The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 05, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 30, 1999
Masahiko Kubota, Tokyo, JP;
Masaru Iketani, Atsugi, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
The invention provides a liquid discharge head, a substrate for the head, a liquid discharge method, and a liquid discharge apparatus, in which a high gradation can be easily obtained and simplification of a circuit formation and miniaturization of a recording head can be achieved. According to the present invention, a liquid discharge head comprises a heat generating element for generating thermal energy which is used for discharging liquid from a discharge port, and a protective layer for protecting the heat generating element, provided on the heat generating element. In the discharge head, the protective layer has a first region with a substantially uniform and desired thickness and a second region with a substantially uniform thickness thinner than said desired thickness, the volume of liquid droplets discharged from the discharge port is changed by changing electric energy applied to the heat generating element.