Liquid Ejection Head Protection Member Floating Prevention

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing liquid ejection heads face issues with peeling due to the floating up of protection members, which can lead to damage when the print medium contacts the print element substrate during continuous printing.

Innovation Solution

A liquid ejection head design featuring a protection member with recessed portions and projection portions, where the projection portions are accommodated within corresponding recessed portions on the ejection port forming member, preventing floating up and enhancing adhesion to suppress peeling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a protection member is adhered to the ejection surface to prevent damage from print medium contact, then protection against damage is improved, but the protection member may float up and peel off during continuous printing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection against damageVSAvoidattachment stability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The protection member is divided into multiple segments with recessed portions and projection portions. The projection portions fit into corresponding recessed portions on the ejection port forming member, creating a segmented interlocking structure that prevents floating up while maintaining protection functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The projection portions of the protection member are nested within the recessed portions of the ejection port forming member. This nesting creates an interlocking fit where the projection portions fit inside the recessed portions, preventing the protection member from peeling off during operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Stability of the object's composition

If projection portions are formed on the protection member to prevent floating up, then attachment stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to additional forming steps

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment stabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing process simplicity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The recessed portions are pre-formed on the ejection port forming member before the protection member is attached. This preliminary action allows the projection portions to simply fit into the pre-existing recessed portions, reducing the complexity of forming both features while ensuring proper alignment and attachment stability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20240351331A1Liquid ejection head

Publication Date: 2024.10.24 CANON KK

AI summary

A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate having an ejection port forming member including an ejection surface on which a plurality of ejection port arrays for ejecting liquid are formed and a protection member having an opening corresponding to one of the ejection port arrays, the protection member is provided with at least one recessed portion at an end parallel to a direction of the plurality of ejection port arrays in a direction orthogonal to the plurality of ejection port arrays and a projection portion projecting in the direction orthogonal to the plurality of ejection port arrays, the projection portion is provided inside the at least one recessed portion, and the ejection port forming member has a corresponding recessed portion corresponding to the projection portion in the direction orthogonal to the plurality of ejection port arrays.