Thermal ink jet printhead with short heater to nozzle aperture distance
AssigneeSilverbrook Research Pty Ltd
InventorKia Silverbrook
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is disclosed an ink jet printhead which comprises a plurality of nozzles and one or more heater elements 10 corresponding to each nozzle. Each heater element 10 is configured to heat a bubble forming liquid 11 in the printhead to a temperature above its boiling point to form a gas bubble 12 therein. The generation of the bubble causes the ejection of a drop of an ejectable liquid (such as ink) through an ejection aperture in each nozzle, to effect printing. In each nozzle, the distance between the heater element and the ejection aperture is less than 50 microns. This configuration of printhead reduces the mass of ink moved in order to eject an ink drop, and provides for a relatively high efficiency of operation.
Claims47
An inkjet printhead comprising:
- a wafer substrate having an ink ejection side and an ink supply side;
- a plurality of nozzles formed in a nozzle plate supported on the ink ejection side;
- a chamber for holding ink in fluid communication with each of the nozzles respectively;
- a heater element suspended in each of the chambers respectively for immersion in the ink, the heater element configured as a beam extending in a plane parallel to that of the nozzle plate such that heating the heater element generates a vapour bubble that ejects a drop of ink from the nozzle;
- and,
- an ink supply path extending from the ink supply side of the wafer to each of the chambers respectively;
- wherein,
- the heater element is spaced less than 50 microns from the nozzle and the ink supply path is at least quadruple the spacing of the heater element from the nozzle.
A printer system which incorporates a printhead, the printhead comprising:
- a wafer substrate having an ink ejection side and an ink supply side;
- a plurality of nozzles formed In a nozzle plate supported on the ink ejection side;
- a chamber for holding ink in fluid communication with each of the nozzles respectively;
- a heater element suspended in each of the chambers respectively for immersion in the ink, the heater element configured as a beam extending In a plane parallel to that of the nozzle plate such that heating the heater element generates a vapour bubble that ejects a drop of ink from the nozzle;
- and,
- an ink supply path extending from the ink supply side of the wafer to each of the chambers respectively;
- wherein,
- the heater element is spaced less than 50 microns from the nozzle and the ink supply path is at least quadruple the spacing of the heater element from the nozzle.
A method of ejecting ink from a printhead, the printhead comprising a wafer substrate having an ink ejection side and an ink supply side;
- a plurality of nozzles formed in a nozzle plate supported on the ink ejection side;
- a chamber for holding ink in fluid communication with each of the nozzles respectively;
- a heater element suspended in each of the chambers respectively for immersion in the ink, the heater element configured as a beam extending in a plane parallel to that of the nozzle plate;
- and,
- an ink supply path extending from the ink supply side of the wafer to each of the chambers respectively;
- wherein,
- the heater element is spaced less than 50 microns from the nozzle and the ink supply path is at least quadruple the spacing of the heater element from the nozzle;
- the method comprising the steps of;
- feeding ink into the chamber;
- heating the heater element to a teniperatiwe above the boiling point of the ink to form a vapour bubble such that a dop of the ink is ejected through the nozzle corresponding to that heater element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.