Inkjet printhead assembly having modular printhead chip carriers defining convergent ink galleries
An inkjet printhead assembly includes: a support structure having a recess, the recess having a wall defining a plurality of ink supply apertures; and a plurality of print modules received in the recess in a neighboring arrangement. Each print module includes: a printhead chip carrier having a plurality of convergent ink galleries, each ink gallery receiving ink from an ink supply aperture; and a single printhead chip mounted on the printhead chip carrier, the printhead chip receiving ink from the plurality of convergent ink galleries.
1. An inkjet printhead assembly comprising:
a support structure having a recess, the recess having a wall defining a plurality of ink supply apertures; and
a plurality of print modules received in the recess in a neighboring arrangement, each print module comprising:
a printhead chip carrier having a plurality of convergent ink galleries, each ink gallery receiving ink from at least one ink supply aperture; and
a single printhead chip mounted on the printhead chip carrier, the single printhead chip receiving ink from the plurality of convergent ink galleries.
2. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , wherein the printhead chips are positioned in an overlapping arrangement.
3. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , wherein each printhead chip carrier is configured to supply a plurality of different colored inks to its respective printhead chip.
4. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a shield plate covering external surfaces of the printhead chip carriers, wherein each printhead chip is exposed through a respective slot defined in the shield plate.
5. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 4 , wherein the shield plate is bonded to the printhead chip carriers.
6. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 4 , wherein the shield plate provides a seal around the printhead chips when the printhead chips are capped during idle periods.
7. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , wherein each printhead chip carrier has a recess for mounting its respective printhead chip.
8. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , wherein the printhead chip comprises a plurality of nozzle rows, and wherein a first nozzle row receives ink from a first ink supply aperture aligned with one side of the printhead chip carrier and a second nozzle row receives ink from a second ink supply aperture aligned with an opposite second side of the printhead chip carrier.
9. The inkjet printhead assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a shim positioned between the support structure and the plurality of printhead chip carriers.
10. A method of delivering one or more inks to a plurality of printhead chips, the method comprising the steps of:
delivering ink through a plurality of ink supply apertures defined in a wall of a recess in a support structure;
delivering the ink from sets of the ink supply apertures to respective print modules positioned in the recess, each print module receiving ink from a respective set and each print module having a plurality of ink inlets aligned with corresponding ink supply apertures; and
converging the ink from ink inlets at opposite sides of each print module towards a respective printhead chip,
wherein the print modules are positioned in a neighboring arrangement within the recess.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein different colored inks are converged from opposite sides of each print module.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the printhead chip comprises a plurality of nozzle rows, and wherein a first nozzle row receives ink from a first ink supply aperture aligned with a first ink inlet at one side of the print module and a second nozzle row receives ink from a second ink supply aperture aligned with a second ink inlet at an opposite second side of the print module.
13. The method of claim 10 wherein each print module comprises a convergent ink delivery structure and a single printhead chip.