Nozzle arrangement that incorporates a reversible actuating mechanism

• US 6,471,336 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Issued: 10/29/2002
• 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): Gordon, Raquel Yvette
• Application Number:
  US09/864,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20010022600A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 347/54, 347/68, 347/69, 347/70, 347/71, 347/72, 347/50, 347/40, 347/20, 347/44, 347/47, 347/27, 347/63, 399/261, 361/700, 298/901, 310/328.33
• US Class Current: 347/54
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0005 Curl smoothing, i.e. smoothing down corrugated printing material, e.g. by pressing means acting on wrinkled printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1626 etching
• 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 2/1637 molding
• 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 2/17503 Ink cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 : Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14346 : Ejection by pressure produced by thermal deformation of ink chamber, e.g. buckling
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/21 : Line printing
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 : Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 : in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 : Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 : Authenticate client device independently of the user
• 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 1/2112 : using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2154 : the still video camera incorporating a hardcopy reproducing device, e.g. a printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 : Still video cameras
• 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

A nozzle arrangement for an ink jet printhead includes a substrate. A working member is mounted on the substrate and is movable reciprocally along a path of travel in order to perform work. Two actuators are arranged with respect to the working member to act on the working member. The actuators are configured so that the working member is under the influence of at least one actuator while being reciprocally moved along the path of travel.

Claims

1. A nozzle arrangement that is the product of an integrated circuit fabrication technique, the nozzle arrangement comprising:

a substrate;

an actuating mechanism that is mounted on the substrate and that comprises

a working member that is movable reciprocally along a path of travel in order to perform work; and

at least two actuators that are arranged with respect to the working member to act on the working member, the actuators being configured so that the working member is under the influence of at least one of the actuators at substantially all points along the path of travel.

2. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 1, which includes a pair of operatively opposed actuators.

3. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 1, which is the product of an integrated circuit fabrication technique.

4. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 3, in which the substrate includes a wafer substrate and a drive circuitry layer positioned on the wafer substrate, the drive circuitry layer incorporating drive circuitry for the actuators.

5. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 3, in which the actuators are connected to the working member and are displaceable with respect to the substrate to move the working member along the path of travel.

6. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 5, in which the working member includes an elongate, resiliently bendable portion, a thermal actuator in the form of a heating element being fixed to each of a pair of opposed sides of the elongate portion, the heating element being of a material which expands upon heating so that activation of either of the heating elements results in an expansion of that heating element and subsequent bending of the elongate portion away from the activated heating element to move the working member.

7. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 5, in which the actuators are in the form of reversible electromagnetic field generators and the working member is responsive to an electromagnetic field to be displaced by an electromagnetic field of suitable strength.

8. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 7, in which the electromagnetic field generators each include a coil which is connected to the drive circuitry so that the coils can be energized synchronously and reversibly.

9. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 3, in which the actuators are mounted on the substrate at respective ends of the path of travel so that the working member is mounted between the actuators, the actuators being configured to act substantially synchronously on the working member.

10. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 9, in which each actuator is in the form of a thermal actuator which comprises a heating element positioned on a material with a coefficient of thermal expansion which is such that, on heating, the subsequent expansion of the material is sufficient to perform work.

11. A nozzle arrangement as claimed in claim 10, in which each actuator has an elongate structure with end portions fixed to the substrate and an intermediate portion free to move with respect to the structure, so that, upon heating of said material with the heating element, expansion of the material results in a bending of each actuator and subsequent displacement of the working member, the actuators being substantially identically formed so that said bending is substantially identical in each actuator, with the actuators having a suitable Young'"'"'s modulus to ensure that the actuators return to their respective pre-bent conditions upon cooling.

12. A nozzle arrangement which is the product of an integrated circuit fabrication technique, the nozzle arrangement comprising

a substrate;

a working member that is mounted on the substrate and that is movable reciprocally along a path of travel in order to perform work, the working member being configured to be so movable under the influence of a magnetic field of suitable strength; and

at least two electromagnetic actuators that are arranged with respect to the working member to act on the working member, the actuators being capable of generating a magnetic field and of reversing the polarity of that field, the actuators being connectable to a suitable control system to permit the actuators to act synchronously so that the working member is under the influence of said at least two actuators while being reciprocally moved along the path of travel by magnetic fields generated by said at least two actuators.

13. An ink jet printhead, which is the product of an integrated circuit fabrication technique, the ink jet printhead comprising

a substrate;

and

a plurality of nozzle arrangements that are arranged on the substrate, each nozzle arrangement comprising

nozzle chamber walls that define a nozzle chamber; and

an actuating mechanism that is mounted on the substrate and that comprises

a working member that is movable reciprocally along a path of travel in order to eject ink from the nozzle chamber and at least two actuators that are arranged with respect to the working member to act on the working member, the actuators being configured so that the working member is under the influence of at least one of the actuators at substantially all points along the path of travel.