US-12617204-B2 - Coating head

Abstract

A coating head includes: a plurality of nozzles; a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles; an ink flow path communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers; and a coating layer that is at least partially provided on liquid contact surfaces of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of pressure chambers, and the ink flow path.

Inventors

• Kentaro Kumazawa
• Shuhei NAKATANI
• Kazunobu Irie
• Futoshi Ohtsuka
• YOUSUKE TOYOFUKU

Assignees

• PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230313

Priority Date

20220330

Claims (11)

1. 1 . A coating head comprising: a plurality of nozzles; a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles; an ink flow path communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers; and a coating layer that is at least partially provided on liquid contact surfaces of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of pressure chambers, and the ink flow path, wherein the coating head is formed by stacking and bonding a nozzle plate, a pressure chamber plate, and a vibration plate, the coating head further comprising: a first adhesive layer interposed between the nozzle plate and the pressure chamber plate; and a second adhesive layer interposed between the pressure chamber plate and the vibration plate, wherein the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer form a part of the liquid contact surfaces, and are covered with the coating layer, and wherein the coating layer includes protruding portions at locations corresponding to the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer, the protruding portions of the coating layer being thicker than other portions of the coating layer, and protruding from the coating layer in a direction away from the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer.
2. 2 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer includes a layer formed of a metal oxide.
3. 3 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer has a layered structure including a plurality of layers.
4. 4 . The coating head according to claim 3 , wherein the coating layer includes a lowermost layer that has a highest adhesiveness to the liquid contact surfaces among the plurality of layers.
5. 5 . The coating head according to claim 3 , wherein the coating layer includes an outermost layer that has a highest wettability among the plurality of layers.
6. 6 . The coating head according to claim 5 , wherein the outermost layer has a contact angle of less than or equal to 10 degrees with ink.
7. 7 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is provided on all the liquid contact surfaces of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of pressure chambers, and the ink flow path.
8. 8 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is a parylene resin film.
9. 9 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is a metal film of gold.
10. 10 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is a metal film of niobium oxide.
11. 11 . The coating head according to claim 1 , wherein an outermost layer of the coating layer is provided with irregularities.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a coating head. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, inkjet coating apparatuses have been used for manufacturing electronic devices such as liquid crystal panels and organic EL panels. Known examples of a coating head include a drop-on-demand coating head capable of ejecting a necessary amount of ink droplets to a coating object at necessary timing with high accuracy by high frequency driving (e.g., 50 kHZ). This type of coating head generally includes an ink flow path, a pressure chamber that is connected to the ink flow path and stores ink, a piezoelectric element (piezo element) that pressurizes the ink stored in the pressure chamber, a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber, and the like (e.g., see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-326703). When the piezoelectric element is energized to pressurize the ink in the pressure chamber, ink droplets are discharged from the nozzle. CITATION LIST Patent Literature PTL 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-326703 SUMMARY A coating head according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a plurality of nozzles,a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles,an ink flow path communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers, anda coating layer that is at least partially provided on liquid contact surfaces of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of pressure chambers, and the ink flow path. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an appearance of a coating head according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a coating head according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically illustrating an example of an ink flow path in a coating head; FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically illustrating an example of an ink flow path in a coating head; FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a coating layer; FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating another example of a coating layer; FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating yet another example of a coating layer; FIG. 6A is a transition diagram illustrating an example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 6B is a transition diagram illustrating an example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 6C is a transition diagram illustrating an example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 6D is a transition diagram illustrating an example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 7A is a transition diagram illustrating another example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 7B is a transition diagram illustrating another example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 7C is a transition diagram illustrating another example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 7D is a transition diagram illustrating another example of a state in which ink is introduced into an ink flow path; FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a coating head; FIG. 9 is a sectional view schematically illustrating another example of an ink flow path in a coating head; and FIG. 10 is a sectional view schematically illustrating yet another example of an ink flow path in a coating head. DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS When an electronic device is manufactured using a coating apparatus, various materials need to be formed into ink, and may be formed into ink using a solvent with strong solubility. Ink containing such a solvent with strong solubility may dissolve a liquid contact part of a coating head. In particular, when the coating head is formed by stacking a plurality of plates and bonding the respective plates with an adhesive, an adhesive layer is exposed to the liquid contact surface, and thus causing the adhesive layer to be likely damaged by the solvent. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a coating head capable of improving resistance of a liquid contact surface to ink. Hereinafter, coating head 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Coating head 1 is a coating head of an ink circulation type. The present disclosure will be described using a rectangular coordinates system (X, Y, Z). The rectangular coordinates system includes a Z axis that has a positive direction in which coating head 1 discharges ink, an X axis along which nozzles 101 are arranged, and a Y axis along which the ink flows through an ink flow path (upstream individual flow path 103 and downstream individual flow path 104) connected to pressure chamber 102. Hereinafter, directions along the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are referred to as an “X axis direction”, a “Y axis direction”, and a “Z axis direction”, respectively. FIG. 1 is an ex