EP0600712A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for ink transfer printing
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1993-11-30
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-11-30
Abstract
Abstract An ink transfer printing devide in which ink transfer is controlled by a viscosity change in ink includes an ink reservoir (2) for retaining ink held under pressure. The ink reservoir (2) is associated with an ink transfer surface (4) which has a plurality of perforations (6). Under ambient conditions, the viscosity of the ink prevents flow of the ink through the perforations (6). The ink transfer printing device also includes a viscosity control unit (8, 20, 25, 26, 32, 38, 42, 46) for inducing a change in the viscosity of the ink near certain perforations thereby enabling a controlled amount of the ink near each of these certain perforations (6) to flow through these certain perforations to an outer surface of the ink transfer surface (4). Techniques for controlling the ink dot size using concentric regions (72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82) about each of the perforations (6) are disclosed. The ink which has flowed onto the outer surface can then be transferred to an intermediate surface (54) or a printing media (10). A method for viscosity-driven ink transfer printing is also disclosed. The present invention enables a printer, a copier, or the like to provide low cost, high speed, high resolution printed images.
Inventors
- 👤 Si-Ty Lam
- 👤 Young-Soo You
- 👤 An-Chung R. Lin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 20:54
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/0057
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
87 words
An ink transfer printing device (1) wherein ink is transferred from an ink reservoir (2) to a printing medium (10) via a perforated surface (4), said perforated surface (4) having a plurality of orifices (6), said printing device (1) being characerized by controlling ink transfer by changing the viscosity of the ink near certain of said orifices (6) thereby enabling a controlled amount of the ink near said certain of said orifices (6) to flow onto said perforated surface (4) via said certain of said orifices (6).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
87 words
An ink transfer printing device (1) wherein ink is transferred from an ink reservoir (2) to a printing medium (10) via a perforated surface (4), said perforated surface (4) having a plurality of orifices (6), said printing device (1) being characerized by controlling ink transfer by changing the viscosity of the ink near certain of said orifices (6) thereby enabling a controlled amount of the ink near said certain of said orifices (6) to flow onto said perforated surface (4) via said certain of said orifices (6).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, further characterized in that the viscosity of the ink at ambient conditions is at least 10 cps.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, further characterized in that the ink consists essentially of (by weight) 2-10% colorant, 93-60% carriers(s), and 5-30% additives.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claims 1, 2 or 3, further characterized in that said perforated surface (4) includes at least one concentric region (72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82) about each of said orifices (6) to control the spread of the ink.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 4, wherein said concentric region forms a flow barrier at the junction of a wet surface (72) and a non-wet surface (74).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 4, wherein said concentric region forms a flow barrier at the junction of an etched pattern (76, 78) and a non-wet surface (80, 82).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the ink reservoir (2) is characterized by comprising an ink chamber (61) for containing the ink, a pressurized chamber (60) for pressurizing the ink within said ink chamber (61), and a movable piston (58) for separating said pressurized chamber (60) from said ink chamber (61).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
81 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterized in that said perforated surface (4) has a circular shape, and said ink reservoir (2) comprises a common channel (48) and a plurality of ink channels, each of said ink channels supplying ink (14) to at least one of said orifices (6), said ink channels extend radially outward from said common channel (48) which supplies the ink from said ink reservoir (2) to said ink channels.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterized in that said printing medium (10) contacts an outer surface of said perforated surface (4) to transfer the ink which has flowed onto said outer surface to said printing media.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
51 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterized in that said ink reservoir (2) comprises first through fourth chambers (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) each retaining a different color ink, each of said orifices (6) being associated with one of said first through fourth chambers.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
58 words
An ink transfer printing device as recited in claim 10, further characterized in that each of said chambers (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) has a portion of said perforated surface (4) dedicated thereto, and that a common section of said printing medium (10) contacts a plurality of the dedicated portions of said perforated surface (4), thereby producing various colors.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
130 words
An ink transfer method for transferring ink from an ink reservoir (2) to a printing medium (10), the ink reservoir (2) being associated with a contact (4) surface having a plurality of perforations (6), said method characterized by the steps of: (a) applying a positive pressure to the ink; (b) using the viscosity of the ink at ambient conditions to retain the ink within the reservoir; (c) inducing a change in the viscosity of the ink near certain of the perforations thereby enabling a controlled amount of the ink near each of said certain of the perforations (6) to flow onto the contact surface (4) via said certain of the perforations (6); and (d) transferring the ink, which has flowed onto the contact surface (4), to the printing medium (10).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
130 words
An ink transfer method for transferring ink from an ink reservoir (2) to a printing medium (10), the ink reservoir (2) being associated with a contact (4) surface having a plurality of perforations (6), said method characterized by the steps of: (a) applying a positive pressure to the ink; (b) using the viscosity of the ink at ambient conditions to retain the ink within the reservoir; (c) inducing a change in the viscosity of the ink near certain of the perforations thereby enabling a controlled amount of the ink near each of said certain of the perforations (6) to flow onto the contact surface (4) via said certain of the perforations (6); and (d) transferring the ink, which has flowed onto the contact surface (4), to the printing medium (10).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as recited in claim 12, wherein step (d) comprises the steps of: (d1) transferring the ink on the contact surface (4) to an intermediate transfer surface (54); and (d2) transferring the ink from the intermediate transfer surface (54) to the printing medium (10).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
102 words
A method as recited in claim 12, wherein said inducing step (c) is characterized by one of the following: (i) locally heating the ink near said certain of the perforations (6) to reduce the viscosity of the ink near said certain of the perforations (6); (ii) applying an electric field near each of said certain of the perforations (6) to change the viscosity of the ink near said certain of the perforations (6); and (iii) applying a magnetic field near each of said certain of the perforations (6) to change the viscosity of the ink near said certain of the perforations (6).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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