EP0178886B1 - Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same - Google Patents

Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0178886B1
EP0178886B1 EP85307376A EP85307376A EP0178886B1 EP 0178886 B1 EP0178886 B1 EP 0178886B1 EP 85307376 A EP85307376 A EP 85307376A EP 85307376 A EP85307376 A EP 85307376A EP 0178886 B1 EP0178886 B1 EP 0178886B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
ink
ink jet
solid state
reservoir
melting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP85307376A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0178886A3 (en
EP0178886A2 (en
Inventor
Arthur Mikalsen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ricoh Printing Systems America Inc
Original Assignee
Dataproducts Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Dataproducts Corp filed Critical Dataproducts Corp
Publication of EP0178886A2 publication Critical patent/EP0178886A2/en
Publication of EP0178886A3 publication Critical patent/EP0178886A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0178886B1 publication Critical patent/EP0178886B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/195—Ink jet characterised by ink handling for monitoring ink quality
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17593—Supplying ink in a solid state

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an ink jet wherein the ink within the jet is of the phase change type which may be referred to as hot melt ink.
  • phase change or hot melt ink of the type utilized in an ink jet is characteristically solid at room temperature. When heated, the ink will melt to a consistency so as to be jettable.
  • the hot melt ink may be jetted from a variety of apparatus (see for example EP-A-0 097 823).
  • the delivery of ink is, of course, dictated by the liquid state.
  • the ink is contained within a closed vessel of some sort prior to delivery to the ink jet.
  • the delivery of the ink requires different solutions in order to provide a reliable supply and minimize operator intervention.
  • melt-on-demand system for supplying ink to a reservoir carried by an ink jet in an imaging head is disclosed, extended cooking of the ink is avoided as well as the resulting degradation of ink.
  • the amount of ink which may be utilized in such a system is limited by the amount of ink which may be carried on imaging head.
  • US-A-4 178 595 and DE-A-2 459 744 describe a method of operating an ink jet apparatus comprising the following steps: storing ink in liquid state form at a fixed location;
  • US-A-4178 595 and DE-A-2 459 744 do not concern an apparatus utilizing a hot melt ink.
  • EP-A-0 178 885 which is considered as comprised in the state of the art under Article 54(3) EPC, describes a method of operating an ink jet apparatus, comprising storing ink in solid state at a fixed location, heating that ink for melting part of it on demand, storing such melted ink in a buffer reservoir at a fixed location, scanning at least one ink jet and an associated reservoir containing melted ink with respect to a printing medium for printing on that medium, and periodically moving said ink jet or jets and associated reservoir to a refill position in which said associated reservoir is refilled with melted ink from said buffer reservoir.
  • a method of operating an ink jet apparatus comprising the following steps: storing ink in solid state form at a fixed location;
  • ink jet apparatus comprising:
  • At least some embodiments of this invention can provide a hot melt ink delivery system in which operator handling of the ink is minimized, an ink may be reliably supplied to the ink jet apparatus, extended heating and resulting degradation of the ink are minimised, and a large supply of ink is provided without requiring operator invention.
  • ink in solid state form is stored at a fixed location and a movable imaging head comprises at least one ink jet and an associated reservoir.
  • the imaging head is moved to a filling position adjacent to the fixed location where the ink is stored and the solid state ink is melted to a liquid state form to fill the reservoir of the imaging head.
  • the moving of the head to a filling position, melting and the filling of the reservoir may be repeated on demand whenever ink is needed.
  • the solid state ink comprises a block of ink with a heating means in thermal communication with an extremity of the block.
  • the block is advanced so as to be maintained in thermal communication with the heating means which is energized on demand when ink is required.
  • an ink jet apparatus including a head 10 mounted for movement along a scanning path depicted by arrows 12 and 14.
  • the head 10 includes ink jet imaging systems supplying an array of ink jets having orifices 16.
  • the head 10 includes an on-board reservoir 18 supplied by a trough 20 located at the rear of the head 10.
  • the reservoir 18 is of a limited capacity.
  • the reservoir 18 is capable of storing a volume of ink which is heated by a heater not shown so as to assure the operation of the ink jets for a reasonable period of time for a reasonable rate of printing.
  • the volume of ink is limited.
  • the head 10 is capable of movement to a refill position shown in phantom.
  • the head 10 In the refill position, the head 10 is located below a supply of ink in solid state form which is capable of being converted to a melted state by heating.
  • the supply comprises a tubular housing 22 with a heater 24 electrically supplied by leads 26 and 28.
  • the trough 20 when positioned adjacent to the supply of ink in tubular housing 22 is properly positioned so that melted ink may flow into the trough 20 along a path 30. In this manner, the reservoir 18 within the head 10 may be filled.
  • the reservoir 18 and the head 10 are moved back into the scanning position away from the supply of hot melt ink. Periodically, it is necessary to move the head 10 back to the refill position shown in phantom in Figure 1 so as to permit subsequent sequential melting of the hot melt ink within the tubular housing 22. It will therefore be appreciated that the volume of ink within the housing 22 when the supply is full substantially exceeds that volume of ink which is contained within the reservoir 18 of the head 10 at any given time.
  • the tubular housing 22 is shown as housing a helical spring 32 which abuts a fixed member 34 secured to the housing 22 by screw 36.
  • the other end of the spring 32 abuts a movable insert 38 which is in contact with one extremity of a block of ink 40 in solid state form.
  • the other end of the block 40 abuts a groove 42 juxtaposed to the heater 24 which is enclosed within a housing 44 held in place by a screw 46.
  • the groove 42 allows ink to flow into the opening 50.
  • the housing 44 includes a thermistor 48 or other temperature sensing element.
  • the housing 22 includes apertures 52 and 54 associated with a light source 56 and a light detector 58.
  • the resulting signal generated by the detector indicates an adequate quantity of ink 40.
  • the detector 58 will indicate a low supply. This will be more fully described in connection with Figure 3.
  • a heater control 60 energizes and de-energizes the heater 24.
  • the heater control 60 is responsive to a signal from the thermistor 48.
  • the heater 24 is energized for a predetermined length of time whenever a refill of ink is called for in the reservoir 18.
  • This predetermined length of time is under the control of a timer 62 which supplies an input to the heater control. It is, of course, important to only set the timer to initiate-heating when ink is called for in the reservoir 18. This is determined by a level detect circuit 64 which receives a suitable level indicating signal from the reservoir. However, the timer 62 can only be set when the detector 58 indicates an adequate supply of ink 40 as shown in Figure 2.
  • a position sensor 66 enables the heater control when the head 10 is in proper position.
  • the heater plate 42 it is possible to eliminate the heater plate 42 and utilize a supply of solid state ink which contains a heater element extending throughout the length of the ink. Where such an inksupply is utilized, the spring 62 for advancing the ink may be eliminated. On the other hand, where a heater plate is utilized, it may be desirable to provide means other than the spring 32 to advance the ink. It will also be appreciated that it may be desirable to provide for separability between the housing 22 and the heater housing 44 as well as the optical detecting system including the light source 56 and the light detector 58. It will also be appreciated that the housing 22 may be rotated 90° for topographical purposes.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
EP85307376A 1984-10-16 1985-10-14 Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same Expired EP0178886B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US66170184A 1984-10-16 1984-10-16
US661701 1984-10-16

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0178886A2 EP0178886A2 (en) 1986-04-23
EP0178886A3 EP0178886A3 (en) 1986-12-10
EP0178886B1 true EP0178886B1 (en) 1989-05-24

Family

ID=24654738

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85307376A Expired EP0178886B1 (en) 1984-10-16 1985-10-14 Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0178886B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (2) JPS61192559A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA1252669A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE3570397D1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2203994B (en) * 1987-03-31 1991-12-11 Canon Kk Liquid injection recording apparatus and liquid-repellent process method used for the apparatus
US5030972A (en) * 1988-04-22 1991-07-09 Seiko Epson Corporation Solid ink supply for ink jet
US5223860A (en) * 1991-06-17 1993-06-29 Tektronix, Inc. Apparatus for supplying phase change ink to an ink jet printer
EP0780233B1 (en) * 1995-11-24 2000-09-20 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet recording device with AC and DC heaters selectively used for hot melt ink
CN1243475A (zh) * 1997-01-09 2000-02-02 多米诺印刷科学公开有限公司 用于喷墨打印机的墨盒
US7147313B2 (en) * 2003-12-30 2006-12-12 Xerox Corporation Real time detection of ink stick jams in phasing printing systems

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0178885A2 (en) * 1984-10-15 1986-04-23 Dataproducts Corporation Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SE371902B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1973-12-28 1974-12-02 Facit Ab
JPS588352B2 (ja) * 1977-11-04 1983-02-15 株式会社リコー インクジエツト記録装置
JPS5662166A (en) * 1979-10-29 1981-05-27 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd Thermosensitive recording device
JPS5772873A (en) * 1980-10-24 1982-05-07 Oki Electric Ind Co Ltd Color recording apparatus
JPS6028628Y2 (ja) * 1981-04-30 1985-08-30 沖電気工業株式会社 感熱転写記録装置用インク自動供給機構
JPS58208062A (ja) * 1982-05-07 1983-12-03 Yokogawa Hokushin Electric Corp インクジエツト形記録装置
JPS597052A (ja) * 1982-06-30 1984-01-14 インタ−ナショナル　ビジネス　マシ−ンズ　コ−ポレ−ション 液体噴射記録装置

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0178885A2 (en) * 1984-10-15 1986-04-23 Dataproducts Corporation Ink jet apparatus and method of operating the same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH0367632B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1991-10-23
CA1252669A (en) 1989-04-18
JPS61192559A (ja) 1986-08-27
EP0178886A3 (en) 1986-12-10
EP0178886A2 (en) 1986-04-23
JPH0691895A (ja) 1994-04-05
DE3570397D1 (en) 1989-06-29

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