Abstract: This invention relates to a printhead element substrate having a plurality of electrothermal transducers and a plurality of switching elements which drive the plurality of electrothermal transducers. The element substrate has a level converter which is shared by adjacent electrothermal transducers and steps up an input driving signal, and a switch circuit which supplies the driving signal output from the level converter to one of the adjacent electrothermal transducers. The switch circuit switches the supply destination of the driving signal in accordance with an external input selection signal.

Abstract: An increase in energy applied to a heating element can be prevented and the service life of a printhead can be prolonged even when the temperature of the printing element having a negative temperature coefficient rises and the resistance of the heating element decreases upon controlling a switching element for controlling a current flowing through the heating element so as to make energy as constant as possible.

Abstract: A number of steps is reduced by manufacturing an electrode pad connecting a liquid discharge head to an external wiring by the same step of a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy generating portion. A number of manufacturing steps of a head is reduced by forming a substrate for a liquid discharge head having an electrode pad and a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy as a metal film made of the same material as the electrode pad in accordance with a plating in a step of forming the common wiring of the metal film in accordance with a plating.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to prevent an increase in energy applied to a heating element and prolong the service life of a printhead even when the temperature of the printing element having a negative temperature coefficient rises and the resistance of the heating element decreases upon controlling a switching element for controlling a current flowing through the heating element so as to make energy as constant as possible.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a safe and reliable head substrate having a fuse ROM without increasing the substrate size. To achieve the object, a head substrate includes a plurality of printing elements for printing, first driving elements which drive the printing elements, a fuse ROM which stores information, a second driving element which drives the fuse ROM, input device for inputting a printing signal to cause the plurality of printing elements to print and a block selection signal to time-divisionally drive the printing elements, selective driving device for selectively driving the first driving elements on the basis of the input printing signal and block selection signal, a first pad which applies a first voltage to the fuse ROM to write information, and a second pad which applies a second voltage to read out the information from the fuse ROM.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a head substrate having a fuse ROM without increasing the size. To achieve the object, a head substrate includes an ink supply port which has a long hole shape elongated in a first direction, a plurality of printing elements arrayed along the first direction on both sides of the ink supply port, a plurality of first driving elements, arrayed along the first direction at positions spaced apart further away from the ink supply port than the plurality of printing elements, for driving the plurality of printing elements, a plurality of fuse ROMs which store information, and a plurality of second driving elements for driving the plurality of fuse ROMs. A signal line used for driving the plurality of first driving elements and second driving elements is shared. The plurality of second driving elements are arranged on the same array as the first driving elements at positions adjacent to both ends of each array of the plurality of first driving elements.

Abstract: A number of steps is reduced by manufacturing an electrode pad connecting a liquid discharge head to an external wiring by the same step of a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy generating portion. A number of manufacturing steps of a head is reduced by forming a substrate for a liquid discharge head having an electrode pad and a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy as a metal film made of the same material as the electrode pad in accordance with a plating in a step of forming the common wiring of the metal film in accordance with a plating.

Abstract: This invention relates to a printhead substrate capable of suppressing an increase in wiring width and an increase in the size of a substrate formed by a film forming process while increasing the number of simultaneously driven printing elements in order to improve the printing performance, a printhead using the substrate, and a printing apparatus using the printhead. The wiring lines of the substrate are formed into a common wiring line, and energy applied to a heating resistance element is prevented from deviating from a stable ink discharge range owing to the difference in the number of simultaneously driven heating resistance elements. For this purpose, a driving element is greatly downsized in comparison with a conventional one, and the operation region of a MOS transistor is shifted from the non-saturation region to the saturation region.

Abstract: A number of steps is reduced by manufacturing an electrode pad connecting a liquid discharge head to an external wiring by the same step of a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy generating portion. A number of manufacturing steps of a head is reduced by forming a substrate for a liquid discharge head having an electrode pad and a common wiring for supplying an electric power to a discharge energy as a metal film made of the same material as the electrode pad in accordance with a plating in a step of forming the common wiring of the metal film in accordance with a plating.

Abstract: A recording head including outlets disposed in a staggered pattern so that the distances from an ink inlet to the outlets differ alternately for adjacent outlets. A recording head includes an outlet group including a plurality of outlets on at least one side of an ink inlet. The outlet group includes first outlets and second outlets, wherein the distance from the ink inlet to the first outlets differs from the distance from the ink inlet to the second outlets. First recording elements and second recording elements including heat resistors are provided. The first recording elements and second recording elements correspond to the first outlets and the second outlets, respectively, and are disposed in first ink channels and second ink channels, respectively. The first recording elements are rectangular, whereas the second recording elements are substantially square.

Abstract: There is disclosed a solid semiconductor element which very efficiently detects information about a liquid and bidirectionally exchanges the information with the outside. The solid semiconductor element is disposed in a liquid container, and includes at least energy converting unit, information acquiring unit, and information communicating unit. The energy converting unit converts an electromotive force from the outside to a power, and operates the information acquiring unit and information communicating unit. The information acquiring unit acquires the information about the liquid in which the solid semiconductor element is disposed from the liquid, and the information communicating unit transmits the information acquired by the information acquiring unit to the outside.

Abstract: A recording head substrate includes a plurality of groups of recording elements arranged in arrays; a number, corresponding to a number of the groups, input contacts for receiving driving pulse signals; signal lines for supplying the driving pulse signals to the groups of recording elements from the input contacts, respectively, wherein in a region between two of the groups of recording elements are adjacent to each other, the signal lines are connected to the recording elements such that areas in which the groups of recording elements are disposed, respectively, have respective driving pulse signal change areas which are overlapped with each other.

Abstract: This invention relates to a printhead substrate capable of suppressing an increase in wiring width and an increase in the size of a substrate formed by a film forming process while increasing the number of simultaneously driven printing elements in order to improve the printing performance, a printhead using the substrate, and a printing apparatus using the printhead. The wiring lines of the substrate are formed into a common wiring line, and energy applied to a heating resistance element is prevented from deviating from a stable ink discharge range owing to the difference in the number of simultaneously driven heating resistance elements. For this purpose, a driving element is greatly downsized in comparison with a conventional one, and the operation region of a MOS transistor is shifted from the non-saturation region to the saturation region.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a head substrate having a fuse ROM without increasing the size. To achieve the object, a head substrate includes an ink supply port which has a long hole shape elongated in a first direction, a plurality of printing elements arrayed along the first direction on both sides of the ink supply port, a plurality of first driving elements, arrayed along the first direction at positions spaced apart further away from the ink supply port than the plurality of printing elements, for driving the plurality of printing elements, a plurality of fuse ROMs which store information, and a plurality of second driving elements for driving the plurality of fuse ROMs. A signal line used for driving the plurality of first driving elements and second driving elements is shared. The plurality of second driving elements are arranged on the same array as the first driving elements at positions adjacent to both ends of each array of the plurality of first driving elements.

Abstract: There is disclosed a solid semiconductor element which very efficiently detects information about a liquid and bidirectionally exchanges the information with the outside. The solid semiconductor element is disposed in a liquid container, and includes at least energy converting unit, information acquiring unit, and information communicating unit. The energy converting unit converts an electromotive force from the outside to a power, and operates the information acquiring unit and information communicating unit. The information acquiring unit acquires the information about the liquid in which the solid semiconductor element is disposed from the liquid, and the information communicating unit transmits the information acquired by the information acquiring unit to the outside.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a safe and reliable head substrate having a fuse ROM without increasing the substrate size. To achieve the object, a head substrate includes a plurality of printing elements for printing, first driving elements which drive the printing elements, a fuse ROM which stores information, a second driving element which drives the fuse ROM, input means for inputting a printing signal to cause the plurality of printing elements to print and a block selection signal to time-divisionally drive the printing elements, selective driving means for selectively driving the first driving elements on the basis of the input printing signal and block selection signal, a first pad which applies a first voltage to the fuse ROM to write information, and a second pad which applies a second voltage to read out the information from the fuse ROM.

Abstract: In a connection status output circuit for confirming the connection status with a recording apparatus via connecting terminals corresponding respectively to recording signal DATA, clock signal CLK for transferring the recording signal, and control signals LT and HE for controlling a recording operation according to the recording signal, the signals being received from the recording apparatus, when the connection status is confirmed, a signal designating the connection status is outputted, and when a recording operation is performed, the output signal does not change.

Abstract: To drive an inkjet printhead having an array of printing elements, where the first and second printing elements which discharge relatively different amounts of ink are arranged on the same array in a predetermined direction, print data for the first or second printing element is serially inputted, the inputted print data is sequentially stored, the stored print data is latched, a selection signal indicative of which of the first or second printing element is to be driven is inputted, a driving signal indicative of a driving period is inputted, and respective printing elements are driven in accordance with the latched print data, the selection signal, and the driving signal. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the cost of the printhead having plural types of printing elements, which discharge relatively different amounts of ink, and possible to easily control driving of the printhead.

Abstract: A recording head substrate allowing an increased number of the exothermic bodies driven at a time without increasing the substrate size so as to increase a number of nozzles arranged in high density. The recording head substrate includes a plurality of electrothermal conversion members having exothermic bodies respectively corresponding to a plurality of discharge ports; a plurality of drive elements for driving the exothermic bodies; common wiring A connected to the exothermic bodies; and common wiring B connected to the drive elements; and an electrode pad connected to the common wiring A and the common wiring B. A number of the exothermic bodies driven at a time is determined by (RlineA+RlineB)/(Rh+Rd)<0.05/(0.95 n?1).

Abstract: Provided is a configuration for connecting common wires (a common power supply wire for connecting a plurality of printing elements commonly to a power supply and a common ground wire for connecting the plurality of printing elements commonly to a ground) to the outside, which configuration does not obstruct a constitution for reducing resistances of the common wires. For this purpose, the common wires are directly connected respectively to electrode leads of an electric wiring tape for external connection without use of electrode pads. In the case of this configuration, the widths of the common wires need not be narrower in vicinities of the electrode pads which would otherwise be in an edge of the board, and accordingly reduction of resistances of the common wires is not obstructed.