Thermally actuated slotted chamber wall ink jet printing mechanism

• US 6,238,040 B1
• Filed: 07/10/1998
• Issued: 05/29/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zamtec Limited (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Do, An H.
• Application Number:
  US09/112,754
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 347/44, 347/54, 347/20, 347/47
• US Class Current: 347/54
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1629 wet etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1632 machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1639 sacrificial molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1642 thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1643 thin film formation by plating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1645 thin film formation by spincoating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1646 thin film formation by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1648 Production of print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16585 for paper-width or non-reciprocating print heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/56 : using storage elements with more than two stable states represented by steps, e.g. of voltage, current, phase, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 : Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 : Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

An ink jet nozzle arrangement for the ejection of ink from a nozzle chamber including a nozzle chamber having a slotted sidewall in a first surface and an ink ejection port along a second surface thereof; an ink supply channel interconnected to the nozzle chamber for the supply of ink to the nozzle chamber; a moveable vane located within the nozzle chamber and being moveable so as to cause the ejection of ink from the nozzle chamber; and an actuator located outside the nozzle chamber and interconnected to the moveable vane through the slotted sidewall. The moveable vane, in its quiescent position, can be located substantially adjacent a first end of the slot and the actuator is actuated to move the moveable vane from the first end of the slot to a second end of the slot. The actuator can have a thermal actuator which is actuated by an electric current passed through the thermal actuator resulting in resistive heating of the actuator. The thermal actuator can be constructed of a conductive material having a high Young'"'"'s modulus and include first and second arms, the first arm having a thinned cross-section relative to the second arm, the first arm undergoing resistive heating to thereby cause the first arm to bend resulting in actuation by the thermal actuator.

Claims

1. An ink jet nozzle arrangement for an ejection of ink from a nozzle chamber, the arrangement comprising:

said nozzle chamber having a slotted sidewall and an ink ejection port arranged in a plane transverse to the sidewall;

an ink supply channel in communication with said nozzle chamber for the supply of ink to said nozzle chamber;

a moveable vane located within said nozzle chamber and being moveable in a plane at right angles to a direction of ink ejection to cause the ejection of ink from said port of said nozzle chamber; and

an actuator located outside said nozzle chamber to operate in ambient atmosphere and being connected to said moveable vane through said slotted sidewall, the actuator being a thermal actuator arranged in spaced relationship relative to a substrate carrying the actuator.

2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said moveable vane, in its quiescent position, is located substantially adjacent a first end of said slot and said actuator is actuated to move said moveable vane from said first end of said slot to a second end of said slot.

3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said actuator actuated by means of an electric current passed through the thermal actuator resulting in resistive heating of said actuator.

4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said thermal actuator is constructed of a conductive material having a high Young'"'"'s modulus.

5. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said thermal actuator includes a first arm and a second arm, the first arm having a thinner cross-section than the second arm, said first arm undergoing resistive heating to thereby cause said first arm to bend resulting in displacement of the moveable vane.

6. The arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein one end of each of said arms is attached to the substrate and said second arm includes a thinned portion at said one end adjacent said attachment to said substrate.

7. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein portions of said actuator located adjacent the exterior of said slotted sidewall are coated with a hydrophobic material.

8. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 which is formed on a silicon wafer and said ink supply channel is formed through etching a channel through said silicon wafer.