Fabricating an inkjet printhead with grouped nozzles

• US 7,219,427 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2003
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Memjet Technology Ltd. (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Tugbang; A. Dexter
• Application Number:
  US10/636,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20050144781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 298/901, 298/30, 298/31, 298/46, 347/43, 347/47, 347/54, 438/21, 438/200, 700/97, 700/98, 700/117, 700/119, 700/121, 216/27
• US Class Current: 29/890.1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04528 aiming at warming up the head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04541 Specific driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04553 detecting ambient temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04563 detecting head temperature; Ink temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04585 controlling heads based on thermal bent actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04588 using a specific waveform
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04591 Width of the driving signal being adjusted
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04596 Non-ejecting pulses
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry 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 2/1646 thin film formation by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1648 Production of print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/175 : Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14362 : Assembling elements of heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14419 : Manifold
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14491 : Electrical connection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49083 : Heater type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49128 : Assembling formed circuit to base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 : Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/494 : Fluidic or fluid actuated device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49401 : Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet

Abstract

A method of construction of an inkjet printhead having a large array of inkjet nozzle arrangements by defining a single inkjet nozzle arrangement for the ejection of ink from a single nozzle and utilizing a series of translations and rotations of the single inkjet nozzle arrangement to form all the inkjet nozzles of the inkjet print head. The utilizing step can comprise: initially forming those nozzles in a pod; forming a group of pods corresponding to each color utilized in the print head; forming a firing group of pods; forming a segment of the printhead; forming each segment of the print head. The inkjet nozzle arrangements can include a series of layers deposited and etch utilizing a mask.

Claims

1. A method of construction of an inkjet printhead that prints a plurality of inks, said method comprising:

forming a single inkjet nozzle arrangement so as to have a single ink ejection nozzle and an actuator element for the ejection of ink from the single ink ejection nozzle; and

replicating the single inkjet nozzle arrangement by performing a series of translations and rotations of said single inkjet nozzle arrangement to form an array of the inkjet nozzles thereby constructing said inkjet print head;

said replicating step including;

forming a plurality of pods of nozzles, each pod consisting of a plurality of contiguous nozzles, the nozzles of a pod configured to print the same ink.

2. The method of claim 1 further including:

forming a group of pods, each group configured to print the same ink;

forming a plurality of said groups of pods into a firing group;

combining firing groups forming a segment of said printhead, and

forming each segment together to form said printhead.

3. The method of claim 1 including forming the nozzles of a pod to share a common ink supply.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inkjet nozzle arrangements include a series of layers deposited and etched utilizing a mask.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said layers include conductive layers which are etched utilizing said mask so as to form a series of conductive interconnections.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said conductive interconnections include interconnections with adjacent versions of said inkjet nozzle arrangement which comprise translated and/or rotated copies of said inkjet nozzle arrangement.

7. The method of claim 1 including configuring the printhead, whereby in use, at least one nozzle arrangement of each pod is activated at a different time to at least one other nozzle arrangement of the pod.

8. A method as in any of the previous claims, in which said printhead is constructed from a series of segment replications.