Liquid Discharge Head Offset Nozzle Blockage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid discharge heads where the nozzle's center is offset from the communicating channel's center axis, there is a risk of the nozzle being blocked by the channel plate during assembly, leading to misalignment and potential blockages.
Innovation Solution
A liquid discharge head design featuring a channel unit with a descender that includes a protruding channel portion at its end, positioned opposite to the second throttle channel, which prevents the nozzle from being blocked by the channel plate even when the nozzle is displaced relative to the descender's center, ensuring proper alignment and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the nozzle center is offset from the communicating channel center axis, then the nozzle can be positioned closer to the inner wall surface for compact design, but the nozzle may be blocked by the channel plate during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent intentionally offsets the nozzle center from the communicating channel center axis, creating an asymmetric configuration. This asymmetric design allows the nozzle to be positioned closer to the inner wall surface, reducing the overall head unit volume while maintaining functional reliability through the specific geometric relationships defined in the patent
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a second direction (orthogonal to the first direction) to define the relative positions of the nozzle, throttle channels, and descender. By utilizing this additional dimensional parameter, the patent ensures that even with offset positioning, the nozzle remains accessible and not blocked by the channel plate during assembly
2Ease of manufacture
If the nozzle center is offset from the descender center, then assembly misalignment is more likely to occur, but the protruding channel portion prevents nozzle blockage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a protruding channel portion in the descender that extends beyond other portions of the descender in the second direction. This protruding feature acts as a protective element that compensates for potential assembly misalignments, ensuring that the nozzle is not blocked by the channel plate even when the nozzle center is offset from the descender center
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding channel portion serves as an intermediary element between the nozzle and the channel plate. It provides a buffer zone that accommodates manufacturing tolerances and assembly variations, preventing direct contact or blockage between the nozzle and the restrictive channel plate structure
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a liquid discharge head including a channel unit that includes plates stacked on top of each other in a first direction and is formed having individual channels, a first common channel, and a second common channel. The first and second common channels communicate with the individual channels. Each individual channel includes a nozzle, a pressure chamber, a descender, a first throttle channel, and a second throttle channel. The plates include a nozzle plate, a pressure chamber plate, and a first plate formed having a first through hole that constitutes part of the descender. A center portion of the nozzle is positioned at a side opposite to the second throttle channel in the second direction with respect to a center portion of the descender. The descender has a protruding channel portion that is formed in the first plate, is positioned at an end at the side opposite to the second throttle channel in the second direction, and protrudes toward the side opposite to the second throttle channel beyond any other portion of the descender.