International Business Machines Corporation

Arthur Harry Kendall

Robert Lewis Rohr

Carlos Juan Sambucetti

Arthur R Hoffman

Joseph W Mitchell

An electrochromic printhead and a method of construction thereof in which the printhead is fabricated from an array of spaced, precisely positioned, small glass tubes. The array of glass tubes defines an array of cylindrical apertures extending through the printhead to form a printing pattern at a printing surface. Each cylindrical aperture has a conductor therein as an active electrode, which defines one dot of an array or matrix of dots possibly formed by the electrochromic printer. An additional conductor is provided as a reference electrode, such that a voltage may be applied between selected active electrodes and the reference electrode to define a particular printing pattern. Electrode wear is substantially eliminated by applying a coating of rutenium oxide crystals on each active electrode at the printing surface. In one disclosed embodiment, each active electrode is formed by a conductive coating applied along the interior surface of each cylindrical aperture. In a further disclosed embodiment, each active electrode comprises a cylindrical wire positioned within each cylindrical aperture. In yet another embodiment, each active electrode is formed by a conductive filler placed within each cylindrical aperture.

Electrochemical printhead

A pre-aimed nozzle device comprises a nozzle block with an orifice wafer attached thereto. The nozzle block has an aiming surface. The orifice wafer comprises an annular orifice element retained in the body of the wafer in a manner whereby the orifice element and wafer are bonded to the nozzle block with the opening of the orifice element perpendicular to the aiming surface. The orifice wafer is made by encapsulating a straight section of glass tubing in a block of ceramic. The block is machined with precision external location surfaces. A groove is machined into the block with internal location surfaces parallel with the external location surfaces. After potting of the tube in the groove with solder glass, the wafer block is cut along planes perpendicular to the external location surfaces to obtain annular orifice elements precisely aimed relative to the wafer body.

Pre-aimed nozzle for ink jet recorder and method of manufacture

Multiple nozzle arrays are formed from an assembly of at least one pair of plates having intersecting channels for receiving orifice elements and sealant. The joined plates, with inserted orifice elements in one channel and sealant in the other channel are then mounted vertically or at an appropriate angle and exposed to a temperature sufficient to cause the sealant alone to melt and to flow by capillary action to seal the orifice elements in a void-and-bubble free manner and to seal the plates to form a plate block. After cooling, the plate block is sliced into multiple nozzle wafers.

Growing community of inventors

Franklin Lakes, NJ, United States of America

Arthur Harry Kendall