US7055943B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Ink set for ink-jet recording, recording unit, ink-jet recording apparatus and ink-jet recording method
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 2002-08-09
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Granted: 2006-06-06
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Expires: 2022-08-09
Abstract
Abstract Provided is an ink set including a plurality of inks each of which contains a water-insoluble coloring material and enabling ink-jet record images to be stably formed. The ink set includes first to nth aqueous inks for ink-jet recording, each of the aqueous inks containing a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium and a dispersant for dispersing the pigment in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein the first to the nth aqueous inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of the each ink; and the first to the nth aqueous inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1).
Inventors
- 👤 Mariko Suzuki
- 👤 Shoji Koike
- 👤 Makoto Aoki
- 👤 Koromo Shirota
- 👤 Hideki Takayama
- 👤 Yasuhiro Nito
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 20:51
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; C; C09; C09D; C09D11/00; C09D11/30; C09D11/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
224 words
An ink-jet recording method comprising the steps of: (i) providing an ink set comprising at least three aqueous inks for ink-jet recording, each of the aqueous inks comprising a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium, a dispersant for dispersing the coloring material in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein: at least two inks of the at least three aqueous inks have the same hue; the at least two inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of each ink; the at least two inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1); Pmax/Pmin is not less than 3, where Pmax represents a highest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks and Pmin represents a lowest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks; and the ratio of the dispersant to the coloring material (B/P ratio) in an ink of a lower coloring material concentration is larger than the B/P ratio in an ink of a higher coloring material concentration; (ii) discharging each of the at least three aqueous inks by an ink-jet recording method using ink-jet recording heads; and (iii) conducting a suction/recovery operation for the ink-jet recording heads by sucking the at least three aqueous inks with a common suction/recovery means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
224 words
An ink-jet recording method comprising the steps of: (i) providing an ink set comprising at least three aqueous inks for ink-jet recording, each of the aqueous inks comprising a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium, a dispersant for dispersing the coloring material in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein: at least two inks of the at least three aqueous inks have the same hue; the at least two inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of each ink; the at least two inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1); Pmax/Pmin is not less than 3, where Pmax represents a highest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks and Pmin represents a lowest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks; and the ratio of the dispersant to the coloring material (B/P ratio) in an ink of a lower coloring material concentration is larger than the B/P ratio in an ink of a higher coloring material concentration; (ii) discharging each of the at least three aqueous inks by an ink-jet recording method using ink-jet recording heads; and (iii) conducting a suction/recovery operation for the ink-jet recording heads by sucking the at least three aqueous inks with a common suction/recovery means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
The ink-jet recording method according to claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the at least two inks each falls in the range of ηave±15% where ηave is an average of the viscosity of the at least two inks at the actual usage temperature (T1).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The ink-jet recording method according to claim 2 , wherein the ηave at 25° C. is in a range of 2.0 mPa·s to 3.5 mPa·s.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The ink-jet recording method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two inks contain the same or substantially the same concentration of a water-soluble organic compound based on the total weight of each ink.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The ink-jet recording method according to claim 1 , wherein Smin/Smax is not less than 0.6 where Smax represents a highest concentration of the water-soluble organic compound among the at least two inks while Smin is a lowest concentration of the water-soluble organic compound among the at least two inks.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The ink-jet recording method according to claim 1 , wherein the dispersant is a resinous dispersant comprising a block copolymer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
241 words
An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising: a plurality of ink tanks for containing an ink set comprising at least three aqueous inks, each ink tank containing one of the at least three aqueous inks; a plurality of ink-jet recording heads for discharging each of the at least three aqueous inks contained in the respective ink tanks by an ink-jet recording method; and means for conducting a common suction/recovery operation for the ink-jet recording heads by sucking the at least three aqueous inks, wherein each of the aqueous inks comprises a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium, a dispersant for dispersing the coloring material in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein: at least two inks of the at least three aqueous inks have the same hue; the at least two inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of each ink; the at least two inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1); Pmax/Pmin is not less than 3, where Pmax represents a highest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks and Pmin represents a lowest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks; and the ratio of the dispersant to the coloring material (B/P ratio) in an ink of a lower coloring material concentration is larger than the B/P ratio in an ink of a higher coloring material concentration.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
241 words
An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising: a plurality of ink tanks for containing an ink set comprising at least three aqueous inks, each ink tank containing one of the at least three aqueous inks; a plurality of ink-jet recording heads for discharging each of the at least three aqueous inks contained in the respective ink tanks by an ink-jet recording method; and means for conducting a common suction/recovery operation for the ink-jet recording heads by sucking the at least three aqueous inks, wherein each of the aqueous inks comprises a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium, a dispersant for dispersing the coloring material in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein: at least two inks of the at least three aqueous inks have the same hue; the at least two inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of each ink; the at least two inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1); Pmax/Pmin is not less than 3, where Pmax represents a highest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks and Pmin represents a lowest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks; and the ratio of the dispersant to the coloring material (B/P ratio) in an ink of a lower coloring material concentration is larger than the B/P ratio in an ink of a higher coloring material concentration.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The ink jet recording method according to claim 1 , wherein the water-soluble organic compound is a surfactant.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the water-soluble organic compound is a surfactant.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the dispersant is resinous dispersant comprising a block copolymer.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-06-05 | 2009-12-05 | 2010-06-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-06-05 | 2013-12-05 | 2014-06-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-06-05 | 2017-12-05 | 2018-06-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |