Fujifilm Corporation

Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Tsutomu Yokouchi

Kazuo Sanada

Ryoichi Yamamoto

Koichi Kimura

Toshiya Kojima

Kenichi Kodama

Seiichi Inoue

Hiroshi Inoue

Hiroshi Komatsu

Naoki Kusunoki

Kazuhiro Tsujita

Shinya Sugimoto

Yoshimitsu Arai

Norihisa Takada

Manabu Katsumura

Provided are a liquid jetting structure and its applications. The liquid jetting structure includes: a nozzle substrate on which a nozzle for jetting a liquid is formed; and a flow passage substrate on which a liquid flow passage communicating with the nozzle is formed, in which a first layer, a second layer, and a liquid-repellent layer are provided in this order on a jetting surface of the nozzle substrate, the first layer and the second layer are provided in this order on an inner wall of the liquid flow passage, the first layer is a layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, and hafnium oxide, and the second layer is a layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of SiO, SiC, SiN, SiCN, and SiON.

Liquid jetting structure, liquid jetting head, and liquid jetting device

A liquid ejection head includes: a nozzle plate formed with a nozzle aperture through which liquid is ejected; and a flow channel plate formed with at least a flow channel connected to the nozzle aperture, the flow channel plate being bonded to the nozzle plate with the flow channel aligned to the nozzle aperture in the nozzle plate, wherein the nozzle plate is provided with a detection element configured to detect a mechanical abnormality in the nozzle plate.

Liquid ejection head, liquid ejection apparatus and abnormality detection method for liquid ejection head

Provided are a liquid ejection device and a maintenance method thereof which are capable of effectively removing, for example, a liquid in a gap between heads. The liquid ejection device includes: a line head which includes a plurality of heads connected to each other in a longitudinal direction and in which a liquid-repellent treatment is performed for a side surface of each head facing an adjacent head; a tube supporting member that is provided between adjacent heads on a side opposite to a liquid ejection surface of the head and supports a tube having one end inserted between the heads; and a gas supply unit that is connected to the other end of the tube and supplies gas between the heads from the one end of the tube.

Liquid ejection device and maintenance method thereof

A nozzle surface cleaning apparatus wipes a nozzle surface of a droplet ejection head. The apparatus includes: a wiping member which wipes the nozzle surface in which a nozzle aperture is formed; a head movement device which causes movement of the droplet ejection head in a head movement plane and in a head movement direction; and a fine vibration device which causes vibration of one of the wiping member and the droplet ejection head in a vibration plane and in a vibration direction, the vibration plane being parallel to the head movement plane, the vibration direction being different to the head movement direction.

Nozzle surface cleaning apparatus, maintenance method using same, and droplet ejection apparatus

A method of manufacturing a flow channel substrate, includes the steps of: forming two uneven shapes on a substrate in such a manner that the two uneven shapes follow a liquid flow channel at perimeters of a location where the liquid flow channel is to be formed and the two uneven shapes are configured to prevent a dissolvable resin forming a sacrificial layer from spreading during a heat treatment; forming, between the two uneven shapes on the substrate, the sacrificial layer which is made of the dissolvable resin and has a shape of the liquid flow channel; applying, by the heat treatment, a rounded shape to a corner section of the sacrificial layer on a side which is not in contact with the substrate; forming a coating resin layer on the substrate and the sacrificial layer; patterning the coating resin layer; and dissolving the dissolvable resin forming the sacrificial layer.

Method of manufacturing flow channel substrate for liquid ejection head

An inkjet head includes: a pressure chamber; an actuator which expands and contracts volume of the pressure chamber; an ink supply flow channel; an individual supply flow channel having one end connected to the ink supply flow channel and another end connected to the pressure chamber, for guiding ink from the ink supply flow channel to the pressure chamber; a nozzle which ejects the ink; a nozzle flow channel having one end connected to the pressure chamber and another end connected to the nozzle, for guiding the ink from the pressure chamber to the nozzle; an ink recovery flow channel; an individual recovery flow channel having one end connected to the nozzle flow channel at a prescribed connection position set at an intermediate point of the nozzle flow channel and another end connected to the ink recovery flow channel, for guiding the ink from the nozzle flow channel to the ink recovery flow channel; an ink flow generation device which generates a flow of the ink from the nozzle flow channel toward the individual recovery flow channel; and a control device which controls driving of the actuator so as to drive the actuator in such a manner that, when performing ejection, volume of the pressure chamber contracts and thereby the ink is caused to be ejected from the nozzle, and when not performing the ejection, the volume of the pressure chamber expands and thereby a meniscus position of the ink is caused to be withdrawn to a vicinity of the prescribed connection position.

Inkjet head and inkjet recording method

A liquid ejection head has: a nozzle plate having a nozzle surface in which at least one nozzle for ejecting droplets of a liquid are formed; an anti-drying liquid supply port which supplies an anti-drying liquid to the nozzle surface of the nozzle plate; a flow channel portion which is formed in the nozzle surface and through which the anti-drying liquid supplied to the nozzle surface from the anti-drying liquid supply port flows; and an anti-drying liquid discharge port which suctions and discharges the anti-drying liquid flowing through the flow channel portion on the nozzle surface, from the nozzle surface, wherein, while the anti-drying liquid flows through the flow channel portion, the anti-drying liquid evaporates to increase humidity.

Liquid ejection head and image forming apparatus

The method of manufacturing a nozzle plate includes: a lyophobic film forming step of preparing a nozzle plate having a recess-shaped counterbore section and a nozzle opened in a bottom surface of the counterbore section, and forming a lyophobic film on a surface of the nozzle plate including the bottom surface of the counterbore section of the nozzle plate and at least a portion of an inner wall of the nozzle; an abutting step of preparing a protective plate having a projecting section, and abutting a top surface of the projecting section of the protective plate against the bottom surface of the counterbore section of the nozzle plate in such a manner that the top surface of the projecting section of the protective plate makes tight contact with an opening edge of the nozzle on a liquid ejection side of the nozzle plate; a lyophobic film removing step of removing the lyophobic film from the inner wall of the nozzle of the nozzle plate by etching the nozzle plate from a liquid supply side which is opposite to a side of the nozzle plate that is abutted against the protective plate; and a separating step of separating the protective plate from the nozzle plate.

Method of manufacturing nozzle plate and method of manufacturing liquid ejection head

A method of manufacturing at least one projecting section of a nozzle plate used in a liquid ejection head, includes: a partial lyophilic rendering step of rendering a lyophilic characteristic to a portion of a lyophobic film provided on an ejection surface side of a substrate in which a nozzle is formed, so as to form a lyophobic portion and a lyophilic portion on the ejection surface side of the substrate; a resin deposition step of depositing a curable resin on the lyophilic portion which has been rendered the lyophilic characteristic; and a curing step of curing the resin deposited on the lyophilic portion in such a manner that the cured resin forms the projecting section.

Method of manufacturing at least one projecting section of nozzle plate, nozzle plate, inkjet head and image forming apparatus

A liquid ejection head includes: an ejection port through which liquid is ejected; a liquid chamber which is connected to the ejection port, the liquid chamber being filled with the liquid; a pressurization device which is arranged on a wall of the liquid chamber, the pressurization device pressurizing the liquid in the liquid chamber; and a movable member which has a free end on a side of the ejection port and a fixed end on a side opposite to the ejection port, the free end being arranged at a prescribed distance from the wall of the liquid chamber so as to face the wall of the liquid chamber, the movable member including a first layer that is an internal layer, and second and third layers that are respectively arranged on both surfaces of the first layer, the second and third layers having a stress lower than the first layer.

Liquid ejection head, liquid ejection apparatus and method of manufacturing liquid ejection head

A method of manufacturing a flow channel substrate for a liquid ejection head, includes at least the steps of: forming, on a substrate, a sacrificial layer which is made of a dissolvable resin and has a liquid flow channel shape; forming a lyophobic film on the substrate and the sacrificial layer; applying, by heat treatment, a rounded shape to a corner section of the sacrificial layer on a side which is not in contact with the substrate; removing the lyophobic film after the heat treatment; forming a coating resin layer on the substrate and the sacrificial layer after the lyophobic film is removed; patterning the coating resin layer; and dissolving the sacrificial layer.

The liquid ejection head comprises: ejection elements which include a plurality of ejection holes through which liquid is ejected, a plurality of pressure chambers in communication with the plurality of ejection holes, and a plurality of piezoelectric elements each of which deforms each of the pressure chambers and is provided on a side of the plurality of pressure chambers opposite from a side on which the ejection holes are formed; a common liquid chamber which supplies the liquid to the plurality of pressure chambers and is provided on a side of the pressure chambers opposite from the side on which the ejection holes are formed; a plurality of wiring members each of which is formed in such a manner that at least a portion of the wiring member rises upward from each of the piezoelectric elements or a vicinity of each of the piezoelectric elements through the common liquid chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface on which the piezoelectric elements are disposed, each of the wiring members including a conducting member which transmits at least one signal of a signal to be supplied to one of the ejection elements and a signal obtained from one of the ejection elements, and a covering member which is formed so as to cover the conducting member; and a coupling member which joins at least two of the wiring members adjacent to each other.

Liquid ejection head

The method of manufacturing a nozzle plate comprises the steps of: applying a protective sheet to a first surface of a nozzle plate in which nozzles are to be formed; forming holes which pass through the nozzle plate and have bottoms inside the protective sheet, from a side of a second surface of the nozzle plate reverse to the first surface; filling a filling material into the holes, from the side of the second surface; peeling away the protective sheet after the filling step; forming a liquid-repelling film on the first surface of the nozzle plate after the peeling step; and removing the filling material after the liquid-repelling film forming step.

Method of manufacturing nozzle plate, and liquid ejection head and image forming apparatus comprising nozzle plate

The liquid droplet ejection head comprises: a plurality of pressure chambers which are separated by a partition wall, each of the plurality of pressure chambers being formed with a first member and a second member in opposition to the first member, each of the plurality of pressure chambers having a nozzle and a supply port, the nozzle being formed in the first member for ejecting a droplet of a liquid onto a recording medium, the supply port being formed in the second member for supplying the liquid to the pressure chamber; a piezoelectric element which causes the pressure chamber to deform, the piezoelectric element having an electrode for the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element being provided on a side of the second member opposite to an inside of the pressure chamber; a common liquid chamber which supplies the liquid to the pressure chamber through the supply port, the common liquid chamber being provided on the side of the second member on which the piezoelectric element is provided; and a wiring member which is formed in the common liquid chamber so as to stand upright from the electrode for the piezoelectric element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second member, and is disposed in a position corresponding to the partition wall.

Liquid droplet ejection head and image forming apparatus

The method manufactures a nozzle plate, and comprises: a patterned resist formation step of forming a patterned resist on a flat surface of a matrix substrate, the patterned resist having a shape corresponding to a diameter of nozzle holes in a nozzle plate to be formed, the patterned resist having a thickness corresponding to a length of the nozzle holes; a nozzle length regulating member placement step of placing the nozzle length regulating member having a flat surface onto the patterned resist in such a manner that the flat surface of the nozzle length regulating member faces the flat surface of the matrix substrate across the patterned resist; and a nozzle plate formation step of forming the nozzle plate by plating with the patterned resist between the flat surface of the matrix substrate and the flat surface of the nozzle length regulating member.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Tsutomu Yokouchi