EP0284282A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Thermal ink jet printer
Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corp
•
Filing: 1988-03-16
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2008-03-16
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a printing device wherein a sublimable dyestuff 30 contained in a dyestuff case 27 is heated to sublime to form vapour of the dyestuff into which gas is flowed in order to pressurise the dyestuff vapour to form pressurised dyestuff vapour. A nozzle plate 50 having a nozzle 49 formed therein for jetting the pressurised dyestuff vapour toward a record medium is in communication in a closing up relationship with the dyestuff case, and a valve for opening and closing the nozzle is provided at a deformable portion of a valve beam 55. An electrode plate 52 is provided in an opposing relationship to the valve and in an isolated relationship from the valve and the pressurised dyestuff vapour. The valve is displaced by an electrostatic force caused by a difference in potential between the valve and the electrode plate to close the nozzle. By selectively opening the nozzle, the pressurised dyestuff vapour at a high pressure is jetted from the nozzle to effect printing.
Inventors
- 👤 Yoshimitsu Ohtaka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 07:14
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/135; B41J2/16; B41J2/1621; B41J2/164; B41J2/1643; B41J2/015; B41J2/04; B41J2/1625; B41J2/1626; B41J2/1631; B41J2/1632; B41J2/1642; B41J2/14; B41J2002/14387; B41J2202/00; B41J2202/01; B41J2202/05
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
174 words
A printing device, comprising: a dyestuff case defining a dyestuff chamber for containing a sublimable dyestuff therein; heating means for heating the sublimable dyestuff to sublime to form vapour of the dyestuff; pressurizing means for flowing gas into the dyestuff vapour to pressurize the dyestuff vapour to form pressurized dyestuff vapour; a nozzle plate communicating in a closing up relationship with said dyestuff case and having a nozzle formed therein for jetting the pressurized dyestuff vapour toward a record medium; a valve disposed in an opposing relationship to said nozzle for opening and closing said nozzle; a valve beam having a deformable portion which carries said valve thereon and moves, when deformed, said valve into or out of contact with said nozzle; and an electrode plate located in an opposing relationship to said valve and in an isolated relationship from said valve and the pressurized dyestuff vapour for providing a difference in potential with reference to said valve to produce an electrostatic force relative to said valve to displace said valve toward said nozzle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
174 words
A printing device, comprising: a dyestuff case defining a dyestuff chamber for containing a sublimable dyestuff therein; heating means for heating the sublimable dyestuff to sublime to form vapour of the dyestuff; pressurizing means for flowing gas into the dyestuff vapour to pressurize the dyestuff vapour to form pressurized dyestuff vapour; a nozzle plate communicating in a closing up relationship with said dyestuff case and having a nozzle formed therein for jetting the pressurized dyestuff vapour toward a record medium; a valve disposed in an opposing relationship to said nozzle for opening and closing said nozzle; a valve beam having a deformable portion which carries said valve thereon and moves, when deformed, said valve into or out of contact with said nozzle; and an electrode plate located in an opposing relationship to said valve and in an isolated relationship from said valve and the pressurized dyestuff vapour for providing a difference in potential with reference to said valve to produce an electrostatic force relative to said valve to displace said valve toward said nozzle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
A printing device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of jetting heats having sublimable dyestuffs or different colors therein, the sublimable dyestuffs of the different colors being selectively jetted to effect color printing.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A printing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said nozzle plate and said valve beam are provided on a side wall of said dyestuff case.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A printing device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of nozzles and a plurality of valves are provided to form a jetting head of the serial type.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
A printing device according to any preceding claim, further comprising a vessel located on one side of said nozzle plate to cover said valve beam and communicating with said dyestuff chamber to define a flow path for introducing the pressurised dyestuff vapour to said nozzle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
A printing device according to claim 5, further comprising a choking preventing heating means embedded in said vessel.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said heating means is a heater embedded in said dyestuff case.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
A printing device according to any preceding claim, wherein the gas to be flowed into the dyestuff vapour is air.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
A printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the gas to be flowed into the dyestuff vapour is ethyl alcohol vapour.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the gas to be flowed into the dyestuff vapour is benzoic acid vapour.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
16 words
A printing device according to any preceding claim, wherein said pressurising means is an electromagnetic pump.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said pressurising means and said dyestuff case are connected to each other via a filter.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
A printing device according to claim 12, wherein a valve is interposed between said pressurising means and said filter.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
A printing device according to claim 13, wherein said valve is a magnetically operable valve which is opened when the main power source for said printing device is turned off.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle plate and said valve beam are formed by photo-electroforming.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
A printing device according to claim 15, wherein said electrode plate is embedded in an insulating layer formed on said nozzle plate.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
A printing device according to claim 15, wherein a large number of nozzles and a large number of valves are disposed in an array.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
26 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle has a tapering configuration wherein it tapers toward the jetting direction of the pressurized dyestuff steam.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said electrode is a heating member which serves also as a choking preventing heating means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said electrode plate opposing to said nozzle is removed in a square shape while the remaining portion is formed in an elongated configuration so that it may serve as a heating member.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
25 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein a choking preventing heating means is embedded in a portion of said nozzle plate around said nozzle.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said valve beam is driven with a high frequency.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
31 words
A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said valve is opened once or a plurality of times to form a picture element which is represented in one of different stages.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.