Printhead assembly with air expulsion arrangement

Abstract

A printhead assembly includes an elongate channel member of a metal alloy; a flexible elongate fluid carrier positioned on a floor of the channel member, the fluid carrier defining a plurality of passages longitudinally extending along a length of the fluid carrier, the fluid carrier further defining a repeated pattern of holes on an external surface thereof, the holes providing fluid communication from outside the fluid carrier to respective passages of the fluid carrier; and a series of printhead modules mounted to the external surface of the fluid carrier, each printhead module including an upper micro-molding and a lower micro-molding, the lower micro-molding having an air inlet slot in fluid communication with one of the plurality of passages via a hole of the repeated pattern of holes at one end and a series of alternating air inlets and outlets on the upper micro-molding at an opposite end. Each repeated pattern of holes diagonally spans a width of the fluid carrier, and the repeated pattern of holes together span a length of the fluid carrier. The alternating air inlets and outlets divert air from the air inlet slot to the printhead modules to facilitate cleaning of debris from the printhead modules.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.