Printhead for pen

• US 20030117456A1
• Filed: 11/04/2002
• Published: 06/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Shipton, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 7,093,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/40
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/145 Arrangement thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14475 characterised by nozzle shapes or number of orifices per chamber
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/36 for portability , i.e. hand-held printers or laptop printers B41J3/4075 takes precedence

Abstract

An ink ejection type printhead having a plurality of ink ejection devices around a central axis, the ink ejection devices arranged in a series of groups generally extending along non parallel lines (1370-1381). The lines may be curved. The illustrated form of the printhead is suitable for use in a pen, or cartridge for a pen, as an alternative to a conventional nib or point of a pen or pencil.

Claims

1. An ink ejection type printhead having a plurality of ink ejection devices and a central axis, the ink ejection devices arranged in a series of groups, each of the groups generally extending along non parallel lines.

2. The printhead of claim 1 wherein adjacent ink ejection devices of each group are located on alternate sides of a radial line.

3. The printhead of claim 1 wherein adjacent ink ejection devices of each group are located on a radial line.

4. The printhead of claim 1 wherein a set of the devices are connected to a common supply of ink.

5. The printhead of claim 4 wherein each set includes devices of more than one group.

6. The printhead of claim 4 wherein each set has a different ink supply to the other sets.

7. The printhead of claim 4 wherein there are N sets and N ink supplies, where N is an integer.

8. The printhead of claim 4 wherein the devices of a group are part of the same set.

9. The printhead of claim 4 wherein there are N sets and M groups, where N is a integer multiple of M.

10. The printhead of claim 9 wherein every Nth group is a member of the same set.

11. The printhead of claim 9 wherein adjacent groups belongs to different sets.

12. The printhead of claim 9 wherein the groups of different sets are arranged in a repeating pattern.

13. The printhead of claim 9 wherein there are 4 sets and 12 groups

14. The printhead of claim 1 wherein each group of devices is supplied with ink from a common gallery, all of the galleries being at a first level in the printhead, galleries for a set of devices being interconnected in part by at least one interconnecting passageway at a second level, the interconnecting passageways of each set passing beneath galleries of at least one other set.

15. The printhead of claim 14 including a first layer of solid material, an ink ejection device layer above the first layer and a second layer of solid material below the first layer.

16. The printhead of claim 15 wherein the galleries are slots extending through the thickness of the first layer.

17. The printhead of claim 15 wherein the interconnecting passageways are grooves in the lower surface of the second layer which extend only partway through the thickness of the second layer.

18. The printhead of claim 15 wherein the second layer includes linking passageways linking the galleries with the interconnecting passageways, the linking passageways extending through the thickness of the second layer.

19. The printhead of claim 15 wherein the first, second and an ink ejection device layers are discrete layers.

20. The printhead of claim 15 wherein the first, second and an ink ejection device layers are part of an integral device.

21. The printhead of claim 2 or claim 3 in which the radial lines are at least partially curved.