US3562757A - Guard drop technique for ink jet systems - Google Patents
Guard drop technique for ink jet systems Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3562757A US3562757A US709004A US3562757DA US3562757A US 3562757 A US3562757 A US 3562757A US 709004 A US709004 A US 709004A US 3562757D A US3562757D A US 3562757DA US 3562757 A US3562757 A US 3562757A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- drops
- drop
- ink
- charge
- signals
- 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
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title abstract description 9
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 abstract description 4
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 abstract description 2
- 238000007600 charging Methods 0.000 description 22
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 8
- 230000005684 electric field Effects 0.000 description 7
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006872 improvement Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008030 elimination Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003379 elimination reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005669 field effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 1
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
- B41J2/07—Ink jet characterised by jet control
- B41J2/075—Ink jet characterised by jet control for many-valued deflection
Definitions
- This invention relates to apparatus for printing video signal information using ink drops deposited on a writing medium, and more particularly to improvements therein.
- Apparatus has been developed for making a record on a writing medium of the information represented by video signals by generating a stream of ink drops, directing these ink drops toward the writing medium, and then, deflecting the ink drops in response to the video signal, in a manner so that when the ink drops do reach the writing medium, they provide a representation of the information contained in the video signals.
- the general apparatus employed for producing the ink drops consists of an ink reservoir in which there is ink under pressure.
- the ink reservoir feeds a pipe which is connected to a nozzle.
- An electromechanical transducer is employed to Vibrate the pipe and the nozzle at some suitable high frequency which causes the ink to be ejected from the nozzle in a stream which shortly thereafter breaks into individual drops.
- a charging tunnel through which the stream is projected, which serves the function of applying video signals to the individual drops.
- Downstream of the tunnel there is provided a pair of deflection plates which have a fixed potential thereacross.
- the electric field which is created between the plates acts on the charged drops causing them to be deflected in an amount determined by the amplitude of the charge on the drops.
- Downstream of the deflection plates is usually a nozzle or trough for catching any drops which do not have any charge and transferring them to a waste reservoir.
- the writing medium which is to receive the deflected ink drops, which thereby form the images representative of the video signals.
- the writing medium is usually moved in synchronism with the application of video signals to the drops.
- An object of'this invention is the provision of an ink charging technique whereby the effects of electric charge repulsion between adjacent drops is minimized.
- Another object of this invention is the provision of an ink drop charging technique which enables a reduction in the ink supply pressure while minimizing the adverse effects of electric charge repulsion between adjacent ink drops.
- Still another object of this invention is the provision of a novel and improved ink drop charging and printing system.
- guard drops act as a shield between the charge drops. They provide a considerable reduction in the electric repulsion between charge drops.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic arrangement for ink drop recording in accordance with the prior art, which is shown for purposes of explanation.
- FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram of a circuit arrangement employed for charging drops with video signals so that guard drops may be formed.
- FIG, 3 is a wave form diagram representing the nozzle signal and video signals which are obtained when this invention is employed.
- FIG. 1 is provided in order to afford a better understanding of this invention, and it shows schematically the known ink drop recording apparatus.
- This apparatus comprises an ink reservoir 10 in which the ink is placed under pressure.
- Tubing 12 connects the ink reservoir to a terminating nozzle 14.
- An electro-mechanical transducer 16 is usually employed for vibrating the tubing and more specifically the nozzle, in response to the output signals from a source of sync signals 18. Near the tip of the nozzle 14, the ink is emitted as a solid stream 20 which, however, shortly thereafter breaks into drops, such as 22.
- the video signal source 24 has its output connected to the conductive tubing 12 and to the charging tunnel 26, as a result of which each drop 22 will assume a charge whose amplitude is proportional to the video signal applied between the charging tunnel 26 and the tubing 12 at the time that the drop is breaking away from the ink stream within the tubing 26.
- the charged drops then continue in a path toward the moving paper 36. However, before they reach the paper, they pass between two spaced, parallel plate electrodes 30. 32, to which a fixed potential is applied from a field potential source 34.
- the charged drops are caused to enter an electric field established between the electrodes 30, 32, as a result of which each drop is deflected from the path it would take in the absence of the electric field, an amount determined by the charge thereon.
- Trough 38 is positioned to catch drops which do not have a charge, and conducts these drops to a waste catcher 40. Accordingly, as the paper 36 is continuously moved, a line is drawn thereon whose shape or curvature is determined by the signals from the video signal source.
- Alpha numeric characters may be written by this apparatus as well as a line or curves. In effect therefore, the recording on paper is representative of the information conveyed by the video signals.
- guard drops are provided between the charged drops. These guard drops which have no charge, act as a shield between the charged drops. As a result, there is a considerable reduction. of the drop charge repulsion phenomenon. Accordingly, a much lower ink pressure can be used and therefore smaller ink drops are formed having a lower velocity. This provides a greater deflection sensitivity with a minimum pattern distortion due to the elimination of the drop charge repulsion problem. In addition, an unlooked for benefit is that the aerodynamics of the system is improved.
- FIG. 2 is a wave form drawing illustrating an arrangement of drops and video signals in accordance with this invention.
- the drops are represented by the circles 42, 44, 46, 48, and 50.
- the wave form 52 represents the wave form of the synchronizing signal which is applied to vibrate the nozzle. As shown, there is a drop formed for each cycle of the wave form.
- the video signal is gated in such a way as to insure that each drop, which is charged by a video signal is preceded by and followed by one or more drops which have no charge.
- the wave form 54 which represents the video signal Wave form is present only when the alternative drops 42, 46 and 50 are formed.
- the intervening drops 44 and 48 have no charge and act as guard drops.
- FIG. 3 is a block schematic diagram of an arrangement whereby guard drops are provided. Effectively all that is required to modify the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 is the insertion of a frequency divider or counter circuit 56 and a gate 58. To divide by two, whereby alternate drop charging occurs, frequency divider 56 is a flip-flop circuit. The flip-flop circuit is driven from its set to its reset state in response to the signals from the source 18. One of the flip-flop outputs is used to enable the gate 58 to pass signals received from the source of video signals 18. Since, as may be seen by FIG. 2, the nozzle forms a drop for every cycle of the signals received from the source of sync signals 18, a video signal will be passed by the gate 58 upon the occurrence of every other drop which is formed. There is very little loss in information by gating the video signal in the manner shown, since a large portion of the video information in the signals is redundant and the arrangement shown merely serves to eliminate some of the redundancy which normally occurs.
- an improved ink drop writing system wherein a system can be operated with a lower ink supply pressure a greater deflection sensitivity, a lower ink drop velocity with less ink splatter occurring, smaller ink drops may be used with larger charge signals and a better aerodynamic behavior.
- An improved method of ink drop writing in a system wherein video signals are applied from a source to an ink drop charging means for applying a charge to each ink drop in a stream passing through said ink drop charging means, said improvement consisting of separating each drop in a stream which has a charge by at least one drop in said stream which has no charge.
- step of separating each drop in a stream which has a charge from another drop by a drop in said stream which has no charge includes applying signals for charging ink drops to said ink drop charging means solely from said video signal source at spaced intervals for charging at most every other drop to provide drops with no charge between drops with charge.
- ink drops are formed by vibrating tubing having a nozzle, and there is provided a video signal source, meansfor char-ging drops in a stream of drops in response ,to signals from said video signal source, and an electric field through which said charged ink drops are thereafter passed to be deflected in accordance with the charge on each drop, and a writing medium on which said drops are deposited, the improvement comprising:
- means for providing drops with no charge between drops with charge including means for applying signals to said means for charging drops in a stream solely from said video signal source at intervals for charging non-adjacent drops in a stream of drops.
- said means for applying signals from said video signal source to means for charging drops includes gate means for applying video signals from said source to said means for charging drops, and
- said means for enabling said 5 FOREIGN PAPTFTNTS gate means includes dividing means for dividing the 1,042,585 9/ 1966 Great Brltaln 346-75 frequency of sync signals from said source, and JOSEPH H ART ARY, Primary Examingr means for applying the output of said dividing means to said gate means to enable said gate means re- 10 sponsive thereto to pass said video signals. 1786.6; 3173; 34675
Landscapes
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US70900468A | 1968-02-28 | 1968-02-28 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3562757A true US3562757A (en) | 1971-02-09 |
Family
ID=24848082
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US709004A Expired - Lifetime US3562757A (en) | 1968-02-28 | 1968-02-28 | Guard drop technique for ink jet systems |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3562757A (da) |
BE (1) | BE729184A (da) |
DE (1) | DE1910386A1 (da) |
DK (1) | DK138246B (da) |
FR (1) | FR2002737A1 (da) |
GB (1) | GB1219711A (da) |
NL (1) | NL6901334A (da) |
Cited By (23)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3833910A (en) * | 1973-06-18 | 1974-09-03 | Ibm | Ink drop printer charge compensation |
US3875574A (en) * | 1974-01-14 | 1975-04-01 | Dick Co Ab | Method for improving performance of an ink jet bar code printer |
US3878517A (en) * | 1973-06-01 | 1975-04-15 | Sharp Kk | Ink jet system of charge amplitude controlling type |
US3889271A (en) * | 1972-12-01 | 1975-06-10 | Agfa Gevaert Ag | Ink jet process utilizing novel dyes |
DE2548885A1 (de) * | 1974-10-31 | 1976-05-26 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone | Tintenstrahlschreiber |
DE2628415A1 (de) * | 1975-06-30 | 1977-02-03 | Ibm | Verfahren und anordnung zur verhinderung der aerodynamischen verzoegerung von tintenstrahlen bei tintendruckern |
US4068241A (en) * | 1975-12-08 | 1978-01-10 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Ink-jet recording device with alternate small and large drops |
US4086601A (en) * | 1976-03-30 | 1978-04-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Sequential ink jet printing system with variable number of guard drops |
DE3139322A1 (de) * | 1980-10-04 | 1982-06-03 | Ricoh Co., Ltd., Tokyo | Farbstrahldrucker |
EP0054921A2 (en) * | 1980-12-19 | 1982-06-30 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Method for reducing print distortion of ink drop writing apparatus |
US4371878A (en) * | 1980-03-17 | 1983-02-01 | Ricoh Co., Ltd. | Device for correcting ink dot misplacement in ink-jet printing |
US4490729A (en) * | 1982-09-15 | 1984-12-25 | The Mead Corporation | Ink jet printer |
US4491852A (en) * | 1982-07-02 | 1985-01-01 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Ink jet printing apparatus using guard drops |
US4596990A (en) * | 1982-01-27 | 1986-06-24 | Tmc Company | Multi-jet single head ink jet printer |
US4613871A (en) * | 1985-11-12 | 1986-09-23 | Eastman Kodak Company | Guard drops in an ink jet printer |
US5261423A (en) * | 1988-09-20 | 1993-11-16 | Philip Morris Incorporated | Droplet jet application of adhesive or flavoring solutions to cigarette ends |
US5630432A (en) * | 1988-09-20 | 1997-05-20 | Gaudlitz; Robert T. | Droplet jet application of adhesive to cigarette ends |
US6511163B1 (en) | 1998-03-12 | 2003-01-28 | Iris Graphics, Inc. | Printing system |
EP1314766A1 (en) | 2001-11-23 | 2003-05-28 | Sicpa Holding S.A. | Pigmented ink composition |
US6626527B1 (en) | 1998-03-12 | 2003-09-30 | Creo Americas, Inc. | Interleaved printing |
US20040165038A1 (en) * | 2003-02-25 | 2004-08-26 | Eastman Kodak Company | Preventing defective nozzle ink discharge in continuous inkjet printhead from being used for printing |
US20060055747A1 (en) * | 2004-09-14 | 2006-03-16 | Steiner Thomas W | Method and apparatus for forming and charging fluid droplets |
US20060197803A1 (en) * | 2005-03-07 | 2006-09-07 | Steiner Thomas W | Apparatus and method for electrostatically charging fluid drops |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
NL7606033A (nl) * | 1975-06-16 | 1976-12-20 | Ibm | Inktstraalafdrukinrichting. |
-
1968
- 1968-02-28 US US709004A patent/US3562757A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1969
- 1969-01-28 NL NL6901334A patent/NL6901334A/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1969-02-07 FR FR6902841A patent/FR2002737A1/fr active Pending
- 1969-02-27 DK DK108269AA patent/DK138246B/da unknown
- 1969-02-27 GB GB00511/69A patent/GB1219711A/en not_active Expired
- 1969-02-28 DE DE19691910386 patent/DE1910386A1/de active Pending
- 1969-02-28 BE BE729184D patent/BE729184A/xx unknown
Cited By (32)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3889271A (en) * | 1972-12-01 | 1975-06-10 | Agfa Gevaert Ag | Ink jet process utilizing novel dyes |
US3878517A (en) * | 1973-06-01 | 1975-04-15 | Sharp Kk | Ink jet system of charge amplitude controlling type |
US3833910A (en) * | 1973-06-18 | 1974-09-03 | Ibm | Ink drop printer charge compensation |
US3875574A (en) * | 1974-01-14 | 1975-04-01 | Dick Co Ab | Method for improving performance of an ink jet bar code printer |
US4032924A (en) * | 1974-10-31 | 1977-06-28 | Nippon Telegraph And Telephone Public Corporation | Distortion reduction in ink jet system printer |
DE2548885A1 (de) * | 1974-10-31 | 1976-05-26 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone | Tintenstrahlschreiber |
DE2628415A1 (de) * | 1975-06-30 | 1977-02-03 | Ibm | Verfahren und anordnung zur verhinderung der aerodynamischen verzoegerung von tintenstrahlen bei tintendruckern |
US4068241A (en) * | 1975-12-08 | 1978-01-10 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Ink-jet recording device with alternate small and large drops |
US4086601A (en) * | 1976-03-30 | 1978-04-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Sequential ink jet printing system with variable number of guard drops |
US4371878A (en) * | 1980-03-17 | 1983-02-01 | Ricoh Co., Ltd. | Device for correcting ink dot misplacement in ink-jet printing |
DE3139322A1 (de) * | 1980-10-04 | 1982-06-03 | Ricoh Co., Ltd., Tokyo | Farbstrahldrucker |
US4394663A (en) * | 1980-10-04 | 1983-07-19 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Ink jet printing apparatus |
EP0054921A2 (en) * | 1980-12-19 | 1982-06-30 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Method for reducing print distortion of ink drop writing apparatus |
EP0054921A3 (en) * | 1980-12-19 | 1983-08-31 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Method for reducing print distortion of ink drop writing apparatus |
US4596990A (en) * | 1982-01-27 | 1986-06-24 | Tmc Company | Multi-jet single head ink jet printer |
US4491852A (en) * | 1982-07-02 | 1985-01-01 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Ink jet printing apparatus using guard drops |
US4490729A (en) * | 1982-09-15 | 1984-12-25 | The Mead Corporation | Ink jet printer |
US4613871A (en) * | 1985-11-12 | 1986-09-23 | Eastman Kodak Company | Guard drops in an ink jet printer |
WO1987002938A1 (en) * | 1985-11-12 | 1987-05-21 | Eastman Kodak Company | Method and apparatus for providing guard drops in an ink jet printer |
US5261423A (en) * | 1988-09-20 | 1993-11-16 | Philip Morris Incorporated | Droplet jet application of adhesive or flavoring solutions to cigarette ends |
US5630432A (en) * | 1988-09-20 | 1997-05-20 | Gaudlitz; Robert T. | Droplet jet application of adhesive to cigarette ends |
US6626527B1 (en) | 1998-03-12 | 2003-09-30 | Creo Americas, Inc. | Interleaved printing |
US6511163B1 (en) | 1998-03-12 | 2003-01-28 | Iris Graphics, Inc. | Printing system |
US20040095440A1 (en) * | 1998-03-12 | 2004-05-20 | Pinard Adam I. | Printing system |
US7004572B2 (en) | 1998-03-12 | 2006-02-28 | Creo Inc. | Ink jet printing system with interleaving of swathed nozzles |
US20060238568A1 (en) * | 1998-03-12 | 2006-10-26 | Pinard Adam I | Printing system |
EP1314766A1 (en) | 2001-11-23 | 2003-05-28 | Sicpa Holding S.A. | Pigmented ink composition |
US20040165038A1 (en) * | 2003-02-25 | 2004-08-26 | Eastman Kodak Company | Preventing defective nozzle ink discharge in continuous inkjet printhead from being used for printing |
US7004571B2 (en) | 2003-02-25 | 2006-02-28 | Eastman Kodak Company | Preventing defective nozzle ink discharge in continuous inkjet printhead from being used for printing |
US20060055747A1 (en) * | 2004-09-14 | 2006-03-16 | Steiner Thomas W | Method and apparatus for forming and charging fluid droplets |
US20060197803A1 (en) * | 2005-03-07 | 2006-09-07 | Steiner Thomas W | Apparatus and method for electrostatically charging fluid drops |
US7533965B2 (en) | 2005-03-07 | 2009-05-19 | Eastman Kodak Company | Apparatus and method for electrostatically charging fluid drops |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
FR2002737A1 (da) | 1969-10-31 |
GB1219711A (en) | 1971-01-20 |
DE1910386A1 (de) | 1969-09-04 |
BE729184A (da) | 1969-08-01 |
NL6901334A (da) | 1969-09-01 |
DK138246C (da) | 1978-12-27 |
DK138246B (da) | 1978-07-31 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: VIDEOJET SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC., 2200 ARTHUR Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:A. B. DICK COMPANY A CORP OF DE;REEL/FRAME:004381/0140 Effective date: 19850320 |