Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-06
2003-10-07
Hallacher, Craig (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
active
06629755
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, an ink jet recording apparatus, and a method for manufacturing the ink jet recording head and, more particularly, to the structure and construction of a connecting section between a recording element substrate (liquid discharging substrate) on which a recording element (energy generating means) is provided and a wiring substrate for supplying power thereto.
2. Related Background Art
An ink jet recording apparatus, a so-called non-impact type recording apparatus, refers to an apparatus for recording information by discharging recording liquid (ink) onto a subject medium. This type of ink jet recording apparatus has excellent features such as high speed recording, compatibility with a variety of recording media as the subject medium in recording, and little noise production during recording. These features of the ink jet recording apparatus render it suitable for wide use as a printer or an apparatus equipped with a recording mechanism such as a word processor, a facsimile, a copy machine, etc.
Typically, this type of ink jet recording apparatus comprises an ink jet recording head including a plurality of ink jet recording nozzles, each having a discharge port for discharging liquid drops and a recording element for generating energy to discharge the liquid drops; and a liquid supply system for supplying liquid to the ink jet recording head. There are two types of ink jet recording head: one type (edge shooter) discharges recording liquid in parallel with a substrate on which the recording elements are arrayed, and the other type (side shooter) discharges recording liquid perpendicularly to a substrate on which recording elements are arrayed.
The ink jet recording head typically employs a method for using an electric thermal converting element as the recording element. By this method, thermal energy is given to liquid to utilize the pressure of bubbles produced when the liquid subsequently changes in phase to foam (boils), in order to discharge drops of the recording liquid. An ink jet recording apparatus employing such a recording method specifically supplies as a recording signal an electric pulse to an electric thermal converting element, which in turn generates thermal energy to bring about film boiling of the liquid in order to generate a pressure, which causes minute drops of the liquid to be discharged from a minute ejection outlet, thereby recording information on a subject medium.
FIG. 14
shows a recording element substrate
101
constituting an important section of a side shooter type ink jet recording head that has been used conventionally. The figure is a partially exploded perspective view.
The recording element substrate
101
comprises a substrate
102
, and a member
123
including electric wiring and a liquid chamber filled with ink, which are formed on the substrate
102
by film forming technologies. The substrate
102
is made of silicon formed to a thickness of, for example, 0.5 to 1.0 mm. In the substrate
102
is formed a plurality of ink supply outlets
103
each consisting of an elongated groove shape through-outlet for receiving liquid into the liquid chamber from the outside. On either side of each of the ink supply outlets
103
on the substrate
102
a row of electric thermal converting elements
104
is arrayed. Each row is staggered with respect to its adjacent rows.
The liquid chamber is formed so that it may communicate with each of the ink supply outlets
103
and also so that it may enclose the electric thermal converting elements
104
formed on both the sides of each ink supply outlet
103
. In the liquid chamber there is formed an ink flow path wall
107
constituting ink flow paths running through positions above the electric thermal converting elements
104
, respectively, and there are also formed ejection outlets
108
above the electric thermal converting elements
104
, respectively.
Furthermore, on the substrate
102
is formed an electric wiring line (not shown) made of aluminum (Al) for supplying power to each of the electric thermal converting elements
104
, which wiring line is connected to an electrode section
105
connected to an external power supply. The electrode section
105
is provided roughly at each of two longitudinal ends on the substrate
102
, and it has a plurality of arrayed connecting members
106
(“bumps”) made of gold (Au).
However, an ink jet recording head using the above-described recording element substrate
101
has the following problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to implement recent photo-grade improvements in the number of colors and the picture quality of a recorded image, the ink jet recording head has been designed to have a larger number of nozzles and a smaller pitch between the nozzles. With this, therefore, the electric thermal converting elements formed on the recording element substrate have also been devised to be more numerous and less spaced from each other. Besides, along with improving functions of the electric thermal converting elements, the bumps
106
of the electrode section
105
have also been devised to be more numerous and less spaced from each other. This has brought about a larger risk of poor connection such as open-circuiting or short-circuiting occurring between the bumps
106
and the respective connecting terminals of electric wiring lines connected to an external power supply when they are connected with each other, thus leading to significant decrease in the packaging yield and the packaging reliability.
Furthermore, with the improvements in the number of colors and the picture quality, the number of nozzles, and hence the number of electric thermal converting elements, on the recording element substrate has been increased, thus increasing the power supplied to the electric thermal converter. This has brought about the need to suppress the connection resistance between the recording element substrate and the electric wiring substrate.
Furthermore, the higher density of the electric thermal converters and hence of the electric wiring lines has been a factor in the increased cost of ink jet recording heads. To solve these problems, it is desired to improve the packaging yield and reliability and reduce the connection resistance without increasing the costs significantly.
The present invention is devised taking into account the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technologies. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head having a recording element substrate on which power supply paths are formed densely, and electric wiring for connecting the recording element substrate to an external device, so as to be able to prevent poor connections, such as open-circuiting or short-circuiting, from occurring between the recording element substrate and connecting terminals of the electric wiring, in order to thereby improve the packaging yield and reliability and also to reduce the connection resistance when the recording element substrate and the electric wiring are connected with each other. It is another object of the present invention to provide such an ink jet recording head without increasing the manufacturing costs thereof significantly.
To this end, an ink jet recording head according to the present invention comprises:
a liquid discharging substrate provided with both (1) a plurality of energy generating elements for generating energy utilized to discharge liquid from each of a plurality of ejection outlets in response to an electric signal and (2) a plurality of connecting members electrically connected to said plurality of energy generating elements, respectively; and
an electric wiring substrate having a plurality of connecting terminals connected to said plurality of connecting members, respectively, for transmitting an electric signal supplied from the outside to said plurality of energy generating elements, respectively, wherein:
each of said plurality of connecting members protrudes from said li
Kawamura Shogo
Mori Toshihiro
Nojo Naruyuki
Saito Riichi
Hallacher Craig
Stephens Juanita
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