Typewriting machines – Typing by other than type-face or type-die – Character formation by impact
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2001-05-01
Eickholt, Eugene (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Typing by other than type-face or type-die
Character formation by impact
C400S470000, C347S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224275
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-supplied wire dot matrix printer head having wires supplied with ink at their distal end faces and movable against a sheet of print paper for transferring ink to the sheet in the form of dots to record a character, a figure, a graphic image or the like on the sheet, and more particularly to the construction of an Ink tank and an ink guide for guiding ink from the ink tank to the distal end faces of the wires.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ink supply systems for a wire dot matrix printer are known in which no ink ribbon is used, but ink is supplied from an ink tank to the distal ends of the wire and transferred from the wires directly to a sheet of print paper. One known ink guide mechanism for such an ink supply system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,846 and comprises a porous member capable of absorbing ink and for guiding ink from an ink tank with wires contacting the porous member. The porous member contains fine, holes with their sizes or diameters varying within a certain range, with the result that the ink absorbing capability varies from porous member to porous member, and excessive and insufficient quantities of ink tend to be supplied to the distal ends of the wire. The quantities of ink retained in the vicinity of the distal ends of the wires widely differ, and the porous member is liable to vary in dimensions or be deformed due to coaction with the sides of the wires. Therefore, the ink densities of formed dots are irregular.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,393 discloses another ink supply mechanism in which ink is supplied by a pump from an ink tank to the distal ends of wires. The disclosed ink supply mechanism is disadvantageous in that the construction of a joint between the pump and a printer head is complex and results in an increased cost. It is necessary to provide a sufficient seal so as to gain sufficient pump performance and a large-torque drive source is required for driving the pump. The ink supply mechanism is rendered particularly complex for a multicolor printer head, and such ink supply mechanism is not suitable for use with a small-size printer head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an ink-supplied wire dot matrix printer head having actuating wires. Ink is supplied to the distal ends of the wires which are displaced into contact with a sheet of print paper to transfer the ink to the sheet and thereby form ink dots thereon. The ink-supplied wire dot matrix printer head includes a wire glide member having a wire guide hole for guiding the distal end of the wire, an ink tank containing an ink absorbing body therein and, an ink supply port in which a portion of the wire guide member is inserted. The wire guide member has a capillary ink path communicating with a side of the wire and supplied with ink from the ink absorbing body.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-quality and highly reliable ink-supplied wire dot matrix printer head of a simple construction which is capable of supplying a stable and appropriate quantity of ink from an ink tank to the distal ends of wires and is less subject to the influence of environmental changes such as temperature variations.
Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example and not in a limiting sense.
The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which are adopted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
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Matsuzawa Masanao
Miyazawa Yoshinori
Suzuki Takashi
Eickholt Eugene
Seiko Epson Corporation
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
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