Invalidity dossier
US 7240997
Fluid ejection device metal layer layouts
Current assignee: Hewlett Packard Development Co LP
Added 9/23/2026, 9:10:17 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 7,240,997 B2
Title: Fluid ejection device metal layer layouts
Patent number: US 7,240,997 B2
Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (original assignee; per the source, current assignee listed as Hewlett Packard Development Co LP)
Inventors: Kevin Bruce, Joseph M. Torgerson, Trudy Benjamin, Michael D. Miller
Key dates: Priority date 2004-02-25; filed 2004-02-25 (application US10/787,573); published as US2005/0185022A1 on 2005-08-25; granted 2007-07-10. Status shown as expired – lifetime, with an adjusted expiration of 2025-01-02.
Purpose and plain-language scope (from the supplied excerpt): The patent concerns metal layer layouts in a fluid ejection device (e.g., an inkjet-type device). The source text's keyword/concept data ties the disclosure to a metal layer, fluid ejection, firing, and transistors, with claims and description referencing gold and tantalum, barrier functions, coupling, a substrate, thin films, delamination, passivation, AlCu, TaAl, and deposition. In broad terms, the invention appears directed to arranging metal layer portions in a fluid ejection device—likely to route firing signals/connections to transistors while managing film stress, adhesion, and delamination—but the excerpt does not include the actual claim language, so the precise scope cannot be stated with confidence.
Classifications listed: B41J2/045 (control methods/devices, e.g., driver circuits), including B41J2/04543 (block driving), B41J2/04548 (power line section of control circuit), and B41J2/0458 (controlling heads based on heating elements forming bubbles), plus A47J43/283.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7240997/en
What the excerpt does not establish: The excerpt omits the full claims, abstract, and description bodies; it does not establish the specific claimed structure, the exact metal-layer geometry, or how the stated elements (barrier, passivation, tantalum/gold) are arranged. It also does not establish any legal conclusion regarding validity, enforceability, infringement, or the accuracy of the listed assignee/status. Family members (SG, EP, TW, KR, JP, CN, and US11/811,094) are noted in the source but their contents are not provided.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:40:56 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.