Printing Head Flying Lead Slack Shape via Curved Substrate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing printing heads with ink ejecting nozzles face issues due to thermal expansion, which can lead to cracking or destruction of flying leads and increased manufacturing costs, especially when using elastomers or molds that concentrate stress and require frequent replacement.
Innovation Solution
A method involving deformable flying leads connected to a substrate with a predetermined slack shape, allowing for thermal expansion absorption and reduced manufacturing steps, by positioning the substrate and electric wiring base material on different surfaces to form a continuous curved slack shape, eliminating the need for additional slack formation steps and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If elastomer is pressed against flying leads to form slack shape, then slack shape is formed, but stress concentrates and flying leads may crack or destroy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent forms a curved surface on the substrate that guides the flying leads to naturally form a slack shape along the curvature. This distributed curved path prevents stress concentration by evenly distributing the bending stress along the entire length of the flying lead, rather than concentrating it at a single point as in conventional pressing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical pressing method (using elastomer or molds) with a geometric constraint method. The curved surface geometry itself provides the slack formation mechanism, eliminating the need for external pressing forces that cause stress concentration and potential damage to the flying leads.
2Shape
If male mold and female mold are used to form slack, then slack shape is formed, but molding is difficult and mold lifetime reduces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the slack formation function from the molding process itself and integrates it into the substrate structure through the curved surface. This eliminates the need for separate male and female molds, simplifying the manufacturing process and removing the limitation of mold lifetime while maintaining the ability to form the required slack shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate's curved surface itself provides the slack formation function without requiring external molding tools. The geometry of the substrate serves its dual purpose of both structural support and slack formation, making the manufacturing process self-sufficient and eliminating mold replacement requirements.
3Shape
If flying leads are pressed to form slack, then slack shape is formed, but manufacturing costs increase due to mold replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the substrate's curved surface as a permanent, reusable structure that inherently provides slack formation. This eliminates the need for expensive, short-lived molds that require frequent replacement, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining consistent slack shape quality throughout production.
4Adaptability or versatility
If pitch and width of flying leads decrease, then connection density increases, but load on flying leads increases and they may be destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The curved surface geometry distributes the mechanical load along the entire length of the flying leads as they follow the curved path. This prevents stress concentration at any single point, which is particularly important for fine-pitch, narrow-width flying leads that are more susceptible to damage from localized stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved surface pre-forms the slack shape before the flying leads are subjected to thermal expansion or mechanical stress during operation. This pre-formed geometry acts as a cushion that absorbs stress, preventing the fine-pitch flying leads from being overloaded and destroyed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach maintains reliable connections between the substrate and electric wiring base material despite thermal expansion, enhancing the printing head's reliability and reducing manufacturing costs by simplifying the process and avoiding the need for frequent mold replacement.
Implementation Method 1
heat resulting from these steps thermally expands the ink supply member and ink supply supplementing member to pull the laminated electric wiring base material away from the electric connection portion
Data Source
AI summary
A process for manufacturing a printing head is able to maintain an appropriate connection between a substrate and flying leads. The process includes a connecting step of connecting electric connection terminals of a substrate and flying leads provided on an electric wiring basic material and a mounting step of mounting a unit consisting of the electric wiring base material and the substrate connected together, on a printing head main body. During the connecting step, the substrate and each flying lead are electrically connected together with a predetermined distance between them. During the mounting step, the unit is fixed to the printing head main body so that the distance between each of the electric connection terminals of the substrate and the electric wiring base material is shorter than the predetermined distance. This forms a slack shape of each flying lead.