US 4,047,186 AGranted

Pre-aimed nozzle for ink jet recorder and method of manufacture

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsArthur Harry Kendall, Robert Lewis Rohr

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Abstract

A pre-aimed nozzle device comprises a nozzle block with an orifice wafer attached thereto. The nozzle block has an aiming surface. The orifice wafer comprises an annular orifice element retained in the body of the wafer in a manner whereby the orifice element and wafer are bonded to the nozzle block with the opening of the orifice element perpendicular to the aiming surface. The orifice wafer is made by encapsulating a straight section of glass tubing in a block of ceramic. The block is machined with precision external location surfaces. A groove is machined into the block with internal location surfaces parallel with the external location surfaces. After potting of the tube in the groove with solder glass, the wafer block is cut along planes perpendicular to the external location surfaces to obtain annular orifice elements precisely aimed relative to the wafer body.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A nozzle apparatus comprising:

a support block having an ink passageway therein connectable to a source of liquid ink under pressure,
said passageway terminating at one end in an opening in a first flat surface of said support block, and
an orifice wafer mounted on said first flat surface of said support block comprising
a wafer body having front and rear surfaces,
an annular orifice element circumferentially fixed held by said wafer body and having an opening the central axis of which is perpendicular with said front and rear flat surfaces of said wafer body,
said orifice element having an inner annular diameter less and an outer annular diameter greater than the diameter of said ink passageway of said support block,
said orifice element having annular end surfaces on front and rear surfaces thereof which are coplanar with said front and rear flat surfaces, respectively, of said wafer body,
said coplanar rear surfaces of said orifice element and said wafer body being attached to said support block with a fluid tight seal between said first flat surface of said support block and said coplanar rear surfaces, with the opening in said orifice element aligned with said opening in said support block.

5 more elements

A method of manufacturing a precision nozzle device comprising:

forming a flat orifice wafer comprising an annular orifice element circumferentially retained by the body of said wafer;
said orifice element having an opening the central axis of which is perpendicular with, and annular end surfaces on front and rear faces thereof which are coplanar with, front and rear surfaces, respectively, of said wafer body;
forming a nozzle block with parallel front and rear flat surfaces;
forming a fluid passageway in said nozzle block for connection to a source of pressurized fluid;
said passageway having an opening in said front flat surface with a diameter less than the outer diameter of the annular end surfaces of said orifice element but greater than the opening in said orifice element;
attaching the rear surface of said orifice wafer to said front surface of said nozzle block with the opening in said orifice element in line with said opening of said fluid passageway;
and
forming a fluid tight seal around said opening in said front surface of said nozzle block and said rear face of said orifice element by bonding said annular end surface of said rear face of said orifice element and said coplanar rear surface of said wafer body to said front surface of said nozzle block.

5 more elements

A method of manufacturing a precision nozzle device comprising:

forming a wafer block having first and second orthogonal flat external location surfaces,
forming a location groove in said wafer block,
said location groove being coextensive with and having first and second orthogonal internal location surfaces precisely parallel with said first and second external location surfaces of said wafer block,
fixing a fine elongate hollow tube member in said location groove with the periphery of said tube member in contact substantially throughout its length only with said first and second flat orthogonal internal location surfaces of said groove with a solidified filler material completely filling the space in said groove not occupied by said tube member,
forming orifice wafers from said wafer block said tube member and said solidified filler material by cutting along parallel lines perpendicular with said first and second external location surface of said wafer block.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.