JPH04201374A - Printing head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively prevent noise, vibration, and the like by a method wherein a clearance in a main body part in which a drive mechanism is contained is filled with a damping material made of a gel base material and a porous material. CONSTITUTION:A damping material 4 charged in a clearance 3 inside a printing head is prepared by mixing a porous material with a gel base material. The damping material 4 is flowed into the clearance 3, for example, from a divided surface of the printing head to be charged. As the gel base material for the damping material 4, an organic silicon compound (silicone) gel is preferable. Alternatively, a gel material of urethan or elastomer can be used. As the porous material, porous polymer beads or the like can be used. Alternatively, a hollow fiber cut into short pieces or a porous ceramic can be used.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] 【overview】

With the aim of providing a print head that can effectively prevent noise, vibration, etc. with respect to print heads, especially print heads used in impact printers, we have developed a gel-like coating in the cavity of the main body housing the drive mechanism. It is filled with a damping material made of a mixed material of a base material and a porous material.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to printheads, particularly printheads used in impact printer devices. Impact printer devices are popular mainly for business use due to their low running costs, but on the other hand, drawbacks have been pointed out such as high noise from the print head and large vibration from the drive unit. Under these circumstances, there is a need for a print head that has vibration damping and sound absorbing effects.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, a print head has been formed by accommodating a drive mechanism made of a piezoelectric element or the like within a main body.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, because conventional print heads are not equipped with damping or sound absorbing materials, they are incomplete in terms of absorbing noise or vibrations generated by the drive mechanism. It had some drawbacks. To overcome these drawbacks, it is possible to equip the print head with vibration-damping or sound-absorbing materials, but since there is no material that has both vibration-damping and sound-absorbing effects, it is necessary to equip each material separately. This poses a problem in that it is difficult to downsize the print head. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print head that can effectively prevent noise, vibration, etc.

[Means to solve the problem]

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to the embodiment, the cavity 3 of the main body 2 housing the drive mechanism 1 is made of a mixed material of a gel-like base material and a porous material. This is achieved by providing a print head filled with damping material 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, it is also possible to fill the void 3 of the main body 2 housing the drive mechanism 1 with a gel base material 5 and a porous material 6 in a layered manner. The material can also be impregnated with an organic compound, and a vibration damping material 4 made of a mixed material of a gel-like base material and fine powder of an insulating material is applied to the cavity 3 of the main body part 2 that accommodates the drive side 1 made of a piezoelectric element. It can also be filled. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, it is also possible to form the damping material 4 by molding a mixed material of a gel-like base material and a porous material into a predetermined shape.

[Effect]

Based on the above configuration, the void 3 of the print head is filled with a damping material 4 made of a mixed material of a gel-like base material and a porous material. The gel-like base material effectively absorbs vibrations of the drive mechanism 1 housed in the print head, and the porous material effectively absorbs noise and exhibits a sound-absorbing effect. As a result, effective vibration damping and sound absorption effects can be obtained at the same time without requiring special space. Moreover, in the invention according to claim 2, the gel-like base material and the porous material are arranged in a layered manner. As a result, the sound absorption effect at the interface is improved. Furthermore, in the invention as set forth in claim 3, the porous material is impregnated with an organic compound to prevent moisture from entering the voids 3. As a result, when a piezoelectric element is used as the drive mechanism 1, dielectric breakdown due to water absorption of the epoxy resin used as the insulator of the piezoelectric element is completely prevented. Furthermore, in the invention as set forth in claim 4, the void 3 of the main body 2 of the print head is filled with a mixture of a gel-like base material and fine powder of an insulating material. As a result, the area around the piezoelectric element is insulated by the fine powder of the insulating material, improving insulation performance. Furthermore, in the invention as claimed in claim 5, since the gel-like base material and the porous material are formed into a predetermined shape, the vibration damping material 4 that exhibits a damping effect and a sound absorbing effect at the same time is attached to various mechanical parts. This increases its versatility.

【Example】

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a main body of a print head, and a heat sink 7 for heat radiation is formed around the periphery. In addition, a plurality of drive mechanisms l formed by piezoelectric elements are arranged concentrically in a plan view within the main body 2, and a drive signal is inputted to each drive mechanism l via a printed board 8, and A predetermined dot impact is achieved by expanding the amount of expansion and contraction by the expansion mechanism section 9 and then transmitting it to the wire 10. Reference numeral 4 denotes a vibration damping material that is filled into the void 3 inside the print head described above, and is made by mixing a gel-like base material with a porous material, and is filled by, for example, being poured from the split surface of the print head. . As the gel-like base material of the vibration damping material 4, a gel of an organosilicon compound (silicone) is suitable, but it is also possible to use a gel-like body of urethane or an elastomer. Further, as the porous material, porous polymer beads or the like can be used, and in addition, hollow fibers cut into short lengths or porous ceramics can be used. FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the above-mentioned gel base material 5 and porous material 6 are filled in a layered manner. In the following description of the embodiments, the same components as those of the above-mentioned embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The damping material 4 in this embodiment is made by first casting a predetermined amount of gel-like base material 5 into the cavity 3 of the print head, then pouring the porous material 6, and then casting the gel-like base material 5. The porous material 6 is formed by repeating the process of 5 has flowed in, and the porous material 6 cannot move around independently. Although FIG. 2 shows the case where the gel-like base material 5 and the porous material 6 are laminated in a direction parallel to the advancing and retreating direction of the wire 10, the lamination direction is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 3, it is of course possible to stack the wires in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wires 10 move forward and backward. Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, it is also possible to impregnate the porous material with an organic compound (oil), and the damping material 4 can be formed by mixing fine powder of an insulating material into a gel-like base material. It is also possible that these configurations
This is effective in improving the insulation performance of the piezoelectric element when it is used as a piezoelectric element. Further, in the above description, the case where the vibration damping material 4 is filled into the cavity 3 of the print head is shown, but as shown in FIG. When molded, it can be applied not only to print heads but also to various drive mechanism parts, and its versatility can be improved.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the print head according to the present invention, noise, vibration, etc. can be prevented at the same time, and the device can be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a modification of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the invention. It is a figure showing an example of. In the figure, ■... Drive mechanism, 2... Body part, 3... Cavity part, 4... Damping material, 5... Gel-like base material, 6... Porous material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] [1] A damping material (4) made of a mixed material of a gel base material and a porous material is provided in the cavity (3) of the main body (2) housing the drive mechanism (1). Print head made by filling. [2] A print head in which a gap (3) of a main body (2) housing a drive mechanism (1) is filled with a gel base material (5) and a porous material (6) in a layered manner. [3] The print head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the porous material is impregnated with an organic compound. [4] The cavity (3) of the main body (2) housing the drive mechanism (1) made of a piezoelectric element is filled with a damping material (4) made of a mixed material of a gel base material and fine powder of an insulating material. A print head made by [5] A damping material formed by molding a mixed material of a gel-like base material and a porous material into a predetermined shape.