CA1088142A - Method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording device - Google Patents
Method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording deviceInfo
- Publication number
- CA1088142A CA1088142A CA279,935A CA279935A CA1088142A CA 1088142 A CA1088142 A CA 1088142A CA 279935 A CA279935 A CA 279935A CA 1088142 A CA1088142 A CA 1088142A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- suction
- pressure
- automatic valve
- supply source
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2/1652—Cleaning of print head nozzles by driving a fluid through the nozzles to the outside thereof, e.g. by applying pressure to the inside or vacuum at the outside of the print head
- B41J2/16526—Cleaning of print head nozzles by driving a fluid through the nozzles to the outside thereof, e.g. by applying pressure to the inside or vacuum at the outside of the print head by applying pressure only
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
- B41J2/20—Ink jet characterised by ink handling for preventing or detecting contamination of compounds
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure The present invention provides a method of purging or cleaning ink passages of an ink jet recording device of the type in which a series of ink droplets is ejected from an orifice of a printing head towards a recording medium by the volume dis-placement of a pressure chamber provided in the printing head, including the steps of applying pressure required for purging to ink in an ink supply source, keeping a valve to open side and forming a flow of ink in ink passages in one direction towards the orifice, thereby to remove babbles and impurities present in the ink passages together with the discharged ink. Furthermore, in the present invention, there is provided a suction means associ-ated with the ink jet recording device, which is used to obtain more excellent purging object in combination with the above-mentio-ned steps.
Description
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Backqround of the Invellti.oll ~hls invention relates to a method of pur~ the ink passa~e~ o~ an in~ jel: recording device, espeei.al:lv a de~Jice of the type ~hicll ejectsill~ fxom an outlet towards a recording medi lm by the use of pressure generated by tile sudden clecrease of volum.
of a pre;sure chamber.
Th;.s type of a recording device has alreacly become a public ~;nO~7 Le~le a5 can ].~e noted from, ~or i.nstance, USP 3,~,3~8 o:E
~- ~ ,. l'yser. In these clevices, sli~llt dif:Eerences i.n liquid press m.e and flow xesistance arisi.nc3 hetween the inlet and outlet paSSa(.l`e ;
are uti.l:i%ed to ejec-t a drop of printillcl f:Luid such as in~ and t:o ~eLlenish the l.\.re~Ccsllre cllamber. ~ ~u~bl~s or impur.i~.ie~ ghou .d inlcrm.ix w:i.tll tlle in]; i.n tlle passacJes connecte~cl with the produ-ction of lic~uid pressure, for example, the ink passages from the ejection orifice to an automatic valve means for controllincJ the suppJ.y of in~ to the pressure chamber, or if impuritie~ should stic]c to the orifi.ce, the normc~l droplet eject.ion ope.rat:ion w:;ll be impedec., even i~ the particles are minute. When buhbles are intermi~ed, ~orne of the pressure ~en~ra-tecl hy tlle clecrease in voluma of the pressure chamber is absorhed by the bubbles and th~ energy to bc in~parted to the droplet to attain its predeter-m.ined speed is lost. Impurities in the passa~es or attached to thc orifice, upon enterincJ into the ejectioll ancl inlet passacJes, destroy the delicate relationship bet~leell the two passacJes as previcusly sta~ed, which must be mai.ntailled for the proper ~unction.in~ oE tha ~levice. Such :impur:;ties cause chancJe in ejecl.ioll speecl and ejection direction of the ink clroplet. Becaus~ , of thesc conditions, there arises the necessity of being able to ` - 2 -. 1, .. . ..... ~' . , I , , .
,: . . . . ~
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purge the ink passages before the commencement of recording operations and upon the occurrence of the above situations.
Summary of the Invention According to an aspect of the present invention, the pressure required for purging, the value of which is determined by a flow resistance and the other factors due to structure of the device to be employed, a viscosity of ink used with the ~; -device and so on, is applied to ink, especially to ink in anink supply source means regularly or special times for purging and then an automatic valve means provided on an ink feeding system to an ink reservoir is opened wide, followed by forming a flow of ink towards an ejection passage from the ink supply source means, whereby the impurities and bubbles which exists in the ~
ink passages o~ the device are removed together with the dis- `
charged ink from the ejection passage.
The present invention in another aspect further provides a ;.
method wherein suction means mentio:ned in detail below is used in combination with the above mentioned pro~ess, whereby more excellent purging effect can be obtained.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention there is provided a method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording device which includes at least one pressure chamber .. .
having an outlet passage which terminates at an orifice of a nozzle ace of a printing head, an ink reservoir communicating with an inlet passage of said pressure chamber, an ink supply source means for feeding a fresh ink to said ink reservoir, and an automatic valve for controlling the flow of ink from said ink supply source means to said ink reservoir, some o~ ink in said pressure chamber being ejected from said orifice towards a recording medium by the sudden decrease in volume of said pressure chamber while some of the other ink being flowed back towards said inlet passage, the ink of said ink reservoir being :
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caused to flow into said pressure chamber by the difference in pressure between said outlet passage and said inlet passage of the pressure chamber, which is generated upon the return of said pressure chamber to its original volume, and in addition a fresh ink in said ink supply source means being feeded towards said ink reservoir by causing said automatic valve to open when the ink in said ink reservoir is below a predetermined amount, comprising the steps of (a) applying pressure required for purging to the ink in said ink supply source means at least upon purging operations, (b) causing said automatic valve to open wide, and (c) allowing ink to flow from said ink supply source means to said orifice, thereby to remove bubbles and impurities present in the ink passages together with the ink ~lowed out.
It is therefore an object of an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of purging ink passages of the ink jet recording device of the type which ejects an ink drollet from an orifice to a recording medium by the displace-ment in volume of a pressure chambe.r.
It is an object of an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of eliminating an improper recording oE an ink jet recording device by removing bubbles and impurities present in ~3a~
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the i.n~ p~ssa~es or at~ached to the outer surace near an o:rific .
Othe~ ob~ects an~ ~dvantac3es of the present ivnentic.)n will l be appaLen~ from tlle followincJ descripti.ons wi.tll reference tu the accc)Ml~an~i.nc3 drawin~s.
S ~rief Descr_ption of the ~ .5 Fi~J.l is a schelllatic diag-ram showincJ an ink jet recordinc3 dev:i.cc.~ W]liCh i~ usecl to illustrate a mcthod of the present. inven _ .~ tio]~.
FicJ.2 is a sect.ion view of a printincJ hecld whicil i 5 sui.tab:l ~0 for an i.n~ jet recordincJ clevice havinc3 a plurality of pressure C~ nl]~ ^!J. ' ]!`i.~J, ~ :i.S a schematic cli.acJr.lm of one c?ml~od:imcnt c~ the present .invcntion wherei.n tlle ink jet printiny device havinc3 a plurality of pressure chambers and an elastic ballon as an ink supL~ly source is shown.
Fi.~.~ is a secti.onal view upon A-~ line of Fi~.3.
Fi~,5 is a schemati.c ~:iac~ram showin~ another type o:E the ill~ s~lpply source means i.n which a ~ressure to .~nk is appliec~ by a poten~ial ener-~y of the ink :i.n the ink supply source means.
Fiy.~ is a schematic dia~ram of a suction means in accord~
ance with the present invention.
Fi~.7 is a view showiny relative positions between an orlf:i ~e oE a printin~ heacl ancl a suction tube edcJe of a suction mecans.
: Fi~. 8 i5 a view showincJ relative posit.ions between a suctio mearls and a capp:incr means with respect to a platen of an ink jet.
.. recordillc3 device.
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~ 1- iled D~sc]-ip~t-ion of the Inventic B~fore the presen~ invention ~ase~ upon the accompanyincl dra~ s belot~:is e~plailled, ~he recordiIIcJ dc-~vic~ whic]l the pres nt:
:invcllt~.on is premised ul?on all~ employs to illustrate its methoc~ -wil:l. be Iirst e~p]lin~d. Fig. 1 shows -the outline of ~he recorc~i lc~
device and its operation. ~pparatus 11 is installed to print upo a recordillcJ meclium 12. Here app~ratus 11( or printin~3 head 18 ) can ~e lnoved relative to recordincJ meclium 12, or recordin~ mediu n 12 relati~e t.o appclratus 11 or hoth 11 and 12 at the same t;.me, ,10 dependinc~ upon t.he suitabili-ty of the me-thod. Ink supply source16 is conncctcd to printillcJ head 18 throucJI- an ink feeding p:ipe 17. ]`lectron.i.c pulse ~JeneratoL 19 supplie: a pulse by appropriat tranc.m~ .ion mealls 21 SUc}l as wixe to pr.i.nt:illct head 18. ~1ex:il.~:Le plat~ 27 .is applopri.ately selected to be able ..o deflect inwardl into pressure chamher 26 upon the reception of an electric signa from electl^onic pulse generator 1~. In the example, plate 27 is shown an c~ssenlb.ly of pi~oelectric~ crys-tals 29,30 hon~ed tocJethe .
rrhc .in~ard cleflection o~ plate 27 is shown by a do-tted line in Fi~. 1.
~ droplc~t 22 is ejec:tecl upon the deElection of plate 27 whicll causcs a sudden decrease in volume o~ pressure ~.hamber 26.
This s~dden decxeasc in volume must impart sufficicnt kinetic ener~v to the ink in ejcc-tion passa~e 28 so that the ink can accel.erate up to ejcction speed This ejec-tion speed is the l.owe t speed at which -the ink plu~ which will project fro~r~ ori.fice 24 upon decrease in volume oE pressure chamber 26 will separate frol I
the c~:riEicc and ~orm a s:incJle cliscrete clropl.et. Futhermore, the decrease in volume of pressure chamber 26 must be able to shift n amount of ink lreater thall the volume of the droplet which will b ejected. This is due to the shift of ink towards ink supply sour e _5~
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16 throu~}l ink feeding pipe 17 caus~d hy the decrease in volulne.
Fu~ ermore, coLresponding to the return of plate 27 to i.ts rest position, the ~luid pressllre in the pressure chamber will become necJative nearly equal in ma~l~itude to the positive press re S oc(urr:in(J du~in~ ~he decrease in volume. This neg-ative fluid pressure reverse the direc-tion of the flow of the in~i in ejectio l passage 28 and promotes the separatioll of the plucJ Or ink from i' the orificeand the formation of a discrete droplet of ink.
~'IIUS , UpOIl r~cievi,ll~ pulses f:rom ~enerator 19, printin9 J~ head 1~ wi:ll , in accordance with the instruct:ions of the pulses e~ect a d:iscountinuous and necessclry number of ink droplets from orifice 2~ Drop],ets 22 follow a su~stantially stral~ht tra-Jecto ~y and fc-l-m l:ine 23 on recordi,nc,l medium 12. ~:Etera clroplek is ejec-t and pl.lt:t:? 2 7 rc turlls to its noxlnal p osi tion ~ the surface of th(~
ink facin~ the outside atmosphere in ejection passage 28 is holloW in the shape of a meniscus. This is due to that, before head 18 be~ins operation to eject another droplet , the ink in ejecti.on passa~e 28 returns t~ its ori~inal state. Capillary forces between the ~ection passage and the ink supply the necessary forces to form the meniscus. Depending upon the return ~' rate, a series of discrete d.roplets call be continuously ejectecl.
Valve 31 is provided on ink feed.incJ ,~ipe 17 or the printing head 18 is opened in automatic manner i.n response to pressure drop in an ink reservoir not shown in the dra~in~ of F:i~. 1.
Fi~. 2 shows a sectional view oE another embodiment of a : printin~ head equipped with a plurality of pressure chambers. In : th~ ~ra~1n~ pressure plate is cons-tructed b~ two members, cover slip 32 and pie~.oelect.ric crys-tal 33 bonded to the coverslip.
~l Upon puttin~ a volta~e across crystal 32, the crystal will contr lCt ` . ' ` ' ''' : . ' . . , `:
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and cause oversli.p 32 (namely, the plate) to de-~lecL into the pressure chamber 34. Consequently, if th:is eonstruction is chosen, a single broacl coverslip is used to cover the top of a plul-c~lity of aligne~ pressuxe chambers 34~ In acldition~ aJl cr~Tstal is s;mply bon~ed over eaeh pressure chamber and printing hecld with a plurality of pressure chambers can be made easily.
Figs. 3 and 4 sho~ an embodi.ment of the apparatus which uses a printing head t.~ th a plurality of pressure chambers mac~e as sttated a~ove. A printlncJ head ].00 is constructed so that ~y an apprc-L.~riate met:hod the hecld ean he shiEted in botll di.ree~
- tions (in Figure 3, the directions perpellclieular to the pl.lne of the paper) at high speed ~hile mainta.inincJ a fixed eject:ion di.stculee from the reeordin~ medi.um (not sllown). Witllin the pr:int:i.ll-J head, there is a pluxalit~ oE pres~ure ehambexs .lO2a ' .15 an(l 102b, outlet passages 103a and 103h, inl.et passages 104a and 104b, and ink reservoir 105 and a eonnectin~ passage 106.
A pressure ehambers 102a and lO~b may be arranged to form an arra~ ali~lled perpenclieulally to the movement of the printing head. rrO p~opexly form all alphclnumeric charaeters, seven pressure eham~ers ar-~.: actual~y requi.~e~, but for the sake o~
sim~l.ieit~ only two chambers axe shown in the drawings.
Coverslip 107 and piezoeleetric erystals 108a, b constitute the ~:
upper wall of pressure ehambers 102a, b. With these three pieees, two assemblies~ of pressure plates are formed and funet:ioned as stated in the foregoing. W:ith pressure plate 107, 108a and pressure plate 107, 108b, are eonstrueted so as to $
cle1eet r~,speetively upon the ineomming of an eleetrieal s.ignal. Z
pressure eol~trol board 110 whieh is elastie and is the upper , eovering of in~ reservoir 105 is made so as to be able to rise ¦ or f~ll neoorc ng to the s oun of inlc in the reservoir.
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Tlle preC~c.~lre col~-tro] board need not be flexible and a leakproof construc-tiorl~here the front or just the top surface of the reservoir moves may ~e used.
~ li~uid pressure detection means 111 is attached to the top surfa~e of pressure c.~ontrol hoard 110, It detects the liquid pressure of reservoir 105 over the width of its fluctua-tions, i.e., from states of low pressure to those o.
high. For hi~h pressures, it is necessary, minimally to maint:ai !l press~lre ~i.th.in a range such that the droplet can be propelly :LQ ejectecl upon t.he clecrease in vol~mle o~ the pressure ch~nber, Li~iewise, at low pressures, sucll pres~ures where nonnal ejectin~ of droplets i5 impaired must be avoided. ~.lastic b~l].:l.oon receptacle 112 for suppl~incl fresh inlc to the printin~
hecld is sct up so that tlle acti.on oE the shrin~ac~e o the bal:looll confers a fixed pressure (for example, 0.6 - 0.1 kcJ/cm2) to the ink within the receptacle. Synthetic resin pipe 113 connects connecting passage 106 to balloon receptacle 112.
Mid~a.~ alon~ thc lencJ-th o~ pipe 113 is installed automatic valve means 11~ WhiCIl ig constr.ucted SO as to open and clo~:c ordinarily (i.e., durinc~ the printincJ opera-tion) upon an operat.ional sicJnal applied from appropriate a~ltomatic valve operation mcans 115. Vpon reception of a sicJnal o~ low pressure ~rom liquid pressure detector means 111, automatic valv~ operation means 115 gives a sicJnal to "open" lo automatic 'i valve means 11~, and upon reception of a signal o~ high pressur~
from detector 111, automatic valve operation means 115 gives a ~i~nal to "close" to automatic valve means 11~. Flush operntion means llG generates operationa.l signals to open : wide automatic valve means 11.4. Flush operation means llG is ~ con5 tructed s hat even whlle automatic valve means ll4 i 5 r -~
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~ 38142 being control.led by automatic valve operation means 115 r a operational signal. from flush operation n-leans 11~ will cause automatic valve 114 to open. Alternatively, au-tomatic valve operational means 115 and flush operation means 116 can b~ constructed so that by a switchin~ mechanism means eitheL
can be selectively couplecl to au-tomat:ic valve 114 and boti me~ns of operation can he used. Finally, a specia]. v~lve can be used for automatic val.ve means 114 so that wlthout using flush operation means 116, valve means 114 will auto-matically silift to an "open" state just upon the suspension oE the operation of automatic valve operatioll means 115.
~urthermore, for thi.s flush operation of opening and c:los.ing au-toma-tic valve 114, either elect.rical ox mechanical means are acceptable.
J.S 'rhe .in]c passages of tllis apparatus, i~e., the ~assages from the l)alloon receptacle's outlet to the ejec-~ion passa~es 103a and 103b of printing head 100 can be selected so that their cross-sections may be of circularr elli.pticc~l, squire or rectangular shapes. This option also includes the orifices of ejection passages 103a, b.
There is known the action occurri.ng ~it~l the ejecti.on of a droplet from ejection passages 103a, b during the printing operation and the movement oE the ink supplied to pressure . cham~ers 102a, b. Also known is the function o:~ the supply of new ink into ink reservoir 103 from balloon receptaclc 112 upon the opening of automatic valve means 114 triggered by the state of low pressure in the reservoir when the amount of ink in ink reservoir is diminished and the closing of automati.c . val~e means 11~ ~hen the pressure in the ink reservoir i.s high~ Thus the explanation here is somewhat abridged.
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~he follo~inc~ concerns p~rging and the time for its accurrence. That purging should be performed in the first ;
st.-p of a clay of recording oyerations is eY~pectecl. Howev~r, purging is not limited to this time only. PurgincJ can be performed pr.ior to the beginllincJ of any recording operation or UpO]I the discovery of an improper droplet ejection condition, or perhaps upon the completion of our printing operation and before the beginning of the next. Whicllever the case may be, the purging operation itself remains the same. A eap (whieh not only prevel--ts bu~blcs ancl impurities from entering the ejeetion pa~sa~es and impurities from stiekillc3 to the head face 10] of printing head 100, but also insures the appropl-iate state of mois~ure for head aee 101) wlliell eovers eaeh outlet passtl~Je 103a, b is first removed, then by the en~agement of flusll operation means 116,automatie valve means 11~ .is opcned wide. Since the ink in balloon reeeptacle 112 is already under pressure from the elastic eompression foree of the balloon, ink is foreed through the ink passages and out from ejeetion passages 103a, b upon thc openin~ of automatie valve means 11~. Depending upon the speed of th~ ink Elow and th~ existenee of impurities adhering to the orifice, the lenc3th of time for purgincJ will ehancJe. But in any ease, all bubbles and iMpurities in the ink passages and impurities aclhering to the e~eetion orifiee will be removed by the purging operation.
.~ After eompletion of the pur~ing operation, flush operatiQn means 116 iq disenc3a~ed and automatie valve means 114 is returned to its normal mocle of operation.
For large impurities,filter means (not shown in the ~rawin~s) may be installed at the outlet ~f balloon reeeptaele 112 or near it or such means may be plaeed at appropriate ~ ` , ' `~ 38~4~
locations in connectinc~ pipe 113 o.r at the inle-t passage of ¦pri.nting i-~ad lQ0 and so on. Such filter means may be fixe~ .
or replace~ble. A suitable device can catch all the un~ant~c~ ink discharc~ed from the outlet passages clurincJ purgillg and then b~ disposed of. After t:he pUrCJillg operat:ion Oile can depelld upon the passage at ti.me for the in]c ill ejection passages 103a, b to naturally return to -their normal meniscu~
shape if the viscosity of the ink and other factoîs have not ch~nged greatly, or one can cause the head to fire droplets o~ ink one or two times to help the return~
FicJ. 5 shows another means oE putting in~ under prcssure during purging. The shapc of the shell of container 112 may he fixcd. In case of the container of thc fi~ed shape, the pressurc requi..recl for normal printing ope.rations is pu-t upon l:he .in]c t:o l~c~ .. u~pl.ied, namcl~r, th~ preSsurQ require~ to cause th~ ink tc~ flow inl:o the i.n~ reservo.ir UpOII the openiny o~
automatic valve means 114 triggered by the dimished amount of .
ink in the reservoir is supplied by the water head pressure (potcntia:l enercJy) of the posi~ion of container 112 ~ith r~s~c~ to printin~ h~ad 100. Slid.in~ ~upport llR hold.in~
container~ 112 is mounted by c:Lamp screw 119 uporl support 117 which is fixed to a stat;.onary part of the recordincJ device.
Dur:incJ normal printing operations, slidi.ng support 118 is placed at a position (marked in solid lines) whi.ch yields a previously determined liquid head pressure. During purging, ~lidincJ support 118 is caused to move upward to the position inclicatecl by the dotted lines to obtain a high liquicl heacl pressure. The flush operation means is then engaged and autc~matic valve mealls is opened. Thus the ink is flowecl out through the ink passages at a pressure high enough for purging.
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10138~42 Of cour~; it can be appaxently understood that this tecllni.c~ue can be appl.ied to the previ.ous balloon reservoir .
112. However, besldes the synergistic effect of pur~ing capability, the combi.ned use of the pressures i.mpar-ted by the elastlc ball.oon and the l~i.c~ iqul.d head pressure may have other eff~cts, sucll as the complete con~umption of the in]c in the container onl~ by the higll liquid head pressure when the elastic action of the container not be of superior qualit~.
Ne~t, one embodiment of the invention where:iII an in]i 9UCtiOII ml~allS iS use~ tocJctller with the pU.rqill~ o the in]c passacJes as stated in the foregoing wi:ll be explained. In Fiy. 6, suction tube 201 with a llo].lo~ cross-sect.ion much clreater than that outlet passa~es 103a, b may he fixed to tlle ~ cQr~ J ~ !V.iC~ t:ern~ rc~ r, ~ICt~iOIl I~Ibe 20.l mc~
sl:i.dably bc enya~ed to a support:in~ member 202 by the use o~
key slot 201a in a suction tube 201 and a key IC, and may normally be loaded in a leftward direction with weak spriny 202O
~s shown .in the drawill~, thc let ed~e 204 of suction tube 201 . and head Eace 101 of printin~ head 100 are in contact with each other at a slope angle of ~ de~rees. As a principle, the directioll or bi~s ln ~hich t:his slope an~le faces .is made in the di.xec-t.ion in which the printinc~ head moves (includi.n~
the opposite direction) or in the line in which the outlct passa~es 103a and 103b are ali~ned (includin~ the opposite
Backqround of the Invellti.oll ~hls invention relates to a method of pur~ the ink passa~e~ o~ an in~ jel: recording device, espeei.al:lv a de~Jice of the type ~hicll ejectsill~ fxom an outlet towards a recording medi lm by the use of pressure generated by tile sudden clecrease of volum.
of a pre;sure chamber.
Th;.s type of a recording device has alreacly become a public ~;nO~7 Le~le a5 can ].~e noted from, ~or i.nstance, USP 3,~,3~8 o:E
~- ~ ,. l'yser. In these clevices, sli~llt dif:Eerences i.n liquid press m.e and flow xesistance arisi.nc3 hetween the inlet and outlet paSSa(.l`e ;
are uti.l:i%ed to ejec-t a drop of printillcl f:Luid such as in~ and t:o ~eLlenish the l.\.re~Ccsllre cllamber. ~ ~u~bl~s or impur.i~.ie~ ghou .d inlcrm.ix w:i.tll tlle in]; i.n tlle passacJes connecte~cl with the produ-ction of lic~uid pressure, for example, the ink passages from the ejection orifice to an automatic valve means for controllincJ the suppJ.y of in~ to the pressure chamber, or if impuritie~ should stic]c to the orifi.ce, the normc~l droplet eject.ion ope.rat:ion w:;ll be impedec., even i~ the particles are minute. When buhbles are intermi~ed, ~orne of the pressure ~en~ra-tecl hy tlle clecrease in voluma of the pressure chamber is absorhed by the bubbles and th~ energy to bc in~parted to the droplet to attain its predeter-m.ined speed is lost. Impurities in the passa~es or attached to thc orifice, upon enterincJ into the ejectioll ancl inlet passacJes, destroy the delicate relationship bet~leell the two passacJes as previcusly sta~ed, which must be mai.ntailled for the proper ~unction.in~ oE tha ~levice. Such :impur:;ties cause chancJe in ejecl.ioll speecl and ejection direction of the ink clroplet. Becaus~ , of thesc conditions, there arises the necessity of being able to ` - 2 -. 1, .. . ..... ~' . , I , , .
,: . . . . ~
~L~?8~L4Z
purge the ink passages before the commencement of recording operations and upon the occurrence of the above situations.
Summary of the Invention According to an aspect of the present invention, the pressure required for purging, the value of which is determined by a flow resistance and the other factors due to structure of the device to be employed, a viscosity of ink used with the ~; -device and so on, is applied to ink, especially to ink in anink supply source means regularly or special times for purging and then an automatic valve means provided on an ink feeding system to an ink reservoir is opened wide, followed by forming a flow of ink towards an ejection passage from the ink supply source means, whereby the impurities and bubbles which exists in the ~
ink passages o~ the device are removed together with the dis- `
charged ink from the ejection passage.
The present invention in another aspect further provides a ;.
method wherein suction means mentio:ned in detail below is used in combination with the above mentioned pro~ess, whereby more excellent purging effect can be obtained.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention there is provided a method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording device which includes at least one pressure chamber .. .
having an outlet passage which terminates at an orifice of a nozzle ace of a printing head, an ink reservoir communicating with an inlet passage of said pressure chamber, an ink supply source means for feeding a fresh ink to said ink reservoir, and an automatic valve for controlling the flow of ink from said ink supply source means to said ink reservoir, some o~ ink in said pressure chamber being ejected from said orifice towards a recording medium by the sudden decrease in volume of said pressure chamber while some of the other ink being flowed back towards said inlet passage, the ink of said ink reservoir being :
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caused to flow into said pressure chamber by the difference in pressure between said outlet passage and said inlet passage of the pressure chamber, which is generated upon the return of said pressure chamber to its original volume, and in addition a fresh ink in said ink supply source means being feeded towards said ink reservoir by causing said automatic valve to open when the ink in said ink reservoir is below a predetermined amount, comprising the steps of (a) applying pressure required for purging to the ink in said ink supply source means at least upon purging operations, (b) causing said automatic valve to open wide, and (c) allowing ink to flow from said ink supply source means to said orifice, thereby to remove bubbles and impurities present in the ink passages together with the ink ~lowed out.
It is therefore an object of an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of purging ink passages of the ink jet recording device of the type which ejects an ink drollet from an orifice to a recording medium by the displace-ment in volume of a pressure chambe.r.
It is an object of an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of eliminating an improper recording oE an ink jet recording device by removing bubbles and impurities present in ~3a~
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the i.n~ p~ssa~es or at~ached to the outer surace near an o:rific .
Othe~ ob~ects an~ ~dvantac3es of the present ivnentic.)n will l be appaLen~ from tlle followincJ descripti.ons wi.tll reference tu the accc)Ml~an~i.nc3 drawin~s.
S ~rief Descr_ption of the ~ .5 Fi~J.l is a schelllatic diag-ram showincJ an ink jet recordinc3 dev:i.cc.~ W]liCh i~ usecl to illustrate a mcthod of the present. inven _ .~ tio]~.
FicJ.2 is a sect.ion view of a printincJ hecld whicil i 5 sui.tab:l ~0 for an i.n~ jet recordincJ clevice havinc3 a plurality of pressure C~ nl]~ ^!J. ' ]!`i.~J, ~ :i.S a schematic cli.acJr.lm of one c?ml~od:imcnt c~ the present .invcntion wherei.n tlle ink jet printiny device havinc3 a plurality of pressure chambers and an elastic ballon as an ink supL~ly source is shown.
Fi.~.~ is a secti.onal view upon A-~ line of Fi~.3.
Fi~,5 is a schemati.c ~:iac~ram showin~ another type o:E the ill~ s~lpply source means i.n which a ~ressure to .~nk is appliec~ by a poten~ial ener-~y of the ink :i.n the ink supply source means.
Fiy.~ is a schematic dia~ram of a suction means in accord~
ance with the present invention.
Fi~.7 is a view showiny relative positions between an orlf:i ~e oE a printin~ heacl ancl a suction tube edcJe of a suction mecans.
: Fi~. 8 i5 a view showincJ relative posit.ions between a suctio mearls and a capp:incr means with respect to a platen of an ink jet.
.. recordillc3 device.
_ 4 _ ~OE~ L4Z
~ 1- iled D~sc]-ip~t-ion of the Inventic B~fore the presen~ invention ~ase~ upon the accompanyincl dra~ s belot~:is e~plailled, ~he recordiIIcJ dc-~vic~ whic]l the pres nt:
:invcllt~.on is premised ul?on all~ employs to illustrate its methoc~ -wil:l. be Iirst e~p]lin~d. Fig. 1 shows -the outline of ~he recorc~i lc~
device and its operation. ~pparatus 11 is installed to print upo a recordillcJ meclium 12. Here app~ratus 11( or printin~3 head 18 ) can ~e lnoved relative to recordincJ meclium 12, or recordin~ mediu n 12 relati~e t.o appclratus 11 or hoth 11 and 12 at the same t;.me, ,10 dependinc~ upon t.he suitabili-ty of the me-thod. Ink supply source16 is conncctcd to printillcJ head 18 throucJI- an ink feeding p:ipe 17. ]`lectron.i.c pulse ~JeneratoL 19 supplie: a pulse by appropriat tranc.m~ .ion mealls 21 SUc}l as wixe to pr.i.nt:illct head 18. ~1ex:il.~:Le plat~ 27 .is applopri.ately selected to be able ..o deflect inwardl into pressure chamher 26 upon the reception of an electric signa from electl^onic pulse generator 1~. In the example, plate 27 is shown an c~ssenlb.ly of pi~oelectric~ crys-tals 29,30 hon~ed tocJethe .
rrhc .in~ard cleflection o~ plate 27 is shown by a do-tted line in Fi~. 1.
~ droplc~t 22 is ejec:tecl upon the deElection of plate 27 whicll causcs a sudden decrease in volume o~ pressure ~.hamber 26.
This s~dden decxeasc in volume must impart sufficicnt kinetic ener~v to the ink in ejcc-tion passa~e 28 so that the ink can accel.erate up to ejcction speed This ejec-tion speed is the l.owe t speed at which -the ink plu~ which will project fro~r~ ori.fice 24 upon decrease in volume oE pressure chamber 26 will separate frol I
the c~:riEicc and ~orm a s:incJle cliscrete clropl.et. Futhermore, the decrease in volume of pressure chamber 26 must be able to shift n amount of ink lreater thall the volume of the droplet which will b ejected. This is due to the shift of ink towards ink supply sour e _5~
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16 throu~}l ink feeding pipe 17 caus~d hy the decrease in volulne.
Fu~ ermore, coLresponding to the return of plate 27 to i.ts rest position, the ~luid pressllre in the pressure chamber will become necJative nearly equal in ma~l~itude to the positive press re S oc(urr:in(J du~in~ ~he decrease in volume. This neg-ative fluid pressure reverse the direc-tion of the flow of the in~i in ejectio l passage 28 and promotes the separatioll of the plucJ Or ink from i' the orificeand the formation of a discrete droplet of ink.
~'IIUS , UpOIl r~cievi,ll~ pulses f:rom ~enerator 19, printin9 J~ head 1~ wi:ll , in accordance with the instruct:ions of the pulses e~ect a d:iscountinuous and necessclry number of ink droplets from orifice 2~ Drop],ets 22 follow a su~stantially stral~ht tra-Jecto ~y and fc-l-m l:ine 23 on recordi,nc,l medium 12. ~:Etera clroplek is ejec-t and pl.lt:t:? 2 7 rc turlls to its noxlnal p osi tion ~ the surface of th(~
ink facin~ the outside atmosphere in ejection passage 28 is holloW in the shape of a meniscus. This is due to that, before head 18 be~ins operation to eject another droplet , the ink in ejecti.on passa~e 28 returns t~ its ori~inal state. Capillary forces between the ~ection passage and the ink supply the necessary forces to form the meniscus. Depending upon the return ~' rate, a series of discrete d.roplets call be continuously ejectecl.
Valve 31 is provided on ink feed.incJ ,~ipe 17 or the printing head 18 is opened in automatic manner i.n response to pressure drop in an ink reservoir not shown in the dra~in~ of F:i~. 1.
Fi~. 2 shows a sectional view oE another embodiment of a : printin~ head equipped with a plurality of pressure chambers. In : th~ ~ra~1n~ pressure plate is cons-tructed b~ two members, cover slip 32 and pie~.oelect.ric crys-tal 33 bonded to the coverslip.
~l Upon puttin~ a volta~e across crystal 32, the crystal will contr lCt ` . ' ` ' ''' : . ' . . , `:
1~314Z
and cause oversli.p 32 (namely, the plate) to de-~lecL into the pressure chamber 34. Consequently, if th:is eonstruction is chosen, a single broacl coverslip is used to cover the top of a plul-c~lity of aligne~ pressuxe chambers 34~ In acldition~ aJl cr~Tstal is s;mply bon~ed over eaeh pressure chamber and printing hecld with a plurality of pressure chambers can be made easily.
Figs. 3 and 4 sho~ an embodi.ment of the apparatus which uses a printing head t.~ th a plurality of pressure chambers mac~e as sttated a~ove. A printlncJ head ].00 is constructed so that ~y an apprc-L.~riate met:hod the hecld ean he shiEted in botll di.ree~
- tions (in Figure 3, the directions perpellclieular to the pl.lne of the paper) at high speed ~hile mainta.inincJ a fixed eject:ion di.stculee from the reeordin~ medi.um (not sllown). Witllin the pr:int:i.ll-J head, there is a pluxalit~ oE pres~ure ehambexs .lO2a ' .15 an(l 102b, outlet passages 103a and 103h, inl.et passages 104a and 104b, and ink reservoir 105 and a eonnectin~ passage 106.
A pressure ehambers 102a and lO~b may be arranged to form an arra~ ali~lled perpenclieulally to the movement of the printing head. rrO p~opexly form all alphclnumeric charaeters, seven pressure eham~ers ar-~.: actual~y requi.~e~, but for the sake o~
sim~l.ieit~ only two chambers axe shown in the drawings.
Coverslip 107 and piezoeleetric erystals 108a, b constitute the ~:
upper wall of pressure ehambers 102a, b. With these three pieees, two assemblies~ of pressure plates are formed and funet:ioned as stated in the foregoing. W:ith pressure plate 107, 108a and pressure plate 107, 108b, are eonstrueted so as to $
cle1eet r~,speetively upon the ineomming of an eleetrieal s.ignal. Z
pressure eol~trol board 110 whieh is elastie and is the upper , eovering of in~ reservoir 105 is made so as to be able to rise ¦ or f~ll neoorc ng to the s oun of inlc in the reservoir.
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10~814Z
Tlle preC~c.~lre col~-tro] board need not be flexible and a leakproof construc-tiorl~here the front or just the top surface of the reservoir moves may ~e used.
~ li~uid pressure detection means 111 is attached to the top surfa~e of pressure c.~ontrol hoard 110, It detects the liquid pressure of reservoir 105 over the width of its fluctua-tions, i.e., from states of low pressure to those o.
high. For hi~h pressures, it is necessary, minimally to maint:ai !l press~lre ~i.th.in a range such that the droplet can be propelly :LQ ejectecl upon t.he clecrease in vol~mle o~ the pressure ch~nber, Li~iewise, at low pressures, sucll pres~ures where nonnal ejectin~ of droplets i5 impaired must be avoided. ~.lastic b~l].:l.oon receptacle 112 for suppl~incl fresh inlc to the printin~
hecld is sct up so that tlle acti.on oE the shrin~ac~e o the bal:looll confers a fixed pressure (for example, 0.6 - 0.1 kcJ/cm2) to the ink within the receptacle. Synthetic resin pipe 113 connects connecting passage 106 to balloon receptacle 112.
Mid~a.~ alon~ thc lencJ-th o~ pipe 113 is installed automatic valve means 11~ WhiCIl ig constr.ucted SO as to open and clo~:c ordinarily (i.e., durinc~ the printincJ opera-tion) upon an operat.ional sicJnal applied from appropriate a~ltomatic valve operation mcans 115. Vpon reception of a sicJnal o~ low pressure ~rom liquid pressure detector means 111, automatic valv~ operation means 115 gives a sicJnal to "open" lo automatic 'i valve means 11~, and upon reception of a signal o~ high pressur~
from detector 111, automatic valve operation means 115 gives a ~i~nal to "close" to automatic valve means 11~. Flush operntion means llG generates operationa.l signals to open : wide automatic valve means 11.4. Flush operation means llG is ~ con5 tructed s hat even whlle automatic valve means ll4 i 5 r -~
'I :
~ 38142 being control.led by automatic valve operation means 115 r a operational signal. from flush operation n-leans 11~ will cause automatic valve 114 to open. Alternatively, au-tomatic valve operational means 115 and flush operation means 116 can b~ constructed so that by a switchin~ mechanism means eitheL
can be selectively couplecl to au-tomat:ic valve 114 and boti me~ns of operation can he used. Finally, a specia]. v~lve can be used for automatic val.ve means 114 so that wlthout using flush operation means 116, valve means 114 will auto-matically silift to an "open" state just upon the suspension oE the operation of automatic valve operatioll means 115.
~urthermore, for thi.s flush operation of opening and c:los.ing au-toma-tic valve 114, either elect.rical ox mechanical means are acceptable.
J.S 'rhe .in]c passages of tllis apparatus, i~e., the ~assages from the l)alloon receptacle's outlet to the ejec-~ion passa~es 103a and 103b of printing head 100 can be selected so that their cross-sections may be of circularr elli.pticc~l, squire or rectangular shapes. This option also includes the orifices of ejection passages 103a, b.
There is known the action occurri.ng ~it~l the ejecti.on of a droplet from ejection passages 103a, b during the printing operation and the movement oE the ink supplied to pressure . cham~ers 102a, b. Also known is the function o:~ the supply of new ink into ink reservoir 103 from balloon receptaclc 112 upon the opening of automatic valve means 114 triggered by the state of low pressure in the reservoir when the amount of ink in ink reservoir is diminished and the closing of automati.c . val~e means 11~ ~hen the pressure in the ink reservoir i.s high~ Thus the explanation here is somewhat abridged.
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~.~B814%
~he follo~inc~ concerns p~rging and the time for its accurrence. That purging should be performed in the first ;
st.-p of a clay of recording oyerations is eY~pectecl. Howev~r, purging is not limited to this time only. PurgincJ can be performed pr.ior to the beginllincJ of any recording operation or UpO]I the discovery of an improper droplet ejection condition, or perhaps upon the completion of our printing operation and before the beginning of the next. Whicllever the case may be, the purging operation itself remains the same. A eap (whieh not only prevel--ts bu~blcs ancl impurities from entering the ejeetion pa~sa~es and impurities from stiekillc3 to the head face 10] of printing head 100, but also insures the appropl-iate state of mois~ure for head aee 101) wlliell eovers eaeh outlet passtl~Je 103a, b is first removed, then by the en~agement of flusll operation means 116,automatie valve means 11~ .is opcned wide. Since the ink in balloon reeeptacle 112 is already under pressure from the elastic eompression foree of the balloon, ink is foreed through the ink passages and out from ejeetion passages 103a, b upon thc openin~ of automatie valve means 11~. Depending upon the speed of th~ ink Elow and th~ existenee of impurities adhering to the orifice, the lenc3th of time for purgincJ will ehancJe. But in any ease, all bubbles and iMpurities in the ink passages and impurities aclhering to the e~eetion orifiee will be removed by the purging operation.
.~ After eompletion of the pur~ing operation, flush operatiQn means 116 iq disenc3a~ed and automatie valve means 114 is returned to its normal mocle of operation.
For large impurities,filter means (not shown in the ~rawin~s) may be installed at the outlet ~f balloon reeeptaele 112 or near it or such means may be plaeed at appropriate ~ ` , ' `~ 38~4~
locations in connectinc~ pipe 113 o.r at the inle-t passage of ¦pri.nting i-~ad lQ0 and so on. Such filter means may be fixe~ .
or replace~ble. A suitable device can catch all the un~ant~c~ ink discharc~ed from the outlet passages clurincJ purgillg and then b~ disposed of. After t:he pUrCJillg operat:ion Oile can depelld upon the passage at ti.me for the in]c ill ejection passages 103a, b to naturally return to -their normal meniscu~
shape if the viscosity of the ink and other factoîs have not ch~nged greatly, or one can cause the head to fire droplets o~ ink one or two times to help the return~
FicJ. 5 shows another means oE putting in~ under prcssure during purging. The shapc of the shell of container 112 may he fixcd. In case of the container of thc fi~ed shape, the pressurc requi..recl for normal printing ope.rations is pu-t upon l:he .in]c t:o l~c~ .. u~pl.ied, namcl~r, th~ preSsurQ require~ to cause th~ ink tc~ flow inl:o the i.n~ reservo.ir UpOII the openiny o~
automatic valve means 114 triggered by the dimished amount of .
ink in the reservoir is supplied by the water head pressure (potcntia:l enercJy) of the posi~ion of container 112 ~ith r~s~c~ to printin~ h~ad 100. Slid.in~ ~upport llR hold.in~
container~ 112 is mounted by c:Lamp screw 119 uporl support 117 which is fixed to a stat;.onary part of the recordincJ device.
Dur:incJ normal printing operations, slidi.ng support 118 is placed at a position (marked in solid lines) whi.ch yields a previously determined liquid head pressure. During purging, ~lidincJ support 118 is caused to move upward to the position inclicatecl by the dotted lines to obtain a high liquicl heacl pressure. The flush operation means is then engaged and autc~matic valve mealls is opened. Thus the ink is flowecl out through the ink passages at a pressure high enough for purging.
.
10138~42 Of cour~; it can be appaxently understood that this tecllni.c~ue can be appl.ied to the previ.ous balloon reservoir .
112. However, besldes the synergistic effect of pur~ing capability, the combi.ned use of the pressures i.mpar-ted by the elastlc ball.oon and the l~i.c~ iqul.d head pressure may have other eff~cts, sucll as the complete con~umption of the in]c in the container onl~ by the higll liquid head pressure when the elastic action of the container not be of superior qualit~.
Ne~t, one embodiment of the invention where:iII an in]i 9UCtiOII ml~allS iS use~ tocJctller with the pU.rqill~ o the in]c passacJes as stated in the foregoing wi:ll be explained. In Fiy. 6, suction tube 201 with a llo].lo~ cross-sect.ion much clreater than that outlet passa~es 103a, b may he fixed to tlle ~ cQr~ J ~ !V.iC~ t:ern~ rc~ r, ~ICt~iOIl I~Ibe 20.l mc~
sl:i.dably bc enya~ed to a support:in~ member 202 by the use o~
key slot 201a in a suction tube 201 and a key IC, and may normally be loaded in a leftward direction with weak spriny 202O
~s shown .in the drawill~, thc let ed~e 204 of suction tube 201 . and head Eace 101 of printin~ head 100 are in contact with each other at a slope angle of ~ de~rees. As a principle, the directioll or bi~s ln ~hich t:his slope an~le faces .is made in the di.xec-t.ion in which the printinc~ head moves (includi.n~
the opposite direction) or in the line in which the outlct passa~es 103a and 103b are ali~ned (includin~ the opposite
2~ dir~c-tion), ~lowcver, dependi.n~ upon blower 209 which will be mentioned hereinlater, the conditions of moisture of printin~
head ace 101, the viscosity o the ink, the speed and amount oE ejectccl drople-ts, the cross-sectional area of the ejection I passacJes, the shape of the cross-section of suction tube 201 and so forth, the ælope is set in various directions, ~ 8~Z
Consequently, it is convenient to collstruct suction tube 201 and su~polt member 202 so that, for exam~le, wlth ~ey K ;
~ttac'led to suppor-t member 202 as a pivoting m~unt so that a suction tube 201 can be rotated (along its length). The di.rection of slope angle ~ can be.adjust:ec1 for purcJing. Angle 0 ean be obtained by cutting edge 204 oE tube ?.01 at ~ degxees if the direction o~ sliding acti.on of suction tube 201 is perpendicular to head face 101 by settin~ the angle at which suction tube 201 itself slides toward printing head face 101 so that ecl~e 204 and printing head face 101 form Q degrees.
S.inee the valve ofQ depends a g)^eat deal upon the effeet.iveness of the blower mentioned below, it is convellient t.o compellsate for variations in the partieular blot~er used and other fnetors by ehange~; in slope ancJle ~. ~n the above, the ehanges in lS slop.Q al~le~ may be ~iVell by a pivotal movement of the SUCti tube 201 with respect to the eontaet point of the head ~ace and the suction tube and the pivotal movement of the suction tuhe 201 in t.urn may be provided by, the example, the shi.ft of the supporting member 202. Forming part of suetion tube 201.
20` are kno~ 205 and eateh 206. Iloo~ lever 207 bent in ~he middle and mounted on a pivot there, is loaded in a counter-eloe~wise direetion by spring 208 When sueti.on tube 201 moves to the xight, lever 207 engages eateh 2Q6 to maintaln the suction tube 201 in that position In ease suetion tube is eonstrueted so as to be able to rotate (along its length) with respee-t to support member 202, cateh 206 should be extencled eompletely around suction tube 201 to form a eateh rinc .
Alternatively, hook lever 207 should be mounted to the same bas~
as kc~ K ~o that lever will rotate aloncJ with the suetion tubeb rotation. Blower 209 may be a fan or a eentrifugal type.
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In L~l~ce of a blower, a pump may c~lso be used. The blower or p~np's strellsth is chos~n at t:hc time o~ the desi~n of the apI~al~tus after careful consideration of the relation between the speed of in~ flotY within the in~ passa~es, the cross-sectlollcll area of the outlet passages, the cross-sectlonal area of the suction tube, slope an~le ~, the time set for the purgin~
operation, the c~lount of electric power which may be used,and so forth. Elastic or flexible connectin~ pipe 210 connects thc-~ xigllt edge of sllction pip2 201 with blowex 209.
lQ Cyl.illc1r:ical ;hell 2:Ll ticlhtly encl.oses balloon container 11~.
,~ on all sides and on the top of the cylindrical shell on its axis then is vent.ila-tioll hole 212. DischarcJe pi.pe 213 leads rom blower 209 to ventilation hole 212~ Timing requlator moans 215 colltrols the t.iming betweell the opexation o~ blo~er operation means 214 and flusll operation means l:l6 for automclt:i.c valve means 114. Timing regulator means 215 regulates both the timin~ of the complete opening of automatic valve means 114 by Elush ~perclti.on means 116 wlth the activation of blower 20~
~y blower suc:tion opera~ion means 21~ and the timincJ when f lush operation means llh is not operatec1 and automat.ic valve 1~ ls op~rati.ng no~mall.y with the deactivation o:E blower 20~.
The position o suction tube 201 in relation to printing head 100 and the platen (the printincJ llm.it:s), as well the relative position of the capping means, is as follows.
~5 TIIQ positions which SUCtiQn tube 201 may assumè with respec-t to head 100 are various. Some of these formulations ar shown in FiCJ. 7. The formulation shown .in Figure 7(a) is probably most commonly considcred with a single suction tube in contact with the lowest outlet passage 103b. There, both ink which emercJes from the lowest outlet passage 103b and ink ~ : . . . - .
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~0~814Z
which attaclled to the head face 101 after emerging from the upper outlet passage 103a are sucked up by the suction tuhe 2010 In this ormula-tionrhollow sucti on tube 201 ean cover outlet .
passage 103b partially (Fig. 7(a) ) or cover outlet passage 103b eomplete]y (Fig 7(b)). ~hieh formulati.on should be ehosen is a probl~m rtalat~d to the plan constraints of the reeording deviee. In the present ease, if the automatie valve means is opened wide much earlier than blower 20~ is operated, ink emerging from upper ejection passages 103a will needlessly dlrty head faee 101, On the other hand, i.f the suction operat:i n .~ is sl:arted exce.ssively early beEore the w:ide opcn.incJ of automat.ic valve means, some of the in~ in pressure chamber 102a will be sueked out frc)m bottom most e~ec-tion passacJe 103b throuclh i.nk reservoir 105,whieh results in causing ai.r fo.rming ~ubbl.es ancl impur.iti.e.s to enter ejec-tiorl pa(,sa~Jes lO~a an~l, further, inviting a disruption o the normal clistribution oE
ink within printing head 100, after the eompletion c~f purging.
Consequently, when this partieular formulation is used, these point.s must be earefully taken to the consideration and timin~ means 215 must be set appropriately. t The embodiment shown in Fi~ure 7(c) is a variation in the cîoss-seetional shape of the suetion tube whieh is e~feet:ive r to the ease where the amount of ink attaehed to a head faee 101 l;
is relatively large, the case where a suetion foree per an ?.5 un.it eross seetion area must be xedllced by inereasin~ a total '.
eross seet.ion area o tube edge 204 upon employing the blower havin~ a extremely large suction capacity owing to unavoidable circumstances, and so forth. While the amount of thQ suetion foree ean be varied by ehancJinc~ the v~lue of slope angle ~l if such the change is not possible, this embodiment - : - . :
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is still effective. Furtllermore, a combination of the e~bodiment and the control]ing of the amount of angle ~ ;
can also be considel.ed~
Fig. 7(d) sho~s an embodim~nt with a plur~li.ty Qf suction S tul)es It is effective when the suction o the bottom most ejection passage ].03b onl~ is not adequate, namely, when the amount of in~ emerging from the ejection passages during purging can not be handled by only one suction tube when the use of 03l1y one suction tube creates a pressur~ imbalance or when ink which emerges from the uppe.~- outlet 103a is needlessly attached to the head face and dirty there. In p.lace of a plurality of suction tubcs, it is pcs~ible to use one tube ~hich is divided at its forwarcl secti.on into a plurality of suction tll]~e tips. Ther.e .is no necesca:it:y for each oul:.let SSaCJC to hclVe a corresponding tube. Corrcspondence may be made witll only those outlet passages for which a suction tube is necessar~. With regard to the amount of s.l ope angle ~and respect:ive direction or bias, each suction tube or each . suction ti.p dividcd ~rom the main tube may be di~erent or maY
be identical.
Furthermore, for all of the above embodiments,~reat importance must be placed upon the relationship between the time of the beginning and the end of the suction operakion and the time of the beginning and the close of the flush operation of autonatic valve means 114. Since as a principle the ink purging operation is performed before the beginning oE the printing operation as stated previously, it is required that the ink in printin~ he-ld 100 mus-t be in a state ready for printing after the end of pur~ing. Since the condition o the ink surface of the ink in ejection passages 103a and 1~18814Z
103b and ~he condition of ink reservoir lOS must match the conditions of a proper clroplet ejection an aim of the present invention, the timin~ bet~een the end of the flush operation of automat;c valve means 114 (i.e., the return of auto~la~ic valve means to a norrnal opexa-tion state) and the end of thc operatioll of blower operation, is the de]icate problem. As a principle the operation of blower 209 should terminate after the encl of the ~lush operation of automatic valve means 114.
~.rh.is is due to that after valve means 1:l4 is shut, only a very small amount o~ ink in eject:ion passacJes 103a and ln3h should b~ sucked ou-t arld nearly all oE the in]; on printirl~ heacl ~ace 101 shoulcl be removecl. If the amount oE ink suc];ed away is clreat, the pressure in ln~ reservoir ln5 Will dl-Op too low ancl the replenisllment of ink w:ill hegill by the normal action of the automatic valve means 104. Namely, since the excess suction c~uses return to pur~ing conclition, a proper attention must be paid to avoid the cxce~s suction.
Tlle ~tate oE moisture o~ the printing hecl~ Eace 101 al~o delicately influence~ the in~ droplet ejection operation.
The maintenance of propér conclitions must ~e cal-efully watched.
~n ink droplet is formed by the separation Erom the ink pluc~
prOjectincJ from ejection passac~es 103a, b oE some oE the lnk.
By this separation and the return of the remaining ink plug to ejecticln passa~es 103a, b,there appears a phenomenoll that a minute amount of ink is left near the oriEice. This in~luence the statc of moisture of the head face 101 and this, in turn affecks thc droplet ejec~tion sp~d and dire~ction. Ilowever, i the moisture of the printin~ head face 101 causes dust and theli~e in the surroundincJ air to stick to ace 101. In an environment where clust comparatively plenti~ul, there arises ~ 17 - I -~ ~ . . 't~ ' . ' ' ' ` , ' : . ' .
1~ 38~4;~
the need to remove moisture from the print head face 101 to k~ep it in a nearly dry state. Wllichever condition is to be maintailled is a matter -to be decided on ~ith the condition o the recording device in mind during planning.
Up to llOW, the suction means has been explained as being attached to a stationary part of the device, but it is possible to att~ch such means to the printing head 100. In thi~ case, the printing head body will become larger and high speed prilltinc; abllity will be affectecl somewhat. Furthermore~
as stated below the distance between the printing head anfl the recorclin~ means will become smaller. Therefore, the construc~
tion of the suction apparatus will be different more or less~
For c~clmp~.e, whcn a part; suit.able as suction tube 20.l i.s fittc~d tv the printin~ hcad 100, i.ts tip must be shaped flat:
for print face 101 so as not to cause any interference with the normal movement of the head during printing. Naturally, the par~.s connected from intermedlary pipe 210 and below are made to lead from the pri.nting head 100 to the st~tionary paît oE the apparatus. It is important to keep the mass of the printing head lo~Y.
Ne~t, the position of suction tube 201 in relationship to the platen (the spatial limits of the printing operation) and to the xelative position of the cappiny mèans will be ~plai.necl, but first a short outline of the capping operation will be made. The principle of droplet ejection upon which ~a the pre~sen-t invention is based is that hy the gcneration of li~uicl pressure caused by the decrease in volume of the pressurc chamber an ink droplet is discharged. The ejection energy of the ink droplet is not very great and consequently the distance between printing head face 101 and the recording means can not ; . . ' ~
' ~16~42 be very lar~e. Furthermore, by keepin~ the mass o the printing head lo~r, a high speed printing mode can be achieved~
Thus, due to the movement of the printing head, i the inertia oi~ the i nk drop:l et becomes large, the accuracy of the droplets Eor character formation is adversely af:Eected, again ;Mplying that the distance between the printing head and the recording means can not be great. On the other hand, due to this manner oE liquid pressure generation by the decrease of the volume of a pre ;sure c hambcr, ink within the printing head tends to flow out at very slight movements of the the printing head.
When the printing head i5 subjectec1 to heat, vibrations and so on, for example, ink will flow out. This also bad:ly affects the conditi.on of mo.istness for thc printincl head face.
l;`url:llerrnorc, since even minute amounts o dust: and so orl:h l.5 adherincJ to the printin~ head face will badly affect drop] etejection accuracy, restric-tions upon the determination of the capping operation increase because of the previously stated print:in~ head -recording medium .dis tance problem, along with problems stated immadiately above.
It is e~:treMely dificult to use ordinary means o capping among the various l:ypes o~ recording devices. For t:he recordinc apparatus used to illustrate the present invention, a special type of capping means is used. Namelyr at any time not during the printing operation, printing head l00 is moved to a position oE E t:he plal:en where the head is then capped.
However, as stated previously, the conditions oE moistness oE pxintin~ head Eace l0l is to be carefully considered.
This poinl: must also be attended to for the capping operation, Some important considerations are:
. .
.
~0~14Z
(1) During capping relative sli.ppa~e between the cap me~lher and the p~intin~ head face should be avoided.
(2) To prevent .i.nk from flo~Tin~ out of the ejection passa~es even if the printing head is sub~ected to heat or vibration, the cap member is to be pressed a~ains-t the print-.ing head face with appropriate pressure.
head ace 101, the viscosity o the ink, the speed and amount oE ejectccl drople-ts, the cross-sectional area of the ejection I passacJes, the shape of the cross-section of suction tube 201 and so forth, the ælope is set in various directions, ~ 8~Z
Consequently, it is convenient to collstruct suction tube 201 and su~polt member 202 so that, for exam~le, wlth ~ey K ;
~ttac'led to suppor-t member 202 as a pivoting m~unt so that a suction tube 201 can be rotated (along its length). The di.rection of slope angle ~ can be.adjust:ec1 for purcJing. Angle 0 ean be obtained by cutting edge 204 oE tube ?.01 at ~ degxees if the direction o~ sliding acti.on of suction tube 201 is perpendicular to head face 101 by settin~ the angle at which suction tube 201 itself slides toward printing head face 101 so that ecl~e 204 and printing head face 101 form Q degrees.
S.inee the valve ofQ depends a g)^eat deal upon the effeet.iveness of the blower mentioned below, it is convellient t.o compellsate for variations in the partieular blot~er used and other fnetors by ehange~; in slope ancJle ~. ~n the above, the ehanges in lS slop.Q al~le~ may be ~iVell by a pivotal movement of the SUCti tube 201 with respect to the eontaet point of the head ~ace and the suction tube and the pivotal movement of the suction tuhe 201 in t.urn may be provided by, the example, the shi.ft of the supporting member 202. Forming part of suetion tube 201.
20` are kno~ 205 and eateh 206. Iloo~ lever 207 bent in ~he middle and mounted on a pivot there, is loaded in a counter-eloe~wise direetion by spring 208 When sueti.on tube 201 moves to the xight, lever 207 engages eateh 2Q6 to maintaln the suction tube 201 in that position In ease suetion tube is eonstrueted so as to be able to rotate (along its length) with respee-t to support member 202, cateh 206 should be extencled eompletely around suction tube 201 to form a eateh rinc .
Alternatively, hook lever 207 should be mounted to the same bas~
as kc~ K ~o that lever will rotate aloncJ with the suetion tubeb rotation. Blower 209 may be a fan or a eentrifugal type.
.
.. ~
- . .
- . . : . . . ~ , . .
In L~l~ce of a blower, a pump may c~lso be used. The blower or p~np's strellsth is chos~n at t:hc time o~ the desi~n of the apI~al~tus after careful consideration of the relation between the speed of in~ flotY within the in~ passa~es, the cross-sectlollcll area of the outlet passages, the cross-sectlonal area of the suction tube, slope an~le ~, the time set for the purgin~
operation, the c~lount of electric power which may be used,and so forth. Elastic or flexible connectin~ pipe 210 connects thc-~ xigllt edge of sllction pip2 201 with blowex 209.
lQ Cyl.illc1r:ical ;hell 2:Ll ticlhtly encl.oses balloon container 11~.
,~ on all sides and on the top of the cylindrical shell on its axis then is vent.ila-tioll hole 212. DischarcJe pi.pe 213 leads rom blower 209 to ventilation hole 212~ Timing requlator moans 215 colltrols the t.iming betweell the opexation o~ blo~er operation means 214 and flusll operation means l:l6 for automclt:i.c valve means 114. Timing regulator means 215 regulates both the timin~ of the complete opening of automatic valve means 114 by Elush ~perclti.on means 116 wlth the activation of blower 20~
~y blower suc:tion opera~ion means 21~ and the timincJ when f lush operation means llh is not operatec1 and automat.ic valve 1~ ls op~rati.ng no~mall.y with the deactivation o:E blower 20~.
The position o suction tube 201 in relation to printing head 100 and the platen (the printincJ llm.it:s), as well the relative position of the capping means, is as follows.
~5 TIIQ positions which SUCtiQn tube 201 may assumè with respec-t to head 100 are various. Some of these formulations ar shown in FiCJ. 7. The formulation shown .in Figure 7(a) is probably most commonly considcred with a single suction tube in contact with the lowest outlet passage 103b. There, both ink which emercJes from the lowest outlet passage 103b and ink ~ : . . . - .
,~ . . : . . ~ ';
~0~814Z
which attaclled to the head face 101 after emerging from the upper outlet passage 103a are sucked up by the suction tuhe 2010 In this ormula-tionrhollow sucti on tube 201 ean cover outlet .
passage 103b partially (Fig. 7(a) ) or cover outlet passage 103b eomplete]y (Fig 7(b)). ~hieh formulati.on should be ehosen is a probl~m rtalat~d to the plan constraints of the reeording deviee. In the present ease, if the automatie valve means is opened wide much earlier than blower 20~ is operated, ink emerging from upper ejection passages 103a will needlessly dlrty head faee 101, On the other hand, i.f the suction operat:i n .~ is sl:arted exce.ssively early beEore the w:ide opcn.incJ of automat.ic valve means, some of the in~ in pressure chamber 102a will be sueked out frc)m bottom most e~ec-tion passacJe 103b throuclh i.nk reservoir 105,whieh results in causing ai.r fo.rming ~ubbl.es ancl impur.iti.e.s to enter ejec-tiorl pa(,sa~Jes lO~a an~l, further, inviting a disruption o the normal clistribution oE
ink within printing head 100, after the eompletion c~f purging.
Consequently, when this partieular formulation is used, these point.s must be earefully taken to the consideration and timin~ means 215 must be set appropriately. t The embodiment shown in Fi~ure 7(c) is a variation in the cîoss-seetional shape of the suetion tube whieh is e~feet:ive r to the ease where the amount of ink attaehed to a head faee 101 l;
is relatively large, the case where a suetion foree per an ?.5 un.it eross seetion area must be xedllced by inereasin~ a total '.
eross seet.ion area o tube edge 204 upon employing the blower havin~ a extremely large suction capacity owing to unavoidable circumstances, and so forth. While the amount of thQ suetion foree ean be varied by ehancJinc~ the v~lue of slope angle ~l if such the change is not possible, this embodiment - : - . :
10~14Z
is still effective. Furtllermore, a combination of the e~bodiment and the control]ing of the amount of angle ~ ;
can also be considel.ed~
Fig. 7(d) sho~s an embodim~nt with a plur~li.ty Qf suction S tul)es It is effective when the suction o the bottom most ejection passage ].03b onl~ is not adequate, namely, when the amount of in~ emerging from the ejection passages during purging can not be handled by only one suction tube when the use of 03l1y one suction tube creates a pressur~ imbalance or when ink which emerges from the uppe.~- outlet 103a is needlessly attached to the head face and dirty there. In p.lace of a plurality of suction tubcs, it is pcs~ible to use one tube ~hich is divided at its forwarcl secti.on into a plurality of suction tll]~e tips. Ther.e .is no necesca:it:y for each oul:.let SSaCJC to hclVe a corresponding tube. Corrcspondence may be made witll only those outlet passages for which a suction tube is necessar~. With regard to the amount of s.l ope angle ~and respect:ive direction or bias, each suction tube or each . suction ti.p dividcd ~rom the main tube may be di~erent or maY
be identical.
Furthermore, for all of the above embodiments,~reat importance must be placed upon the relationship between the time of the beginning and the end of the suction operakion and the time of the beginning and the close of the flush operation of autonatic valve means 114. Since as a principle the ink purging operation is performed before the beginning oE the printing operation as stated previously, it is required that the ink in printin~ he-ld 100 mus-t be in a state ready for printing after the end of pur~ing. Since the condition o the ink surface of the ink in ejection passages 103a and 1~18814Z
103b and ~he condition of ink reservoir lOS must match the conditions of a proper clroplet ejection an aim of the present invention, the timin~ bet~een the end of the flush operation of automat;c valve means 114 (i.e., the return of auto~la~ic valve means to a norrnal opexa-tion state) and the end of thc operatioll of blower operation, is the de]icate problem. As a principle the operation of blower 209 should terminate after the encl of the ~lush operation of automatic valve means 114.
~.rh.is is due to that after valve means 1:l4 is shut, only a very small amount o~ ink in eject:ion passacJes 103a and ln3h should b~ sucked ou-t arld nearly all oE the in]; on printirl~ heacl ~ace 101 shoulcl be removecl. If the amount oE ink suc];ed away is clreat, the pressure in ln~ reservoir ln5 Will dl-Op too low ancl the replenisllment of ink w:ill hegill by the normal action of the automatic valve means 104. Namely, since the excess suction c~uses return to pur~ing conclition, a proper attention must be paid to avoid the cxce~s suction.
Tlle ~tate oE moisture o~ the printing hecl~ Eace 101 al~o delicately influence~ the in~ droplet ejection operation.
The maintenance of propér conclitions must ~e cal-efully watched.
~n ink droplet is formed by the separation Erom the ink pluc~
prOjectincJ from ejection passac~es 103a, b oE some oE the lnk.
By this separation and the return of the remaining ink plug to ejecticln passa~es 103a, b,there appears a phenomenoll that a minute amount of ink is left near the oriEice. This in~luence the statc of moisture of the head face 101 and this, in turn affecks thc droplet ejec~tion sp~d and dire~ction. Ilowever, i the moisture of the printin~ head face 101 causes dust and theli~e in the surroundincJ air to stick to ace 101. In an environment where clust comparatively plenti~ul, there arises ~ 17 - I -~ ~ . . 't~ ' . ' ' ' ` , ' : . ' .
1~ 38~4;~
the need to remove moisture from the print head face 101 to k~ep it in a nearly dry state. Wllichever condition is to be maintailled is a matter -to be decided on ~ith the condition o the recording device in mind during planning.
Up to llOW, the suction means has been explained as being attached to a stationary part of the device, but it is possible to att~ch such means to the printing head 100. In thi~ case, the printing head body will become larger and high speed prilltinc; abllity will be affectecl somewhat. Furthermore~
as stated below the distance between the printing head anfl the recorclin~ means will become smaller. Therefore, the construc~
tion of the suction apparatus will be different more or less~
For c~clmp~.e, whcn a part; suit.able as suction tube 20.l i.s fittc~d tv the printin~ hcad 100, i.ts tip must be shaped flat:
for print face 101 so as not to cause any interference with the normal movement of the head during printing. Naturally, the par~.s connected from intermedlary pipe 210 and below are made to lead from the pri.nting head 100 to the st~tionary paît oE the apparatus. It is important to keep the mass of the printing head lo~Y.
Ne~t, the position of suction tube 201 in relationship to the platen (the spatial limits of the printing operation) and to the xelative position of the cappiny mèans will be ~plai.necl, but first a short outline of the capping operation will be made. The principle of droplet ejection upon which ~a the pre~sen-t invention is based is that hy the gcneration of li~uicl pressure caused by the decrease in volume of the pressurc chamber an ink droplet is discharged. The ejection energy of the ink droplet is not very great and consequently the distance between printing head face 101 and the recording means can not ; . . ' ~
' ~16~42 be very lar~e. Furthermore, by keepin~ the mass o the printing head lo~r, a high speed printing mode can be achieved~
Thus, due to the movement of the printing head, i the inertia oi~ the i nk drop:l et becomes large, the accuracy of the droplets Eor character formation is adversely af:Eected, again ;Mplying that the distance between the printing head and the recording means can not be great. On the other hand, due to this manner oE liquid pressure generation by the decrease of the volume of a pre ;sure c hambcr, ink within the printing head tends to flow out at very slight movements of the the printing head.
When the printing head i5 subjectec1 to heat, vibrations and so on, for example, ink will flow out. This also bad:ly affects the conditi.on of mo.istness for thc printincl head face.
l;`url:llerrnorc, since even minute amounts o dust: and so orl:h l.5 adherincJ to the printin~ head face will badly affect drop] etejection accuracy, restric-tions upon the determination of the capping operation increase because of the previously stated print:in~ head -recording medium .dis tance problem, along with problems stated immadiately above.
It is e~:treMely dificult to use ordinary means o capping among the various l:ypes o~ recording devices. For t:he recordinc apparatus used to illustrate the present invention, a special type of capping means is used. Namelyr at any time not during the printing operation, printing head l00 is moved to a position oE E t:he plal:en where the head is then capped.
However, as stated previously, the conditions oE moistness oE pxintin~ head Eace l0l is to be carefully considered.
This poinl: must also be attended to for the capping operation, Some important considerations are:
. .
.
~0~14Z
(1) During capping relative sli.ppa~e between the cap me~lher and the p~intin~ head face should be avoided.
(2) To prevent .i.nk from flo~Tin~ out of the ejection passa~es even if the printing head is sub~ected to heat or vibration, the cap member is to be pressed a~ains-t the print-.ing head face with appropriate pressure.
(3) For each capping operation,the part of the cap member which is to be in contaet with the printin~
head face ought to be a fresh suxface or a fresllly cleaned one to avoid variations in tl~e condltions of moisture of the printing head face.
head face ought to be a fresh suxface or a fresllly cleaned one to avoid variations in tl~e condltions of moisture of the printing head face.
(4) The capping operation must be simple and precise.
Fox these reasons, t.h~ eapping means for thi.s invelltion ought to ~e eonstrueted as follows:
(1) Upon return to the eappiny position, the printing head should be eapped with a motion which avoids lateral slippage (for example, relative movement between the eap and printing head faee in a straic~ht line or a large circular are) and cappincJ should he made with a predetermined pressure a~ainst the printing head faee.
~2) Removal of the eap from the printing head face should be made in a similar manner.
(3) For eaeh eapping operation,the member to be in contact with the printillg head faee must be fresh or freshly ; eleaned and coupled with a meehanism which direets .it towar~ the printing head faee.
For example, eapping means with a single eap member ean be eonstructed sueh that with a moveable disk (or belt) as a eap .j , , ,,, . ~ ,.., ~
, ` . '`' ' '` . '' member coupled to an appropri.at-c mechanism the part of the c:ap member in contact with the printing head face shifts with respect to tlle head face either before contact is made or upon relnoval of the cap from the heacl faceO Thus at the next capping operation ~ different par-t of the capping part of the contact member alwa~s contacts with the printing face. Alter-natively, as in an ordinary typewrite:c, a ribbon mechanism can be in3talled in the eappin~ means. Each time a eapping operation i5 made; a fresh part of the ri.bbon is moved to face the pri.nting head face. The ribbon is immed.iate~ in front of the head faee and a pressure member, which is behined the ribbon and ean move baeli ancl forth in a direet:ion perpendieular ~o the he.ld faee moves orwarc1 to press the ~re.sh part of t:he r;.bbon a~ainst the heacl face to complete the eapp.in~ Naturally , for a capping means wi-th a single eap member, there is the neeessity :Eor a good eleaning of the eap member upon its removal from eontact with the printing head face. Thus, if a ~isk i.s used, a seraper blade or a elean.ing b.rush should be set either perpendieular to or at a somewhat inelined an~le (Eor e~ample, 10 to 30~ to the ~-teral faee of tl-e dlsk to remove an~ matericll adhering to the face. The combined use oE seraper blade and brush is partieularly efEeetive.
Fig. 8 shows the relative positions between the eapping means, suetion means, and platen. Guide rail 217 for pri.nting head 101.i~ set parallel to the lateral faee of platen 216 .l around whieh a reeorcling medium is wound. Prin-tincJ head 100 ean be shitecl ~lon~ ~uicle rall 217 to a seleetecl position by .~ an appropriate drive means (for example, a belt-pulley eombina--t.ion) in a stepwise or eontinuous fashion. Limitation blocks 218 and 219 support ~uide rail 217 and lirnit the movement of . - . ,. : . .
.. . . .
~ 2 prillting head 100. Cap member 202 is constructed so as -to be abl~ to move to and from the guide rail (the vertical direction as shown in the diagram). A cap member 221 has the ribbon itself passing close to and parallel to the guide rail and ~; the cap member is able to move to and from the guide rail.
Fig. 8(a), (b) sho~ an embodiment where suction tube 201 and cap membcr 220 (or 221) are placed to one side of platen 216. In Fig. 8(a), when printing is not being carried out, printing head 101 is in a position before eap member 220 and the cap member will be pressed ayainst printing head ace 101 by appropriate spring pressure. Upon purglng of the in~
passageC; before the beginning of the printing operation, eap member 220 first: wi.thdra~s (upt~ard in the drawings) away from pr;.ntinc-l head face 101 and then px.intincJ head 100 moves to the le~k ext:reme in Eront of suction tube 201. Suction tube 201 then causes in contact with printing head 101 and the purging operation begins. Upon completion of purging suction tube 201 return to its original position and printing head 100 moves in fxont of the platen. Until thc completion of printing the printing head will move back and forth in front of the platen's face. ~ctual printin~ may occux only when the prilltin~
head moves left to right or ma~ be performed when the head is also moving in the return direction. The purging position is against the left limitation block. This ensures aceuracy of contact between printing head face 101 and suction tube 201.
The operation Eor Fig. 8tb) is nearly identical to that above. The positions for the capping and purgincJ operations have been interchanged to reflect the order in which the variou operations are carried out.
In Fig. 8(a),eapping means and purging means are placed - ~: - . - . - . :.
. . : , - . . : -:
108~14Z
~n opposite sid~s of p~.aten 216. For this me-thod of opera-tion, the printing operation is directly entered into after cap ;
member 220 is ~ithdrawn fro;n its capping position. Ordinarily thc head remal.ns in front of the plat:en fox printing bul: when pur~in~ becomes necessar~,printing head 100 moves the position abutting right limitation block 219 ~hen purging of the ink passages is performed. Naturally the position o capping means and pur~ing means may be interchan~ed. After capping member 220 .is withdrclwll, pri.nting head 100 may be mo~7ed to a position before suction tube 201 for pur~ing. ~fter that-, for a period of one to several days, printing operations simply be~in directly after a purgin~ opcration only, without atly capping.
For both emboclimellts sho~n .in Fig. 8(a), (b), it is possible to combine operations and the operation order with the printing operation into one single program routine. s Howcv~r, it is also possible to use such unified program for noxmal opera~-ion~, but to supplemen-t it with a means of cancellin~ various parts singly and at wi].l as necessary.
With the use oE a suction means during purging, automatic valve means is opened wide and the operation of blower 209 ~
begins after suction tube 201 is brough-t into contact with b printing head face 101. Upon the return of suction tube 201 to its original position, the purging operation is completed.
Bu-t there remains the probletn of setting of the correct timing i .~ between the operation of the flush operation means 116 and suction means 21~ :Eor thc proper ormation of a meniscus fox the ink surface in ejection passages 103a, b and the maintenance of proper moisture conditions for printing head ace 181. ~t a present day, with electronic control techniques .. . ,' . - 23 -'.
'.
- , , . . , ~ , it is a simple m~tter to electrically program the above operations in a proper sequence. Thus, concerning a practical explanation of the a]~ove technic~ues, only the purposes of the I:echlliques are mentioned. No details are mentioned.
In addition, it is possible to show how attain a sequential activativn of the capping means, the couplin~ and uncoupling of the capping and purgin~ operations, the coupling and uncouplincJ of these operations with the movement of the prirlt:ing hcad over the platen during the printing operation, and so ~orth by electronic -teehniclues. However, the practical and individual details of these are not explained here.
~loreover, since from publie and widely ~nown krlowledge, it is eaC;y t:o acllieve the mechanical eonstrlletion of the su~tion, eappi~, and automal:ic valve means, detailed explanations of sueh construetions are also omitted.
Finally, protective shell 211 receives the unwanted in~
sueked out by the aetion of blower 20~. Balloon reeeptaele ; 112 anc~ protective sh~ll 211 are eonstrueted for interehanc3ea-bility so that the balloon reeeptaele and its proteetive shell are joined toc~ether to pipe 113, whieh supplies new in]; to the appaxatus, by means of a hollow needle throu~h the shell matexial, for example. By using the large empty space between the outside wall of the balloon reeeptaele and the inner wall oE t.he shcll, the unwanted ink ean be removed with the discard of the balloon receptacle after it is used up.
As shown above, the prcsent invention offers a novel method oE purcJing the in~ passa~es used in various apparatus.
. .
.
- - . . .
.
Fox these reasons, t.h~ eapping means for thi.s invelltion ought to ~e eonstrueted as follows:
(1) Upon return to the eappiny position, the printing head should be eapped with a motion which avoids lateral slippage (for example, relative movement between the eap and printing head faee in a straic~ht line or a large circular are) and cappincJ should he made with a predetermined pressure a~ainst the printing head faee.
~2) Removal of the eap from the printing head face should be made in a similar manner.
(3) For eaeh eapping operation,the member to be in contact with the printillg head faee must be fresh or freshly ; eleaned and coupled with a meehanism which direets .it towar~ the printing head faee.
For example, eapping means with a single eap member ean be eonstructed sueh that with a moveable disk (or belt) as a eap .j , , ,,, . ~ ,.., ~
, ` . '`' ' '` . '' member coupled to an appropri.at-c mechanism the part of the c:ap member in contact with the printing head face shifts with respect to tlle head face either before contact is made or upon relnoval of the cap from the heacl faceO Thus at the next capping operation ~ different par-t of the capping part of the contact member alwa~s contacts with the printing face. Alter-natively, as in an ordinary typewrite:c, a ribbon mechanism can be in3talled in the eappin~ means. Each time a eapping operation i5 made; a fresh part of the ri.bbon is moved to face the pri.nting head face. The ribbon is immed.iate~ in front of the head faee and a pressure member, which is behined the ribbon and ean move baeli ancl forth in a direet:ion perpendieular ~o the he.ld faee moves orwarc1 to press the ~re.sh part of t:he r;.bbon a~ainst the heacl face to complete the eapp.in~ Naturally , for a capping means wi-th a single eap member, there is the neeessity :Eor a good eleaning of the eap member upon its removal from eontact with the printing head face. Thus, if a ~isk i.s used, a seraper blade or a elean.ing b.rush should be set either perpendieular to or at a somewhat inelined an~le (Eor e~ample, 10 to 30~ to the ~-teral faee of tl-e dlsk to remove an~ matericll adhering to the face. The combined use oE seraper blade and brush is partieularly efEeetive.
Fig. 8 shows the relative positions between the eapping means, suetion means, and platen. Guide rail 217 for pri.nting head 101.i~ set parallel to the lateral faee of platen 216 .l around whieh a reeorcling medium is wound. Prin-tincJ head 100 ean be shitecl ~lon~ ~uicle rall 217 to a seleetecl position by .~ an appropriate drive means (for example, a belt-pulley eombina--t.ion) in a stepwise or eontinuous fashion. Limitation blocks 218 and 219 support ~uide rail 217 and lirnit the movement of . - . ,. : . .
.. . . .
~ 2 prillting head 100. Cap member 202 is constructed so as -to be abl~ to move to and from the guide rail (the vertical direction as shown in the diagram). A cap member 221 has the ribbon itself passing close to and parallel to the guide rail and ~; the cap member is able to move to and from the guide rail.
Fig. 8(a), (b) sho~ an embodiment where suction tube 201 and cap membcr 220 (or 221) are placed to one side of platen 216. In Fig. 8(a), when printing is not being carried out, printing head 101 is in a position before eap member 220 and the cap member will be pressed ayainst printing head ace 101 by appropriate spring pressure. Upon purglng of the in~
passageC; before the beginning of the printing operation, eap member 220 first: wi.thdra~s (upt~ard in the drawings) away from pr;.ntinc-l head face 101 and then px.intincJ head 100 moves to the le~k ext:reme in Eront of suction tube 201. Suction tube 201 then causes in contact with printing head 101 and the purging operation begins. Upon completion of purging suction tube 201 return to its original position and printing head 100 moves in fxont of the platen. Until thc completion of printing the printing head will move back and forth in front of the platen's face. ~ctual printin~ may occux only when the prilltin~
head moves left to right or ma~ be performed when the head is also moving in the return direction. The purging position is against the left limitation block. This ensures aceuracy of contact between printing head face 101 and suction tube 201.
The operation Eor Fig. 8tb) is nearly identical to that above. The positions for the capping and purgincJ operations have been interchanged to reflect the order in which the variou operations are carried out.
In Fig. 8(a),eapping means and purging means are placed - ~: - . - . - . :.
. . : , - . . : -:
108~14Z
~n opposite sid~s of p~.aten 216. For this me-thod of opera-tion, the printing operation is directly entered into after cap ;
member 220 is ~ithdrawn fro;n its capping position. Ordinarily thc head remal.ns in front of the plat:en fox printing bul: when pur~in~ becomes necessar~,printing head 100 moves the position abutting right limitation block 219 ~hen purging of the ink passages is performed. Naturally the position o capping means and pur~ing means may be interchan~ed. After capping member 220 .is withdrclwll, pri.nting head 100 may be mo~7ed to a position before suction tube 201 for pur~ing. ~fter that-, for a period of one to several days, printing operations simply be~in directly after a purgin~ opcration only, without atly capping.
For both emboclimellts sho~n .in Fig. 8(a), (b), it is possible to combine operations and the operation order with the printing operation into one single program routine. s Howcv~r, it is also possible to use such unified program for noxmal opera~-ion~, but to supplemen-t it with a means of cancellin~ various parts singly and at wi].l as necessary.
With the use oE a suction means during purging, automatic valve means is opened wide and the operation of blower 209 ~
begins after suction tube 201 is brough-t into contact with b printing head face 101. Upon the return of suction tube 201 to its original position, the purging operation is completed.
Bu-t there remains the probletn of setting of the correct timing i .~ between the operation of the flush operation means 116 and suction means 21~ :Eor thc proper ormation of a meniscus fox the ink surface in ejection passages 103a, b and the maintenance of proper moisture conditions for printing head ace 181. ~t a present day, with electronic control techniques .. . ,' . - 23 -'.
'.
- , , . . , ~ , it is a simple m~tter to electrically program the above operations in a proper sequence. Thus, concerning a practical explanation of the a]~ove technic~ues, only the purposes of the I:echlliques are mentioned. No details are mentioned.
In addition, it is possible to show how attain a sequential activativn of the capping means, the couplin~ and uncoupling of the capping and purgin~ operations, the coupling and uncouplincJ of these operations with the movement of the prirlt:ing hcad over the platen during the printing operation, and so ~orth by electronic -teehniclues. However, the practical and individual details of these are not explained here.
~loreover, since from publie and widely ~nown krlowledge, it is eaC;y t:o acllieve the mechanical eonstrlletion of the su~tion, eappi~, and automal:ic valve means, detailed explanations of sueh construetions are also omitted.
Finally, protective shell 211 receives the unwanted in~
sueked out by the aetion of blower 20~. Balloon reeeptaele ; 112 anc~ protective sh~ll 211 are eonstrueted for interehanc3ea-bility so that the balloon reeeptaele and its proteetive shell are joined toc~ether to pipe 113, whieh supplies new in]; to the appaxatus, by means of a hollow needle throu~h the shell matexial, for example. By using the large empty space between the outside wall of the balloon reeeptaele and the inner wall oE t.he shcll, the unwanted ink ean be removed with the discard of the balloon receptacle after it is used up.
As shown above, the prcsent invention offers a novel method oE purcJing the in~ passa~es used in various apparatus.
. .
.
- - . . .
.
Claims (12)
1. A method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording device which includes at least one pressure chamber having all outlet passage which terminates at an orifice of a nozzle face of a printing head, an ink reservoir communicating with an inlet passage of said pressure chamber, an ink supply source means for feeding a fresh ink to said ink reservoir, and an automatic valve for controlling the flow of ink from said ink supply source means to said ink reservoir, some of ink in said pressure chamber being ejected from said orifice towards a recording medium by the sudden decrease in volume of said pressure chamber while some of the other ink being flowed back towards said inlet passage, the ink of said ink reservoir being caused to flow into said pressure chamber by the difference in pressure between said outlet passage and said inlet passage of the pressure chamber, which is generated upon the return of said pressure chamber to its original volume, and in addition a fresh ink in said ink supply source means being feeded towards said ink reservoir by causing said automatic valve to open when the ink in said ink reservoir is below a predetermined amount, comprising the steps of (a) applying pressure required for purging to the ink in said ink supply source means at least upon purging operations, (b) causing said automatic valve to open wide, and (c) allowing ink to flow from said ink supply source means to said orifice, thereby to remove bubbles and impurities present in the ink passages together with the ink flowed out.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the application of pressure to the ink in said ink supply source means is carried out by the use of a means for increasing a liquid pressure which can be actuated at least upon purging operations.
3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said ink supply source means is a container comprising an elastic balloon enclosing the ink to be supplied, which, at the same time, functions as a means for increasing a liquid pressure.
4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of causing said automatic valve to open wide is carried out by the use of a flush operation means which forces the automatic valve to open every while an automatic valve operation means gives a signal "close" thereto.
5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of (d) placing said printing head in a position where the nozzle face of the printing head and a suction means are able to be in contact with each other.
(e) actuating said suction means while said nozzle face and said suction means being in contact with each other, whereby the suction force thereof promotes a flow of ink from said ink supply source means to said orifice along with a liquid pressure applied and both the ink emerging from said orifice and the ink in said outlet passage are sucked up in a suction tube of said suction means, (f) returning said automatic valve to its automatic mode of operation after a predetermined period of time, (g) sucking up a small part of the ink in the ink passages between said automatic valve and said orifice by the action of only said suction means, (h) removing said suction tube and said nozzle face from each other while the sucking operation of said suction means being continued, whereby no ink remains on said nozzle face of the printing head.
(e) actuating said suction means while said nozzle face and said suction means being in contact with each other, whereby the suction force thereof promotes a flow of ink from said ink supply source means to said orifice along with a liquid pressure applied and both the ink emerging from said orifice and the ink in said outlet passage are sucked up in a suction tube of said suction means, (f) returning said automatic valve to its automatic mode of operation after a predetermined period of time, (g) sucking up a small part of the ink in the ink passages between said automatic valve and said orifice by the action of only said suction means, (h) removing said suction tube and said nozzle face from each other while the sucking operation of said suction means being continued, whereby no ink remains on said nozzle face of the printing head.
6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the application of pressure to the ink in said ink supply source means is carried out by the use of a means for increasing a liquid pressure which can be actuated at least upon purging operations.
7. A method according to claim 5 wherein said ink supply source means is a container comprising an elastic balloon enclosing the ink to be supplied, which, at the same time, functions as a means for increasing a liquid pressure.
8. A method according to claim 5 wherein said suction means contains a plurality of suction tubes.
9. A method according to claim 5 wherein a suction tube edge of said suction means and said nozzle face of the printing head are in contact with each other at a slope angle.
10. A method according claim 9 wherein said suction tube edge is of the shape which has a slope angle with respect to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the suction tube.
11. A method according to claim 5 wherein the step of causing said automatic valve to open wide is carried out by the use of a flush operation means which forces the automatic valve to open even while the automatic valve operation means gives a "close" thereto.
12. A method according to claim 11 wherein said flush operation means is connected to a means for controlling the timing between the sucking operation of said suction means and the valve opening operation of said flush operation means.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP51066894A JPS5932313B2 (en) | 1976-06-07 | 1976-06-07 | Method for cleaning ink passages in inkjet recording devices |
| JP66894/76 | 1976-06-07 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1088142A true CA1088142A (en) | 1980-10-21 |
Family
ID=13329070
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA279,935A Expired CA1088142A (en) | 1976-06-07 | 1977-06-06 | Method of purging ink passages of an ink jet recording device |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4123761A (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5932313B2 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU508768B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1088142A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2725761A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1584382A (en) |
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| JPS5661099U (en) * | 1979-10-15 | 1981-05-23 | ||
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| US4042937A (en) * | 1976-06-01 | 1977-08-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Ink supply for pressurized ink jet |
-
1976
- 1976-06-07 JP JP51066894A patent/JPS5932313B2/en not_active Expired
-
1977
- 1977-06-01 AU AU25692/77A patent/AU508768B2/en not_active Expired
- 1977-06-02 US US05/802,673 patent/US4123761A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1977-06-06 CA CA279,935A patent/CA1088142A/en not_active Expired
- 1977-06-07 DE DE19772725761 patent/DE2725761A1/en active Granted
- 1977-06-08 GB GB23949/77A patent/GB1584382A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPS52150030A (en) | 1977-12-13 |
| DE2725761A1 (en) | 1977-12-15 |
| US4123761A (en) | 1978-10-31 |
| AU2569277A (en) | 1978-12-07 |
| JPS5932313B2 (en) | 1984-08-08 |
| AU508768B2 (en) | 1980-04-03 |
| DE2725761C2 (en) | 1987-02-26 |
| GB1584382A (en) | 1981-02-11 |
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| MKEX | Expiry |