Method for joining rigid substrates at abutting lateral edges

Abstract

A method of joining substrates at their lateral edges uses an elongated stiffening member to provide the requisite rigidity and strength for the application in which the joined substrate is to be used. The joining method is useful in any type of application that shares three functional requirements: The joined substrate sections must produce a unitary substrate construction with sufficient rigidity and strength to maintain the substrate sections in a joined position during a subsequent processing operation on the unitary substrate and thereafter when a completed assembly composed of joined substrates is installed as a component of another apparatus. Secondly, if components are formed on a substrate prior to joining, the integrity of those components must remain intact and uncontaminated during the joining process in a manner that would permit a subsequent operation to successfully use the components. Thirdly, the joint between the abutting lateral edges of two substrate sections must be both of sufficient strength for the intended purpose of the unitary substrate construction and have a width controllable within a range of widths comprising an acceptable tolerance allowed for a distance between two adjacent components that occur at the joint. The method is illustrated in the context of a writing head for use in an electrographic marking device, where the writing head may be manufactured to any desirable width by using the method of the present invention to join head member sections to form a working substrate, prior to attaching the conductors thereto that form the nib line.