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
  • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
  • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
• • 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
• • 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
  • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
  • B41J2/17506—Refilling of the cartridge
  • B41J2/17509—Whilst mounted in the printer
• • 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
  • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
  • B41J2/17556—Means for regulating the pressure in the cartridge

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to ink jet printers. More specifically, the invention relates to a system for providing liquid ink at proper static pressure to a series
• ink jet printing systems utilize printing heads in which ink droplets are emitted through one or more orifices and onto a target surface.
• impulse type drop-on-demand printing the emission of ink through the orifice is controlled by
• a typical printhead 2 is provided with an array of orifices 3, which are individually controlled to emit ink droplets 4 that form the desired image on the target surface as the surface moves relative to the printing head.
• the orifices are fed ink from
• the optimal static pressure is determined by the physical properties of the ink, such as viscosity and surface tension, wetability and the substrate material used to construct the orifices. Ordinarily, the optimal static pressure of the ink is negative
• the static pressure at each orifice is a function of the difference in height between each orifice and the reservoir ink level
• printing apparatus having a large printing area to permit imaging of a large image on a target surface without multiple passes of the surface past the printing head. This may be accomplished by providing a number of printheads vertically stacked or "stitched" together. Vertically stacked printhead arrangements, however, present special problems associated with the control of static pressure, and their commercial advantages have heretofore been limited by increasing costs or complexity relating to ink storage and delivery. It is not feasible to supply all printheads in a stacked arrangement from a common reservoir because uniform static pressure cannot be achieved. As seen in FIG.
• each printhead with a separate, level-controlled reservoir
• composite printing head having a first set of orifices at a higher elevation than a second
• set of orifices comprising:
• said first compartment being configured to allow the egress of liquid to maintain the level of liquid therein at a desired fill height
• said second compartment being configured to allow the egress of liquid to maintain the level of liquid in the second compartment at a desired fill height
• a reservoir for supplying liquid to the first and second compartments.
• Each printhead is supplied from one of the
• compartmentalized ink reservoirs utilize a weir system which maintains a predetermined optimum static pressure within each compartment.
• height of the fluid may be controlled by the height of the weir associated with that
• the present invention provides significant advantages over other ink jet fluid distribution systems. Because the weir system automatically maintains a desired level
• FIG. 1 is an illustration of prior art printheads and ink distribution system as described above;
• FIG. 2 illustrates the problems associated with independent level controls for a stacked printhead arrangement
• FIG. 3 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 4 is an illustration of a vacuum chamber feature of the present invention.
• the fluid system embodying the present invention comprises a composite printing head 12' including a plurality-of ink embodying jet printheads 12A-
• Composite printing head 12 can be stationary and arranged to print an image on a target surface (not shown) which moves relative thereto.
• the printing head 12 can be movable relative to the target surface, or both the printing head 12 and the target surface can be movable relative to each other.
• the composite printing head 12 preferably has three or four distinct internal printheads or manifolds that are integrally attached to provide an even distribution of ink as it is
• each printhead 12A-12D has a set of ejection nozzles or orifices 14
• the set of orifices may number twelve as illustrated, or more or less in number, it being within the skill of one knowledgeable in the art to choose the number of orifices and the pattern of those orifices.
• the manifolds 16 are supplied fluid through associated
• each printhead 12A-12D is provided with associated compartments 20A-20D which maintain a constant fluid level of ink therein using weirs 22A-22D.
• Each weir 22 includes an
• a pump 26 provides a low- volume flow of ink from reservoir 24 to the uppermost compartment 20A via return line 27.
• a level detection device 28 is also
• a valve or other control device can be utilized, or the pump can be configured
• the ink level in each compartment 20 may be maintained
• the compartment is the same for each printhead.
• the printhead 12, and preferably the entire set of orifices for each printhead 12, are disposed above the ink level in the associated compartment 20 to provide a negative pressure in feed lines 19, which combines with the capillary forces therein to yield the proper pressure at the inlet port
• the containers 20 are
• the containers 20 can also be
• a control means 34 is provided to ensure that an adequate amount of liquid is supplied to the
• an adjustment mechanism can be provided to adjust the heights of the
• printheads 12A-12D and therefore the sets of orifices 14, relative to the level of the ink
• the adjustment mechanism could be configured for adjustment of the printing head 12 as a unit.
• the adjustment mechanism could also be configured to independently adjust the height of the printheads
• a moving mechanism can be provided to adjust the heights of the
• compartments 20A-20D and thus the height of the ink in each compartment, relative to
• the moving mechanism can be
• the mechanism can be configured to independently adjust the height of the compartments 20. This individual adjustment can be provided by a moving mechanism such as the
• devices can be utilized to control the drainage of ink from each container, such as
• an ink jet fluid distribution system is provided which may be easily and

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=26690746

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1997
  • 1997-05-22 EP EP97923236A patent/EP0902743B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-05-22 DE DE69708086T patent/DE69708086T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-05-22 AU AU29096/97A patent/AU2909697A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-05-22 WO PCT/GB1997/001405 patent/WO1997044194A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1997-05-22 CA CA002255019A patent/CA2255019A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-05-22 AT AT97923236T patent/ATE208278T1/de active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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