Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-07
2004-10-05
Meier, Stephen D. (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
C347S096000, C106S031130, C523S160000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06799845
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording liquid, a recording liquid cartridge, a recording method, a recording apparatus and a recording medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to a recording liquid suitable for inkjet recording by an on-demand method with a piezoelectric system or a thermal system and the like, or by a continuous inkjet method with a charge-control system and the like, particularly, to a recording liquid featuring excellent characteristics associated with use of plain paper. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a recording liquid used also for aqueous writing instruments, to recording instruments, and for pen plotters, also relates to a recording cartridge containing this recording liquid, either to a recording method and to a recording apparatus using this recording liquid, and, to a recording medium preferably used for recording with these liquid, method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inkjet recording system has in recent years, been rapidly prevailing because of its compact body, low price, low running cost, and low noise.
Also, inkjet printers capable of printing on various types of non-coated plain paper for electro-photography, printing, typewriters, wire dot printers, word processors, writing letters, and writing reports are now commercially available.
For the inkjet printers, various types of ink having improved drying properties for images with high resolution have been proposed.
However, it is very difficult to satisfy all the aspects such as color reproducibility of images, waterproofing, light resistibility, drying properties of images, suppressing of image-blurring, reliability of ink ejection or other aspects.
In particular, in the case of color printers, images are likely to be degraded in a portion where two colors of red, green and blue are superimposed, although there is no degradation of images in a monochrome printed portion of yellow, magenta and cyan.
Especially in the case where images are dried without use of a fixing apparatus, while one might take in mind means to impose the drying property for enhancing permeability of ink printed, the same as or close to that disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent publication (Tokkai) No.55-29546, however such means cause the problem of significant bleeding on the paper in almost all cases.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Tokko) No.
60-23793
describes that dialkyl sulfosuccinate as a surfactant improves the drying properties, and there is little image degradation. However, the diameter of a pixel is significantly varied depending on the types of paper being used the image density is likely to degrade significantly.
Japanese Patent No. 1175616 discloses quick drying ink with use a surfactant including an ethylene oxide-adduct having an acetylene bonding to improve the permeability.
However, problems are caused, depending on the coloring agent. For example, in the case of an ink containing a direct dye such as DBK 168, the drying speed is not improved because of a hydrophobic behavior of the dye contained. Ink containing a pigment such as carbon black, the pigment aggregates readily so that clogging of nozzles is likely to occur, or the direction of inkjet is likely to be curved.
Furthermore, also in order to improve the drying speed, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No. 8-113739 has proposed ink containing a dye and water-soluble glycol ether, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No. 10-95941 has proposed an ink composition containing a pigment, glycol ethers such as diethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether and water.
However, it is necessary to add a large amount of glycol esters in order to improve the drying speed, which is not preferable in terms of ink odor or safety.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No.
56-57862
discloses an ink containing strongly basic substance. However, although it is effective to rosin-sized acidic paper, there is no or the least effect in the case of papers produced by impregnating of alkyl ketene dimmer or alkenyl sulfosuccinate as sizing agent and there is no effect on color-superimposed portion even in the case of acidic-paper-are used.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No. 2-138374 proposes an aqueous recording ink containing a water-soluble dye, water and a benzyl ether having a specific structure.
This publication also proposes to add an oily material into ink, in order to further improve the permeability of the ink, and the oily material includes as for instances vegetable oil, unsaturated fatty acid, higher alcohol, fatty acid ester, and mineral oil; and 2-ethyl-1,6-hexanediol, diethylene glycol hexyl ether, ethylene oxide adducts of acetylenic glycol (an addition mole number of 5 or less), ethylene glycol benzyl ether or the like, as a water-hardly soluble or slightly soluble solvent having a hydroxyl group in its molecule.
However, these inks have problems in safety, and large problems in stability because the oily material, the water-hardly soluble and slightly soluble solvent, benzyl ether or the like are separated at some ambient temperatures.
Japanese Patent No. 2894568 proposes a composition containing a coloring material and a liquid medium, which is served as inkjet ink containing 60 wt. % or more of water and 0.2 to 30 wt. % of alkylene glycol having 7 to 10 carbon atoms in this liquid medium.
As preferable specific examples of alkylene glycol having 7 to 10 carbon atoms, 1,7-heptanediol, 2,6-heptanediol, 2,4-dimethyl-2,4-pentanediol, and 3-ethyl-1,3-pentanediol are listed as for instances.
It is also described that these compounds are added into the ink so that bleeding of the ink on plain paper, the drying properties and the permeability are improved, and therefore the ink is given balanced features in the bleeding property and the permeability, therefore high reliability in prevention of clogging can be provided.
However, the addition of the listed compounds provides only insufficient improvements in the permeability of ink, actually, so that the drying properties are low and bleeding is still likely to occur depending on the type of papers. Thus, no solutions for conventional problems are provided.
Japanese Patent No. 2714482 proposes an inkjet ink containing aliphatic diol compounds of a specific structure having al least 6 carbon atoms and having a solubility of at least 4.5 parts by weight in 100 parts by weight of water at 25° C.
As examples of the diol compounds, 2-ethyl-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-butanediol, 2,2-diethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-methyl-2-propyl-1,3-propanediol, 2,4-dimethyl-2,4-pentanediol, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-hexanediol, 5-hexene-1,2-diol and the like are listed. Ink containing any one of the above has insufficient permeability. Color bleeding or feathering occurs.
As a method for reducing color bleeding in inkjet printing, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No.
5-132643
proposes an ink for thermal inkjet printing having a composition containing a vehicle, a water-soluble dye, with at least one selected from ampholytic surfactant and nonionic surfactant in an amount at least equal to the critical concentration to hold micelle, an organic solvent for supporting the formation of micelle and water.
However, the above-described surfactant cannot provide sufficient permeability to the ink, so that the effect on prevention of bleeding is still insufficient.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Tokkai) No. 11-71543 proposes a composition containing a microemulsion including a dye, a water-insoluble organic compound, second organic compound compatible to the water-insoluble organic compound and water, an amphipathic substance and water, wherein the amphipathic substance-is present in an amount sufficient to dissolve the water-insoluble organic compound in the microemulsion. This publication also describes that this composition can reduce the drying time and can bring printings with eliminated bleeding.
However, in order to substantially imp
Arita Hitoshi
Kaneko Tetsuya
Koyano Masayuki
Osada Nobutaka
Meier Stephen D.
Shah Manish
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