Liquid Ejection Head Base Portion Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejection heads face challenges in achieving compact size and high printing performance while maintaining uniform ink temperature and base temperature.
Innovation Solution
The liquid ejection head incorporates a pair of actuators with ink flow paths and a temperature control flow path integrated into a common base portion, reducing thickness and allowing for efficient heat dissipation and ink circulation, enabling improved printing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a substrate including a flow path through which hot water flows is provided to reduce temperature difference of ink, then printing performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the temperature control flow path and ink flow paths within a common base portion, merging the temperature control function with the ink circulation system. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components while maintaining the temperature equalization function that improves printing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The base portion serves multiple functions: it structures the ink flow paths, accommodates the temperature control flow path, and provides thermal management. By making the base portion multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate substrate structures, thereby improving printing performance without increasing device complexity.
2Volume of moving object
If actuators and flow paths are integrated into a common base portion, then device size is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the actuators and both ink flow paths and temperature control flow path into a single common base portion. This integration reduces the overall device volume by eliminating separate mounting structures and reducing the number of assembly steps, while the base portion is designed to accommodate all components with appropriate tolerances.
3Temperature
If temperature control flow path is added to the liquid ejection head, then ink temperature uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature control flow path is merged with the ink flow paths within the common base portion, allowing thermal management to be integrated with the ink circulation system. This approach provides temperature uniformity without requiring a completely separate temperature control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The base portion acts as an intermediary structure that houses both the ink flow paths and the temperature control flow path. This intermediary structure facilitates heat exchange between the temperature control fluid and the ink, achieving temperature uniformity while maintaining a unified design rather than adding separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration results in a smaller, more efficient liquid ejection head with enhanced printing performance by maintaining uniform ink and base temperatures, and allows for reduced distance between colors in multi-color configurations.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature control flow path 126 extending through a target region in the base portion 120 from one side to the other side in the first direction
Implementation Method 2
an ink flow path configured to extend from one side to the other side in the first direction through a target region in the base portion 120
Data Source
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AI summary
According to one embodiment, there is provided a liquid ejection head including a liquid ejection unit configured to eject liquid, an ink flow path connected to the liquid ejection unit and through which ink supplied to the liquid ejection unit passes, and a base portion where a temperature control flow path through which a fluid for temperature control passes is formed.