Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.p.

Hewlett-Packard Company

Naoto A Kawamura

Timothy L Weber

David R Thomas

Colin C Davis

David J Waller

Qin Liu

Colby Van Vooren

Erik D Ness

John Paul Harmon

Richard W Seaver

Marvin Glenn Wong

Storrs Townsend Hoen

Kenneth E Trueba

Christopher C Beatty

Jeffery S Hess

Donald E Wenzel

Carl Lan Wu

Chien-Hua Chen

Jonah Alexander Harley

Timothy E Beerling

William S Eaton

Charles R Headrick

Chien-Hau Chen

David K McElfresh

Satya Prakash

Jiansan Sun

Wan Sin Ng

Arief Budiman Suriadi

Juliana Arifin

Leslie Ann Field

Mark H MacKenzie

Phillip W Barth

Stefano Schiaffino

Melissa D Boyd

Michael D Miller

Jeremy Harlan Donaldson

Daniel A Kearl

Donald J Milligan

Joseph R Elliot

Martha A Truninger

Steve A O'Hara

David K Donald

Roberto A Pugliese

Antonio Cruz-Uribe

Mehrgan Khavari

Sadiq Bengali

Timothy R Emery

Ronald L Enck

J P Harmon

William R Knight

John M Altendorf

Michael B Hager

Shen Buswell

Volker Smektala

William J Edwards

Susanne L Kumpf

Channing R Robertson

Diane Lai

Norman L Johnson

J Daniel Smith

Jonathan D Servaites

Kenneth L Christensen

Julie Jo Bostater

David J Walter

Mark H Mackenzie

David Mcelfresh

Inkjet printheads capable of printing smaller and larger drop-weight quantities of ink, and methods of manufacturing the inkjet printheads, are disclosed. The inkjet printhead includes a substrate. One or more portions of the substrate may be etched such that the substrate might have different thicknesses. In one example embodiment, an orifice layer can by applied to the substrate that has orifice areas with different orifice thicknesses.

Methods of fabricating fit firing chambers of different drop wights on a single printhead

A printing apparatus includes one of a first cartridge or a second cartridge. The first cartridge has a first contact array including a plurality of contact areas. The second cartridge has a second contact array including a plurality of contact areas. The locations of the contact areas of the first contact array are different from locations of the contact areas of the second contact array. The printing apparatus further includes a carriage that interchangeably receives the first cartridge and the second cartridge. A controller identifies whether the first cartridge or the second cartridge is installed in the carriage.

Interconnect circuit

Pillars are formed in a fully integrated thermal inkjet printhead to prevent particles from entering into a nozzle chamber along an ink refill channel. The pillars are formed after a step of applying a thin film structure to a substrate. At one step, pits are etched through the thin film structure. At another step, material for an orifice layer is deposited into the pits. At another step, a firing chamber is etched into the orifice layer. At another step, a trench is etched into the backside of the wafer in the vicinity of the filled pits. The material filling each pit is not removed and remains in place to define the respective pillars. Two or more pillars are formed within the trench for each inkjet nozzle chamber. Alternatively pillars are formed by depositing material into the underside trench and performing photoimaging processes.

Method of forming pillars in a fully integrated thermal inkjet printhead

A print cartridge includes a cartridge body having a lower portion and a vertical wall. A printhead is coupled with the lower portion of the cartridge body. A contact array including a plurality of contact areas is disposed on the vertical wall. The contact array is one of at least two contact arrays. Each contact array has a different pattern of contact area locations. A portion of the contact areas of each contact array are capable of providing identity information for the print cartridge.

This disclosure provides a valve which is controlled by a magnetic actuator. More specifically, the actuator is a polarized, magnetic actuator, that is, a magnetic actuator containing both a permanent magnet and an electromagnet. The actuator can be an inexpensive commercial relay having a pivoting armature that pushes a compliant diaphragm against a valve seat to close the valve. Preferably, the armature is configured as a 'see-saw,' such that as the valve is opened, an opposing end of the see-saw also displaces the diaphragm. In this manner, fluid pressure in a valve chamber is relatively constant, and there are no significant pressures which prevent the valve from opening and closing. The preferred application of the valve is to actively drive printer ink supply, such that ink can be selectively drawn using the valve from a remote ink supply into a local ink reservoir, mounted near a print head. A sensor at the local reservoir is used to detect air or low pressure, and causes the valve to open and draw more ink into the local reservoir.

Magnetically-actuated fluid control valve

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for printhead calibration. A method includes printing a swath. A temperature rise of a printhead is measured during the swath and an operating energy of the printhead is calibrated based on the measured temperature rise while performing a non-test print job.

Printhead calibration

Methods and systems for forming slotted substrates are described. In one exemplary embodiment, a substrate has a thickness defined by a first surface and a generally opposing second surface. The substrate has a fluid-feed slot extending between the first surface and the second surface with the fluid-feed slot being defined, at least in part, by a central portion and one or more capillary channels in fluid flowing relation to the central portion.

Slotted substrates and methods and systems for forming same

A print cartridge includes a cartridge body having a lower portion and a vertical wall. A printhead is attached to the lower portion of the cartridge body. A contact array having a first pair of columnar arrays of contact areas and a second pair of columnar arrays of contact areas is disposed on the vertical wall of the cartridge. The columnar arrays extending along at least one half of the height of a region occupied by the contact array. The columnar arrays of each pair of columnar arrays converge toward each other in a direction toward the lower portion of the cartridge body.

An inkjet printer includes a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed therein. During printing, ink drops are ejected through the ink orifices into a print zone between the printhead and a print medium. An air current disruption system directs an air stream through the print zone as the ink drops are ejected so as to disrupt air currents acting on the ink drops during printing and prevent print defects caused by the air currents. The air stream, however, does not disrupt an intended trajectory of the ink drops during printing.

Inkjet printing with air current disruption

Inkjet printheads capable of printing smaller and larger drop-weight quantities of ink, and methods of manufacturing the inkjet printheads, are disclosed. The inkjet printhead includes a substrate. One or more portions of the substrate may be etched such that the substrate might have different thicknesses. A thin-film layer is connected to the substrate and contains independently addressable ink-energizing elements, preferably resistors. An orifice layer having a substantially planar exterior surface is applied directly to the thin-film layer. Consequently, the thickness of the orifice layer varies with the thickness of the substrate. At least one firing chamber is defined in each portion of the orifice layer with a different thickness and, preferably, different-sized resistors. Alternatively, the orifice layer has a substantially uniform thickness. In order to achieve the multiple drop-weight capability of the present invention, firing chambers of different volumes are provided. In this embodiment, firing chambers that are to provide a larger drop-weight preferably have a more powerful ink-energizing element and are laterally offset from the firing chamber nozzle aperture. Other firing chambers that are to provide a small drop-weight preferably have a less powerful ink-energizing element and are aligned with the firing chamber nozzle aperture. Thus, the present invention provides inkjet printheads capable of printing various drop-weight quantities of ink.

Methods of fabricating FIT firing chambers of different drop weights on a single printhead

A fluid ejection device capable of ejecting fluid onto media and a method of manufacture are provided. The device has a carrier having an upper surface that defines a recess. A fluid ejecting substrate is disposed in the recess and is configured for establishing electrical and fluidic coupling with the carrier. The fluid ejecting substrate has a generally planar orifice layer and a generally planar contact surface positioned below the orifice layer. The orifice layer extends above the upper surface of the carrier and defines a plurality of orifices therein. An encapsulant at least partially encapsulates the fluid ejecting substrate and the carrier.

Fluid ejection device and method of manufacture

Described herein is a monolithic printhead formed using integrated circuit techniques. Thin film layers, including ink ejection elements, are formed on a top surface of a silicon substrate. The various layers are etched to provide conductive leads to the ink ejection elements. At least one ink feed hole is formed through the thin film layers for each ink ejection chamber. A trench is etched in the bottom surface of the substrate so that ink can flow into the trench and into each ink ejection chamber through the ink feed holes formed in the thin film layers. An orifice layer is formed on the top surface of the thin film layers to define the nozzles and ink ejection chambers. A phosphosilicate glass (PSG) layer, providing an insulation layer beneath the resistive layers, is etched back from the ink feed holes and is protected by a passivation layer to prevent the ink from interacting with the PSG layer. Other layers may also be protected from the ink by being etched back.

Fully integrated thermal inkjet printhead having etched back PSG layer

The described embodiments relate to methods and systems for forming slots in a substrate. In one exemplary embodiment, a slot is formed in a substrate that has first and second opposing surfaces. A first trench is dry etched through the first surface of the substrate. A second trench is created through the second surface of the substrate effective to form, in combination with the first trench, a slot. At least a portion of the slot passes entirely through the substrate, and the maximum width of the slot is less than or equal to about 50 of the thickness of the substrate.

Methods and systems for forming slots in a substrate

Growing community of inventors

Corvallis, OR, United States of America

Naoto A Kawamura