Liquid Ejection Flow Path Unit With Lyophobic Bubble Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow path units struggle to effectively remove gas bubbles from liquids, which can adhere to surfaces and cause ejection failures in liquid ejection devices.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a removal unit with an inner wall and storage tank, featuring a lyophobic member or region with lower lyophilic properties than the inner wall, to facilitate gas bubble formation and recovery, combined with heating and ultrasonic wave application to enhance gas removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a removal unit with a conventional inner wall is used to remove gas from liquid, then gas removal is attempted, but gas bubbles adhere to the inner wall and flow out into the flow path
Solution Approach 1:
The inner wall is configured with different surface properties at different locations: a lyophobic region with lower lyophilic property and a hydrophilic region with higher lyophilic property. This local differentiation causes gas bubbles to adhere preferentially to the lyophobic region and be repelled from the hydrophilic region, preventing bubble contamination of the ejection nozzles while maintaining effective gas removal from the liquid
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the inner wall has high lyophilic property to prevent bubble adhesion, then bubble contamination is reduced, but gas removal efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By creating distinct lyophobic and hydrophilic regions on the inner wall, the invention simultaneously achieves both functions: the lyophobic region promotes bubble formation and gas removal from liquid, while the hydrophilic region prevents bubble adhesion and facilitates bubble discharge into the flow path
3Reliability
If a lyophobic member is added to enhance gas removal, then gas removal efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lyophobic member is integrated into the storage tank as an inner wall component rather than being a separate external device. This merging approach achieves effective gas removal through the lyophobic/hydrophilic region mechanism while avoiding the complexity of additional independent systems
Solution Approach 2:
The inner wall itself is modified to have local lyophobic and hydrophilic regions, using the existing structural component for dual functionality rather than adding separate complex mechanisms
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
Effectively removes gas bubbles from liquids, preventing their adherence and ensuring stable liquid ejection operations.
Implementation Method 1
the removal unit includes, at a position coming into contact with the liquid in the storage tank, a lyophobic member having a lower lyophilic property with respect to the liquid than that of the inner wall
Implementation Method 2
combined with heating and ultrasonic wave application to enhance gas removal
Implementation Method 3
combined with heating and ultrasonic wave application to enhance gas removal
Data Source
AI summary
A flow path unit including a flow path through which a liquid supplied to an ejection unit that ejects the liquid flows includes a removal unit configured to remove a gas. The removal unit includes an inner wall that is provided with an opening in communication with the flow path and that is configured to come into contact with the liquid, and a storage tank including the inner wall and configured to store the liquid. The removal unit removes the gas contained in the liquid flowing through the flow path in the storage tank. The removal unit includes, at a position coming into contact with the liquid in the storage tank, a lyophobic member having a lower lyophilic property with respect to the liquid than that of the inner wall.