Magnetostrictive ink jet printing mechanism

摘要

An ink jet printhead has a magnetostrictive actuator to eject ink from a nozzle chamber on demand. The actuator utilizes the phase transformation of a magnetostrictive material such as Terfenol-D in a magnetic field to cause the ejection of ink. The actuator includes a magnetostrictive paddle in a quiescent state which transfers to an ink ejection state upon the application of a magnetic field. The magnetic field is applied by passing a current through a conductive coil adjacent the magnetostrictive material.