Patent Application
20110134171
The method and device described below relate to inkjet imaging devices and, more particularly, to the printheads of inkjet imaging devices.
Inkjet printers form a printed image by ejecting or “jetting” droplets of liquid ink onto an image receiving surface, such as an intermediate transfer surface or a media substrate. The benefits of inkjet printing include low printing noise, low cost per printed page, and the ability to print “full color” images. Inkjet printers typically include a printhead and a printhead controller. The printhead controller, among other functions, sends ejection signals to the printhead. The ejection signals cause the printhead to eject droplets of liquid ink upon an image receiving surface to form at least a portion of a printed image.
In general, the printhead of an inkjet printer includes a plurality of ink ejectors and at least one reservoir for containing a supply of ink. Specifically, a monochromatic inkjet printhead may include a single reservoir for containing a single color of ink. A full color inkjet printhead may include a plurality of reservoirs, with each reservoir configured to contain a different color of ink. The ink ejectors eject very small droplets of the ink onto an image receiving surface in response to receiving an ejection signal from the printhead controller. Often, a group of one hundred to six hundred individual ink ejectors are coupled by a manifold to a reservoir. In particular, a monochromatic printhead may include a single group of ink ejectors fluidly coupled to the single reservoir, while a full color printhead may include a separate group of ink ejectors for each of the reservoirs. Thus, a full color printhead having four reservoirs may have four distinct groups of ink ejectors, each being coupled to a different ink reservoir.
The ink ejectors of some inkjet printers eject ink droplets having a fixed mass. The ejected ink droplets, therefore, form regions of ink upon an image receiving surface that have an approximately fixed area. In some instances, it would be advantageous to control the area of the regions of ink formed by the ink droplets ejected upon the image receiving surface. Consequently, further developments in the area of inkjet printheads are desirable.
An inkjet printing system has been developed that controls an ink droplet mass by regulating a pressure in an ink reservoir. The printing system includes an ink reservoir, an air pressure device, at least one ink ejection device, and a controller. The ink reservoir is configured to contain a supply of ink and an air space above the supply of ink. The air pressure device is fluidly coupled to the air space above the supply of ink. The at least one ink ejection device is fluidly coupled to the ink reservoir to receive ink from the supply of ink and to eject ink droplets onto an image receiving surface. The controller is coupled to the air pressure device and is configured to activate the air pressure device selectively to change a mass of the ink droplets ejected by the at least one ink ejection device.
An inkjet printer has been developed that controls an ink droplet mass by regulating a pressure in an ink reservoir. The printer includes a printhead, an air pressure device, and a printhead controller. The printhead includes an ink reservoir configured to contain a supply of ink and an air space above the supply of ink. The printhead also includes at least one ink ejection device fluidly coupled to the ink reservoir and configured to receive ink from the supply of ink and to eject ink droplets onto an image receiving surface. The air pressure device is fluidly coupled to the air space above the supply of ink. The printhead controller is coupled to the air pressure device and is configured to activate the air pressure device selectively to control a mass of the ink droplets ejected by the at least one ink ejection device.
A method has also been developed for controlling an ink droplet mass by controlling a pressure of an air space above a supply of ink. The method includes fluidly coupling at least one ink ejection device to a supply of ink contained in an ink reservoir. Furthermore, the method includes fluidly coupling a source of air pressure to the ink reservoir, and regulating a pressure of an air space above the supply of ink with the source of air pressure to control a mass of an ink droplet ejected by the at least one ink ejection device.
The foregoing aspects and other features of the present disclosure are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying figures.
The device and method described herein make reference to a printer. The term “printer” refers, for example, to reproduction devices in general, such as printers, facsimile machines, copiers, and related multi-function products. While the specification focuses on an inkjet printer, the device and method described herein may be used with any printer, which ejects ink directly or indirectly onto an image receiving surface. Furthermore, the device and method described herein may be used with printers, which form printed images with either aqueous ink, phase change ink, or gel ink.
As shown in
The ink reservoir 108 defines a volume for containing the ink 124 and the air space 128. The reservoir 108 may have a cross section of any shape, including, but not limited to, rectangular, circular, and elliptical. The supply of ink 124 may be any ink suitable for ejection by the ink ejectors 112, including, but not limited to, phase change ink, gel ink, and aqueous ink, as described below. The air space 128 is a volume of the reservoir 108 that is unoccupied by the ink 124. The reservoir 108 may define a closed space that is isolated from the atmosphere, to permit the air pressure device 116 to maintain a particular gauge pressure in the air space 128. As used herein, gauge pressure refers to a pressure level relative an ambient air pressure surrounding the printer 100. The ambient air pressure is often the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, gauge pressure may be an absolute pressure minus the atmospheric pressure. A manifold (not illustrated) fluidly couples the reservoir 108 to the ink ejectors 112.
The printer 100 may be configured to form printed images with phase change ink and/or gel ink. The term “phase change ink” encompasses inks that remain in a solid phase at an ambient temperature and that melt into a liquid phase when heated above a threshold temperature, referred to as a melt temperature. The ambient temperature is the temperature of the air surrounding the printer 100. The ambient temperature may be a room temperature when the printer 100 is positioned in a defined space. The ambient temperature may be above a room temperature when portions of the printer 100, such as the printhead 104, are enclosed by, for example, a cover. An exemplary range of melt temperatures is approximately seventy to one hundred forty degrees Celsius; however, the melt temperature of some types of phase change ink may be above or below the exemplary temperature range. Phase change ink is ejected onto a substrate in the liquid phase. The terms “gel ink” or “gel-based ink” encompass inks that remain in a gelatinous state at the ambient temperature and that may be altered to have a different viscosity suitable for ejection by the printhead 104. In particular, gel ink in the gelatinous state may have a viscosity between 10 and 13 centistokes (“cS”); however, the viscosity of gel ink may be reduced, to a liquid-like viscosity suitable for ejection, by heating the ink above a threshold temperature, referred to as a gelation temperature. An exemplary range of gelation temperatures is approximately seventy five to eighty five degrees Celsius; however, the gelation temperature of some types of gel ink may be above or below the exemplary temperature range.
Some inks, including gel inks, may be cured during the printing process. Radiation curable ink becomes cured after being exposed to a source of radiation. Suitable radiation may encompass the full frequency (or wavelength) spectrum, including but not limited to, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and x-rays. In particular, ultraviolet-curable gel ink, referred to herein as UV gel ink, becomes cured after being exposed to ultraviolet radiation. As used herein ultraviolet radiation includes radiation having a wavelength between ten nanometers to four hundred nanometers.
As shown in
The main reservoir 152 and the ink reservoir 108 remain connected to the printer 100 during normal usage and servicing of the printer 100. Specifically, in response to the ink level in the ink reservoir 108 falling below a predetermined level, the printer 100 refills the ink reservoir 108 with liquid ink from the main reservoir 152. Similarly, in response to the ink level in the main reservoir 152 falling below a predetermined level, the melting device 134 heats a portion of the ink in the ink loader 130 and fills the main reservoir 152 with additional liquid ink. Accordingly, in one embodiment, neither the main reservoir 152 nor the ink reservoir 108 are disposable units configured to be replaced in response to the printer 100 exhausting an ink supply.
The ink ejectors 112 eject droplets of liquid ink onto an image receiving surface in response to receiving an ejection signal from the controller 120. As used herein, ejecting ink onto a substrate includes, but is not limited to, ejecting ink with thermal ink ejectors and ejecting ink with piezoelectric ink ejectors. The ink ejectors 112 may be positioned to eject ink droplets in a downward direction. For instance, the ink ejectors 112 may be positioned to eject ink droplets in a downward direction no more than fifteen degrees from vertical. Alternatively, the ink ejectors 112 may be positioned to eject ink droplets in a lateral direction no more than thirty degrees from horizontal.
The mass of the ink droplets ejected by the ink ejectors 112 is at least partially determined by the air pressure of the air space 128. In particular, in response to the air pressure in the air space 128 being approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure, the ink ejectors 112 eject liquid ink droplets having a default mass. In response, however, to the air pressure within the air space 128 being other than the atmospheric pressure, the ink ejectors 112 eject liquid ink droplets having a mass other than the default mass, as described below.
The air pressure device 116 is fluidly coupled to the air space 128 and is electrically coupled to the controller 120. The air pressure device 116 is configured to control an air pressure of the air space 128 in response to being selectively activated by the controller 120. As shown in
The valve 138 is fluidly coupled to the reservoir 108, the negative air pressure source 132, and the positive air pressure source 136. As shown in the embodiment of
The controller 120 controls the mass of the ink droplets ejected by the ink ejectors 112 by selectively activating the air pressure device 116 to increase or to decrease the air pressure in the air space 128. For instance, the controller 120 may activate the air pressure device 116 to maintain a negative gauge pressure in the air space 128. In particular, the controller 120 sends an electronic signal to the air pressure device 116 that causes the air pressure device 116 to move the valve 138 to a position, which couples the air space 128 to the negative pressure source 132. The negative pressure of the air space 128 tends to prevent the liquid ink in the reservoir 108 from exiting the reservoir 108 through the ink ejectors 112; consequently, in response to receiving an ejection signal from the controller 120, the ink ejectors 112 eject ink droplets having a mass less than the default ink droplet mass. An exemplary negative gauge pressure is 0.5 to 6.0 inches of water. In general, increasing the magnitude of the negative gauge pressure reduces the mass of the ink droplets ejected by the ink ejectors 112.
As illustrated in the embodiment of
The printer 100 includes a vent 140 configured to couple fluidly the air space 128 to the air pressure device 116. In the embodiment illustrated in
A heat source 144 is thermally coupled to the vent 140 for heating the vent 140. As described above, air may be withdrawn from or injected into the air space 128 through the vent 140; consequently, a portion of the ink supply 124 may also be drawn into the vent 140. The liquid ink drawn into the vent 140 may restrict the air flow through the vent 140, and thus may prevent the controller 120 from efficiently regulating the pressure level of the air space 128. For instance, if the ink drawn into the vent 140 is a phase change ink or a gel ink, the ink may cool to a temperature that causes the ink to solidify or to gelatinize, at least partially. The solidified or gelatinized ink may restrict the flow of air through the vent 140. Coupling a heat source 144 to the vent 140 prevents ink within the vent 140 from solidifying or gelatinizing. Maintaining the ink drawn into the vent 140 in a liquid phase enables a positive air flow directed into the air space 128 from the positive pressure source 136 to remove the ink from the vent 140.
The heat source 144 may contact a portion or the entire length of the vent 140. In some embodiments, the heat source 144 is a resistive heating element coupled to a source of electrical power. Additionally, the heat source 144 may be electrically coupled to the controller 120 to enable the controller 120 to activate selectively the heat source 144 in order to regulate the temperature of the vent 140. Embodiments of the printer 100 including a heat source 144 also include a vent 140 formed of a thermally conductive material that remains stable at temperatures at least as great as the maximum temperature of the heat source 144.
In one embodiment, the air pressure device 116 is configured to expel ink deposits and other obstructions from the ink ejectors 112 with positive air pressure. For instance, some types of inks may harden within an ink ejector 112 causing the ink ejector 112 to fail to eject an ink droplet upon receiving an ejection signal. Upon detection of one or more failed ejectors, the controller 120 may activate the positive pressure source 136 to cause a positive gauge pressure to develop in the air space 128 that expels ink from the ink ejectors 112. The expulsion of ink forces ink deposits and other obstructions from the ink ejectors 112. This controlled expulsion of ink from the ink ejectors 112 to clear clogged ejectors 112 is referred to herein as “purging”. In one embodiment, the air pressure device 116 may generate a positive air pressure in the air space 128 of approximately four pounds per square inch (“psi”) when purging the ink ejectors 112.
In operation, the embodiment of the printer 100 illustrated in
The embodiment of the air pressure device 116 illustrated in
Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications may be made to the specific implementations described above. Therefore, the following claims are not to be limited to the specific embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures referenced herein. The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
