Patent Application
20200047497
A detector may be used to detect the occurrence of an event. For example, a detector may be used to determine whether a fluidic drop or particle passes near or proximate the detector. In such an example, drop detectors may be used to determine whether a droplet (either a fluid or a solid) is ejected from a print element and deposited onto a substrate.
The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein:
Drop detectors may be used to detect whether droplets (e.g., fluids or solids) ejected from an element. For example, drop detectors may detect whether droplets are ejected from a print element, such as a nozzle of a printhead, towards a substrate. In examples, an array of drop detectors may be able to assist in diagnosing nozzle health in a print element such as an inkjet printhead. The drop detector may include a light source and a photo-detector. In examples, the drop detector may operate to detect when a droplet intersects a path of light emitted from the light source. In such examples, if no drop is detected, the light is not intersected and detected by the photo-detector. If a drop is detected, the photo detector detects a break in the light that reaches the photo-detector as the droplet intersects the light. In order to detect small perturbations in a light path, the photo-detector of the drop detector should be aligned with the light source within a small tolerance. However, it is challenging to provide a well aligned plurality of drop detectors due to poor manufacturing tolerances and high costs.
To address these issues, in the examples described herein, a drop detector includes a curved surface to align a detector and/or a light source within a housing. In examples, the curved surface has a changing radius along a center line. In examples, the curved surface may be coupled to a portion of an outer surface of the detector and/or light source. In this manner, examples described herein may significantly reduce drop detector misalignment and manufacturing costs.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to include suitable indirect and/or direct connections. Thus, if a first component is described as being coupled to a second component, that coupling may, for example, be: (1) through a direct electrical or mechanical connection, (2) through an indirect electrical or mechanical connection via other devices and connections, (3) through an optical electrical connection, (4) through a wireless electrical connection, and/or (5) another suitable coupling. The term “droplet” as used herein refers to either a small portion of a liquid or a particle of a solid.
Referring now to the drawings,
In examples, light source 30 may be any light source to provide a path of light between two areas and any optical elements necessary to focus the emitted light, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), laser, florescent bulb, etc. In examples, detector 40 may be any detector to detect light such as a photodiode. In examples, detector 40 may detect a shadow formed by a droplet passing through a light path between detector 40 and light source 30. In such examples, the droplet may be a fluid drop of an ink. In examples, a particle may be a particle of any solid to be detected in the light path, such as, a ceramic, a composite, a metal, etc.
In examples, sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may receive one or more of light sources 30, detectors 40, or a combination thereof. In examples, one or both of sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may include opening 107 to receive either light source 30 or detector 40. In examples, one or both of sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may include opening 109 disposed opposite opening 107. In examples, opening 107 may be larger than opening 109. In examples, opening 109 may be disposed to be exposed to a light path formed between light source 30 and detector 40. In such examples, opening 109 may be formed of at least a portion of curved surface 105. In examples, sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may align a pair of light source 30 and detector 40 coupled thereto to form a light path therebetween. In some examples, sub-housing 100a and/or sub-housing 100b may include one or more deformable surfaces to guide detector 40 and light source 30 toward curved surface 105. In such examples, a portion of detector 40 and light source 30 may be coupled to curved surface 105 and the one or more deformable surfaces.
In examples, one or both of sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may include curved surface 105 to guide light source 30 and detector 40 into alignment. In examples, curved surface 105 may have a decreasing radius along a center line 3-3′ extending along a z-axis. In such examples, curved surface 105 may have an annulus cross-section. In other examples, curved surface 105 may have any polygon as a cross-sectional shape. In examples, curved surface 105 may be any shape formed when a curved surface is intersected by a plane. In examples, curved surface 105 may be complementary to at least a portion of an external surface of light source 30 or the detector 40 so that a portion of light source 30 or the detector 40 is coupled to the curved surface 105. In such examples, in operation, curved surface 105 may connect to light source 30 or detector 40 at one or more points.
In examples, sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may be composed of one or more of a plastic, a metal (e.g., aluminum, copper, etc.), a ceramic, a composite, etc. For examples, sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may be composed of an injected molded plastic. In examples, sub-housing 100a and sub-housing 100b may be composed of one or more of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PCABS), nylons, polyphenylene ether (PPO), etc.
In examples, in operation, sub-housing 100a and/or sub-housing 100b may include a curved surface 105 to guide a light source 30 or detector 40 disposed in opening 107 towards opening 109. In such examples, curved surface 105 may be used to align light source 30 and detector 40. In examples, housing 20 includes a plurality of light source 30 and detector 40 pairs. In examples, housing 20 may be coupled to electronic circuitry to control light source 30 and detector 40.
In the example of
While certain implementations have been shown and described above, various changes in form and details may be made. For example, some features that have been described in relation to one implementation and/or process can be related to other implementations. In other words, processes, features, components, and/or properties described in relation to one implementation can be useful in other implementations. Furthermore, it should be understood that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein can include various combinations and/or sub-combinations of the components and/or features of the different implementations described. Thus, features described with reference to one or more implementations can be combined with other implementations described herein.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various examples of the present disclosure. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2017/014946 | 1/25/2017 | WO | 00 |
