Inkjet Printhead Bubble Trap with Vent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printing systems face issues with nozzle clogging due to dried ink and contaminants, as well as air bubbles that can absorb pressure pulses and prevent ink ejection, leading to inefficiencies and print quality issues.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an inkjet printhead with an array of nozzles and corresponding actuators, featuring ink permeable traps and vents at the ink inlet apertures to direct gas bubbles away from the ink flow, preventing leakage and clogging, and includes a filter structure at the ink chamber openings to remove contaminants and bubbles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air bubbles are purged from the printhead with a forced flow of ink, then bubbles are removed from the system, but ink leakage occurs and fresh bubbles may be introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts air bubbles from the ink flow path by providing dedicated bubble vents that allow bubbles to escape separately from the ink ejection path. The ink chambers include vent openings that lead to bubble traps, enabling selective removal of gas bubbles without disturbing the ink flow to nozzles, thus preventing ink loss while maintaining reliable nozzle operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The ink chamber is segmented into functional zones: an ink supply region, a bubble trap region with vent openings, and a nozzle ejection region. This segmentation allows bubbles to be directed to specific vent locations while ink flows separately to nozzles, enabling independent control of ink ejection and bubble removal without cross-contamination or ink loss.
2Device complexity
If air bubbles are trapped in the ink flow, then the system structure remains simple, but ink ejection is prevented due to pressure pulse absorption
Solution Approach 1:
Bubble traps act as intermediary structures between the ink chamber and nozzle system. These traps provide a designated space where bubbles can accumulate and vent to atmosphere through separate openings, mediating the interaction between ink flow and air bubbles. The intermediary trap structure allows simple overall design while effectively preventing bubbles from interfering with ink ejection efficiency.
3Quantity of substance
If ink inlet apertures are opened to allow ink flow, then ink can reach the nozzles, but gas bubbles can enter the ink flow
Solution Approach 1:
The ink inlet apertures are preliminarily equipped with bubble traps and vent openings before ink enters the chamber. This preliminary action of providing bubble removal capability at the inlet stage prevents bubbles from entering the ink flow in the first place, allowing continuous ink supply without subsequent bubble contamination issues.
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 solution effectively removes gas bubbles without ink leakage, reduces clogging, and improves print quality by ensuring consistent ink flow and nozzle operation.
Implementation Method 1
a vent sized so that the surface tension of an ink meniscus across the vent prevents ink leakage
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printhead with an array of nozzles, and corresponding actuators for ejecting ink through the nozzles; a plurality of ink inlet apertures in fluid communication with the nozzles, each of the ink inlet apertures having an ink permeable trap and a vent sized so that the surface tension of an ink meniscus across the vent prevents ink leakage; wherein during use, the ink permeable trap directs gas bubbles to the vent where they vent to atmosphere.By trapping the bubbles at the ink inlets and directing them to a small vent, they are effectively removed from the ink flow without any ink leakage. The trap can also double as an inlet priming feature to assist priming the chambers with ink.