Nozzle member including ink flow channels
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorsChristopher A. Schantz, Eric G. Hanson, Si-Ty Lam, Paul H. McClelland, William J. Lloyd, Laurie S. Mittelstadt, Alfred I. Pan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In one of the preferred embodiments, an inkjet printhead includes a nozzle member formed of a polymer material that has been laser-ablated to form inkjet orifices, ink channels, and vaporization chambers in the unitary nozzle member. The nozzle member is then mounted to a substrate containing heating elements associated with each orifice. In a preferred method, the orifices, ink channels, and vaporization chambers are formed using an Excimer laser.
Claims9
An apparatus for use in an ink printer comprising:
- a unitary piece of insulating, flexible polymer material having a nozzle section and a conductor section,
- said nozzle section having a top surface for facing a recording medium for printing, said nozzle section having a plurality of ink orifices formed in said polymer material by laser ablation, a bottom surface of said nozzle section having formed in said polymer material a plurality of vaporization chambers and ink channels for providing fluid communication between said ink orifices and an ink reservoir,
- said conductor section including a plurality of separate conductors formed on said polymer material and having first ends leading to said nozzle section for conducting electrical signals for selectively energizing ink ejection elements proximate to each ink orifice,
- said conductors having remote second ends for connection to power supply electrodes in an ink printer.
A unitary piece of insulating, laser ablatable material having a nozzle section and a conductor section,
- said nozzle section having a top surface for facing a recording medium for printing, said nozzle section having a plurality of ink orifices formed in said material, a bottom surface of said nozzle section having formed in said material a plurality of vaporization chambers and ink channels for providing fluid communication between said ink orifices and an ink reservoir,
- said conductor section including a plurality of separate conductors formed on said material and having first ends leading to said nozzle section for conducting electrical signals for selectively energizing ink ejection elements proximate to each ink orifice,
- said conductors having remote second ends for connection to power supply electrodes in an ink printer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.