Inkjet Nozzle Venting Gas Bubbles Asymmetric Baffle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet nozzle devices face challenges in achieving symmetrical droplet ejection, high chamber refill rates, and minimizing fluidic crosstalk, which are crucial for high-speed printing and maintaining print quality, while also managing thermal efficiency and cavitation damage.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a main chamber with a firing chamber and an antechamber, partitioned by a baffle structure that provides a common plane of symmetry, allowing for efficient ink supply and bubble expansion symmetry, along with a perimeter wall that isolates nearby devices and optimizes chamber refill rates, and a configuration for bubble venting during droplet ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the heater element is suspended directly over the inlet to the nozzle chamber to achieve perfect fluidic symmetry, then droplet ejection symmetry is improved, but device complexity increases and manufacturing robustness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately introduces asymmetry in the form of a baffle wall that blocks one side of the nozzle chamber, creating asymmetric flow paths. This asymmetric design actually achieves the desired symmetric droplet ejection by compensating for the natural asymmetry caused by the inlet position, while allowing the heater element to be bonded to the chamber floor for manufacturing robustness
2Manufacturing precision
If the heater element is suspended over the chamber inlet to achieve symmetry, then droplet trajectory perpendicularity is improved, but backflow rate increases and printhead face flooding occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes the baffle wall from one side of the nozzle chamber, creating an asymmetric configuration where the inlet is positioned on one side and the baffle is removed. This allows the heater element to be bonded to the floor while still achieving perpendicular droplet trajectories by controlling the asymmetric flow dynamics
3Reliability
If a common ink supply channel supplies multiple nozzle chambers, then redundancy in ink supply is improved, but chamber refill rate decreases and fluidic crosstalk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ink supply system by providing each nozzle chamber with its own dedicated inlet channel rather than using a common shared channel. This segmentation eliminates fluidic crosstalk between chambers and maximizes refill rates, while the asymmetric baffle design ensures proper flow distribution to each chamber
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the nozzle chamber is evacuated of ink during droplet ejection to vent gas bubbles, then cavitation damage is reduced, but droplet ejection volume control becomes constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates local quality differences within the nozzle chamber by positioning the inlet on one side and using an asymmetric baffle configuration. This allows different regions of the chamber to have different functions: one region facilitates bubble venting through the asymmetric flow path, while another region maintains proper ink supply and droplet ejection control
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 design ensures minimal skewing of droplet trajectories, high efficiency in energy transfer, reduced fluidic crosstalk, and enhanced thermal management, enabling high-speed printing with improved print quality and extended printhead lifetime.
Implementation Method 1
heater elements which superheat ink to generate vapor bubbles
Implementation Method 2
heater elements which superheat ink to generate vapor bubbles
Implementation Method 3
The expansion of these bubbles forces ink drops through the nozzle apertures
Implementation Method 4
configured for venting gas bubbles... to minimize cavitation damage to heater elements
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet nozzle device configured for venting a gas bubble during droplet ejection. The inkjet nozzle device includes: a firing chamber for containing ink, the firing chamber having a floor and a roof defining a nozzle aperture having a perimeter; and a heater element bonded to the floor of the firing chamber. The device is configured to satisfy the relationships A=swept volume/area of heater element=8 to 14 microns; and B=firing chamber volume/swept volume=2 to 6. The swept volume is defined as the volume of a shape defined by a projection from the perimeter of the nozzle aperture to the floor of the firing chamber, and includes a volume contained within the nozzle aperture.