Printing – Processes
Patent
1997-09-30
2000-05-09
Eickholt, Eugene
Printing
Processes
347 4, 347 5, 347106, 347107, 118 14, 36447914, B41J 2175
Patent
active
060588438
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The term "image" as used throughout the specification and claims refers to any polychromatic or monochromatic design, picture, text or pattern which is required to be reproduced by the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to alleviate the problems and difficulties of known methods and apparatus for the decoration of cakes, etc.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a machine adapted to print an image as hereinbefore defined onto a surface of an edible substrate, the machine including a bubble-jet printer head assembly, and including containment means for containing a liquid food colourant, a surface for supporting the said edible substrate, said surface and said head assembly being movable relative to each other, and control means for controlling the said head assembly and for causing said relative movement in accordance with the desired image to be printed upon a edible substrate.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of printing an image on a surface of an edible substrate which method comprises arranging for relative movement between said surface and a bubble-jet printer head assembly and controlling said print head assembly to cause a liquid food colourant to be printed upon the substrate in accordance with the desired image.
Preferably the bubble-jet printer head assembly is of the type produced by Canon Inc under European Patent Number EP 0 348 181 A2.
In a preferred method and machine of this invention, the printer head comprises a discharge opening for liquid discharge and an electricity-heat converter. The electricity-heat converter has a region formed by oxidation of at least part of an electro-conductive material, and the region is adapted to generate heat.
Preferably the machine of the present invention includes a computer system to store and manipulate the image. Preferably the machine of the present invention includes within such a computer system encryption means which can only be accessed by a purchaser if they first obtain from the supplier the decryption code to unscramble the image. This feature enables copyrighted images to be offered to the purchaser whilst still being able to guarantee the copyright holder his rightful royalties based on the number of times the purchaser utilises the image.
Preferably the machine of the present invention is capable of printing on both regular and irregular substrates. Furthermore it is preferred that the machine be adapted to print on surfaces having a degree of three dimensionality.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
An embodiment of a machine according to the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, by reference to the accompanying drawings in which;
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of a machine according to the present invention;
FIGS. 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c) are diagrammatic representations of a method of obtaining polychromatic output from the machine of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is an example of the output of the machine of FIG. 1 showing detail that would not otherwise be possible by any other method.
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings there is shown a bubble-jet head assembly (1) together with a stepping motor (2) for moving the head assembly (1). The stepping motor (2) is connected to a power supply (11). A logic board (4) controls the movement of the bubble-jet head assembly (1) via the stepping motor (2) across a carriageway (5). A pump (6) is provided to clean the bubble-jet head assembly (1) and deliver the liquid food colour to the bubble-jet head assembly (1) from ink reservoirs (7). A movable surface (8) is provided to support an edible medium (9); a stepping motor (10) is connected to a dedicated power supply (3) and to a logic board (4) to advance the movable surface (8). The required image is stored on magnetic media held within a computer (12) and is accessed by entering the required image code via a keyboard, keypad or pointing device (13). If the image is copyr
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Cadex Limited
Eickholt Eugene
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