Method of manufacture of a gear driven shutter ink jet printer

• US 6,866,789 B1
• Filed: 07/10/1998
• Issued: 03/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Memjet Technology Ltd. (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Gulakowski, Randy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed, Shamim
• Application Number:
  US09/113,124
• Time in Patent Office: 2,440 Days
• Field of Search: 216/27, 347/44, 347/54
• US Class Current: 216/27
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14314 Structure of ink jet print heads with electrostatically actuated membrane
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16 Production of nozzles
• 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 2/1629 wet etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1632 machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1637 molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1639 sacrificial molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1642 thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1643 thin film formation by plating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1645 thin film formation by spincoating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1646 thin film formation by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16585 for paper-width or non-reciprocating print heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/21 : Line printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 : in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 : Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 : Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 : by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 : multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 : using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 : 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/56 : using storage elements with more than two stable states represented by steps, e.g. of voltage, current, phase, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 : Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 : Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

This patent describes a method of manufacturing a gear driven shutter ink jet print head wherein an array of nozzles are formed on a substrate utilising planar monolithic deposition, lithographic and etching processes. Multiple ink jet heads are formed simultaneously on a single planar substrate such as a silicon wafer. The print heads can be formed utilising standard VLSI/ULSI processing and can include integrated drive electronics formed on the same substrate. The drive electronics preferably being of a CMOS type. In the final construction, ink can be ejected from the substrate substantially normal to the substrate plane.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead which includes:

providing a substrate;

etching said substrate to form a nozzle chamber of a nozzle;

depositing a first sacrificial layer in said nozzle chamber;

depositing a plurality of permanent and further sacrificial layers on the substrate;

etching the permanent layers to create a shutter for opening and closing said nozzle chamber and a gear drive assembly in driving engagement with said shutter for opening and closing the shutter on demand for controlling ejection of ink from a nozzle opening of the nozzle; and

removing said sacrificial layers, thereby forming said printhead.

2. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 1 wherein multiple ink jet printheads are formed simultaneously on the substrate.

3. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 1 wherein said substrate is a silicon wafer.

4. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 1 wherein integrated drive electronics are formed on the same substrate.

5. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 4 wherein said integrated drive electronics are formed using a CMOS fabrication process.

6. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 1 wherein ink is ejected from said substrate normal to said substrate.

7. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 1 which includes fabricating, on the substrate, a drive means for driving at least one gear of the gear drive assembly.

8. A method of manufacturing an ink jet printhead as claimed in claim 7 in which the drive means is a Lorenz force actuator.