Heater chips with a reduced number of bondpads

• US 20070076057A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slingshot Printing LLC
• Original Assignee: Lexmark International Incorporated (Ninestar Corporation)
• Inventors: King, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,290,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/63
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14072 Electrical connections, e.g. details on electrodes, connecting the chip to the outside...

Abstract

Heater chips for use in printing devices, such as those including one or more ink vias and one or more heater arrays, where at least a portion of at least one the ink vias is associated with at least portions of at least two heater arrays. The first heater array can be adjacent to one side of at least a portion of the ink via and a second heater array can be adjacent to another side of at least a portion of the ink via. The heater chip can also include a bondpad supplying power to at least a portion of the first heater array and to at least a portion of the second heater array.

Claims

1. A heater chip for use in a printing device, comprising:

an ink via;

a first heater array adjacent at least a portion of one side of the ink via;

a second heater array adjacent at least a portion of another side of the ink via; and

a bondpad, wherein the bondpad supplies power to at least a portion of the first heater array and to at least a portion of the second heater array.

2. The heater chip of claim 1, further comprising a second bondpad, wherein the second bondpad supplies power to another portion of the first heater array and to another portion of the second heater array.

3. The heater chip of claim 1, wherein the bondpad supplies power to the first heater array and the second heater array portions by power traces physically separated proximal to the bondpad.

4. The heater chip of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second heater arrays comprise at least 320 heaters.

5. The heater chip of claim 1, wherein the bondpad supplies power to the first heater array and the second heater array by at least one power trace.

6. The heater chip of claim 1, wherein the first heater array and the second heater array each include a plurality of thin film resistors.

7. The heater chip of claim 1, further comprising a second ink via, and a third heater array associated with the second ink via, and wherein the bondpad supplies power to the third heater array.

8. A heater chip for use in a printing device, comprising

an ink via;

a first heater array and a second heater array adjacent at least a portion of the ink via, wherein the ink via is positioned between the first heater array and the second heater array; and

a bondpad having at least two traces stemming from the bondpad, wherein at least one of the traces is operatively connected to the first heater array and at least another one of the traces is operatively connected to the second heater array.

9. The heater chip of claim 8, wherein the at least two traces are physically separated proximal to the bondpad.

10. The heater chip of claim 8, wherein the first and second heater arrays include a plurality of thin film resistors formed, at least in part, from a material selected from the group of materials consisting of platinum, gold, silver, copper, aluminum, tantalum, titanium tungsten, silicon-nitrogen, silicon carbide, and diamond-like carbon.

11. The heater chip of claim 8, wherein each of the first and second heater arrays contain at least 320 heaters.

12. The heater chip of claim 11, wherein the bondpad and the at least two traces are capable of supplying eight simultaneous fires per heater array.

13. The heater chip of claim 8, wherein the first and second heater arrays each comprise a top portion and a bottom portion, and wherein the bondpad is operatively connected to the top portion of the first heater array and the top portion of the second heater array.

14. The heater chip of claim 13, further comprising a second bondpad operatively connected to the bottom portion of the first heater array and the bottom portion of the second heater array.

15. The heater chip of claim 8, further comprising:

another ink via disposed between a third heater array and a fourth heater array; and

a second bondpad coupled to a trace that is operatively connected to the third heater array and to a trace that is operatively connected to the fourth heater array, wherein the traces coupled to the second bondpad are physically separated proximal to the second bondpad.

16. A heater chip comprising:

at least eight heater arrays, wherein the at least eight heater arrays comprise four heater array pairs, and wherein the arrays in each of the heater array pairs are disposed substantially adjacent opposing sides of at least a portion of an ink via; and

a plurality of bondpads operatively connected to the at least eight heater arrays, wherein at least one of the plurality of bondpads is operatively connected to both heater arrays within one of the heater array pairs.

17. The chip of claim 16, wherein each of the at least eight heater arrays comprises a plurality of thin film resistors.

18. The chip of claim 16, wherein each of the at least eight heater arrays comprises at least 320 heaters.

19. The chip of claim 16, wherein each of the at least eight heater arrays comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, and wherein some of the plurality of bondpads are operatively connected to the top portion of one of the at least eight heater arrays and the top portion of another one of the at least eight heater arrays.

20. The chip claim 19, wherein some of the plurality of bondpads are operatively connected to the bottom portion of one of the at least eight heater arrays and to the bottom portion of another one of the at least eight heater arrays.