US5440332A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for page wide ink jet printing
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Development Co LP
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Filing: 1992-07-06
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Granted: 1995-08-08
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Expires: 2012-07-06
Abstract
Abstract A page wide ink jet printhead employed in a printer for printing characters on a print medium. The print medium progresses in a path through the printer during printing. The page wide ink jet printhead includes print nozzles selectively aligned across the width of the print medium allowing the printhead to remaining stationary; a means for selectively ejecting ink through particular nozzles, which means is formed of a piezoelectric material which has microgrooves therein; ink residing in the microgrooves for ejection therefrom; sidewalls of the microgrooves which act as actuators to cause ink to be ejected from the microgrooves in response to an electrical pulse supplied thereto; and electrical circuitry to appropriately direct the electrical pulse to create an electric field across particular microgrooves to obtain a desired print character formed from ink droplets ejected from the microgrooves.
Inventors
- 👤 Lowell M. Good
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 19:57
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/135; B41J2/16; B41J2/1621; B41J2/1632; B41J2/145; B41J2/155; B41J2/1607; B41J2/1609; B41J2/1623; B41J2/1631; B41J2/1634; B41J2/164; B41J2/1643; B41J2/1646; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/42
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
150 words
A page wide ink jet printhead for printing across a width of a prim medium without movement of the printhead, comprising: a slab of electrically deformable material having a plurality of ink channels formed therein separating said slab into a plurality of slab sections, each of the slab sections having a plurality of microgrooves oriented in a first direction formed therein, said microgrooves in communication with said channels; wherein said channels are formed at an acute angle to ones of said microgrooves; an interface for communicating ink to said channels, said ink flowing into microgrooves associated with the channels; and a material layer formed over said microgrooves and having respective holes formed therethrough for selectively ejecting ink from ones of said microgrooves in a second direction normal to said microgrooves, wherein said holes are offset along said first direction at a predetermined resolution across the width of the print medium.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
150 words
A page wide ink jet printhead for printing across a width of a prim medium without movement of the printhead, comprising: a slab of electrically deformable material having a plurality of ink channels formed therein separating said slab into a plurality of slab sections, each of the slab sections having a plurality of microgrooves oriented in a first direction formed therein, said microgrooves in communication with said channels; wherein said channels are formed at an acute angle to ones of said microgrooves; an interface for communicating ink to said channels, said ink flowing into microgrooves associated with the channels; and a material layer formed over said microgrooves and having respective holes formed therethrough for selectively ejecting ink from ones of said microgrooves in a second direction normal to said microgrooves, wherein said holes are offset along said first direction at a predetermined resolution across the width of the print medium.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 1 wherein said slab comprises a slab of piezoelectric material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 1 wherein said material layer comprises a polymer material.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 1 and further comprising a printed circuit board coupled to said slab.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 1 and further comprising metal ridges disposed on said slab adjacent said microgrooves.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of ink dams formed along associated microgrooves to inhibit ink from flowing out of said microgrooves.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
142 words
A page wide ink jet printhead for printing across a width of a print medium without movement of the printhead, comprising: a slab of electrically deformable material having a plurality of ink channels formed therein separating said slab into a plurality of slab sections, each of the slab sections having a plurality of microgrooves oriented in a first direction formed therein, said microgrooves in communication with said channels and forming an acute angle therewith; an interface for communicating ink to said channels, said ink flowing into microgrooves associated with the channels; and a material layer formed over said microgrooves and having respective holes formed therethrough for selectively ejecting ink from ones of said microgrooves in a second direction normal to said microgrooves, wherein said holes are offset along said first direction at a predetermined resolution across the width of the print medium.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
142 words
A page wide ink jet printhead for printing across a width of a print medium without movement of the printhead, comprising: a slab of electrically deformable material having a plurality of ink channels formed therein separating said slab into a plurality of slab sections, each of the slab sections having a plurality of microgrooves oriented in a first direction formed therein, said microgrooves in communication with said channels and forming an acute angle therewith; an interface for communicating ink to said channels, said ink flowing into microgrooves associated with the channels; and a material layer formed over said microgrooves and having respective holes formed therethrough for selectively ejecting ink from ones of said microgrooves in a second direction normal to said microgrooves, wherein said holes are offset along said first direction at a predetermined resolution across the width of the print medium.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 7 wherein said slab comprises a slab of piezoelectric material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 7 wherein said material layer comprises a polymer material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 7 and further comprising a printed circuit board coupled to said slab.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 7 and further comprising metal ridges disposed on said slab adjacent said microgrooves.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The ink jet printhead of claim 7 and further comprising a plurality of ink dams formed along associated microgrooves to inhibit ink from flowing out of said microgrooves.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-08-07 | 1999-02-06 | 1999-08-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-08-07 | 2003-02-06 | 2003-08-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-08-07 | 2007-02-06 | 2007-08-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |