OFFSET NOZZLE DROPLET FORMATION

Abstract: A device, particularly useful for thermal ink-jet printheads, for improving the repeatability of droplet volume is disclosed. Offsetting a nozzle (6) from its corresponding ink heating element (2) perpendicularly to the flow of ink across the element has been found to significantly reduce the ejected droplet volume deviation.

Description: The present invention relates generally to hydrodynamics of droplet formation and, more particularly, to a printhead design that enhances performance of thermal ink-jet pens. The art of thermal ink-jet (TIJ) printhead fabrication is relatively well developed. The basics are disclosed, for example, in some detail in the Hewlett-Packard Journal , Vol. 36, No. 5, May 1985, incorporated herein by reference. In the field of TIJ printing, it is known to provide a printhead having an orifice plate in combination with heating elements such that thermal excitation of ink is used to eject droplets through tiny nozzles onto a print media. The orifice plate configuration is one of the design factors that controls droplet size, velocity and trajectory. In the prior art, it is known to align printhead orifice plate nozzles with underlying heating elements as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. Heat from an element 2 causes a vapor bubble to grow rapidly in an ink channel 4 and gives momentum to the ink above the bubble. The ink in turn is propelled through a nozzle 6 in an orifice plate 8 and onto the print media. It is also known, for example from DE-A-3347175 and DE-A-3402680, to offset the centre of the nozzle from the heating element in the direction of the flow of ink, i.e. the longitudinal direction of the ink channel. One of the problems associated with TIJ printing is obtaining repeatability of the ejected ink droplet size. In general, a droplet volume will have a deviation of about four to eight percent in such a design arrangement as shown in the FIGURES. Hence, there is a need to improve repeatability of ink droplet volume in order to improve print quality and uniformity. According to the invention, there is provided an ink jet printhead having a substrate, orifice means overlying the substrate to permit ejection of ink, channelling means on the substrate for channelling ink to the orifice means, at least one heating means on the substrate in the channelling means, and nozzle means, in the orifice means, for ejecting ink droplets, having a centre point which is offset from the heating means' centre point, characterised in that the offset is in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of flow of ink in the channelling means. It is an advantage of the present invention that it improves volume repeatability of ink droplets ejected by a TIJ printhead nozzle. A further advantage of the invention is that it reduces droplet tail spray. Another advantage of the invention is that it improves print area fill and, thus, the printed text quality. Yet another advantage of said invention is that in ink-jet technology it significantly improves the quality of pens by reducing ink droplet volume variations of individual nozzles, across pens, and between pens. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designations represent like features throughout the FIGURES. FIGURE 1 is a schematic plan view showing a prior art fluid channel, heating element, and nozzle configuration for a printhead. FIGURE 2 is a schematic drawing taken in plane A-A of FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a schematic plan view showing a fluid channel, heating element, and nozzle configuration for a printhead in accordance with the present invention. FIGURE 4 is a schematic drawing taken in plane B-B of FIGURE 3. The drawings referred to in this description should be understood as not being drawn to scale except if specifically noted. Reference is made now in detail to a specific embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates the best mode presently contemplated by the inventor for practising the invention. Alternative embodiments are also briefly described as applicable. Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, a substrate 10 forms the base member for a TIJ printhead. In the state of the art, it is known to fabricate printhead structures using techniques common to the fabrication of thin film and semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits. As such, a detailed description of those processes is not essential to an understanding of the present invention. Overlying the substrate 10, a barrier layer 12 is formed to include feed channels 4 to direct ink flow from a connected reservoir (not shown). In the channel(s) 4, generally centrally located, are heating elements 2. Thin film resistors are known to provide adequate thermal energy to stimulate various printing inks. It is known in the state of the art of thin film technology to fabricate thin film structures for TIJ printheads which include resistors, interconnections and passivation layers. An orifice plate 8 overlies the barrier layer 12. As best shown in Figure 3 (showing x and y reference coordinates), in the present invention, an aperture or nozzle 6 has a centre point 14 which has been offset from the y centre point 16 of the heating element 2 in the y direction by a dimension labelled z, i.e. in the direction of one of the side walls 18 of the channel 4. Generally, this is perpendicular to the flow of ink in the channel 4. As will be recognised by a person skilled in the art, a TIJ printhead will have a nozzle plate 8 having a plurality of nozzles 6 with corresponding heating elements. The quantity and complexity of the arrangement will be dependent upon the functions required of the particular printer or plotter in which the printhead is to be utilized. The intentional misalignment of the orifice plate 8 perpendicularly to the ink feed channel 4 in a controlled manner has been found to improve repeatability of ejected droplet volume. An overall droplet volume deviation appears to decrease by a factor of three or four by providing a misalignment of the orifice nozzle 6 with the heating element 2. Exact dimensioning is obviously dependent on the individual design of the printhead. In an exemplary embodiment, where the feed channel 4 has a dimension y = 85 microns, heating element 2 has a dimension y = 64 microns, barrier layer 12 has a height of 55 microns, and orifice plate 8 has a height of 62.5 microns with a nozzle diameter of 43 microns and a convex inner surface radial diameter of 62.5 microns, an approximately 25 micron offset z of the nozzle centre point 14 from the heating element centre point 16 yields optimum performance. The effect is noticed, however, when the nozzle is misaligned by about ten microns or more. From experimental data from which this example is provided, it would appear that performance appears to degenerate once the nozzle centre point 14 passes edge 20 of the heating element 2.

Claims: An ink-jet printhead having a substrate (12), orifice means (8) overlying the substrate to permit ejection of ink, channelling means (4) on the substrate for channelling ink to the orifice means, at least one heating means (2) on the substrate in the channelling means, and nozzle means (6), in the orifice means, for ejecting ink droplets, having a centre point (14) which is offset from the heating means' centre point (16), characterised in that the offset (z) is in a direction (y) substantially perpendicular to the direction (x) of flow of ink in the channelling means. The device of claim 1, wherein the offset (Z) is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the channelling means (4) at the heating means (2).

Inventors: CHILDERS, WINTHROP D.
Applicants: HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2