Jetting devices with supply conduit actuator
AssigneeMycronic AB
InventorGustaf Martensson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device configured to jet one or more droplets of a viscous medium includes a housing at least partially defining a jetting chamber, a supply conduit that supplies the viscous medium into the jetting chamber, a jetting nozzle, an impacting device configured to force the one or more droplets of the viscous medium through the conduit of the jetting nozzle to be jetted as the one or more droplets, and a supply conduit actuator configured to adjust a hydrodynamic resistance of at least a portion of the supply conduit to viscous medium flow from the jetting chamber via the supply conduit, based on moving through the portion of the supply conduit, independently of the impacting device, to adjust a cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit.
Claims17
A device configured to jet one or more droplets of a viscous medium, the device comprising:
- a jetting chamber configured to hold the viscous medium;
- a supply conduit in fluid communication with the jetting chamber, the supply conduit configured to supply the viscous medium into the jetting chamber;
- a jetting nozzle in fluid communication with the jetting chamber;
- an impacting device at least partially defining the jetting chamber, the impacting device configured to cause an increase of internal pressure of the viscous medium in the jetting chamber by moving through at least a portion of the jetting chamber to reduce a volume of the jetting chamber, to force the one or more droplets of the viscous medium through the jetting nozzle to be jetted as the one or more droplets;
- a supply conduit actuator configured to adjust a hydrodynamic resistance of at least a portion of the supply conduit to viscous medium flow from the jetting chamber via the supply conduit, based on moving through the portion of the supply conduit, independently of the impacting device, to adjust a cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit, without closing the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit;
- and
- a control device configured to control the supply conduit actuator and the impacting device to control the hydrodynamic resistance of at least the portion of the supply conduit in association with jetting the one or more droplets, such that:
- the hydrodynamic resistance is increased, based on reducing the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit from a first area to a second area, at least in advance of and during jetting the one or more droplets, and
- the hydrodynamic resistance is decreased, based on increasing the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit from the second area after jetting the one or more droplets,
- wherein each of the first area and the second area has a respective non-zero magnitude.
A method of controlling a device configured to jet one or more droplets of viscous medium onto a substrate, the device including a jetting chamber configured to hold the viscous medium, a supply conduit in fluid communication with the jetting chamber, the supply conduit configured to supply the viscous medium into the jetting chamber, a jetting nozzle in fluid communication with the jetting chamber, an impacting device at least partially defining the jetting chamber, the impacting device configured to cause an increase of internal pressure of the viscous medium in the jetting chamber by moving through at least a portion of the jetting chamber to reduce a volume of the jetting chamber, to force the one or more droplets of the viscous medium through the jetting nozzle to be jetted as the one or more droplets, and a supply conduit actuator configured to move through a portion of the supply conduit, independently of the impacting device, to adjust a cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit without closing the cross-sectional flow area, to adjust a hydrodynamic resistance of at least the portion of the supply conduit to viscous medium flow from the jetting chamber via the supply conduit, the method comprising:
- controlling the supply conduit actuator to increase the hydrodynamic resistance to an increased hydrodynamic resistance based on reducing the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit from a first area to a second area;
- controlling the impacting device to jet the one or more droplets while maintaining the increased hydrodynamic resistance based on maintaining the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit at the second area;
- and
- after jetting the one or more droplets, controlling the supply conduit actuator to decrease the hydrodynamic resistance, based on increasing the cross-sectional flow area of the portion of the supply conduit from the second area, wherein each of the first area and the second area has a respective non-zero magnitude.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.