Printing Head Substrate Wiring for Uniform Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printing apparatuses face issues with uneven image density due to temperature distributions in the printing head substrate, leading to deteriorated image quality, as the ejected liquid droplet amount and velocity vary with substrate temperature.
Innovation Solution
A printing head substrate with a heating element and a driver, where electrical connections are made using plural pieces of wiring to control temperature distribution, incorporating sub heaters with specific layouts and bypass wiring to maintain uniform heating and reduce electromigration risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single wiring connects the driver and heating element, then the electrical connection is simple, but electromigration and wire breaks occur more frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The single wiring path is divided into multiple separate wiring paths connecting the driver to the heating element. This segmentation distributes the current flow across multiple wires, reducing the current density and electromigration risk in each individual wiring, thereby improving overall wiring reliability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the substrate temperature is not controlled, then the device structure is simpler, but the image quality deteriorates due to temperature distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The heating control system applies different heating levels to different regions of the substrate by controlling multiple heating elements independently. This local quality approach ensures that each region receives appropriate heat to maintain uniform temperature distribution, thereby improving image quality while managing the complexity through region-specific control.
3Reliability
If multiple wiring paths are used to reduce electromigration, then the wiring reliability improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wiring structure is segmented into multiple parallel paths that can be fabricated using standard multi-layer PCB techniques. The segmented wiring paths are routed through different layers and connected via vias, which are conventional manufacturing processes that do not significantly increase fabrication complexity while effectively reducing electromigration through current distribution.
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 configuration ensures uniform temperature distribution, enhances image quality by maintaining consistent liquid ejection, and increases printing throughput while reducing the risk of wire breaks and electromigration.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element configured to control a temperature of the printing head substrate that ejects liquid
Data Source
AI summary
A printing head substrate includes: a heating element configured to control a temperature of the printing head substrate that ejects liquid supplied from a liquid supply port from an ejection orifice; and a driver configured to drive the heating element. An electrical connection between the heating clement and the driver is made by plural pieces of wiring.