EP0162889A4 - Tintenstrahlschreiber für grosse buchstaben auf anfrage. - Google Patents

Tintenstrahlschreiber für grosse buchstaben auf anfrage.

Info

Publication number
EP0162889A4
EP0162889A4 EP19840904243 EP84904243A EP0162889A4 EP 0162889 A4 EP0162889 A4 EP 0162889A4 EP 19840904243 EP19840904243 EP 19840904243 EP 84904243 A EP84904243 A EP 84904243A EP 0162889 A4 EP0162889 A4 EP 0162889A4
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
chamber
ink
membrane
jet
printing
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP19840904243
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0162889A1 (de
Inventor
Willson Lewis Mayerberg Jr
Stanley Neil Brunner
Harry S Taylor
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.)
Dennison Manufacturing Co
Original Assignee
Dennison Manufacturing Co
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 Dennison Manufacturing Co filed Critical Dennison Manufacturing Co
Publication of EP0162889A1 publication Critical patent/EP0162889A1/de
Publication of EP0162889A4 publication Critical patent/EP0162889A4/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41JTYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J25/00Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J25/001Mechanisms for bodily moving print heads or carriages parallel to the paper surface
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41JTYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005Typewriters 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
    • B41J2/01Ink jet
    • B41J2/015Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41JTYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005Typewriters 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
    • B41J2/01Ink jet
    • B41J2/135Nozzles
    • B41J2/145Arrangement thereof
    • B41J2/15Arrangement thereof for serial printing

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to drop-on-demand ink jet printers, and more particularly to ink jet printers for the generation of relatively large characters.
  • Ink jet printers have generally been classified within two broad categories -- "continuous" printers and "drop-on-demand” printers.
  • Printers of the former type include an assembly for continuously emitting a stream of ink, which after breakup into droplets is gated to selectively permit passage of droplets to the substrate to be imprinted.
  • the apparatus for gating the ink droplets and collecting the surplus drops typically electrostatic in principle, adds a significant degree of complexity to the system.
  • the drop-on-demand printers such as that of the present invention, eject ink droplets only during print intervals, thus avoiding the need for additional gating apparatus between the ink jet source and the record medium.
  • Ink jet technology has been adapted to a wide range of printing applications. Letter quality printers are designed for character heights on the order of millimeters and must meet relatively rigorous demands as to print quality. In such applications as package imprinting, however, it is more typical to specify a character height on the order of centimeters, and there is more leniency as to character definition. Whereas the former printers might have a resolution on the order of hundreds of pels, the latter applications would more typically involve rasters of 5x7 or 7x9.
  • a representative patent on a large character drop-on-demand ink jet printer is U.S. Patent No. 4,378,564 to A.R. Willett.
  • This patent discloses a system which incorporates a pressurized ink supply with output manifold, which gates the pressurized ink using a series of solenoid valves. Ink droplets passed by the solenoid valves are propelled from jewelled orifice nozzles to form the character.
  • This system is vulnerable to a number of hazards characteristic of on-demand ink jets, such as air bubbles entrapped within the printer.
  • Such gas contamination reduces the efficiency of such printers in that air bubbles must be purged from the system to achieve a proper ink flow.
  • Such printers also suffer a limited print range, tendency toward ink splattering on the image, and a danger of ink clogging of the nozzles. Additionally, the linear relationship between valve operation and dot size imposes a critical restraint on speed, which can only be increased by raising the input pressure (which raises other difficulties).
  • Another type of drop-on-demand ink jet printer which is the subject of considerable patent art utilizes a "pressure cavity" to which ink is supplied at low input pressure. An electrically actuated transducer mounted in the rear of the cavity produces fluid oscillation in the ink, thereby producing a series of ink drops.
  • Such a transducer may be a radially expansive disk, as in U.S. Patent No. 3,787,884 to Demer, or may be a member coaxially aligned with the supply tube, as in U.S. Patent No. 3,683,212 to Zoltan.
  • This oscillatory technique is, again, subject to a number of practical difficulties.
  • Such ink jet printers are vulnerable to entrapped air bubbles, and various complexities have been adopted in an attempt to minimize the difficulty, as exemplified by U.S. Patent No. 4,323,908 to Lee et al.
  • Another paramount consideration is efficiency of performance, i.e. ensuring that the print actuation energy is not unduly dissipated in producing the jet.
  • European Patent Application No. 81302728.1 assigned to Nippon Electric Company, discloses a drop-on-demand ink jet printer of the type incorporating a pressure chamber with oscillatory excitation by a piezoelectric element fastened to one wall of the chamber.
  • This printer gates ink inflow and outflow from the pressure chamber using a pair of check valves, illustratively of the disk valve type, in order to control the fluid resistance characteristics at the input and output ports.
  • This apparatus is unsuitable for large character printers inasmuch as it relies on the limited energies associated with the peizoelectric excitation. Accordingly, this apparatus is designed for relatively minute fluid volumes.
  • a principal object of the invention to provide a simple, reliable ink jet printer of the drop-on-demand type. Such printer is intended for large character printing applications, with relatively low drop repetition rates and large image elements.
  • a related object is to provide the capacity for outputting relatively high fluid volumes in such an ink jet.
  • Another object of the invention is the avoidance of air bubble entrapment in ink jet operation. It is a related object to ensure reasonably trouble-free operation of such printers. Another related object is the use of a reasonably simple, elegant design, thereby to reduce maintainance requirements. A further object of the invention is the ability to reliably produce ink jets over a range of droplet repetition rates.
  • Still other objects relate to image quality; such printers should avoid a tendency toward "drop-out" of droplets in the jet, as well as splattering and other undesirable effects. These printers should permit printing over a reasonable range of distances between nozzle and printing surface. Yet another object of the invention is the design of a flexible, versatile ink jet system. Such a system should accommodate a workable range of ink viscosities, character heights, and image element sizes.
  • a still further object is to achieve an efficient use of ink in character generation.
  • the invention provides an ink jet printer of the "drop-on- demand" type, of a design particularly suited to the printing of large characters.
  • the printer of the invention incorporates a printing head, i.e. drop- projecting device, incorporating an ink-containing pressure chamber, which receives ink from a supply reservoir and intermittently discharges masses of ink to a nozzle assembly. Discharge of ink from the pressure chamber and replenishment of the chamber are effected by an ink impulse assembly, designed on the positive displacement pump principle.
  • An elastomeric membrane forms one wall of the pressure chamber.
  • a moveable rod displaces the membrane to constrict the volume of the pressure chamber, which therefore expels a preselected mass of ink.
  • ink inflow and outflow from the pressure chamber is controlled by check valves, and the moveable rod is coupled to a solenoid plunger for reciprocating motion.
  • the pressure chamber is configured to contain a volume of ink compatible with a range of masses to be discharged in a given print cycle.
  • the chamber contains only slightly more than the maximum volume which is to be discharged in a given cycle.
  • the chamber includes input and output ports, and an elastomeric membrane which is sealed to an open face thereof.
  • the output port which is in fluid communication with the ink feed nozzle, is preferably placed opposite the elastomeric membrane.
  • the chamber has a radially symmetric shape, such as a frustrum of a cone or spherical cap.
  • the dimensions of the pressure chamber advantageously are chosen to ensure, on the one hand, that a pressure pulse will be effectively transmitted through the output port, and on the other hand, that the discharged ink will not be subjected to excessive perturbations which might lead to formation of "satellite drops" or other fluctuations of the emitted ink jet.
  • the membrane or diaphragm which defines one wall of the pressure chamber consists of an elastomeric material.
  • This membrane is advantageously stretched over an open face of the pressure chamber in a watertight seal.
  • the membrane is comprised of a natural or synthetic rubber disk.
  • the moveable rod exerts a transverse force at the center of the membrane causing its deformation towards the output port.
  • the stretched membrane exerts an elastic restoring force, which upon removal of the external force on the rod will return these structures to their rest positions in a sinusoidally dampened mannner. This geometry has been observed to enhance ink jet stability, reducing satellite drop formation.
  • the moveable rod is coupled to a mechanism for intermittently exerting a driving force on the rod and membrane, as described above.
  • the rod is linked a solenoid plunger.
  • the rod is essentially in contact with the membrane while at rest, so that there will be only a minimal initial impact as the rod is accelerated.
  • the rod has a cross section approximately corresponding to a central, target area of the opposite chamber wall.
  • the rod exerts a force sufficient to deform the membrane to occupy a volume illustratively between about 25 percent of the original chamber volume, i.e. of a single drop of ink, and essentially the entire chamber volume.
  • the solenoid or other driving mechanism exerts a displacing force over an interval illustratively between less than 1 millisecond and several milliseconds; membrane restoration requires a further interval of several milliseconds.
  • Stili another aspect of the invention relates to the design of suitable means for controlling the fluid impedance characteristics at the input and output ports of the pressure chamber.
  • ink inflow and outflow is controlled by a pair of check valves. During a printing cycle, these valves allow sufficient discharge of ink through the output port while essentially preventing back flow of ink through the input port.
  • the pressure chamber has been at least partially evacuated of ink, thereby causing a pressure differential across the infeed check valve which allows replenishment of the chamber from the ink reservoir.
  • ink droplets are produced at a repetition rate on the order of hundreds of drops per second.
  • Image elements created by such ink drops typically have diameters between 1 and 10 millimeters.
  • the printer when used for imprinting of a relatively moving object, such as a container, is typically placed at a distance on the order of .5 to 3 centimeters from the printing surface.
  • the drop-on-demand ink jet printers of the invention enjoy substantial operating advantages over prior art printers, particularly those intended for large character applications.
  • the principle of operation of the ink impulse assembly permits the use of printing fluids over a wide range of viscosities, by providing a mechanism for imparting the energy required for producing the jet.
  • This design avoids a problem frequently encountered in similar ink jet printers, i.e. system failures due to entrapped air bubbles.
  • the present ink jet printers provide well formed dot-defined images while enjoying flexibility in various printing parameters such as image element diameter, nozzle to print surface spacing, and print repetition rate. By avoiding the need for a pressurized ink supply, this system eliminates the characterisitc problems of operation at higher supply pressures.
  • a still further aspect of the invention relates to the design of a multielement printing head for generation of matrix-defined characters.
  • the printing head of the preferred embodiment incorporates a linear array of jet nozzles set in a rotatable nozzle orifice plate. The user may vary the character height by rotating the plate from its orthogonal orientation, to trigonometrically alter the span of the nozzles along the vertical axis. Suitable adjustments are made in the character generation electronics to ensure proper timing for print head actuation.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coding system for cartons carried on a moving conveyor, incorporating a plurality of ink jet printing heads in accordance with the preferred embodiment
  • Figure 2 is a partial exploded view of a single ink jet printing head from the system of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 is a sectional view of an ink impulse assembly from the printing head of Figure 2;
  • Figure 4 is a sectional schematic view of the ink-chamber-membrane area of the ink impulse assembly of Figure 3, during deformation of the membrane;
  • Figure 5 is a plan view of the rotatable nozzle plate from the ink jet printing head of Figure 2, showing alternative orientations of the plate in phantom;
  • Figure 6A is a schematic view of two 5x7 character rasters for the full-height position of the nozzle plate of Figure 5;
  • Figure 6B is a schematic view of two 5x7 character rasters for the 3/4-height position of the nozzle plate of Figure 5;
  • Figure 6C is a schematic view of three 5x7 character rasters for the 1 /2-height position of the nozzle plate of Figure 5;
  • Figure 7 is a partially sectioned view of a given nozzle from the ink jet printing head of Figure 2.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference should now be had to Figures 1 -7 for a detailed description of a large character drop-on-demand ink jet printer according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • the ink jet printers of the preferred embodiment have particular utility in the formation of relatively large characters of from 13-50 mm in height.
  • Ink jet printers of this type are well suited to the marking or coding of articles such as the cartons shown in the perspective view of Figure 1.
  • Figure 1 illustrates an ink jet printing system 10 which is disposed adjacent a conveyor belt 150 carrying a series of cartons C.
  • the printing system 10 includes a stanchion 100 in which three printing heads 20A, 20B, and 20C are slideably mounted at an adjustable separation from cartons C.
  • the ink jet printers of the invention are capable of imaging at distances as great as 25 mm, with a preferred separation being on the order of 12 mm. At these distances a printing head 20A produces high resolution dot matrix images with individual dots having diameters on the order of between 1 and 10 millimeters.
  • Printing system 10 includes a control module 90, illustratively consisting of a multi-character display 92, and a keyboard input panel 91.
  • Controller 90 interfaces with internal electronics 98 such as a microprocessor, which also receives signals from an electrooptical or electromechanical transducer for detecting the movement of cartons C past; the print heads 20.
  • a particularly suitable device for this purpose is an optical encoder (not shown), which translates a mechanical response to carton motion (such as the rotation of a shaft) into interruptions of a light beam which are output as electrical pulses.
  • Such devices provide digital signals of high resolution and reliability, which are employed as timing signals for actuating printing heads 20a-20c in coordination with the progress of cartons C.
  • This encoder compensates for nonlinearities in carton speed relative to print heads 20, thereby avoiding a "bunching" of the dot images.
  • the printing heads of the invention shown in Figure 1 as incorporated in a stationary in-line coding system, may be adapted to a variety of other configurations such as a hand-held printing gun.
  • FIG 2 shows an exploded view of an individual printing head 20 from the apparatus 10 of Figure 1.
  • the print head 20 includes a circular cylindrical housing 21 (not shown in this figure) having a nozzle plate 35 at one end.
  • the nozzle plate 35 houses seven nozzles 36a, 36b, etc. which terminate at nozzle orifices 37.
  • Ink is delivered to print head 20 through hoses 115 by an ink supply module 110 (Fig. 1), which includes a tank and filter. Due to the use of internal ink impulse assemblies 50 which pressurize the ink for jet formation, there is no need for a pressurized ink supply.
  • the ink supplied to printing head 20 is subject only to a static head due to ambient air pressure.
  • Ink is routed through supply lines 115 to a manifold plate 45 where it is channelled to seven individual reservoirs 41a - 41g in reservoir block 40 (in a face seal with plate 45).
  • Plates 25 and 26 house seven ink impulse assemblies 50a - 50g, of which only one is shown in Figure 2. Each of these ink impulse assemblies is in fluid communication with one of the reservoirs 41a - 41 g in reservoir block 40.
  • a given impulse assembly 50 functions to discharge a given volume of ink under pressure to one of the nozzle assemblies 30.
  • the driving force for ink pressurization and ejection is provided by solenoids 70a - 70g, only one of which is shown.
  • the ink impulse assembly 50a propels a quantity of ink through output duct 48a to be ejected through nozzle 36a.
  • Figure 3 shows in section the various elements of an ink impulse assembly 50.
  • This assembly consists of an ink chamber block 51 nested in complementary cavities in plates 25 and 26; a solenoid 70 and plunger 71 housed in plate 27; and a rod 80 fitted to plunger 71.
  • a resilient bumper 85 supported by disk 28 delimits the rearward motion of plunger 71.
  • Ink impulse assembly 50 operates as a positive displacement pump, by intermittently discharging and replenishing ink contained within chamber 60, through the deformation of an elastomeric membrane 65 which forms one wall of the chamber.
  • Chamber 60 receives ink from reservoir 40 via input port 53 subject to the fluidic control of an input check valve 54, and discharges ink through output port 56 via output check valve 57.
  • the check valve 54 provides a relatively low fluid impedance in the input direction but resists reverse flow.
  • Check valve 57 permits outflow of ink with relatively little reverse flow from the output duct 38 back into chamber 60.
  • the inward deformation of membrane 65 raises the internal pressure of chamber 60 and imparts fluid momentum toward ports 53 and 56.
  • check valve 57 allows discharge of a certain volume of ink, while check valve 54 prevents a significant backflow through the infeed port 53 which would dissipate energy.
  • a particularly preferred type of valve in this apparatus is the duckbill check valve. This valve characteristically permits controlled flow in the forward direction over a broad range of volumes, i.e. from a single drop to virtually the entire contents of chamber 60.
  • Chamber 60 desirably has a low volume, i.e. slightly greater than the largest volume of ink which may be discharged therefrom during a given print period.
  • the ink chamber geometry in such aspects as the ratio of membrane area to chamber volume, and ratio of membrane diameter to depth of the chamber, balances factors such as the efficiency of energy transfer to the discharged ink mass, and the need to avoid secondary perturbations of the ink which might cause nonuniformities in the emitted ink stream.
  • a variety of cross-sections are suitable, but a chamber shape having radial symmetry has particular advantages in combination with a circular membrane which is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry, i.e. ease of machining and superior operational characteristics.
  • the input and output ports may be side-by-side or remotely located, but desirably the output port is located directly opposite a central portion of the membrane so that during membrane deformation the fluid momentum will be directed toward the output valve 57.
  • the illustrated chamber has a flat frustoconical profile, with the input and output ports bordering the central circular section 64.
  • the rod 80 is oriented along the axis of symmetry, and preferably contacts the membrane 65 while at rest.
  • the energizing of solenoid 70 drives the solenoid plunger in direction A ( Figure 4), pushing rod 80 against a central portion of membrane 65.
  • the rod 80 advantageously has a cross-section complementing a central portion of the ink chamber. In the preferred, illustrated embodiment, the rod.
  • Solenoid 70 is energized during an interval sufficient to drive rod 80 and membrane 65 at least partially towards the opposite chamber wall 64.
  • Other suitable mechanisms may be employed to displace rod 80, having the requisite response time and force-displacement characteristics.
  • An illustrative range of "on" times for solenoid 70 is between 1 and 3 milliseconds. At the lower end of this range, membrane 65 will be only slightly deformed, sufficiently to expel a single drop of ink through output valve 57. At the other extreme, membrane 65 is forced against the opposite chamber wall, virtually emptying the chamber of ink. During the actuated period, the rod exerts a force on the membrane which depends on such parameters as ink density and viscosity, and plunger displacement.
  • the printing characteristics are considerably more energetic than those of piezoelectric transducers and other prior art oscillatory devices, and afford substantial operating advantages.
  • This system is extremely flexible, permitting a broad range of print fluid volumes, viscosities, drop repetition rates, and other parameters.
  • Such printers provide attractive, high resolution images over a variety of drop diameters and printing distances. These variations are achieved through adjustment of the solenoid actuation characteristics, rather than of an input supply pressure or valve actuation period.
  • this system allows a greater range of effective print distances due to enhanced control over the energy of the jet.
  • This operational principle also permits independent control over dot size and drop repetition rate.
  • the membrane 65 advantageously comprises an elastomeric disk or other member which is sealed to the chamber block 51 to prevent leakage of ink (Fig. 3).
  • the method of securing membrane 65 to block 51 preferably should provide a taut condition for the membrane without unduly constraining the membrane at its perimeter. Adhesive bonding has been found unsuitable for this purpose; illustratively, the membrane comprises a natural rubber disk.
  • a suitable thickness for membrane 65 is on the order of 10-30 mils, preferably around 20-25 mils.
  • O-ring 59 ensures that any escaped ink from chamber 60 is contained within the cavity 26-c in plate 26.
  • the drop repetition rate of print head 20 is largely determined by the on time of solenoid 70, and by the time required to restore the membrane and rod to their rest positions and to replenish the chamber with ink.
  • the solenoid's activated period determines the amount of energy transferred to the ejected ink, and therefore this parameter is dependent on factors such as ink density and viscosity and the volume of ink which is discharged.
  • the time required to restore the system to its initial state is also dependent on these factors as well as hydraulic parameters such as the fluid resistance of valves 54 and 57.
  • Typical figures for solenoid on times and restoration times are on the order of milliseconds; this corresponds to drop repetition rates on the order of hundreds of drops per second.
  • the print head 20a shown in Figure 2 incorporates seven ink impulse assemblies 50a - 50g which propel ink through respective nozzle assemblies 30a - 30g.
  • Figure 5 gives a plan view of a preferred construction of a seven-orifice nozzle plate 35, wherein the orifices 37a - 37g are aligned in a single column at equally spaced intervals. Orifice plate 35 is mounted in an annular frame 39 using lock screws 38, in order to permit rotation from its normal, vertical orientation.
  • the column of nozzle orifices 37 may be rotated from the vertical position to one of angles ⁇ 1 , and ⁇ 2 with respect to vertical, an adjustment by which the user can reduce character height as explained below.
  • FIGS 6A - 6C give schematic views of 5x7 character rasters which may be produced by the printing head 20a using various orientations of the nozzle plate 35.
  • a given character raster I has a spacing X between vertically adjacent dots and a spacing S 1 between adjacent columns.
  • each raster column corresponds exactly to the printing head column of orifices 37.
  • Figure 6B illustrates the formation of 5x7 rasters for a printing head orientation of angle 6, from the vertical, which is used to generate 3/4-height characters.
  • the column of nozzle orifices 37 correspond to a diagonally adjacent series of raster elements (indicated in Figure 6B by the dotted lines).
  • a particular printed column is formed by successive row-by-row positions of the printing head during which time the printing surface has advanced by the relative distance S 2 .
  • the scale of character rasters I and II in Figure 6B correspond to a diagonal separation X between elements.
  • Figure 6C shows three character rasters I-III generated using a printing head orientation of angle from the vertical, for the production of 1/2-height characters.
  • a given column of printing head orifices 37 correspond to raster elements separated by a horizontal spacing of two elements and vertical spacing of one. This corresponds to a horizontal separation S 3 of adjacent columns, as scaled by a separation X between, for example, column 1, row 7 and column 3, row 6 of character raster I.
  • FIG. 7 shows a partially sectioned elevation view of a nozzle assembly 30, illustrating the profile of a given nozzle 36a.
  • Nozzle 36a includes a bore 31 having a relatively broad portion 32, which narrows to a constricted portion 33 toward the nozzle orifice 37.
  • This venturi nozzle design reduces the influence of ambient conditions such as temperature on the ink jet profile.
  • this nozzle construction resists bleeding of ink and facilitates the formation of individual ink drops from the emerging jet.
  • This nozzle profile encourages the formation of a single umbilicus of printing ink from which a drop will be severed, i.e. reduces the occurence of satellite drops.
  • a print head 20 of the type illustrated in Figures 2- 5 and 7 incorporated as its superstructure a series of cylindrical plates mounted within an elongate circular cylindrical housing.
  • the nozzle plate 35, manifold plate 45, and reservoir block 40 were molded from
  • Teflon (a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont DeNemours & Co., Wilmington, DE, for tetrafluoroethylene polymers), while the remaining structures included a nozzle backing plate 34 were formed from stainless steel.
  • the nozzle plate 35 included seven circular apertures were bored at a center spacing of 6 mm. Each aperture housed a stainless steel jet outflow nozzle 36 having a profile illustrated in Figure 7.
  • the nozzle channel 31 had a broad portion 32 of inner diameter .6 millimeter narrowing to a segment 33 of inner diameter .2 millimeter at the nozzle orifice 37.
  • the nozzle was 16 mm in length; the broad diameter segment 10 mm, and the narrow diameter segment and transition region 6 mm.
  • the nozzle plate 35 was rotatably seated in an annular plate 39 and secured thereto with lock screws 38.
  • the ink chamber block 51 formed of stainless steel, included broad and narrow portions respectively nested in complementary cavities in plates 25 and 26.
  • the ink chamber 60 was shaped as the frustrum of a cone with a major diameter of 4.6 mm, chamber depth of .76 mm, with a slope of 45° for the side of a given axial section.
  • the chamber volume was approximately .02 cubic centimeter.
  • Input and output ports 53 and 56 were centered on opposite endpoints of a given diameter of the central circular section 64.
  • the elastomeric membrane 65 was a natural rubber circular disk 6 mm in diameter and .6 mm thick.
  • Duckbill check valves 54 and 57 were fitted to the input and output ports as shown in Figure 3.
  • a teflon rod 80 having an outer diameter of 3.0 mm included an internal bore and was press-fitted to the solenoid plunger 71.
  • Rod 80 was held in light contact with membrane 65 by limiting the travel of plunger 71 using a soft rubber bumper 85.
  • the solenoid 70 was actuated for membrane displacement using pulsed voltages with a duration of between 1 and 3 milliseconds, depending on the desired diameter of the printed dots.
  • the printing head was employed for the projection of a black printing ink having a viscosity of 2.0 centipoise.
  • Three printing heads as described were incorporated in a carton coding system 10 of the type shown in Figure 1.
  • the nozzle orifice plates 35 were located at a distance of 13 mm from the cartons.

Landscapes

  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
  • Recording Measured Values (AREA)
EP19840904243 1983-10-31 1984-10-30 Tintenstrahlschreiber für grosse buchstaben auf anfrage. Withdrawn EP0162889A4 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US54680483A 1983-10-31 1983-10-31
US546804 1983-10-31

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0162889A1 EP0162889A1 (de) 1985-12-04
EP0162889A4 true EP0162889A4 (de) 1986-01-07

Family

ID=24182082

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19840904243 Withdrawn EP0162889A4 (de) 1983-10-31 1984-10-30 Tintenstrahlschreiber für grosse buchstaben auf anfrage.

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0162889A4 (de)
JP (1) JPS61500260A (de)
BR (1) BR8407139A (de)
WO (1) WO1985002012A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB0217248D0 (en) * 2002-07-25 2002-09-04 Willett Int Ltd Device and method

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2458545A1 (de) * 1974-12-11 1976-06-16 Hartmann & Braun Ag Dosierventil fuer eine analysierapparatur

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3787884A (en) * 1973-01-08 1974-01-22 Ibm Ink jet printer
AT347973B (de) * 1977-04-18 1979-01-25 Zimmer Peter Ag Verfahren zum herstellen einer metallfolie sowie vorrichtung zur durchfuehrung des verfahrens
JPS5840507B2 (ja) * 1977-12-29 1983-09-06 株式会社リコー インクジエツト記録装置
SE421055B (sv) * 1978-04-19 1981-11-23 Klaus Mielke Anordning for merkning av kollin eller andra foremal
EP0036297A3 (de) * 1980-03-14 1981-10-07 Willett International Limited Tintenstrahldruckapparat und Verfahren

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2458545A1 (de) * 1974-12-11 1976-06-16 Hartmann & Braun Ag Dosierventil fuer eine analysierapparatur

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of WO8502012A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0162889A1 (de) 1985-12-04
WO1985002012A1 (en) 1985-05-09
JPS61500260A (ja) 1986-02-20
BR8407139A (pt) 1985-10-08

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4475113A (en) Drop-on-demand method and apparatus using converging nozzles and high viscosity fluids
US4189734A (en) Method and apparatus for recording with writing fluids and drop projection means therefor
US5164740A (en) High frequency printing mechanism
US4383264A (en) Demand drop forming device with interacting transducer and orifice combination
US4353078A (en) Ink jet print head having dynamic impedance adjustment
US4580148A (en) Thermal ink jet printer with droplet ejection by bubble collapse
EP0787587B1 (de) Tintenstrahldruckgerät
EP0105354B1 (de) Tintenstrahldrucker
US4393384A (en) Ink printhead droplet ejecting technique
JPH0452215B2 (de)
GB2282569A (en) Droplet generator.
CN1292752A (zh) 液体分配装置
EP1020288B1 (de) Tintenstrahldruckverfahren-und-Vorrichtung
HK81887A (en) Ink jet printing head
US6409311B1 (en) Bi-directional fluid ejection systems and methods
US4703330A (en) Color ink jet drop generator using a solid acoustic cavity
US5039997A (en) Impact-valve printhead for ink jet printing
KR20090025244A (ko) 액적 방출 시스템 및 방법
WO1985002012A1 (en) On-demand large character ink jet printer
US6406130B1 (en) Fluid ejection systems and methods with secondary dielectric fluid
JPS5840508B2 (ja) インパルス方式マルチノズルインクジエツトヘツド
EP0067948B1 (de) Methode und Apparat zum Produzieren von Flüssigkeitstropfen auf Befehl
US7105131B2 (en) Systems and methods for microelectromechanical system based fluid ejection
US6702209B2 (en) Electrostatic fluid ejector with dynamic valve control
JPS6052354A (ja) インクジェット記録装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE FR GB LI LU NL SE

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 19860114

RIN1 Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)

Inventor name: BRUNNER, STANLEY, NEIL

Inventor name: TAYLOR, HARRY, S.

Inventor name: MAYERBERG, WILLSON, LEWIS, JR.