Electrostatic ink jet printing mechanism
First Claim
1. An ink jet printhead comprising:
- a nozzle chamber having an ink ejection port in one wall of said chamber;
an ink supply source interconnected to said nozzle chamber;
an electrostatic actuator comprising a first planar electrode formed within a bottom substrate of the nozzle chamber and a moveable second planar electrode arranged above the first planar electrode and having a corrugated border portion, said second planar electrode being moveable to a pre-firing position adjacent to said first planar electrode, upon forming a potential difference across said electrodes, thereby causing said corrugated border portion of said second electrode to concertina, such that, upon reduction of said potential difference, said corrugated border portion returns to is quiescent position, thereby causing the ejection of ink from said nozzle chamber.
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Abstract
This patent describes an ink jet printer where ink is ejected from a nozzle chamber by means of the utilisation of the electrostatic attraction between two parallel plates. An electrostatic actuator includes a first planar electrode formed within a bottom and a moveable second planar electrode arranged above the first planar electrode. The second planar electrode is moveable to a pre-firing position adjacent to the first planar electrode, thereby causing a corrugated border portion of the second electrode to concertina. Upon reduction of a potential difference, the corrugated border returns to its quiescent position, thereby causing the ejection of ink from the nozzle chamber. Between the first planar electrode and the second planar electrode is an air gap interconnected to an external atmosphere at a side of the nozzle chamber such that air flows into and out of the gap upon movement of the actuator.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. An ink jet printhead comprising:
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a nozzle chamber having an ink ejection port in one wall of said chamber;
an ink supply source interconnected to said nozzle chamber;
an electrostatic actuator comprising a first planar electrode formed within a bottom substrate of the nozzle chamber and a moveable second planar electrode arranged above the first planar electrode and having a corrugated border portion, said second planar electrode being moveable to a pre-firing position adjacent to said first planar electrode, upon forming a potential difference across said electrodes, thereby causing said corrugated border portion of said second electrode to concertina, such that, upon reduction of said potential difference, said corrugated border portion returns to is quiescent position, thereby causing the ejection of ink from said nozzle chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An ink jet printhead comprising:
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a nozzle chamber having an ink ejection port in one wall of said chamber;
an ink supply source interconnected to said nozzle chamber;
an electrostatic actuator to eject ink from said nozzle chamber via said ink ejection port, said electrostatic actuator comprising a first planar electrode formed within a bottom substrate of the nozzle chamber and a moveable second planar electrode arranged above the first planar electrode, said nozzle chamber and said electrostatic actuator being formed from depositing and etching of material on a single monolithic wafer. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. An ink jet printhead comprising:
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a nozzle chamber having an ink ejection port in one wall of said chamber;
an ink supply source interconnected to said nozzle chamber;
an electrostatic actuator comprising a first planar electrode formed within a bottom substrate of the nozzle chamber and a moveable second planar electrode arranged above the first planar electrode and having a corrugated border portion, said second planar electrode being moveable to a pre-firing position adjacent to said first planar electrode, upon forming a potential difference across said electrodes, thereby causing said corrugated border portion of said second electrode to concertina, such that, upon reduction of said potential difference, said corrugated border portion returns to is quiescent position, thereby causing the ejection of ink from said nozzle chamber, said nozzle chamber and said electrostatic actuator being formed from depositing and etching of material on a single monolithic wafer, and wherein between said first planar electrode and said second planar electrode is an air gap interconnected to an external atmosphere at a side of said nozzle chamber such that air flows into and out of said gap upon movement of said actuator, and wherein the electrodes have facing surfaces that are coated with a material comprising substantially polytetrafluoroethylene, and wherein said second planar electrode includes a layer of stiffening material comprising substantially nitride.
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Specification