Print Head Design for Ballistic Aerosol Marking with Smooth Particulate Injection from an Array of Inlets into a Matching Array of Microchannels

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a material ejector (e.g., print head) geometry having alignment of material inlet channels in-line with microchannels, symmetrically disposed in a propellant flow, to obtain smooth, well-controlled, trajectories in a ballistic aerosol ejection implementation. Propellant (e.g., pressurized air) is supplied from above and below (or side-by-side) a microchannel array plane. Obviating sharp (e.g., 90 degree) corners permits propellant to flow smoothly from macroscopic source into the microchannels.

Claims

1-21. (canceled)

22. An apparatus for selectively depositing a particulate material onto a substrate, comprising: a material ejector body defining a nozzle and a microchannel region therein; a microchannel disposed within the microchannel region the microchannel comprising wall structures defining a nozzle profile; a particulate inlet channel disposed within the nozzle and substantially uniformly spaced apart from at least first and second opposite surfaces of the nozzle to thereby define substantially symmetrical first and second flow regions between the particulate inlet channel and the at least two opposite surfaces of the nozzle; at least one electrostatic particulate transport subsystem disposed with the particulate inlet channel; a particulate reservoir communicatively coupled to the particulate inlet channel for delivery of particulate material; a propellant source communicatively coupled to the nozzle; the particulate inlet channel disposed relative to the propellant source and within the nozzle such that propellant provided by the propellant source may flow substantially uniformly past the particulate inlet channel within the first and second flow regions; wherein particulate material may be provided by the particulate reservoir to the particulate inlet channel, the particulate material metered by the electrostatic particulate transport subsystem and transported from the electrostatic particulate transport subsystem by propellant flowing substantially uniformly past the particulate inlet channel within the first and second flow regions, and carried by the propellant to exit the material ejector body through the microchannel region toward the substrate.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the wall structure comprises a longitudinal body having a proximal end and a distal end, and wherein the proximal end comprises an end treatment selected from the group consisting of: a radius planform, a wedge planform, and an angled planform.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the particulate inlet channel is provided with a plurality of independently controllable electrostatic particulate transport subsystems.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising a plurality of particulate reservoirs, each the particulate reservoir communicatively coupled to an independently controllable electrostatic particulate transport subsystem.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising a controller for controlling the at least one electrostatic particulate transport subsystem as a function of propellant flow velocity between the particulate inlet channel and the microchannel region.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising a flow sensor communicatively coupled to the controller and disposed with a region between the particulate inlet channel and the microchannel region, the controller controlling the at least one electrostatic particulate transport subsystem responsive to data provided by the flow sensor.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a gating electrode coupled to the flow sensor and wherein the controller is configured to switch the gating electrode on or off based on an output of the flow sensor.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein a gating voltage of the gating electrode is based on the propellant flow velocity between the particulate inlet channel and the microchannel region.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the gating voltage is calculated by determining a pressure inside the particulate inlet channel.

31. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the microchannel region defines an exit flow plane, and further wherein the particulate inlet channel lies in the exit flow plane.

32. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of: marking materials visible to an unaided eye; marking materials not visible to an unaided eye; surface finish material; chemical materials; biological materials; medicinal materials; therapeutic materials; manufacturing materials; medicine; and immunization material.

33. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the material comprises a pharmaceutical material.

34. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the material ejector body is configured to deliver a drug to a biological tissue.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the material ejector body is configured to transdermally deliver the drug to the biological tissue.

36. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the microchannel region has a rectangular cross section.

37. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the particulate inlet channel is longitudinally aligned with the microchannel region and has an outlet facing the microchannel region.

38. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein each of the two opposite surfaces of the nozzle are arranged at a first angle φ<90 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of the particulate inlet channel.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the microchannel region has a first wall and an opposing second wall, each of the first and second walls of the microchannel region arranged at a second angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the material inlet channel.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the second angle is different than the first angle.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the first wall of the is parallel to the opposing second wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In the drawings appended hereto like reference numerals denote like elements between the various drawings. While illustrative, the drawings are not drawn to scale. In the drawings:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a cut-away side view of a ballistic aerosol print head of a type generally known in the art.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a cut-away side view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a cut-away top view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 4 is an end view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a particle trace model illustrating streamline velocity magnitude by position for a modeled print head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a particle trace model illustrating particle trajectories for a modeled print head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 7 is particle trace model illustrating velocity vectors by position for a print head of a type generally known in the art.

[0023] FIG. 8 is particle trace model illustrating particle trajectories by position for a print head of a type generally known in the art.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a cut-away top view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 10 is a cut-away top view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 11 is a trace model illustrating propellant velocity by position for a modeled print head according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 12 is a plot of propellant input pressure versus propellant velocity for two different channel lengths according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 13 is a cut-away side view of a ballistic aerosol print head according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] We initially point out that description of well-known starting materials, processing techniques, components, equipment and other well-known details may merely be summarized or are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the details of the present disclosure. Thus, where details are otherwise well known, we leave it to the application of the present disclosure to suggest or dictate choices relating to those details.

[0030] A print head design according to the present disclosure provides a smooth injection of particulates into an air stream of a ballistic aerosol marking system. Particulate inlets and microchannels are aligned in-line with each other, as opposed to the known arrangement of orienting the particulate inlets and microchannels generally perpendicular to one another. The continuous air stream is focused into the microchannels through a nozzle that is symmetric around the particulate inlets. With this geometry, particulate injection is in the same plane as the microchannels, while the air is supplied from the third dimension (i.e., from below and above the microchannel array plane).

[0031] A typical BAM printhead subsystem 20 is illustrated in FIG. 1. Subsystem 20 comprises a body 22 into which is formed a Laval-type expansion pipe 24. A carrier such as air, CO.sub.2, etc. is injected at a first proximal end 26 of body 22 to form a propellant stream within pipe 24. A plurality of toner channels 28a, b, c, and d are also formed in body 22. These channels are configured to deliver a material, such as colored toner, into the propellant stream. Control of the introduction of material from channels 28a, b, c, d is achieved, for example, by way of an electrostatic gate 30a, b, c, d, respectively, or other appropriate gating mechanism. A venture feed at position 32 into pipe 24 is thereby achieved (alternatively, material from each of channels 28a, b, c, d may also be pressure fed into position 32). As the material and propellant stream pass through pipe 24 pressure is converted into velocity, and the contributions from each of channels 28a, b, c, and d are mixed, such that an appropriate mixture of material exits pipe 24 at roughly 1 atm as a focused, high-velocity aerosol-like jet 34, in some embodiments at or above approx. 343 m/s (supersonic). In certain embodiments, the particles in the jet 34 impact a substrate 36 with sufficient momentum that they fuse on impact.

[0032] As will be noted from FIG. 1, the long axes of channels 30a, b, c, and d are disposed roughly perpendicular to the long axis of pipe 24. That is, the particulate materials to be delivered in jet 34 are introduced at right angles to their direction of delivery. In certain application this arrangement introduces a number of complications. For example, pipe 24 is relatively long (3000 μm) in comparison to its cross-section dimensions (65 μm×65 μm) in order to permit sufficient development of velocity and mixing of the particulate materials. However, this results in viscous loss of energy (and hence inefficiency) within pipe 24. Given the perpendicular arrangement of channels 28a, b, c, and d relative to the flow of the propellant stream, vortices may form near the delivery tips of channels 28a, b, c, and d. These vortices interfere with the precise controlled delivery of the particulate material. Furthermore, the perpendicular introduction of particulate material from channels 28a, b, c, and d relative to the flow of the propellant stream may result in jet defocusing due to the particles impacting the sidewalls of pipe 24.

[0033] To address these and other complications, and provide for certain improvements in system and method operation, the present disclosure provides in-line introduction of material into a propellant stream in a BAM system and method. The propellant stream is provided symmetrically from below and above (or side-to-side, or both above-below and side-to-side) relative to particulate inlets and provided to microchannels. The symmetry of the propellant flow around the inlets causes the particulates to enter the propellant stream smoothly, generally without impacting pipe sidewalls. The propellant flow including introduced particulates is focused due to the convergence of the air stream flow inside the microchannels. Additional focusing, e.g., perpendicular to the nozzle plane, is achieved through the use of Laval Nozzles inside the microchannels. This architecture reduces the mechanical shear forces the particulates experience as they travel through the device, as the particles do not directly impact the rigid side walls of the device as much as they are surrounded by the surrounding fluid. This enables smaller diameter jets without having to use smaller rigid exit orifices, enabling smaller diameter jets with less shear stress. Smaller diameter jets enable smaller target impact regions, which improves resolution for marking application but also has advantages of less pain for drug delivery applications when the target substrate is living tissue.

[0034] FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are side, top, and end views, respectively, of a ballistic aerosol marking system 50 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. System 50 comprises a print head body 52 communicatively coupled to a source structure or structures 54. For the purposes of explanation, body 52 and structure 54 are shown at relatively the same scale in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. However, in many embodiments it is contemplated that the scales of these two elements may differ by orders of magnitude, with body 52 much smaller, such as on the order of 100-500 μm in some embodiments, than structure 54, which may be on the order of several hundred mm or larger.

[0035] Source structure 54 comprises a pressurized propellant source 56 that provides a propellant acting as a carrier for particulates through and exiting body 52. The propellant may be provided by a compressor, refillable or non-refillable reservoir, material phase-change (e.g., solid to gaseous CO.sub.2), chemical reaction, etc. In many embodiments, propellant provided by structure 54 may be a gas, such as CO.sub.2, dehumidified ambient air, and so on. Additional details on the provision of propellant are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,149, which in its entirety is incorporated herein by reference. Source structure 54 also comprises a reservoir 58 containing particulates to be delivered by system 50. Examples of particulates include, but are not limited to particles, pellets, granules, etc. of toner, organic compounds, metals and alloys, medicines, plastic, wax, abrasives, proteins, nucleic acids, cells, and so on. Reservoir 58 may be configured to taper or focus at a distal end to an outlet port 60 in at least one dimension. Reservoir 58 may further be disposed within propellant source 56 and be configured relative thereto such that propellant passes through source 56 to an outlet port 62 over apical and base surfaces (and/or laterally opposite surface in other embodiments) and outlet port 60, as described further below.

[0036] Body 52 is configured to comprise a nozzle 64 at a first, proximal end. A particulate inlet channel 66 is disposed within nozzle 64. Particulate inlet channel 66 comprises an inlet port 68, sized and positioned relative to outlet port 60 of reservoir 58 to receive particulates therefrom. Optionally, particulate inlet channel 66 may further comprise one or more combined particle transport and metering assemblies (μATOM movers) 70a, 70b, such as disclosed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,149. Where appropriate, material transport and metering may be accomplished by one or more of various different systems and methods, and the μATOM movers 70a, b are merely one example. Particulate inlet channel 66 is disposed within nozzle 64 so as to be substantially uniformly spaced apart from at least first and second opposite surfaces of said nozzle, such as above and below or left and right sides (or both), to thereby define substantially symmetrical first and second flow regions 71a, 71b between particulate inlet channel 66 and the at least two opposite surfaces of nozzle 64.

[0037] Body 52 further comprises one or more microchannels 72 defined by wall structures 74. Microchannels 72 may be defined by patterned etching, or other appropriate processes, in a silicon or similar body. For example, arrays of microchannels 72 may be etched into Si wafers, or alternatively are etched into polymer layers laminated onto glass substrates, and fitted into body structure 52. Wall structures 74 may be provided with nozzle profiles 76 and/or end treatments 78 (such as a proximal end having a wedged, radiused, or angled planform 78a, 78b, 78c, respectively). Microchannels 72 (and wall structures 74) are spaced apart from particulate inlet channel 66 by a collection region 80, for example by a distance of 10-100 μm.

[0038] According to certain embodiments, the nozzle structure used to converge the air from a macroscopic pressure supply into the microchannels is milled out of glass, plastic (e.g., Plexiglas), etc. Furthermore, according to certain embodiments, in order to obtain alignment of the μAtom movers 70a, b with the microchannels 72, side walls with well-aligned groves (not shown) for sliding in chips containing the μAtom movers and microchannels can be used.

[0039] In operation, particulates are supplied from reservoir 58 to particulate inlet channel 66, such as by gravity, positive- or negative-pressure, electrostatics, etc. A propellant is supplied by pressurized propellant source 56 above and below (and/or on each side of) particulate inlet channel 66. The propellant is focused into microchannels 72 by nozzle 64, symmetrically aligned to the particulate inlet channel 66. μATOM movers 70a, b meter a controlled amount of particulates into the propellant stream at outlet ports 82. The metering of particulates, together with the flow of the propellant past outlet ports 82 carries the particulates toward and through microchannels 72. The velocity of the propellant and particulates is increased by the nozzle profiles of the microchannels 72 such that a high-velocity focused stream of particles exit the channels to be directed, for example, to a substrate 84.

[0040] A print head according to the above geometry was modeled and various aspects of the modeled device examined, and illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The model included an input pressure of 1.25 atm at the reservoir input and 1.3 atm at the microchannel input. FIG. 5 is a particle trace model illustrating streamline velocity magnitude by position, with particle flow from left to right in the figure. As can be seen, the above-described print head geometry with propellant provided symmetrically above and below (or on each side or both) of the particulate source results in a smooth convergence of the air stream lines around the particulate inlet channels and into the microchannels. FIG. 6 is a particle trace model illustrating particle trajectories, again with particle flow from left to right in the figure. It can be seen that the disclosed print head geometry provides “smooth” trajectories of the injected particulates.

[0041] The conditions illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 are in contrast to known designs, in which the particulate inlets are perpendicular to the microchannels. In these known designs, a vortex forms inside the toner inlet leading to multiple collisions of the particulates with the walls when entering the main air stream, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, which are particle trace models of a selected known print head geometry illustrating velocity magnitude and particle trajectories by position, respectively, with particle flow from right to left in each. (The model of the print head used in FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a 4 mm long by 84 μm wide channel, with a Laval nozzle at the right end of a 750 μm high toner inlet. Air pressure was set to 6 atm. The pressure at the toner inlet was 1 atm.) FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate certain inefficiencies of the prior art BAM print head designs, and highlight the advantages provided by the present design for certain applications.

[0042] Referring again to FIG. 2, the angle ϕ of the nozzle 64 that converges the air into the microchannels 72 controls the pressure needed inside the inlet channels 66 to prevent air flowing into the inlets. As ϕ decreases, the velocity v of the air increases around the particulate inlet exits. Because the total pressure remains constant, the static pressure at the inlet exits, which has to be balanced inside the inlets to prevent back flow, decreases due to Bernoulli's law:

[00001]$P_{\mathrm{total}}=P_{\mathrm{static}}+\frac{\rho }{2}.Math.v^2$

[0043] The particulates are introduced into the air stream in front of microchannels 72. The particulates are therefore focused inside microchannels 72 in the nozzle plane due to the converging air stream lines (FIG. 6). This allows optimizing the output spot (e.g., pixel) size by choosing the proper microchannel length.

[0044] Smooth particulate trajectories may be obtained from a slow, but continuous, propellant stream from the particulate inlet channels 66 into microchannels 72. According to one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, valving of charged particulates is achieved through a gating electrode 90 at outlet port 82 that is switched between an ON and OFF state, such as by controller 92. The gating voltage may be controlled as a function of the propellant flow velocity from the inlet channels 66 into microchannels 72, such as may be calculated from static pressure inside the particulate inlets or measured by an appropriate sensor(s) 94.

[0045] In an alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, instead of controlling the particulate supply to the individual microchannels by individual μAtom tracks, a single print head-wide μAtom mover 96 may continuously transport particulates to the microchannels, with individual electrodes 98a, 98b, 98c, etc. (away from the outlet port 82) gating particulates onto this μAtom mover. It will be appreciated, however, that a transport subsystem may not be required for all embodiments. For example, in drug delivery embodiments, dosing may be controlled by a set volume of the drug to be delivered contained within a reservoir (e.g., the dosage consuming the full contents of the reservoir). In the case of delivery of particulate of a drug, a “cloud” of the particulates may be formed, for example by a fluidizer or other known mechanism.

[0046] Among the several advantages provided by the print head geometry disclosed herein is the use of shorter microchannels than suggested in existing designs. According to the present disclosure, the microchannels are needed primarily or exclusively (depending on the configuration) for the final focusing of the propellant jets onto a substrate. All the other parts of the propellant supply are kept at macroscopic (>1 mm) dimensions. With less viscous losses inside the microchannels less input pressure is needed to accelerate the propellant to high (e.g., supersonic) speeds, as illustrated by FIG. 11 (velocity vectors of propellant flow, flow from left to right in the figure) and FIG. 12 (propellant/particle exit velocities as a function of channel length).

[0047] According to an alternative design of the print head illustrated in FIG. 13, microchannels are not provided. Nozzle 64 directly focuses the propellant through a micro slit 100. In certain embodiments, this requires that the length of the micro slit 100 be increased as compared to microchannel embodiments. This length may be on the order of several cm or longer. In these embodiments provisions may also be made to reduce turbulence at the micro slit.

[0048] As previously discussed, charged particulates may be supplied to individual microchannels by individual mAtom movers 70a, 70b and so on. That is, one or more μAtom movers may be disposed within inlet channels 66. In certain embodiments, each μAtom mover may be communicatively coupled to a unique particulate reservoir, such as 58a-70a and 58b-70b illustrated in FIG. 3. μAtom movers 70a, 70b may be connected to macroscopic Atom movers (not shown), which supply the particulates out of a (macroscopic) fluidized bed. In general, resolution of the print head is determined by the density of μAtom movers, gating electrodes, and microchannels employed. In one example, microchannels and μAtom movers provide a print resolution of up to 300 dpi, however, other print resolutions are contemplated by the present disclosure.

[0049] It should be understood that when a first portion of a structure disclosed herein is referred to as being “on” or “over” a second portion, it can be directly on the second portion, or on an intervening structure or structures may be between the first and second portions. Further, when a first portion is referred to as being “on” or “over” a second portion, the first portion may cover the entire second portion or only a part of the second portion.

[0050] The physics of modern micromechanical devices and the methods of their production are not absolutes, but rather statistical efforts to produce a desired device and/or result. Even with the utmost of attention being paid to repeatability of processes, the cleanliness of manufacturing facilities, the purity of starting and processing materials, and so forth, variations and imperfections result. Accordingly, no limitation in the description of the present disclosure or its claims can or should be read as absolute. The limitations of the claims are intended to define the boundaries of the present disclosure, up to and including those limitations. To further highlight this, the term “substantially” may occasionally be used herein in association with a claim limitation (although consideration for variations and imperfections is not restricted to only those limitations used with that term) and/or description. While as difficult to precisely define as the limitations of the present disclosure themselves, we intend that this term be interpreted as “to a large extent”, “as nearly as practicable”, “within technical limitations”, and the like.

[0051] While examples and variations have been presented in the foregoing description, it should be understood that a vast number of variations exist, and these examples are merely representative, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternative thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications variations, or improvements therein or thereon may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the claims, below.

[0052] Therefore, the foregoing description provides those of ordinary skill in the art with a convenient guide for implementation of the disclosure, and contemplates that various changes in the functions and arrangements of the described examples may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure defined by the claims thereto.