Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-21
2001-05-15
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S055000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06231162
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention pertains to the office equipment, particularly to printing devices. More particularly the invention relates to ink-jet printing methods and printing heads for such printing intended for a contactless application of information on carriers of various types—paper, film, ceramics, plastics, etc.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Known is an ink-jet printing method that comprise steps of positioning of an information carrier opposite to jet nozzles filled with a liquid expendable printing material, and excitation of pressure pulses in these nozzles for a dispensed supply of the printing material onto the information carrier (U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,359). In the known method, a pressure pulse in nozzles is produced owing to a pulse heating of a liquid printing material resulting in producing a vapour in the heating area, rapid expansion of a liquid and ejection of its drop from a nozzle.
A drawback of this method consists in that a source that provides a thermal action effected on an ink is positioned immediately in each nozzle and controlled externally, which makes realisation of this method difficult when there is great a number of nozzles.
For implementation of the known ink-jet printing method, various ink-jet printing heads are used, e.g. such that are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,148, cl. 346/14OR. This patent describes an ink-jet printing head comprising as many resistors for ink heating as there are nozzles therein. Each resistor has a current supply arrangement connecting it to a power supply. For ejection of a drop from a nozzle, the supply circuit of corresponding resistor is closed. When a current pulse flows through a resistor, the latter is heated and heats the ink located in the area where such resistor is disposed to the vaporous state, whereby the liquid, while expanding, creates a shock pulse which ejects a drop thereof through a nozzle. Thereafter, when the liquid is cooled off, the process may be repeated.
A drawback of such heads is their structural complexity, for such head must have as many resistors as there are nozzles positioned at a little spacing and provided with a current supply system; and a low reliability, as the mode of resistor multiple pulse heating to a sufficiently high temperature determines their limited service life.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The basic purpose of the invention consists in providing such method and a head for ink-jet printing that will exclude positioning of a source of shock pulses for ink drops ejection from head nozzles immediately in a head, simplify the head structure and improve reliability and durability of its operation.
The set purpose is to be attained as follows: In an ink-jet printing method comprising steps of positioning an information carrier opposite to jet nozzles filled with a liquid expendable printing material, and excitation of pressure pulses in these nozzles for a dispensed supply of the printing material onto an information carrier, according to the invention a quantum generator (laser) light beam is focused on the liquid printing material disposed on the nozzles so that shock pulses are produced as the light beam is absorbed by this material.
In such method, a source of a shock action effected on an ink is located outside the nozzles or cavities with an ink adjacent to them, which allows to improve quality of printing owing to diminishing of the nozzles diameter and a spacing therebetween, and simplifies possibility of realisation of said source when there is a great number of nozzles.
The set purpose is also attained through in that in an ink-jet printing head comprising a number of nozzles in the form of capillary openings filled with a liquid expendable printing material, and means for producing a pressure pulse in a capillary for a dispensed supply of this material onto an information carrier, according to the invention the means for producing a pressure pulse in a capillary is arranged in the form a light beam laser having a device for focusing said beam to a size smaller then the capillary diameter, and a device for deflecting the beam across nozzle bases from the side that is opposite to an information carrier.
Such arrangement of an ink-jet printing head simplifies its design, because in the head nozzles there are no elements producing the action of a shock action effected on a liquid, and a head itself has no system for supplying current to said elements; reliability of its operation is enhanced owing to simplification of the design and exclusion therefrom of any parts operating in the sharp temperature drop mode.
The nozzle bases are preferably open and nozzles, over the bases level upward, communicate with channels for procuring an expendable printing material for them.
The nozzle bases are also preferably covered with a material which is transparent to a wavelength emitted by a laser.
Such arrangement of a head permits that a laser light beam will act efficiently on an ink disposed in a nozzle and produce shock pulses therein to eject drops thereof onto an information carrier.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4580148 (1986-04-01), Domoto et al.
patent: 4829319 (1989-05-01), Chan et al.
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patent: 4897665 (1990-01-01), Aoki
patent: 4897674 (1990-01-01), Hirasawa
patent: 5455614 (1995-10-01), Rhodes
patent: 5713673 (1998-02-01), Nemoto et al.
patent: 0400955 (1990-12-01), None
“Light-Hydraulic Effect”; Diploma No. 65; A.M. Prokhorov, et al.; Bulletin of Inventions; No. 19, 1969.
Avramovich Radutsky Grigory
Nikolaevich Maximovsky Sergei
Le N.
Nguyen Lamson D.
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
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