High density nozzle array for inkjet printhead

• US 5,638,101 A
• Filed: 10/06/1994
• Issued: 06/10/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Childers, Winthrop D., Steinfield, Steven W., Trueba, Kenneth E., Courian, Kenneth J., Knight, William R., Keefe, Brian J., Moritz, Jules G. III, Chapman, Terri I., Ho, May F., Tappon, Ellen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Royer, William J.
• Application Number:
  US08/319,892
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 347/62, 347/63, 347/65, 347/84, 347/85, 347/86, 347/87
• US Class Current: 347/65
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04546 Multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0458 controlling heads based on heating elements forming bubbles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14024 Assembling head parts
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1404 Geometrical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14072 Electrical connections, e.g. details on electrodes, connecting the chip to the outside...
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14129 Layer structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14145 Structure of the manifold
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14201 Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1433 Structure of nozzle plates
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1603 of the front shooter type
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1626 etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1634 laser machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1643 thin film formation by plating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/175 Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17509 Whilst mounted in the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 : Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1752 : Mounting within the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17523 : Ink connection
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17526 : Electrical contacts to the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1753 : Details of contacts on the cartridge, e.g. protection of contacts
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17553 : Outer structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17556 : Means for regulating the pressure in the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14387 : Front shooter
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/13 : Heads having an integrated circuit

Abstract

Described is an inkjet print cartridge including an ink reservoir; a substrate having a plurality of individual ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each chamber; said ink firing chambers arranged in a first chamber array and a second chamber array and said firing chambers spaced so as to provide 600 dots per inch printing; an ink channel connecting said reservoir with said ink firing chambers, said channel including a primary channel connected at a first end with said reservoir and at a second end to a secondary channel; a separate inlet passage for each firing chamber connecting said secondary channel with said firing chamber for allowing high frequency refill of the firing chamber; a group of said firing chambers in adjacent relationship forming a primitive in which only one firing chamber in said primitive is activated at a time; a first circuit on said substrate connected to said firing elements; and a second circuit on said cartridge connected to said first circuit, for transmitting firing signals to said ink firing elements at a predetermined frequency. The preferred configuration of the nozzle member, ink channels, and firing chambers allows a printing resolution of 600 dots per inch.

Claims

1. A printing system having an array of nozzle orifices in a printhead comprising:

a supply of ink in an ink reservoir;

a substrate on the printhead, said substrate having at least approximately 300 ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each of said ink firing chambers, said ink firing chambers spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing of at least approximately 600 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead across a medium;

an ink channel connecting said reservoir with said ink firing chambers; and

first circuit means on said substrate connected to each ink firing element for selectively firing ink firing elements in said ink firing chambers,

wherein said ink firing chambers are arranged in at least two arrays, with said at least two arrays firing the same color of ink, and

wherein one of said at least two arrays is located along an outer edge of said substrate, and another of said at least two arrays is located along another outer edge of said substrate.

2. The printing system of claim 1 wherein said ink firing chambers are arranged in a first longitudinal array and a separate second longitudinal array of said ink firing chambers, said first longitudinal array and said second longitudinal array being in a direction perpendicular to a direction of scanning said printhead across a medium.

3. The printing system of claim 2 wherein said ink firing chambers in said first longitudinal array are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction approximately 1/300 inch from each other, and said ink firing chambers in said second longitudinal array are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction approximately 1/300th inch from each other.

4. The printing system of claim 1 wherein said ink channel includes a primary channel connected at a first end with said reservoir and at a second end to a secondary channel, and a separate inlet passage for each of said ink firing chambers connecting said secondary channel with each of said ink firing chambers.

5. A printing system having an array of nozzle orifices in a printhead comprising:

a supply of ink in an ink reservoir;

a substrate on the printhead, said substrate having at least approximately 300 ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each of said ink firing chambers, said ink firing chambers spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing of at least approximately 600 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead across a medium;

an ink channel connecting said reservoir with said ink firing chambers; and

first circuit means on said substrate connected to each ink firing element for selectively firing ink firing elements in said ink firing chambers,

wherein said ink channel includes a primary channel connected at a first end with said reservoir and at a second end to a secondary channel, and a separate inlet passage for each of said ink firing chambers connecting said secondary channel with each of said ink firing chambers, and

wherein said secondary channel extends around an outer edge of said substrate.

6. A printing system having an array of nozzle orifices in a printhead comprising:

a supply of ink in an ink reservoir;

a substrate on the printhead, said substrate having at least approximately 300 ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each of said ink firing chambers, said ink firing chambers spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing of at least approximately 600 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead across a medium;

an ink channel connecting said reservoir with said ink firing chambers; and

first circuit means on said substrate connected to each ink firing element for selectively firing ink firing elements in said ink firing chambers,

wherein a plurality of groups of said ink firing chambers are located on said substrate, each group containing a plurality of said ink firing chambers, each group forming a primitive in which a maximum of only one of said ink firing chambers in each primitive is activated at a time to eject ink.

7. A printing system having an array of nozzle orifices in a printhead comprising:

a supply of ink in an ink reservoir;

a substrate on the printhead, said substrate having a plurality of ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each of said ink firing chambers, said ink firing chambers being spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing equal to or greater than approximately 300 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead across a medium,

said ink firing chambers arranged in at least two separate arrays each extending in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to a direction of scanning of said printhead, said separate arrays being laterally spaced apart from each other;

addressing circuit means on said substrate connected to each ink firing element for selectively firing ink firing elements in said ink firing chambers;

firing circuit means on a print cartridge housing said printhead, said firing circuit means connected to said addressing circuit means for transmitting firing signals to said ink firing elements; and

electrical interconnect lines connected from an inkjet printer to said addressing circuit means and to said firing circuit means, wherein a total number of said interconnect lines is less than or equal to approximately one-third of a total number of said ink firing elements on said substrate.

8. The printing system of claim 7 wherein adjacent ink firing elements in each of said separate arrays are in staggered positions relative to each other in a lateral direction parallel to a direction of scanning said printhead.

9. The printing system of claim 7 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing greater than 400 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.

10. The printing system of claim 7 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing greater than 500 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.

11. The printing system of claim 7 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing of approximately 600 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.

12. An inkjet printer comprising:

a scanning carriage;

an array of nozzle orifices in a printhead mounted in said scanning carriage;

a supply of ink in an ink reservoir;

a substrate on the printhead, said substrate having a plurality of ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each of said ink firing chambers, said ink firing chambers being spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing equal to or greater than approximately 300 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead across a medium,

said ink firing chambers arranged in at least two separate arrays each extending in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to a direction of scanning of said printhead, said separate arrays being laterally spaced apart from each other;

addressing circuit means on said substrate connected to each ink firing element for selectively firing ink firing elements in said ink firing chambers;

firing circuit means on a print cartridge housing said printhead, said firing circuit means connected to said addressing circuit means for transmitting firing signals to said ink firing elements; and

electrical interconnect lines connected from an inkjet printer to said addressing circuit means and to said firing circuit means, wherein a total number of said interconnect lines is less than or equal to approximately one-third of a total number of said ink firing elements on said substrate.

13. The printer of claim 12 wherein adjacent ink firing elements in each of said separate arrays are in staggered positions relative to each other in a lateral direction parallel to a direction of scanning said printhead.

14. The printer of claim 12 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing greater than 400 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.

15. The printer of claim 12 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing greater than 500 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.

16. The printer of claim 12 wherein said ink firing chambers are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance so as to provide printing of approximately 600 dots per inch in a single pass of the printhead.