EP0106802A1 - Vorrichtung zum Ausstoss von Tröpfchen einer elektrisch leitenden Flüssigkeit - Google Patents

Vorrichtung zum Ausstoss von Tröpfchen einer elektrisch leitenden Flüssigkeit Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0106802A1
EP0106802A1 EP83810452A EP83810452A EP0106802A1 EP 0106802 A1 EP0106802 A1 EP 0106802A1 EP 83810452 A EP83810452 A EP 83810452A EP 83810452 A EP83810452 A EP 83810452A EP 0106802 A1 EP0106802 A1 EP 0106802A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
electrode
liquid
support
layer
electrodes
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP83810452A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0106802B1 (de
Inventor
Jacques Vermot-Gaud
Pierre Genequand
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Battelle Memorial Institute Inc
Original Assignee
Battelle Memorial Institute Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Battelle Memorial Institute Inc filed Critical Battelle Memorial Institute Inc
Priority to AT83810452T priority Critical patent/ATE25506T1/de
Publication of EP0106802A1 publication Critical patent/EP0106802A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0106802B1 publication Critical patent/EP0106802B1/de
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/06—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by electric or magnetic field
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/06—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by electric or magnetic field
    • B41J2002/061—Ejection by electric field of ink or of toner particles contained in ink
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
    • B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
    • B41J2202/04—Heads using conductive ink

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a device for projecting droplets of an electrically conductive liquid.
  • This type of device has a frequency of droplet formation limited by the speed with which the meniscus can reform after the expulsion of a drop and which is of the order of 100 ⁇ 10 -6 s.
  • the object of the present invention is to remedy at least in part the above-mentioned drawbacks.
  • the subject of this invention is a device for projecting drops of an electrically conductive liquid, characterized in that it comprises at least one electrode whose diameter is of the same order of magnitude (1) as that of the drops to project, flush with the surface of an electrically insulating support, an intermittent current source one of the poles of which is connected to this electrode, means for forming a layer of said liquid of determined thickness, covering at least the surface of said support or said electrode is exposed and a second electrode in contact with said layer and connected to the other pole of the intermittent current source to form an electric field through said liquid, concentrating on the part of the electrode flush with surface of said support.
  • the advantages of the device, object of the invention are numerous.
  • the droplets are no longer projected through a hole but are detached from the surface of a layer of liquid. Consequently, the speed of reformation of the layer becomes a critical factor.
  • the formation of a matrix for the simultaneous projection of droplets can be carried out for example by a printed circuit technique, the distance between the droplet generating electrodes can be reduced compared to a matrix of tubes. It is possible to carry out the invention in the form of a very flat structure. No transducer is needed anymore to create the force capable of projecting the droplets.
  • the manufacturing cost of such a device is significantly reduced. Therefore, the possible applications are extremely numerous insofar as this cost is even lower than that of existing less efficient devices. We can thus consider the use of such a device for table calculator printers, for date and time marking on transport tickets, for date marking on packaging of perishable products, just to name a few possible applications among others.
  • the device illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a support 1 in the form of a cylindrical block made of an insulating material axially traversed by a metal wire 2 made of a metal which is a good conductor of the electric current connected to one of the poles of a source of electric pulses illustrated in FIGS. 2b.
  • This cylindrical block 1 is placed in a reservoir 3, containing ink, made of an electrically insulating material, having an opening 4 in which the ink contained in this reservoir 3 is retained by the cohesive force of its meniscus.
  • a counter-electrode 5 is placed somewhere in the reservoir 3 at a distance from the electrode 2 and connected to the other pole of the source of electrical pulses.
  • the thickness of the layer of liquid covering the electrode plays a relatively important role insofar as, with a very thin layer of the order of a few tens of / ⁇ m , a spraying of the liquid is obtained whereas with a layer of the order of a few tenths of mm, very few parasitic drops are obtained.
  • the voltage applied between electrodes 2 and 5 as well as the pulse duration play a role on the size of the drops. It has been found that the necessary voltages can vary between around 500 and 4000 volts, the tests having essentially been carried out with a power supply varying between 500 and 1500 volts. App pulse duration was chosen at 5 / us.
  • FIG. 7 shows a device in all points similar to that of FIG. 1 before the opening of which is placed a mask 17 having a central opening disposed opposite the electrode 2 but whose diameter is very substantially greater than that of this electrode and therefore also greater than the size of the drops.
  • This mask is intended to avoid an interaction between the meniscus and the anbiant air, especially at high operating frequencies. Indeed, this interaction has the effect of producing parasitic drops and the incorporation of bubbles on the surface of the liquid.
  • an insulating tape 6 in which the electrodes are located 2.
  • the edge of the tape 6 has a conductive track 7.
  • This tape can be inked with a ink roller (not shown) to form an ink film 8 on its surface, this film covering one side of the insulating tape 6 being in contact with the electrodes 2 and the conductive track 7 so that an electrical edge can be established at through the ink film 8, under the same conditions as in the case of FIG. 1.
  • the insulating support can be formed by a fixed block 9 on one face of which the electrodes 2 are flush.
  • the ink is retained in a ribbon 10 which may consist, for example, of a plastic material provided with perforations 11 filled with ink by an ink roller (not shown) applied against the underside of the ribbon 10 and the upper face of which has a metallized layer 12 and is intended to form the counter electrode.
  • the metallized layer 12 can be formed from different parallel conductive tracks extending longitudinally on the surface of the strip 10.
  • a circuit for addressing the electrodes 2 can for example be produced as illustrated by the diagram in FIG. 6.
  • Each electrode of the same series is located at the junction of two conductors 13a, 13 b , 13 c , 13 d on the one hand and A 1 , B 1 , C l D l for the first series, A 2 , B 2 , C 2 , D 2 for the second series and A n , B n , C n , D n for the nth series.
  • the electrodes 2 1a , 2 2a , 2 na are connected to the same switch 14 a
  • the electrodes 2 1b , 2 2b , 2 nb are connected to the same switch 14 b
  • the electrodes 2 1c , 2 2c , 2 nc are connected to the switch 14 c
  • the electrodes 2 1d , 2 2d , 2 nd are connected to the switch 14 d .
  • the electrodes 2 1 , 2 2 , 2 n of the same series are connected to the same switch 15 1 respectively 15 2 and 15 n by means of the conductive ink contained in n reservoirs 16 1 respectively 16 2 , 16 n .
  • the reservoirs 16 1 to 16 n could correspond to the conductive tracks 12 formed on the surface of the strip 10.
  • each electrode is obtained by first closing the switch 15 1 and those of the switches 14 a to 14a corresponding to the electrodes which it is desired to energize. Then the switch 15 1 and the switches 14 a to 14 d are opened and the switch 15 2 and those of the switches 14a to 14 d corresponding to the electrodes which it is desired to energize are closed.
  • the distance between the electrodes should be at least 100 ⁇ m to avoid spurious interactions between electrodes. At this distance between active and non-active electrodes, the potential of the latter is much lower than the activity threshold.
  • the time multiplexing of reservoirs or electrodes is easy since the duration of the pulses is of the order of 2 to 5 / us with a maximum frequency of 104 H z.
  • Such an addressing circuit can be used both for an electrode array and for a line of electrodes similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5 for example.
  • the device, object of the invention offers very great advantages over most existing devices. These advantages mainly arise from the fact that the drop is projected from a layer of liquid no longer requiring nozzles and making it possible to produce planar structures. For a given liquid, apart from the thickness of the liquid layer, all the parameters influencing the formation of the drops are electrical parameters. In addition, the electric current acts directly on the liquid, without the intermediary of a transducer. No parasitic resistance is put in series in the supply circuit, all the electrical resistance is concentrated in the useful zone with strong field gradient.
  • the reformation of the meniscus is independent of the diameter of a nozzle and no longer depends only on the rheological properties of the liquid. It can therefore be estimated that the maximum frequency of formation of the drops can be increased compared to an on-demand inkjet device using a buzzard.
  • the energy consumed by the device which is the subject of the invention is very low. If we consider for example a resistance of electrode 2 and the ink associated with it of 100,000 ohms and a supply voltage of 1000 volts, the instantaneous current is: and the instantaneous power is:
  • the energy consumed during a pulse of 5 / us 5 x 10 -5 joules. This energy can be further reduced, insofar as the pulse duration could be reduced to r2 / us.

Landscapes

  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
  • Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)
  • Electrotherapy Devices (AREA)
  • Nozzles (AREA)
  • Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
EP83810452A 1982-10-08 1983-10-05 Vorrichtung zum Ausstoss von Tröpfchen einer elektrisch leitenden Flüssigkeit Expired EP0106802B1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT83810452T ATE25506T1 (de) 1982-10-08 1983-10-05 Vorrichtung zum ausstoss von troepfchen einer elektrisch leitenden fluessigkeit.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH5914/82 1982-10-08
CH5914/82A CH649040A5 (fr) 1982-10-08 1982-10-08 Dispositif pour projeter des gouttelettes d'un liquide electriquement conducteur.

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0106802A1 true EP0106802A1 (de) 1984-04-25
EP0106802B1 EP0106802B1 (de) 1987-02-25

Family

ID=4301446

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP83810452A Expired EP0106802B1 (de) 1982-10-08 1983-10-05 Vorrichtung zum Ausstoss von Tröpfchen einer elektrisch leitenden Flüssigkeit

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US4575737A (de)
EP (1) EP0106802B1 (de)
JP (1) JPS60500010A (de)
AT (1) ATE25506T1 (de)
CH (1) CH649040A5 (de)
DE (1) DE3369837D1 (de)
WO (1) WO1984001544A1 (de)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0363325A1 (de) * 1988-10-05 1990-04-11 Battelle Memorial Institute Verfahren zum Antrieb von Tröpfchen einer leitfähigen Flüssigkeit
EP0418659A3 (en) * 1989-09-18 1992-09-23 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Ink jet recording apparatus
EP0694390A3 (de) * 1994-07-29 1996-10-02 Riso Kagaku Corp Tintenstrahlgerät und leitendes Tintengemisch

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH659012A5 (de) * 1982-07-20 1986-12-31 Fischer Ag Georg Verfahren und vorrichtung zum verdichten von koernigen formstoffen.
JPS59229345A (ja) * 1983-05-24 1984-12-22 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd 画像記録装置
US4717926A (en) * 1985-11-09 1988-01-05 Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha Electric field curtain force printer
CA2025538C (en) * 1989-09-18 1995-03-14 Akira Goto Ink jet recording head, cartridge and apparatus
US4999650A (en) * 1989-12-18 1991-03-12 Eastman Kodak Company Bubble jet print head having improved multiplex actuation construction
JPH04307252A (ja) * 1991-04-05 1992-10-29 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd インクジェットヘッド
DE69425958T2 (de) * 1993-02-12 2001-01-25 Tonejet Corp. Pty. Ltd., Eastwood Verfahren und vorrichtung zur herstellung von tropfen
JP2783226B2 (ja) * 1995-12-06 1998-08-06 日本電気株式会社 インクジェット式ヘッド装置
JP2907085B2 (ja) * 1995-12-14 1999-06-21 日本電気株式会社 インクジェット式ヘッド装置
US6416678B1 (en) * 1998-12-22 2002-07-09 Xerox Corporation Solid bi-layer structures for use with high viscosity inks in acoustic ink printing and methods of fabrication

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3834301A (en) * 1971-11-17 1974-09-10 Battelle Memorial Institute Process and device for non-impact printing with liquid ink
GB1484368A (en) * 1974-10-29 1977-09-01 Xerox Corp Marking method and apparatus
GB2031344A (en) * 1978-10-18 1980-04-23 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Ink recording apparatus
US4275290A (en) * 1978-05-08 1981-06-23 Northern Telecom Limited Thermally activated liquid ink printing

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS4945736A (en) * 1972-09-04 1974-05-01 Jukichi Sugimura Mosaikan to denkyokukan ni kotaiatsuzetsuenban o ireta purintosochi
JPS5640564A (en) * 1979-09-11 1981-04-16 Ricoh Co Ltd Ink jet recording device
JPS5724261A (en) * 1980-07-21 1982-02-08 Nippon Telegr & Teleph Corp <Ntt> Head for ink recording
JPS5738163A (en) * 1980-08-18 1982-03-02 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Image recording method and apparatus therefor

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3834301A (en) * 1971-11-17 1974-09-10 Battelle Memorial Institute Process and device for non-impact printing with liquid ink
GB1484368A (en) * 1974-10-29 1977-09-01 Xerox Corp Marking method and apparatus
US4275290A (en) * 1978-05-08 1981-06-23 Northern Telecom Limited Thermally activated liquid ink printing
GB2031344A (en) * 1978-10-18 1980-04-23 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Ink recording apparatus

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0363325A1 (de) * 1988-10-05 1990-04-11 Battelle Memorial Institute Verfahren zum Antrieb von Tröpfchen einer leitfähigen Flüssigkeit
US5001496A (en) * 1988-10-05 1991-03-19 Battelle Memorial Institute Method for propelling droplets of a conductive liquid
CH677755A5 (de) * 1988-10-05 1991-06-28 Battelle Memorial Institute
EP0418659A3 (en) * 1989-09-18 1992-09-23 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Ink jet recording apparatus
EP0694390A3 (de) * 1994-07-29 1996-10-02 Riso Kagaku Corp Tintenstrahlgerät und leitendes Tintengemisch
US6315395B1 (en) 1994-07-29 2001-11-13 Riso Kagaku Corporation Ink jet apparatus and conductive ink mixture

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS60500010A (ja) 1985-01-10
EP0106802B1 (de) 1987-02-25
JPH0521744B2 (de) 1993-03-25
ATE25506T1 (de) 1987-03-15
CH649040A5 (fr) 1985-04-30
WO1984001544A1 (fr) 1984-04-26
DE3369837D1 (en) 1987-04-02
US4575737A (en) 1986-03-11

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