US-RE50886-E1 - Multi-array ejection head and method of use

Abstract

A digital dispense device and method for ejecting one or more fluids into a target area of a substrate. The digital dispense device includes (A) a fluid ejection head for the digital dispense device having one or more arrays of fluid ejectors thereon; (B) a fluid ejection head translation device for moving the ejection head over the target area of the substrate in a first direction, wherein the one or more arrays of fluid ejectors on the fluid ejection head are oriented parallel to the first direction; and (C) a control device for activating one or more fluid ejectors in the one or more arrays of fluid ejectors as the one or more fluid ejectors intersect the target area of the substrate.

Inventors

Bruce A. DeBoard
John Glenn Edelen
Michael A. Marra, III

Assignees

BRADY WORLDWIDE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230608

Claims (20)

1 . A digital dispense device for ejecting one or more fluids into a target area of a substrate, the digital dispense device comprising;: A) a fluid ejection head for the digital dispense device having a comprising four linear array arrays of fluid ejectors thereon, wherein each linear array of fluid ejectors comprises two columns of fluid ejection nozzles disposed on opposing sides of a fluid supply via, and wherein the fluid ejectors are grouped by primitives from a first end of the each linear array to a second end of the said linear array; B) a fluid ejection head translation device for moving the ejection head over the target area of the substrate in a first direction, wherein the each linear array of fluid ejectors on the fluid ejection head are oriented parallel to the first direction; and C) a control device for sequentially activating all of the primitives of fluid ejectors in the each linear array of fluid ejectors as the linear array of fluid ejectors intersects the target area of the substrate.
2 . The fluid dispense system of claim 1 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises two linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon.
3 . The fluid dispense system of claim 1 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises three linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon.
4 . The fluid dispense system of claim 1 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises four linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon, wherein each linear array of fluid ejectors comprises two columns of fluid ejection nozzles disposed on opposing sides of a fluid supply via.
5 . The fluid dispense systemdigital dispense device of claim 4 1 , wherein the four linear arrays of fluid ejectors are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, wherein adjacent linear arrays are spaced apart a distance of about 4.5 mm perpendicular to the first direction.
6 . The fluid dispense system of claim 1 , wherein the target area of a well of a micro-well plate is 5 to 50% less than a total open area of the well of the micro-well plate.
7 . The fluid dispense systemdigital dispense device of claim 1 , wherein the linear array of fluid ejectors spans more than one well of a micro-well plate.
8 . The fluid dispense systemdigital dispense device of claim 1 , wherein the linear array of fluid ejectors has a span greater than the target area.
9 . The fluid dispense systemdigital dispense device of claim 1 , further comprising a substrate translation mechanism for moving the substrate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
10 . A method for dispensing a predetermined amount of fluid into a target area of a substrate, comprising: providing a digital dispense device, the digital dispense device comprising; : A) a fluid ejection head for the digital dispense device having a comprising four linear array arrays of fluid ejectors thereon, wherein each linear array of fluid ejectors comprises two columns of fluid ejection nozzles disposed on opposing sides of a fluid supply via, and wherein the fluid ejectors are grouped by primitives from a first end of the each linear array to a second end of the said linear array; B) a fluid ejection head translation device for moving the ejection head over the target area of the substrate in a first direction, wherein the each linear array of fluid ejectors on the fluid ejection head are oriented parallel to the first direction; and C) a control device for sequentially activating all of the primitives of fluid ejectors in the each linear array of fluid ejectors as the linear array of fluid ejectors intersects the target area of the substrate; moving the fluid ejection head over the target area of the substrate while activating one or more primitives of fluid ejectors to eject fluid into the target area until a predetermined amount of fluid is deposited in the target area.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein fluid is ejected only along a centerline of the target area.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the primitives of fluid ejectors are activated only in a portion of the target area that reduces fluid splattering outside of the target area.
13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein all of the fluid ejectors in theeach linear array of fluid ejectors are activated at least once as the primitives of fluid ejectors pass over the target area.
14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the digital dispense device comprises a substrate translation mechanism for moving the substrate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, further comprising indexing the substrate in the second direction after the fluid ejection head has traversed the substrate a predetermined number of times.
15 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: setting a minimum velocity for movement of the ejection head over the target area; and setting a maximum frequency for activating the one or more fluid ejectors, thereby ejecting a maximum amount of fluid in the target area.
16 . A fluid ejection head for a digital dispense device, the fluid ejection head comprising afour linear arrayarrays of fluid ejectors thereon, wherein each linear array of fluid ejectors comprises two columns of fluid ejection nozzles disposed on opposing sides of a fluid supply via, and wherein the fluid ejectors are grouped by primitives from a first end of the each linear array to a second end of the said linear array and wherein the each linear array of fluid ejectors on the fluid ejection head is oriented parallel to a direction of travel of the fluid ejection head in the digital dispense device, for sequential activation of the primitives of fluid ejectors over a target area.
17 . The fluid ejection head of claim 16 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises two linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon.
18 . The fluid ejection head of claim 16 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises three linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon.
19 . The fluid ejection head of claim 16 , wherein the fluid ejection head comprises four linear arrays of fluid ejectors thereon.
20 . The fluid ejection head of claim 19 16 , wherein the four linear arrays of fluid ejectors are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This is a reissue of the patent application No. 16/875,232, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,090,938. The disclosure is directed to devices and methods that are used to accurately dispense one or more fluids onto or into precise areas of a substrate for performing analysis of samples confined to the precise areas of the substrate or for building up layers of material in predetermined areas on the substrate. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY A device such as an inkjet device, can dispense very small droplets of ink, usually measured in picoliters onto a substrate. For inkjet printing applications, the volume of ink that is deposited is a relatively low amount, and the volume is not as important as other factors such as color matching and print quality. A typical inkjet printer is limited to the deposition of about 2 to about 3 μL/cm2. A typical inkjet printhead may have one or more fluid supply vias each associated with a different color ejection head wherein the ejection heads may be provided on a single substrate as shown in FIG. 1 or on multiple substrates. Locating the ejection heads on a single substrate has an advantage of reducing the cost of the ejection head. A typical printhead 10 for an inkjet printer has arrays of fluid ejectors 12a-12d that are oriented in a y direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of the printhead 10 in the x direction as indicated by arrow 14. However, for other applications that require accurate amounts of liquid to be dispensed onto or into a medium, fluid volume is an extremely important and/or a critical factor. For some application, it may be advantageous to specify that a volume of fluid is deposited into or over a specific area. An example may be the dispensing of a single drop of fluid containing a single cell into a well of a micro-well plate. Another example may be dispensing a large number of fluid droplets into a small areas such as filling each of 384 wells in a micro-well plate. Accordingly, the density of fluid deposited into the wells of a well plate may require the dispensing of more than 250 μL/cm2 of fluid. Likewise, depositing fluid onto a glass slide for analyzing a sample on the glass slide requires that a closely controlled amount of fluid is deposited over a specific area of the glass slide. In the medical field, in particular, there is a need for automated sample preparation and analysis. The analysis may be colorimetric analysis or require the staining of samples to better observe the samples under a microscope. Such analysis may include drug sample analysis, blood sample analysis and the like. In the analysis of blood, for example, blood is analyzed to provide a number of different factors that are used to determine the health of an individual. When there are a large number of patients that require blood sample analysis, the procedures may be extremely time consuming. Also, there is a need for accurate preparation of the samples so that the results can be relied on. There are many other situations that require sample analysis in the medical field and in other fields that can benefit from the use of analytical instruments that provide accurate and reproduceable results, such as micro-titration of multiple samples. Well plates, slides and other substrates are used for many experiments and laboratory procedures. The process of filling the wells or spotting is often performed manually or using expensive lab equipment. In some cases, the wells are filled with hand operated pipettes. In other cases, high-end automated devices based on pipette technology are used to fill the well plates. Such automated devices accommodate an open well dispense head only. The open well dispense head is a dispense head where a small amount of fluid must be deposited into an opening in the dispense head before use. The fluid is typically deposited manually using a pipette or similar means. The dispense head is held stationary while moving the micro-well plate in both X and Y directions. These high end devices are extremely expensive. In the areas of micro-circuit manufacture, fluids are required to be dispensed in precise locations to provide circuit devices on a substrate. The volume of fluid dispensed per unit area is typically much greater than can be provided by conventional ink jet printing technology. In some cases, different fluids are combined together on the substrate to provide a chemical or physical change to the fluids so that the resulting material performs a desired circuit function. Other areas of micro-manufacturing may also require the precise deposit of fluids into or onto a substrate. There is thus the need for a method and device that can be used to dispense a predetermine volume of one or more fluids per unit area of a substrate. FIG. 2 represents a single well 16 of a micro-well plate 18 (FIG. 3) that is used with a digital dispense device 20 (FIG. 4). When an array of fluid ejectors 12a of the printhead 10 is oriented perpendicular to the direction of