Dispensing heads with fluid puddle limiting surface features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9427752-B2
Application number	US-201114241129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2011
Priority date	Sep 30, 2011
Publication date	Aug 30, 2016
Grant date	Aug 30, 2016

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided related to fluid dispensing heads. A dispense head is formed to define a plurality of fluid jetting nozzles and a surface pattern. The surface pattern is characterized by one or more voids extending inward from an outer surface of the dispense head. Fluid puddle formation during operation of the dispense head is limited in volume by way of the surface pattern. Fluid puddle limiting reduces or eliminates dispensing errors to an entity, undesirable artifacts from resulting on a printed media, or similar problems.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dispense head, comprising:
a row of fluid-jetting nozzles each having a discharge end at an exposed outer face of a material; and
a surface pattern on the exposed outer face of the material spaced apart from the discharge end of each nozzle such that there is un-patterned material everywhere between the surface pattern and each nozzle, the surface pattern including an abrupt edge extending continuously along a full length of the row of nozzles to limit a volume of a fluid puddle forming on the exposed outer face of the material during operation.

2. The dispense head according to claim 1 , where the abrupt edge is defined by at least one linear void having a depth-wise dimension extending from the exposed outer face into the material.

3. The dispense head according to claim 2 , where:
the row of nozzles includes a first row of nozzles and a second row of nozzles parallel to the first row of nozzles; and
the abrupt edge extends continuously along the full length of each row of nozzles.

4. The dispense head according to claim 3 , where the abrupt edge is defined by first and second linear voids each having a depth-wise dimension extending from the exposed outer face into the material and where the first linear void extends continuously along the full length the first row of nozzles and the second linear void extends continuously along the full length of the second row of nozzles.

5. The dispense head according to claim 4 , the material being a monolithic solid formed to define the fluid-jetting nozzles and the surface pattern.

6. The dispense head according to claim 5 , the material further defining a firing chamber and a fluid supply conduit in fluid communication with the fluid jetting nozzles.

7. A fluid dispensing apparatus, comprising:
a dispense head configured to eject fluid through a row of nozzles, each nozzle extending from a discharge end at an exposed outer face of the dispense head inward toward a corresponding firing chamber from which fluid may be dispensed through the nozzle, and where the exposed outer face includes an uninterrupted planar part next to and completely surrounding the discharge end of each nozzle and a channel adjoining the planar part and extending continuously along the row of nozzles to limit fluid puddle formations on the exposed outer face of the dispense head adjacent to the nozzles during operation; and
a controller configured to control operation of the dispense head so as to dispense patterns of fluid to a receiving entity.

8. The fluid dispensing apparatus according to claim 7 , the channel including one or more linear channels extending inward from the exposed outer face of the dispense head.

9. The fluid dispensing apparatus according to claim 8 , the channel including first and second linear channels extending inward from the exposed outer face of the dispense head and extending parallel to one another continuously along opposite sides of the row of the nozzles.

10. The fluid dispensing apparatus according to claim 7 , the controller configured such that the dispense head dispenses patterns of dissolved compounds into receptacles of a wellplate, or patterns of liquid ink onto a media.

11. A dispense head, comprising:
a first group of nozzles through which fluid may be dispensed from the head, the nozzles in the first group arranged along a first line;
a second group of nozzles through which fluid may be dispensed from the head, the nozzles in the second group arranged along a second line parallel to the first line;
a surface surrounding each of the nozzles;
a first channel in the surface, the first channel spaced apart from the nozzles such that no part of the first channel intersects any of the nozzles, and the first channel extending along one side of the first group of nozzles opposite the second group of nozzles; and
a second channel in the surface, the second channel spaced apart from the nozzles such that no part of the second channel intersects any of the nozzles, and the second channel extending along one side of the second group of nozzles opposite the first group of nozzles.

12. The dispense head according to claim 11 , comprising a third channel in the surface, the third channel spaced apart from the nozzles such that no part of the third channel intersects any of the nozzles, and the third channel extending between the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles parallel to the first channel and the second channel.

13. The dispense head according to claim 11 , where there is no channel in the surface between the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles.

14. The dispense head according to claim 11 , where:
the first channel comprises multiple first channels extending parallel to one another along one side of the first group of nozzles opposite the second group of nozzles; and
the second channel comprises multiple second channels extending parallel to one another along one side of the second group of nozzles opposite the first group of nozzles.

15. The dispense head according to claim 12 , where the third channel comprises multiple third channels extending parallel to one another between the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles.

16. The dispense head according to claim 11 , where:
the nozzles in the first group are arranged in a row along the first line; and
the nozzles in the second group are arranged in a row along the second line.

Assignees

• Strand Thomas R
• Nielsen Jeffrey A
• Feinn James A
• Leigh Stan E
• Hewlett Packard Development Co Lp

Inventors

• Strand Thomas R
• Nielsen Jeffrey A
• Feinn James A
• Leigh Stan E

Classifications

• B41J2/16

  Production of nozzles · CPC title

• Y10T29/49401

  Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet · CPC title

• B41J2/1404 Primary

  Geometrical characteristics · CPC title

• B01L2200/14

  Process control and prevention of errors · CPC title

• B01L2200/0605

  Metering of fluids · CPC title