Printhead with meniscus anchor for controlled priming

US7819507B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd · AU

Inventors

• Brian Robert Brown · Chatswood, AU
• Norman Micheal Berry · Sydney, AU
• Garry Raymond Jackson · Sydney, AU
• Paul Timothy Sharp · Sydney, AU
• John Douglas Peter Morgan · Sydney, AU
• Kia Silverbrook · Sydney, AU
• Akira Nakazawa · Yokohama, JP
• Michael John Hudson · Sydney, AU
• Christopher Hibbard · Sydney, AU
• Samuel George Mallinson · Sydney, AU
• Paul Justin Reichl · Sydney, AU

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 21, 2007
• Grant date: Oct 26, 2010
• Expiry date: Aug 20, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B41J2202/20
• WIPO field: Textile and paper machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A printhead for an inkjet printer that has a printhead integrated circuit (IC) with an array of nozzles for ejecting ink, and a support structure for mounting the printhead IC within the printer. The support structure has ink conduits for supplying the array of nozzles with ink, the ink conduits have a meniscus anchor for pinning part of an advancing meniscus of ink to divert the advancing meniscus from a path the advancing meniscus would otherwise take. If a printhead consistently fails to prime correctly because a meniscus pins at one or more points, then the advancing meniscus can be directed so that the advancing meniscus does not contact these critical points. Deliberately incorporating a discontinuity into an ink conduit immediately upstream of the problem area can temporarily pin to the meniscus and skew the meniscus to one side of the conduit and away from the undesirable pinning point. Once flow has been initiated into the side branch or downstream of the undesirable pinning point, it is not necessary for the anchor to hold the ink meniscus any longer and priming can continue.