Electronically readable performance data on a thermal ink jet printhead chip
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a thermal ink-jet printhead including a silicon substrate having a plurality of heating elements defined thereon, comprising the steps of:
- providing at predetermined positions on the substrate a plurality of selectably removable leads;
performing a predetermined test on at least one heating element on the substrate, thereby yielding a binary number symbolically relating to a performance characteristic of the printhead;
applying a write voltage to certain of the selectably removable leads, thereby removing said certain leads consistent with the binary number;
applying electrical energy to the predetermined positions on the substrate to yield an electrical response from each position dependent on whether the lead therein has been removed, thereby reading the binary number; and
applying power to the heating element in a manner consistent with the performance characteristic symbolized by the binary number.
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Abstract
Data relating to the performance of an individual ink-jet printhead is stored in an electrically-readable form on a silicon substrate forming an essential part of the printhead. A template of electrically-detectable structure is created on the substrate at manufacture, and then portions of the structure are removed in accordance with the data desired to be stored. In one embodiment, the digital performance data may be encoded and also read out in serial form using a shift register on the chip.
75 Citations
3 Claims
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1. A method of operating a thermal ink-jet printhead including a silicon substrate having a plurality of heating elements defined thereon, comprising the steps of:
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providing at predetermined positions on the substrate a plurality of selectably removable leads; performing a predetermined test on at least one heating element on the substrate, thereby yielding a binary number symbolically relating to a performance characteristic of the printhead; applying a write voltage to certain of the selectably removable leads, thereby removing said certain leads consistent with the binary number; applying electrical energy to the predetermined positions on the substrate to yield an electrical response from each position dependent on whether the lead therein has been removed, thereby reading the binary number; and applying power to the heating element in a manner consistent with the performance characteristic symbolized by the binary number. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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Specification