EP1003640B1 - Printing system with air accumulation control means enabling a semipermanent printhead without air purge - Google Patents
Printing system with air accumulation control means enabling a semipermanent printhead without air purge Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1003640B1 EP1003640B1 EP98940913A EP98940913A EP1003640B1 EP 1003640 B1 EP1003640 B1 EP 1003640B1 EP 98940913 A EP98940913 A EP 98940913A EP 98940913 A EP98940913 A EP 98940913A EP 1003640 B1 EP1003640 B1 EP 1003640B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- printhead
- printing system
- air
- fluid
- 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
Links
Images
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
- B41J2/17503—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
- B41J2/17506—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
- B41J2/1752—Mounting within the printer
- B41J2/17523—Ink connection
Definitions
- Some printing systems make use of an ink supply that is replaceable separately from the printhead. When the ink supply is exhausted the ink supply is removed and replaced with a new ink supply. The printhead is then replaced at or near the end of printhead life and not when the ink supply is exhausted.
- a replaceable printhead is capable of utilizing a plurality of ink supplies, we will refer to this as a "semipermanent" printhead. This is in contrast to a disposable printhead, that is replaced with each container of ink.
- a significant issue with semipermanent printheads is premature failure due to loss of proper pressure regulation. To understand this failure, we need to consider printhead operation. To operate properly, many printheads have an operating pressure range that must be maintained in a narrow range of slightly negative gauge pressure, typically between -1 and -6 inches (i.e., -25.4 and -152.4 millimeters) of water. Gauge pressure refers to a measured pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. Pressures referred to herein will all be gauge pressures. If the pressure becomes positive, printing and printing system storage will be adversely affected. During a printing operation, positive pressure can cause drooling and halt ejection of droplets. During storage, positive pressure can cause the printhead to drool.
- Air present in a printhead can interfere with the maintenance of negative pressure.
- air bubbles are often left behind.
- air accumulates during printhead life from a number of sources, including diffusion from outside atmosphere into the printhead and dissolved air coming out of the ink referred to as outgassing.
- outgassing dissolved air coming out of the ink .
- the internal mechanism within the printhead can compensate for these environmental changes over a limited range of environmental excursions. Outside of this range, the pressure in the printhead will become positive.
- Printheads 12 are semipermanent, since they can each utilize a plurality of ink containers 14. This allows printing system 10 to be of compact size.
- Ink supplies 14 of this preferred embodiment utilize different colorant inks, including black 14b, cyan 14c, magenta 14m, and yellow 14y.
- the black ink container 14b has a capacity of approximately 75 cc, and the color ink containers 14c, 14m, and 14y each have capacities of approximately 30 cc.
- the sizes of the ink containers are chosen small enough to avoid impacting the size of printing system 10 and to take shelf life considerations into account. They are selected large enough to allow for an acceptably low replacement rate. Since each printhead 12 can last throughout the usage of approximately 450 cc of ink, each printhead must utilize a plurality of ink containers 14, and hence, must be semipermanent.
- Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic representation of printhead 12 connected to fluid conduit 16.
- Printhead 12 receives ink from fluid conduit 16 at an incoming pressure and then delivers the ink to ejector 18 at a controlled internal pressure that is lower than the incoming pressure.
- Ejector 18 is fluidically coupled to a plenum 38 that stores a quantity of ink at the controlled internal pressure. Ink passes through filter element 39 before reaching ejector 18 to remove particulates.
- Figs. 5A-5C are cross sectional schematic representations of printhead 12 taken through section 5A-5A from Fig. 4.
- the internal structure of printhead 12 is simplified to more clearly illustrate functional aspects of the pressure regulation system in printhead 12.
- similar element numbering is used to identify similar elements.
- printhead 12 When printhead 12 is manufactured, air is introduced as printhead 12 is filled with ink. To minimize such air, the following ink fill process is used: (1) Printhead 12 is initially flushed with CO2 gas by providing a source of CO2 gas at the fluid inlet 22 and by providing a vacuum source at the ejector 18 of printhead 12 until nearly all of the gas resident in printhead 12 is composed of CO2. (2) Next, printhead 12 is filled with degassed ink (ink having less than the saturation level of dissolved oxygen) by providing a source of degassed ink at the fluid inlet 22 and a source of vacuum at ejector 18 until printhead 12 is filled with ink. Any bubbles left behind during the fill process will be primarily composed of CO2 and will quickly dissolve in the ink. Further, any impurities in the bubbles (such as air) will be absorbed by the ink, since it is degassed.
- degassed ink ink having less than the saturation level of dissolved oxygen
- a third source of air is air present in conduit 16 when the printhead 12 is initially installed, referred to as "tubing startup" air. In an exemplary embodiment, this provides no more than 1.3 cc of air to printhead 12.
- fluid conduit 16 may be initially unprimed (empty) to address reliability issues. For example, during shipment from manufacturing site to customer, printing system 10 can experience temperature fluctuations that may cause freezing and expansion of any ink in fluid conduit 16 which could cause damage to fluid conduit 16. For this reason, fluid conduit 16 is initially shipped dry from the factory.
- FIG. 8 illustrates ink supply 14 poised for substantially downward insertion into receiving station 36, leaving out details that do not pertain to the invention.
- Ink supply 14 includes a fluid reservoir 82 that is in fluid communication with fluid outlet 28.
- fluid outlet 28 couples with conduit inlet 26 to allow ink to flow from fluid reservoir 82 to conduit 16 and to printhead 12 (Fig. 1).
- a sixth source of air is "ink supply (container) free air", or bubbles in the ink supply 14 that are drawn from the ink supply 14, through conduit 16, and into printhead 12. This free air is initially present in reservoir 82 and/or fluid outlet 28.
- ink supply 14 is installed in a substantially vertical orientation as depicted in Fig. 8. Any free air will tend to buoyantly rise to an upper portion of ink supply 14. Because of this arrangement, the "ink supply free air" contribution to the air budget is 0.1 cc.
- the anti-outgassing additive which may be one of the above constituents or a mixture thereof, is present in the range of at least 2% by weight and preferably 12% or more.
- An exemplary ink having controlled outgas properties is as follows: Component Wt.% Anti-outgassing additive (ethoxylated glycerol, etc.) 12 Coloring Agent (C.I. Direct Black 52) 6 Ink Vehicle (water plus additional solvents) 80 Additional Ingredients in combination (e.g. biocides, surfactants, Bleed control agents, buffers, etc.) 2
Description
Exemplary Air Budget | |
Air Budget Items, by source of air | Air Budget Value |
Initial | 0.3 cc |
Printhead Connection | 0.1 cc |
Conduit Startup | 1.3 cc |
Diffusion (tubing, printhead) | 1.0 cc |
Ink Supply Connection | 0.1 cc |
Ink Supply (Container) Free Air | 0.1 cc |
Outgassing | 1.6 cc |
Air Budget total = 4.5 cc |
Component | Wt.% |
Anti-outgassing additive (ethoxylated glycerol, etc.) | 12 |
Coloring Agent (C.I. Direct Black 52) | 6 |
Ink Vehicle (water plus additional solvents) | 80 |
Additional Ingredients in combination (e.g. biocides, surfactants, Bleed control agents, buffers, etc.) | 2 |
Claims (21)
- An inkjet printing system of the type having a replaceable ink supply for providing ink to a printhead, the inkjet printing system comprising:a replaceable, semipermanent inkjet printhead having a fluid input for receiving ink and an ejection portion for selectively depositing ink in response to control signals, the inkjet printhead capable of printing through a plurality of ink volumes of a plurality of replaceable ink supplies before replacement;a replaceable ink supply, of the plurality of replaceable ink supplies, for storing one of the plurality of ink volumes, the replaceable ink supply configured for providing ink to the inkjet printhead; andan accumulator portion in fluid communication with the inkjet printhead and the replaceable ink supply, the accumulator portion having a warehouse capacity, for accommodation of air that accumulates in the printing system, that maintains the printhead pressure range within an operating range allowing the printhead to print through the plurality of ink volumes of the plurality of replaceable ink supplies without drawing a vacuum on the inkjet printhead to remove air from the printhead to draw ink to the printhead, and without purging air from the inkjet printhead to compensate for air introduced into the inkjet printhead.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 1, wherein the printhead further comprises:an internal plenum in fluid communication with the ejection portion; anda regulator valve that receives ink from the fluid input and provides ink to the plenum, the regulator valve opens and closes in response to pressure changes in the plenum to maintain a specified negative pressure in the plenum.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 1, wherein the printhead includes an internal plenum in fluid communication with the ejection portion, the fluid accumulator including a flexible member having first and second surfaces, the first surface communicating with an outside atmosphere, the second surface communicating with ink in the internal plenum, the flexible member contracts in response to bubble expansion to maintain a negative internal pressure in the plenum.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 1, further comprising a fluid conduit in fluid communication with the printhead at one end and having the fluid input at the other end.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 1, wherein the semipermanent printhead is capable of printing through the life of at least five replaceable ink supplies.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 2, wherein the valve includes a nozzle for allowing ink into the plenum and a valve seat for sealing the nozzle to halt ink flow into the plenum.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 6, wherein the valve seat is mounted to a pivotally mounted lever.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 2, wherein the fluid accumulator includes a flexible member having first and second surfaces, the first surface communicating with an outside atmosphere, the second surface communicating with ink in the internal plenum, the flexible member contracts in response to bubble expansion to maintain a negative internal pressure in the plenum.
- The inkjet printing system of claim 8, wherein the plenum has a negative internal pressure that provides a bias force on the flexible member, the bias force opens the valve when the bias force exceeds a certain threshold.
- The printing system of claim 4, wherein the fluid conduit includes a portion formed from a high air barrier material having an oxygen permeability characteristic of less than 100 cc·mil/(11 in2·day·atm), at 23°C, 0% Rh.
- The printing system of claim 10, wherein the high air barrier material is a polymer chosen from the group consisting of polyvinylidene choride copolymer, polychlorotrifluouroethylene, and ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene.
- The printing system of claim 4, wherein the replaceable ink supply includes a fluid outlet releasably coupled to the fluid input of the fluid conduit, and wherein the fluid outlet is adapted to introduce less than 0.02 cc of air into the printing system when it is coupled and uncoupled from the fluid input.
- The printing system of claim 12, wherein the fluid input includes a needle including an outlet hole, the needle is surrounded by a sliding collar, the fluid outlet is adapted to engage the needle and the sliding collar to move the sliding collar from a sealed position wherein the sliding collar seals the outlet hole to a unsealed position wherein the outlet hole is fluidically coupled to the fluid outlet.
- The printing system of claim 13, wherein the needle and the sliding collar are surrounded by a cylindrical boss, the fluid outlet is sized to be received in the cylindrical boss while providing alignment and proper fluidic connection between the needle and a distal end of the fluid outlet.
- The printing system of claim 1, wherein the ink includes an additive that reduces the outgas rate of the ink below that of water.
- The printing system of claim 15, wherein the additive is in a concentration of at least 2 weight percent of the ink.
- The printing system of claim 16, wherein the additive is in a concentration of at least 10 weight percent of the ink.
- The printing system of claim 1, wherein the accumulator portion is integral to the printhead.
- The printing system of claim 1, wherein the accumulator portion is integral to the replaceable ink supply.
- The printing system of claim 19, wherein the accumulator portion provides an accurate pressure regulation for assuring delivery of ink to the ejector portion having an operating pressure range enabling proper operation of the ejector portion.
- The printing system of claim 1, wherein the replaceable ink supply contains between 10 and 100 cc of deliverable ink.
Applications Claiming Priority (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US914832 | 1992-07-16 | ||
US91483297A | 1997-08-18 | 1997-08-18 | |
US37550 | 1998-03-09 | ||
US09/037,550 US6203146B1 (en) | 1998-03-09 | 1998-03-09 | Printing system with air accumulation control means enabling a semipermanent printhead without air purge |
PCT/US1998/016964 WO1999008876A1 (en) | 1997-08-18 | 1998-08-14 | Printing system with air accumulation control means enabling a semipermanent printhead without air purge |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP1003640A1 EP1003640A1 (en) | 2000-05-31 |
EP1003640B1 true EP1003640B1 (en) | 2002-04-03 |
Family
ID=26714240
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP98940913A Expired - Lifetime EP1003640B1 (en) | 1997-08-18 | 1998-08-14 | Printing system with air accumulation control means enabling a semipermanent printhead without air purge |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1003640B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP3909802B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR100532297B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN1099346C (en) |
DE (1) | DE69804629T2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1999008876A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6863387B2 (en) | 1998-03-09 | 2005-03-08 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Ink supply with air diffusion barrier for unsaturated ink |
US6547377B2 (en) | 1998-03-09 | 2003-04-15 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Printhead air management using unsaturated ink |
US7152965B2 (en) | 2000-01-21 | 2006-12-26 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Ink cartridge, and ink-jet recording apparatus using the same |
JP2002086702A (en) * | 2000-09-12 | 2002-03-26 | Canon Inc | Recording mechanism, ink jet recording apparatus and imager with recording apparatus |
FR2816241B1 (en) * | 2000-11-07 | 2003-03-28 | Segepar | NON-RETURN SYSTEM FOR INK SUPPLY CIRCUIT AND INK CARTRIDGE |
EP1445105B1 (en) | 2001-11-12 | 2010-01-13 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Liquid injector |
JP2006326855A (en) * | 2005-05-23 | 2006-12-07 | Canon Finetech Inc | Inkjet system image forming apparatus |
JP4560401B2 (en) | 2004-12-22 | 2010-10-13 | キヤノン株式会社 | Ink tank and ink jet recording apparatus |
JP2007283753A (en) | 2006-03-20 | 2007-11-01 | Seiko Epson Corp | Ink container and method of storing ink |
JP5316326B2 (en) * | 2009-09-04 | 2013-10-16 | 株式会社リコー | Liquid container, method for assembling liquid container, method for disassembling liquid container, and image forming apparatus |
JP5471461B2 (en) * | 2010-01-08 | 2014-04-16 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Liquid container and liquid ejecting apparatus |
US9931859B2 (en) * | 2014-01-31 | 2018-04-03 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Removing air from a printing fluid channel |
WO2015199703A1 (en) * | 2014-06-26 | 2015-12-30 | Hewlett Packard Development Company, L.P. | Container assembly |
WO2017108094A1 (en) * | 2015-12-22 | 2017-06-29 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printing fluid cartridge for a pumped printing fluid system |
WO2018139986A1 (en) * | 2017-01-24 | 2018-08-02 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printing fluid recirculation |
EP3787903B1 (en) | 2018-05-03 | 2024-02-21 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Air purging |
US10814634B1 (en) * | 2019-07-11 | 2020-10-27 | Xerox Corporation | Printhead cap for attenuating the drying of ink from a printhead during periods of printer inactivity |
CN115164526B (en) * | 2022-06-28 | 2023-11-14 | 中核核电运行管理有限公司 | Radioactive sludge drying system |
Family Cites Families (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3855448T2 (en) * | 1987-04-15 | 1997-01-02 | Canon Kk | Leftover ink detector and liquid injection recorder with this detector |
CA2019290A1 (en) * | 1990-01-12 | 1991-07-12 | Bruce Cowger | Pressure-sensitive accumulator for ink-jet pens |
US5745137A (en) * | 1992-08-12 | 1998-04-28 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Continuous refill of spring bag reservoir in an ink-jet swath printer/plotter |
DE69324521T2 (en) * | 1992-02-24 | 1999-10-07 | Canon Kk | A liquid container, an ink jet cartridge with a liquid container, and an ink jet recording device with such a cartridge |
JPH0776094A (en) * | 1993-06-18 | 1995-03-20 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | Ink jet pen |
US5369429A (en) * | 1993-10-20 | 1994-11-29 | Lasermaster Corporation | Continuous ink refill system for disposable ink jet cartridges having a predetermined ink capacity |
JP3252392B2 (en) * | 1994-05-17 | 2002-02-04 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Ink-jet recording apparatus and recording head cleaning method |
US5872584A (en) * | 1994-10-31 | 1999-02-16 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Apparatus for providing ink to an ink-jet print head and for compensating for entrapped air |
US5777646A (en) | 1995-12-04 | 1998-07-07 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Self-sealing fluid inerconnect with double sealing septum |
US5812155A (en) * | 1995-10-27 | 1998-09-22 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Apparatus for removing air from an ink-jet print cartridge |
US5700315A (en) | 1996-02-29 | 1997-12-23 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Anti-outgassing ink composition and method for using the same |
-
1998
- 1998-08-14 JP JP2000509592A patent/JP3909802B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1998-08-14 CN CN98806322A patent/CN1099346C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1998-08-14 EP EP98940913A patent/EP1003640B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1998-08-14 KR KR10-2000-7001575A patent/KR100532297B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1998-08-14 WO PCT/US1998/016964 patent/WO1999008876A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1998-08-14 DE DE69804629T patent/DE69804629T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1003640A1 (en) | 2000-05-31 |
WO1999008876A1 (en) | 1999-02-25 |
CN1260750A (en) | 2000-07-19 |
KR20010022967A (en) | 2001-03-26 |
DE69804629T2 (en) | 2003-02-13 |
JP3909802B2 (en) | 2007-04-25 |
KR100532297B1 (en) | 2005-11-29 |
JP2001514985A (en) | 2001-09-18 |
CN1099346C (en) | 2003-01-22 |
DE69804629D1 (en) | 2002-05-08 |
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