(19)
(11) EP 1 013 432 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
30.08.2000 Bulletin 2000/35

(43) Date of publication A2:
28.06.2000 Bulletin 2000/26

(21) Application number: 99309507.4

(22) Date of filing: 29.11.1999
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7: B41J 2/14, B41J 2/02, B41J 2/07, B41J 29/377
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30) Priority: 14.12.1998 US 211251

(71) Applicant: Scitex Digital Printing, Inc.
Dayton, Ohio 45420-4099 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Simon, Robert J.
    Bellbrook, Ohio 45305 (US)
  • Bowling Bruce A.
    Beavercreek, Ohio 45432 (US)

(74) Representative: Freed, Arthur Woolf et al
Reginald W. Barker & Co., Cliffords Inn Fetter Lane
London EC4A 1BY
London EC4A 1BY (GB)

   


(54) Cooling of high voltage driver chips


(57) A compact cooling technique is provided for cooling an ink jet printer or printhead electronics. A cooling plate (18) is held in good thermal contact to the integrated circuits (12) to be cooled. Fluid passing through the cooling plate then cools the electronics. The cooling plate is typically an aluminum plate embedded with thin walled stainless steel tubing through which fluid flows to provide cooling. The cooling plate has a compliant pad (26) which is thermally conductive, and electrically insulated. The plate and pad combination is held against the integrated circuits for controlling the high voltage to the charging electrodes, which are mounted on the charge driver board. The integrated circuit is packaged in a cavity down ball grid array (BGA) package which provides low thermal resistance to the cooling plate. Variations in the height of the charge driver chips is compensated for by the compliant thermal pad. The fluid is routed through the printhead frame into the cold plate where heat is transferred to the fluid which returns to the printhead frame to exit the printhead. The fluid is ported into the printhead to where the drops will be generated.






Search report