US 5,689,296 AGranted

Digital printing apparatus

AssigneePitney Bowes Inc.

InventorsKjell A. Heitmann, Bruce E. Inpyn

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Abstract

A circuit connecting device for use with a digital printing apparatus is disclosed, the digital printing apparatus having a jet module assembly, a plurality of ink ejecting devices mounted in the jet module assembly, a corresponding plurality of ink ejecting nozzles formed on a nozzle plate mounted on an exterior of the jet module assembly, conduit means within the jet module assembly communicating between the ink ejecting devices and the nozzles, and a control electronics component for controlling the sequence of activation of the ink ejecting devices to cause ink to be ejected from the nozzles onto an image receiving medium during relative movement between the print head and the image receiving medium. The circuit connecting device has a pair of plates on which there is an electric trace pattern on the exterior surface of each plate and an electronic driver chip mounted on the exterior surface of each plate, and means for connecting the trace patterns to the electronic driver chips and to the control electronics component on the input end of the electric traces and to the ink ejecting devices on the output end of the electric traces, thereby eliminating all hard wiring between the control electronics component and the ink ejecting devices of the jet module assembly.

Claims15

Dependent claims

In a digital printing apparatus including a print head having an ink jet module assembly containing a plurality of ink ejecting devices and a control electronics component including a printed circuit board for controlling the sequence of activation of the ink ejecting devices, a circuit connecting device for connecting the printed circuit board to the ink ejecting devices, said circuit connecting device comprising:

A. a pair of generally planar plates formed of relatively rigid dielectric material and having a pair of spaced apart electrical input and output sections and at least one intermediate control section, and mutually complementary means for securing said plates together in aligned face to face relationship,
B. a plurality of electric traces formed on an exterior surface of each of said plates and communicating between said electrical input section and said intermediate control section, and said intermediate control section and said out section respectively,
C. means mounted on said electrical input and output sections for connecting said plurality of electric traces to the control electronics component and the ink ejecting devices of the print head respectively, and
D. an electronic driver chip having electrical input and output sections mounted at said intermediate control section on each of said plates, said electrical input and output sections having means for connecting said driver chip to said plurality of electric traces,
whereby said circuit connecting device forms an integral part of the electrical circuitry between the control electronics component and the ink ejecting devices without the use of any conventional electric wiring therebetween.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.