JPS5843267B2 - Jiyouhoukirokuuchi - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In inkjet printing, a stream of ink is supplied under pressure;
It is pulsed periodically to generate droplets that impinge on a suitable recording medium, such as a moving sheet of paper.

Obtaining a print on paper with ink requires that the droplets be separated from each other by a substantially uniform distance and be of substantially uniform size.

In order to produce the desired print pattern on the paper, the droplets must be directed onto the paper individually, ie they must be deflected before reaching the paper according to the pattern to be printed.

To obtain droplet deflection, the droplet needs to be electrostatically charged or have magnetic properties so that it can be selectively deflected.

The present invention eliminates the need for any charging and deflection of the droplets to produce the desired printed pattern.

The present invention accomplishes this by forming a liquid stream of material with photochromic, electrochromic or thermosensitive properties or a combination thereof;
Each liquid stream is transparent or colorless unless it is subjected to an appropriate energy source that changes the material from transparent to colored.

Therefore, only that portion of each liquid stream that receives the appropriate energy source produces a colored or ink spot on the paper.

The present invention allows an ink spot that is a portion of the ink spot that has received a suitable energy source to have a different contrast depending on the amount of energy applied to it.

Thus, the printed patterns produced by the present invention are of varying contrast.

Deflecting the various droplets to form the desired print pattern causes aerodynamic problems by eliminating some droplets from the evenly spaced droplet stream.

This is because the velocity of droplets adjacent to the space from which one droplet is deflected tends to increase because the spacing between the droplets is no longer uniform.

As a result, the droplets will have different velocities depending on the spacing between them due to the absence of some droplets.

Therefore, the desired uniform velocity to obtain the desired print pattern is influenced by the deflection of some of the droplets in the liquid stream.

The present invention overcomes this problem since there are no droplets to be deflected.

Thus, the present invention provides the desired print pattern without the need for deflection, with each drop hitting the paper even if not all of the drops are used for printing.

Usually, the droplets to be deflected are selectively charged, so that in order to obtain the desired electrostatic charge of the droplets, the point at which they break up from the liquid stream into droplets must be constant and It is necessary to synchronize charges occurring in close proximity.

If the liquid stream is formed from a material that has photochromic or thermosensitive properties or a combination thereof, the need for precise synchronization of the point of breakup into droplets from the liquid stream is eliminated.

The problem is not to cause the liquid stream to form into droplets, although when a liquid stream is formed from a material with electrochrome properties, precise synchronization of the break-up points from the liquid stream into droplets is required. This can be avoided by the present invention.

Thus, different portions of the liquid stream can be selected for printing simply by applying an electric field to the electrochrome material, a light beam to the photochrome material, and a heat beam to the thermal material.

Thus, by not forming the liquid stream into droplets, the problem of synchronization of the point at which the droplet splits heat from the liquid stream is eliminated.

In traditional thermal printing, paper is specially treated to respond to heat applied to a portion of the paper to produce the desired print pattern.

The paper was also specially treated to respond to selected wavelengths of light to produce the desired print pattern.

However, this paper required special processing costs.

The present invention overcomes the problem of specially treated paper where printing can be done on any shape of substrate.

Thus, the cost of specially treated paper is eliminated by the present invention.

Furthermore, when the specially treated paper is subjected to heat, the line spreads laterally away from the area of the paper to which it was applied.

Therefore, the resolution of the printed pattern produced by the specially treated paper to which heat is applied is limited due to lateral diffusion of the heat. In the present invention, the application of heat is applied to selected droplets. Since it is for each one, there is no heat diffusion and the printed pattern has better resolution.

Since the paper is not sensitive to the heat of the droplet, the diffusion of heat from the droplet after it hits the paper does not have any effect on print resolution.

Thus, the present invention allows information to be recorded on a recording medium without the need for any deflection or charging and without the need for any specially treated paper.

The present invention accomplishes this by treating the liquid that forms the ink before it strikes the paper.

Therefore, controlling the liquid state rather than the paper state provides great flexibility in making the material.

By providing an energy source to a material that has the property of being able to change from transparent to colored when the material is in its liquid state, there is considerable selectivity in the use of materials such as photosensitive materials, printing materials, etc.

Thus, the material forming the ink can be made to include, for example, a material that responds to change in color and another material that responds to decrease in photosensitivity.

The invention therefore makes it possible to take advantage of the unique properties of materials with photochrome, electrochrome or heat-sensitive properties without the need to use specially treated papers.

Therefore, it is possible to record information on various substrates.

The time it takes for a material to change from transparent to colored by applying an energy source to the material when it is in a liquid state is the time it takes for a material to change from transparent to colored when an energy source is applied to the paper to change a portion of the paper to colored smaller than

Thus, the printing speed is increased as a result of providing an energy source to the liquid.

In order to reduce the time to respond to an energy source, a fast response to the energy source can be obtained by providing the energy source in a liquid rather than a solid, for example using advanced solvents.

Since this solvent evaporates when the droplet strikes the paper, there is no need for special treatment of the paper for the solvent.

An object of the present invention is to provide an asynchronous injection device.

Another object of the present invention is to utilize synchronized droplet generation for asynchronous jet printing. Another object of the present invention is to utilize synchronized droplet generation for asynchronous jet printing. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for producing a printed pattern by inkjet printing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for producing a desired print pattern on a recording medium from a liquid stream without forming droplets.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for producing desired print patterns on a variety of recording media.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ink reservoir or anifold 10 is shown to which ink is supplied via a supply tube 11. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the ink is formed from a photosensitive material that can change from colorless to colored when exposed to light of selected wavelengths.

The material of the ink can be selected from, for example, any leuco dye.

Ultraviolet light causes free radical reactions to form dye molecules as a result of chemical reactions.

One suitable example of an ink material is "D
It is sold under the name "y1ux".

This material is most sensitive to light having a wavelength of 320 to 360 nanometers.

When exposed to light at this wavelength, the material changes from transparent to blue.

It appears possible to increase the printing speed through a wide latitude of photosensitive agent and printing material combinations by acting on the liquid.

Ink from the ink reservoir 10 under a selected pressure is directed through the nozzle plate 15.

The nozzle plate 15 is formed with a plurality of nozzles 16,
Each nozzle directs a flow of ink 17 therefrom.

Each stream 17 is coupled to an oscillating frequency source 18, such as a piezoelectric transducer, so that it breaks up into a plurality of uniformly spaced droplets 19.

Each nozzle 16 directs a droplet 19 in the direction indicated by arrow 20.

Droplet 19 is directed onto a recording medium, such as paper 21, which is moving in the direction indicated by arrow 22.

Between the formation of droplets 19 from stream 17 and the droplets 19 striking paper 21, each droplet 19 in each stream 17 can receive a beam of light having a selected wavelength; Any transparent droplet 19 that receives the color becomes colored.

Droplets 19 exposed to the light thus produce visible spots on paper 21 as part of the print pattern.

One example of a suitable source of light is an ultraviolet laser 25 that produces light within a selected wavelength range.

The light from the laser 25 passes through the modulator 26 to the rotating mirror body 27.
supplied to

The mirror 27 is rotated by a suitable control device 28 so that the light from the laser 25 is directed separately to the droplets in each of the droplet streams 17 in a selected order.

Modulator 26 is controlled such that it regulates whether the light from the laser 25 is to be applied to the droplet onto which the rotating mirror 27 directs the light at a particular time.

Thus, each transparent droplet 19 exposed to the laser 25 becomes colored and prints a spot on the paper 21 when the droplet 19 strikes it.

Any droplet 19 that does not receive light from laser 25 remains transparent or colorless as it strikes paper 21.

To prevent transparent droplets that have not been exposed to light from laser 25 from turning colored when paper 21 is exposed to a light source having a wavelength that exposes transparent droplets 19. First, it is necessary to make the transparent droplets 19 that have not received the light less sensitive or non-reactive.

Accordingly, a desensitizer 29 is used to render the transparent or colorless droplets that did not receive light from the laser 25 unreactive.

A desensitizer 29 removes the transparent droplets that have not received light from the laser 25, either before or after they strike the paper 21.
Arranged to be non-reactive.

Desensitizer 29 may be a light source with a wavelength in the visible range of 400 to 500 nanometers.

Thus, as each droplet 19 of each stream 17 advances from the nozzle 16 in the nozzle plate 15 towards the paper 21, the paper 21 is transferred onto the paper 21 via the modulator 26 which controls the application of light from the laser 25. Print pattern is generated.

Desensitizer 29 renders any droplets 19 that did not receive light from laser 25 non-reactive and inadvertently causes transparent droplets 19 to become colored when those droplets 19 receive radiation of a selected wavelength. prevent it from changing.

If desired, modulator 26 can be used to control the amount or intensity of light applied to each droplet 19.

By controlling the amount or intensity of light applied to each droplet 19 by modulator 26, various contrasts in the color of each droplet 19 are obtained and produced on paper 21.

The desensitizing device 29 is arranged so that the droplet 1 receives less than the total amount and intensity of light from the laser 25 by the modulator 26.
9 can only change to a darker shade of its color, ensuring that it is rendered non-reactive.

Referring to Figure 2, the individual streams of droplets 34°35.3
An individual beam 33 is shown generating light of its selected wavelength as a source of energy for imparting light to rays 6 and 37, respectively.

When the droplets of streams 34-37 move toward a recording medium, such as paper 38, they are preferably generated as described in connection with FIG.

Paper 38 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 39.

One suitable example of light source 33 is ultraviolet light.

Thus, light from a single light source 33 causes each of the transparent droplets in each of streams 34-37 to emit light when it receives light.
Can be used to change colors.

The light source 33 includes light tubes 41, 42, 4, respectively, for providing light to each droplet in each of the streams 34, 35, 36, 37.
Connected via 3.44.

Light tubes 41, 42, 43, 44 provide light from light source 33 via light modulation cells 45, 46, 47, 48, respectively.

One suitable example of light modulating cells 45-48 is a liquid crystal.

Instead of using liquid crystals, any other light dispersing or absorbing device may be used as a light modulation cell, such as a polarization analyzer.

Each of light modulating cells 45-48 is separately controlled to determine whether each droplet in each of streams 34-37 receives light from light source 33.

The light modulation cells 45 to 48 pass the light from the light source 33 through the light modulation cells 34 to 37.
are activated simultaneously to simultaneously apply one of the droplets in each of the droplets.

The remainder of the operation of FIG. 2 is the same as described in connection with FIG.

Accordingly, the droplets in streams 34-37 strike paper 38 moving in the direction of arrow 39 to record the desired print pattern, and the transparent droplets are directed from light modulating cells 45-48 onto paper 38.
The sensitivity is reduced by a desensitizing device 29 placed close to.

If desired, light modulating cells 45-48 may be controlled to regulate the amount or intensity of light provided to the droplets.

Therefore, each droplet in each of streams 34-37 can have a different contrast.

Referring to FIG. 3, separate light sources 50, 51° 52.5
3 is shown.

Each of the light sources 50-53 each generates a separate stream 34 of droplets.
~37 is given.

Each of the light sources 50 - 53 is separately controlled by a voltage control device 54 .

Accordingly, the controller 54 controls the light sources 50-53 as each droplet in the streams 34-37 passes through the light sources 50-53, respectively.
53 to be activated.

The light sources 50 to 53 are supplied with the light from the light sources 34 to 53.
It must be possible to generate a light beam of a selected wavelength to turn the 37 transparent droplets colored.

One suitable example for each of the light sources 50-53 is a laser diode.

The laser diode is capable of producing infrared radiation at a wavelength that causes each of streams 34-37 to act on the heat-sensitive material from which it is formed.

An example of a heat sensitive material is a colorless diazoamino dye.

Another example of a thermally sensitive material forming an ink is a triazine type dye base with a naphthol binding element.

By containing a photosensitive N-halosulfone anilide oxidizer that is inactivated by exposure to actinic radiation, the areas of the stream that have not been exposed to light are rendered inactive against further thermal action. Can be made reactive.

After the selected droplets in streams 34-37 receive light from light sources 50-53 and before or after the droplets in streams 34-37 contact paper 38, the droplets in streams 34-37 are free. It is affected by the photosensitizer 55.

Desensitizing device 55 may be similar to device 29 described above, and is positioned closer to sheet 38 than light sources 50-53, as device 29 is positioned.

Desensitizer 55 inerts droplets in streams 34-37 that have not received light from light sources 50-53.

This prevents inadvertent changes to color when the transparent droplets are subsequently exposed to light of the selected wavelength.

The droplets in streams 34-37 produce the desired print on paper 38.
It is sensitized by light sources 50-53 to produce a pattern.

A droplet from each of streams 34-37 strikes a single horizontal row of paper 38.

The light sources 50-53 are controllable by a voltage controller 54 so that each droplet in each of the streams 34-37 can receive a different amount or intensity of the light source.

Thus, each droplet exposed to an associated light source is of a different intensity of color and produces a different contrast on the paper 38.

The desensitizer 55 prevents droplets that have not been fully changed in color from changing to a darker shade when the droplets are exposed to the selected wavelength of light.

Of course, the light sources 50-53 may also generate light within a selected wavelength range as an alternative to generating infrared radiation.

Accordingly, the light sources 50-53 may be laser diodes having wavelengths appropriate to the chemistry of the ink so as to cause the ink receiving the light to change from clear to colored.

Therefore, the arrangement of FIG. 3 can be used as a light source to provide light or heat.

Referring to FIG. 4, the nozzles of nozzle plate 15 of FIG. 1 are shown.

An electrode 60 is disposed within each nozzle 16 and a control device 62
It is connected to the power supply 61 by.

Each nozzle 16 has one electrode 60, all electrodes 60 being controlled by a controller 62.

In this configuration, the ink is formed from a suitable electrochrome material that changes from transparent to colored when subjected to an electric field.

Suitable examples of electrochrome materials are tungstates or molybdates.

As the stream 63 passes through the nozzle 16, when an electric field is applied to the stream by enabling the controller 62 to apply a voltage from the power source 61 to the electrode 60, the electric field causes the applied stream to The portion 63 changes from transparent to colored.

This is caused by the flow 63 coming into contact with the electrode 60.

Stream 63 breaks up into droplets 64 after leaving nozzle 16 as in FIG. 1, and these droplets 64 move in the direction of arrow 65.

Therefore, the timing of applying the electric field to the stream 63 must be correlated to the generation of droplets from that stream.

Of course, the ink can be formed from materials that have electrochrome, photochrome, and thermosensitive properties at the same time.

The choice of one or a combination of these properties depends on how the energy is applied.

Although liquid flow has been shown as being to be formed into droplets, it is of course not a necessary requirement for satisfactory operation.

Thus, for example, a continuous liquid stream may be provided, and a selected energy source is applied to selected portions of the liquid stream, each of which is substantially the same as a droplet. Contains a flow of quantity.

Only that selected portion of the stream receiving the selected energy source prints the paper.

An advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need for any droplet charging and deflection used in inkjet printing.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it does not require precise synchronization of the flow-to-droplet break-up points.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that deflection and charging means are not required, allowing the recording medium to be placed in close proximity to the nozzle, thereby eliminating the need for tight nozzle tolerances. be.

Another advantage of the present invention is that since there is no deflection of the droplets, a nearly uniform spacing between the droplets is maintained until they strike the recording medium, thereby greatly eliminating some of the aerodynamic problems. It is to be reduced.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it does not require specially treated paper to function as a recording medium so that recording can be done on any of a variety of substrates.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the information recording device of the present invention,
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing yet another embodiment of the invention. It is. 16... Nozzle, 21... Paper, 25
...Laser, 26...Modulator, 27.
... Rotating mirror body, 29 ... Desensitizing device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An apparatus for recording information on a recording medium, comprising: directing a liquid stream comprising a material sensitive to an energy source so as to change from transparent to colored when receiving the energy source; and means for selectively applying the energy source to any portion of the liquid stream according to a print pattern to be recorded on a recording medium.