EP0767061A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Liquid ink printer for producing high resolution images
Assignee: Xerox Corp
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Filing: 1996-09-20
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2016-09-20
Abstract
Abstract A liquid ink printing apparatus printing images includes a printhead (20) having a plurality of nozzles (74) wherein a single power pulse causes two or more nozzles to eject ink simultaneously. The printhead includes an ink directing element (78) having a plurality of ink conduits coupled to an array of spaced nozzles and a transducer element (77) aligned with and mated to the ink directing element. The transducers are spaced a distance apart and each transducer is substantially aligned with at least two or more of the nozzles. The printhead is stepped in a direction transverse to the array of spaced nozzles a stepping distance approximately equal to or less than the distance between transducers. The ink directing element includes a silicon wafer having etched ink conduits or channels holding ink for ejection through the nozzles connected thereto. In one embodiment, each transducer is cooperatively associated with one channel having a fork member coupled to two or more nozzles or is cooperatively associated with two or more channels wherein each channel is connected to one or more nozzles.
Inventors
- 👤 David A. Mantell
- 👤 James F. O'neill
- 👤 Thomas A. Tellier
- 👤 Narayan V. Deshpande
- 👤 Gary A. Kneezel
- 👤 Peter A. Torpey
- 👤 Steven J. Harrington
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:05
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/015; B41J2/04; B41J2/045; B41J2/04501; B41J2/04505; B41J2/0458; B41J2/135; B41J2/14; B41J2/14016; B41J2/14088; B41J2/14112; B41J2/14129; B41J2002/14379; B41J2002/14475
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
110 words
A printing machine (10) in which liquid ink is deposited on a recording medium (26) to produce high resolution images thereon, comprising: a printhead (20) including a plurality of nozzles (74) and a plurality of transducers (76), the transducers having centers spaced a first distance, S, apart, each of said plurality of transducers cooperatively associated with at least two of said plurality of nozzles; and means (14,38,44) for moving said printhead across the recording medium to deposit liquid ink thereon at locations separated by a distance selected as a function of the first distance, S, divided by the number of nozzles cooperatively associated with each of said plurality of nozzles.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
The printing machine of claim 1, wherein said printhead comprises a transducer element (77) including said plurality of transducers (76); wherein said printhead comprises an ink directing element (78) including said plurality of nozzles (74), said ink directing element aligned with and mated to said transducer element; wherein said plurality of nozzles comprises a linear array of nozzles; and wherein said means for moving comprises means for moving said linear array of nozzles across said recording medium in a direction (24) substantially transverse to said linear array of nozzles.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
69 words
The printing machine of claim 2, wherein said ink directing element comprises a plurality of ink conduits (104), each of said ink conduits coupled to at least two of said spaced nozzles (74A,74B); and preferably wherein each of said ink conduits (104) comprise at least two branches (107A, 107B), said at least two branches connecting one of said ink conduits (104) to at least two of said nozzles (74A,74B).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
The printing machine of claims 2 or 3, wherein said plurality of transducers comprises a linear array of thermal transducers (76), each of said thermal transducers generating thermal energy; and wherein said ink directing element comprises a silicon structure, said array of ink conduits and said branches defined by an etching process.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The printing machine of claim 2, wherein said ink directing element comprises a plurality of ink conduits (100A,100B), each of said plurality of ink conduits coupled to one of said spaced nozzles (74A,74B).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
82 words
The printing machine of claims 3 to 5, wherein said ink directing element comprises a plurality of feed channels (94), each of said feed channels operatively coupled to at least one of said plurality of ink conduits (100A,100B,104); and wherein said transducer element (77) comprises a plurality of pit structures (98), each of said pit structures disposed adjacent to one of said feed channels and to at least one of said plurality of ink conduits (100A,100B,104) for supplying ink to the nozzels.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
60 words
The printing machine of claim 1, further comprising a controller (21) coupled to said moving means, controlling said moving means to enable said printhead to deposit ink drops at first locations and at second locations laterally spaced from the first locations a printing distance substantially equal to the distance between the centers of adjacent nozzles of said plurality of nozzles.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The printing machine of claim 1, wherein said plurality of nozzles comprises a staggered array of nozzles (142), each of said plurality of nozzles alternately located on opposite sides of a straight line (146).
Claim 9
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of printing high resolution images on a recording medium (26) with a liquid ink printhead (20) having transducers (76) ejecting ink droplets on a recording medium, comprising: depositing a first plurality of ink droplets (80) simultaneously, having centers (82) spaced a first distance apart, by energizing a first transducer; and depositing a second plurality of ink droplets (80) simultaneously, spaced from the first plurality of ink droplets by the first distance.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
100 words
The method `of claim 9, wherein said second depositing step comprises depositing the second plurality of ink droplets simultaneously by energizing a second transducer; and wherein said first depositing step comprises depositing the first plurality of ink droplets with a scanning printhead including an ink directing element having a plurality of ink conduits coupled to an array of spaced nozzles and a transducer element having an array of transducers, the transducer element aligned with and mated to the ink directing element such that each of the transducers is substantially aligned with at least one of the plurality of ink conduits.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
60 words
The method of claims 9 or 10, further comprising controlling the printhead to deposit the first plurality of ink droplets at first locations and to deposit the second plurality of ink drops at second locations spaced laterally from the first locations in the scanning direction a distance substantially equal to the distance between adjacent nozzles of the array of nozzles.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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