Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-22
2001-01-23
Beatty, Robert (Department: 2852)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176574
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present invention is related to commonly assigned, concurrently filed:
(1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,870, filed May, 22, 1998, now U.S Pat. No. 6,082,853, entitled “PRINTING APPARATUS WITH PROCESSING TANK” of Wen et al.,
(2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,876, filed May 22, 1998, entitled “INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS WITH PRINT HEAD FOR IMPROVED IMAGE QUALITY” of Wen et al.,
(3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,605, filed May 22, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,219, entitled “PIGMENTED INK JET PRINTS OVERCOATED WITH HARDENERS” of Erdtmann et al.,
(4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,975, filed May 22, 1998, entitled “INK JET IMAGES ON PVA OVERCOATED WITH HARDENER SOLUTION” of Erdtmann et al.,
(5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,871, filed May 22, 1998, entitled “WATERFAST INK JET IMAGES TREATED WITH HARDNERS” of Erdtmann et al.,
The disclosures of these related applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an ink jet apparatus and to a method of improving the image stability of the prints provided by ink jet printing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the field of ink jet printing, there have existed long felt needs for making images waterfast and also durable against physical abrasion. One method practiced in the art is to laminate a clear film on the printed image after the image has been printed on a receiver. However, such a lamination method is time consuming and often produces undesirable waste due to print handling and unusable prints caused by the air bubbles trapped between the lamination sheet and the ink receiver. The lamination method also increases media and equipment costs because of the additional sheet and apparatus involved.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,969 discloses an ink jet printer that includes a print head for depositing an ink precursor on the ink recording medium. The ink precursor conditions the ink recording medium before colored ink spots are placed on the conditioned areas. The preconditioning of the recording medium can be used for reducing paper cockle and color bleed, for decreasing dry time, and for improving dot shape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet apparatus that produces prints with improved image stability and durability. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an ink jet apparatus that is simple and inexpensive. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an ink jet apparatus that operates in a time- and energy-efficient manner.
These objects are achieved by an ink jet printing apparatus for producing an image on an ink receiver in response to an input image, comprising: at least one ink reservoir for providing ink for printing the image; a print head means coupled to an ink receiver and at least one ink reservoir, for disposing ink spots on the ink receiver; a fluid reservoir for providing a fluid for treating the ink spots disposed on the receiver; and a spray bar coupled to the ink receiver and the fluid reservoir, for depositing the fluid on the ink spots disposed on the ink receiver thereby improving the quality, stability and durability of the image.
Images produced by the apparatus and method of the invention are waterfast and have good wet adhesion.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2059817 (1936-11-01), Sheppard et al.
patent: 2992109 (1961-07-01), Allen
patent: 2994611 (1961-08-01), Heyna et al.
patent: 3232763 (1966-02-01), Burness et al.
patent: 3304179 (1967-02-01), Field et al.
patent: 3360372 (1967-12-01), Burness et al.
patent: 3490911 (1970-01-01), Burness et al.
patent: 3565632 (1971-02-01), Mills et al.
patent: 3635718 (1972-01-01), Froehlich et al.
patent: 3640720 (1972-02-01), Cohen
patent: 3642486 (1972-02-01), Burness et al.
patent: 3689274 (1972-09-01), Sobel et al.
patent: 3762926 (1973-10-01), Himmelmann et al.
patent: 4538160 (1985-08-01), Uchiyama
patent: 4597794 (1986-07-01), Ohta et al.
patent: 4599627 (1986-07-01), Vollert
patent: 4630076 (1986-12-01), Yoshimura
patent: 5085698 (1992-02-01), Ma et al.
patent: 5172133 (1992-12-01), Suga et al.
patent: 5477301 (1995-12-01), Earle et al.
patent: 5598196 (1997-01-01), Braun
patent: 5605750 (1997-02-01), Romano et al.
patent: 5611847 (1997-03-01), Guistina et al.
patent: 5623294 (1997-04-01), Takizawa et al.
patent: 5635969 (1997-06-01), Allen
patent: 5664255 (1997-09-01), Wen
patent: 5679139 (1997-10-01), McInerney et al.
patent: 5679141 (1997-10-01), McInerney et al.
patent: 5679142 (1997-10-01), McInerney et al.
patent: 5698018 (1997-12-01), Bishop et al.
patent: 0 726 148 (1996-08-01), None
The Theory of the Photographic Process, 4th Edition, T.H. James, 1977. McMillan Publishing Co., pp. 77-87.
Research Disclosure, vol. 365, Sep. 1994, Item 36544, II B. Hardeners.
Erdtmann David
Martin Thomas W.
Romano Charles E.
Wen Xin
Beatty Robert
Eastman Kodak Company
Wells Doreen M.
LandOfFree
Printing apparatus with spray bar for improved durability does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Printing apparatus with spray bar for improved durability, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Printing apparatus with spray bar for improved durability will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2460810