KR100351662B1 - Steam diffusion system - Google Patents

Abstract

Vent plugs 301 and 501 for providing air inlet channels 317 and 503 for ink reservoir 12, such as ink jet pen 10, to minimize vapor diffusion, have air vents to the atmosphere. Vent plugs 301, 501 include perforated cam portions 305, 307, 505, 507 that seal the vent at the ends of its length. The ratio of the length to the cross-sectional area of the channels 317 and 503 between the holes in the main body of the plugs 301 and 501 is large. This ratio is maximized to the greatest extent so as not to create significant air flow restrictions during pen use.

Description

Vapor diffusion device

The present invention relates to ink-jet technology, more particularly to ink-jet pens, and more particularly to vapor diffusion devices for ink-jet pens.

Ink-jet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, shape plotters and facsimile machines use ink-jet technology to produce hard copies. The basics of this technique are, for example, the Hewlett-Packard Journal [Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), 39, Vol. 4 (August 1988), 39, Vol. 5 (Oct. 1988), Vol. (August 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992), and Vol. 45, No. 1 (February 1994) are described in various sections and are incorporated herein by reference.

In the prior art, it is known to provide an ink-jet pen 10 with a printhead 14 having an orifice plate 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 16 has a nozzle array 17 in combination with an underlying heating element (not shown; also known as a drop generator). The printhead 14 is coupled to a control circuit in a hard copy machine (not shown) by a flexible circuit 18 with electrical connection pads 20. Thermal excitation of ink (also referred to as paint or colorant) from ink bottle 12 is used to eject droplets onto adjacent print media through small nozzles 17. The ink-jet pen 10 is generally held in a carriage (not shown). The pen protrusion 25 with the printhead 14 scans in both directions across the print media and ejects ink droplets when scanning. The nozzle array 17 is arranged to be selectively operable via the flexible circuit 18 to eject at the same time or continuously and rapidly during scanning to generate a row of droplets onto the medium for printing text or images. do.

Ink bottle 12 generally contains ink in a foam material as disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 4,771,295 and 5,025,271 or in a bladder as disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 5,121,132 and 5,153,612 (respective of each above). Has been assigned to the applicant of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.)

If there is no opening (other than the orifice 17 from which ink droplets are ejected) in the ink bottle 12, a partial vacuum is formed in the ink shell 12 or the outer shell of the pen using the bladder when the ink is ejected. This vacuum increases until the capillary phenomenon of the structure of the printhead 14 no longer sucks ink into the ejection chamber of the drop generator. At this time, the ink-jet pen printhead 14 is deficient in ink and the printing is stopped. This condition is known in the art as deprime.

In the prior art, this problem is alleviated by placing a vent in the body of the ink-jet pen 10 so that air can enter the body to replace the ink ejected from the ink bottle 12 through the orifice 17. do. See, for example, element 42 of US Pat. No. 5,121,132, element 33 of US Pat. No. 5,153,612, and elements 70, 72, 74 of US Pat. No. 5,025,271, and the like.

However, all openings in the pen body also evaporate ink (including other carrier liquids) and solvent from the ink bottle 12. This makes the ink toxic by changing its composition concentration. That is, water tends to evaporate, leaving high concentrations of solvent and other compositions in the residual gas carrier liquid.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that provides an air vent that minimizes evaporation losses without disturbing airflow while using the pen.

In this basic embodiment, the present invention provides a vapor diffusion device for venting in a machine body comprising an evaporative liquid. Vent plugs have a predetermined length and a larger cross-sectional area than the vents so that the plugs are forced fit into the vents. The plug comprises a first end having a first hole therethrough, a second end having a second hole therethrough therethrough in the plug end length region from the first end, and connecting the first hole to the second hole. And a channel between the first end and the second end. The channel has a relatively large ratio of channel length to cross section.

It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a vapor diffusion device that provides an atmospheric vent that minimizes evaporation losses.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a relatively large length to cross sectional area ratio in a very small device.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the manufacturing cost is low.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals have similar features in all the drawings.

The drawings cited in the description are not to scale, unless otherwise indicated.

Reference will now be made in detail to the specific embodiments of the present invention, which are shown in the best mode currently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the present invention. Also, other applicable embodiments are briefly described.

A solution to the problem of undesirable ink evaporation through the pen body vent is to make the vent passage very long relative to the cross-sectional area. Primarily, the vent plug 301 controls the ingress of air, such as “air,” in other solid body members 303, such as ink-jet pens, and water vapor (or other ink diluent) losses.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3D and 4A-4D, the vent plug 301 of the present invention has a generally solid body member 303. Given that the orientation of the directions is relative, we use "top" and "bottom" only for the convenience of the description of the figures. The "top" can be recognized in the direction seen when the vent plug 301 is inserted into the vent, and the "bottom" is only seen from the interior of the chamber to be inserted into the vent and exhausted. As can be appreciated, as shown in Fig. 3A, the body member 303 is in fact end-to-end generally symmetrical.

Exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A-3D and 4A-4D show circular cross-sections suitable for use in circular vent holes such as those found in ink-jet pens, as described above. Have It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the invention. In general, the cross-sectional shape of the vent plug 301 can be adapted to correspond to any vent shape.

Body member 303 has a first or "bottom" end 305 and a second or "top" end 307. Both ends 305 and 307 of the vent plug 301 are chamfered outward from the respective end faces 309 and 311 toward the maximum diameter of the body member 303. A chamfer angle of about 45 ° is known to be suitable for chamfering. The chamfer facilitates a forced fit of the vent plug 301 into the vent.

The main body member 303 has a central portion 313 connecting the chamfered ends 305 and 307. The central portion 313 of the body member is formed with a concentric spiral rib 315 or threaded portion 315 spiraled from the upper end 307 to the lower end 305. Generally, the central portion 313 of the ribbed 315 thus takes a form similar to a threaded bolted member. However, when plug 301 is coupled into the chamber vent with this interference fit, rather than being used as a complementary screw, concentric spiral ribs 315 displace helical channel 317 that continues from upper end 307 to lower end 305. Form. Another embodiment utilizes an interference fit cutting head head screw plug and a full root screw vent or vice versa.

As can be most easily identified in FIGS. 4B and 4C, each end 305, 307 is provided with holes 405, 407. In a preferred embodiment, the holes 405 and 407 have a conical drafted face about 10 ° inward from the chamfers on the upper and lower ends. As most clearly shown in FIGS. 3B and 3D, the holes thus formed penetrate the central portion 313 of the helical rib 315 of the body member 303.

When the vent plug 301 is inserted into a vent with a diameter only slightly smaller than the diameter ("D") of the vent plug 301, the vent is formed between the rib 315 of the vent plug 301 and the sidewall of the vent. Except that it is substantially sealed. That is, the helical channel 317 guides from the lower hole 405 to the upper hole 407 when the plug 301 is forced fit into the vent.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the number of pitches at the point of intersection with the centerline of the hole may be appropriately selected to maximize the ratio of the length of the channel formed by the helical rib to the plug vent to the cross-sectional area of the channel thus formed. . In this way, a relatively large length / area ratio is achieved in the air passage created by engaging the thread into the hole penetrated (or otherwise formed) through the body, and vice versa. To operate the pen continuously, air must enter the pen body through the vent to replace the spent ink. This should be possible above the value at which the pen is deprimed, without increasing the back pressure caused by partial vacuum inside the pen, i.e. capillary phenomena such as foam ink reservoirs, spring-back reservoirs and the like.

Vent bodies such as ink-jet pens are designed to provide a preferred bore length for the length ("L") of the vent plug 301 of the present invention and a bore diameter slightly smaller than the major diameter of the vent plug 301. As a result, a forced fit of the plug 301 into the bore forms a spiral air passage by the outer edge of the rib 315 substantially sealing against the inner bore surface. This passage length corresponds to the helical passage in the center of the cross-sectional area of the air passage in the bore. In a preferred embodiment, the length to cross sectional area ratio is about 260 to 1.

The shape of the threaded portion on the vent plug 301 can be designed to serve the additional purpose of maintaining the formation of the largest length / area ratio condition while at the same time not causing significant flow restriction or blockage by the size of the cross-sectional area.

Another exemplary embodiment is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The vent plug 501 of this embodiment has a tubular channel 503 that guides from the lower surface 500 to the second or upper end 507.

In a preferred embodiment, the vent plug 301 is molded of nylon 6-6 material. However, any suitable material may be used depending on the use environment.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is for illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Clearly, many changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art. Similarly, the described processing steps can be interchanged with other steps to achieve the same results. This embodiment is chosen so that it may be best understood by those skilled in the art in various modifications and in various embodiments that are suitable for practical use in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application in the best mode. It is explained.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink-jet pen of the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a printhead and a flexible circuit of a prior art ink-jet pen as shown in FIG.

3A is a schematic side view of the vapor diffusion device of the present invention.

Side view of rotating the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 3B or 3A by 90 °.

Side view of rotating the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 3C or 3B by 90 °.

Side view of rotating the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 3D or 3C by 90 °.

Top view of the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 4A or FIG. 3C.

4B is a schematic perspective view of the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 3D rotated about 45 °.

A schematic perspective view of rotating the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4C or 3B about 45 °.

Bottom view of the vapor diffusion device of the present invention shown in FIG. 4C or FIG. 3C.

5A and 5B are schematic plan views of another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

301, 501: vent plug

303: body member

305, 307, 505, 507: end

313: center 315: spiral rib

317,503: Channel

405, 407, 506, 508: Hole

Claims (9)

In the vapor diffusion apparatus for venting in the machine body 10 including the evaporable liquid 12, A plug (301, 501) having a predetermined length (L) and a maximum cross-sectional area (D) larger than the cross-sectional area of the vent so as to be forced fit into the vent, The plugs 301 and 501, First ends 305 and 505 through which the first holes 405 and 506 pass, Second ends 307 and 507 through which second holes 407 and 508 penetrate in the distal length regions of the plugs 301 and 501 from the first ends 305 and 505, The first holes 405 and 506 are connected to the second holes 407 and 508, and have a relatively large length-to-area ratio, and the first ends 305 and 505 and the second ends 307 and 507. It characterized in that it comprises a channel portion (317, 503) in between Steam diffusion device, The method of claim 1, The channel portion 317 forms a continuous helical channel 317 connecting the first hole 405 to the second hole 407 between the first end 305 and the second end 307. It characterized in that it further comprises a continuous spiral rib 315 Vapor diffusion device. The method of claim 2, The spiral rib 315 is a threaded portion 315 having a plurality of pitches with respect to the intersection of the center line 3--3 connecting the first hole 405 and the second hole 407. By Steam diffusion device, The method of claim 3, wherein The threaded portion 315 has a predetermined channel cross-sectional area and a predetermined channel length, and further includes a spiral channel 317 that spirally connects the first hole 405 with the second hole 407. doing Vapor diffusion device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The plugs 301 and 501 seal the vent except for the channels 317 and 503 so that vapor from the liquid passes only through the channels 317 and 503. Vapor diffusion device. The method of claim 4, wherein The ratio of the predetermined channel length to the predetermined channel cross-sectional area is greater than one. Vapor diffusion device. The method of claim 6, Wherein said ratio is above a defined value without the restriction of atmospheric air inflow into said body 10 through said channels 317 and 503. Vapor diffusion device The method according to claim 6 or 7, And the ratio is 260/1 or greater. The method of claim 1, And the predetermined plug length is equal to the length of the vent.