Liquid Ejection Head Bubble Removal Through Permeable Partition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Bubbles entering liquid ejection heads during replacement or maintenance can lead to insufficient ejection pressure and liquid leakage, affecting the stability and performance of liquid ejection apparatuses.
Innovation Solution
A configuration with a filter chamber and gas collection hollow portion using a permeable partition to trap and discharge bubbles, maintaining pressure differences to facilitate bubble permeation and prevent leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a filter chamber and gas collection hollow portion are added to trap and discharge bubbles, then bubble removal capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas collection hollow portion is nested within the filter chamber structure, with the permeable partition integrating the gas collection function into the existing filter chamber. This nested arrangement allows bubble trapping and collection without adding a completely separate external component, thereby improving bubble removal capability while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A permeable partition is used between the filter chamber and gas collection hollow portion to allow gas permeation while maintaining structural separation. The porous nature of the partition enables automatic bubble discharge through pressure differential without requiring complex active control mechanisms, thus improving reliability while keeping the device structure relatively simple.
2Productivity
If pressure differential is maintained to facilitate bubble permeation, then bubble discharge efficiency is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes the natural pressure differential that arises during liquid ejection operations to drive bubble permeation through the permeable partition. The ejection process itself generates the pressure conditions needed for bubble discharge, eliminating the need for separate energy-consuming pump or vacuum systems. This self-service mechanism improves bubble discharge efficiency without significantly increasing energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs pneumatic pressure differential created during normal ejection operations to facilitate bubble movement through the permeable partition. By utilizing the existing hydraulic/pneumatic conditions of the ejection system, bubble discharge is achieved without requiring additional energy input, thus maintaining high productivity while avoiding increased energy consumption.
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
Enhances the stability and reliability of liquid ejection heads by effectively discharging bubbles, ensuring consistent ejection performance and preventing liquid leakage.
Implementation Method 1
the pressure inside the gas collection hollow portion is set to be lower than the pressure inside the filter chamber to cause the gas in the filter chamber to permeate through the permeable partition by means of the pressure difference
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Provided is a liquid ejection head (1) in which P1 × V4 > P1 × (V1 - V2) + P3 × V3 + P4 × V4 is satisfied, where P1 is a pressure in a bubble accumulation chamber (520), V1 is an inner volume of the bubble accumulation chamber, V2 is a target bubble volume after bubble removal from the bubble accumulation chamber, P3 is an atmospheric pressure, V3 is a volume of a gas flowing into a depressurization chamber (760) from an atmosphere during a bubble removal operation, P4 is a pressure in the depressurization chamber before the bubble removal operation, and V4 is an inner volume of the depressurization chamber.