Laminated Flow Path Member for Liquid Ejecting Head
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid ejecting heads, such as inkjet print heads, different types of liquids often experience varying flow path resistances due to differences in flow path length, shape, and arrangement, making it difficult to achieve a common ejection design and requiring separate regulators for each liquid, which increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A laminated flow path member is used, with common supply and collection flow paths for multiple liquids, ensuring equal flow path resistance across different liquids, and a shared negative pressure control unit for pressure regulation, allowing the same type of negative pressure control unit to be used for multiple inks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate flow paths with different lengths and shapes are used for different liquids, then each liquid can be supplied individually, but the flow path resistances become unequal causing variations in ejection states
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating mirror-symmetric flow path structures where the upstream and downstream flow paths for each liquid are designed to have equal lengths and equivalent shapes. This ensures that flow path resistances are equalized locally for each liquid type, allowing consistent ejection states while maintaining the ability to eject multiple liquid types through individually optimized flow paths.
2Reliability
If separate regulators are prepared for each liquid type, then pressure can be adjusted for each liquid, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pressure control function by using a single shared regulator that controls the common upstream flow path before the liquids diverge into separate paths. This eliminates the need for multiple separate regulators, reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining reliable pressure control through the equalized flow path design that ensures balanced liquid distribution from the single pressure source.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting head has a laminated flow path member on which a supply flow path for individually supplying a plurality of liquids to an element substrate and a collection flow path for individually collecting the liquids are formed. The supply flow path includes first and second common supply flow paths for horizontally leading first and second liquids to positions corresponding to a plurality of element substrates. The first and second common supply flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member. The collection flow path includes a first common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the first liquid and a second common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the second liquid from positions corresponding to the plurality of element substrates. The first and second common collection flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member.