Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-27
2001-06-19
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S047000, C347S068000, C347S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247789
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus capable of ejecting an image-forming solvent properly onto an image recording material such as a light-sensitive material or an image-receiving material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-forming apparatuses, which record images by using two types of image-recording materials such as a light-sensitive material and an image-receiving material, are known.
An image-forming apparatus of this type comprises an image-forming solvent application section including a tank, for storing an image-forming solvent to be applied to the light-sensitive material. Further, the image-forming apparatus includes a thermal development-transfer section having a heating drum and an endless pressure belt adapted to rotate in pressure-contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum.
The light-sensitive material having an image exposed thereon is, while being held and conveyed in the image-forming apparatus, immersed in the water stored in a tank as an image-forming solvent in the image-forming solvent is applied application section. After water has been applied thereto, the light-sensitive material is sent to the thermal development-transfer section. The image-receiving material is also sent into the thermal development-transfer section in the same way as the light-sensitive material.
In the thermal development-transfer section, the light-sensitive material to which water has been applied is superposed with the image-receiving material, and the superposed light-sensitive material and image-receiving material are wound in close contact on the outer periphery of the heating drum. Further, the two materials are held and conveyed between the heating drum and the endless pressure belt to thermally develop the light-sensitive material. At the same time, the image is transferred to the image-receiving material so as to form (record) a predetermined image on the image-receiving material.
However, in a case in which a light-sensitive material is immersed and coated with water constituting an image-forming solvent in a tank, the water that has contacted the light-sensitive material continues to be held in the tank. As a result, bacteria propagate in the tank by using the organic material, which has slightly eluted from the light-sensitive material, as a source of nutrition. The water thus is liable to be contaminated, which may deteriorate the image-forming apparatus and image quality.
A possible solution to this drawback is to vibrate a nozzle plate in which nozzle holes are formed while keeping the water supplying elements such as the tank out of contact with the light-sensitive material, so that small water drops are ejected toward and applied onto the light-sensitive material. Mere ejection of water drops, however, would cause air bubbles entering into the nozzle holes to remain in vicinities of the nozzle holes, whereby the nozzle holes would be closed by the air bubbles such that water could not be ejected. As a result, water may not adhere to some portions of the light-sensitive material, thereby making it difficult to apply water uniformly onto the light-sensitive material.
An excessively thick nozzle plate, on the other hand, would increase the rigidity of the nozzle plate and reduce the amplitude of the nozzle holes, thereby leading to the disadvantage of unstable atomization. Further, workability would be deteriorated making it difficult to form small nozzle holes of a uniform size.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection apparatus capable of applying an image-forming solvent uniformly onto an image recording material.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection apparatus comprising: an ejection tank disposed above a conveying path of an image-recording material so as to oppose the conveying path, and storing an image-forming solvent; a nozzle plate provided at the ejection tank as a bottom wall of the injection tank so as to oppose the conveying path of the image-recording material, and having a plurality of nozzle holes for ejecting the image-forming solvent; and actuator means for moving the nozzle plate reciprocally toward and away from the image-recording material on the conveying path.
This liquid ejection apparatus has the following effects.
The ejection tank for storing the image-forming solvent is disposed above and opposes the conveying path of the image-recording material. The nozzle plate with a plurality of nozzle holes for ejecting the image-forming solvent, is provided at the ejection tank as the bottom wall surface of the ejection tank and opposes the conveying path of the image-recording material. Further, the actuator means causes the nozzle plate to move reciprocally toward and away from the image-recording material on the conveying path.
The operation of the actuator means, therefore, causes the image-forming solvent filled in the ejection tank to be ejected from the plurality of nozzle holes. Since the nozzle holes are formed in the bottom wall of the ejection tank, air bubbles may enter into the ejection tank from the nozzle holes as a result of the ejection of the image-forming solvent. The bubbles, however, do not remain in the vicinities of the nozzle holes but float upward in the ejection tank. As a result, the nozzle holes are not closed by the bubbles, and a case in which the image-forming solvent is not released from the nozzle holes can be avoided. Thus, there are no portions on the image-recording material to which the image-forming solvent is not applied.
Consequently, it is possible to apply the image-forming solvent uniformly onto the image-recording material.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection apparatus comprising: an ejection tank disposed so as to oppose a conveying path of an image-recording material, and storing an image-forming solvent; a nozzle plate provided at the ejection tank as a portion of a wall surface of the ejection tank so as to oppose the conveying path of the image-recording material, and having a plurality of linearly-aligned nozzle holes for ejecting the image-forming solvent; displacement transmission members coupled to end portions, of the nozzle plate, of a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the plurality of nozzle holes are aligned linearly; support portions extending along the direction in which the plurality of nozzle holes are aligned linearly, and swingably supporting the displacement transmission members; and actuator means disposed so as to contact positions of the displacement transmission members which positions are at the opposite sides of the support portions with respect to the plurality of nozzle holes, the actuator means ejecting the image-forming solvent from the plurality of nozzle holes by swinging the displacement transmission members around the support portions.
The liquid ejection apparatus of this aspect of the present invention achieves the following effects.
The ejection tank for storing the image-forming solvent is disposed so as to oppose the conveying path of the image-recording material. The nozzle plate having the plurality of linearly-aligned nozzle holes for ejecting the image-forming solvent is provided at the ejection tank as a portion of the wall of the ejection tank and opposes the conveying path of the image-recording material.
Further, the displacement transmission members, which are coupled to the end portions of the nozzle plate in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the nozzle holes are aligned linearly, are swingably supported by the support portions extending along the direction of linear alignment of the nozzle holes. Further, the actuator means causes the displacement transmission members to swing around the support portions so that the nozzle plate coupled to the displacement transmission members applies pressure to the image-forming solvent stored in the ejection tank.
Barlow John
Brooke Michael S
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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