Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-31
2002-10-01
Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S035000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06457803
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that can perform recording without marking marginal portions at the edges of a recording medium. The invention also relates to an ink jet recording method therefor.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, for example, the ink jet recording apparatus, which records on a paper sheet, cloth, a plastic sheet, an OHP sheet, and other recording media by discharging ink with pressure exerted by bubbles created when film boiling is generated in ink by the application of heat generated by electrothermal transducing elements, is able to perform recording in high density at high speed. The ink jet recording apparatus is, therefore, utilized and merchandised as output means of information processing systems, such as a printer, among other systems.
Also, for the ink jet recording apparatus, it has been attempted to arrange the nozzles for discharging ink in a higher density, to make the discharging ink droplets finer, and to provide a higher quality image that may be comparable with a photograph by the application of technologies that enable ink of different densities to be used or the like. As a result, it becomes possible to market an ink jet recording apparatus even in such a field as image transmission for medical use in which the operation has been carried out by use of a silver salt photograph or the like.
Generally, an ink jet recording apparatus comprises a carriage having detachably mounted thereon a recording head and ink tank that serve as recording means; carrying means for carrying a recording medium; and control means for controlling those means. Then, the recording head that discharges ink from a plurality of discharge ports is arranged, on one hand, to serially scan in the direction (hereinafter referred to as the main scanning direction) orthogonal to the carrying direction (hereinafter referred to a the sub-scanning direction) of a recording medium, and, on the other hand, the recording medium is intermittently carried in the sub-scanning direction at a given pitch at the time of a non-recording operation.
FIG. 17
is a side view which schematically shows the structure of the principal part of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus
203
of the kind described above.
FIG. 18
is a perspective view which schematically shows such ink jet recording apparatus.
The conventional ink jet recording apparatus
203
comprises a recording medium supply unit
221
that supplies a recording medium
216
; a recording unit
222
that performs recording by use of an ink jet recording head cartridge
224
mounted on a carriage (not shown) on the recording medium
216
which has been fed; and an exhaust sheet unit
223
which receives the exhausted recording medium
216
after recording by the recording unit
222
.
Hereunder, a brief description will be made of the operation of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus
203
to record on the recording medium
216
.
A number of recording mediums
216
, which are stacked and set on a pressure plate
217
, are pressed by the pressure plate
217
to a separation roller
218
, and separated one by one by separating means, such as separation nails (not shown) and the separation roller
218
. After that, the recording medium thus separated is carried to first sub-scanning rollers
208
and
209
along guide plates
219
and
220
. Then, the recording medium
216
is nipped by the first sub-scanning roller
208
and
209
and carried to the recording unit
222
where recording is effected with ink discharged from a recording head
212
of the ink jet recording head cartridge
224
formed of an ink tank
213
and the recording head
212
, while the position of the recording medium is regulated by means of a platen plate
215
. The ink tank
213
stores ink for its supply to the recording head
212
. The recording head
212
is provided with a plurality of discharge ports arranged in the sub-scanning direction (indicated by an arrow K in
FIG. 18
) which is the carrying direction of the recording medium
216
. Also, in recording, the carriage (not shown) that mounts the ink jet recording head cartridge
224
thereon performs the recording by reciprocating in the main scanning direction (indicated by an arrow J in FIG.
18
), which is orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction, along the carriage guide (not shown) arranged substantially in parallel with the rotational shaft of the sub-scanning roller. After recording, the recording medium
216
is exhausted to a recording medium receptacle
214
while being nipped by the second sub-scanning rollers
210
and
211
. Roller
211
of the second sub-scanning rollers is in the form of a spur in order to avoid the adhesion of wet ink, because this roller is in contact with the recording medium immediately after recording.
The carriage is moved above predischarging ports
202
before recording, and ink is predischarged so that the recording head
212
is readied for performance of good recording. Conventionally, the predischarging ports
202
are arranged outside the carrying path of the recording medium
216
as shown in
FIG. 18
so that staining of the recording medium
216
by ink that adheres to the predischarge ports
202
is avoided.
Also, on the recording medium
216
, there are a recording area
201
a
where recording is effected, and non-recording areas
201
b
which become marginal portions where no recording is effected as shown in FIG.
18
. If recording is effected on the non-recording areas
201
b
, ink may adhere to the platen plate
215
, and the recording medium
216
will be stained. The non-recording areas
201
b
are used in order to avoid this problem.
However, with the structure of the conventional example described above, there are problems encountered as described below when transmitted images are made for medical use, for example.
FIG. 19
is a view which shows one example of a transmitted image
204
for medical use where recording is effected on a transparent recording medium by use of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus. Also,
FIG. 20
is a view which shows the state where transmitted images
204
and
204
′ are arranged side by side on a light box
205
for observation.
On the circumference of the image areas
204
a
, an area, which is called a border
204
b
, is formed where areas other than images are covered with black color in high density. Further, on the circumference of the border
204
b
, transparent areas having no recording on them are formed as the non-recording areas
204
c
,
204
d
,
204
e
, and
204
f.
As shown in
FIG. 20
, the transmissive image
204
is in a state where it is inserted on the upper portion of the front face of the light box
205
. Then, the image area
204
a
is observed by applying back light to the reverse side of the transmissive image
204
from the light box
205
. Therefore, in a case of a silver salt photograph, all the portions other than medical images are treated as the borders. When this photograph is observed in the light box
205
, unwanted light is blocked. This is because intensified light is emitted from the unwanted transparent portions, if any, and the intended observation is hindered on the portions that should be examined precisely.
Here, the transmissive image
204
, which is recorded by use of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, presents the transparent areas
204
c
,
204
d
,
204
e
, and
204
f
which are formed on the circumference of the border
204
b
without any recorded images. When a transmitted image
204
of this kind is mounted on the light box
205
for observation, the light that transmits through the non-recording areas
204
d
and
204
e
on both edges, respectively, in particular, hits the eyes of the observer to hinder the precise observation of the image area
204
a
. Also, as shown in
FIG. 20
, plural numbers of transmitted images
204
and
204
′ are often observed at o
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