Abstract: A microfluidic printing apparatus for transferring ink to a receiver includes at least one ink reservoir; a structure defining a plurality of chambers arranged so that the chambers form an array with each chamber being arranged to form an ink pixel; a plurality of microchannels connecting the reservoir to a chamber; and a plurality of microfluidic pumps each being associated with a single microchannel for supplying ink from an ink reservoir through a microchannel for delivery to a particular chamber. Air is delivered to isolate ink in the chamber so that a predetermined amount of ink in the chamber can be transferred to a receiver, and the microfluidic pumps are operated for delivering the predetermined amount of ink to each chamber.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 2, 1997
Date of Patent:
October 26, 1999
Assignee:
Eastman Kodak Company
Inventors:
Werner Fassler, Xin Wen, Charles D. DeBoer