David C Beegan, 632024 Venus Dr, Sacramento, CA 95864

4766448, Aug 23, 1988

Aug 19, 1987

7/086919

James R. Hack - Villa Park CA
Bernard V. Masson - Yorba Linda CA
David T. Beegan - Newport Beach CA

Sanders Associates, Inc. - Nashua NH

G01D 1500

346150

Methods and apparatus for forming an electrostatic printhead. The basic printhead member if formed by casting an insulating material around a plurality of side-by-side spaced wires. One side of the insulating material and the wires are cut off to form a printhead face. The other side of the insulating material and the wires are cut off to form an attachment face with the wire ends exposed. A printed circuit board having electrical contacts along the edge is positioned adjacent the exposed wire ends of the attachment face and the wire ends are wire bonded to the contacts. In one embodiment, there are two printed circuit boards positioned on either side of the attachment face and then folded together following the wire bonding. In another embodiment, the attachment face is formed as ledges having the exposed ends of the wires cut as rectangular pads for more area of attachment and the insulating material is attached to the edge of a single printed circuit board. The preferred automated apparatus for doing the wire bonding includes testing apparatus for testing each wire bond and for re-bonding bad joints before moving on to the next wire end/contact pair to be bonded.

4806957, Feb 21, 1989

Mar 21, 1988

7/170439

David T. Beegan - Newport Beach CA

Calcomp Inc. - Anaheim CA

G01D 1506

346155

A new design for electrostatic printheads, and the like, which can be formed quickly, easily, inexpensively, and reliably employing wire bonding techniques. The preferred method disclosed is a method for simultaneously making two electrostatic printhead portions each having a row of dot-producing conducting printwire ends at a planar print face. A pair of printed circuit boards containing a plurality of parallel, spaced, flat, conductor strip ends along edges thereof are disposed in a common plane with the conductor strip ends positioned opposite one another in paris. Connecting wires are then wire bonded between the pairs of strip ends. The connecting wires are then embedded in an insulating material which will adhesively bond to the printed circuit boards along the edges thereof and cure into a hard material forming the body of the resultant printhead elements. Finally, the cured insulating material is cut between the edges of the printed circuit boards to form a pair of planar print face surfaces with the ends of the connecting wires exposed, thus producing two printhead portions each attached to a printed circuit board and having a single row of printwires at the print face thereof.