Printhead chip incorporating a double action ink ejection mechanism

• US 7,001,012 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2005
• Issued: 02/21/2006
• 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): Stephens, Juanita D.
• Application Number:
  US11/026,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20050110840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 414 Days
• Field of Search: 347/20, 347/44, 347/47, 347/54, 347/56, 347/51, 347/63, 347/65, 347/67, 60527-529, 310306-307, 337139-141, 25112901-12902, 251/129.06
• 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 printhead chip includes a substrate that incorporates a drive circuitry layer. A plurality of nozzle chamber structures is positioned on the substrate. Each nozzle chamber structure defines a nozzle chamber and a pair of ink ejection ports in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber. A plurality of elongate actuators is associated with respective nozzle chamber structures. Each actuator has one end fast with the substrate to be electrically connected to the drive circuitry layer and to be reciprocally displaced relative to the substrate on receipt of an electrical signal from the drive circuitry layer. An ink ejecting member is positioned in each nozzle chamber and is connected to the associated actuator to be reciprocally displaced by the actuator. The nozzle chamber structure is configured so that as the ink ejecting member is displaced in one direction, ink is ejected from one of the ink ejection ports and as the ink ejecting member is displaced in an opposite direction, ink is ejected from the other ink ejection port.

Claims

1. A printhead chip which comprises

a substrate that incorporates a drive circuitry layer;

a plurality of nozzle chamber structures positioned on the substrate, each nozzle chamber structure defining a nozzle chamber and a pair of ink ejection ports in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber;

a plurality of elongate actuators associated with respective nozzle chamber structures, each actuator having one end fast with the substrate to be electrically connected to the drive circuitry layer and to be reciprocally displaced relative to the substrate on receipt of an electrical signal from the drive circuitry layer; and

an ink ejecting member positioned in each nozzle chamber and connected to the associated actuator to be reciprocally displaced by the actuator, the nozzle chamber structure being configured so that as the ink ejecting member is displaced in one direction, ink is ejected from one of the ink ejection ports and as the ink ejecting member is displaced in an opposite direction, ink is ejected from the other ink ejection port.

2. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 1, in which each actuator comprises an actuator arm of a material capable of thermal expansion to perform work that is anchored to the substrate at one end and a pair of heater elements fast with the actuator arm on respective opposite sides of the arm and connected to the drive circuitry layer to receive alternate heating currents so that the arm experiences alternate thermal differential expansion and is thus reciprocally displaced.

3. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 2, in which the heater elements are substantially identical.

4. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 2, in which one of the heater elements is interposed between the actuator arm and the substrate and the arm is interposed between the heater elements so that the arm is displaced reciprocally towards and away from the substrate.

5. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 4, in which each nozzle chamber structure includes a nozzle chamber wall and a roof that defines the nozzle chamber, each arm being connected to the respective ink ejecting member at the wall, such that the wall acts as a fulcrum, the actuator arm defining an effort member and the ink ejecting member defining a working member.

6. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 4, in which each nozzle chamber structure includes a partitioning wall that depends from the roof, between the ink ejection ports so that each nozzle chamber is divided into a first part in fluid communication with one of the ink ejection ports and a second part in fluid communication with the other ink ejection port, each ink ejecting member being positioned in a respective first part so that when the ink ejecting member is displaced towards the roof, ink is ejected from the first part and when the ink ejecting member is displaced away from the roof, ink is ejected from the second part.

7. A printhead chip as claimed in claim 6, in which the substrate defines a plurality of inlet channels in fluid communication with respective first parts of the nozzle chambers.