Liquid Discharging Head Miniaturization via Overlapping Integration Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid discharging heads are not adequately miniaturized to meet current demands, leading to increased size and potential disturbances in printing due to conveyance errors.
Innovation Solution
The liquid discharging head is miniaturized by arranging at least part of the supply port of the supply integration channel and the return port of the return integration channel within the pressure chamber-arranging area, with both channels extending linearly to reduce channel resistance and size, allowing for compact design in multiple directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the supply integration channel and return integration channel are arranged outside the pressure chamber-arranging area, then the liquid discharging head can be designed with separate channels, but the overall size of the liquid discharging head increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supply integration channel and return integration channel are merged by arranging them to overlap in the plan view within the pressure chamber-arranging area. This allows both channels to occupy the same spatial footprint, reducing the overall volume of the liquid discharging head while maintaining functional separation of supply and return pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The channels are arranged to extend in the thickness direction (vertical dimension) rather than only in the plan view. The supply integration channel and return integration channel are positioned at different heights, with the supply port and return port overlapping in plan view but separated in the thickness direction, effectively utilizing three-dimensional space to reduce the head's footprint.
2Volume of moving object
If the integration channels are arranged to overlap in plan view within the pressure chamber-arranging area, then the liquid discharging head is miniaturized, but the channel resistance may increase due to compact arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The channels are designed with varying cross-sectional areas along their length to optimize flow dynamics. The supply integration channel has a larger cross-sectional area near the supply port and gradually tapers toward the supply manifolds, while the return integration channel has a larger cross-sectional area near the return port. This dynamic sizing compensates for the compact arrangement and maintains adequate flow rates despite the miniaturized overall size.
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-sectional area parameter of the integration channels is changed along their length to optimize performance. The supply integration channel has a first cross-sectional area at the supply port side and a second cross-sectional area at the supply manifold side, with the first being larger than the second. Similarly, the return integration channel has a third cross-sectional area at the return port side and a fourth cross-sectional area at the return manifold side, with the third being larger than the fourth. This parameter variation reduces channel resistance while maintaining compact dimensions.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a liquid discharging head including: supply manifolds; a supply integration channel which extends linearly along an arrangement direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the supply manifolds; return manifolds; and a return integration channel which extends linearly along the arrangement direction. The supply integration channel has a supply port arranged apart from the supply manifolds, being configured to supply liquid to the supply integration channel via the supply port, and at least a part of the supply port being overlapped, in a plan view, with a pressure chamber-arranging area in which pressure chambers communicating with nozzles are arranged. The return integration channel has a return port arranged apart from the return manifolds, being configured to drain the liquid from the return integration channel via the return port, and at least a part of the return port being overlapped, in the plan view, with the pressure chamber-arranging area.