Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-05
2004-10-12
Brooke, Michael (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S058000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06802595
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording head that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid, such as ink or the like, onto a recording medium, and an ink-jet recording apparatus including the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible-film wire substrate which is used by being bent in such a recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink-jet recording apparatuses adopt a so-called non-impact recording method, and have the features that high-speed recording and recording for various recording media can be performed, and less noise is produced during recording. Accordingly, ink-jet recording apparatuses are widely adopted as printers, or recording mechanisms for word processors, facsimile apparatuses, copiers and the like.
In a typical ink-jet recording method, recording is performed on a recording medium, such as paper or the like, by discharging liquid droplets from fine discharge ports using electrothermal transducers. Such ink-jet recording is usually performed using an ink-jet recording head having nozzles for forming liquid droplets, and a supply system for supplying the head with a recording liquid, such as ink or the like.
In ink-jet recording heads using electrothermal transducers, electrothermal transducers are provided within a pressure chamber. Thermal energy is supplied to a recording liquid by providing electric pulses, serving as a recording signal, and the pressure of each generated bubble (due to film boiling) of the recording liquid caused by a phase change of the recording liquid at that time is utilized for discharging a liquid droplet for recording. Such ink-jet recording heads using electrothermal transducers utilize two methods, i.e., a method in which a recording liquid is discharged in parallel to a substrate on which electrothermal transducers are arranged (an edge shooter method), and a method in which a recording liquid is discharged perpendicularly to a substrate on which electrothermal transducers are arranged (a side shooter method).
As a result of recent tendency of reduction in the size, realization of a high speed, multicolor printing and high picture quality of ink-jet recording heads, a plurality of recording-element substrates are provided on one ink supply/holding member with an interval of several millimeters to several tens of millimeters, and very precise bonding and fixing with an interval of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers are being performed.
FIG. 11
illustrates the configuration of a conventional ink-jet recording head unit.
FIG. 12
illustrates a recording-element substrate
1100
in detail.
In
FIG. 12
, a plurality of discharge ports
1108
for discharging ink are opened in the recording-element substrate
1100
, and an ink supply port
1109
for supplying ink is opened at the back of the discharge ports
1108
at a length substantially equal to the length of the string of the discharge ports
1108
. The plurality of discharge ports
1108
are disposed so as to correspond to electrothermal transducers
1103
formed on a substrate
1101
. Although in
FIG. 12
, only several discharge ports
1108
are illustrated, several tens to several hundreds of discharge ports
1108
are opened in actual products.
In order to discharge ink, electrodes on the recording-element substrate
1100
are electrically connected to electrode terminals on a flexible-film wire substrate
2
shown in
FIG. 11
, and an electric signal for discharging ink from the discharge ports
1108
is supplied from output terminals of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
. Input terminals
204
on the flexible-film wire substrate
2
are electrically connected to output terminals of a wire substrate
5
having external input pads
7
for supplying the ink-jet recording head with an electric signal representing recording information or the like from the main body of the recording apparatus.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the flexible-film wire substrate
2
to which the recording-element substrate
1100
is electrically connected is bonded and fixed on an ink supply/holding member
4
.
A wire connection portion (input terminal portion) of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
includes signal-line input terminals
204
where relatively small currents flow, and power-supply-line input terminals to be connected to a power supply, ground and the like, for supplying a recording liquid with thermal energy. A wire connection portion (output terminal portion) of the wire substrate
5
includes signal-line output terminals and power-supply-line output terminals corresponding to the signal-line input terminals and the power-supply-line input terminals, respectively. The input terminals of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
and the output terminals of the wire substrates
5
, whose number is several tens to several hundreds, are electrically connected at a pitch of 100-500 &mgr;m.
By bending the flexible-film wire substrate
2
so as to provide two crest portions and a valley portion between these crest portions, it is possible to bend the flexible-film wire substrate
2
for a recording head
1001
along the ink supply/holding member
4
, and dispose a sheet pressing roller near the recording-element substrate
1100
while preventing interference between the wire substrate
5
and the sheet pressing roller, thereby reducing the size of the apparatus (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2001-063053 (2001)).
However, the above-described ink-jet recording head has the following problems.
In the wire connection portion of the wire substrate
5
, in contrast to the signal-line connection terminals where relatively small currents flow, each of the power-supply-line connection terminals to be connected to the power supply, ground and the like, for providing the recording liquid with thermal energy comprises a plurality of connection terminals in order to reduce connection resistance. Accordingly, the number of terminals at the wire connection portion of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
increases by an amount of providing a plurality of terminals corresponding to the power-supply-line connection terminals, resulting in an increase in the width of the entire wire connection portion. Furthermore, as a result of recent tendency of a high speed and high picture quality of the ink-jet recording head, the number of nozzles and the number of electrothermal transducers also increase, resulting in an increase in the number of power-supply lines for the power supply, ground and the like, provided on the flexible-film wire substrate
2
.
As a result of such an increase in the number of the power-supply lines for the power supply, ground and the like, provided on the flexible-film wire substrate
2
, the width of the entire flexible-film wire substrate
2
also increases. Such an increase in the width of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
has been a problem for reducing the size of the ink-jet recording head.
However, if it is intended to reduce the width of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
, the width W of each connection terminal for the power-supply lines for the power supply, ground and the like is also reduced, thereby causing the problems that, when electrically connecting the terminal connection portion (the connection portion of input terminals) of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
to the terminal connection portion (the connection portion of output terminals) of the wire substrate
5
, open circuit or short circuit between terminals may occur, resulting in degradation in reliability.
A structure of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
for securing reliability of terminal connection portions without sacrificing reduction in the size of the head may be considered, in which the width of portions other than terminal connection portions of the flexible-film wire substrate
2
is small while sufficiently maintaining the width of terminal connection portions.
In such a flexible-film wire substrate
2
in which the width of the terminal connection portion
Brooke Michael
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
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