EP0983857B1 - Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre - Google Patents

Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0983857B1
EP0983857B1 EP19990202802 EP99202802A EP0983857B1 EP 0983857 B1 EP0983857 B1 EP 0983857B1 EP 19990202802 EP19990202802 EP 19990202802 EP 99202802 A EP99202802 A EP 99202802A EP 0983857 B1 EP0983857 B1 EP 0983857B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
piston
volume
casing
variable
ink
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 - Lifetime
Application number
EP19990202802
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0983857A1 (fr
Inventor
Peter Joseph Hollands
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.)
Canon Production Printing Netherlands BV
Original Assignee
Oce Technologies BV
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Oce Technologies BV filed Critical Oce Technologies BV
Priority to EP19990202802 priority Critical patent/EP0983857B1/fr
Publication of EP0983857A1 publication Critical patent/EP0983857A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0983857B1 publication Critical patent/EP0983857B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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    • 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
    • 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
    • B41J2/17513—Inner structure

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an apparatus for controlling pressure in an ink reservoir of an ink jet printer, comprising a casing and a piston movable relative to the casing and defining therewith the variable-volume chamber communicating with the ink reservoir, the piston being biased to maintain a pressure difference between the variable-volume chamber and the outside.
  • An ink jet printer typically comprises printhead having one or more nozzle arrays and an ink reservoir from which liquid ink is supplied to the nozzles of the nozzle arrays, so that ink droplets may be ejected from the nozzles by thermal or piezoelectric action, as is generally known in the art.
  • the ink reservoir should be kept at subatmospheric pressure in order to avoid ink from leaking out through the nozzles. Since the difference between the internal pressure in the ink reservoir and the atmospheric pressure has an influence on the process of droplet generation and hence on the quality of the printed image, it is desirable to keep this pressure difference constant. Since, however, the internal pressure in the ink reservoir may vary in response to changes of the ink volume contained therein, thermal expansion and the like, it is necessary to control the internal pressure in the ink reservoir.
  • US-A-5 039 999 discloses a pressure control apparatus of type indicated above, in which a coil spring is employed for biasing the piston.
  • US-A-4 509 062 discloses another type of pressure control apparatus in which the variable-volume chamber is bounded by an elastically deformable bladder.
  • EP-A-0 375 383 describes a pressure control apparatus in which the variable-volume chamber is partly bounded by a rolling diaphragm.
  • This rolling diaphragm provides a substantially linear volume/pressure characteristic, similar to that of a piston biased by a coil spring.
  • the rolling diaphragm is used only for mitigating the pressure fluctuations in response to volume changes, and the pressure is ultimately kept constant by sucking air bubbles or liquid into the variable-volume chamber through a small orifice.
  • this apparatus requires a rather complicated design and further has the problem that slight pressure fluctuations are induced by the air bubbles sucked into the variable-volume chamber.
  • the gravitational forces which may be created by the weight of the piston itself or by an additional load applied thereto, are constant irrespective of any changes in the volume of the variable-volume chamber, the internal pressure in the ink reservoir, or more exactly, the pressure difference between the ink reservoir and the outside, can be kept constant with high accuracy even when the volume of variable-volume chamber is allowed to vary within a comparatively large range.
  • a high quality of the printed image can be achieved even with a system in which the droplet generation process is highly sensitive to the pressure drop across the nozzles, and the ingress of air into the nozzles is safely prevented.
  • the apparatus according to the invention is particularly useful in combination with a hot-melt ink jet printhead which is operated at elevated temperatures.
  • the piston is connected to the walls of the casing defining the variable-volume chamber by means of a highly flexible diaphragm which provides a perfect seal for the gap between the piston and the walls of the casing without inducing any substantial friction between the piston and the casing.
  • a highly flexible diaphragm which provides a perfect seal for the gap between the piston and the walls of the casing without inducing any substantial friction between the piston and the casing.
  • the casing defining the variable-volume chamber has the form of a cylinder, and the piston is fitted therein with a small annular gap formed between the outer circumferential surface of the piston and the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder walls, and a rolling diaphragm is accommodated in this annular gap.
  • the diaphragm is smoothly and stably guided in the cylinder without any substantial friction. Since the diaphragm is not subject to any substantial tensile stresses, it can be made extremely thin, so that to will not exert any elastic forces on the piston.
  • variable-volume chamber The pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the variable-volume chamber will help to keep the two layers of the rolling diaphragm apart, and since, when the piston is displaced, relative movement occurs only between the two layers of the diaphragm, friction is eliminated almost completely.
  • the material since the diaphragm is not required to have elastic properties, the material may be optimized in view of reducing its frictional coefficient relative to itself.
  • the pressure control apparatus can be mounted on a stationary frame of the printer can be connected to the ink reservoir on the printhead through a flexible hose.
  • the weight-biased piston will not be subject to any substantial forces of inertia. If the printhead comprises a plurality of ink reservoirs, for example in a colour printer, all ink reservoirs may be connected to same pressure control apparatus.
  • the displacement of the piston depends linearly on the total air volume in the ink reservoir, the variable-volume chamber and the hose connecting them. In the long run, this air volume slightly tends to increase due to leakage or diffusion. In a preferred embodiment, this increase of the air volume is detected by monitoring the position of the piston, so that a reset process for evacuating the ink reservoir can be initiated automatically when necessary. Likewise, the displacement of the piston can be used for generating a signal for automatically terminating the evacuation process when the air volume has again reached its target value. As an alternative, the variable-volume chamber is reset to a specific volume at regular intervals, for example at the end of each scan cycle of the printer.
  • a printhead 10 of an ink jet printer is mounted on a carriage 12 that performs scan movements in a direction indicated by a double-arrow S.
  • the printhead comprises two nozzle arrays 14 attached to the lower edge of an ink reservoir 16.
  • the ink can be supplied to the nozzles of the nozzle arrays 14.
  • the level of the liquid ink in the ink reservoir 16 is indicated by a dashed line 18. Since this ink level is higher than the level of the nozzles in the nozzle arrays 14, the ink in the nozzles is under a static pressure, so that ink might leak out of the nozzles. For this reason, the air volume above the ink level 18 in the ink reservoir 16 is kept at a slightly subatmospheric pressure, e.g. 1 kPa below the atmospheric pressure.
  • This pressure is controlled by means of a pressure control apparatus 20 that is mounted to a stationary frame 22 of the printer and is connected to the top part of the ink reservoir 16 by a flexible hose 24.
  • the pressure control apparatus 20 comprises a casing 26 shaped as an upright cylinder and having an open bottom.
  • a port 28 to which the hose 24 is connected is formed in the top wall of the casing 26.
  • a cylindrical cup-shaped piston 30 is slidably disposed in the casing 26 with the open end facing upward into the interior of the casing, so that a variable-volume chamber 32 is defined inside of the casing 26 and of the piston 30.
  • a rolling diaphragm 34 in the form of a hose or bag made of extremely thin flexible material has an end portion 36 sealingly connected to the lower edge of the circumferential wall of the casing 26, and the other end of the diaphragm is sealingly connected to the bottom of the piston 30.
  • the outer circumferential surface of the piston 30 and the internal wall of the casing 26 define an annular gap 40, which accommodates the main part of the diaphragm 34.
  • This main part forms an outer layer 42 engaging the wall of the casing 26 and an inner layer 44 engaging the outer circumferential surface of the piston 30.
  • the outer and inner layers 42, 44 are interconnected at their top ends by a rolling rim 46.
  • the piston 30 is biased downwardly by its own weight and thus tends to expand the variable-volume chamber 32. Since the diaphragm 34 forms an air-tight seal between the piston and the casing 26, the expansion of the variable-volume chamber 32 causes the pressure prevailing in this chamber and also in the ink reservoir 16 to drop below the atmospheric pressure. The piston 30 therefore assumes an equilibrium position in which the gravitational forces are counterbalanced by the differential pressure acting on the bottom face of the piston. Thus the internal pressure in the ink reservoir 16 is kept at a constant value which is determined by the weight and the cross-sectional area of the piston 30.
  • the diaphragm 34 does not exert any elastic forces on the piston 30, regardless of the displacement of the latter. Although minor elastic stresses may occur in the rolling rim 46 of the diaphragm, these forces do not bias the piston upwardly or downwardly but rather tend to center the piston on the axis of the casing 26.
  • variable-volume chamber 32 Due to the subatmospheric pressure in the variable-volume chamber 32, ambient air will penetrate into a small gap between the outer and inner layers of the diaphragm 34 and will held these layers engaged with the walls of the casing 26 and the piston 30, respectively. Thus, the outer and inner layers 42, 44 will always be separated by a slight gap so that no frictional forces between these layers will impede the axial displacement of the piston 30.
  • a vacuum pump 48 is connected to the hose 24 as is shown in Fig. 1. When the vacuum pump 48 is operated, the ink reservoir 16 and the variable-volume chamber 32 are evacuated, so that the piston 30 will rise again.
  • An orifice 50 limits the flow of air drawn out of the ink reservoir and the variable-volume chamber, so that the piston 30 can readily keep-up with the evacuation of air, without causing a temporary pressure drop in the ink reservoir.
  • a position sensor 54 e.g. an optical sensor, is mounted to the frame 22.
  • the sensor 54 will deliver a signal for switching off the vacuum pump 48.
  • the original position of the piston 30 can be restored automatically after an evacuation has been initiated.
  • another position sensor 56 is provided in a lower position than the sensor 54.
  • the sensor 56 When the piston 30 has been lowered to the position shown in Fig. 2, due to the ingress of air, the sensor 56 will deliver a signal for automatically initiating an evacuation process.
  • Figure 3 illustrates a modified embodiment of a reset mechanism for resetting the pressure control apparatus 20 in regular time intervals.
  • the pressure control apparatus 20 and a plurality of printheads 10 of, for example, a colour printer are commonly mounted on the carriage 12 which moves back and forth relative to the frame 22 of the printer.
  • the vacuum pump 48 is also mounted on the carriage 12.
  • the pressure control apparatus 20 can be connected to the printheads 10 and the vacuum pump 48 by rigid pipings, so that no flexible hoses are required.
  • the vacuum pump 48 comprises a cylinder 58 and a piston 60 which define a working chamber 62.
  • the piston 60 is movable relative to the cylinder 58 in a direction parallel with the scan direction S of the carriage 12 and comprises a plunger 64 which projects towards a portion of the frame 22.
  • a compression spring 66 accommodated in the working chamber 62 biases the piston 60 towards said portion of the frame, i.e. in a direction increasing the volume of the working chamber.
  • a vacuum line 68 connects the working chamber 62 of the vacuum pump to the variable volume chamber 32 of the pressure control apparatus 20 and includes a first check valve 70 which opens in the direction of the vacuum pump 48.
  • Another check valve 72 opens to the atmosphere and is connected to the vacuum line 68 between the first check valve 70 and the vacuum pump.
  • a third check valve 74 which also opens to the atmosphere is arranged in the top wall of the casing of the pressure control apparatus 20.
  • the valve member of this check valve is connected to an control rod 76 which projects downwardly into the piston of the pressure control apparatus.
  • the plunger 64 When the printer is operating and the carriage 12 reaches an end position of its scan stroke, the plunger 64 abuts against the frame 22, and the piston 60 is pressed inwardly against the force of the compression spring 66. The air displaced out of the working chamber 62 is vented through the check valve 72 while the check valve 70 is closed. When the carriage 12 then performs the next scan cycle and moves away from the frame 22, the working chamber 62 is expanded again by the force of the compression spring 66. Under these conditions, the check valve 72 closes and the check valve 70 opens so that air is sucked out of the variable-volume chamber 32 and into the working chamber 62. As a result, the piston 30 of the pressure control apparatus is caused to rise.
  • variable-volume chamber 32 is disconnected from both the ambient air and the vacuum pump 48, so that the vacuum pressure in the variable-volume chamber 32 is again determined only by the weight of the piston 30 which has been restored to its zero-position.
  • the reset process is completed.

Landscapes

  • Ink Jet (AREA)

Claims (14)

  1. Système comprenant un réservoir d'encre (16) pour une imprimante à jet d'encre et un appareil (20) permettant de contrôler la pression dans le réservoir d'encre (16), l'appareil (20) comprenant un boîtier (26) et un piston (30) mobile par rapport au boîtier et définissant avec celui-ci une chambre à volume variable (32) communiquant avec le réservoir d'encre, le piston étant susceptible d'être sollicité pour maintenir une différence de pression entre la chambre à volume variable (32) et l'extérieur, caractérisé en ce que le piston (30) est configuré dans le boîtier, de sorte qu'il soit susceptible d'être sollicité principalement par des forces de gravité.
  2. Système selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le piston (30) est hermétiquement connecté aux parois du boîtier (26) par un diaphragme flexible (34) qui est configuré pour n'exercer aucune force élastique importante sur le piston (30) dans la direction de déplacement de ce dernier.
  3. Système selon la revendication 2, dans lequel le diaphragme (34) est un diaphragme roulant.
  4. Système selon la revendication 3, dans lequel le boîtier (26) est cylindrique et le piston (30) est également cylindrique et est guidé dans le boîtier (26) en laissant un petit espace annulaire (40) entre la surface circonférentielle externe du piston (30) et la surface circonférentielle interne du boîtier (26), ledit espace (40) accueillant les couches externe et interne (42, 44) du diaphragme roulant (34).
  5. Système selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le piston (30) est sollicité par son propre poids.
  6. Système selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel une pompe à vide (48) est prévue pour retirer l'air de la chambre à volume variable (32).
  7. Système selon la revendication 6 comprenant un palpeur de position (54) détectant la position du piston (30) et transmettant un signal pour déconnecter la pompe à vide (48) lorsque le piston (30) atteint une position prédéterminée.
  8. Système selon la revendication 7 comprenant un autre palpeur de position (56) détectant la position du piston (30) et transmettant un signal pour mettre sous tension la pompe à vide (48) lorsque le piston atteint une autre position prédéterminée.
  9. Système selon la revendication 6, dans lequel la chambre à volume variable (32) peut être connectée à l'atmosphère par un clapet anti-retour contrôlable (74) et des moyens de commande (76) sont configurés pour ouvrir le clapet anti-retour (74) lorsque le piston (30) monte jusqu'à une position prédéterminée.
  10. Imprimante à jet d'encre comprenant une tête d'impression (10), la tête d'impression comprenant un réservoir d'encre (16) contenant de l'encre liquide et un volume d'air au-dessus du niveau (18) de l'encre, caractérisé en ce que ledit volume d'air est connecté à un appareil (20) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes.
  11. Imprimante à jet d'encre selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle l'appareil (20) est installé sur un cadre stationnaire (22) de l'imprimante et est connecté à la tête d'impression mobile (10) par un tuyau souple (24).
  12. Imprimante à jet d'encre selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle l'appareil de contrôle de la pression (20) est fixé sur un chariot mobile (12) de l'imprimante, et une pompe à vide (48) pour retirer l'air de la chambre à volume variable (32) est actionnée par le déplacement relatif du chariot (12) et du cadre (22) de l'imprimante.
  13. Imprimante à jet d'encre selon la revendication 12, dans laquelle la pompe à vide (48) est fixée sur le chariot (12) et comprend un piston plongeur (64) qui vient au contact d'une partie du cadre (22) de l'imprimante lorsque le chariot (12) approche d'une position finale à la fin de chaque cycle de balayage.
  14. Imprimante à jet d'encre selon la revendication 13, dans laquelle la pompe à vide (48) comprend un cylindre (58), un piston (60) définissant un compartiment de travail (62) dans ledit cylindre, un ressort (58) sollicitant le piston (60) dans la direction du volume croissant du compartiment de travail (62) et un ensemble de clapets anti-retour (70, 72) connectant le compartiment de travail (62) à l'atmosphère lorsque le volume du compartiment de travail est réduit par le piston plongeur (64) venant au contact du cadre (22) et connectant le compartiment de travail à la chambre à volume variable (32) lorsque le volume du compartiment de travail augmente sous l'action du ressort (66).
EP19990202802 1998-09-03 1999-08-31 Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre Expired - Lifetime EP0983857B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19990202802 EP0983857B1 (fr) 1998-09-03 1999-08-31 Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98202928 1998-03-09
EP98202928 1998-09-03
EP19990202802 EP0983857B1 (fr) 1998-09-03 1999-08-31 Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre

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EP0983857A1 EP0983857A1 (fr) 2000-03-08
EP0983857B1 true EP0983857B1 (fr) 2007-10-10

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EP19990202802 Expired - Lifetime EP0983857B1 (fr) 1998-09-03 1999-08-31 Réservoir d'encre sous pression constante pour imprimante à jet d'encre

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Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10129093B4 (de) * 2001-06-16 2006-02-02 Stork Gmbh Druckkopf mit zumindest einer geradlinigen oder mehreren zueinander versetzten Düsenreihen
EP1472094B1 (fr) * 2002-02-07 2011-09-14 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Mecanisme de reglage de pression et imprimante a jet d'encre
JP2006150963A (ja) 2004-11-25 2006-06-15 Oce Technologies Bv インクジェットプリンタのインク容器内の圧力を制御する装置及び方法

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5467433A (en) * 1977-11-09 1979-05-30 Hitachi Ltd Ink jet recorder
US4339761A (en) * 1979-03-22 1982-07-13 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Compact plunger pump
US4509062A (en) 1982-11-23 1985-04-02 Hewlett-Packard Company Ink reservoir with essentially constant negative back pressure
JPH01145154A (ja) * 1987-11-30 1989-06-07 Nec Corp インクジェット記録装置
US4992802A (en) 1988-12-22 1991-02-12 Hewlett-Packard Company Method and apparatus for extending the environmental operating range of an ink jet print cartridge
US5039999A (en) 1990-06-26 1991-08-13 Hewlett-Packard Company Accumulator and pressure control for ink-ket pens
GB2265860B (en) * 1992-04-03 1996-03-13 Videojet Systems Int Inc Ink jet printhead
US5650811A (en) * 1993-05-21 1997-07-22 Hewlett-Packard Company Apparatus for providing ink to a printhead
US5737001A (en) * 1996-07-02 1998-04-07 Hewlett-Packard Company Pressure regulating apparatus for ink delivered to an ink-jet print head

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Publication number Publication date
EP0983857A1 (fr) 2000-03-08

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