Claims
- 1. A printhead for an inkjet printer, comprising:
an essentially rigid substrate having a first surface and a second surface, including a conducting layer disposed at least partially on said second surface, and at least one opening extending from said first surface to said second surface; an ink ejection assembly having a first surface and a second surface, comprising an ejector, whereby momentum is imparted to ink within said ink ejection assembly, a nozzle plate forming a first portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly having a nozzle through which ink is ejected, a conducting layer forming a second portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly, whereby said ejector is energized, and an ink feed channel opening to said second surface of said ink ejection assembly; said ink ejection assembly disposed in said at least one opening and in contact with said essentially rigid substrate such that said nozzle plate and said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate are in a predetermined relationship relative to one another and said conducting layer of said ink ejection assembly is connected to said conducting layer of said essentially rigid saubstrate.
- 2. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 further comprising said nozzle plate and said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate being essentially coplanar.
- 3. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 further comprising said nozzle plate extending through and from said opening beyond said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 4. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate further comprises first and second planar portions which are essentially parallel to each other, said second planar portion disposed next to and at least partially surrounding said opening, and said second planar portion disposed closer to said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate than said first planar portion, thereby resulting in a thinner essentially rigid substrate in an area defined by said second planar portion than in an area defined by said first planar portion.
- 5. A printhead in accordance with claim 4 further comprising said conducting layer of said ink ejector assembly being connected to said conducting layer of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate at said second planar surface of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 6. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly and said second portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly further comprise two planar portions essentially parallel to each other, said second portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly being closer to said second surface of said ink ejection assembly than said first portion of said first surface of said ink ejection assembly, thereby resulting in a thicker ink ejection assembly at said nozzle plate than at said conducting layer.
- 7. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 wherein said essentially rigid substrate further comprises first and second laminations, said first lamination being thinner than said second lamination.
- 8. A printhead in accordance with claim 7 wherein a first side of said first lamination further comprises said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate and wherein said second lamination is affixed to a second side of said first lamination.
- 9. A printhead in accordance with claim 8 wherein said opening includes a first magnitude of area in said first lamination and a second magnitude of area in said second lamination, said second area magnitude being larger than said first area magnitude, whereby said opening is smaller at said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate than at said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 10. A printhead in accordance with claim 8 wherein said conducting layer further comprises a conducting layer disposed on said second side of said first lamination.
- 11. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 further comprising an active electronic circuit disposed on said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate and coupled to said conducting layer of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 12. A printhead in accordance with claim 1 wherein said ink ejection assembly further comprises an ink distribution layer affixed to said second surface of said ink ejection assembly and fluidically coupled to said ink feed channel, whereby ink may be provided to said ejector.
- 13. A method of manufacturing a printhead comprising the steps of:
providing an opening in an essentially rigid substrate having an external surface and a second surface, including a conducting layer disposed at least partially on said second surface, said opening in said essentially rigid substrate extending from said external surface to said second surface; forming an ink ejection assembly from an ejector, a nozzle plate and an ink feed channel, further comprising the steps of forming a nozzle in said nozzle plate, disposing said nozzle plate on a portion of an external surface of said ink ejection assembly, disposing an ejector in association with said nozzle such that ink is ejected from said nozzle when said ejector is energized, disposing a conducting layer on a second portion of said external surface of said ink ejection assembly and coupling said conducting layer to said ejector whereby said ejector is energized, and opening an ink feed channel in an inside surface of said ink ejection assembly; and disposing said ink ejection assembly in said opening and in contact with said essentially rigid substrate such that said nozzle plate and said external surface of said essentially rigid substrate are in a predetermined relationship relative to one another and said conducting layer of said ink ejection assembly is connected to said conducting layer of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 14. A method in accordance with the method of claim 13 wherein said ink ejection disposing step further comprises the step of disposing said nozzle plate and said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate in an essentially coplanar relationship.
- 15. A method in accordance with the method of claim 13 wherein said ink ejection disposing step further comprises the step of extending said nozzle plate through and from said opening beyond said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 16. A method in accordance with the method of claim 13 further comprising the step of affixing together first and second planar portions, which are essentially parallel to each other, to form said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate, and disposing said second planar portion next to and at least partially surrounding said opening, and closer to said first surface of said essentially rigid substrate than said first planar portion, thereby producing a thinner essentially rigid substrate in an area defined by said second planar portion than in an area defined by said first planar portion.
- 17. A method in accordance with the method of claim 16 further comprising the step of connecting said conducting layer of said ink ejector assembly to said conducting layer of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate at said second planar surface of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 18. A method in accordance with the method of claim 13 further comprising the step of affixing first and second laminations together to form said essentially rigid substrate, said first lamination being thinner than said second lamination.
- 19. A method in accordance with the method of claim 18 wherein said step of affixing first and second laminations together further comprises the step of affixing said second lamination to a side of said first lamination opposite a first side of said first lamination which comprises said external surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 20. A method in accordance with the method of claim 19 wherein said providing an opening step further comprises the step of providing a first magnitude of opening area in said first lamination and a second magnitude of opening area in said second lamination, said second opening area magnitude being larger than said first opening area magnitude, whereby said opening is smaller at said external surface of said essentially rigid substrate than at said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 21. A printhead in accordance with claim 19 wherein said conducting layer further comprises a conducting layer disposed on said second side of said first lamination.
- 22. A printhead in accordance with claim 13 further comprising an active electronic circuit disposed on said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate and coupled to said conducting layer of said second surface of said essentially rigid substrate.
- 23. A printhead in accordance with claim 13 wherein said ink ejection assembly further comprises an ink distribution layer affixed to said second surface of said ink ejection assembly and fluidically coupled to said ink feed channel, whereby ink may be provided to said ejector.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/959,376, “Scalable Wide-Array Inkjet Printhead and Method for Fabricating Same”, filed on behalf of Timothy E. Beerling, et al. On Oct. 28, 1997. The present invention is generally related to a printhead for an inkjet printer and is more particularly related to a printhead and its method of manufacture suitable for a large area printing.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09070864 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Child |
09924879 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08959376 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
09070864 |
Apr 1998 |
US |