Zigzag Nozzle Arrangement for Liquid Jetting Head Air Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing liquid jetting heads with pressure chambers are prone to air flow perturbation due to the orthogonal arrangement of nozzles, leading to misalignment of ink droplets during jetting, especially when paper conveyance generates air flows that interact with the air curtain created by the nozzles.
Innovation Solution
The liquid jetting head is designed with nozzles arranged in a zigzag pattern across pressure chamber rows, where each nozzle has a unique orthogonal position relative to its adjacent nozzles, ensuring a minimum distance between nozzles that is not less than the distance to the nearest end of the pressure chamber, thereby minimizing air curtain formation and allowing easier passage of air flows during paper conveyance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If nozzles are arranged in a conventional orthogonal pattern relative to pressure chambers, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but air flow perturbation occurs causing liquid jetting misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by arranging nozzles in a zigzag pattern where alternate nozzles are shifted in the orthogonal direction relative to the pressure chamber arrangement. This asymmetric configuration breaks the conventional orthogonal alignment, preventing the formation of continuous air curtains along the arrangement direction while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through systematic offset patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dimensional variation by shifting nozzles not only in the arrangement direction but also in the orthogonal direction. This creates a two-dimensional offset pattern where nozzles are positioned at different coordinates in both directions, effectively disrupting air flow paths that would otherwise form along the arrangement direction.
2Reliability
If nozzles are positioned at substantial center of pressure chambers, then the alignment is simple, but air curtain formation perturbs air flow and causes liquid misplacement
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric zigzag arrangement positions nozzles at offset locations rather than at the substantial center of pressure chambers. This creates irregular spacing patterns that disrupt the formation of coherent air curtains, thereby reducing air flow perturbation while maintaining reliable liquid jetting accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful air curtain effect into a beneficial dispersed air flow pattern. By strategically positioning nozzles to create offset arrangements, the air flows that would normally coalesce into disruptive curtains are instead dispersed into separate, non-interfering streams that actually improve liquid jetting stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If nozzles are shifted minimally in orthogonal direction, then manufacturing is easier, but air curtain forms and perturbs air flow
Solution Approach 1:
The systematic asymmetric offset pattern provides a manufacturable solution that balances positioning precision with air flow stability. By defining regular zigzag patterns with consistent offset distances, the design achieves manufacturing feasibility while the cumulative effect of asymmetric positioning effectively disrupts air curtain formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the orthogonal direction offset distance as a critical parameter. By carefully selecting offset distances that are sufficient to disrupt air curtain formation but not so large as to complicate manufacturing, the design achieves the optimal balance between ease of manufacture and reduction of air flow instability.
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
This arrangement effectively suppresses air flow perturbation, ensuring that ink droplets land at the desired position, maintaining consistent jetting characteristics and image quality while preventing air bubble formation and viscosity increase in the ink.
Implementation Method 1
a piezoelectric element which transforms electrical energy to mechanical energy to drive the liquid from the pressure chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid jetting head includes: a channel substrate having a nozzle surface in which nozzles are open, the channel substrate being formed with pressure chambers communicating with the nozzles respectively; and an actuator covering the pressure chambers. The pressure chambers include first pressure chambers arranged in an arrangement direction to form a first pressure chamber row. The nozzles include first nozzles communicating with the pressure chambers respectively. Any two first nozzles that are adjacent in the arrangement direction are arranged at different positions in the channel substrate with respect to an orthogonal direction which is parallel to the nozzle surface and orthogonal to the arrangement direction and different in a first distance. The first distance is a distance in the orthogonal direction between each first nozzle and an end on one side in the orthogonal direction of the first pressure chamber communicating with the first nozzle.