Actuating mechanism which includes a thermal bend actuator

• US 6,540,331 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Issued: 04/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Memjet Technology Ltd. (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Raquel Yvette
• Application Number:
  US09/864,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20010026302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 676 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, 310/328-330, 298/901
• 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 2/1601 Production of bubble jet print heads B41J2/1606, B41J2/162 take precedence
• 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 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/21 : Line printing
• 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 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

An actuating mechanism includes a thermal bend actuator having a laminated structure of at least three layers in the form of a pair of opposed, outer layers and at least one inner layer. The outer layers are of substantially the same material and of substantially the same dimensions as each other.

Claims

1. An actuating mechanism which comprises

a thermal bend actuator having a laminated structure of at least three layers in the form of a pair of opposed, outer layers and at least one inner layer, wherein

the outer layers are of substantially identical materials and of substantially identical dimensions.

2. An actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which the thermal bend actuator has a single inner layer.

3. An actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which the outer layers of the thermal bend actuator are each conductive.

4. An actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 3 in which at least one of the outer layers of the thermal bend actuator is connectable to drive circuitry so that said at least one of the outer layers can be heated.

5. An actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which the outer layers have a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the inner layer.

6. An actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, which is the product of a manufacturing process using integrated circuit fabrication techniques.

7. A micro electromechanical device which includes at least one actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1.

8. An ink jet printhead which comprises

a substrate;

and

at least one nozzle arrangement formed on the substrate, the, or each, nozzle arrangement defining a nozzle chamber and having an ink ejection mechanism for ejecting ink from the nozzle chamber, wherein

the ink ejection mechanism includes an actuating mechanism which comprises a thermal bend actuator having a laminated structure of at least three layers in the form of a pair of opposed, outer layers and at least one inner layer, wherein the outer layers are of substantially identical materials and of substantially identical dimensions.