Printhead assembly with an extrusion for housing bus bars
View Patent ↗Provided is a printhead assembly for a pagewidth printer. The assembly includes a substrate channel, and a plurality of printhead modules positioned in the channel to form a pagewidth printhead module assembly. Also included are an extrusion for housing bus bars operatively providing electrical power to the printhead modules, and a cover plate securing a flex printed circuit board (PCB) in the assembly, the PCB forming a data bus to the printhead modules. The assembly further includes compressible conductive strips between the busbars abutting contacts on an upper side of parts of the flex PCB, wherein the substrate channel defines a series of groups of holes through which the printhead modules are supplied with differently colored inks.
1. A printhead assembly for a pagewidth printer, said assembly comprising:
a substrate channel;
a plurality of printhead modules positioned in the channel to form a pagewidth printhead module assembly;
an extrusion for housing bus-bars operatively providing electrical power to the printhead modules;
a cover plate securing a flex printed circuit board (PCB) in the assembly, the PCB forming a data bus to the printhead modules; and
compressible conductive strips between the busbars abutting contacts on an upper side of parts of the flex PCB, wherein the substrate channel defines a series of groups of holes through which the printhead modules are supplied with differently colored inks.
2. The printhead assembly of claim 1 , having an ink hose positioned within the substrate channel to supply the printhead modules with ink.
3. The printhead assembly of claim 2 , having a support plate for enclosing the ink hose within the substrate channel.
4. The printhead assembly of claim 2 , wherein the ink hose is an extruded flexible hose glued into place in the substrate channel, the hose having holes formed therein by melting the hose with a hot wire structure after the hose is glued in the channel.
5. The printhead assembly of claim 1 , wherein the channel is in the form of a bent metal plate with notches for receiving corresponding tabs of the support plate.
6. The printhead assembly of claim 5 , wherein the channel includes twist tabs which extend through the notches in the plate when assembled, the tabs twisted through approximately 45 degrees to prevent them from being withdrawn through the notches.