Patent Grant
7434919
Reference is made to and priority claimed from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No., filed, entitled.
This invention relates generally to continuous stream type ink jet printing systems and more particularly to printheads which stimulate the ink in the continuous stream type ink jet printers by individual jet stimulation apparatus, especially using thermal energy pulses.
Ink jet printing has become recognized as a prominent contender in the digitally controlled, electronic printing arena because, e.g., of its non-impact, low-noise characteristics, its use of plain paper and its avoidance of toner transfer and fixing. Ink jet printing mechanisms can be categorized by technology as either drop on demand ink jet or continuous ink jet.
The first technology, “drop-on-demand” ink jet printing, provides ink droplets that impact upon a recording surface by using a pressurization actuator (thermal, piezoelectric, etc.). Many commonly practiced drop-on-demand technologies use thermal actuation to eject ink droplets from a nozzle. A heater, located at or near the nozzle, heats the ink sufficiently to boil, forming a vapor bubble that creates enough internal pressure to eject an ink droplet. This form of ink jet is commonly termed “thermal ink jet (TIJ).” Other known drop-on-demand droplet ejection mechanisms include piezoelectric actuators, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,843, issued to van Lintel, on Jul. 6, 1993; thermo-mechanical actuators, such as those disclosed by Jarrold et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,627, issued May 13, 2003; and electrostatic actuators, as described by Fujii et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,784, issued Nov. 5, 2002.
The second technology, commonly referred to as “continuous” ink jet printing, uses a pressurized ink source that produces a continuous stream of ink droplets from a nozzle. The stream is perturbed in some fashion causing it to break up into uniformly sized drops at a nominally constant distance, the break-off length, from the nozzle. A charging electrode structure is positioned at the nominally constant break-off point so as to induce a data-dependent amount of electrical charge on the drop at the moment o break-off. The charged droplets are directed through a fixed electrostatic field region causing each droplet to deflect proportionately to its charge. The charge levels established at the break-off point thereby cause drops to travel to a specific location on a recording medium or to a gutter for collection and recirculation.
Continuous ink jet (CIJ) drop generators rely on the physics of an unconstrained fluid jet, first analyzed in two dimensions by F. R. S. (Lord) Rayleigh, “Instability of jets,” Proc. London Math. Soc. 10 (4), published in 1878. Lord Rayleigh's analysis showed that liquid under pressure, P, will stream out of a hole, the nozzle, forming a jet of diameter, dj, moving at a velocity, vj. The jet diameter, dj, is approximately equal to the effective nozzle diameter, dn, and the jet velocity is proportional to the square root of the reservoir pressure, P. Rayleigh's analysis showed that the jet will naturally break up into drops of varying sizes based on surface waves that have wavelengths, λ, longer than πdj, i.e. λ≧πdj. Rayleigh's analysis also showed that particular surface wavelengths would become dominate if initiated at a large enough magnitude, thereby “synchronizing” the jet to produce mono-sized drops. Continuous ink jet (CIJ) drop generators employ some periodic physical process, a so-called “perturbation” or “stimulation”, that has the effect of establishing a particular, dominate surface wave on the jet. This results in the break-off of the jet into mono-sized drops synchronized to the frequency of the perturbation.
The drop stream that results from applying a Rayleigh stimulation will be referred to herein as creating a stream of drops of predetermined volume. While in prior art CIJ systems, the drops of interest for printing or patterned layer deposition were invariably of unitary volume, it will be explained that for the present inventions, the stimulation signal may be manipulated to produce drops of predetermined multiples of the unitary volume. Hence the phrase, “streams of drops of predetermined volumes” is inclusive of drop streams that are broken up into drops all having one size or streams broken up into drops of planned different volumes.
In a CIJ system, some drops, usually termed “satellites” much smaller in volume than the predetermined unit volume, may be formed as the stream necks down into a fine ligament of fluid. Such satellites may not be totally predictable or may not always merge with another drop in a predictable fashion, thereby slightly altering the volume of drops intended for printing or patterning. The presence of small, unpredictable satellite drops is, however, inconsequential to the present inventions and is not considered to obviate the fact that the drop sizes have been predetermined by the synchronizing energy signals used in the present inventions. Thus the phrase “predetermined volume” as used to describe the present inventions should be understood to comprehend that some small variation in drop volume about a planned target value may occur due to unpredictable satellite drop formation.
Commercially practiced CIJ printheads use a piezoelectric device, acoustically coupled to the printhead, to initiate a dominant surface wave on the jet. The coupled piezoelectric device superimposes periodic pressure variations on the base reservoir pressure, causing velocity or flow perturbations that in turn launch synchronizing surface waves. A pioneering disclosure of a piezoelectrically-stimulated CIJ apparatus was made by R. Sweet in U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,275, issued Jul. 27, 1971, Sweet '275 hereinafter. The CIJ apparatus disclosed by Sweet '275 consisted of a single jet, i.e. a single drop generation liquid chamber and a single nozzle structure.
Sweet '275 disclosed several approaches to providing the needed periodic perturbation to the jet to synchronize drop break-off to the perturbation frequency. Sweet '275 discloses a magnetostrictive material affixed to a capillary nozzle enclosed by an electrical coil that is electrically driven at the desired drop generation frequency, vibrating the nozzle, thereby introducing a dominant surface wave perturbation to the jet via the jet velocity. Sweet '275 also discloses a thin ring-electrode positioned to surround but not touch the unbroken fluid jet, just downstream of the nozzle. If the jetted fluid is conductive, and a periodic electric field is applied between the fluid filament and the ring-electrode, the fluid jet may be caused to expand periodically, thereby directly introducing a surface wave perturbation that can synchronize the jet break-off. This CIJ technique is commonly called electrohydrodynamic (EHD) stimulation.
Sweet '275 further disclosed several techniques for applying a synchronizing perturbation by superimposing a pressure variation on the base liquid reservoir pressure that forms the jet. Sweet '275 disclosed a pressurized fluid chamber, the drop generator chamber, having a wall that can be vibrated mechanically at the desired stimulation frequency. Mechanical vibration means disclosed included use of magnetostrictive or piezoelectric transducer drivers or an electromagnetic moving coil. Such mechanical vibration methods are often termed “acoustic stimulation” in the CIJ literature.
The several CIJ stimulation approaches disclosed by Sweet '275 may all be practical in the context of a single jet system However, the selection of a practical stimulation mechanism for a CIJ system having many jets is far more complex. A pioneering disclosure of a multi-jet CIJ printhead has been made by Sweet et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,437, issued Mar. 12, 1968, Sweet '437 hereinafter. Sweet' 437 discloses a CIJ printhead having a common drop generator chamber that communicates with a row (an array) of drop emitting nozzles. A rear wall of the common drop generator chamber is vibrated by means of a magnetostrictive device, thereby modulating the chamber pressure and causing a jet velocity perturbation on every jet of the array of jets.
Since the pioneering CIJ disclosures of Sweet '275 and Sweet '437, most disclosed multi-jet CIJ printheads have employed some variation of the jet break-off perturbation means described therein. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,641 issued Feb. 2, 1971 to Taylor et al. discloses a CIJ printing apparatus having multiple, multi-jet arrays wherein the drop break-off stimulation is introduced by means of a vibration device affixed to a high pressure ink supply line that supplies the multiple CIJ printheads. U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,393 issued Jun. 12, 1973 to Lyon et al. discloses a multi-jet CIJ array wherein the multiple nozzles are formed as orifices in a single thin nozzle plate and the drop break-off perturbation is provided by vibrating the nozzle plate, an approach akin to the single nozzle vibrator disclosed by Sweet '275. U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,036 issued Apr. 8, 1975 to Loeffler et al. discloses a multi-jet CIJ printhead wherein a piezoelectric transducer is bonded to an internal wall of a common drop generator chamber, a combination of the stimulation concepts disclosed by Sweet '437 and '275
Unfortunately, all of the stimulation methods employing a vibration some component of the printhead structure or a modulation of the common supply pressure result is some amount of non-uniformity of the magnitude of the perturbation applied to each individual jet of a multi-jet CIJ array. Non-uniform stimulation leads to a variability in the break-off length and timing among the jets of the array. This variability in break-off characteristics, in turn, leads to an inability to position a common drop charging assembly or to use a data timing scheme that can serve all of the jets of the array. As the array becomes physically larger, for example long enough to span one dimension of a typical paper size (herein termed a “page wide array”), the problem of non-uniformity of jet stimulation becomes more severe. Non-uniformity in jet break-off length across a multi-jet array causes unpredictable drop arrival times leading to print quality defects in ink jet printing systems and ragged layer edges or misplaced coating material for other uses of CIJ liquid drop emitters.
Many attempts have been made to overcome the problem of non-uniform CIJ stimulation based on vibrating structures. U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,324 issued Jun. 1, 1976 to Titus et al. discloses the use of multiple, discretely mounted, piezoelectric transducers, driven by a common electrical signal, in an attempt to produce uniform pressure stimulation at the nozzle array. U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,197 issued Jan. 16, 1979 to L. Stoneburner discloses means of damping reflected acoustic waves set up in a vibrated nozzle plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,643 issued Apr. 15, 1980 to Cha, et al. disclosed means for mechanically balancing the printhead structure so that an acoustic node occurs at the places where the printhead is clamped for mounting. U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,927 issued Dec. 1, 1981 to S. Tsao discloses a drop generator cavity shape chosen to resonate in a special mode perpendicular to the jet array direction, thereby setting up a dominate pressure perturbation that is uniform along the array.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,256 issued Nov. 22, 1983 to Fillmore, et al., (Fillmore '256 hereinafter) discloses an apparatus and method for balancing the break-off lengths in a multi-jet array by sensing the drop streams and then adjusting the magnitude of the excitation means to adjust the spread in break-off lengths. Fillmore '256 teaches that for the case of a multi-jet printhead driven by a single piezoelectric “crystal”, there is an optimum crystal drive voltage that minimizes the break-off length for each individual jet in the array. The jet break-off lengths versus crystal drive voltage are determined for the “strongest” and “weakest” jets, in terms of stimulation efficiency. An operating crystal voltage is then selected that is in between optimum for the weakest and strongest jets, that is, higher than the optimum voltage of the strongest jet and lower than optimum voltage for the weakest jet. Fillmore '256 does not contemplate a system in which the break-off lengths could be adjusted to a desired operating length by means of stimulation means that are separately adjustable for each stream of the array.
Many other attempts to achieve uniform CIJ stimulation using vibrating devices, similar to the above references, may be found in the U.S. patent literature. However, it appears that the structures that are strong and durable enough to be operated at high ink reservoir pressures contribute confounding acoustic responses that cannot be totally eliminated in the range of frequencies of interest. Commercial CIJ systems employ designs that carefully manage the acoustic behavior of the printhead structure and also limit the magnitude of the applied acoustic energy to the least necessary to achieve acceptable drop break-off across the array. A means of CIJ stimulation that does not significantly couple to the printhead structure itself would be an advantage, especially for the construction of page wide arrays (PWA's) and for reliable operation in the face of drifting ink and environmental parameters.
The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet stimulation concept disclosed by Sweet '275 operates on the emitted liquid jet filament directly, causing minimal acoustic excitation of the printhead structure itself, thereby avoiding the above noted confounding contributions of printhead and mounting structure resonances. U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,958 issued Sep. 2, 1980 to Crowley discloses a CIJ printer wherein the perturbation is accomplished an EHD exciter composed of pump electrodes of a length equal to about one-half the droplet spacing. The multiple pump electrodes are spaced at intervals of multiples of about one-half the droplet spacing or wavelength downstream from the nozzles. This arrangement greatly reduces the voltage needed to achieve drop break-off over the configuration disclosed by Sweet '275.
While EHD stimulation has been pursued as an alternative to acoustic stimulation, it has not been applied commercially because of the difficulty in fabricating printhead structures having the very close jet-to-electrode spacing and alignment required and, then, operating reliably without electrostatic breakdown occurring. Also, due to the relatively long range of electric field effects, EHD is not amenable to providing individual stimulation signals to individual jets in an array of closely spaced jets.
An alternate jet perturbation concept that overcomes all of the drawbacks of acoustic or EHD stimulation was disclosed for a single jet CIJ system in U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,519 issued Apr. 15, 1975 to J. Eaton (Eaton hereinafter). Eaton discloses the thermal stimulation of a jet fluid filament by means of localized light energy or by means of a resistive heater located at the nozzle, the point of formation of the fluid jet. Eaton explains that the fluid properties, especially the surface tension, of a heated portion of a jet may be sufficiently changed with respect to an unheated portion to cause a localized change in the diameter of the jet, thereby launching a dominant surface wave if applied at an appropriate frequency.
Eaton mentions that thermal stimulation is beneficial for use in a printhead having a plurality of closely spaced ink streams because the thermal stimulation of one stream does not affect any adjacent nozzle. However, Eaton does not teach or disclose any multi-jet printhead configurations, nor any practical methods of implementing a thermally-stimulated multi-jet CIJ device, especially one amenable to page wide array construction. Eaton teaches his invention using calculational examples and parameters relevant to a state-of-the-art ink jet printing application circa the early 1970's, i.e. a drop frequency of 100 KHz and a nozzle diameter of ˜25 microns leading to drop volumes of ˜60 picoLiters (pL). Eaton does not teach or disclose how to configure or operate a thermally-stimulated CIJ printhead that would be needed to print drops an order of magnitude smaller and at substantially higher drop frequencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,328 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Drake, et al. (Drake hereinafter) discloses a thermally-stimulated multi-jet CIJ drop generator fabricated in an analogous fashion to a thermal ink jet device. That is, Drake discloses the operation of a traditional thermal ink jet (TIJ) edgeshooter or roofshooter device in CIJ mode by supplying high pressure ink and applying energy pulses to the heaters sufficient to cause synchronized break-off but not so as to generate vapor bubbles. Drake mentions that the power applied to each individual stimulation resistor may be tailored to eliminate non-uniformities due to cross talk. However, the inventions claimed and taught by Drake are specific to CIJ devices fabricated using two substrates that are bonded together, one substrate being planar and having heater electrodes and the other having topographical features that form individual ink channels and a common ink supply manifold.
Also recently, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), have been disclosed that utilize electromechanical and thermomechanical transducers to generate mechanical energy for performing work. For example, thin film piezoelectric, ferroelectric or electrostrictive materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT), or lead magnesium niobate titanate (PMNT) may be deposited by sputtering or sol gel techniques to serve as a layer that will expand or contract in response to an applied electric field. See, for example Shimada, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,225, issued May 14, 2002; Sumi, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,161, issued Jan. 28, 2003; and Miyashita, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,107, issued Apr. 8, 2003. Thermomechanical devices utilizing electroresistive materials that have large coefficients of thermal expansion, such as titanium aluminide, have been disclosed as thermal actuators constructed on semiconductor substrates. See, for example, Jarrold et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,627, issued May 13, 2003. Therefore electromechanical devices may also be configured and fabricated using microelectronic processes to provide stimulation energy on a jet-by-jet basis.
Consequently there is a need for a break-off length measurement and control system that is generally applicable to a thermally stimulated continuous liquid drop emission system, whether or not charged drops are utilized for drop selection purposes. There is an opportunity to effectively employ the extraordinary capability of thermal stimulation to change the break-up process of multiple jets individually, without causing jet-to-jet interactions, and to change the break-up process within an individual jet in ways that simplify the sensing apparatus and methods needed for feedback control. There is also an opportunity to utilize other electromechanical transducers to provide individual jet stimulation in a fashion similar to thermal stimulation. Further there is a need for an approach that may be economically applied to a liquid drop emitter having a very large number of jets.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a jet break-off length measurement apparatus that advantageously employs the characteristics of thermal stimulation for a traditional charged-drop CIJ system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a jet break-off length measurement apparatus that advantageously employs the characteristics of microelectromechanical stimulation of individual jets for a traditional charged-drop CIJ system.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a jet break-off length measurement apparatus that can be employed with a liquid drop emission system that does not used drop charging.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a jet break-off length measurement apparatus that is cost effective by making use of electronics integration among sub-functions of the apparatus.
Further it is an object of the present invention to provide methods for measuring jet break-off lengths for liquid drop emitters employing thermal stimulation utilizing phase sensitive amplification circuitry.
The foregoing and numerous other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon a review of the detailed description, claims and drawings set forth herein. These features, objects and advantages are accomplished by constructing a jet break-off length measurement apparatus for a continuous liquid drop emission system comprising a liquid drop emitter containing a positively pressurized liquid in flow communication with at least one nozzle for emitting a continuous stream of liquid. Resistive heater apparatus is adapted to transfer pulses of thermal energy to the liquid in flow communication with the at least one nozzle sufficient to cause the break-off of the at least one continuous stream of liquid into a stream of drops of predetermined volumes. A sensing apparatus adapted to detect the stream of drops of predetermined volumes is provided. The jet break-off length measurement apparatus further comprises a control apparatus adapted to determine a characteristic of the stream of drops of predetermined volumes that is related to the break-off length.
The present inventions are also configured to measure the break-off length for at least one continuous stream of a continuous liquid drop emission having apparatus that is adapted to inductively charge at least one drop and further for systems having electric field deflection apparatus adapted to generate a Coulomb force on an inductively charged drop.
The present inventions are additionally configured to measure break-off lengths for a plurality of streams of drops of predetermined volumes by determining a plurality of characteristics that are related to a plurality break-off lengths.
The present inventions further include methods of measuring the jet break-off length by applying a break-off test sequence of electrical pulses to resistive heater apparatus causing at least one continuous stream of liquid to break up into drops of predetermined volumes; detecting arrival times of the drops; calculating a characteristic of the at least one stream of drops; and calculating a characteristic of the at least one stream of drops of predetermined volumes that is related to the plurality break-off lengths.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
In the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
a) and 1(b) are side view illustrations of a continuous liquid stream undergoing natural break up into drops and thermally stimulated break up into drops of predetermined volumes respectively;
a) and 11(b) are side view illustrations of an edgeshooter style liquid drop emitter having an electromechanical stimulator for each jet;
a) and 13(b) are side view illustrations of an edgeshooter style liquid drop emitter having a thermomechanical stimulator for each jet;
a), 18(b) and 1(c) illustrate electrical and thermal pulse sequences and the resulting stream break-up into drops of predetermined volumes according to the present inventions;
a) and 22(b) illustrate alternate configurations of the use of drop volumes, individual stream charging and sensing, and stream-group charging and sensing, respectively, according to the present inventions;
a) and 26(b) are side view illustrations of a continuous liquid stream undergoing thermally stimulated break up into drops of predetermined volumes and further illustrating sequences of electrical and thermal pulses that cause the stimulated break-up;
a) and 31(b) are a side view illustration of a liquid drop emitter system and using a sampling integration circuit;
a) and 35(b) illustrate the output of a drop charge detector and
The present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. Functional elements and features have been given the same numerical labels in the figures if they are the same element or perform the same function for purposes of understanding the present inventions. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described may take various forms well known to those skilled in the art.
Referring to
Natural surface waves 64 having different wavelengths grow in magnitude until the continuous stream is broken up in to droplets 66 having varying volumes that are indeterminate within a range that corresponds to the above remarked wavelength range. That is, the naturally occurring drops 66 have volumes Vn≈λn (πdj2/4), or a volume range: (π2dj3/4)≦Vn≦(10πdj3/4). In addition there are extraneous small ligaments of fluid that form small drops termed “satellite” drops among main drop leading to yet more dispersion in the drop volumes produced by natural fluid streams or jets.
b) illustrates a liquid stream 62 that is being controlled to break up into drops of predetermined volumes 80 at predetermined intervals, λ0. The break-up control or synchronization of liquid stream 62 is achieved by a resistive heater apparatus adapted to apply thermal energy pulses to the flow of pressurized liquid 60 immediately prior to the nozzle 30. One embodiment of a suitable resistive heater apparatus according to the present inventions is illustrated by heater resistor 18 that surrounds the fluid 60 flow. Resistive heater apparatus according to the present inventions will be discussed in more detail herein below. The synchronized liquid stream 62 is caused to break up into a stream of drops of predetermined volume, V0≈λ0 (πdj2/4) by the application of thermal pulses that cause the launching of a dominant surface wave 70 on the jet. To launce a synchronizing surface wave of wavelength λ0 the thermal pulses are introduced at a frequency f0=vj0/λ0, where vj0 is the desired operating value of the liquid stream velocity.
b) also illustrates a stream of drops of predetermined volumes 120 that is breaking off at 76, a predetermined, preferred operating break-off length distance, BOL0. While the stream break-up period is determined by the stimulation wavelength, the break-off length is determined by the intensity of the stimulation. The dominant surface wave initiated by the stimulation thermal pulses grows exponentially until it exceeds the stream diameter. If it is initiated at higher amplitude the exponential growth to break-off can occur within only a few wavelengths of the stimulation wavelength. Typically a weakly synchronized jet, one for which the stimulation is just barely able to become dominate before break-off occurs, break-off lengths of ˜12λ0 will be observed. The preferred operating break-off length illustrated in
Achieving very short break-off lengths may require very high stimulation energies, especially when jetting viscous liquids. The stimulation structures, for example, beater resistor 18, may exhibit more rapid failure rates if thermally cycled to very high temperatures, thereby imposing a practical reliability consideration on the break-off length choice. For prior art CIJ acoustic stimulation, it is exceedingly difficult to achieve highly uniform acoustic pressure over distances greater than a few centimeters.
The known factors that are influential in determining the break-off length of a liquid jet include the jet velocity, nozzle shape, liquid surface tension, viscosity and density, and stimulation magnitude and harmonic content. Other factors such as surface chemical and mechanical features of the final fluid passageway and nozzle exit may also be influential. When trying to construct a liquid drop emitter comprised of a large array of continuous fluid streams of drops of predetermined volumes, these many factors affecting the break-off length lead to a serious problem of non-uniform break-off length among the fluid streams. Non-uniform break-off length, in turn, contributes to an indefiniteness in the timing of when a drop becomes ballistic, i.e. no longer propelled by the reservoir and in the timing of when a given drop may be selected for deposition or not in an image or other layer pattern at a receiver.
Liquid drop emitter 500 is illustrated in partial sectional view as being constructed of a substrate 10 that is formed with thermal stimulation elements surrounding nozzle structures as illustrated in
For applications wherein the liquid drop emission system is writing a pattern of liquid, the time period. τ0=1/f0, between drops within a stream, represents the smallest unit of time addressability, and, hence, spatial addressability in forming the desired liquid pattern. The spatial addressability at the pattern receiver location, δm, is the product of the drop period τ0 and the velocity of relative movement between drop emitter 500 and a receiver location, vm, i.e. δm≈τ0 vm. The BOL variation 78 illustrated in
Break-off length variation also complicates the selection process between drops that are deposited to form the desired pattern and drops that are captured by a gutter. For example, a drop charging apparatus 200 is schematically indicated in
Element 230 in
In some applications of the liquid drop emission system of the present inventions it may not be important to control the BOL to a particular value, merely to the substantially the same value within an acceptable range. However in systems employing drop deflection to multiple positions it is useful that the deflection trajectories have a known beginning point established by a know BOL. In these cases the BOL control apparatus and methods of the present invention are set up to control BOL both across an array of jets and to a certain value within an acceptable tolerance based on system requirements for drop placement accuracy at a receiver location. The tolerance to which BOL may be controlled depends on the tolerance to which drop arrival times may be sensed. It is intended that the sensing apparatus be capable of drop arrival time detection at least to within one unit of drop generation, i.e. to less than τ0.
The liquid drop emission system of
Electrodes 232 and 238 of drop sensing apparatus 231 are positioned adjacent to the plurality of drop streams 110. Electrostatic charged drop detectors are known in the prior art; for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,564 to Naylor, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,645 to M. Falinski. As depicted in
The break-off length of an individual stream is determined in the example configuration of
The drop emitter functional elements illustrated herein may be constructed using well known microelectronic fabrication methods. Fabrication techniques especially relevant to the CIJ stimulation heater and MOS circuitry combination utilized in the present inventions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,450,619; 6,474,794; and 6,491,385 to Anagnostopoulos, et al., assigned to the assignees of the present inventions.
Substrate 50 is comprised of either a single crystal semiconductor material or a microelectronics grade material capable of supporting epitaxy or thin film semiconductor MOS circuit fabrication. An inductive drop charging apparatus in integrated in substrate 50 comprising charging electrode 210, buried MOS circuitry 206, 202 and contacts 208, 204. The integrated MOS circuitry includes at least amplification circuitry with slew rate capability suitable for inductive drop charging within the period of individual drop formation, τ0. While not illustrated in the side view of
Integrated drop sensing apparatus comprises a dual electrode structure depicted as dual electrodes 232 and 238 having a gap δs therebetween along the direction of drop flight. The dual electrode gap δs is designed to be less than a drop wavelength λ0 to assure that drop arrival times may be discriminated with accuracies better than a drop period, τ0. Integrated sensing apparatus MOS circuitry 234, 236 is connected to the dual electrodes via connection contacts 233, 237. The integrated MOS circuitry comprises at least differential amplification circuitry capable of detecting above the noise the small voltage changes induced in electrodes 232, 238 by the passage of charged drops 84. In
Layer 54 is a chemical and electrical passivation layer. Substrate 50 is assembled and bonded to drop emitter 500 via adhesive layer 52 so that the drop charging and sensing apparatus are properly aligned with the plurality of drop streams.
One advantage of sensing frequency jitter (wavelength deviation) in order to calculate break-off length is that this measure may be performed without singling out a drop or a pattern of drops by either charging or by deflection along two pathways. All drops being generated may be charged identically and deflected to a gutter for collection and recirculation while making the break-off length calibration measurement. A common and constant voltage may be applied to all jets for this measurement provided the sensing apparatus has a sensor per jet. This may be useful for the situation wherein a jet has an excessively long break-off length extending to the outer edge of the charging electrode 210, or even somewhat beyond it, causing poor drop charging. The frequency jitter measurement may be made using highly sensitive phase locked loop noise discrimination circuitry locked to the stimulation frequency even if reduced drop charge levels have degraded the signal detected by sensing electrodes 232, 238.
Also depicted in
A pattern of two charged drops 82 is used to make a measurement of arrival time from the break-off point for each stream. This measurement may then be used to characterize each stream and then calculate the break-off lengths, BOLji. Alternatively, other patterns of charged and uncharged drops, including a single charged drop, may be used to sense and determine a stream characteristic related to break-off length.
The various component apparatus of the liquid drop emission system are not intended to be shown to relative distance scale in
Sensing apparatus 230 is illustrated having individual sensor sites 242, one per jet of the plurality of jets 110. Because the sensor is located behind the receiver location plane, it may only sense drops that follow a printing trajectory rather than a guttering trajectory. A variety of physical mechanisms could be used to construct sensor sites 242. If uncharged drops are used for printing or depositing the pattern at the receiver location then it is usefully to detect drops optically. If charged drops are used to print, then the sensor sites might also be based on electrostatic effects. Alternatively, sensing apparatus 230 could be positioned so that drops impact sensor sites 242. In this case physical mechanisms responsive to pressure, such as piezoelectric or electrostrictive transducers, are useful.
In contrast to the configuration of the drop emitter 500 illustrated in
The edgeshooter drop emitter 510 configuration is useful in that the integration of inductive charging apparatus and resistive heater apparatus may be achieved in a single semiconductor substrate as illustrated. The elements of the resistive heater apparatus and inductive charging apparatus in
The direct integration of drop charging and thermal stimulation functions assures that there is excellent alignment of these functions for individual jets. Additional circuitry may be integrated to perform jet stimulation and drop charging addressing for each jet, thereby greatly reducing the need for bulky and expensive electrical interconnections for multi-jet drop emitters having hundreds or thousands jets per emitter head.
a) through 14 illustrate alternative embodiments of the present inventions wherein micromechanical transducers are employed to introduce Rayleigh stimulation energy to jets on an individual basis. The micromechanical transducers illustrated operate according to two different physical phenomena; however they all function to transduce electrical energy into mechanical motion. The mechanical motion is facilitated by forming each transducer over a cavity so that a flexing and vibrating motion is possible.
a) and 11(b) illustrate an edgeshooter configuration drop emitter 514 having most of the same functional elements as drop emitter 512 discussed previously and shown in
A transducer movement cavity 17 is formed beneath each electromechanical beam 19 in substrate 515 to permit the vibration of the beam. In the illustrated configuration, working fluid 60 is allowed to surround the electromechanical beam so that the beam moves against working fluid both above and below its rest position (
Transducer movement cavities 17 are indicated in
a) and 13(b) illustrate an edgeshooter configuration drop emitter 516 having most of the same functional elements as drop emitter 512 discussed previously and shown in
A transducer movement cavity 17 is formed beneath each thermomechanical beam in substrate 517 to permit the vibration of the beam. In the illustrated configuration, working fluid 60 is allowed to surround the thermomechanical beam 15 so that the beam moves against working fluid both above and below its rest position (
Transducer movement cavities 17 are indicated in
Ground plane drop deflection apparatus 252 is a conductive member held at ground potential. Charged drops flying near to the grounded conductor surface induce a charge pattern of opposite sign in the conductor, a so-called “image charge” that attracts the charged drop. That is, a charged drop flying near a conducting surface is attracted to that surface by a Coulomb force that is approximately the force between itself and an oppositely charged drop image located behind the conductor surface an equal distance. Ground plane drop deflector 252 is shaped to enhance the effectiveness of this image force by arranging the conductor surface to be near the drop stream shortly following jet break-off. Charged drops 84 are deflected by their own image force to follow the curved path illustrated to be captured by gutter lip 270 or to land on the surface of deflector 252 and be carried into the vacuum region by their momentum. Ground plane deflector 252 also may be usefully made of sintered metal, such as stainless steel and communicated with the vacuum region of gutter manifold 274 as illustrated.
Uncharged drops are not deflected by the ground plane deflection apparatus 252 and travel along an initial trajectory toward the receiver plane 300 as is illustrated for a two drop pair 82. An optical sensing apparatus is arranged immediately after gutter 270 to sense the arrival or passage of uncharged “print” or calibration test drops. Optical drop sensors are known in the prior art; for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,345 to Neville, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,754 to Crean, et al. Illumination apparatus 280 is positioned above the post gutter flight path and shines light 282 downward toward light sensing elements 244. Drops 82 cast a shadow 284, or a shadow pattern for multiple drop sequences, onto optical sensor site 242. Light sensing elements 244 within optical sensor site 242 are coupled to differential amplifying circuitry 246 and then to sensor output pad 248. Optical sensor site 242 is comprised at least of one or more light sensing elements 244 and amplification circuitry 246 sufficient to signal the passage of a drop. As discussed above for the case of an electrostatic drop sensor, light sensing elements 244 usefully have a physical size in the case of one element, or a physical gap between multiple sensing elements, that is less than a drop stream wavelength, λ0.
An illumination and optical drop sensing apparatus like that illustrated in
An alternate embodiment of a drop emission system 552 having a different location for the drop sensing apparatus is illustrated in
Drop sensing apparatus 358 is comprised of sensor electrodes 356 that are connected to amplifier electronics. When charged drops land in proximity to the sensor electrodes a voltage signal may be detected. Alternately, sensor electrodes 356 may be held at a differential voltage and the presence of a conducting working fluid is detected by the change in a base resistance developed along the path between the sensor electrodes. Drop sensor apparatus 358 is a schematic representation of a n individual sensor, however it is contemplated that a sensor serving an array of jets may have a set of sensor electrode and signal electronics for every jet, or for a group of jets, or even a single set that spans the full array width and serves all jets of the array. Drop sensor apparatus sensor signal lead 354 is shown schematically routed beneath drop emitter semiconductor substrate 511. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the ink jet art that many other configurations of the sensor elements are possible, including routing the signal lead to circuitry within semiconductor substrate 511.
Another alternate embodiment of a drop emission system 554 having yet another location for the drop sensing apparatus is illustrated in
Typically the eyelid sealing apparatus is configured to catch undeflected drops and a drop guttering apparatus is configured to catch deflected drops, as illustrated in
With the exception of the eyelid mechanism and drop sensing apparatus 346, the elements of alternate drop emission system 554 are the same as those of drop emission system 550 shown in
Sensor elements 348 are connected to amplifier electronics. When drops land in proximity to the sensor element a voltage signal may be detected. Eyelid drop sensor apparatus 346 is a schematic representation of an individual sensor, however, it is contemplated that an eyelid drop sensor serving an array of jets may have a set of sensor electrodes and signal electronics for every jet, or for a group of jets, or even a single set that spans the full printhead width and serves all jets of the printhead. Eyelid drop sensor apparatus signal lead 347 is shown schematically (in phantom line) routed through the eyelid shroud member 340 emerging at the top of drop generator chamber element 11. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the ink jet art that many other configurations of eyelid position, shape, sealing members, movement mechanism, sensor elements and electrical leads are workable.
Thermal pulse synchronization of the break-up of continuous liquid jets is known to provide the capability of generating streams of drops of predetermined volumes wherein some drops may be formed having integer, m, multiple volumes, mV0, of a unit volume, V0. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,888 to Jeanmaire, et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present inventions. FIGS. 18(a)-18(c) illustrate thermal stimulation of a continuous stream by several different sequences of electrical energy pulses. The energy pulse sequences are represented schematically as turning a heater resistor “on” and “off” at during unit periods, τ0.
In
The capability of producing drops in multiple units of the unit volume V0 may be used to advantage in a break-off control apparatus and method according to the present inventions by providing a means of “tagging” the break-off event with a differently-sized drop or a predetermined pattern of drops of different volumes. That is, drop volume may be used in analogous fashion to the patterns of charged and uncharged drops used above to assist in the measurement of drop stream characteristics. Drop sensing apparatus may be provided capable of distinguishing between unit volume and integer multiple volume drops. The thermal stimulation pulse sequences applied to each jet of a plurality of jets can have thermal pulse sub-sequences that create predetermined patterns of drop volumes for a specific jet that is being measured whereby other jets receive a sequence of only unit period pulses.
Aerodynamic deflection consists of establishing a cross air flow perpendicular to the drop flight paths (away from the viewer of
Integer multiple volume drops 86 are used to detect a characteristic of each fluid stream 110 by measuring the time between break-off at the break-off point 78 and arrival at sensor 230 located behind receiver plane location 300. An optical sensor of the type discussed above with respect to
Sensing apparatus that respond to drop impact may also be used to detect drop arrival times according to the present inventions.
There are many combinations of inductive charging, drop deflection and sensing apparatus that may be selected according to the present inventions. For example, a configuration having an inductive charging apparatus with individually addressable charge electrodes for each jet of a plurality of jets may be used with an aerodynamic drop deflection system and an array-wide electrostatic drop sensing apparatus. This combination is illustrated in
The many combinations of configurations of drop generation, charging and sensing that may be employed according to the present inventions are further elaborated schematically in
b) illustrates an alternate configuration according to the present inventions wherein a group charging electrode 214 is arranged to charge all drops within a group of jets and an electrostatic drop sensing apparatus has sensor sites 243 that serve to measure a group of drop streams. By generating integer volume drops 88 for specific jets within a group of drop streams that are commonly sensed, a characteristic for each drop stream may be decoded.
It will be apparent from the above discussion that many combinations may be utilized to provide apparatus for efficiently sensing a characteristic of each stream within a plurality of streams of drops of predetermined volumes while using drop charging and sensing apparatus that have active elements that serve each stream individually or various groupings of streams. All of these combinations are contemplated as preferred embodiments of the present inventions.
Controller 410 represents computer apparatus capable of managing the liquid drop emission system and the break-off length control procedures according to the present inventions. Specific functions that controller 410 may perform include determining the timing and sequencing of electrical pulses to be applied for stream break-up synchronization, the energy levels to be applied for each stream of a plurality of streams to manage the break-off length of each stream, drop charging signals if utilized and receiving signals from sensing apparatus 440. Depending on the specific sensing hardware, drop patterns and methods employed, controller 410 may receive a signal from sensing apparatus 440 that characterizes a measured stream, or, instead, may receive lower level (raw) data, such as pre-amplified and digitized sensor site output. Controller 410 calculates an estimate of the break-off length BOLji for each stream, j, and then determines a break-off length calibration signal that is used to adjust the break-off lengths to a selected target operating value, BOL0.
Jet stimulation apparatus 420 applies pulses of thermal energy to each stream of pressurized liquid sufficient to cause Rayleigh synchronization and break-up into a stream of drops of predetermined volumes, V0 and, for some embodiments, mV0. Stimulation energy may be provided in the form of thermal or mechanical energy as discussed previously. Jet stimulation apparatus 420 is comprised at least of circuitry that configures the desired electrical pulse sequences for each jet and power driver circuitry that is capable of outputting sufficient voltage and current to the transducers to produce the desired amount of thermal energy transferred to each continuous stream of pressurized fluid.
Liquid drop emitter 430 is comprised at least of stimulation transducers (resistive heaters, electromechanical or thermomechanical elements) in close proximity to the nozzles of a multi-jet continuous fluid emitter and charging apparatus for some embodiments.
The arrangement and partitioning of hardware and functions illustrated in
Throughout the above discussions methods of operating the break-off length control apparatus described and illustrated have been disclosed and implied.
Step 804, detecting drop arrival times, may be understood to include the detection of patterns of drops, single drops or even the absence of drops from an otherwise continuous sequence of drops. In general, step 804 is implemented by sensing a drop after break-off from the continuous stream when it passes by a point along its flight pate detectable by optical or electrostatic sensor apparatus or when it strikes a detector and is sensed by a variety of transducer apparatus that are sensitive to the impact of the drop mass.
Step 806, calculating a stream characteristic, may be understood to mean the process of converting raw analog signal data obtained by a physical sensor transducer into a value or set of values that is related to the break-off point. Typically this value will be a time period that is larger for short break-off lengths and smaller for long break-off lengths. However the stream characteristic may also be a value such as the magnitude of frequency jitter δf about the primary frequency of stimulation, f0. Further, the stream characteristic may be a choice of a specific BOL table value arrived at by using a test sequence that includes a range of predetermined thermal stimulation pulse energies; sensing, therefore, drops produced at multiple break-off lengths; and then characterizing the stream by the choice of the pulse energy that causes the sensor measurement to most closely meet a predetermined target value.
It may be understood that the BOL calibration signal may have many forms. It is intended that the BOL calibration signal provide the information needed, in form and magnitude, to enable the adjustment of the sequence of electrical and thermal pulses to achieve both the synchronized break-up of each jet into a stream of drops of predetermined volume and a break-off length of a predetermined operating length including a predetermined tolerance. For example, the BOL calibration signal might be a look-up table address, an energy stimulation pulse width or voltage, or parameters of a BOL offset pulse that is added to a primary thermal stimulation pulse.
The electrical operating pulse sequence determined in step 810 contains the parameters necessary to cause drop break-up to occur at the chosen break-off length, BOL0. The pulse sequences for each of the jets of a plurality of jets may be different in terms of the amount of applied energy per drop period but will all have a common fundamental repetition frequency, f0. It is contemplated within the scope of the present inventions that the operating pulse sequences that are applied to individual jets may be selected from a finite set of options. That is, it is contemplated that acceptable break-off length control for all jets, that achieves a desired operating BOL within an acceptable tolerance range, may be realized by having, for example, only 8 choices of operating pulse energy that are selectable for the plurality of jets.
An example of the operation of the break-off control apparatus and methods of the present inventions is illustrated by
In
All of the other steps of the method illustrated by
It should be appreciated that the apparatus and methods of drop detection disclosed above, such as measurement of time of flight of drop pairs, can be used to detect and compensate even large deviations in break-off lengths from one jet to another, specifically deviations exceeding the average drop-to-drop spacing of drops 84. However, for some printheads this ability is not required because the deviations in break-off lengths from one jet to another may be small, specifically smaller than the drop-to-drop spacing, λ. This could be the case, for example, if the large deviations have already have been partially corrected so as to produce nozzles displaying only small deviations, that is deviations less than the drop-to-drop spacing. It is also possible that deviations in break-off lengths in a particular printhead are less than the drop-to-drop spacing even with no corrections applied.
In cases where the deviations are small, it is nonetheless desirable to detect and correct them; and it is advantageously found that an apparatus and method of detection that utilizes phase-sensitive signal processing techniques may be employed for such small deviations. One preferred embodiment, illustrated in
According to this present embodiment all drops of a stream 62j are continuously charged at electrode 212j and a voltage response signal is generated for stream 62j by individual stream drop charge detector 204j as the drops pass over the detector. A first switch array 444 is provided so that the voltage signal from each individual drop charge detector 240j, may be connected to lock-in amplifier 450 at an input terminal denoted “Signal”. In
The circuitry of lock-in amplifier 450 compares the signals at its two input terminals, i.e. the voltage from charged drop sensor 240j and the reference stimulation frequency voltage from controller 410. Lock-in amplifier 450 measures both the amplitude and the phase difference of the signal from sensing element 240j relative to the signal from a reference frequency source 414 and produces an amplitude output, A, and a phase difference output, Δφ, as is well known in the art of signal processing.
Lock-in amplifier 450 is illustrated as a separate circuit unit in
The phase difference Δφj measured by lock-in amplifier 450 between the signal from drop charge detector 240j and the reference stimulation frequency uniquely characterizes the break-off length BOLj of stream 62j. Phase difference Δφj may be set to a specific value for each jet, by adjusting the break-off length of each jet. This adjustment may be accomplished, for example, by varying a parameter controlling the break-off length, such as the thermal stimulation energy, for each jet until the phase differences measured by the lock-in amplifier are identical for all jets, Δφ0, thereby ensuring the uniformity of break-off lengths.
Alternatively, phase differences between an arbitrarily selected reference jet and other jets may be measured by inputting the signals from the corresponding pair of nozzle-specific sensing electrodes to a phase sensitive lock-in amplifier. This embodiment is illustrated in
Break-off lengths may be equalized by adjusting the stimulation pulse energy of one stream relative to the other until the phase difference Δφj/j−1 is zero. The BOL values of the entire array of jets are made uniform by repeating the process for all jets. This process of adjusting the break-off lengths to be the same as another jet may be implemented by choosing one steam as a reference jet for the entire array, by cascading the adjustment in sequential linked pairs of jets, or some combination of these. Multiple copies of the lock-in amplifier circuitry may be employed so that groups of streams may be measured and adjusted simultaneously and the size of first and second switch arrays 444, 446 reduced.
In a related embodiment, the responses of all drop sensing electrodes may be summed to form a lock-in input signal or, alternatively, the signal from a drop sensing electrode sensing all jets simultaneously can be used as an input signal to a lock-in amplifier referenced to the stimulation frequency. In this case, the phase of the reference is first adjusted to maximize the amplitude output of the lock-in amplifier. Then, the break-off length of individual jets, one jet at a time, is adjusted either to maximize the amplitude output of the lock-in amplifier or to minimize the phase difference as measured by the phase output of the lock-in amplifier. This method is advantaged in that stream specific sensors are not required.
In yet another related embodiment, a low-amplitude, periodic, frequency modulation of the break-off length is imposed on a particular selected jet, at a low frequency, fm, that is well below that of the fundamental drop generation frequency, f0. This embodiment is illustrated in
The modulation of break-off lengths can be achieved in many ways, for example by superimposing a pulse energy variation at frequency fm on the break-off stimulation pulses being applied at a frequency of f0. The pulse energy modulation of the jth stream could be accomplished by changing the pulse voltage or the time width of the pulses applied to heater resistor 18j. In the embodiment illustrated in
In another preferred embodiment, not all drops are charged, but rather only a sequence of N drops is charged, for example N=4 drops are charged, as illustrated in
By observing the result of all signals integrated during the time window, it is possible to determine both the break-off length and the dependence of break-off length on the stimulation parameters for any jet, even if the deviation in break-off lengths is large, that is greater than the drop-to-drop spacing. This may be understood by noting that the measured response during time window 630 is generally less than N times the response expected from a single charged drop, because deviations in the break-off length may cause one or more of the N charged drops to pass by the sense electrode gap at times before (after) the measurement window opens (closes). The occurrence illustrated in
Ideally, the break-off length for each jet is adjusted so as to maximize the response of the sense electrode by varying at a parameter that controls the break-off length, for example the stimulation pulse energy, Epj. The stimulation pulse energy for the jth jet may be changed by changing, the stimulation pulse voltage, Vpj, or the pulse duration, τj, or both, as was discussed previously. Alternatively, the time delay, Td, for opening the time measurement window may be varied to determine the present actual break-off length, BOLji, and then an adjustment in the stimulation pulse energy, Epj, made based on a predetermined algorithm, look-up table, or the like. As shown in
In yet another preferred embodiment, the charging electrode is configured to be very short in terms of its extent along the direction of the fluid streams. Such a configuration is illustrated in
According to this embodiment, the charging voltage pulse applied to the charging electrode is characterized by a time width, τc, and a starting time, Tdc. The charging voltage pulse width, τc, is preferably very short, shorter than the time interval between drop break-off events, i.e. τc<τ0. The starting time, Tdc, of the voltage pulse applied to the charging electrode is varied according to this method and, if a drop is charged in response to the charging voltage pulse applied to the charging electrode, the resulting charged drop is later detected by a charge sensing electrode of any type. The method may be understood by noting that even for a very short charging pulse and a very narrow charging electrode, it is always possible to adjust the starting time of the voltage pulse applied to the charging electrode and the break-off length so that a single charged drop will be formed.
The timing relationships involved among charge voltage pulses and thermal stimulation heater power pulses are illustrated in
An example drop charging voltage signal 626 is also illustrated in
It may be appreciated from
a) and 35(b) illustrate the output of a charged drop detector 240 located downstream of the break-off point of the stream being measured as a function of the starting time, Tcd. The charge detector response curve 640 in
The magnitude of the maximum drop charge Qm that is measured also is a function of the break-off length as is illustrated in
An envelope curve 644 is plotted in
As the break-off point is advanced into (or out of) the fringing electric field from the charging electrode, the drop charge response magnitude varies as indicated by the Qm envelope curve 644. However, the break-off length itself may be correlated with the time position of the maximum drop charge value as a linear function of Tcdmax.
In accordance with this method a very accurate determination of the location of break-off relative to the charging electrode is possible as well as an accurate determination of the dependence of break-off length on the break-off length control parameters. For example, if the break-off length is changed a small amount, δB, by changing the thermal stimulation pulse energy, then the change in the starting time for which a maximum charge is sensed, ΔTcdmax, is equated to the ratio of δB to the jet velocity, v0, i.e., ΔTcdmax=δB/v0. As illustrated in
The centroid, C2, of envelope curve 644 in
Many variants of this method are possible and within the scope of the current invention. For example, the length of the charging electrode may be extended toward the printhead by several multiples of the drop-to-drop spacing so that a charged drop can be formed at multiple locations along the electrode length for multiple timing conditions for the charging electrode pulse, each separated by the drop-to-drop time interval. Alternatively, the timing pulse duration can be extended so that multiple charged drops are produced for a single pulse in the case of the extended electrode. In all such cases, it is possible to determine both the break-off length and the dependence of break-off length on the break-off length control parameter for any jet.
The methods and apparatus discussed above all rely on means of sensing drops downstream of the break-off point, for example, by light shadow, impact or induced voltage detection. However, optical means of detection and control of break-off lengths can be also be practiced which do not rely on the downstream detection of drops but instead more directly characterize the position of drop break-off. For example, high-quality visualization of jets provides a straightforward, although time consuming, method of determination of break-off length; high resolution images taken with a high-speed CMOS image sensor at closely stepped time intervals can be used for directly observing the position of break-off.
Optical methods which avoid the need to sample high resolution images at many different time intervals, such as the use of light scattered from the drop break-off point have been realized by the present inventors. In one preferred embodiment, a source of light, such as high intensity laser light, is located within the printhead directed such that a portion of the light travels along the jets, the jets thereby acting as “light pipes.” The light near the end of the jet just before break-up is refracted at the top surface of the drop poised for break-off, and a portion of this light is refracted substantially perpendicular to the jets. In accordance with this embodiment, the detection apparatus senses or images the light refracted perpendicular to the jets providing a measure of the break-off position. An example configuration is illustrated in
In the embodiment shown in
The light energy 287 being sensed from the last drop being still connected to the “light pipe” jet is observed at a position that moves downstream with time until break-off. However, the furthest extent of the light being imaged corresponds to the top of the drop breaking off and, since no light is sensed further from the printhead than this position, the output of the optical sensor sits 294 can be continuously averaged over time avoiding the need for capturing a sequence of the emitted light signal image in time. In other words, even though the break-off condition is maintained only briefly, the time average of the sensed signal of the light reveals the position of the drop undergoing break-off. Sensing this location and knowing the size and separation of the drops breaking off allows an accurate determination of the break-off point, since the separation of drops is generally known.
In a related method, the input light energy 286 may be pulsed so as to require a precise timing relation between the optical pulse and the break-off event to improve the detection efficiency. Pulsing the input light energy 286 at a reference frequency also permits the use of lock-in amplifier techniques such as those discussed above with respect to charged drop detection. Alternatively, light may impinge from a directed beam substantially orthogonal to the direction of propagation of the jets onto the break-off region and be subsequently scattered or reflected into the nozzle region where detection occurs. In this embodiment, the optical path is essentially reversed in comparison to the previous embodiment. It should be noted that in the embodiments using optical detection described, the break-off position can be sensed in two dimensions provided light is collected from two substantially orthogonal directions, thereby enabling other jet parameters such as jet straightness to be measured.
In another related embodiment, the transmission of a narrowly defined optical beam 297 as illustrated in
In yet another related embodiment, measurement of microwave emissions, rather than optical emissions, from the fluid column portions of jets can be used to detect the break-off position, in analogy to electrostatic coupling of drops to charge sensing electrodes. In
The electrostatic sensing apparatus 330 is configured with a plurality of electrode sites 334 arrayed along the direction of stream projection as illustrated in
As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art of RF electronics, other related methods of measuring break-off length are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the standing wave ratio SWR of very high frequency electromagnetic radiation propagating along jets and reflected from their break-off points can be monitored to determine the position of drop break-off. Also, the RF signal may be further modulated at a reference frequency that is used by phase sensitive amplifier circuitry to improve detection efficiency, in a fashion similar to that discussed previously with respect to lock-in amplifier use with charged drop detection.
Many other methods of measurement and control may be realized as applying to the many apparatus configurations previously discussed and illustrated by
The inventions have been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the inventions.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20070064037 A1 | Mar 2007 | US |
