Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-22
2003-03-25
Nguyen, Lamson (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S043000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536868
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 11-236783 (1999) filed Aug. 24, 1999 and 11-236994 filed Aug. 24, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection print head, a printing apparatus provided with the same and a method for producing a liquid ejection print head. The present invention is applicable not only to generally used printers but also to copiers, facsimile recorders with a communication system, word processors with a printing unit, or the like. Further, it relates to industrial printing apparatuses combined with various processing devices in a composite manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet type printing apparatus has been put into practice, wherein the printing operation is carried out on a printing surface of printing medium. In general, the ink jet type printing apparatus is provided with an ink cartridge having a print head for ejecting ink to the printing surface of the printing medium, for example, as shown in
FIGS. 22 and 23
.
As shown in
FIGS. 22 and 23
, the ink cartridge consists of ink tanks
4
Y,
4
M and
4
C for storing predetermined color ink, for example, yellow ink, magenta ink and cyan ink, respectively, a tank holder
2
for accommodating the ink tanks
4
Y,
4
M and
4
C, a print element substrate
10
disposed on the bottom of the tank holder
2
, for ejecting ink from the respective ink tanks
4
Y to
4
C through a plurality of ejecting openings, and a flexible wiring board
8
electrically connected to the print element substrate
10
, for supplying a group of control signals to the print element substrate
10
.
The print element substrate
10
consists of substrates
10
C,
10
M and
10
Y for ejecting respective colored inks. Since the substrates
10
C,
10
M and
10
Y are of the same structure to each other, the explanation will be made solely on the substrate
10
M, while eliminating that of the other substrates.
For example, as shown in
FIG. 21
in an enlarged manner, the substrate
10
M is formed of silicon as a thin plate and has a group of ink ejection openings
10
a
arranged in one direction in a zigzag manner. In each of ink flow passages communicating with the respective ink ejection opening is provided a heater used as an electrothermal transducer. Also, a group of electrodes
10
e
are formed along opposite short edges thereof, for transmitting the supplied control signals to the respective heater via a conductor layer not shown. On the back surface of the substrate
10
M is formed an elongate recess
10
b
in correspondence to the group of ink ejection openings
10
a.
On a bulged portion in the bottom of the tank holder
2
made of resinous material, a frame member
12
is disposed having an opening at a center thereof. In the opening of the frame member
12
, a support member
14
is arranged. The support member
14
serves for dissipating heat generated when the print element substrate
10
is driven and serves for making the substrate to be mutually parallel to a surface on which the substrates
10
Y to
10
C are arranged. Since the frame member
12
is fixedly adhered to the support member
14
, it functions as a heat dissipation member similar to the support member
14
. The support member
14
and the frame member
12
are made, for example, of silicon or alumina which can be machined to have a flatness at a relatively high degree equal to that of material for the print element substrate
10
and are excellent in heat dissipation. The support member
14
has three ink supply openings
14
a
arranged in a central area at a predetermined interval, for allowing ink from the respective ink tanks to pass therethrough, and is fixedly adhered to the tank holder
2
. As an adhesive, silicon-modified epoxy type adhesive is favorably used, which is ink-resistant to be usable as a sealant and has elasticity capable of compensating for the difference in linear thermal expansion coefficient between different kinds of material; for example, between alumina and resinous material.
At each the opposite ends of the bulged portion on the bottom of the tank holder
2
used as a holder member, a recess
2
A is formed. The respective recess
2
A is defined by four flat faces encircling the same. One of these four faces is a reference surface
2
RS formed in the moving direction of the tank holder
2
accompanied with the ink tanks
4
Y to
4
C, that is, in the direction of arrow S shown in FIG.
21
. The reference surface
2
RS of the recess
2
A engages with an engagement section
16
K of a carriage member
16
described later, respectively.
Further, as shown in
FIG. 22
, on the frame member
12
, the flexible wiring board
8
electrically connected to the group of electrodes
10
e
of the substrates
10
C to
10
Y in the print element substrate
10
is disposed. The flexible wiring board
8
has an opening at a position corresponding to the print element substrate
10
.
The tank holder
2
as shown in a phantom line in
FIG. 23
, accommodating the ink tanks
4
Y to
4
C therein, is inserted into the carriage member
16
in the direction of the arrow so that it is mounted to a mounting portion within the carriage member
16
provided in the printing apparatus as shown in a solid line.
The carriage member
16
is movably held by a guide shaft GS which slidably engages into a through-hole
16
b
of a proximal end of the carriage member
16
. Also, on the bottom of the carriage member
16
, an opening
16
a
is formed to communicate with the mounting portion. Further, at the peripheral position of the opening
16
a
, an engagement portion
16
K is provided opposite thereto, having a surface to be engaged with the reference surface
2
RS of the above-mentioned recess
2
A of the tank holder
2
. The engagement portion
16
K extends in the direction of the arrow S of
FIG. 23
, that is, in the moving direction of the carriage member
16
, toward the interior of the opening
16
a.
It is necessary that the above-mentioned group of ink ejection openings
10
a
of the print element substrate
10
are arranged at a predetermined angle relative to the direction of the arrow S shown in
FIGS. 21 and 23
, for example, generally vertical thereto for the purpose of forming pixels at predetermined positions on the print surface of the printing medium as moving in the direction of the arrow S,
Accordingly, when the print element substrate
10
is located and fixed at a predetermined position on the tank holder
2
, the print element substrate
10
is first positioned on the support member
14
within the opening of the frame member
12
so that the direction of the group of ink ejection openings
10
a
in the respective substrates
10
Y to
10
C are generally vertical to the reference surface
2
RS, and then fixed with an adhesive. The adhesive may be, for example, an ink-resistant epoxy type heat-hardening adhesive also usable as a sealant. Thus, the print element substrate
10
is fixed on the tank holder
2
so that the group of ink ejection openings
10
a
thereof extend generally vertical to the reference surface
2
RS.
Then, when the group of ink ejection openings
10
a
of the print element substrate
10
on the tank holder
2
are located at predetermined positions of the mounting portion of the carriage member, as shown in
FIG. 23
, the tank holder
2
is inserted into the interior of the mounting portion so that the reference surface
2
RS in the recess
2
A abuts to the engagement surface of the engagement portion
16
K, whereby the group of ink ejection openings
10
a
of the attached print element substrate
10
are automatically positioned in the direction generally vertical to the direction of the arrow S.
However, as described above, the positioning of the print element substrate
10
in relation to the support member
14
in the tank holder
2
and the indirect positioning of the print element substrate
10
in relation to the carriage member
16
via the tank holder
2
are ca
Hirosawa Toshiaki
Kawamura Shogo
Saito Riichi
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