Nozzle Chip Holder Projections for Flatness
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Solution Overview
Problem
In line-type jetting heads with oblique nozzle arrangements, it is challenging to suppress variations in nozzle chip heights without increasing the distance between adjacent nozzle chips, which affects the spacing and overlapping of nozzles.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a holder with first and second walls that sandwich the nozzle chips, featuring projections to contact a fixing plate, ensuring precise flatness and maintaining the distance between adjacent nozzle chips while allowing for overlapping nozzles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If walls are arranged to surround each head unit (as in the latter line-type jetting head), then the flatness of the fixing plate is enhanced and variation in heights of jetting surfaces is suppressed, but the distance between nozzle chips of adjacent head units increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the wall structure from surrounding each head unit individually and repositions it to surround multiple head units collectively. Specifically, the holder includes a single wall that surrounds both first and second head units, eliminating the need for separate walls around each head unit. This extraction and repositioning reduces the distance between nozzle chips of adjacent head units while maintaining the flatness-enhancing function through projections on the shared wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the wall structures by providing a single wall that surrounds multiple head units (first and second head units) instead of having separate walls for each. This merging allows the wall to serve multiple functions simultaneously: providing structural support, ensuring flatness through projections, and minimizing spacing between adjacent head units. The projections on this shared wall contact the fixing plate to maintain flatness across all surrounded head units.
2Device complexity
If adhesive alone is used to join nozzle chips to holding member (as in the former line-type jetting head), then the structure is simpler, but the variation in heights of jetting surfaces cannot be sufficiently suppressed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces projections as an intermediary element between the wall and the fixing plate. These projections contact the fixing plate at multiple points, acting as mediators that transmit and distribute the flatness constraint from the wall to the fixing plate and subsequently to the nozzle chips. This intermediary structure provides mechanical support for maintaining flatness without significantly increasing overall device complexity, as the projections can be integrated into the existing wall and holder structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A head unit includes: nozzle chips which are arranged side by side in a first direction, each of the nozzle chips having a jetting surface and nozzles aligned in a predetermined direction parallel to the jetting surface and crossing both of the first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; a holder configured to hold the nozzle chips from a side opposite to the jetting surface; and a fixing plate to which the nozzle chips are fixed and which is arranged on a side facing the jetting surface of each of the nozzle chips, wherein the holder has first walls arranged in the second direction so as to sandwich the nozzle chips therebetween; each of the first walls has first projections formed on an end surface thereof facing the fixing plate; and the first projections make contact with the fixing plate.