Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-29
2001-02-13
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186613
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on application No. 347,398/1996 filed Dec. 26, 1996 in Japan, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording head and a recording apparatus using the same, more specifically to an electrical connection in a recording head between a recording element unit formed with a recording element and a drive element unit formed with a drive element for driving the recording element.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a recording element unit and a drive element unit forming a recording head used in a recording apparatus, those which are shown in FIG.
1
A and
FIG. 1B
are known as examples. In FIG.
1
A and
FIG. 1B
, a recording element unit
161
and a drive element unit
162
form a recording head of an ink-jet type, which are formed on a common base plate
1601
. Specifically, the recording element unit
161
is composed of a heater
1607
, a segment electrical wiring
1608
, a common wiring electrode
1613
, a common electrode wiring
1614
, and the like, which are disposed on a substrate
1604
made of silicon (Si). On the other hand, the drive element unit
162
is composed of a drive element integrated circuit
1606
comprising transistors and the like, electrode wirings
1617
and
1618
, and the like, which are disposed on a similar substrate
1605
to the substrate
1604
. The respective substrates
1604
and
1605
are connected to the common base plate
1601
with an adhesive or the like. The recording element unit
161
and the drive element
162
are electrically connected one another by a bonding wire
1616
.
Details of the recording element unit
161
are shown in FIG.
2
.
FIG. 2
is a vertical sectional view of the recording element unit shown in FIG.
1
A. The heater
1607
for generating heat energy used for ejecting ink from an ejection port of the recording head is formed by connecting the segment electrode wiring
1608
and the common electrode wiring
1614
to a heat generation resistor layer
1620
, and on a top layer thereof are formed an ink resistant layer
1654
, a cavitation resistant layer, and the like, thereby generating a bubble in the ink utilizing the heat energy generated by the heater
1607
, and the ink can be ejected by a pressure of the bubble.
As shown in
FIG. 1A
, FIG.
1
B and
FIG. 2
, by providing a plurality of heat generation elements in the recording element unit
161
, it is possible to obtain an ink-jet recording apparatus that can simultaneously make recording of a plurality of dots using the plurality of the heat generation elements, thereby achieving high-speed recording. In particular, nowadays with increasing requirement for high-density, high-speed recording, simultaneous recording of a plurality of dots in line arranged on a recording medium in a primary scanning direction is generally used. A recording unit is therefore developed in which a large number of heat generation elements (heaters) are disposed in a high density.
Meanwhile, in case that a plurality of heat generation elements are disposed in the recording element unit to make simultaneous recording of a plurality of dots, each heat generation element should be separately ON/OFF controlled. As means for making such a control, a drive element composed of transistors and the like is used as shown in
FIG. 1A
, FIG.
1
B and FIG.
2
. This drive element can be formed in the recording element unit, generally, it is independently formed on the respective substrates and then connected to the recording element unit as shown in
FIG. 1A
, FIG.
1
B and FIG.
2
. This is because, when the recording element and the drive element are integrally formed on a same substrate, the entire substrate per se will malfunction even when a malfunction occurs in any part of the recording element and the drive element and, in particular, when making a replacement of any elements, the above integrated substrate is required to be replaced.
In case that a recording element board formed with the recording unit and a drive element board formed with the drive unit are separately provided, as techniques for electrically connecting between the boards, there have been known a wire bonding method as shown in
FIG. 1A
, FIG.
1
B and
FIG. 2
, and a method which uses an electrical connection member
1630
for electrical connection of the substrates
1604
and
1605
with each other as shown in FIG.
3
.
In the wire bonding method, to prevent adjacent fine electrodes from contacts each other, a pitch for connecting between respective elements on the recording element board or the drive element board is however required to have some interval. The maximum number of connection parts is necessarily determined when the sizes of the recording element board and the drive element board are determined. In the wire bonding method, since the pitch size is normally as large as about 0.2 mm, the number of connection parts is required to be reduced. On the contrary, when the number of connection parts in the recording element board or the drive element board is previously determined, this means that the sizes of the recording element board and the drive element board have to be very long.
In the method of using an electrical connection member as shown in
FIG. 3
, there are requirements for size reduction and cost reduction.
As one which solves such problems, a construction for electrical connection as shown in
FIG. 4
is proposed. That is, electrical connection is achieved by bump-shaped electrodes
1630
a
and
1630
b
which are protrudingly provided at an end of an electrode wiring. Compared with the above described wire bonding method and the method of using the electrical connection member, this method has advantages that high density wiring is extremely easy, compact construction and cost reduction are easy, and the like.
A construction of recording head using this method comprises a recording element having a wiring for supplying an electrical signal to the heater and a holder for holding the wiring, and a bump-shaped electrode protrudingly provided at an end of the wiring. A liquid passage communicating with an ejection port for ejecting the ink is provided in accordance with the heater as an energy generator of the recording element.
Another construction comprises a recording element unit including a recording element having a wiring for supplying an electrical signal to the heater and a holder for holding the wiring, and a bump-shaped electrode protrudingly provided at an end of the wiring, and a drive element unit having a drive element for driving the recording element and a wiring connected to the drive element, wherein the bump-shaped electrode and the wiring of the electrical drive element board are connected, and a liquid passage communicating with an ejection port for ejecting the ink is provided in accordance with the heater as an energy generator of the recording element.
In the above construction, a patterned wiring and the bump-shaped electrode are as follows: The patterned wirings of the recording element and drive element boards are formed on the surface of the holder. Further, when a protective layer for protection and insulation of the patterned wiring is formed on the surface of the holder, it is necessary to expose a sufficient area to form the bump-shaped electrode. The patterned wirings are formed of a conductive material such as Al or the like. A connection part comprising a bump-shaped electrode is formed on the patterned wiring of the recording element board.
The connection part comprising the bump-shaped electrode is for making electrical connection with another circuit boards. That is, “electrical connection” is achieved by directly bonding with connection part of other circuit boards and the like. Material of the bump-shaped electrode can be such metals as Cu, Ni, Au, Cr, Rh, or alloys thereof. The bump-shaped electrode and the patterned wiring may be integrally formed from the beginning of production, or after the patterned wiring is formed, t
Barlow John
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Stewart Jr. Charles W.
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