Apparatus for jetting fluid by electrostatic force, and...

Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism

Reexamination Certificate

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C347S020000, C347S112000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06343852

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 98-49073, filed Nov. 16, 1998, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for jetting fluid, and method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a fluid jetting apparatus of a print head employed in output apparatuses such as an ink jet printer, a facsimile machine, etc., to jet fluid through a nozzle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A print head is a part or a set of parts which are capable of converting output data into a visible form on a predetermined medium using a type of printer. Generally, such a print head for an ink jet printer and the like, uses a fluid jetting apparatus which is capable of jetting a predetermined amount of fluid through a nozzle to an exterior of the ink jet printer or related device by applying a physical force to a fluid chamber holding the fluid.
According to a method for applying a physical force to the fluid within the fluid chamber, a fluid jetting apparatus is roughly grouped into a piezoelectric system and a thermal system. The piezoelectric system pushes the fluid within a fluid chamber through the nozzle by an operation of a piezoelectric element which is mechanically expanded in accordance with a driving signal. The thermal system pushes the fluid through the nozzle by bubbles which are produced in the fluid within a fluid chamber due to heat generated by an exothermic body. Recently, also, a thermal compression system has been developed, which is an improved form of the thermal system. The thermal compression system jets the fluid by driving a membrane by instantly heating a vaporizing fluid which acts as a working fluid.
FIG. 1
is a vertical sectional view of a fluid jetting apparatus according to a conventional thermal compression system. A fluid jetting apparatus of the thermal compression system includes a heat driving part
10
, a membrane
20
, and a nozzle part
30
. Referring to the heat driving part
10
, a reference numeral
11
is a silicon substrate,
12
is a nonconductive layer,
13
is an exothermic body, and
14
is an electrode. The reference numeral
15
is a barrier layer for a working fluid,
16
and
17
are working fluid chambers, and
18
is a passage for introduction of the working fluid.
Referring to the membrane
20
, a reference numeral
21
is a polyimide coated layer, and
22
is a polyimide adhered layer.
Referring to the nozzle part
30
, a reference numeral
34
is a nozzle plate,
35
is a nozzle,
36
is a barrier layer of jetting fluid. Reference numerals
37
and
38
are jetting fluid chambers, and
39
is a passage for introduction of the jetting fluid.
The substrate
11
of the heat driving part
10
supports the heat driving part
10
and the whole, complete, structure that will be constructed later. The electrode
14
is a conductive material for supplying an electric power for the heat driving part
10
. The exothermic body
13
is a resistive material having a predetermined resistance for expanding a working fluid by converting electrical energy into thermal energy. The working fluid chambers
16
and
17
contain the working fluid, to maintain the pressure of the working fluid which is expanded by the heat.
Further, the membrane
20
is a thin layer which is adhered to an upper portion of the working fluid chambers
16
and
17
, and is moved upward and downward by the pressure of the expanded working fluid. The membrane
20
includes a polyimide coated layer
21
and a polyimide adhered layer
22
.
The jetting fluid chambers
37
and
38
are formed in a jetting fluid barrier layer
3
b
to contain the jetting fluid, and designed to jet the fluid only through a nozzle
35
when the pressure transmitted through the membrane
20
is applied to the jetting fluid. Here, the jetting fluid is the fluid which is pushed out of the jetting fluid chambers
37
(through the nozzle
35
) and
38
(via the jetting passage
39
) in response to the driving of the membrane
20
, and finally jetted to the exterior. The nozzle
35
is an orifice through which the jetting fluid held within the jetting fluid chambers
37
and
38
is emitted to the exterior. A substrate (not shown) of the nozzle part
30
is temporarily employed for constructing the nozzle part
30
, and the substrate of the nozzle part
30
should be separated before the nozzle part
30
is assembled.
A process of manufacturing the fluid jetting apparatus according to the conventional thermal compression system will be described below.
FIGS. 2A
to
2
C are views for showing a process of manufacturing the heat driving part
10
and the membrane
20
of the fluid jetting apparatus of the prior art.
FIGS. 3A
to
3
C are views for showing a process for manufacturing the nozzle part
30
.
In order to manufacture the conventional fluid jetting apparatus, the heat driving part
10
and the nozzle part
30
should be separately manufactured. Here, the heat driving part
10
is completed and the separately-made membrane
20
is adhered to the substrate
11
of the heat driving part
10
. After that, by reversing and adhering the separately-made nozzle part
30
, the fluid jetting apparatus is completed.
FIG. 2A
shows a sequential process of diffusing the insulated (non-conductive) layer
12
on the substrate
11
of the heat driving part
10
, for forming the exothermic body
13
and the electrode
14
thereon.
FIG. 2B
shows a process of performing an etching process through a predetermined mask patterning to make the working fluid chambers
16
and
17
and the passage
18
for introduction of the working fluid. More specifically, the heat driving part
10
is formed as the insulated layer
12
, the exothermic body
13
, the electrode
14
, and the barrier layer
15
for the working fluid are sequentially laminated on the upper portion of the silicon substrate
11
. In such a situation, the working fluid chambers
16
and
17
, formed on the etched portion of the working fluid barrier layer
15
, are filled with the working fluid to be expanded by heat. The working fluid is introduced through the passage
18
for introduction of the working fluid.
FIG. 2C
shows a process of adhering the separately-made membrane
20
to the upper portion of the completed heat driving part
10
. The membrane
20
is a thin diaphragm, which is to be driven toward a direction of the jetting fluid chamber
37
by the working fluid which is heated by the exothermic body
13
.
FIG. 3A
shows a process of forming an insulated layer
32
and the nozzle plate
34
on the upper portion of the substrate
31
of the nozzle part
30
, and then forming the nozzle
35
by a laser processing equipment (not shown).
FIG. 3B
shows a sequential process of forming the jetting fluid barrier layer
36
on the upper portion of the construction shown in
FIG. 3A
, of forming the jetting fluid chambers
37
and
38
and the fluid introducing passage
39
by an etching process through a predetermined mask patterning.
FIG. 3C
shows a process of exclusively separating the nozzle part
10
from the substrate
31
of the nozzle part
30
. The nozzle part
30
includes the jetting fluid barrier layer
36
and the nozzle plate
34
. On the etched portion of the jetting fluid barrier layer
36
, the jetting fluid chambers
37
and
38
to be filled with the jetting fluid, are formed. The jetting fluid such as ink and the like is introduced through the jetting fluid introducing passage
39
. The nozzle
35
is formed on the nozzle plate
34
to be interconnected with the jetting fluid chamber
37
, so that the jetting fluid is jetted through the nozzle
35
.
The operation of the fluid jetting apparatus according to the thermal compressions system will be described with reference to the above-mentioned FIG.
1
.
First, an electric power is supplied through the electrode
14
, and electric current flows through the exothermic body
13

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