A THERMAL DROP-ON-DEMAND INK JET PRINT HEAD

Abstract: In a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head, a heat delay means (18) covers only a predetermined part of a resistive heating element (12). Upon connection of an electrical signal to energize the heating element, nucleation occurs at an uncovered location on the heating element and formation of the bubble proceeds in a direction toward the covered part of the heating element to thereby utilize the inertial effect of the controlled bubble motion to eject a drop of ink in a more energy-efficient manner.

Description: This invention relates to a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head. A thermal drop-on-demand ink jet printing system is known in which a heater is selectively energized to form a "bubble" in the adjacent ink. The rapid growth of the bubble causes an ink drop to be ejected from a nearby nozzle. Printing is accomplished by energizing the heater each time a drop is required at that nozzle position to produce the desired printed image. The formation of the vapor and gas "bubble" on a small heater is normally not well-controlled in terms of nucleation sites and timing. U.S.-A- 4,366,548 discloses a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet printing system in which the entire heater is covered by a protective layer, and the surface of the protective layer, to which the ink is exposed, is roughened. The roughness of the protective layer is described as an aid to the nucleation process in bubble formation. U.S.-A- 4,339,762 discloses a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet printing system in which the heat generating element is non-uniform in either thickness and/or width so that the size of the ejected drop can be controlled by controlling the amplitude of the drive signal applied to the heat generating element. U.S.-A- 4,514,741 discloses a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet printer in which the heater element comprises a resistive region having a conductive region at its center. The conductive region effectively electrically shorts the underlying area of the heater element which produces a cold spot at the center of the heater element and enables the production of a toroidally shaped bubble. This invention seeks to provide a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head having a controlled bubble growth and collapse so that the operation can be enhanced by utilizing the inertial effect of a controlled bubble motion. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head comprising: a nozzle adjacent to a resistive heating element and arranged to receive a marking fluid therebetween; means for connecting an electrical signal to energize the resistive heating element so that when said heating element is energized bubble formation occurs in the marking fluid adjacent the heating element on a substrate of the print head and a drop of ink is ejected from the nozzle, the print head being characterised by heat delay means covering only a predetermined part of the heating element whereby, upon connection of an electrical signal to energize the heating element, nucleation occurs at a predetermined location on the heating element, and the substrate being so shaped that formation of the bubble proceeds in a predetermined direction and in such a manner that inertial energy of the bubble formation is directed towards the nozzle to thereby focus the energy in said predetermined direction and eject the drop of ink in a more energy-efficient manner. In a first embodiment, coverage of the heat delay means over the resistive element starts at a first peripheral edge of the resistive element and proceeds towards a second peripheral edge. In this case the nucleation starts at the second peripheral edge, and formation of the bubble proceeds toward the first peripheral edge. In this embodiment, the nozzle is in a direction generally parallel to the plane of the resistive element. In a second embodiment, coverage of the heat delay means over the resistive element is spaced from the peripheral edges of the resistive element. In this case the nucleation starts at the peripheral edges of the resistive element and the formation of the bubble proceeds inward toward the center of the resistive element. In this embodiment, the nozzle is in a direction generally normal to the plane of the resistive element. How the invention can be carried out will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a three dimensional view, with some parts cut away, of a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of another thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head embodying the invention; and Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head, comprises a suitable substrate member 10, upon one surface 11 of which is formed an array of resistive heater elements 12, only one of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The resistive heater elements 12 comprise a multilayer thin film structure comprising a heat insulation layer 13 and a resistive heater film. Layer 13 must also be electrically insulating. A common electrode 15, and an array of control electrodes 16 make electrical contact to each of the resistive heater films 14 and electrically short all areas of the heater films 14 except the area between the electrodes 15 and 16 which forms resistive heater elements 12. A passivation layer 17 is deposited over the array of the resistive heater elements 12 and the associated electrodes 15 and 16 to prevent both chemical and mechanical damage to the resistive heater elements 12 and the electrodes 15 and 16. Preferably passivation layer 17 comprises two layers of different materials in order to reduce the incidence of flaws or pinholes in the passivation layer. A heat delay layer 18 is deposited over the resistive heater elements 12 in a position so that the heat delay layer 18 covers only part of the resistive heater element 12. A second substrate member 19 is fixed in position relative to substrate 10 so that wall members 20 define a channel 21 associated with each of the resistive heater elements 12. A nozzle 22 is provided at one end of the channel 21. An ink supply (not shown) is provided to supply a marking fluid such as ink to each of the channels 21. The heat delay layer 18 is formed of a thermally insulating material which is tough so that bubble formation and collapse forces do not erode the structure. In addition, the material must be chosen so that it is chemically stable and compatible with the other print head components in the presence of the ink, which may also be corrosive. Suitable materials for the heat delay layer 18 include SiO₂, Si₃N₄, SiON, Al₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, Z r O₂ and SiC. These materials can be deposited in a variety of ways that are known in the art. The preferred materials are SiC, SiO₂ and Si₃N₄. The heat delay layer must be relatively thin so that the heat delay is very brief. A thickness of 30 to 600nm has been found to be suitable depending on the thermal properties of the material used. In a specific embodiment a layer of SiO₂, 40 nm thick, was found to be suitable. In operation, a data pulse is supplied to control electrode 16 to energize the associated resistive heater element 12 to produce a bubble 24 in the ink adjacent heater element 12. The heat delay layer 18 is patterned to allow initial heating at a specific uncovered area 25 of the resistive heater element 12 and to delay the heat flow to the ink briefly in the covered area 26 of the resistive heater element 12. As shown in Fig. 2, the bubble nucleates at the left side, then it grows towards the right side so that the inertial effects of a controlled bubble motion to the right as shown by arrow 27 forces a drop 28 of ink from the associated nozzle 22. This mode of operation has the advantage that bubble formation can be started at a preselected location and proceed in a selected direction thereby achieving a greater velocity of bubble movement for both the growth and collapse phases. During bubble growth, this bubble motion induces a higher drop ejection velocity, and, during the collapse phase, the direction of bubble shrinkage aids the refilling process towards the nozzle. An alternative embodiment of a thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The print head utilizes a substrate 10, a heat insulation layer 13, a resistive heating element 12, a common electrode 15 and an array of control electrodes 16. A passivation layer 17 is provided to protect the resistive heating element 12, common electrode 15 and control electrode 16. In this case a heat delay layer 30 is provided which covers only part of the resistive heating element 12. As shown in Fig. 4, heat delay layer 30 covers the central area 31 of resistive heating element 12 and leaves uncovered the edge areas 32 of the resistive heating element 12. A second substrate 33 is fixed in position adjacent substrate 10 so that a nozzle 34 is opposite each of the resistive heating elements 12. Substrate 33 is shaped to provide an ink inflow channel 35 to distribute the marking fluid such as ink to the print cavity 36 which holds a predetermined volume of ink between the resistive heater element 12 and nozzle 34. In operation, a data pulse is supplied to control electrode 16 to energize the associated resistive heater element 12 to produce a bubble in the ink adjacent to resistive heater element 12. Since in this case the central area 31 of the resistive heater element 12 is covered by the heat delay layer 30, nucleation starts on the edge areas 32 of the resistive heater element 12 and the bubble grows towards the center. This action causes a "squeeze" action on the ink in the middle thereby focusing the pressure wave generated by the bubble formation along the center line leading to the nozzle 34. By proper choice of the size of the heat delay layer 30, the growth of the ring bubble coalesces at the center thereby forming a hemispherical bubble 37 over the resistive heater element 12. The bubble collapses symmetrically towards the center thereby aiding the refilling process from the side inflow channels 35. Thus it can be seen that a simple heat delay layer 30 added to the usual thermal drop-on-demand ink jet structure provides inertial enhancement of the bubble jet operation. A controlled bubble growth and collapse movement enhances drop ejection thereby reducing drive requirements and assists the refilling process thereby eliminating frequency limitations due to flow constraints.

Claims: A thermal drop-on-demand ink jet print head comprising: a nozzle (22; 34) adjacent to a resistive heating element (12) and arranged to receive a marking fluid therebetween; means for connecting an electrical signal to energize the resistive heating element so that when said heating element is energized bubble formation occurs in the marking fluid adjacent the heating element on a substrate of the print head and a drop of ink is ejected from the nozzle, the print head being characterized by heat delay means (18; 30) covering only a predetermined part of the heating element (12) whereby, upon connection of an electrical signal to energize the heating element, nucleation occurs at a predetermined location on the heating element and the substrate being so shaped that formation of the bubble proceeds in a predetermined direction and in such a manner that inertial energy of the bubble formation is directed towards the nozzle to thereby focus the energy in said predetermined direction and eject the drop of ink in a more energy-efficient manner. A print head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat delay means comprises a layer of a heat insulating material. A print head as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said heat delay means (18) extends from a first peripheral edge of the heating element towards, but not as far as, a second peripheral edge (25) upstream of said first peripheral edge, so that the area of the heating element in the region of the second peripheral edge is not covered by said heat delay means (18), whereby the nucleation starts at said second peripheral edge (25) and said formation of said bubble proceeds towards said first peripheral edge. A print head as claimed in claim 3, wherein the heating element is substantially planar and the axis of the nozzle is substantially parallel to the plane of the heating element. A print head as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said heat delay means (30) is spaced from the peripheral edges (32) of the heating element whereby the nucleation starts at the peripheral edges of the heating element around said delay means and the formation of the bubble proceeds inwards towards the center region of the heat delay means. A print head as claimed in claim 5, wherein the heating element is substantially planar and the axis of the nozzle is substantially normal to the plane of the heating element.

Inventors: ELDRIDGE, JEROME MICHAEL, LEE, FRANCIS CHEE-SHUEN, MOORE, JAMES OWEN, OLIVE, GRAHAM
Applicants: LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2