Printing cartridge having self-referencing printhead under thermally expansive conditions
View Patent ↗A printing cartridge for an inkjet printer is provided having an ink supply and a printhead assembly which has at least one printhead integrated circuit having ink ejection nozzles and an ink distribution support mounting the printhead integrated circuit(s). The ink distribution support distributes ink from the ink supply to the nozzles. The printing cartridge is mounted to the printer at the ink distribution support which is provided with at least one reference feature. The reference feature(s) serves to provide information on the location of the nozzles upon mounting of the printing cartridge to the printer. The ink distribution support is a molding formed from liquid crystal polymer. The liquid crystal polymer of the ink distribution support having thermal expansion characteristics similar to those of a silicon wafer of which the printhead integrated circuit is formed.
1. A printing cartridge for an inkjet printer, the cartridge comprising:
an ink supply; and
a printhead assembly comprising at least one printhead integrated circuit having a plurality of ink ejection nozzles and an ink distribution support mounting the, or each, printhead integrated circuit, the ink distribution support being arranged, in use, to distribute ink from the ink supply to the nozzles,
wherein the printing cartridge is mounted to the printer at the ink distribution support,
the ink distribution support is provided with at least one reference feature, the, or each, reference feature serving to provide information on the location of the nozzles upon mounting of the printing cartridge to the printer, and
the ink distribution support is a molding formed from liquid crystal polymer, the liquid crystal polymer of the ink distribution support having thermal expansion characteristics similar to those of a silicon wafer of which the printhead integrated circuit is formed.
2. A printing cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the ink distribution support is an elongate support, and the, or each, printhead integrated circuit is mounted to extend longitudinally along the elongate support.
3. A printing cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein the elongate support is formed as a molding, and the, or each, reference feature is molded as part of the support molding.
4. A printing cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein at least one reference feature is provided at either longitudinal end of the elongate support.
5. A printing cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the, or each, reference feature is configured to cooperate with a corresponding complementary feature of the printer upon mounting of the printing cartridge to the printer, the cooperation providing the information on the location of the nozzles.
6. A printing cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference feature is a slot in the ink distribution support.
7. A printing cartridge according to claim 6 , wherein the complementary feature of the printer is a mesa feature configured to cooperate with the slot in the ink distribution support.
8. A printing cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference feature is a flat surface of a plurality of corners of the ink distribution support.
9. A printing cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the reference features are provided, one of the reference features being a slot in the ink distribution support and the other reference features being a flat surface of a plurality of corners of the ink distribution support.