Thermoelastic inkjet actuator with heat conductive pathways
AssigneeSilverbrook Research Pty Ltd
InventorsKia Silverbrook, Gregory John McAvoy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermal inkjet actuator for use in an inkjet printer assembly includes heat conduction means arranged to realize a predetermined negative pressure profile to facilitate droplet formation. In a preferred embodiment the heat conduction means comprises a thin layer of very high thermally conductive material such as Aluminium located in the middle of a non-heat conductive passive bend layer. The overall cool-down speed of the actuator, and hence the speed with which the passive bend layer returns to its quiescent position can be controlled by controlling the proximity of the heat conductive layer to the actuator's heater during fabrication.
Claims10
A thermoelastic actuator assembly including:
- a heat conduction means positioned to conduct heat generated by a heating element away from said actuator assembly thereby facilitating the return of the actuator to a quiescent state subsequent to operation.
A method of producing a thermoelastic actuator assembly having desired operating characteristics including the steps of:
- determining a desired negative pressure pulse characteristic for the actuator;
- determining a heat dissipation profile corresponding to the desired negative pressure pulse characteristic;
- and
- forming the thermoelastic actuator with a heat conduction means arranged to realize said profile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.