US5401303A — Aqueous inks having improved halo characteristics

Claim 1

Independent Claim 114 words

An ink set for printing at least two distinct colors on a print medium, said ink set comprising: (a) a first ink exhibiting sharp edge acuity when printed on said medium, said ink containing at least one fluorinated compound of the formula: [R(f)Q].sub.n A wherein, R(f) is a perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 22 carbon atoms; Q is a divalent bridging group; A is a water-soluble group; and n is 1 or 2, in an amount effective to reduce the surface energy of the first ink to within approximately 15 dynes/cm of a said second ink, thereby reducing halo effect, and (b) a second ink having a surface energy of less than 40 dynes/cm.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 114 words

An ink set for printing at least two distinct colors on a print medium, said ink set comprising: (a) a first ink exhibiting sharp edge acuity when printed on said medium, said ink containing at least one fluorinated compound of the formula: [R(f)Q].sub.n A wherein, R(f) is a perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 22 carbon atoms; Q is a divalent bridging group; A is a water-soluble group; and n is 1 or 2, in an amount effective to reduce the surface energy of the first ink to within approximately 15 dynes/cm of a said second ink, thereby reducing halo effect, and (b) a second ink having a surface energy of less than 40 dynes/cm.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 21 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein said first ink contains approximately 0.005 to 3% by weight of said fluorinated compound.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 12 words

The ink set of claim 2 wherein said first ink is black.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 19 words

The ink set of claim 2 wherein said inks are particularly adapted for use in an ink jet printer.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 37 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein the amount of said fluorinated compound is present in an effective amount to reduce the surface energy of said first ink to within approximately 10 dynes/cm of said second ink.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 21 words

The ink set of claim 5 wherein said first ink contains approximately 0.01 to 0.15% by weight of said fluorinated compound.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 108 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein A is a terminal group selected from the group consisting of --(OCH 2 CH 2 ) x OH wherein x is 1 to 12; --COOM and --SO 3 M wherein M is selected from the group of hydrogen, ammonium, amines, and alkali metals; --PO 4 (Z) y wherein y is 1-2 and Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, ammonium, amines, and alkali metals; --NR 3 X wherein R 3 is an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms and X is an anionic counterion selected from the group consisting of halides, acetates, sulfonates, and water-soluble zwitterionic groups.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 29 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein Q is selected from the group consisting of a diradical of alkyl, aralkyl, alkylaryl, and aryl containing less than 10 carbon atoms.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 36 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q is CH 2 CH 2 SCH 2 CH 2 , A is CO 2 Li and n is 1.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 35 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q is CH 2 CH 2 , A is PO 4 (NH 4 ) 2 and n is 1.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 33 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q is CH 2 CH 2 , A is PO 4 NH 4 and n is 2.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 23 words

The ink set of claim 1 wherein said first ink is a black ink, and said second ink is cyan, magenta or yellow.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 125 words

A process for applying or printing at least two distinct colors on a print medium wherein halo between said two distinct colors is alleviated, comprising: (1) printing a first ink that exhibits sharp edge acuity when printed on said medium, said ink containing a fluorinated compound of the formula: [R(f)Q].sub.n A wherein, R(f) is a perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 22 carbon atoms; Q is a divalent bridging group; A is a water-soluble group; and n is 1 or 2, in an amount effective to reduce the surface energy of said first ink to within approximately 15 dynes/cm of a second ink, thereby reducing halo effect, and (2) printing adjacent to said first ink a second ink having a surface tension less than 40 dynes/cm.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 125 words

A process for applying or printing at least two distinct colors on a print medium wherein halo between said two distinct colors is alleviated, comprising: (1) printing a first ink that exhibits sharp edge acuity when printed on said medium, said ink containing a fluorinated compound of the formula: [R(f)Q].sub.n A wherein, R(f) is a perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 22 carbon atoms; Q is a divalent bridging group; A is a water-soluble group; and n is 1 or 2, in an amount effective to reduce the surface energy of said first ink to within approximately 15 dynes/cm of a second ink, thereby reducing halo effect, and (2) printing adjacent to said first ink a second ink having a surface tension less than 40 dynes/cm.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 22 words

The process of claim 13 including the steps of printing additional inks that have a surface tension of less than 40 dynes/cm.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 20 words

The process of claim 13 wherein said first ink contains approximately 0.005 to 3% by weight of said fluorinated compound.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 11 words

The process of claim 13 wherein said first ink is black.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 11 words

The process of claim 13 conducted by an ink jet printer.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 36 words

The process of claim 13 wherein the amount of said fluorinated compound is present in an effective amount to reduce the surface energy of said first ink to within approximately 10 dynes/cm of said second ink.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 20 words

The process of claim 13 wherein said first ink contains approximately 0.1 to 0.15% by weight of said fluorinated compound.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 115 words

The process of claim 13 wherein in the fluorinated compound in said first ink, A is a terminal group selected from the group consisting of --(OCH 2 CH 2 ) x OH wherein x is 1 to 12; --COOM and --SO 3 M wherein M is selected from the group of hydrogen, ammonium, amines, and alkali metals; --PO 4 (Z) y wherein y is 1-2 and Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, ammonium, amines, and alkali metals; --NR 3 X wherein R 3 is an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms and X is an anionic counterion selected from the group consisting of halides, acetates, sulfonates, and water-soluble zwitterionic groups.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 36 words

The process of claim 13 wherein in the fluorinated compound in said first ink, Q is selected from the group consisting of a diradical of alkyl, aralkyl, alkylaryl, and aryl containing less than 10 carbon atoms.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 43 words

The process of claim 13 wherein in the fluorinated compound in said first ink, R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q is CH 2 CH 2 SCH 2 CH 2 , A is CO 2 Li and n is 1.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 42 words

The process of claim 13 wherein in the fluorinated compound in said first ink, R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q is CH 2 CH 2 , A is PO 4 (NH 4 ) 2 and n is 1.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 42 words

The process of claim 13 wherein in the fluorinated compound in said first ink, R(f) is F(CF 2 CF 2 ) 3-8 , Q i s CH 2 CH 2 , A is PO 4 NH 4 and n i s 2.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 20 words

The process of claim 13 wherein a mixture of fluorinated compounds having said formula is included in the first ink.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1998-03-27	1998-09-26	1999-03-28	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2002-03-27	2002-09-26	2003-03-28	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2006-03-27	2006-09-26	2007-03-28	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Aqueous inks having improved halo characteristics

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