Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-25
2001-08-14
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273554
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to ink jet printers and, more particularly, to carriages that mount, align, and scan ink jet print cartridges in those printers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The general design and construction of carriages that retain and align print cartridges in printers and scan these print cartridges through print zones is well known. Examples of the patents that have issued in the field of ink jet printing technology include:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,836 entitled “Printhead Cartridge and Carriage Assembly” by Ta et al. issued Jul. 5, 1988;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,026 entitled “Ink-jet Printer with Printhead Carriage Alignment Mechanism” by Rasmussen et al. issued Oct. 3, 1989;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907, 018 entitled “Printhead-Carriage Alignment and Electrical Interconnect Lock-in Mechanism” by Pinkerpell issued Mar. 6, 1990; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,063 entitled “Spring Cartridge Clamp for Inkjet Printer Carriage” by Rhoads issued Feb. 21, 1995.
The electronics in a printer that fire an ink jet print cartridge on command are connected to the electrical contact pads on a print cartridge by a flexible circuit. Such a flexible circuit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,097 entitled “Near-linear Spring Connect Structure for Flexible Interconnect Circuits” by Harmon. Good electrical contact and precise mechanical alignment are required at the interface between the raised bumps on the flexible circuit and contact pads on the print cartridge.
One problem that has developed with such flexible circuits is that during assembly of the carriage, the flexible circuits can buckle slightly. In other words, the flexible circuit can develop high and low areas and the required electrical contact and mechanical alignment may not be achieved.
It will be apparent from the foregoing, there is a need for an approach that allows the flexible circuit to flatten itself out during assembly of the carriage and to remove any unevenness in its surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly and in general terms, an apparatus according to the invention includes a flexible circuit having a circular hole and two elongate slots. Each slot has a major axis that intersects the center of the circular hole. The carriage has three members that receive the circular hole and the two slots and permit the flexible circuit to align itself when placed over the members.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4706097 (1987-11-01), Harmon
patent: 4755836 (1988-07-01), Ta et al.
patent: 4872026 (1989-10-01), Rasmussen et al.
patent: 4907018 (1990-03-01), Pinkerpell et al.
patent: 5392063 (1995-02-01), Rhoads
patent: 5734394 (1998-03-01), Hackleman
patent: 5917518 (1999-06-01), Ohashi et al.
Card Steven R
Mc Ardle Karen M.
Scholz Marcus
Hewlett--Packard Company
Le N.
Nghiem Michael
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