head is of a face type in which nozzle orifices 16 are formed in a direction perpendicular to the head face.
- the concept of the invention is equally applicable to an edge-type head which, as shown in FIG. 7 , has nozzle orifices 41 bored through an end face 40 of the head, particularly in the pressure generating chamber constituting member such as an ink channel forming substrate, in such a way that they communicate with the ink channels.
- the foregoing embodiments concern the case where the piezoelectric vibrators are formed by a film-deposition technique but, obviously, the same advantage will be attained if a green sheet of a piezoelectric material is cut to shapes that conform to the pressure generating chambers, attached to an elastic sheet and backed to form piezoelectric layers.
- the present invention provides an ink-jet recording head having piezoelectric vibrators comprising a lower electrode formed on a surface of an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers communicating with nozzle orifices, piezoelectric layers formed on a surface of said lower electrode and upper electrodes formed on surfaces of said piezoelectric layers in the areas facing said pressure generating chambers, wherein said upper electrodes are formed independently of each other in the areas facing said pressure generating chambers and wherein an electrical insulator is formed such that it covers an area extending from the peripheral edge portion of the top surface of each of said upper electrodes to the lateral sides of each of said piezoelectric layers, with a window being left intact to provide at least a connection to a conductor pattern.
- the upper electrodes are located inward of the pressure generating chambers and are not subject to abrupt displacements at the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers; therefore, the upper electrodes are effectively prevented from being open-circuited.
- the piezoelectric vibrators are effectively covered with the insulator layer to prevent not only the occurrence of surface discharge between the upper and lower electrodes but also the deterioration due to moisture absorption.
Abstract
AnA method of manufacturing an ink-jet recording head comprising:which includes an elastic sheet providingfacing pressure generating chambers;, nozzle orifices, each communicating with the pressure generating chambers;, and piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having, a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet, the method including forming a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and forming an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein thearea where the lower electrode, piezoelectric layer and upper electrode overlap is located within an area defined by the pressure generating chamber in the longitudinal direction thereof. The upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other;and an electrical insulator layer having windows, wherein the electrical insulator layer coversis formed to cover the upper electrodes;, and a conductor pattern connecting withis connected to the upper electrodes via the windows of the electrical insulator layer.
Description
More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,701. This is a divisional reissue application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/742,393 filed Dec. 22, 2000 (now abandoned), which was a reissue application of U.S. Ser. No. 08/835,748 filed Apr. 10, 1997, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,701 on Jul. 18, 2000, the entire disclosures and contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording head having piezoelectric layers formed on a surface of an elastic sheet which forms part of pressure generating chambers communicating with nozzle orifices from which ink drops are allowed to issue by displacement of the piezoelectric layers.
The operating principle of ink-jet recording heads is such that the elastic sheet described above is displaced by means of piezoelectric vibrators to apply pressure to the ink in pressure generating chambers, thereby ejecting ink drops from nozzle orifices. Practically, ink-jet recording heads are classified as one of two types depending on the piezoelectric vibrator used; one type uses a vibrator of a longitudinally vibrating mode which extends and contracts along its own axis and the other type uses a vibrator of a flexing or flexural vibrating mode.
The first type of ink-jet recording heads is capable of changing the volume of each pressure generating chamber by contacting an end face of the piezoelectric vibrator with the elastic sheet and has the advantage of being suitable for high-density printing. On the other hand, the manufacturing process of this type of head is complicated since it involves not only a difficult step of segmenting the piezoelectric elastic sheet into a combtooth-shaped pattern in registry with the pitch on which nozzle orifices are arranged but also the step of fixing the individual piezoelectric vibrators in an appropriate positional relationship with the respective pressure generating chambers.
In contrast, the second type of ink-jet recording heads has the advantage of enabling the piezoelectric vibrators to be mounted on the elastic sheet by a relatively simple process in which a green sheet of piezoelectric material is attached to a substrate is conformity with the shape of individual pressure generating chambers and baked. On the other hand, a certain area is required to permit flexural vibrations and this introduces difficulty in achieving high-density arrangement of piezoelectric vibrators.
To deal with these problems, it has been proposed as in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 5-286131 that a uniform layer of piezoelectric material be formed over the entire surface of the elastic sheet by film deposition techniques and that the formed piezoelectric layer be segmented into shapes that correspond to the pressure generating chambers by lithographic techniques such that the piezoelectric vibrator formed in one pressure generating chamber is independent of the vibrator formed in another pressure generating chamber.
This proposal eliminates the need to attach the piezoelectric vibrators onto the elastic sheet and offers the advantage of not only enabling the piezoelectric vibrators to be mounted by the precise and yet simple lithographic techniques but also reducing the thickness of each piezoelectric vibrator by a sufficient amount to permit fast driving.
On the other hand, the piezoelectric layer is so thin that compared to the attached type of piezoelectric vibrator, the rigidity is small enough to increase the chance of stress concentration near the boundaries of each pressure generating chamber and this causes the disadvantage of shortening the life of the elastic sheet, piezoelectric vibrators and even the electrodes.
As another problem, the piezoelectric constant is only about a third to half of the value for the piezoelectric vibrator that is formed by baking an attached green sheet and this requires driving at high voltage; then, both the upper and lower electrodes will experience surface discharge along the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer which increases the chance of a leakage current of flowing between the two electrodes, thereby destabilizing the issuance of ink droplets. A further problem is that if the piezoelectric vibrator is segmented or divided in correspondence with individual pressure generating chambers, the areas of lateral sides that are exposed to air atmosphere are increased so that the individual piezoelectric vibrators are prone to deteriorate due to the moisture in air atmosphere.
The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and has as an object providing an ink-jet recording head in which the stress concentration near the boundaries of each pressure generating chamber is sufficiently reduced to prevent the breakage of the upper electrode.
Another object of the invention is to provide an ink-jet recording head which, in addition to the stated advantage, is capable of preventing not only the occurrence of a leakage current through the piezoelectric layer held between the upper and lower electrodes to thereby stabilize the issuance of ink droplets, but also the deterioration of piezoelectric vibrators.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink-jet recording head comprising: an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers; nozzle orifices, each communicating with the pressure generating chamber; piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having, a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other; an electrical insulator layer having windows, wherein the electric insulator layer covers the upper electrodes; and a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes via the windows of the electrical insulator layer.
Therefore, the upper electrodes are situated inward of the pressure generating chambers, so they will not experience any abrupt displacements at the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers and hence are damage-free.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink-jet recording head comprising: an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers; nozzle orifices, each communicating with the pressure generating chamber; piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having, a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrodes are formed inside of the areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber; an electrical insulator layer having windows, wherein the electrical insulator layer covers the upper electrodes; and a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes via the windows of the electrical insulator layer.
The second aspect is effective not only in preventing the stress concentration due to the abrupt displacement at the boundaries of each of the pressure generating chambers, but also in ensuring good electrical insulation between the upper and lower electrodes and complete isolation from air atmosphere by means of the electrical insulator layer.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in accompanying drawings.
Those areas of the elastic sheet 2 which face the individual pressure generating chambers 3 are provided with piezoelectric vibrators 6 that are mounted independently of each other by a film deposition technique in the respective generating pressure chambers 3.
Each piezoelectric vibrator 6 comprises in superposition of a lower electrode 10 formed on a surface of the elastic sheet 2 to cover the substantial areas of each pressure generating compartment 3 and each ink supply port 5, a piezoelectric layer 11 formed in such a way that it does not extend beyond the area of the pressure generating chamber 3 in which the elastic sheet 2 is exposed and such that it is slightly narrower than the width of the pressure generating chamber 3, and an upper electrode 12 formed on a surface of each piezoelectric layer 11.
As shown clearly in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the piezoelectric layers 11 and upper electrodes 12 are each formed in such a way that the sides 11a and 12a on the nozzle orifice side and the sides 11b and 12b on the ink supply port side are each located inward of the boundaries 3a and 3b of the pressure generating chamber 3 in a longitudinal direction and desirably inward of the partition walls of each pressure generating chamber in the direction of width.
A thin electrical insulator layer 13 is formed to cover at least the peripheral edge of the top surface of the upper electrode 12 and the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11. The insulator layer 13 is formed of any material that permits film formation by a suitable deposition technique or which can be trimmed by etching as exemplified by silicon oxide, silicon nitride or an organic material, preferably a photosensitive polyimide having low rigidity and good electrical insulating property.
A window 13a is formed in a selected area of the upper electrode 12 on the insulator layer 13 to have the upper electrode 12 partly exposed to establish connection to a conductor pattern 14. One end of the conductor pattern 14 is connected to the upper electrode 12 via the window 13a and the other end extends to a suitable connection terminal. The conductor pattern 14 is formed in the smallest possible width that ensures positive supply of a drive signal to the upper electrode 12.
Shown by 15 is a nozzle plate with nozzle orifice 16 that communicate with the pressure generating chambers 3 at one end; the nozzle plate 15 is fixed in such a way as to close the open side of the ink channel forming substrate 1. Shown by 17 in FIG. 1 is a flexible cable for supplying a drive signal to the piezoelectric vibrators 6 and numeral 18 designates a head case.
In the embodiment under discussion, a drive signal supplied from an external drive circuit to each piezoelectric vibrator 6 via the flexible cable 17 passes through the conductor pattern 14 to be applied to the upper electrode 12, whereupon the piezoelectric vibrator 6 flexes to reduce the volume of the pressure generating chamber 3.
As a result of this volume change, the ink in the pressure generating chamber 3 is given a sufficient pressure to be partly ejected as an ink drop from the nozzle orifice 16. When the issuance of the ink drop ends, the piezoelectric vibrator 6 reverts to the initial sate, whereupon the volume of the pressure generating chamber 3 increases to allow the ink in the reservoir 4 to flow into the pressure generating chamber 3 via the ink supply port 5.
As already mentioned, the piezoelectric layer 11, which is a component of each piezoelectric vibrator 6, is formed in such a size that the two ends 11a and 11b are located inward of the boundaries 3a and 3b of the pressure generating chamber 3. In other words, no part of the piezoelectric layer 11 or the upper electrode 12 is positioned at the boundary 3b and subject to the effect of a sharp displacement gradient. Hence, the piezoelectric layers 11 and the upper electrodes 12 are entirely free from breaking due to mechanical fatigue.
Returning back to the invention, the conductor pattern 14 connected to the upper electrode 12 is formed on a surface of the insulator layer 13 and has a sufficient spacing from the lower electrode 10 to provide the necessary insulation resistance for preventing surface discharge; in addition, the static capacity and the piezoelectric loss are reduced to such low levels that one can avoid the drop in response speed and prevent heat generation.
Further in addition, the piezoelectric layer 11, which will readily change in piezoelectric constant and other characteristics upon moisture absorption has the top surface isolated from air atmosphere by means of the upper electrode 12 and the insulator layer 13, which are both formed of a dense film, whereas the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11 are isolated from air atmosphere by means of the insulator layer 13. Therefore, the piezoelectric layer 11 will not absorb moisture but can maintain its initial characteristics for a prolonged time.
In the embodiment described above, the conductor pattern 14 is connected to only one end of the upper electrode 12. This is not the sole case of the invention and, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the conductor pattern 14 may extend to a lateral side of the upper electrode 12 and a plurality of windows 13a, 13b and 13c are formed in the insulator layer 13 facing the upper electrodes 12, such that the conductor pattern 14 is connected to the upper electrode 12 via these windows 13a to 13c. This design is effective in supplying a drive signal to the upper electrode 12 with the smallest possible response delay.
In the embodiment shown described above, windows 13a, 13b and 13c are formed in the insulator layer 13 in conformity with the shape of the connections to the conductor pattern 14. Alternatively, windows larger than the connections to the conductor pattern 14 may be formed in the insulator layer 13 in all areas except selected portions ΔL, ΔL′ and ΔL″ of the periphery of the top surface of the upper electrode as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B . Even in this case, the piezoelectric layer 11 has its surface covered with the upper electrode 12 which is formed of a dense film of platinum or any other suitable metal whereas the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 11 are covered with the insulator layer 13 such that the piezoelectric layer 11 is entirely isolated from air atmosphere to prevent the deterioration by atmospheric moisture or the like and the surface discharge occurring along the lateral sides.
The windows in the insulator layer occupy the greater part of the displacement region of the piezoelectric layer 11 and only the upper electrode 12 is superposed on that region of the piezoelectric layer 11; as a result, the increase in rigidity due to the rigidity of the insulator layer 13 is minimized to permit the piezoelectric layer 11 to be displaced by a greater amount per unit voltage than in the previous embodiments.
The recording heads of the types described above can basically be fabricated by anisotropic etching of a single-crystal silicon substrate used as a preform and processed as described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .
First, the opposite surfaces of the single-crystal silicon substrate 20 are thermally oxidized or otherwise processed to form silicon oxide films 21 and 22. A conductive layer 23 working both as a diaphragm and as a lower electrode is formed by sputtering Pt on one side of the substrate to prepare a preform. A piezoelectric layer 24 typically made of PZT (lead zirconate-titanate) is formed on a surface of the conductive layer 23 and a conductive layer is also formed as an upper electrode successively. In the next step, both the upper electrode and the piezoelectric layer are etched successively by a photo-lithographic technique in conformity with the shape of the pressure generating chambers. Subsequently, the lower electrode is patterned by a photo-lithographic technique. Further in addition, the silicon oxide film 22 on the other side of the single-crystal silicon substrate 20 is patterned by a photo-lithographic technique in conformity with the shape of the pressure generating chambers. Hydrofluoric acid is used as an etchant to etch the silicon oxide film 22 during the patterning process and the piezoelectric layer 24 can effectively be protected from the hydrofluoric acid by simply coating a resist on the layer (FIG. 5-I).
In the next step, a fluoroplastic protective film 26 is formed in a thickness of about 6 μm over the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25 (FIG. 5-II).
A suitable fluoroplastic resin is whirl coated in a thickness of about 2 μm and dried by heating at 120° C. for 20 min. By repeating these procedures three times, the desired protective film 26 can be formed in intimate contact with the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25 with the degree of polymerization being adequately increased.
Another method of forming the fluoroplastic protective film 26 is shown in FIG. 5-II′. A suitable resin film 27 is attached to the other side of the preform and the entire assembly is immersed in a fluoroplastic resin solution such that the latter is deposited to cover the piezoelectric layer 24 and the conductive layers 23 and 25. The deposited fluoroplastic coating 28 is preannealed at 100° C. for about 30 min, then heated at 200° C. for 30 min until the coating 28 cures to such a hardness that it can serve as a protective film. When the formation of the fluoroplastic protective film 28 ends, the resin film 27 may be stripped off, whereupon the unwanted areas of the fluoroplastic protective film 29 are also removed.
The patterned silicon oxide film 22 is immersed in a 5 to 20 wt % aqueous potassium hydroxide solution held at 80° C. to perform etching for about 1 to 2 h. As a result, with the silicon oxide film 22 serving as a protective layer, etching goes through the single-crystal silicon substrate until it stops at the silicon oxide film 21 on the other side, to thereby form recesses 30 which serve as pressure generating chambers (FIG. 6-I). In this step, the fluoroplastic protective film 28 effectively prevents the piezoelectric layer from being damaged by the aqueous potassium hydroxide solution.
Subsequently, those areas of the silicon oxide film 21 serving as an etching stopper which are exposed in the recesses 30 and the silicon oxide film 22 serving as an anisotropic etching pattern are stripped away with a hydrofluoric acid solution or a liquid mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ammonia. Finally, the fluoroplastic film 26 (28) is etched away with an oxygen plasma (FIG. 6-II).
If desired, the etching may be performed in such a way that windows 31 are formed in at least those areas of the fluoroplastic film 26 (28) on top of the conductive layer 25 serving as the upper electrode which provide connections to the conductor pattern whereas the resin film 26 (28) remains intact on the lateral sides of the piezoelectric layer 24. In this way, the fluoroplastic film 26 (28) is adapted to function just like the insulator layer 13 used in the previous embodiments (FIG. 6-II′).
Needless to say, if the fluoroplastic protective film 26 (28) is entirely stripped away as in the case shown in FIG. 6-II, an insulator film 13 may be additionally formed in the manner already described above.
In the foregoing embodiments, the recording head is of a face type in which nozzle orifices 16 are formed in a direction perpendicular to the head face. Obviously, the concept of the invention is equally applicable to an edge-type head which, as shown in FIG. 7 , has nozzle orifices 41 bored through an end face 40 of the head, particularly in the pressure generating chamber constituting member such as an ink channel forming substrate, in such a way that they communicate with the ink channels.
Further in addition, the foregoing embodiments concern the case where the piezoelectric vibrators are formed by a film-deposition technique but, obviously, the same advantage will be attained if a green sheet of a piezoelectric material is cut to shapes that conform to the pressure generating chambers, attached to an elastic sheet and backed to form piezoelectric layers.
As described on the foregoing pages, the present invention provides an ink-jet recording head having piezoelectric vibrators comprising a lower electrode formed on a surface of an elastic sheet providing pressure generating chambers communicating with nozzle orifices, piezoelectric layers formed on a surface of said lower electrode and upper electrodes formed on surfaces of said piezoelectric layers in the areas facing said pressure generating chambers, wherein said upper electrodes are formed independently of each other in the areas facing said pressure generating chambers and wherein an electrical insulator is formed such that it covers an area extending from the peripheral edge portion of the top surface of each of said upper electrodes to the lateral sides of each of said piezoelectric layers, with a window being left intact to provide at least a connection to a conductor pattern. In this design, the upper electrodes are located inward of the pressure generating chambers and are not subject to abrupt displacements at the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers; therefore, the upper electrodes are effectively prevented from being open-circuited. In addition, the piezoelectric vibrators are effectively covered with the insulator layer to prevent not only the occurrence of surface discharge between the upper and lower electrodes but also the deterioration due to moisture absorption.
Claims (52)
1. An ink jet recording head comprising:
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers;
nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers;
piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having,
a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet,
a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and
an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces a respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other;
an insulator layer having windows, wherein the insulator layer is formed on a portion of the upper electrodes; and
a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
2. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 1 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
3. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 1 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
4. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 1 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
5. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 4 , wherein the insulator layer is made of a polyimide.
6. An ink-jet recording head according to claim 1 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
7. An ink jet recording head comprising:
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers;
nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers;
piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators having,
a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet,
a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and
an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrode are formed entirely inside of areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber;
an insulator layer having windows, wherein the insulator layer is formed on a portion of the upper electrodes; and
a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
8. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 7 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
9. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 7 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
10. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 7 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
11. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 10 , wherein the insulator layer is made of a polyimide.
12. An ink-jet recording head according to claim 7 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
13. A method of forming an ink jet recording head, comprising an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers, nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers, and piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet by a film deposition technique, said method comprising:
forming a lower electrode on the elastic sheet;
defining a first area in a longitudinal direction of each of the pressure generating chambers;
defining a second area in a width direction of each of the pressure generating chambers;
forming a piezoelectric layer on the lower electrode; and
forming an upper electrode on the piezoelectric layer,
wherein an area where said lower electrode, said piezoelectric layer and said upper electrode overlap is located within said first area, and
an area of each of said pressure generating chambers is gradually increased in the longitudinal direction away from said area of overlap.
14. A method of forming the ink jet recording head of claim 13 , wherein the piezoelectric layer is formed in each of the pressure generating chambers.
15. A method of forming the ink jet recording head of claim 13 , wherein the upper electrode is formed in a substantially same shape as the piezoelectric layer.
16. A method of forming the ink jet recording head according to claim 13 , said method further comprising:
forming, on a portion of the upper electrodes, an insulator layer having windows; and
forming a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
17. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 16 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
18. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 16 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
19. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 16 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
20. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 19 , wherein the organic material of the insulator layer is polyimide.
21. A method of forming the ink jet recording head according to claim 13 , said method further comprising:
forming, on a portion of the upper electrodes, an insulator layer having windows; and
forming a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer,
wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrode are formed entirely inside of areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber.
22. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 21 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
23. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 21 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
24. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 21 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
25. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 24 , wherein the organic material of the insulator layer is polyimide.
26. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 21 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
27. A method of forming the ink jet recording head of claim 13 , further comprising forming said pressure generating chambers in a silicon substrate.
28. A method of forming an ink jet recording head, comprising
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers, nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers, and piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, said method comprising:
forming a lower electrode on the elastic sheet;
forming a piezoelectric layer on the lower electrode;
forming an upper electrode on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces a respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other;
forming on a portion of the upper electrodes, an insulator layer having windows; and
forming a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
29. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 28 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
30. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 28 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
31. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 28 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
32. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 31 , wherein the organic material of the insulator layer is polyimide.
33. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 28 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
34. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 16 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
35. A method of forming an ink jet recording head, comprising
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers, nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers, and piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, said method comprising:
forming a lower electrode on the elastic sheet;
forming a piezoelectric layer on the lower electrode;
forming an upper electrode on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrode are formed entirely inside of areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber;
forming, on a portion of the upper electrodes, an insulator layer having windows; and
forming a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
36. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 35 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
37. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 35 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
38. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 35 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
39. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 38 , wherein the organic material of the insulator layer is polyimide.
40. A method of forming the ink-jet recording head according to claim 35 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
41. An ink-jet recording head comprising:
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers;
nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers;
piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators comprising:
a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet,
a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and
an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces a respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the upper electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrators are positioned independently of each other;
an insulator layer having windows, wherein the insulator layer is formed on a portion of the upper electrode; and
a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
42. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 41 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
43. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 41 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
44. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 41 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
45. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 44 , wherein the insulator layer is made of a polyimide.
46. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 41 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant-resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
47. An ink-jet recording head comprising:
an elastic sheet facing pressure generating chambers;
nozzle orifices communicating with the pressure generating chambers;
piezoelectric vibrators formed on the elastic sheet, each of the piezoelectric vibrators comprising:
a lower electrode formed on the elastic sheet,
a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and
an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer such that the upper electrode faces the respective pressure generating chamber, wherein the piezoelectric layer and the upper electrode are formed entirely inside of areas facing the respective pressure generating chamber;
an insulator layer having windows, wherein the insulator layer is formed on a portion of the upper electrodes; and
a conductor pattern connecting with the upper electrodes through the windows of the insulator layer.
48. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 47 , wherein the conductor pattern is formed on a lateral side of the upper electrode between the pressure generating chambers and connected to said upper electrode at more than one site through the windows.
49. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 47 , wherein the windows extend to a peripheral edge of each of the piezoelectric layers such that the windows do not interfere with the displacement of the vibrating region of the piezoelectric layer.
50. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 47 , wherein the insulator layer is made of either one of a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride and an organic material.
51. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 50 , wherein the insulator layer is made of a polyimide.
52. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 47 , wherein the insulator layer is formed of an etchant-resistant film which is used as a protective film at etching.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/319,491 USRE39474E1 (en) | 1996-04-10 | 2002-12-16 | Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers |
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP8846996A JPH09277520A (en) | 1996-04-10 | 1996-04-10 | Ink jet printer head and preparation of ink-jet printer head |
JP34456896 | 1996-12-09 | ||
JP8324597A JP3552013B2 (en) | 1996-12-09 | 1997-03-17 | Ink jet recording head |
US08/835,748 US6089701A (en) | 1996-04-10 | 1997-04-10 | Ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of pressure generating chambers |
US74239300A | 2000-12-22 | 2000-12-22 | |
US10/319,491 USRE39474E1 (en) | 1996-04-10 | 2002-12-16 | Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US08/835,748 Reissue US6089701A (en) | 1996-04-10 | 1997-04-10 | Ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of pressure generating chambers |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
USRE39474E1 true USRE39474E1 (en) | 2007-01-23 |
Family
ID=27304167
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US08/835,748 Ceased US6089701A (en) | 1996-04-10 | 1997-04-10 | Ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of pressure generating chambers |
US10/319,491 Expired - Lifetime USRE39474E1 (en) | 1996-04-10 | 2002-12-16 | Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US08/835,748 Ceased US6089701A (en) | 1996-04-10 | 1997-04-10 | Ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of pressure generating chambers |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US6089701A (en) |
EP (2) | EP0800920B1 (en) |
DE (2) | DE69710240T2 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20060027529A1 (en) * | 2004-08-06 | 2006-02-09 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Method of manufacturing liquid discharge head and method of manufacturing substrate for liquid discharge head |
US20090205181A1 (en) * | 2008-02-14 | 2009-08-20 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive element and method of manufacturing the same |
US8584331B2 (en) * | 2011-09-14 | 2013-11-19 | Xerox Corporation | In situ flexible circuit embossing to form an electrical interconnect |
US20140090248A1 (en) * | 2010-06-07 | 2014-04-03 | Xerox Corporation | Electrical interconnect using embossed contacts on a flex circuit |
Families Citing this family (56)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH10211701A (en) * | 1996-11-06 | 1998-08-11 | Seiko Epson Corp | Actuator with piezoelectric element, ink jet type recording head, and manufacture of them |
US7052594B2 (en) * | 2002-01-31 | 2006-05-30 | Sri International | Devices and methods for controlling fluid flow using elastic sheet deflection |
DE69822928T2 (en) * | 1997-07-10 | 2004-08-12 | Seiko Epson Corp. | Inkjet printhead |
WO1999003682A1 (en) * | 1997-07-18 | 1999-01-28 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Inkjet recording head, method of manufacturing the same, and inkjet recorder |
CN1329196C (en) * | 1998-02-18 | 2007-08-01 | 索尼株式会社 | Piezoelectric actuator, method of manufacture, and ink-jet print head |
AUPP702498A0 (en) * | 1998-11-09 | 1998-12-03 | Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | Image creation method and apparatus (ART77) |
JP3868143B2 (en) * | 1999-04-06 | 2007-01-17 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Piezoelectric thin film element, ink jet recording head using the same, and manufacturing method thereof |
US6755511B1 (en) * | 1999-10-05 | 2004-06-29 | Spectra, Inc. | Piezoelectric ink jet module with seal |
DE60005111T2 (en) | 1999-11-15 | 2004-03-25 | Seiko Epson Corp. | Ink jet printhead and ink jet recording device |
JP4221929B2 (en) | 2000-03-31 | 2009-02-12 | 富士フイルム株式会社 | Multi-nozzle ink jet head |
US6854825B1 (en) | 2000-10-20 | 2005-02-15 | Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | Printed media production |
AU2004203502B2 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2004-09-30 | Zamtec Limited | Nozzle for an ink jet printhead |
AU2004202942B2 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2004-09-16 | Zamtec Limited | Method for operating nozzles in an ink jet printhead |
AU2004233538B2 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2006-03-09 | Memjet Technology Limited | An inkjet nozzle structure having a structure for correcting the direction of ink ejection |
US6457812B1 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2002-10-01 | Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | Bend actuator in an ink jet printhead |
US6623101B1 (en) | 2000-10-20 | 2003-09-23 | Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | Moving nozzle ink jet |
US6701593B2 (en) * | 2001-01-08 | 2004-03-09 | Nanodynamics, Inc. | Process for producing inkjet printhead |
JP2003022892A (en) | 2001-07-06 | 2003-01-24 | Semiconductor Energy Lab Co Ltd | Manufacturing method of light emitting device |
CN2752050Y (en) | 2002-02-18 | 2006-01-18 | 兄弟工业株式会社 | Ink jet printing head and ink-jet printer with the same ink jet printing head |
JP4549622B2 (en) * | 2002-12-04 | 2010-09-22 | リコープリンティングシステムズ株式会社 | Ink jet recording head and ink jet recording apparatus using the same |
JP3998254B2 (en) * | 2003-02-07 | 2007-10-24 | キヤノン株式会社 | Inkjet head manufacturing method |
KR100481996B1 (en) * | 2003-06-17 | 2005-04-14 | 주식회사 피에조닉스 | Piezoelectric ink jet printer head and its manufacturing process |
EP1648038B1 (en) * | 2003-07-22 | 2011-02-16 | NGK Insulators, Ltd. | Actuator element and device having actuator element |
US20080112151A1 (en) | 2004-03-04 | 2008-05-15 | Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | Overmolded electronic module with an integrated electromagnetic shield using SMT shield wall components |
US8399972B2 (en) | 2004-03-04 | 2013-03-19 | Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | Overmolded semiconductor package with a wirebond cage for EMI shielding |
JP4595418B2 (en) * | 2004-07-16 | 2010-12-08 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Inkjet head |
US7344228B2 (en) * | 2004-08-02 | 2008-03-18 | Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. | Actuator with reduced drive capacitance |
EP1705012B1 (en) * | 2005-03-22 | 2010-11-17 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Piezoelectric actuator, liquid transporting apparatus, and method of producing piezoelectric actuator |
US7737612B1 (en) | 2005-05-25 | 2010-06-15 | Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. | BAW resonator bi-layer top electrode with zero etch undercut |
US7612488B1 (en) | 2007-01-16 | 2009-11-03 | Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. | Method to control BAW resonator top electrode edge during patterning |
JP2008244201A (en) * | 2007-03-28 | 2008-10-09 | Brother Ind Ltd | Manufacturing method of piezoelectric actuator |
EP2174360A4 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2013-12-11 | Artificial Muscle Inc | Electroactive polymer transducers for sensory feedback applications |
CN101796664B (en) * | 2008-03-06 | 2013-03-13 | 日本碍子株式会社 | Manufacturing method for piezoelectric/electrostrictive film type element |
JP5305018B2 (en) * | 2009-03-26 | 2013-10-02 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, and actuator device |
EP2239793A1 (en) | 2009-04-11 | 2010-10-13 | Bayer MaterialScience AG | Electrically switchable polymer film structure and use thereof |
US8454132B2 (en) | 2009-12-14 | 2013-06-04 | Fujifilm Corporation | Moisture protection of fluid ejector |
JP5822057B2 (en) * | 2010-07-08 | 2015-11-24 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Piezoelectric element, piezoelectric actuator, liquid ejecting head, and liquid ejecting apparatus |
JP5704303B2 (en) | 2010-09-06 | 2015-04-22 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Piezoelectric element, piezoelectric actuator, liquid ejecting head, and liquid ejecting apparatus |
JP2012056194A (en) | 2010-09-09 | 2012-03-22 | Seiko Epson Corp | Piezoelectric element, piezoelectric actuator, liquid ejecting head, and liquid ejecting apparatus |
JP5724263B2 (en) * | 2010-09-16 | 2015-05-27 | 株式会社リコー | Inkjet head |
CA2828809A1 (en) | 2011-03-01 | 2012-09-07 | Francois EGRON | Automated manufacturing processes for producing deformable polymer devices and films |
CN103703404A (en) | 2011-03-22 | 2014-04-02 | 拜耳知识产权有限责任公司 | Electroactive polymer actuator lenticular system |
JP5824895B2 (en) * | 2011-06-17 | 2015-12-02 | 株式会社リコー | Inkjet head and inkjet recording apparatus |
US8727508B2 (en) * | 2011-11-10 | 2014-05-20 | Xerox Corporation | Bonded silicon structure for high density print head |
ITMI20112132A1 (en) | 2011-11-24 | 2013-05-25 | Leonardo Srl | SUPPORT DEVICE FOR LIFTING FURNITURE |
JP5927866B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2016-06-01 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, piezoelectric element |
WO2013142552A1 (en) | 2012-03-21 | 2013-09-26 | Bayer Materialscience Ag | Roll-to-roll manufacturing processes for producing self-healing electroactive polymer devices |
US9761790B2 (en) | 2012-06-18 | 2017-09-12 | Parker-Hannifin Corporation | Stretch frame for stretching process |
WO2014066576A1 (en) | 2012-10-24 | 2014-05-01 | Bayer Intellectual Property Gmbh | Polymer diode |
JP6233581B2 (en) * | 2013-12-26 | 2017-11-22 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Ultrasonic sensor and manufacturing method thereof |
US10086611B2 (en) * | 2014-07-30 | 2018-10-02 | Kyocera Corporation | Inkjet head and printer |
US20180076381A1 (en) * | 2015-03-16 | 2018-03-15 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Method for producing piezoelectric element, piezoelectric element, piezoelectric drive device, robot, and pump |
US9682555B2 (en) | 2015-07-24 | 2017-06-20 | Oce-Technologies B.V. | Inkjet print head with improved lifetime and efficiency |
JP6922651B2 (en) * | 2017-10-26 | 2021-08-18 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Ultrasonic device and ultrasonic measuring device |
JP7087413B2 (en) * | 2018-01-31 | 2022-06-21 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Piezoelectric devices, liquid spray heads, and liquid sprayers |
JP7035763B2 (en) * | 2018-04-25 | 2022-03-15 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Packing body, manufacturing method of packing body, and manufacturing method of liquid discharge device |
Citations (21)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4296421A (en) * | 1978-10-26 | 1981-10-20 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Ink jet recording device using thermal propulsion and mechanical pressure changes |
JPS57167272A (en) | 1981-04-08 | 1982-10-15 | Hitachi Ltd | Ink drop jetting device |
JPS59164150A (en) | 1983-03-08 | 1984-09-17 | Nec Corp | Ink jet recording head |
US4516140A (en) * | 1983-12-27 | 1985-05-07 | At&T Teletype Corporation | Print head actuator for an ink jet printer |
US4588998A (en) * | 1983-07-27 | 1986-05-13 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Ink jet head having curved ink |
GB2182611A (en) | 1985-11-06 | 1987-05-20 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Impulse ink jet print head and methods of making the same |
US4897673A (en) * | 1989-02-28 | 1990-01-30 | Juki Corporation | Method for connecting nozzle tube of ink jet nozzle with piezoelectric element |
JPH0365350A (en) * | 1989-08-04 | 1991-03-20 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Head structure for ink injection device |
US5210455A (en) * | 1990-07-26 | 1993-05-11 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuator having ceramic substrate having recess defining thin-walled portion |
JPH05504740A (en) * | 1990-11-20 | 1993-07-22 | スペクトラ インコーポレイテッド | Thin film converter inkjet head |
JPH05286131A (en) * | 1992-04-15 | 1993-11-02 | Rohm Co Ltd | Ink jet print head and production thereof |
WO1993022140A1 (en) | 1992-04-23 | 1993-11-11 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid jet head and production thereof |
EP0572230A2 (en) * | 1992-05-27 | 1993-12-01 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuator having integral ceramic base member and film-type piezoelectric/electrostrictive element(s) |
JPH06320723A (en) | 1993-05-12 | 1994-11-22 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink jet head |
US5459501A (en) * | 1993-02-01 | 1995-10-17 | At&T Global Information Solutions Company | Solid-state ink-jet print head |
DE4443254C1 (en) * | 1994-11-25 | 1995-12-21 | Francotyp Postalia Gmbh | Ink print head assembly using edge-shooter principle for small high speed computer printer |
EP0698490A2 (en) | 1994-08-25 | 1996-02-28 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid jet head |
JPH08112896A (en) | 1994-08-25 | 1996-05-07 | Seiko Epson Corp | Liquid jet head |
EP0736385A1 (en) | 1995-04-03 | 1996-10-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Printer head for ink jet recording and process for the preparation thereof |
GB2282992B (en) | 1993-08-23 | 1997-11-26 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same |
US5872583A (en) * | 1994-12-21 | 1999-02-16 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Using fusible films having windows supplied with adhesive and gap material |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS55126463A (en) * | 1979-03-24 | 1980-09-30 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Ink-jetting head |
JPS5987167A (en) * | 1982-11-11 | 1984-05-19 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Ink jet head |
JP2952934B2 (en) * | 1989-02-21 | 1999-09-27 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Liquid jet head, method of manufacturing the same, and liquid jet recording apparatus |
-
1997
- 1997-04-10 US US08/835,748 patent/US6089701A/en not_active Ceased
- 1997-04-10 EP EP97105949A patent/EP0800920B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-10 DE DE69710240T patent/DE69710240T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-10 EP EP00127475A patent/EP1118467B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-10 DE DE69735143T patent/DE69735143T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2002
- 2002-12-16 US US10/319,491 patent/USRE39474E1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (23)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4296421A (en) * | 1978-10-26 | 1981-10-20 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Ink jet recording device using thermal propulsion and mechanical pressure changes |
JPS57167272A (en) | 1981-04-08 | 1982-10-15 | Hitachi Ltd | Ink drop jetting device |
JPS59164150A (en) | 1983-03-08 | 1984-09-17 | Nec Corp | Ink jet recording head |
US4588998A (en) * | 1983-07-27 | 1986-05-13 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Ink jet head having curved ink |
US4516140A (en) * | 1983-12-27 | 1985-05-07 | At&T Teletype Corporation | Print head actuator for an ink jet printer |
GB2182611A (en) | 1985-11-06 | 1987-05-20 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Impulse ink jet print head and methods of making the same |
US4897673A (en) * | 1989-02-28 | 1990-01-30 | Juki Corporation | Method for connecting nozzle tube of ink jet nozzle with piezoelectric element |
JPH0365350A (en) * | 1989-08-04 | 1991-03-20 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Head structure for ink injection device |
US5210455A (en) * | 1990-07-26 | 1993-05-11 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuator having ceramic substrate having recess defining thin-walled portion |
US5265315A (en) | 1990-11-20 | 1993-11-30 | Spectra, Inc. | Method of making a thin-film transducer ink jet head |
JPH05504740A (en) * | 1990-11-20 | 1993-07-22 | スペクトラ インコーポレイテッド | Thin film converter inkjet head |
JPH05286131A (en) * | 1992-04-15 | 1993-11-02 | Rohm Co Ltd | Ink jet print head and production thereof |
WO1993022140A1 (en) | 1992-04-23 | 1993-11-11 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid jet head and production thereof |
US5530465A (en) | 1992-04-23 | 1996-06-25 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid spray head and its production method |
EP0572230A2 (en) * | 1992-05-27 | 1993-12-01 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuator having integral ceramic base member and film-type piezoelectric/electrostrictive element(s) |
US5459501A (en) * | 1993-02-01 | 1995-10-17 | At&T Global Information Solutions Company | Solid-state ink-jet print head |
JPH06320723A (en) | 1993-05-12 | 1994-11-22 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink jet head |
GB2282992B (en) | 1993-08-23 | 1997-11-26 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same |
EP0698490A2 (en) | 1994-08-25 | 1996-02-28 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid jet head |
JPH08112896A (en) | 1994-08-25 | 1996-05-07 | Seiko Epson Corp | Liquid jet head |
DE4443254C1 (en) * | 1994-11-25 | 1995-12-21 | Francotyp Postalia Gmbh | Ink print head assembly using edge-shooter principle for small high speed computer printer |
US5872583A (en) * | 1994-12-21 | 1999-02-16 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Using fusible films having windows supplied with adhesive and gap material |
EP0736385A1 (en) | 1995-04-03 | 1996-10-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Printer head for ink jet recording and process for the preparation thereof |
Non-Patent Citations (6)
Title |
---|
Berchtold et al, "Simulation of a Drop-On-Demand Print Head with Planar Piezoelectric Transducer", VLSI and Microelectronic Applications in Intelligent Peripherals and their Interconnection Networks', pp. 2/53-2/55, May 1989. * |
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 15, No. 57, Feb. 12, 1991, JP 02 289352 A (Seiko Epson Corp.). * |
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 4, No. 179, Dec. 11, 1990, JP 55 126463 A (Ricoh K.K.). * |
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 7, No. 9, Jan. 14, 1983, JP 57 167272 A (Hitachi Seisakusho K.K.). * |
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 8, No. 197, Sep. 11, 1984, JP 59 087167 A (Ricoh K.K.). * |
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 9, No. 14, Jan. 22, 1985, JP 59 164150 A (Nippon Denki K.K.). * |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20060027529A1 (en) * | 2004-08-06 | 2006-02-09 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Method of manufacturing liquid discharge head and method of manufacturing substrate for liquid discharge head |
US7497962B2 (en) * | 2004-08-06 | 2009-03-03 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Method of manufacturing liquid discharge head and method of manufacturing substrate for liquid discharge head |
US20090205181A1 (en) * | 2008-02-14 | 2009-08-20 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive element and method of manufacturing the same |
US8042239B2 (en) | 2008-02-14 | 2011-10-25 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive element and method of manufacturing the same |
US8479364B2 (en) | 2008-02-14 | 2013-07-09 | Ngk Insulators, Ltd. | Piezoelectric/electrostrictive element and method of manufacturing the same |
US20140090248A1 (en) * | 2010-06-07 | 2014-04-03 | Xerox Corporation | Electrical interconnect using embossed contacts on a flex circuit |
US9381737B2 (en) * | 2010-06-07 | 2016-07-05 | Xerox Corporation | Method of manufacturing a print head |
US8584331B2 (en) * | 2011-09-14 | 2013-11-19 | Xerox Corporation | In situ flexible circuit embossing to form an electrical interconnect |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0800920A2 (en) | 1997-10-15 |
DE69735143T2 (en) | 2006-07-20 |
DE69710240D1 (en) | 2002-03-21 |
DE69710240T2 (en) | 2002-06-27 |
EP0800920B1 (en) | 2002-02-06 |
EP1118467B1 (en) | 2006-01-25 |
US6089701A (en) | 2000-07-18 |
DE69735143D1 (en) | 2006-04-13 |
EP1118467A2 (en) | 2001-07-25 |
EP1118467A3 (en) | 2001-10-24 |
EP0800920A3 (en) | 1998-08-05 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
USRE39474E1 (en) | Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head having reduced stress concentration near the boundaries of the pressure generating chambers | |
JP3552013B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head | |
US5132707A (en) | Ink jet printhead | |
KR100537522B1 (en) | Piezoelectric type inkjet printhead and manufacturing method of nozzle plate | |
US6250753B1 (en) | Ink-jet recording head | |
KR20030033857A (en) | Monolithic ink-jet printhead and manufacturing method thereof | |
US6443566B1 (en) | Ink-jet head and method of manufacturing the same | |
EP0893259B1 (en) | Ink jet print head an a method of manufacturing the same | |
US6332672B1 (en) | Ink jet recording head including a cap member sealing piezoelectric vibrators | |
US6910272B2 (en) | Method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head | |
US6231169B1 (en) | Ink jet printing head including a backing member for reducing displacement of partitions between pressure generating chambers | |
WO1999004976A1 (en) | Ink jet recording head and ink jet recorder | |
JP3551748B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head | |
JPH09327911A (en) | Ink jet printer head | |
JPH11138809A (en) | Actuator and ink-jet type recording head | |
JPH11170505A (en) | Ink-jet type recording head | |
JP3365485B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head, method of manufacturing the same, and ink jet recording apparatus | |
JP3562289B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head | |
JP3690098B2 (en) | Inkjet recording head | |
JP3552017B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head | |
JP3374900B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head | |
JPH11105281A (en) | Actuator and ink jet recording head | |
JP3633811B2 (en) | Inkjet recording head and inkjet recording apparatus | |
JP3365486B2 (en) | Ink jet recording head, method of manufacturing the same, and ink jet recording apparatus | |
JPH11138802A (en) | Ink-jet type recording head |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 12 |