JP6597232B2 - Head unit and inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a head unit and an ink jet recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of recording heads each having a plurality of recording elements for ejecting ink are provided with a head unit attached to a mounting member, and the head unit and the recording medium are moved relative to each other from the recording elements of the recording head to the recording medium. There is an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image by discharging ink. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, an image is recorded with an appropriate image quality by adjusting the mounting position of the recording head with respect to the mounting member and uniformizing the arrangement interval of the recording elements in the direction orthogonal to the relative movement direction. can do.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus, a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal to a recording element is usually provided for each recording head. Here, when the temperature of the drive element included in the drive circuit rises due to operating heat, the heat of the drive element is transferred to the ink in the recording element and the viscosity of the ink decreases, making it impossible to perform proper ink ejection or recording. The element substrate on which the element is provided expands due to the heat of the driving element and the position of the recording element fluctuates, leading to a reduction in the image quality of the recorded image. On the other hand, there is a technique for suppressing a temperature rise of the recording element and ink in the recording head by attaching to the recording head a heat radiating member that absorbs and releases heat of the driving element.

  Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of heat dissipating members respectively attached to a plurality of recording heads are integrally connected to suppress a temperature variation of driving elements in the plurality of recording heads, and thereby the recording head There is a technique for suppressing deterioration in image quality caused by the ink temperature and the deformation amount of the element substrate.

JP 2006-199021 A

  However, the conventional technique has a problem in that the mounting position of the recording head cannot be adjusted because the relative position between the recording head and the mounting member is fixed by the heat radiating member.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a head unit and an ink jet recording apparatus capable of adjusting a mounting position of a recording head while maintaining heat dissipation performance by a heat dissipation member.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the head unit according to claim 1
A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; a driving element included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element; and a wiring board on which the driving element is attached ;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive element and the heat dissipation member are movably connected via a first connection member having thermal conductivity ,
The recording head has a housing that houses the drive element and the wiring board,
The heat radiating member is provided to penetrate through an opening provided in the housing .
The invention of the head unit according to claim 2
A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive element and the heat dissipation member are movably connected via a first connection member having thermal conductivity,
The recording head has a housing that houses the driving element;
The heat dissipation member is provided through an opening provided in the housing,
The opening is sealed by a sealing member
It is characterized by that.
The invention according to claim 3 is the head unit according to claim 1 or 2,
The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustable movable range. ,
The first connecting member can be deformed by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
It is characterized by that.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the head unit according to claim 4 provides:
A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; a driving element included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element; and a wiring board on which the driving element is attached ;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive circuit supplies the drive signal to the recording element via a deforming portion that deforms according to an external force so that the relative position between the recording element and the heat dissipation member can be changed .
The recording head has a housing that houses the drive element and the wiring board,
The heat radiating member is provided to penetrate through an opening provided in the housing .
The invention of the head unit according to claim 5
A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive circuit supplies the drive signal to the recording element via a deforming portion that deforms according to an external force so that the relative position between the recording element and the heat dissipation member can be changed.
The recording head has a housing that houses the driving element;
The heat dissipation member is provided through an opening provided in the housing,
The opening is sealed by a sealing member
It is characterized by that.
The invention according to claim 6 is the head unit according to claim 4 or 5,
The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustable movable range. ,
The deformable portion can be deformed by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 7 is the head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
A plurality of the recording heads;
The plurality of heat radiating members in the plurality of recording heads are integrally connected via a heat conducting member.

The invention according to claim 8 is the head unit according to claim 7 ,
The plurality of heat radiating members are integrally connected via an exterior member that houses the plurality of recording heads and transmits heat.
The invention according to claim 9 is the head unit according to claim 8,
The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member,
A heat insulating member is provided between the mounting member and the exterior member.
It is characterized by that.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the head unit according to claim 10
A plurality of recording heads each including: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal that drives the recording element to the recording element;
A plurality of heat dissipating members that respectively release heat of the drive element of each of the plurality of recording heads;
An attachment member to which the plurality of recording heads are attached;
With
The plurality of heat radiating members in the plurality of recording heads are movably and integrally connected via a second connection member having thermal conductivity ,
Each of the plurality of recording heads has a housing that houses the driving element,
The heat radiating member is provided to penetrate through an opening provided in the housing .
The invention according to claim 11 is the head unit according to claim 10,
The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustable movable range. ,
The second connecting member can be deformed by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 12 is the head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 11 ,
The opening is sealed by a sealing member.

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 13
It is characterized in that it comprises a head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the mounting position of the recording head can be adjusted while maintaining the heat dissipation performance of the heat dissipation member.

It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of an inkjet recording device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a head unit. It is a block diagram which shows the main function structures of an inkjet recording device. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a head unit and a recording head. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a recording head. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of a structure of a connection member. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a head unit and a recording head according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a head unit and a recording head according to a third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the head unit and the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a transport unit 21 and a head unit 10.

The transport unit 21 includes a ring-shaped transport belt 213 whose inner side is supported by two transport rollers 211 and 212 that rotate about a rotation shaft extending in the X direction in FIG. In the state where the recording medium P is placed on the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 213, the conveyance unit 21 rotates the conveyance rollers 211 and 212 by a motor (not shown) so that the conveyance belt 213 rotates and moves the recording medium P. The conveying belt 213 is conveyed in the moving direction (conveying direction; Y direction in FIG. 1).
Here, the recording medium P can be a sheet cut to a certain size. The recording medium P is supplied onto the conveying belt 213 by a paper feeding device (not shown), and after an image is recorded, the recording medium P is discharged from the conveying belt 213 to a predetermined paper discharge unit. As the recording medium P, roll paper may be used. In this case, the recording medium P is pulled out from the roll around which the recording medium P is wound, supplied onto the conveying belt 213, and after the image is recorded, the recording medium P is wound up by another roll. As the recording medium P, in addition to paper such as plain paper and coated paper, various media capable of fixing ink landed on the surface, such as cloth or sheet-like resin, can be used.

  The head unit 10 records an image by ejecting ink at an appropriate timing on the recording medium P transported by the transport unit 21 based on the image data. In the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, four head units 10 respectively corresponding to four color inks of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are transported in the recording medium P. They are arranged so as to be arranged at predetermined intervals in the order of Y, M, C, and K colors from the upstream side.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the head unit 10. Here, the surface of the head unit 10 that faces the conveying surface of the conveying belt 213 is shown.
Each head unit 10 includes an attachment member 101 provided with four head openings 101a and four recording heads 12 attached to the four head openings 101a, respectively. The four recording heads 12 are arranged in a staggered pattern so that the arrangement ranges in the X direction partially overlap each other. Each recording head 12 is provided with a plurality of recording elements 121 (FIG. 3) each having a nozzle 42 for ejecting ink. The nozzles 42 of the plurality of recording elements 121 are respectively configured by nozzles 42 arranged at equal intervals in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium P (in this embodiment, a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, that is, the X direction). Two nozzle rows are formed. These two nozzle rows are provided such that the arrangement positions of the nozzles 42 are shifted from each other in the X direction by a half of the arrangement interval of the nozzles 42 in each nozzle row. The ink ejected from the nozzles 42 passes through the head opening 101a and lands on the recording medium P on the transport surface of the transport belt 213.
Note that the number of nozzle rows included in the recording head 12 may be one or three or more. Further, the number of recording heads 12 included in the head unit 10 may be three or less, or five or more.

  The arrangement range in the X direction of the nozzles 42 included in the head unit 10 covers the width in the X direction of an area where an image can be formed in the recording medium P conveyed by the conveyance belt 213. The head unit 10 The position is fixed with respect to the conveyor belt 213 when recording an image. That is, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 is a single-pass inkjet recording apparatus.

  In the head unit 10 of this embodiment, the attachment position of the recording head 12 to the attachment member 101 can be adjusted in the X direction and the Y direction so that the nozzle intervals of the plurality of recording heads 12 are equal. Yes. Since the nozzle interval of the recording head 12 of this embodiment is about several tens of μm, the mounting position can be adjusted with a margin by providing an adjustment movable range of the recording position of the recording head 12 in the X and Y directions. It can be carried out.

The head unit 10 also includes a recording head drive unit 11 (FIG. 3) that drives the recording head 12. The recording head driving unit 11 is provided for each recording head 12, and supplies a voltage signal (hereinafter referred to as a driving signal) having a driving waveform corresponding to image data to the recording element 121 of the recording head 12. The drive control circuit 111 supplies image data to the drive circuit 112 at an appropriate timing.
Each of the recording elements 121 included in the recording head 12 includes a pressure chamber for storing ink, a piezoelectric element provided on a wall surface of the pressure chamber, and a nozzle 42. A drive signal for deforming the piezoelectric element is output from the drive circuit 112 of the recording head drive unit 11, and the recording element 121 is configured to apply the voltage signal to the piezoelectric element. When a drive signal is applied to the piezoelectric element, the pressure chamber is deformed in accordance with the drive signal to change the pressure in the pressure chamber, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 42 communicating with the pressure chamber in accordance with the change in the pressure. The
Each recording head 12 is provided with a heat sink 60 (FIG. 4) that releases heat generated in the drive circuit 112. A connection mode between the heat sink 60 and the recording head 12 will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, the ink ejected from the nozzles 42 of the recording element 121 is liquid at room temperature. The amount and speed of the ink ejected from the nozzles 42 vary depending on the viscosity of the ink, and the viscosity of the ink has temperature dependency. Therefore, in order to suppress variations in the ejection amount and speed of the ink from each nozzle 42, the temperatures of the recording elements 121 in the plurality of recording heads 12 (particularly, the pressure chambers in which ink immediately before ejection is stored) are: It is preferable that it is uniform.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main functional configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.
The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 30, a transport driving unit 22, an input / output interface 23, a bus 24, and the like in addition to the head unit 10, the recording head driving unit 11, and the recording head 12 described above. The control unit 30 includes a CPU 31 (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 32 (Random Access Memory), a ROM 33 (Read Only Memory), and a storage unit 34.

  The CPU 31 reads various control programs and setting data stored in the ROM 33, stores them in the RAM 32, and executes the programs to perform various arithmetic processes. The CPU 31 controls the overall operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. For example, the CPU 31 operates the transport unit 21 and the head unit 10 based on the image data stored in the storage unit 34 to record an image on the recording medium P.

  The RAM 32 provides a working memory space to the CPU 31 and stores temporary data. The RAM 32 may include a nonvolatile memory.

  The ROM 33 stores various control programs executed by the CPU 31, setting data, and the like. Instead of the ROM 33, a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory may be used.

  The storage unit 34 stores a print job (image recording command) input from the external device 2 via the input / output interface 23 and image data related to the print job. As the storage unit 34, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is used, and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like may be used in combination.

  The transport drive unit 22 supplies a drive signal to a motor that drives the transport rollers 211 and 212 of the transport unit 21 based on a control signal supplied from the CPU 31 to rotate the transport rollers 211 and 212 at a predetermined speed and timing. The conveyor belt 213 is moved around.

  The input / output interface 23 mediates data transmission / reception between the external device 2 and the control unit 30. The input / output interface 23 is configured by, for example, one of various serial interfaces, various parallel interfaces, or a combination thereof.

  The bus 24 is a path for transmitting and receiving signals between the control unit 30 and other components.

  The external device 2 is a personal computer, for example, and supplies a print job, image data, and the like to the control unit 30 via the input / output interface 23.

Next, detailed configurations of the head unit 10 and the recording head 12 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the head unit 10 and the recording head 12 on a plane that passes through the line AA in FIG. 2 and is perpendicular to the X axis.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of one recording head 12 as viewed from the + Y direction.

The head unit 10 includes, in addition to the four recording heads 12, an attachment member 101 to which the recording head 12 is attached, an exterior member 102 that accommodates the recording head 12, and four heat sinks 60 that are respectively connected to the four recording heads 12. have. Note that the four recording heads 12 included in the head unit 10 have the same configuration.
The attachment member 101 is a metal plate having a strength that does not bend due to the weight of the recording head 12. The exterior member 102 seals the head unit 10 between the mounting member 101 and protects the recording head 12.
The attachment member 101 and the exterior member 102 are fixed by bolts 104. A heat insulating member 103 is provided between the exterior member 102 and the attachment member 101. As the heat insulating member 103, a member that is difficult to transfer heat, such as urethane or polystyrene having a thermal conductivity of 0.1 [W / m · K] or less is used.

  The recording head 12 includes an element substrate 40 (recording element arrangement portion) provided with a recording element 121, a circuit board 50 provided with a drive circuit 112 for supplying a drive signal to the element substrate 40, the element substrate 40, and the circuit board. 50, an inlet 123 into which ink supplied to the recording head 12 flows, and an outlet 124 from which ink discharged from the recording head 12 flows out. The recording head 12 is inserted into the head opening 101 a provided in the attachment member 101 from the −Z direction, and extends from the end of the housing 122 on the element substrate 40 side in the Y direction and the attachment member. 101 is fixed to the mounting member 101 by being fixed by a bolt 129.

The element substrate 40 includes a nozzle plate 41 having openings of a plurality of nozzles 42, a plurality of pressure chambers 43 formed on the nozzle plate 41 and communicating with the nozzles 42, and a piezoelectric element formed on the pressure chambers 43. An actuator layer 44 and a wiring layer 45 formed on the piezoelectric actuator layer 44 are provided. The piezoelectric actuator layer 44 includes the above-described plurality of piezoelectric elements provided corresponding to the plurality of pressure chambers 43, respectively, and the piezoelectric element is deformed by a drive signal supplied from the drive circuit 112 via the wiring layer 45. Thus, the pressure chamber 43 is deformed. One recording element 121 is configured by a portion corresponding to one nozzle 42 among the nozzle plate 41, the nozzle 42, the pressure chamber 43, the piezoelectric actuator layer 44, and the wiring layer 45.
A support frame 128 that supports the element substrate 40 is provided at a position adjacent to the element substrate 40 in the + Y direction and the −Y direction. The element substrate 40 is fixed to the housing 122 via the support frame 128. When the element substrate 40 can be directly fixed to the housing 122, the support frame 128 can be omitted.

  The circuit board 50 includes a wiring board 51 connected to the wiring layer 45 of the element board 40, a driving element 112a attached on the wiring board 51 and constituting a part of the driving circuit 112, a connector 52, and the like. Among these, the driving element 112a is a semiconductor integrated circuit packaged with ceramic. The wiring board 51 has wiring connected to each recording element 121 of the element substrate 40, and supplies the driving signal output from the driving element 112a to each recording element 121 via the wiring. The connector 52 is connected to the external connector 126 via the flexible board 127. The external connector 126 is attached to the housing 122 and has a connection terminal that performs electrical connection with the drive control circuit 111 provided outside the recording head 12. The image data supplied from the drive control circuit 111 is supplied to the drive element 112 a via the external connector 126, the flexible substrate 127, the connector 52, and the wiring on the wiring substrate 51. Two circuit boards 50 are provided corresponding to the two nozzle rows in the recording head 12.

  The heat sink 60 is a plate-like member connected to the drive element 112a via the connection member 61, and releases the heat of the drive element 112a. The heat sink 60 may be provided with heat radiation fins for improving heat radiation efficiency. A member having thermal conductivity is used for the heat sink 60. Here, having thermal conductivity means that the thermal conductivity is 1 [W / m · K] or more. In order to efficiently release the heat generated in the driving element 112a and efficiently suppress the temperature rise of the driving element 112a, the heat sink 60 includes titanium or stainless steel having a thermal conductivity of 10 [W / m · K] or more. It is preferable to use a metal, an inorganic compound, a resin, or the like, and it is more preferable to use a metal having high thermal conductivity such as iron or aluminum having a thermal conductivity of 50 [W / m · K] or more. The heat sink 60 is connected to the drive elements 112a of the two circuit boards 50 via the package surface of the drive element 112a and the connection member 61 (first connection member) in close contact with the surface of the heat sink 60, respectively.

  The connecting member 61 is disposed between the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 in contact with the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60, and has thermal conductivity for transferring the heat of the driving element 112a to the heat sink 60 and according to an external force. It is a member that is elastically deformed. As the connecting member 61, one having a thermal conductivity in the thickness direction of 1 [W / m · K] or more can be used.

  The connecting member 61 shown in FIG. 4 is a sheet-like member. As such a sheet-like connection member 61, for example, a member having elasticity, thermal conductivity, and insulating properties made of various heat conductive resins such as epoxy and nylon, silicon rubber, or a carbon fiber material can be used. The sheet-like connecting member 61 is formed by injecting a material such as resin or silicon having fluidity between the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 and curing the material. There may be. Due to the elasticity of the connecting member 61, when the distance between the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 is changed by adjusting the position of the recording head 12, the connecting member 61 is deformed, and the connecting member 61 and the driving element 112a are deformed. And the state which the heat sink 60 contacts is maintained.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another example of the configuration of the connection member 61.
Fig.6 (a) is a figure which shows the example in which the connection member 61 consists of a ring-shaped member. The connection member 61 in FIG. 6A is a ring-shaped member in which the opposite sides of the longitudinal ends of a long rectangular sheet having elasticity are connected to each other so that the surface of the sheet is in contact with the driving element 112 a and the heat sink 60. It is arranged. Here, since the connection member 61 contacts the ceramic package portion of the drive element 112a, the ring-shaped member may be a metal, but at least the contact portion with the drive element 112a is an insulating member. It is possible to reduce the risk of occurrence of a malfunction such as a short circuit in the circuit board 50. That is, the ring-shaped connection member 61 may be formed of a conductive member such as metal and the contact portion with the drive element 112a may be covered with an insulating member, or the entire connection member 61 may be formed of an insulating member. May be. The connecting member 61 is provided in a state in which the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 are urged away from each other by a restoring force generated by deformation. For this reason, when the distance between the drive element 112a and the heat sink 60 is changed by adjusting the position of the recording head 12, the connection member 61 is deformed, and the connection member 61 is brought into contact with the drive element 112a and the heat sink 60. State is maintained.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the connecting member 61 is a plate spring-like member. The connecting member 61 is formed by bending a metal plate-like member, and has a flat portion 611 and a curved portion 612. The flat portion 611 of the connection member 61 is fixed to the surface of the heat sink 60, and the curved portion 612 is in contact with the surface of the drive element 112a. Note that a protective member having thermal conductivity and insulating properties may be provided between the curved portion 612 and the driving element 112a. The connecting member 61 is provided in a state in which the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 are urged away from each other by a restoring force generated by deformation of the plate. For this reason, when the distance between the drive element 112a and the heat sink 60 is changed by adjusting the position of the recording head 12, the connection member 61 is deformed, and the connection member 61 is brought into contact with the drive element 112a and the heat sink 60. State is maintained. When the position of the recording head 12 is adjusted in the direction parallel to the contact surface with the connection member 61 (Z direction) in the recording element 112a, the leaf spring-shaped connection member shown in FIG. 61 does not necessarily deform, but slides on the contact surface to maintain the contact state with the drive element 112a.

The heat sink 60 is disposed so as to penetrate the opening 122b provided on the upper surface (the surface on the + Z direction side) of the housing 122.
A gap between the edge of the opening 122b and the heat sink 60 is sealed by a sealing member 125. As the sealing member 125, a member that has elasticity and does not transmit minute ink droplets (ink mist) that are generated by ink ejection from the nozzle 42 and float in the air is used. In addition, as the sealing member 125, it is preferable to use a material having heat insulation properties in order to suppress the heat of the heat sink 60 from being transmitted to the element substrate 40 through the housing 122. Specifically, the sealing member 125 can be composed of various resins, nonwoven fabrics, and the like.
Note that the sealing member 125 may be omitted when the interior of the head unit 10 is sealed by the exterior member 102 and the mounting member 101 and the ink mist can be prevented from entering the head unit 10.

The heat sink 60 is attached to the exterior member 102 of the head unit 10 with bolts 105. Accordingly, the heat sinks 60 respectively connected to the drive elements 112a of the four recording heads 12 are integrally connected via the exterior member 102, and their relative positions are fixed.
Further, the exterior member 102 is configured by a heat conductive member that transfers heat from the heat sink 60. As the material of the exterior member 102, the same material as that of the heat sink 60 described above can be used. In a connected member including the four heat sinks 60 and the exterior member 102, heat is transferred from a relatively high temperature portion to a low temperature portion, and the temperature distribution becomes uniform. As a result, temperature variations among the four heat sinks 60, and hence temperature variations of the drive elements 112a connected to the four heat sinks 60, are suppressed. As described above, since the heat insulating member 103 is provided between the exterior member 102 and the attachment member 101, the heat of the heat sink 60 is transmitted to the element substrate 40 through the path through the exterior member 102 and the attachment member 101. It has become difficult.
The bolt 105 is loosened to remove the heat sink 60 from the exterior member 102, and the bolt 129 is loosened to remove the extending portion 122 a of the housing 122 from the mounting member 101, thereby removing the recording head 12 and the heat sink 60 from the head unit 10. Can be removed and replaced.

  In the head unit 10 of the present embodiment, since the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 are connected by a connecting member 61 that is elastically deformed, the recording heads 12 are moved to the heat sinks with the relative positions of the four heat sinks 60 fixed. The position can be adjusted by moving it with respect to 60. That is, as the connecting member 61, a member that can be deformed by at least the movable amount of the recording head 12 is used. The connecting member 61 is deformed as the recording head 12 moves, so that the recording head 12 is relative to the heat sink 60. Can be moved. As described above, in order to adjust the nozzle interval of the recording head 12, the mounting position of the recording head 12 on the mounting member 101 can be adjusted within a range of about 100 μm in each direction parallel to the XY plane. Since it is good, as the connection member 61, what can deform | transform about 0.2 mm-0.3 mm about each direction parallel to XY plane, for example is used.

  The position adjustment of the recording head 12 can be performed by various known methods. For example, with the bolt 129 loosened, a position adjusting screw movable in the ± X direction and a position adjusting screw movable in the ± Y direction are brought into contact with the side surface of the housing 122 and these position adjusting screws are rotated. Thus, it is possible to use a method of adjusting the positions of the recording head 12 in the X direction and the Y direction and fixing them with the bolts 129 at the adjusted positions. In addition to or in place of the position adjustment in the XY direction, position adjustment for rotating the recording head 12 around a predetermined rotation axis parallel to the Z axis may be performed.

  As described above, the head unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes the recording element 121 that ejects ink, and the drive element 112a included in the drive circuit 112 that supplies the recording element 121 with a drive signal that drives the recording element 121. The recording head 12, the heat sink 60 for releasing the heat of the driving element 112a, and the mounting member 101 to which the recording head 12 is attached. The driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 include a connecting member 61 having thermal conductivity. It is connected movably through. According to such a configuration, each recording head 12 can be moved relative to the heat sink 60. As a result, the attachment position of the recording head 12 to the attachment member 101 can be adjusted. In addition, since the heat of the drive element 112a is transmitted to the heat sink 60 through the connection member 61 and is released from the heat sink 60, overheating of the drive element 112a can be prevented. As a result, the heat of the driving element 112a is transmitted to the ink in the recording element 121 and the viscosity of the ink decreases, so that proper ink ejection cannot be performed, or the element substrate 40 expands due to the heat of the driving element 112a and the recording element. It is possible to suppress the deterioration in the image quality of the recorded image due to the position 121 being changed.

  Each of the plurality of recording heads 12 includes a housing 122 that houses the driving element 112a, and the heat sink 60 is provided through an opening 122b provided in the housing. According to such a configuration, since the heat sink 60 extends from the inside of the housing 122 to the outside, the heat of the driving element 112 a can be released to the outside of the housing 122. As a result, an increase in the temperature of the drive element 112a and the temperature inside the housing 122 can be suppressed efficiently.

  The head unit 10 includes a plurality of recording heads 12, and a plurality of heat sinks 60 in the plurality of recording heads 12 are integrally connected via an exterior member 102 as a heat conducting member. According to such a configuration, heat is transmitted between the plurality of heat sinks 60 that are integrally connected to each other, whereby temperature variations of the drive elements 112a connected to the heat sinks 60 can be suppressed. As a result, the temperature of the drive elements 112a of the plurality of recording heads 12 varies depending on the recorded image, and the image quality of the recorded image is reduced due to the difference in ink temperature and the deformation amount of the element substrate 40 in the plurality of recording heads 12. Can be suppressed. Even in a configuration in which a plurality of heat sinks 60 are connected in this way, the drive element 112 a and the heat sink 60 are movably connected via the connection member 61, so that each recording head 12 is connected to the heat sink 60. Can be moved relatively. Therefore, the attachment position of each recording head 12 to the attachment member 101 can be adjusted.

  The plurality of heat sinks 60 are integrally connected via an exterior member 102 that houses the plurality of recording heads 12 and transmits heat. As a result, the heat of the heat sink 60 can be released to the outside of the head unit 10 through the exterior member 102, so that the temperature rise of the drive element 112a can be more efficiently suppressed. Further, the heat of the driving element 112a is transmitted to the exterior member 102 having a large heat capacity, so that the temperature increase of the entire head unit 10 can be suppressed. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide a heat conducting member for transferring heat of the plurality of heat sinks 60 in addition to the exterior member 102, the head unit 10 can be reduced in size and cost.

  The opening 122b of the housing 122 is sealed with a sealing member 125. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ink mist generated in association with the ink discharge from the nozzle 42 and floating in the air from entering the inside of the housing 122 from the gap. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems related to the circuit board 50 such as a short circuit of wiring due to the ink mist adhering to the circuit board 50.

  In addition, since the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes the head unit 10, the arrangement position of the recording head 12 in the head unit 10 can be adjusted appropriately. As a result, an image with appropriate image quality can be recorded on the recording medium P. In addition, since the heat of the drive element 112a is released from the heat sink 60 and the drive element 112a is prevented from being overheated, it is possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of the recorded image due to the heat of the drive element 112a.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a part of the recording head 12 can be moved relative to the heat sink 60 by a part of the circuit board 50 being formed of a flexible substrate. . In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view in a plane perpendicular to the X axis of the head unit 10 and the recording head 12 according to the second embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the wiring board 51 of the circuit board 50 includes a first wiring board 51a to which the driving element 112a is attached, a second wiring board 51b connected to the wiring layer 45 of the element board 40, and a first wiring board 51b. And a flexible substrate 51c (deformation part) for connecting the second wiring substrate 51b and the second wiring substrate 51b. The flexible substrate 51c has flexibility and deforms according to an external force. In the present embodiment, the drive circuit 112 supplies a drive signal to the recording element 121 of the element substrate 40 via wiring provided on the flexible substrate 51c. Further, the driving element 112a and the heat sink 60 on the first wiring board 51a are joined via a connection member 61a that transmits heat and does not have elasticity. In the present embodiment, each recording head 12 includes the element substrate 40 and is directly or indirectly fixed to the element substrate 40 (including the casing 122, the element substrate 40, the support frame 128, and the second wiring substrate 51b. Part) (hereinafter referred to as a position adjustment target part) is movable relative to the heat sink 60. Further, when position adjustment of the position adjustment target portion of the recording head 12 is performed, the displacement of the position adjustment target portion is absorbed by deformation of the flexible substrate 51c.

Note that this embodiment may be combined with the first embodiment. That is, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the circuit board 50 and the heat sink 60 may be joined by the connecting member 61 having elasticity.
Alternatively, the heat sink 60 may be in direct contact with the circuit board 50.

  As described above, the head unit 10 of the present embodiment includes a recording element 121 that ejects ink, and a recording element 121 a included in the driving circuit 112 that supplies the recording element 121 with a driving signal that drives the recording element 121. The head 12, the heat sink 60 that releases the heat of the drive element 112 a, and the mounting member 101 to which the recording head 12 is attached are provided, and the drive circuit 112 can change the relative position of the recording element 121 and the heat sink 60. A drive signal is supplied to the recording element 121 via a wiring provided on the flexible substrate 51c that deforms in response to an external force. According to such a configuration, since the flexible substrate 51 c can be deformed, the position adjustment target portion including the element substrate 40 in the recording head 12 can be moved relative to the heat sink 60. As a result, the attachment position of the recording head 12 to the attachment member 101 can be adjusted. In addition, since the heat of the drive element 112a is released from the heat sink 60 and the drive element 112a is prevented from being overheated, it is possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of the recorded image due to the heat of the drive element 112a.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a plurality of recording heads 12 can be moved independently of each other by joining a plurality of heat sinks 60 with elastically deformable members. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view in a plane perpendicular to the X axis of the head unit 10 and the recording head 12 according to the third embodiment.
In the head unit 10 of this embodiment, a heat sink support member 62 is attached to the attachment member 101 in place of the exterior member 102 in the first embodiment. The heat sink support member 62 includes two support columns 62a extending in the + Z direction from the mounting position on the mounting member 101, and a beam 62b extending between the + Z direction ends of the support columns and extending in parallel to the XY plane. Have. Although the shape of the column part 62a and the beam part 62b is not particularly limited, a columnar member or a flat plate member can be used. Four heat sinks 60 are fixed to the beam portion 62b by bolts 105, respectively. At least the beam portion 62b of the heat sink support member 62 is formed of a member that transmits heat of the heat sink 60, for example, a metal having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or iron.
Further, portions of the beam portion 62b where the four heat sinks 60 are fixed (hereinafter referred to as heat sink fixing portions) are connected to each other via an elastic portion 62be (second connecting member) that deforms according to an external force. Has been. Similarly, the heat sink fixing part and the column part 62a are connected via an elastic part 62be. As the elastic portion 62be, a member having the same elasticity and thermal conductivity as that of the connection member 61 of the first embodiment is used.
In the recording head 12 of the present embodiment, the drive element 112a provided on the wiring board 51 and the heat sink 60 are joined via a connection member 61a that transfers heat and has no elasticity. Instead of the connection member 61a not having elasticity, the connection member 61 having elasticity may be used as in the first embodiment. Alternatively, the heat sink 60 may be in direct contact with the circuit board 50.

  In the present embodiment, when the position of the recording head 12 is adjusted, the whole of the integrally fixed recording head 12, the heat sink 60, and the heat sink fixing portion of the beam portion 62b are displaced. It is absorbed by the deformation of the elastic part 62be of 62b.

  The head unit 10 may further include an exterior member that houses the recording head 12, the mounting member 101, and the heat sink support member 62.

  As described above, the head unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes the recording element 121 that ejects ink, and the drive element 112a included in the drive circuit 112 that supplies the drive signal that drives the recording element 121 to the recording element 121. A plurality of recording heads 12, a plurality of heat sinks 60 that respectively release heat from the drive elements 112 a of the plurality of recording heads 12, and a mounting member 101 to which the plurality of recording heads 12 are attached. The plurality of heat sinks 60 in the head 12 are movably and integrally connected via an elastic portion 62be having thermal conductivity. According to such a configuration, since the elastic portion 62be can be deformed, the relative positions of the plurality of integrally connected heat sinks 60 can be changed. Therefore, since each of the plurality of recording heads 12 to which the heat sinks 60 are connected can be moved independently of each other, in the configuration in which the plurality of heat sinks 60 are connected, each recording head 12 is attached to the mounting member 101. The position can be adjusted. In addition, since the heat of the drive element 112a is released from the heat sink 60 and the drive element 112a is prevented from being overheated, it is possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of the recorded image due to the heat of the drive element 112a.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.
For example, in the first and second embodiments, the configuration in which the plurality of heat sinks 60 are integrally connected via the exterior member 102 has been described as an example. However, the plurality of heat sinks 60 are other than the exterior member 102. The relative position may be fixed by being integrally connected via a member that transmits the heat.

  In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the plurality of heat sinks 60 are connected by the exterior member 102 has been described. However, the heat sink is formed by a single member joined to the drive elements 112a of the plurality of recording heads 12. It may be configured.

  In each of the above embodiments, the head unit 10 has been described using an example including a plurality of recording heads 12, but the present invention may be applied to a head unit 10 including a single recording head 12.

  In each of the above embodiments, the recording head 12 has been described using an example having the housing 122. However, a configuration without the housing 122 may be employed. Thereby, the heat of the drive element 112a can be released to the outside of the recording head 12 more efficiently. In this case, in order to prevent the ink mist from adhering to the circuit board 50, the entire head unit 10 is preferably sealed with the exterior member 102 and the mounting member 101.

  In each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which only the drive element 112a of the circuit board 50 is connected to the heat sink 60 via the connection member 61 (61a) has been described as an example. However, in addition to the drive element 112a, or Instead of the driving element 112a, the heat sink 60 may be connected to another part of the circuit board 50 such as the wiring board 51 through which the heat of the driving element 112a is transmitted via the connection member 61 (61a).

  In each of the above embodiments, the drive element 112a has been described using an example of a packaged semiconductor integrated circuit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drive element 112a is directly on the wiring substrate 51. It may be formed.

  In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the circuit board 50 includes the flexible board 51c has been described as an example. Instead, the entire wiring board 51 of the circuit board 50, or the wiring board 51 and The entire circuit board 50 including the driving element 112a may be formed of a flexible flexible board, and the flexible board may be connected to the wiring layer 45 of the element board 40.

  In each of the above embodiments, the recording head 12 has been described by taking as an example a configuration having the two circuit boards 50 respectively corresponding to the two nozzle arrays. However, the number of circuit boards 50 included in the recording head 12 is as follows. There may be one or three or more.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the example in which the two circuit boards 50 are connected to the common heat sink 60 has been described. However, the heat sink 60 may be provided for each circuit board 50.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, an example using ink that is liquid at room temperature has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, ink that is gel-like at room temperature and becomes sol-like when heated may be discharged in a sol-like form.

  In each of the above embodiments, the single-pass inkjet recording apparatus 1 has been described as an example. However, the present invention may be applied to an inkjet recording apparatus that records an image while scanning a head unit.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the recording medium P is transported by the transport unit 21 including the transport belt 213 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the transport unit 21 may be, for example, a rotating transport drum. The recording medium P may be held and conveyed on the outer peripheral surface.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device 2 External device 10 Head unit 101 Mounting member 101a Head opening 102 Exterior member 103 Thermal insulation member 104, 105 Bolt 11 Recording head driving unit 111 Driving control circuit 112 Driving circuit 112a Driving element 12 Recording head 121 Recording element 122 Housing Body 122a Extension part 122b Opening part 123 Inlet 124 Outlet 125 Sealing member 126 External connector 127 Flexible substrate 128 Support frame 129 Bolt 21 Conveying part 211, 212 Conveying roller 213 Conveying belt 22 Conveying driving part 23 Input / output interface 24 Bus 30 Control Part 31 CPU
32 RAM
33 ROM
34 Storage Unit 40 Element Board 41 Nozzle Plate 42 Nozzle 43 Pressure Chamber 44 Piezoelectric Actuator Layer 45 Wiring Layer 50 Circuit Board 51 Wiring Board 51a First Wiring Board 51b Second Wiring Board 51c Flexible Board 52 Connector 60 Heatsink 61, 61a Connection Member 62 Heat sink support member 62a Post 62b Beam 62be Elastic part

Claims (13)

A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; a driving element included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element; and a wiring board on which the driving element is attached ;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive element and the heat dissipation member are movably connected via a first connection member having thermal conductivity ,
The recording head has a housing that houses the drive element and the wiring board,
The head unit , wherein the heat radiating member is provided through an opening provided in the housing . A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive element and the heat dissipation member are movably connected via a first connection member having thermal conductivity,
The recording head has a housing that houses the driving element;
The heat dissipation member is provided through an opening provided in the housing,
The opening is sealed by a sealing member
A head unit characterized by that. The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustable movable range. ,
The first connecting member can be deformed by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
The head unit according to claim 1, wherein the head unit is a head unit. A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; a driving element included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element; and a wiring board on which the driving element is attached ;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive circuit supplies the drive signal to the recording element via a deforming portion that deforms according to an external force so that the relative position between the recording element and the heat dissipation member can be changed .
The recording head has a housing that houses the drive element and the wiring board,
The head unit , wherein the heat radiating member is provided through an opening provided in the housing . A recording head comprising: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal for driving the recording element to the recording element;
A heat dissipating member that releases heat of the driving element;
An attachment member to which the recording head is attached;
With
The drive circuit supplies the drive signal to the recording element via a deforming portion that deforms according to an external force so that the relative position between the recording element and the heat dissipation member can be changed.
The recording head has a housing that houses the driving element;
The heat dissipation member is provided through an opening provided in the housing,
The opening is sealed by a sealing member
A head unit characterized by that. The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustable movable range. ,
The deformable portion can be deformed by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
The head unit according to claim 4, wherein the head unit is characterized. A plurality of the recording heads;
The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the plurality of heat radiation members in the plurality of recording heads are integrally connected via a heat conduction member. The head unit according to claim 7 , wherein the plurality of heat radiating members are integrally connected via an exterior member that houses the plurality of recording heads and transmits heat. The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member,
A heat insulating member is provided between the mounting member and the exterior member.
The head unit according to claim 8. A plurality of recording heads each including: a recording element that ejects ink; and a driving element that is included in a driving circuit that supplies a driving signal that drives the recording element to the recording element;
A plurality of heat dissipating members that respectively release heat of the drive elements of the plurality of recording heads;
An attachment member to which the plurality of recording heads are attached;
With
The plurality of heat radiating members in the plurality of recording heads are movably and integrally connected via a second connection member having thermal conductivity ,
Each of the plurality of recording heads has a housing that houses the driving element,
The head unit , wherein the heat radiating member is provided through an opening provided in the housing . The recording head is attached to a head opening provided in the plate-like attachment member, and is attached in a state where the attachment position to the head opening can be adjusted within a predetermined adjustment movable range. ,
The second connecting member is deformable by at least a movable amount in adjusting the mounting position of the recording head.
The head unit according to claim 10. The opening, the head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it is sealed with a sealing member. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by comprising a head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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