Datum machining techniques for control of print cartridge to media spacing
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsHai Q. Tran, William S. Colburn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A technique for fabricating datum surfaces on a print cartridge body. One technique includes fixing the print cartridge in a tooling fixture after the printhead has been affixed to the body, performing a position measurement on the fixed print cartridge to obtain position measurement data, and using the position measurement data, machining precisely located datum surfaces.
Claims21
A method for fabricating datum surfaces on an ink jet print cartridge body having an ink jet printhead nozzle array defined in a planar substrate mounted thereon, comprising:
- fixing the print cartridge in a tooling fixture;
- performing one or more position measurements on the fixed print cartridge to obtain position measurement data of a position of the substrate relative to the tooling fixture;
- using the position measurement data to determine one or more precision datum surface locations on the cartridge body in relation to the tooling fixture, conducting machining operations at one or more datum locations on the body to fabricate one or more precision datum surfaces on the body, each of said one or more datum surfaces spaced from the nozzle array surface by a respective distance along a first direction, said one or more precision datum surfaces for determining a nozzle-array-to-print-media spacing in said direction during printing operations.
A method for reducing droplet position errors during printing ink jet printing operations using an ink jet print cartridge body having an ink jet printhead nozzle array defined in a planar substrate mounted thereon, comprising:
- fixing the print cartridge in a tooling fixture;
- performing one or more position measurements on the fixed print cartridge to obtain position measurement data of a position of the substrate relative to the tooling fixture;
- using the position measurement data to determine one or more precision datum surface locations on the cartridge body in relation to the tooling fixture, conducting machining operations at one or more datum locations on the body to fabricate one or more precision datum surfaces on the body, each said one or more datum surfaces spaced from the nozzle array surface by a respective distance along a first direction, said one or more precision datum surfaces for determining a nozzle-array-to-print-media spacing in said direction during printing operations;
- using said one or more precision datum surfaces to accurately locate the print cartridge in a printing system with a nozzle-array-to-print-media spacing of 1.2 mm plus or minus up to 0.25 mm;
- and
- ejecting droplets from the nozzle array onto the print medium during printing operations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.