# US 7,610,679 B2 · Method of producing inkjet printhead

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- Number: US 7,610,679 B2
- Document ID: US7610679B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/271,581
- Filed: 2005-11-10
- Published: 2006-05-11
- Granted: 2009-11-03
- Earliest claimed: 2004-11-11
- Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Atsushi Ito
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7610679B2

## CPC

- B41J 2/1623: {bonding and adhesion}
- B41J 2/1609: {of finger type, chamber walls consisting integrally of piezoelectric material}
- B41J 2/1629: {wet etching}
- B41J 2/1632: {machining}
- B41J 2/1634: {laser machining}
- B41J 2/1635: {dividing the wafer into individual chips}
- Y10T 29/435: Solid dielectric type
- Y10T 29/49126: Assembling bases
- Y10T 29/49128: Assembling formed circuit to base
- Y10T 29/4913: Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.
- Y10T 29/49135: and shaping, e.g., cutting or bending, etc.
- Y10T 29/49401: Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

There is disclosed a method of producing an inkjet printhead including a cavity unit having therein ink passages and formed by stacking a plurality of kinds of flat plates each of which has a specific ink-passage pattern for constituting the ink passages. The method comprises: preparing a large-sized material sheet for each kind of a plate, such that the material sheet comprises a plurality of plate regions, each of which corresponds to one individual plate of the kind, and which are contiguous to one another such that a reserved region for cutting is between each adjacent two plate regions and there is left no margin at a periphery of the material sheet; obtaining a laminate of the material sheets by stacking the material sheets of respective kinds of plates, with the corresponding plates in the respective material sheets aligned in a direction of stacking of the material sheets; and obtaining a plurality of individual laminates by cutting the laminate of the material sheets at the reserved region into the individual laminates.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of producing an inkjet printhead including a cavity unit having therein ink passages and formed by stacking a plurality of kinds of flat plates each of which has a specific ink-passage pattern for constituting the ink passages, the method comprising:
preparing a large-sized material sheet for each kind of a plate, such that the material sheet comprises a plurality of plate regions, each of which corresponds to one individual plate of the kind, and which are contiguous to one another such that a reserved region for cutting is between each adjacent two plate regions and there is left no margin at a periphery of the material sheet;
obtaining a laminate of the material sheets by stacking the material sheets of respective kinds of plates, with the corresponding plates in the respective material sheets aligned in a direction of stacking of the material sheets; and
obtaining a plurality of individual laminates by cutting the laminate of the material sheets at the at least one reserved region into the individual laminates;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming in the material sheet at least two cutouts at respective positions at least one of which is on the periphery of the material sheet; and
wherein the obtaining the laminate of the material sheets comprises placing a positioning pin that extends along a direction of the stacking of the material sheets at a space formed inside each of the at least two cutouts.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1;
wherein forming the at least two cutouts at respective positions comprises forming at least one of the at least two cutouts at a longitudinal end of the at least one reserved region.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method according to claim 2;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming each of the plate regions in a quadrilateral shape,
and wherein the forming the at least two cutouts comprises cutting away at least two corners of any one or more of the quadrilateral plate regions, the at least two corners being remote from one another.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method according to claim 3;
wherein the forming the at least two cutouts comprises cuffing away corners of the plate regions, each of which corners is located at a longitudinal end of the at least one reserved region, so that each of the at least two cutouts is formed in a V-shape by adjacent two of the cutaways.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The method according to claim 3;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming each of the plate regions and the material sheet in a rectangular shape.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1;
wherein the forming at least two cutouts comprises forming a pair of cutouts on one edge of the material sheet.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method according to claim 6;
wherein the forming at least two cutouts comprises forming another cutout on another edge of the material sheet which is opposite to the edge on which the pair of cutouts are formed, at an intermediate position between the pair of cutouts.

### Claim 8

A method of producing an inkjet printhead including a cavity unit having therein ink passages and formed by stacking a plurality of kinds of flat plates each of which has a specific ink-passage pattern for constituting the ink passages, the method comprising:
preparing a large-sized material sheet for each kind of a plate, such that the material sheet comprises a plurality of plate regions, each of which corresponds to one individual plate of the kind, and which are contiguous to one another such that a reserved region for cutting is between each adjacent two plate regions and there is left no margin at a periphery of the material sheet;
obtaining a laminate of the material sheets by stacking the material sheets of respective kinds of plates, with the corresponding plates in the respective material sheets aligned in a direction of stacking of the material sheets; and
obtaining a plurality of individual laminates by cutting the laminate of the material sheets at the at least one reserved region into the individual laminates;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming the material sheet such that:
each of the plate regions has a rectangular shape;
the plate regions are arranged in at least two rows and two columns;
the at least one reserved region comprises at least two reserved regions, each of a part of which is a first reserved region extending between each two adjacent rows, and each of the other part of which is a second reserved region extending between each two plate regions adjacent in one of the rows, so that the first reserved region and the second reserved region are perpendicular to each other to form at least one intersecting point therebetween;
at least two cutouts are formed in the material sheet; and
at least one of the at least two cutouts is a through-hole formed at the at least one intersecting pint.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming the at least two cutouts to include the at least one cutout formed on the periphery of the material sheet, as well as the through-hole.

### Claim 10

A method of producing an inkjet printhead including a cavity unit having therein ink passages and formed by stacking a plurality of kinds of flat plates each of which has a specific ink-passage pattern for constituting the ink passages, the method comprising:
preparing a large-sized material sheet for each kind of a plate, such that the material sheet comprises a plurality of plate regions, each of which corresponds to one individual plate of the kind, and which are contiguous to one another such that a reserved region for cutting is between each adjacent two plate regions and there is left no margin at a periphery of the material sheet;
obtaining a laminate of the material sheets by stacking the material sheets of respective kinds of plates, with the corresponding plates in the respective material sheets aligned in a direction of stacking of the material sheets; and
obtaining a plurality of individual laminates by cutting the laminate of the material sheets at the at least one reserved region into the individual laminates;
wherein the preparing the material sheet comprises forming the material sheet with metal and forming the ink-passage pattern by etching; and
wherein the reserved region is formed by the etching in the form of a weakened portion, concurrently with the formation of the ink-passage pattern.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method according to claim 10;
wherein the weakened portion is formed by etching the material sheet from both of opposite sides thereof.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method according to claim 10;
wherein the weakened portion is formed by etching the material sheet from one of opposite sides thereof.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method according to claim 10;
wherein the weakened portion is formed by etching the material sheet so that a plurality of through-holes are formed in a line.
