The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 27, 2003
Filed:
Jan. 23, 2002
Zhihao Yang, Webster, NY (US);
Ravi Sharma, Fairport, NY (US);
Christopher N. Delametter, Rochester, NY (US);
Milton S. Sales, Webster, NY (US);
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY (US);
Abstract
A drop on demand microfluidic ink jet printing system includes an ink flow chamber having a nozzle opening in a wall of the flow chamber through which ink droplets are ejected when ink in the flow chamber is at or above a predetermined positive pressure. An inlet channel opens into the flow chamber to supply thermally-responsive ink to the flow chamber at or above the predetermined pressure. A microfluidic outlet channel communicates the flow chamber with a low pressure ink reservoir such that thermally-responsive ink is normally transported from the flow chamber at a flow velocity sufficient to maintain ink in the flow chamber at a pressure less than the predetermined positive pressure. A valve selectively restricts the flow of the thermally-responsive ink through the microfluidic outlet channel sufficiently to cause an increase in ink pressure in the flow chamber to at least the predetermined positive pressure, the valve including a heater in contact with at least a portion of the associated microfluidic outlet channel, whereby the viscosity of the thermally-responsive ink can selectively be increased by heat from the heater to restrict the flow of the thermally-responsive ink from the flow chamber such that an ink droplet is ejected through the nozzle opening.