Inkjet Head Unit Base Wall Stiffness Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet type recording head units face issues with low sealability and deformation due to low load during cap contact, leading to ink evaporation and positional shifts of nozzle-formed surfaces, which affect the landing precision of ink droplets, and increasing the weight and size of the unit base to enhance stiffness results in further complications.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting head unit design featuring a unit base with a bottom portion and a wall portion that extends perpendicularly to increase stiffness without thickness, allowing for high load contact without deformation, and incorporating a ring-shaped wall portion for enhanced longitudinal, short, and torsional stiffness, along with fixing positions and a supply hole to minimize weight-related deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the load applied when the cap comes into contact with the nozzle-formed surface is increased to increase sealability, then sealability is improved, but the unit base is likely to be deformed due to reduced stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from increasing bottom portion thickness (one-dimensional solution) to adding wall portions extending in the vertical dimension. The wall portions create a three-dimensional structure that provides stiffness without increasing the thickness of the bottom portion, thereby preventing deformation under cap contact load while maintaining sealability.
Solution Approach 2:
The unit base is segmented into distinct functional portions: a bottom portion for supporting recording heads and wall portions extending upward. This segmentation allows the wall portions to specifically address stiffness requirements while the bottom portion maintains its thickness optimization, resolving the contradiction between load-bearing capacity and deformation resistance.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the thickness of the bottom portion is increased to secure the stiffness of the unit base, then stiffness is improved, but the ink jet type recording head unit is increased in weight and size
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing thickness in the vertical direction (one-dimensional approach), the invention adds wall portions that extend upward from the bottom portion, utilizing the vertical dimension to create structural stiffness. This dimensional transition provides the required stiffness while minimizing increases in overall weight and size.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall portions are strategically positioned and dimensioned to provide stiffness only where needed for structural support. This localized approach ensures that material is added only in critical areas, minimizing overall weight increase while achieving the necessary stiffness for the unit base.
3Productivity
If multiple ink jet type recording heads are held to form a long nozzle array to increase yield ratio and decrease manufacturing costs, then productivity is improved, but the unit base is likely to elongate and stiffness in longitudinal direction is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The invention addresses longitudinal stiffness by adding wall portions that extend in the vertical dimension, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array. This dimensional approach provides stiffness without constraining the horizontal elongation needed for multiple recording heads, thereby maintaining both productivity and structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The unit base is divided into a bottom portion that accommodates multiple recording heads and wall portions that provide structural support. This segmentation allows the bottom portion to be optimized for holding multiple heads (improving productivity) while the wall portions independently provide the necessary longitudinal stiffness.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting head unit includes: a plurality of liquid ejecting heads that have a nozzle-formed surface; and a unit base that has a bottom portion having a fixing surface to which the plurality of liquid ejecting heads are fixed, and a wall portion which extends from the bottom portion in a direction perpendicular to the fixing surface and which is continuous in a direction in which the plurality of liquid ejecting heads are aligned.