Claims
- 1. A fluid ejection device capable of ejecting fluid onto media comprising:
a carrier having an upper surface that defines a recess; a fluid ejecting substrate disposed in the recess and is configured for establishing electrical and fluidic coupling with the carrier, the fluid ejecting substrate having a generally planar orifice layer and a generally planar contact surface positioned below the orifice layer, the orifice layer extending above the upper surface of the carrier and defining a plurality of orifices therein; and an encapsulant that at least partially encapsulates the fluid ejecting substrate and the carrier.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the fluid ejecting substrate is configured for receiving fluid from the carrier.
- 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the encapsulant is formed adjacent the orifice layer.
- 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the carrier comprises an electrical connector, the electrical connector being electrically coupled to the fluid ejecting substrate at a location below the upper surface of the carrier.
- 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the carrier comprises a channel, the channel is formed in an inner lower surface of the carrier and is fluidically coupled to a fluid reservoir.
- 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the encapsulant is molded onto the carrier and fluid ejecting substrate via injection.
- 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact surface is electrically coupled to the carrier via an electrical interconnect, the electrical interconnect is positioned below the orifice layer of the fluid ejecting substrate.
- 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the recess formed in the upper surface of the carrier is countersunk thereby forming a countersunk recess, the carrier further comprises an inner lower surface configured to support the fluid ejecting substrate.
- 9. The device of claim 8, wherein a portion of the countersunk recess comprises electrical connectors formed therein.
- 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the recess is stepped.
- 11. A printing system comprising:
a fluid reservoir; and a printhead fluidically coupled to the fluid reservoir, wherein the printhead comprises:
a carrier having an upper surface that defines a recess; a fluid ejecting substrate disposed in the recess and fluidically coupled to the carrier, the fluid ejecting substrate having a generally planar orifice layer and a generally planar contact surface positioned below the orifice layer, the orifice layer extending above the upper surface of the carrier and defining a plurality of orifices therein, the contact surface electrically coupled to the carrier via an electrical interconnect that is positioned below the orifice layer of the fluid ejecting substrate; and an encapsulant that encapsulates the electrical interconnect and at least partially encapsulates the fluid ejecting substrate.
- 12. The printing system of claim 11, wherein the printhead is fluidically coupled to the fluid reservoir by a flexible conduit.
- 13. The printing system of claim 11, wherein the carrier further comprises at least one electrical contact pad for electrically coupling the printhead to a printhead positioning member for positioning the printhead relative to print media.
- 14. The printing system of claim 11, wherein the electrical interconnect is arched.
- 15. An inkjet printhead responsive to activation signals for ejecting ink onto media comprising:
a carrier having an upper surface that defines a recess, wherein the recess formed in the upper surface of the carrier is countersunk thereby forming a countersunk recess, wherein a portion of the countersunk recess comprises electrical connectors formed therein; a fluid ejecting substrate disposed therein that is configured for establishing electrical and fluidic coupling with the carrier, the fluid ejecting substrate having a generally planar orifice layer and a generally planar contact surface positioned below the orifice layer, the orifice layer extending above the upper surface of the carrier and defining a plurality of orifices therein; and an encapsulant that at least partially encapsulates the fluid ejecting substrate and the carrier; wherein the carrier further comprises an inner lower surface configured to support the fluid ejecting substrate; and wherein the portion of the countersunk recess comprising the electrical connectors is positioned below the upper surface of the carrier and has a predetermined depth chosen to substantially equal the height of the contact surface of the fluid ejecting substrate.
- 16. The print head of claim 15, wherein the contact surface of the fluid ejecting substrate comprises electrical contacts for receiving activation signals from a printing system via the carrier, the contact surface has a predetermined height chosen to substantially equal the predetermined depth of the portion of the countersunk recess comprising the electrical connectors.
- 17. The print head of claim 15, wherein the fluid ejecting substrate further comprises a bevel, the bevel having a height that is chosen such that the orifice layer extends above the upper surface of the carrier.
- 18. A method for manufacturing a fluid ejection device capable of ejecting fluid onto media, the method comprising:
providing a carrier configured to receive a fluid ejecting substrate, the fluid ejecting substrate comprising an orifice layer, first planar surface, and a contact surface positioned below the first planar surface; configuring the fluid ejecting substrate so that when the fluid ejecting substrate is inserted in the carrier, the first planar surface of the fluid ejecting substrate extends beyond an upper surface of the carrier; inserting the fluid ejecting substrate into the carrier; forming an electrical coupling between the contact surface of the fluid ejecting substrate and the carrier; and at least partially encapsulating the fluid ejecting substrate and the carrier.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein encapsulating the fluid ejecting substrate further comprises controlling positioning of the encapsulant once the encapsulant has been dispensed onto a predetermined portion of the fluid ejecting substrate.
- 20. The method of claim 18, wherein configuring the fluid ejecting substrate comprises choosing a bevel height of the fluid ejecting substrate so that the first planar surface of the fluid ejecting substrate extends beyond the upper surface of the carrier.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,694, filed Aug. 23, 2001 (allowed), which application is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,694 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/556,026, filed Apr. 20, 2000 (abandoned), which is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/430,534, filed Oct. 29, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,414, issued Feb. 13, 2001, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09938694 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
10657876 |
Sep 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09556026 |
Apr 2000 |
US |
Child |
09938694 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09430534 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Child |
09556026 |
Apr 2000 |
US |