CA1197894A - Ink jet apparatus with improved transducer support - Google Patents
Ink jet apparatus with improved transducer supportInfo
- Publication number
- CA1197894A CA1197894A CA000414867A CA414867A CA1197894A CA 1197894 A CA1197894 A CA 1197894A CA 000414867 A CA000414867 A CA 000414867A CA 414867 A CA414867 A CA 414867A CA 1197894 A CA1197894 A CA 1197894A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- transducer
- elongation
- axis
- chamber
- foot
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2/14201—Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14387—Front shooter
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure An ink jet array comprises a plurality of elongated transducers (204) coupled to a plurality of ink jet chambers (200). The transducers (204) are supported at longitudinal extremities only so as to min-imize cross-talk between jets within the array. The sup-port (228) at the extremity remote from the chamber (200) is provided such that no longitudinal motion along the axis of elongation of the transducers (204) occurs. The support at the other extremity includes bearings (207) precluding substantially lateral movement transverse to the axis of elongation but permitting longitudinal move-ment along the axis of elongation.
Description
1 Back~round of the Invention
2 This invention relates to apparatus wherein
3 droplets of ink are ejected from an orifice of an ink
4 jet, and more ~articularly, to the manner in which trans-ducers which control -the ejection OL dro~lets from an 6 orifice are supported.
7 U.S. Patent No. 4,072,959 - Elmquist discloses 8 elongated transducer segments which are driven bv apply-9 ing a voltage transverse to the axis of elongation.
Ends of the elongated transducer segments are integrally 11 joined so as to create a substantial potential for me-12 chanical cross-talk through the transducer itself. More-13 over, the transducer segments are all immersed in an ink 14 reservoir so as to provide substantial potential for fluidic cross-talk through the ink itself.
16 In addition to the problems of cross-tal~
17 addressed in the ~oregoing, it is important that the man-18 ner in which the transducers are supported permit a free-19 dom of longitudinal displacement along the axis of elong ation of the transducers. If such displacement is im-21 peded, higher voltages will, o~ course, be necessary to 22 drive the transducers and this, in turn, will produce 23 electrical cross-talk. At the same time, it is important 24 that the transducers be supported in such a way so as to permit a precision in longitudinal displacement which is 26 coupled into the ink jet chambers whi.ch can be readily 27 coupled into the ink jet chambers to eject droplets of 28 ink. Moreover, it is desirable to provide support for 29 the transducers while still permitting ease of assembly.
Summary of the Invention 31 It is an object of this invention to provide an 32 improved transducer support for ink jets wherein elongated 33 transducers are utilized which are energized in a direc-34 tion transverse to the direction of elonaation so as to couple the expansion and contraction along the axis of 36 elongation into the chambers of the ink jets.
37 It is another object of this invention to pro-~r~
1 vide transducer support w~erein cross-talk between ink 2 jets may be minimized.
3 It is a further object of this invention to 4 provide transducer support with a high degree of pre-cision.
6 It is a still ~urther object o-f this invention 7 to provide transducer support which ~acilitates assembly 8 o an ink jet.
9 In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, the preferred embodiment comprises one or 11 more ink jets having a cha~ber with an ink droplet ejec-12 tion orifice therein. An elongated transducer is coupled 13 to the chamber for expanding and contracting the trans-14 ducer in response to energization thereof along the axis of elongation. Means are provided for applying a -Eield 16 transverse to the axis of elongation o~ the transducer 17 for expanding and contracting the transducer along the 18 axis of elongation.
19 In accordance with this invention, improved transducer support means include transducer mounting 21 means cou~led to the transducer remote from the chamber 22 for substantially preventing longitudinal motion of the 23 transducer along the axis of elongation at the mounting 24 means. The transducer support further comprises trans-ducer bearing means coupled to the extremity of the trans-26 ducer adjacent the chamber for substantially preventing 27 lateral motion of the transducer transverse to the axis 28 of elongation at the one ~.xtremit~ without substantially 29 limiting longitudinal moti.on of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the one extremity. The mounting 31 means and the bearing means are mutually spaced such that 32 the transducer is substan~ially unsupported therebetween.
33 In the preferred embodiment of the invention, 34 coupling means are provided between the chamber and the ~ransducer and the coupling means is engaged by the bear-36 ing means. The coupling means ma~ comprise a foot 37 attached to the transducer and the bearinq means maY
~a a7~
-- 3 =
1 comprise a hole receiving the foot. Preferably, the 2 foot is cylindrical in cross-section and the hole is 3 also cylindrical in cross-section with the hole slight-4 ly larger relative to the foot so as to assure no more than a line contact therebetween. Coupling means may 6 also comprise a diaphragm between the chamber and the 7 ~oot with a viscoelastic ~laterial sandwiched between the 8 foot and the diaphra~m which assist in maintainin~ the 9 lateral position of the transducer at the diaphragm.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, 11 the transducer support means includes intermediate means 12 which in c~mbination with the mounting means and the bear~
13 ing means is ~-shaped in cross-section. The intermediate 14 means is spaced from the transducex so as to avoid an~
contact with the transducer.
16 In one embodiment of the invention, the trans-17 ducer mounting means comprises a plurality o slots re-18 ceiving a plurality of transducers so as to form a comb-19 like structure. In another embodiment of the invention, the transducer mounting means comprises a plurality of 21 openings in which a pluralit~ of transducers are fixedly 22 mounted.
23 In accordance with one important aspect of the 24 invention, the transducer bearing means has an overall length as measured along the axis of elongation of the 26 transducer which is substantially less than the overall 27 length of the transducer along the axis of elongation.
2~ Preferabl~, the overall length of the bearing means is 29 less than twice the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the transducer.
31 Brief Description of the ~rawings 32 FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ink jet appar-33 atus constructed in accordance with the principles of 34 this invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded pexspective view of the 36 apparatus of FIG. l;
37 FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a 1 portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. l;
2 FIG. 4 is a sectlonal view of the apparatus 3 of FIG. 1 taken alona line d-4, 4 FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus o. FIG. 4 taken along line 5-5 6 FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of the 7 apparatus shown in FIG. 4;
8 ~IG. 7 is a sectlonal view of another embodi-9 ment of the invention;
~IG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 11 of FIG. 7; and 12 FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a cylindrical 13 transducer shown in FIG. 8.
14 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to FIGs. 1 through 3, an ink jet 16 apparatus comprises a plurality of chambers 200 having 17 orifices 202 in an orifice plate 220 for ejecting drop-18 lets of ink in response to the state of energization of 19 transducers 204. The transducers 204 which are rectangu-lar in cross~section transverse to the axis of elongation 21 expand and contract along the axis of elongation as de-22 picted by the arrowhead shown in FIG. 3. The resulting 23 movement of the transducers 204 along the axis of elonga-24 tion is coupled into the chamber 200 by coupling means 206 including a foot 207, a viscoelastic material 208 26 juxtaposed to the foot 207 and a diaphragm 210 which is 27 preloaded to a position best shown in FIG. 3.
28 Ink flows into the chamber 200 Erom a reservoir 29 212 through a restricted inlet means provided by a re-stricted opening 214 best shown in FIG. 3. The opening 31 214 is located in a restrictor plate 216 best shown in 32 FIG. 2.
33 The reservoir 212 is formed by a concave region 34 in a chamber plate 220 which is covered by the restrictor plate 216 so as to form an acute angle along one side of 36 the reservoir 212 leading to the inlet 214. A feed or in-37 put tube 223 and a vent tube Z25 co~municate with the 1 reservoir 212 at opposite ends as shown in FIG. 2.
2 In accordance with this invention, each of the 3 transducers 204 are supported at the extremities thereof 4 with intermediate portions being essentiall~y unsupported as best shown in FIG. 1. ~ore speciEically, FIG. 1 dis-6 closes a transducer support means including a plate 226 7 and a plate 228. The plate 226 of the transducer support 8 means includes bearing means in the form of a hole 224 9 which receives the foc)t 207 attached to an extremity of the transducer 204. It will be appreciated that the foot 11 207 is free to move longitudinally within the hole 224 12 thereby permitting long.itudinal motion of the transducer 13 along the axis of elongation o-f the transducer 204 while 14 substantially preventing lateral motion of the transducer 204.
16 Mounting means for the transducer 204 provided 17 by the plate 228 includes slots 232 best shown in FIG. 2 18 and compliant mounting means 230 located within the slots 19 232 as best shown in FIGs~ 4 through 6 which clamp the transducer 204. The compliant means 230 in con~unction 21 with the slots 232 are coupled to the extremities of the 22 transducers 204 remote from the chamber. This mounting 23 means substantially prevents any longitudinal motion of 24 the transducers along the axis of elongation at the com-2S pliant clamping means 230 such that expansion and con-26 traction of the transducer 204 is translated along the 27 transducer 204 and into movement of the foot 207 through 28 the bearing holes 224 in the plate 226.
29 In reference to FIG. 1, it will be readily apprec,iated that the mounting means provided by the plate 31 228 at the slots 232 and the bearing means provided by 32 the plate 226 at the holes 22~ are mutually spaced such 33 that the transducers 204 are substantially unsupported 34 along the length thereof between the extremities thereof thus m;n;m; zing cross-talk with one important aspect of 36 this inventicn.
37 As perhaps best shown in FIG. 3, the hole 224 119~
1 is slightlv lar~er than each of the feet 207. Assum-2 ing perfect cylinders for the feet 207 and the holes 224, 3 it will be understood that minimal physical contact will 4 be achieved between the feet 207 and the holes 224. In fact, only line or tangential contact will occur be-6 tween the eet 207 and the holes 224 thus m;n;~; zing 7 the possibility of cross-talkO Moreover, it is possible 8 that the viscoelastic material 20~ could locate each of 9 the feet 207 in the hole 224 so as to preclude any con-tact whatsoever. However, the contact which is achieved 11 between the feet 207 and the holes 204 is minimal in any 12 event and no special care need be taken in the assembly 13 of the apparatus as shown in FIGs. 1 through 3 to avoid 14 such contact.
lS In accordance with this invention, the plate 16 Z28 includes a recessed area 229 shown in FIG. 1 below 17 the slots 232 which is spaced :Erom the transducer 204.
18 Thus there is no contact a:long the area 229. Moreover, 19 it will be appreciated that portions of the plate 228 including the slots 232 in conjunction with the area 229 21 and the portion of the plate 226 extending toward the 22 holes 224 forms a C-shaped cross-section designated with 23 broken lines identified with the character C where the 24 region 229 forms the center of the C. Note that the space between the region 229 and the transducer permits 26 the transducer to have a substantially larger dimension 27 than the foot 207 while still avoiding contact with the 28plate 2284 Moreo~er, the foot 207 extends su~ficiently 29 far upwardly toward the slots 232 so as to assure that the transducer 204 may expand and contract without con-31 tacting any portion o~ the plate 226. Thus, the trans-32 ducer 204 may be rectangular in cross-section having a 33 substantially greater dimension in the directlon shown in 34 the plane of FIG. 1 as compared wlth the direction shown in the plane o~ FIGs. 4 and 5.
36As shown in FIG. 1, the overall length of the 37 longitudinal bearing surface represen-ted by the hole 224 1 in the direction of the axis of elongation of the trans-2 ducer 20~ is substantially less than the overall length 3 of the transducer 20~ along that axis. Preferably, the 4 overall length of the bearing sur ace 224 along the axis is less than twice the maximum cross-sectional di-6 mension of the transducer as also shown in ~IG. 1.
7 Referring to FIGs. ~ and 5, it will be observed 8 that the compliant material 230 surrounds three sides of 9 the transduc~rs 204 in the slots 232. Althcugh a variety oE co~pliant materials 230 may be utilized, one parkicu-11 larly pre~erred compliant material is silicone rubber.
12 In addition to the compliant mechanical mount-13 ing of the transducers 204, the electrical connection to 14 the transducers 204 at electrodes 233A and 233~ as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is accomplished in a compliant manner by 16 means o.~ a compliant printed circuit 234 as shown in FIG.
17 2. The compliant circuit 234 is electrically coupled by 18 suitable means such as solder or electrical leads 236 as 19 shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the electrical con-nections to the printed circuit 234 allow the electrodes 21 233A and 233B to be driven by means of drive vo].tages 22 applied through conductive patterns 238 on the printed 23 circuit board 234.
24 As shown in FIG. 6, the slots 232 shown in FIG.
7 U.S. Patent No. 4,072,959 - Elmquist discloses 8 elongated transducer segments which are driven bv apply-9 ing a voltage transverse to the axis of elongation.
Ends of the elongated transducer segments are integrally 11 joined so as to create a substantial potential for me-12 chanical cross-talk through the transducer itself. More-13 over, the transducer segments are all immersed in an ink 14 reservoir so as to provide substantial potential for fluidic cross-talk through the ink itself.
16 In addition to the problems of cross-tal~
17 addressed in the ~oregoing, it is important that the man-18 ner in which the transducers are supported permit a free-19 dom of longitudinal displacement along the axis of elong ation of the transducers. If such displacement is im-21 peded, higher voltages will, o~ course, be necessary to 22 drive the transducers and this, in turn, will produce 23 electrical cross-talk. At the same time, it is important 24 that the transducers be supported in such a way so as to permit a precision in longitudinal displacement which is 26 coupled into the ink jet chambers whi.ch can be readily 27 coupled into the ink jet chambers to eject droplets of 28 ink. Moreover, it is desirable to provide support for 29 the transducers while still permitting ease of assembly.
Summary of the Invention 31 It is an object of this invention to provide an 32 improved transducer support for ink jets wherein elongated 33 transducers are utilized which are energized in a direc-34 tion transverse to the direction of elonaation so as to couple the expansion and contraction along the axis of 36 elongation into the chambers of the ink jets.
37 It is another object of this invention to pro-~r~
1 vide transducer support w~erein cross-talk between ink 2 jets may be minimized.
3 It is a further object of this invention to 4 provide transducer support with a high degree of pre-cision.
6 It is a still ~urther object o-f this invention 7 to provide transducer support which ~acilitates assembly 8 o an ink jet.
9 In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, the preferred embodiment comprises one or 11 more ink jets having a cha~ber with an ink droplet ejec-12 tion orifice therein. An elongated transducer is coupled 13 to the chamber for expanding and contracting the trans-14 ducer in response to energization thereof along the axis of elongation. Means are provided for applying a -Eield 16 transverse to the axis of elongation o~ the transducer 17 for expanding and contracting the transducer along the 18 axis of elongation.
19 In accordance with this invention, improved transducer support means include transducer mounting 21 means cou~led to the transducer remote from the chamber 22 for substantially preventing longitudinal motion of the 23 transducer along the axis of elongation at the mounting 24 means. The transducer support further comprises trans-ducer bearing means coupled to the extremity of the trans-26 ducer adjacent the chamber for substantially preventing 27 lateral motion of the transducer transverse to the axis 28 of elongation at the one ~.xtremit~ without substantially 29 limiting longitudinal moti.on of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the one extremity. The mounting 31 means and the bearing means are mutually spaced such that 32 the transducer is substan~ially unsupported therebetween.
33 In the preferred embodiment of the invention, 34 coupling means are provided between the chamber and the ~ransducer and the coupling means is engaged by the bear-36 ing means. The coupling means ma~ comprise a foot 37 attached to the transducer and the bearinq means maY
~a a7~
-- 3 =
1 comprise a hole receiving the foot. Preferably, the 2 foot is cylindrical in cross-section and the hole is 3 also cylindrical in cross-section with the hole slight-4 ly larger relative to the foot so as to assure no more than a line contact therebetween. Coupling means may 6 also comprise a diaphragm between the chamber and the 7 ~oot with a viscoelastic ~laterial sandwiched between the 8 foot and the diaphra~m which assist in maintainin~ the 9 lateral position of the transducer at the diaphragm.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, 11 the transducer support means includes intermediate means 12 which in c~mbination with the mounting means and the bear~
13 ing means is ~-shaped in cross-section. The intermediate 14 means is spaced from the transducex so as to avoid an~
contact with the transducer.
16 In one embodiment of the invention, the trans-17 ducer mounting means comprises a plurality o slots re-18 ceiving a plurality of transducers so as to form a comb-19 like structure. In another embodiment of the invention, the transducer mounting means comprises a plurality of 21 openings in which a pluralit~ of transducers are fixedly 22 mounted.
23 In accordance with one important aspect of the 24 invention, the transducer bearing means has an overall length as measured along the axis of elongation of the 26 transducer which is substantially less than the overall 27 length of the transducer along the axis of elongation.
2~ Preferabl~, the overall length of the bearing means is 29 less than twice the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the transducer.
31 Brief Description of the ~rawings 32 FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ink jet appar-33 atus constructed in accordance with the principles of 34 this invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded pexspective view of the 36 apparatus of FIG. l;
37 FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a 1 portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. l;
2 FIG. 4 is a sectlonal view of the apparatus 3 of FIG. 1 taken alona line d-4, 4 FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus o. FIG. 4 taken along line 5-5 6 FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of the 7 apparatus shown in FIG. 4;
8 ~IG. 7 is a sectlonal view of another embodi-9 ment of the invention;
~IG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 11 of FIG. 7; and 12 FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a cylindrical 13 transducer shown in FIG. 8.
14 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to FIGs. 1 through 3, an ink jet 16 apparatus comprises a plurality of chambers 200 having 17 orifices 202 in an orifice plate 220 for ejecting drop-18 lets of ink in response to the state of energization of 19 transducers 204. The transducers 204 which are rectangu-lar in cross~section transverse to the axis of elongation 21 expand and contract along the axis of elongation as de-22 picted by the arrowhead shown in FIG. 3. The resulting 23 movement of the transducers 204 along the axis of elonga-24 tion is coupled into the chamber 200 by coupling means 206 including a foot 207, a viscoelastic material 208 26 juxtaposed to the foot 207 and a diaphragm 210 which is 27 preloaded to a position best shown in FIG. 3.
28 Ink flows into the chamber 200 Erom a reservoir 29 212 through a restricted inlet means provided by a re-stricted opening 214 best shown in FIG. 3. The opening 31 214 is located in a restrictor plate 216 best shown in 32 FIG. 2.
33 The reservoir 212 is formed by a concave region 34 in a chamber plate 220 which is covered by the restrictor plate 216 so as to form an acute angle along one side of 36 the reservoir 212 leading to the inlet 214. A feed or in-37 put tube 223 and a vent tube Z25 co~municate with the 1 reservoir 212 at opposite ends as shown in FIG. 2.
2 In accordance with this invention, each of the 3 transducers 204 are supported at the extremities thereof 4 with intermediate portions being essentiall~y unsupported as best shown in FIG. 1. ~ore speciEically, FIG. 1 dis-6 closes a transducer support means including a plate 226 7 and a plate 228. The plate 226 of the transducer support 8 means includes bearing means in the form of a hole 224 9 which receives the foc)t 207 attached to an extremity of the transducer 204. It will be appreciated that the foot 11 207 is free to move longitudinally within the hole 224 12 thereby permitting long.itudinal motion of the transducer 13 along the axis of elongation o-f the transducer 204 while 14 substantially preventing lateral motion of the transducer 204.
16 Mounting means for the transducer 204 provided 17 by the plate 228 includes slots 232 best shown in FIG. 2 18 and compliant mounting means 230 located within the slots 19 232 as best shown in FIGs~ 4 through 6 which clamp the transducer 204. The compliant means 230 in con~unction 21 with the slots 232 are coupled to the extremities of the 22 transducers 204 remote from the chamber. This mounting 23 means substantially prevents any longitudinal motion of 24 the transducers along the axis of elongation at the com-2S pliant clamping means 230 such that expansion and con-26 traction of the transducer 204 is translated along the 27 transducer 204 and into movement of the foot 207 through 28 the bearing holes 224 in the plate 226.
29 In reference to FIG. 1, it will be readily apprec,iated that the mounting means provided by the plate 31 228 at the slots 232 and the bearing means provided by 32 the plate 226 at the holes 22~ are mutually spaced such 33 that the transducers 204 are substantially unsupported 34 along the length thereof between the extremities thereof thus m;n;m; zing cross-talk with one important aspect of 36 this inventicn.
37 As perhaps best shown in FIG. 3, the hole 224 119~
1 is slightlv lar~er than each of the feet 207. Assum-2 ing perfect cylinders for the feet 207 and the holes 224, 3 it will be understood that minimal physical contact will 4 be achieved between the feet 207 and the holes 224. In fact, only line or tangential contact will occur be-6 tween the eet 207 and the holes 224 thus m;n;~; zing 7 the possibility of cross-talkO Moreover, it is possible 8 that the viscoelastic material 20~ could locate each of 9 the feet 207 in the hole 224 so as to preclude any con-tact whatsoever. However, the contact which is achieved 11 between the feet 207 and the holes 204 is minimal in any 12 event and no special care need be taken in the assembly 13 of the apparatus as shown in FIGs. 1 through 3 to avoid 14 such contact.
lS In accordance with this invention, the plate 16 Z28 includes a recessed area 229 shown in FIG. 1 below 17 the slots 232 which is spaced :Erom the transducer 204.
18 Thus there is no contact a:long the area 229. Moreover, 19 it will be appreciated that portions of the plate 228 including the slots 232 in conjunction with the area 229 21 and the portion of the plate 226 extending toward the 22 holes 224 forms a C-shaped cross-section designated with 23 broken lines identified with the character C where the 24 region 229 forms the center of the C. Note that the space between the region 229 and the transducer permits 26 the transducer to have a substantially larger dimension 27 than the foot 207 while still avoiding contact with the 28plate 2284 Moreo~er, the foot 207 extends su~ficiently 29 far upwardly toward the slots 232 so as to assure that the transducer 204 may expand and contract without con-31 tacting any portion o~ the plate 226. Thus, the trans-32 ducer 204 may be rectangular in cross-section having a 33 substantially greater dimension in the directlon shown in 34 the plane of FIG. 1 as compared wlth the direction shown in the plane o~ FIGs. 4 and 5.
36As shown in FIG. 1, the overall length of the 37 longitudinal bearing surface represen-ted by the hole 224 1 in the direction of the axis of elongation of the trans-2 ducer 20~ is substantially less than the overall length 3 of the transducer 20~ along that axis. Preferably, the 4 overall length of the bearing sur ace 224 along the axis is less than twice the maximum cross-sectional di-6 mension of the transducer as also shown in ~IG. 1.
7 Referring to FIGs. ~ and 5, it will be observed 8 that the compliant material 230 surrounds three sides of 9 the transduc~rs 204 in the slots 232. Althcugh a variety oE co~pliant materials 230 may be utilized, one parkicu-11 larly pre~erred compliant material is silicone rubber.
12 In addition to the compliant mechanical mount-13 ing of the transducers 204, the electrical connection to 14 the transducers 204 at electrodes 233A and 233~ as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is accomplished in a compliant manner by 16 means o.~ a compliant printed circuit 234 as shown in FIG.
17 2. The compliant circuit 234 is electrically coupled by 18 suitable means such as solder or electrical leads 236 as 19 shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the electrical con-nections to the printed circuit 234 allow the electrodes 21 233A and 233B to be driven by means of drive vo].tages 22 applied through conductive patterns 238 on the printed 23 circuit board 234.
24 As shown in FIG. 6, the slots 232 shown in FIG.
5 may comprise holes 232A as shown in FIG. 6. The com-26 plaint material 230 then fills the holes 232A so as to 27 separate the transducers 204 from the plate 228.
28 In the embodiment of FIGs. 4 and 5 as well as 29 the embodiment of FIG. 6, it is important that the com-pliant material 230 be capable of maintaining the portion 31 o~ the transducer 204 juxtaposed to the compliant material 32 230 in a substantially fixed position such that the long-33 itudinal displacement of the transducer is downwardly 34 to~ard the chambers 200 as shown in FIG. 4. In this re-gard, the choice of the compliant material is critical.
36 As indicated above, silicone rubber has been found to be 37 particularly appropriate for this purpose since the 1 compliance afforded by the silicone rubber minimizes 2 cross-talk ~ro~ chamber-to-chamber and channel-to-channel 3 while at the same time providing a sufficiently fixed 4 condition for the transducers 204 to achieve the necess-ar~ displacement at the chambers 200.
28 In the embodiment of FIGs. 4 and 5 as well as 29 the embodiment of FIG. 6, it is important that the com-pliant material 230 be capable of maintaining the portion 31 o~ the transducer 204 juxtaposed to the compliant material 32 230 in a substantially fixed position such that the long-33 itudinal displacement of the transducer is downwardly 34 to~ard the chambers 200 as shown in FIG. 4. In this re-gard, the choice of the compliant material is critical.
36 As indicated above, silicone rubber has been found to be 37 particularly appropriate for this purpose since the 1 compliance afforded by the silicone rubber minimizes 2 cross-talk ~ro~ chamber-to-chamber and channel-to-channel 3 while at the same time providing a sufficiently fixed 4 condition for the transducers 204 to achieve the necess-ar~ displacement at the chambers 200.
6 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate 226
7 includes holes 224 at the base of a slot 237 for receiv-
8 ing the transducers 204 and also includes a receptacle
9 239 for a heater sandwich 240 including a heater element 242 with coils 244, a hold down plate 246, a spring 248 11 associated with the plate 246 and a support plate 250 12 located immediatel~ beneath the heater 2~0. In order to 13 control the temperature of the heater 242, a thermistor 14 252 is provided which is received in a slot 253. The lS entire heater 2~0 is ~ai~tained with the receptacle in 16 the plate 226 by a cover plate 254.
17 As shown in FIG. 2, the entire structure of the 18 ink jet apparatus including the various plates or lamina-19 tions are held together by means of bolts 256 which ex-tend upwardly through openings 257 in the structure and 21 bolts 258 which extend downwardly through holes 259 so 22 as to hold the printed circuit board 234 in place on the 23 plate 228. The viscoelastic layer 208 is shown in FIG. 2 24 as adhering to the base or bottom of the plate 226.
The reservoir 212 is at least partially com-26 pliant and more specifically, includes a compliant wall 27 portion. As shown in FIG. 1, the diaphragm 210 extends 28 across the entire apparakus so as to cover the reservoir 29 212 and extend between the foot 207 and the chamber 200.
Thus, the diaphragm 210 is in direct communication with 31 the reservoir 2,2 on one side and juxtaposed to an area 32 of relief 262 on the opposite side of the diaphra~m 210.
33 This area of relief which extends along the length of the 34 reservoir, i.e., from the first chamber 200 to the last chamber 200 in the chamber plate 220 as shown in FIG. 2, 36 allows the wall of the reservoir 212 formed by the dia-37 phra~m 210 to be co~pliant and thereb~ minimize .
~g~
- ~ -1 cross-talk between the various ink jet chambers, It 2 will be observed that the restrictor plate 216 includes 3 an opening 264 aligned with the area of relief 262 so as 4 to provide direct communication between the diaphragm 210 and the reservoir thereby providing the necessary com-6 pliance. As best shown in FIG. 2, the restrictor plate 7 216 includes another opening 266 having a radially ex-8 tending slot 268 for each chamber in the array. Slot 268 9 provides th~ inlet 214 to the chamber 200 as shown in FIGs. 1 and 2 while the opening 266 permits direct commun-11 ication between the diaphragm 210 and the chamber 200 12 which couples the movement of the transducer 204 as trans-13 mitted thxough the foot 207 and alon~ the bearing 224 into 14 the chamber 200.
ReEerence will now be made to FIGs. 7 through 16 9 and another embodiment of the invention. The embodiment 17 shown therein comprises transducers 304 which are cylin-18 drical in cross-section as best shown in FIC.. 9. The 19 transducers 304 are supported by mounting means compris-ing a plate 328 having a ~eries of cylindrical openings 21 330 which receive the extremities of each of a plurality 22 of the transducers 304. The plate 328 in conjunction 23 with the openings 330 pro~ide a relatively stationary or 24 fixed mounting for the extremity of the transducers 304 substantially precluding any longitudinal motion along 26 the axis of elongation of the transducers 304 at the ex-27 tremity mounted within the opening 330. It will be appre-28 ciated that suitable electrical connection to the trans--29 ducers 304 will be made at the plate 328.
An intermediate structure 338 is terminated in 31 cylindrical openings 324 which provi.de bearing means for 32 the transducers 304 permitting longitudinal motion of feet 33 307 attached to the transducers 304 while substantially 34 precluding substantial lateral motion. Once again, the only contact between the substantially cylindrical feet 36 307 and a substantially cylindrical bearing surface 37 offered by the openings 324 will be line or tangential ~78~'~
1 contact thereby minimizing cross-talk between the var-2 ious jets representea by the various chambers 200. It 3 will be appreciated that the transducers 304 are 4 energized by applying a ~oltage across the thickness of the cylindrical walls of the transducer 304 by means 7 of electrodes 333A and 333s best shown in FIG. 9. Here again, contact is made between each of the feet 307 and 8 the viscoelastic material 208 which does serve the posi-9 tion of the feet 307 and thus the transducer 304 is in the lateral direction at least to some degree.
11 Referring to FIG. 8, it will be observed that 12 a substantial space is maintained between the outer 13 electrode 333B and the walls of openings 339 within the 14 plate 338. This, of course, assures that cross-talk from channel-to-channel or chamber-to-chamber will be 16 minimized.
17 By referring to ~IGs. 1 through 6 as well as 18 FIGs. 7 through 9, it will be readily appreciated that 19 the bearing means formed by the holes or openings 224 and 334 readily assist in the assembly or fabrication of 21 the ink jet arrays. In this connection, it will be 22 appreciated that the feet 207 or 307 associated with the 23 transducers 204 and 304 are readily positioned ju~ta-24 posed to the chambers 200 and 300 by virtue of the centering or ~lignment function served by the bearing 26 means offered by the holes 224 and 324~
27 Although particular embodiments of the inven-28 tion have been shown and described herein, it will be 29 appreciated that other embodiments as well as modifica-tions will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art.
31 Such embodiments and modifications will fall within the 32 true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in 33 the appended claims.
3~
17 As shown in FIG. 2, the entire structure of the 18 ink jet apparatus including the various plates or lamina-19 tions are held together by means of bolts 256 which ex-tend upwardly through openings 257 in the structure and 21 bolts 258 which extend downwardly through holes 259 so 22 as to hold the printed circuit board 234 in place on the 23 plate 228. The viscoelastic layer 208 is shown in FIG. 2 24 as adhering to the base or bottom of the plate 226.
The reservoir 212 is at least partially com-26 pliant and more specifically, includes a compliant wall 27 portion. As shown in FIG. 1, the diaphragm 210 extends 28 across the entire apparakus so as to cover the reservoir 29 212 and extend between the foot 207 and the chamber 200.
Thus, the diaphragm 210 is in direct communication with 31 the reservoir 2,2 on one side and juxtaposed to an area 32 of relief 262 on the opposite side of the diaphra~m 210.
33 This area of relief which extends along the length of the 34 reservoir, i.e., from the first chamber 200 to the last chamber 200 in the chamber plate 220 as shown in FIG. 2, 36 allows the wall of the reservoir 212 formed by the dia-37 phra~m 210 to be co~pliant and thereb~ minimize .
~g~
- ~ -1 cross-talk between the various ink jet chambers, It 2 will be observed that the restrictor plate 216 includes 3 an opening 264 aligned with the area of relief 262 so as 4 to provide direct communication between the diaphragm 210 and the reservoir thereby providing the necessary com-6 pliance. As best shown in FIG. 2, the restrictor plate 7 216 includes another opening 266 having a radially ex-8 tending slot 268 for each chamber in the array. Slot 268 9 provides th~ inlet 214 to the chamber 200 as shown in FIGs. 1 and 2 while the opening 266 permits direct commun-11 ication between the diaphragm 210 and the chamber 200 12 which couples the movement of the transducer 204 as trans-13 mitted thxough the foot 207 and alon~ the bearing 224 into 14 the chamber 200.
ReEerence will now be made to FIGs. 7 through 16 9 and another embodiment of the invention. The embodiment 17 shown therein comprises transducers 304 which are cylin-18 drical in cross-section as best shown in FIC.. 9. The 19 transducers 304 are supported by mounting means compris-ing a plate 328 having a ~eries of cylindrical openings 21 330 which receive the extremities of each of a plurality 22 of the transducers 304. The plate 328 in conjunction 23 with the openings 330 pro~ide a relatively stationary or 24 fixed mounting for the extremity of the transducers 304 substantially precluding any longitudinal motion along 26 the axis of elongation of the transducers 304 at the ex-27 tremity mounted within the opening 330. It will be appre-28 ciated that suitable electrical connection to the trans--29 ducers 304 will be made at the plate 328.
An intermediate structure 338 is terminated in 31 cylindrical openings 324 which provi.de bearing means for 32 the transducers 304 permitting longitudinal motion of feet 33 307 attached to the transducers 304 while substantially 34 precluding substantial lateral motion. Once again, the only contact between the substantially cylindrical feet 36 307 and a substantially cylindrical bearing surface 37 offered by the openings 324 will be line or tangential ~78~'~
1 contact thereby minimizing cross-talk between the var-2 ious jets representea by the various chambers 200. It 3 will be appreciated that the transducers 304 are 4 energized by applying a ~oltage across the thickness of the cylindrical walls of the transducer 304 by means 7 of electrodes 333A and 333s best shown in FIG. 9. Here again, contact is made between each of the feet 307 and 8 the viscoelastic material 208 which does serve the posi-9 tion of the feet 307 and thus the transducer 304 is in the lateral direction at least to some degree.
11 Referring to FIG. 8, it will be observed that 12 a substantial space is maintained between the outer 13 electrode 333B and the walls of openings 339 within the 14 plate 338. This, of course, assures that cross-talk from channel-to-channel or chamber-to-chamber will be 16 minimized.
17 By referring to ~IGs. 1 through 6 as well as 18 FIGs. 7 through 9, it will be readily appreciated that 19 the bearing means formed by the holes or openings 224 and 334 readily assist in the assembly or fabrication of 21 the ink jet arrays. In this connection, it will be 22 appreciated that the feet 207 or 307 associated with the 23 transducers 204 and 304 are readily positioned ju~ta-24 posed to the chambers 200 and 300 by virtue of the centering or ~lignment function served by the bearing 26 means offered by the holes 224 and 324~
27 Although particular embodiments of the inven-28 tion have been shown and described herein, it will be 29 appreciated that other embodiments as well as modifica-tions will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art.
31 Such embodiments and modifications will fall within the 32 true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in 33 the appended claims.
3~
Claims (11)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An ink jet comprising a chamber having an ink droplet ejection orifice, an elongated transducer coupled to said chamber for expanding and contracting transducer means along the axis of elongation in response to energization thereof so as to vary the volume of the chamber, the improvement comprising transducer support means including:
transducer mounting means coupled to the transducer remote from the chamber for substantially pre-venting longitudinal motion of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the mounting means;
transducer bearing means coupled to the extremity of the transducer adjacent the chamber for sub-stantially preventing lateral motion of the transducer transverse to the axis of elongation at the extremity without substantially affecting longitudinal motion of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the mount-ing means;
said mounting means and said bearing means being mutually spaced and said transducer being substan-tially unsupported along the length thereof between said mounting means and said bearing means.
transducer mounting means coupled to the transducer remote from the chamber for substantially pre-venting longitudinal motion of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the mounting means;
transducer bearing means coupled to the extremity of the transducer adjacent the chamber for sub-stantially preventing lateral motion of the transducer transverse to the axis of elongation at the extremity without substantially affecting longitudinal motion of the transducer along the axis of elongation at the mount-ing means;
said mounting means and said bearing means being mutually spaced and said transducer being substan-tially unsupported along the length thereof between said mounting means and said bearing means.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising coupling means between said chamber and said transducer at said extremity, said coupling means adapted to engage said bearing means.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said coupling means comprises a foot attached to said trans-ducer and said bearing means comprises a hole receiving said foot.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said foot is cylindrical in cross-section and said hole is cylindrical in cross-section, said hole being suffi-ciently large relative to said foot so as to assure line contact therebetween.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said coupling means comprises a diaphragm between said chamber and said foot.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said coupling means further comprises viscoelastic means be-tween said diaphragm and said foot.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising intermediate means between said mounting means and said bearing means.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a slot receiving said trans-ducer.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the overall length of said bearing means in a direction parallel with the axis of elongation is less than the overall length of the elongated transducer along the axis of elongation.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the overall length of said bearing means is less than twice the maxi-mum cross-sectional dimension of the transducer transverse to the axis of elongation.
11. An ink jet array comprising a plurality of said ink jet apparatus as recited in claim 1.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US06/336,672 US4439780A (en) | 1982-01-04 | 1982-01-04 | Ink jet apparatus with improved transducer support |
| US336,672 | 1989-04-11 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1197894A true CA1197894A (en) | 1985-12-10 |
Family
ID=23317145
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000414867A Expired CA1197894A (en) | 1982-01-04 | 1982-11-04 | Ink jet apparatus with improved transducer support |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4439780A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0083512A3 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS58119870A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1197894A (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA837B (en) |
Families Citing this family (23)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE3311956A1 (en) * | 1982-03-31 | 1983-10-13 | Ricoh Co., Ltd., Tokyo | COLOR JET PRINTER HEAD |
| JPS6090770A (en) * | 1983-10-25 | 1985-05-21 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink jet head |
| US4516140A (en) * | 1983-12-27 | 1985-05-07 | At&T Teletype Corporation | Print head actuator for an ink jet printer |
| SE8502374D0 (en) * | 1985-05-13 | 1985-05-13 | Swedot System Ab | DEVICE FOR THE ALTERNATION OF LIQUID DROPS |
| US4751774A (en) * | 1986-08-29 | 1988-06-21 | Dataproducts Corporation | Method of fabricating an ink jet apparatus |
| US4768266A (en) * | 1986-08-29 | 1988-09-06 | Dataproducts Corporation | Method of making an ink jet printer transducer array |
| US4779099A (en) * | 1987-02-24 | 1988-10-18 | Dataproducts Corporation | Clamp for and method of fabricating a multi-layer ink jet apparatus |
| US4788557A (en) * | 1987-03-09 | 1988-11-29 | Dataproducts Corporation | Ink jet method and apparatus for reducing cross talk |
| EP0307160B1 (en) * | 1987-09-11 | 1993-04-28 | Dataproducts Corporation | Acoustic microstreaming in an ink jet apparatus |
| JP3041952B2 (en) * | 1990-02-23 | 2000-05-15 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Ink jet recording head, piezoelectric vibrator, and method of manufacturing these |
| US6186619B1 (en) | 1990-02-23 | 2001-02-13 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Drop-on-demand ink-jet printing head |
| US5477249A (en) * | 1991-10-17 | 1995-12-19 | Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha | Apparatus and method for forming images by jetting recording liquid onto an image carrier by applying both vibrational energy and electrostatic energy |
| JPH05131622A (en) * | 1991-11-13 | 1993-05-28 | Minolta Camera Co Ltd | Ink-jet recording device |
| EP0795404B1 (en) * | 1991-12-26 | 2005-06-08 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Ink jet recording head |
| US5764257A (en) | 1991-12-26 | 1998-06-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Ink jet recording head |
| US6050679A (en) * | 1992-08-27 | 2000-04-18 | Hitachi Koki Imaging Solutions, Inc. | Ink jet printer transducer array with stacked or single flat plate element |
| EP0788433B1 (en) * | 1994-09-23 | 2004-06-23 | Dataproducts Corporation | Apparatus for printing with ink jet chambers utilizing a plurality of orifices |
| US6297577B1 (en) | 1995-01-12 | 2001-10-02 | Minolta Co., Ltd. | Light controlling apparatus |
| HUP9800508A1 (en) * | 1998-03-09 | 2000-02-28 | György Hegedűs | Device for vibratory dispensing of liquid |
| US6893112B2 (en) * | 2003-02-28 | 2005-05-17 | Ricoh Printing Systems America, Inc. | Structurally isolated inertial transducers for a printing system |
| JP5075894B2 (en) * | 2009-09-17 | 2012-11-21 | 株式会社東芝 | Droplet ejecting head and coating body manufacturing method |
| US9162454B2 (en) * | 2013-04-11 | 2015-10-20 | Eastman Kodak Company | Printhead including acoustic dampening structure |
| US9168740B2 (en) * | 2013-04-11 | 2015-10-27 | Eastman Kodak Company | Printhead including acoustic dampening structure |
Family Cites Families (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL256071A (en) * | 1959-09-26 | |||
| US3452360A (en) * | 1967-07-28 | 1969-06-24 | Gen Precision Systems Inc | High-speed stylographic apparatus and system |
| DE2527647C3 (en) * | 1975-06-20 | 1981-06-25 | Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München | Writing implement that works with liquid droplets |
| DE2700010A1 (en) * | 1976-01-15 | 1977-07-21 | Xerox Corp | DEVICE FOR GENERATING DETACHABLE LIQUID DROPS AND DRIVE ELEMENTS FOR IT |
| US4367478A (en) * | 1979-04-25 | 1983-01-04 | Xerox Corporation | Pressure pulse drop ejector apparatus |
| US4243995A (en) * | 1979-06-01 | 1981-01-06 | Xerox Corporation | Encapsulated piezoelectric pressure pulse drop ejector apparatus |
| US4459601A (en) * | 1981-01-30 | 1984-07-10 | Exxon Research And Engineering Co. | Ink jet method and apparatus |
| US4362407A (en) * | 1981-09-08 | 1982-12-07 | Piezo Electric Products, Inc. | Piezoelectric printer and piezoelectric multilam actuator used therein |
-
1982
- 1982-01-04 US US06/336,672 patent/US4439780A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1982-11-04 CA CA000414867A patent/CA1197894A/en not_active Expired
- 1982-12-28 JP JP57227893A patent/JPS58119870A/en active Granted
- 1982-12-31 EP EP82307019A patent/EP0083512A3/en not_active Withdrawn
-
1983
- 1983-01-03 ZA ZA837A patent/ZA837B/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4439780A (en) | 1984-03-27 |
| JPH0245985B2 (en) | 1990-10-12 |
| ZA837B (en) | 1984-08-29 |
| JPS58119870A (en) | 1983-07-16 |
| EP0083512A3 (en) | 1984-08-22 |
| EP0083512A2 (en) | 1983-07-13 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEX | Expiry |