Liquid Ejecting Head Flow Path Width Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejecting heads face challenges with high flow path resistance due to narrow flow paths, leading to poor ejection efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The liquid ejecting head design includes a nozzle plate with nozzles, pressure chambers, and a communication flow path that is widened to match or exceed the width of the pressure chambers, reducing flow path resistance and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the flow path width is narrowed to reduce device complexity, then the device structure becomes more compact, but the flow path resistance increases and ejection efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path is divided into multiple parallel channels (first and second flow paths) that are spatially separated by shifting pressure chambers in the second direction. This segmentation allows each channel to have adequate width while maintaining compact overall structure, reducing flow path resistance without increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure chambers are arranged in two dimensions (first and second directions) with a shift between rows. The communication flow path extends in the first direction while pressure chambers are shifted in the second direction, creating a two-dimensional layout that reduces flow path resistance without increasing the overall device footprint
2Productivity
If the flow path width is increased to reduce flow path resistance, then ejection efficiency improves, but the device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path is segmented into multiple parallel channels distributed across different pressure chambers. This allows the total flow capacity to be increased without requiring a single wide channel, thus maintaining compact device area while improving ejection efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The communication flow path serves multiple pressure chambers simultaneously, and the shared liquid chambers facilitate fluid communication between multiple chambers. This multi-functionality allows efficient fluid transport without requiring dedicated wide flow paths for each chamber, reducing overall device area
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting head includes: a nozzle plate including a first-nozzle; first and second pressure chambers arranged side by side in a first-direction; third and fourth pressure chambers arranged side by side in the first-direction; a first-communication-flow-path extending along the nozzle plate, coupled to the first-nozzle, and communicating with the first to fourth pressure chambers; a first-common-liquid-chamber communicating with the first and second pressure chambers; and a second-common-liquid-chamber communicating with the third and fourth pressure chambers. The first and second pressure chambers and the third and fourth pressure chambers are shifted in a second-direction orthogonal to the first-direction. When a width of the first communication flow path in the first-direction at a position overlapping the first-nozzle is defined as a first-width, and a width of the first-pressure-chamber in the first-direction is defined as a pressure chamber width, the first-width is equal to or greater than the pressure chamber width.