Nozzle assembly

• US 7,147,302 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2005
• Issued: 12/12/2006
• 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): Do, An H.
• Application Number:
  US11/087,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20050162470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 347/29, 347/54, 347/56, 347/65
• US Class Current: 347/54
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04 generating single droplets or particles on demand
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/155 for line printing
• 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 2/17503 : 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 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

The present invention relates to a nozzle assembly for ejecting ink. The nozzle assembly includes a body and an actuator support extending from the body. There is also provided an actuator arm which extends from the actuator support and into a nozzle. The nozzle assembly further includes the nozzle which extends from the body and is suitable for storing the ink. In use, the actuator arm is displaced to thereby eject ink from the nozzle.

Claims

1. A nozzle assembly for ejecting ink, the nozzle assembly comprising:

a substrate;

drive circuitry positioned on the substrate;

a nozzle chamber structure extending from the substrate and defining a nozzle chamber in fluid communication with an ink supply and an ink ejection port in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber;

an actuator support extending from the substrate, and located external to and spaced apart from, the nozzle chamber structure; and

an actuator arm extending from the actuator support, the actuator arm including a heater portion disposed outside of said nozzle chamber structure and a paddle member extending from said heater portion through a slot defined in the nozzle chamber structure and into the nozzle chamber, the actuator arm being connected to the drive circuitry to be displaceable on receipt of an electrical signal from the drive circuitry.

2. A nozzle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nozzle chamber structure has a cylindrical wall through which the actuator arm extends.

3. A nozzle assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the nozzle chamber structure also has an annular cap coupled to the cylindrical wall to define the ink ejection port.

4. A nozzle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive circuitry comprises a CMOS substrate.

5. A nozzle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heater portion comprises two adjacent layers each having different thermal expansion characteristics.