US 11,673,406 B2
Method of printing fluid
Filip Granek, Wroclaw (PL); Aneta Wiatrowska, Wroclaw (PL); Krzysztof Fijak, Wroclaw (PL); Michal Dusza, Wroclaw (PL); Przemyslaw Cichon, Wroclaw (PL); and Piotr Kowalczewski, Wroclaw (PL)
Assigned to XTPL S.A., Wroclaw (PL)
Appl. No. 17/425,638
Filed by XTPL S.A., Wroclaw (PL)
PCT Filed Mar. 20, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/052287
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 23, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/157548, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0097404 A1, Mar. 31, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B41J 2/175 (2006.01)
CPC B41J 2/17596 (2013.01) 33 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of printing fluid on a printable surface of a substrate, comprising the steps of:
positioning the substrate at a fixed position on a substrate stage;
providing a print head comprising a micro-structural fluid ejector, the micro-structural fluid ejector comprising: (1) an output portion comprising an exit orifice of an output inner diameter ranging between 0.1 μm and 5 μm and an end face having a surface roughness of less than 0.1 μm, (2) an elongate input portion having a input inner diameter that is greater than the output inner diameter by a factor of at least 100, and (3) a tapering portion between the elongate input portion and the output portion;
positioning the print head above the substrate;
orienting the micro-structural fluid ejector with the exit orifice pointing downward and the end face facing toward the printable surface;
coupling a pneumatic system to the print head;
providing a print head positioning system which controls a vertical displacement of the print head and a lateral displacement of the print head relative to the substrate;
operating the print head positioning system to control a vertical distance between the end face and the printable surface to within a range of 0 μm and 5 μm during the printing;
operating the print head positioning system to laterally displace the print head during the printing; and
operating the pneumatic system to apply pressure to the fluid in the micro-structural fluid ejector via the elongate input portion, the pressure being regulated to within a range of −50,000 Pa to 1,000,000 Pa during the printing;
wherein fluid is ejected through the exit orifice in a continuous stream during the printing without any applied electric field between the print head and the substrate, the continuous stream forming a line of fluid on the printable surface.