Printhead wafer with individual ink feed to each nozzle

• US 7,188,935 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2004
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zamtec Limited (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, HAI CHI
• Application Number:
  US10/959,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20050099466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 347 63- 65, 347 68- 69, 347 84- 85
• US Class Current: 347/65
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04528 aiming at warming up the head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04541 Specific driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04553 detecting ambient temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04563 detecting head temperature; Ink temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04585 controlling heads based on thermal bent actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04588 using a specific waveform
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04591 Width of the driving signal being adjusted
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04596 Non-ejecting pulses
• 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 2/1628 dry 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 2/1646 thin film formation by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1648 Production of print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/175 : Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14362 : Assembling elements of heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14419 : Manifold
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14491 : Electrical connection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49083 : Heater type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49128 : Assembling formed circuit to base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 : Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/494 : Fluidic or fluid actuated device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49401 : Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet

Abstract

An inkjet printhead with an array of nozzles formed on one side of a wafer substrate, an array of corresponding ink inlets formed in the other side of the wafer, each of the ink inlets individually associated with one of the nozzles and, a fluid path extending between each of the ink inlets and each of the ejection apertures respectively. With individual ink feed channels to each of the nozzles, there is a high level of fluidic drag that eliminates any ink pressure cross talk between adjacent nozzles.

Claims

1. A printhead for an inkjet printer, the printhead comprising:

a silicon wafer substrate with an ink ejection side and an opposing ink inlet side;

an array of nozzles formed on the ink ejection side, each nozzle having an ejection actuator and an ejection aperture for ejecting ink drops towards a media substrate;

an array of ink inlets formed in the ink inlet side, each of the ink inlets individually associated with one of the nozzles; and

,

a plurality of ink channels having silicon walls defined through said silicon wafer substrate and extending between each of the ink inlets and each of the ejection actuators respectively,

wherein each of the ink channels is longer than 100 microns and has a length through the substrate which is longer than its widest diameter, and

wherein the array of ink inlets is in registration with the ejection apertures such that the ink channel is normal to the plane of the wafer substrate, thereby defining a linear fluid path between each ink inlet and each ejection actuator.

2. A printhead according to claim 1 further comprising CMOS drive circuitry for controlling the actuation of the ejection actuators.

3. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein the printhead has more than 30000 nozzles per cm₂ of the wafer substrate.

4. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein the printhead is a pagewidth printhead with a resolution greater than 1000 d.p.i.

5. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein the ejection actuator is a thermal bend actuator for displacing ink within the nozzle to eject a drop through the ejection aperture.