Importance

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Abstract

An ink jet nozzle arrangement for the ejection of ink from a nozzle chamber including a nozzle chamber having a slotted sidewall in a first surface and an ink ejection port along a second surface thereof; an ink supply channel interconnected to the nozzle chamber for the supply of ink to the nozzle chamber; a moveable vane located within the nozzle chamber and being moveable so as to cause the ejection of ink from the nozzle chamber; and an actuator located outside the nozzle chamber and interconnected to the moveable vane through the slotted sidewall. The moveable vane, in its quiescent position, can be located substantially adjacent a first end of the slot and the actuator is actuated to move the moveable vane from the first end of the slot to a second end of the slot. The actuator can have a thermal actuator which is actuated by an electric current passed through the thermal actuator resulting in resistive heating of the actuator. The thermal actuator can be constructed of a conductive material having a high Young's modulus and include first and second arms, the first arm having a thinned cross-section relative to the second arm, the first arm undergoing resistive heating to thereby cause the first arm to bend resulting in actuation by the thermal actuator.

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First Claim