Thermal degassing device for inkjet printer
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsBrian G. Price, Gary A. Kneezel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inkjet printhead having a drop ejector array, an ink passageway for providing ink to the drop ejector array, and a thermally actuated degassing unit. The degassing unit itself includes a body enclosing an air chamber, a check valve configured to allow air to vent from the air chamber to ambient when the pressure in the air chamber exceeds ambient air pressure by a predetermined amount. The thermal degassing unit includes a thermally-induced pressure build-up time to increase the pressure in the air chamber. The air chamber is allowed to cool which causes internal pressure to drop below ambient and draws gas out of the ink.
Claims25
An inkjet printhead comprising:
- a drop ejector array;
- an ink passageway for providing ink to the drop ejector array;
- and
- a thermally actuated degassing unit including:
- a body enclosing an air chamber;
- a check valve configured to allow air to vent from the air chamber to ambient when the pressure in the air chamber exceeds ambient air pressure by a predetermined pressure;
- a heating element inside the air chamber;
- and
- a membrane including a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first side faces the air chamber and the second side faces the ink passageway.
An inkjet printer comprising:
- a drop ejector array;
- an ink passageway for providing ink to the drop ejector array;
- a thermally actuated degassing unit including:
- a body enclosing an air chamber;
- a check valve configured to allow air to vent from the air chamber to ambient when the pressure in the air chamber exceeds ambient air pressure by a predetermined pressure;
- a heating element inside the air chamber;
- and
- a membrane including a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first side faces the air chamber and the second side faces the ink passageway;
- and
- a controller for controlling operations of the inkjet printer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.