1. A printhead comprising:
a plurality of chambers on a substrate, each chamber having a nozzle;
a heater arranged in each chamber so as to heat fluid within the chamber to form a gas bubble therein and thereby cause ejection of a drop from the corresponding nozzle; and
a plurality of passages formed in the substrate so that each passage supplies the fluid to an associated one of the chambers,
wherein each heater includes solid material and has a mass of less than 10 nanograms of the solid material, the solid material being configured to be heated to cause formation of the gas bubble.
2. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater incorporates a cantilever beam.
3. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater is configured to cause formation of the gas bubble upon receipt of heating energy of less than 500 nanojoules.
4. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater is configured to cause formation of the gas bubble upon receipt of heating energy of less than the heating energy required to heat a volume of the ink equal to the volume of the ink drop from a temperature at which the ink is supplied from the associated ink supply passage to a boiling point of the ink.
5. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater is configured so that the gas bubble is formed at each of two opposing sides of the heater.
6. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater element is configured to form the gas bubbles so that a point of collapse of the gas bubbles is spaced from the heater.
7. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein a multilayered structure of a plurality of the heaters is disposed within each ink chamber, each heater being formed in a different layer.
8. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater is formed of solid material more than 90% of which, by atomic proportion, is constituted by at least one periodic element having an atomic number below 50.
9. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein each heater is substantially covered by a conformal protective coating, the coating of each heater having been applied to all sides of the heater element simultaneously such that the coating is seamless.
10. A printhead according to claim 1 wherein the areal density of the nozzles relative to the first surface of the substrate exceeds 10,000 nozzles per square centimeter of the first surface.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A laundry machine, comprising:
a cabinet that defines an exterior of the laundry machine;
a tub provided in the cabinet, the tub having an opening formed at an axial end wall thereof that is fixed to the cabinet;
a drum rotatably provided in the tub, the drum having an opening formed therein corresponding to the opening at the axial end of the tub, wherein the opening in the drum is spaced apart from an inner surface of the axial end wall of the tub in an axial direction;
a shaft connected to the drum;
a motor that rotates the shaft;
a bearing housing that rotatably supports the shaft passing therethrough; and
a suspension that elastically supports the drum, shaft, bearing housing and motor.
2. The laundry machine of claim 1, wherein a circumferential edge of the axial end wall of the tub having the opening formed therein extends all the way to a corresponding inner surface of the cabinet so as to be fixed directly thereto.
3. The laundry machine of claim 2, further comprising:
a plurality of fastening protrusions formed on the axial end wall of the tub that defines the opening;
a plurality of fastening holes formed in the inner surface of the cabinet, corresponding to the plurality of fastening protrusions; and
a plurality of fasteners that respectively couple the plurality of fastening protrusions and plurality of fastening holes so as to fix the tub to the cabinet.
4. The laundry machine of claim 3, wherein the plurality of fastening holes and plurality of fastening protrusions are formed behind a door coupled to the cabinet to open and close the opening in the axial end wall of the tub and corresponding opening in the drum so as to provide access to an interior of the drum.
5. The laundry machine of claim 1, wherein the suspension comprises a plurality of dampers coupled to the bearing housing.
6. The laundry machine of claim 5, wherein the suspension further comprises a plurality of damper brackets that respectively couple the plurality of dampers to the bearing housing.
7. The laundry machine of claim 6, wherein the plurality of dampers are respectively coupled to the plurality of damper brackets at a portion of the damper brackets that extend in a rotational axis direction of the drum.
8. The laundry machine of claim 1, wherein the axial end of the tub having the opening formed therein extends all the way to a front wall of the cabinet such that the axial end wall of the tub having the opening formed therein defines a front end of the tub, and the opening formed in the drum is formed in a front end of the drum, such that the opening in the drum and the opening in the tub correspond to an opening formed in the front wall of the cabinet to provide access to an interior of the drum.
9. The laundry machine of claim 1, further comprising:
a gasket positioned between the tub and the bearing housing to prevent the water inside the tub from leaking towards the bearing housing and allow the bearing housing to move relative to the tub.
10. The drum type washing machine of claim 9, further comprising a tub bracket between the bearing housing and the drum, wherein the gasket is connected between the tub and the tub bracket.
11. The laundry machine of claim 1, wherein the tub is fixed directly to a cabinet or formed integrally with the cabinet, and the suspension supports the drum within the tub separately from the tub.