CA1304009C - Deaeration of ink in an ink jet system - Google Patents
Deaeration of ink in an ink jet systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1304009C CA1304009C CA000563250A CA563250A CA1304009C CA 1304009 C CA1304009 C CA 1304009C CA 000563250 A CA000563250 A CA 000563250A CA 563250 A CA563250 A CA 563250A CA 1304009 C CA1304009 C CA 1304009C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- sheet
- ink jet
- gas
- membrane material
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01D—MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01D15/00—Component parts of recorders for measuring arrangements not specially adapted for a specific variable
- G01D15/16—Recording elements transferring recording material, e.g. ink, to the recording surface
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
- B41J2/19—Ink jet characterised by ink handling for removing air bubbles
Abstract
Deaeration of Ink in an Ink Jet System Abstract An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for eliminating dissolved air from ink in an ink jet system which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. Another object of the invention is to provide a system for deaerating ink in an ink jet system and for purging any air bubbles which have been formed in the ink jet head.
In the ink deaerator described in the specification, an elongated ink path (27) leading to an ink jet head (11) is formed between two permeable membranes (30, 31). The membranes (30, 31) are backed by air plenums (32, 33) which contain support members (34) to hold the membranes in position. Reduced pressure is applied to the plenums to extract dissolved air from the ink in the ink path (27). Increased pressure can also be applied to the plenums (32,33) to eject ink from the ink jet head (11) for purging. Within the ink jet head ink is circulated convectively from the orifice (35) to the deaerating path (27) even when the jet is not jetting ink.
In the ink deaerator described in the specification, an elongated ink path (27) leading to an ink jet head (11) is formed between two permeable membranes (30, 31). The membranes (30, 31) are backed by air plenums (32, 33) which contain support members (34) to hold the membranes in position. Reduced pressure is applied to the plenums to extract dissolved air from the ink in the ink path (27). Increased pressure can also be applied to the plenums (32,33) to eject ink from the ink jet head (11) for purging. Within the ink jet head ink is circulated convectively from the orifice (35) to the deaerating path (27) even when the jet is not jetting ink.
Description
3~ 3 Descripti n Deaeration of Ink in an Ink Jet S~rstem Technical Field This invention relates to methods and apparatus for the elimination of dissolved air from ink used in an ink jet apparatus and, more particularly, to a new and improved method and apparatus for deaerating ink in a highly effective manner.
In many ink jet systems, ink is supplied to a chamber or passage connected to an orifice from which the ink is ejected drop-by-drop as a result of succes-sive cycles of decreased and increased pressure applied to the ink in the passage, usually by a piezo-electric crystal having a pressure-generating surface communicating with the passage. If the ink introduced into the passage contains dissolved air, decompression of the ink during the reduced pressure portions of the pressure cycle may cause the dissolved air to form small bubbles in the ink within the passage. Repeated decompression of the ink in the chamber causes these bubbles to grow and such bubbles can produce malfunc-tions of the ink jet apparatus.
~eretofore, it has been proposed to supply dea~rated ink to an ink jet apparatus and maintain the ink in a deaerated condition by keeping the entire supply system hermetically sealed using, for example, flexible plastic bags or pouches as a deaerated ink supplyO Such arrangements are not entirely satis-factory, however, because the flexible plastic pouchesare at least partially air-permeable and, in hot melt ink systems~ this problem is aggravated because the plastic pouch material becomes more permeable to air at elevated temperatures at which the heated ink is ~q~
In many ink jet systems, ink is supplied to a chamber or passage connected to an orifice from which the ink is ejected drop-by-drop as a result of succes-sive cycles of decreased and increased pressure applied to the ink in the passage, usually by a piezo-electric crystal having a pressure-generating surface communicating with the passage. If the ink introduced into the passage contains dissolved air, decompression of the ink during the reduced pressure portions of the pressure cycle may cause the dissolved air to form small bubbles in the ink within the passage. Repeated decompression of the ink in the chamber causes these bubbles to grow and such bubbles can produce malfunc-tions of the ink jet apparatus.
~eretofore, it has been proposed to supply dea~rated ink to an ink jet apparatus and maintain the ink in a deaerated condition by keeping the entire supply system hermetically sealed using, for example, flexible plastic bags or pouches as a deaerated ink supplyO Such arrangements are not entirely satis-factory, however, because the flexible plastic pouchesare at least partially air-permeable and, in hot melt ink systems~ this problem is aggravated because the plastic pouch material becomes more permeable to air at elevated temperatures at which the heated ink is ~q~
-2- ~3~
capable of dissolving large amounts of air, e.g., up to 20 percent by volume. Moreover, air may dissolve into the ink at the ink jet orifice during periods of non-jetting. Such dissolved air may diffuse through the ink into the jet pressure chamber, and thereby cause malfunction of the jet. Consequently, air bubble formation in the ink jet head of a hot melt jet apparatus is a primary cause o~ hot melt ink jet failure.
Disclosure of Invention In accordance with the invention ink in an ink jet system is subjected to reduced pressure applied through a membrane which is permeable to air but not to ink. In one form of the invention, ink is conveyed to an ink jet head through a passage which communicates through a permeable membrane with a plenum maintained at a reduced air pressure. To eject ` any air bubbles which may have been formed prior to removal of dissolved air, the permeable membrane may be flexible and an increased air pressure may be applied to the membrane which raises the pressure on the ink in the jet, causing expression of such ink and thus purging the jet of air bubbles.
In a particular embodiment, the ink supply leading to the ink jet head includes a deaerating passage in which the ink i5 form~d into an elongated thin layer between two opposite wall portions and at least one of the wall portions comprises a flexible, air-permeable membrane covering a plenum in which the air pressure may be reduced or increased. In addi-tion, 2 check valve is provided upstream from the deaerating passage so that increased pressure in the plenum will eject ink and any trapped air bubbles from the ink jet head. Within the ink jet head, ink is circulated by convection from the orifice to the deaerating passage.
_3_ ~3~ 9 Brief Descri~tions of the Drawinas Fig. 1 is a block diagram, partly in section, schematically illustrating a representative embodiment of an ink jet ink supply system inclu~ing an ink deaerator in accordance with the present invention;
and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ink deaerator used in the ink supply system of Fig, 1.
Best Mode for Carryinq Out the InventiQn In the typical embodiment of the invention illus-trated in the drawings, an ink jet apparatus includes an ink supply reservoir 10 holding liquid ink for use in an ink jet head 11 from which ink is ejected to produce a desired pattern on a sheet or web 12 of paper or other image support material in the usual manner. The ink jet head 11 is supported by conven-tional means for reciprocal motion transverse to the web 12, i.e., perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 1, and the web is transported by two sets of drive rolls 13 and 14 in the direction inclicated by the arrow past the ink jet head.
The ink supply system includes an ink pump 15 for transferring ink from the ink supply lQ through a flexible supply line 16 to a reservoir 17 which is supported for motion with the ink jet head 11. If hot melt ink is used in the ink jet apparatus, the ink ~upply system may be of the type described in the ~ine et al. ~nited States patent no. 4,814,786 issued ~arch 29, 1989, for "Hot Melt Ink Supply System", assigned to the same applicant as the present application. In that ink supply system ink is transferred from the ink supply 10 to the reservoir 17 only when the level of the ink 18 in the reservoir is lo~.
To maintain the ink in the reservoir 17 at atmos-pheric pressure, a vent 19 is provided. Accordingly, the ink 18 standing in the reservoir 17 contains air .A
~.3(;~ ?0~
even if the ink was protected from air in the ink supply lO. Moreover, when hot melt inks are used, as much as 20 percent by volume of air may be dissolved in the ink. If ink containing such dissolved air is subjected to the periodic decompression which takes place in the ink jet head 11, air bubbles can form in the ink, causing failures in the operation of the ink jet head.
To overcome this problem in accordance with the present invention, an ink deaerator 20 i5 provided in the ink supply path between the reservoir 17 and the ink jet head 11. An air pump 21 is connected through a flexible air line 22 to provide increased or reduced air pressure to the ink deaerator. The ink deaerator 20 is mounted for reciprocal motion with the ink jet head ll and the reservoir 17, and, in the illustrated embodiment, the air pump 21 is operated by engagement of a projectable pump lever 23 with a projecting lug 24 on the deaerator 20 during the reciprocal motion of the deaerator.
The pump lever 23 is connected to a piston 25 within the pump arranged so that, if negative pressure is to be provided to the deaerator, the pump lever will be engaged during motion of the deaerator in one direction, causing the piston to move in a direction to apply reduced pressure through the line 22, after which the pi~ton may be locked in position. If increased pressure is to be applied to the deaerator, the lever 23, together with the piston 25, is moved in the opposite direction by the lug 24.
The internal structure of the deaerator 20 and the ink jet head 11 is shown in the sectional view of Fig. 2. At the lower end of the reservoir 17 a check valve 26 is arranged to permit ink to pass rom the reservoir to a narrow elongated deaerating passage 27 which leads to two passages 28 and 29 in the ink jet head ll through which ink is supplied to the head. In a particular embodiment, the passage 27 is about _5 ~ 3~
0.10 cm. thick, 1.5 cm. wide and 8.89 cm. long and is bounded by parallel walls 30 and 31 which are made from a flexible sheet material which is permeable to air but not to ink. The material may, for example, be a 0.025 cm. thick layer of medical grade silicon sheeting such as Dow Corning SSF MEXD-174.
On the other side of the membranes 30 and 31 from the passage 27, air plenums 32 and 33, connected to the air line 22, are provided. Each plenum contains a membrane support 34 consisting, in the illustrated example, of a corrugated porous sheet or screen, to support the membrane when the pressure within the plenum is reduced. The air pump 21 is arranged to normally maintain pressure within each plenum at less than about 0.75 atmosphere and, preferably at about 0.4 to 0.6 atmosphere. In addition, the length and width of the passage 27 are selected so that, during operation o~ the ink jet head, the ink being supplied thereto i5 subjected to a reduced pressure within the passage for at least about one half minute and, preferably for at least one minute. ~ith this arrangement, enough dissolved air is extracted through the membranes 30 and 31 from the ink within the pas-sage to reduce the dissolved air content of the ink below the level at which bubbles can be formed in the ink jet head.
The membranes 30 and 31 and the plenums 32 and 33 are also arranged to expel ink which may contain air bubbles through the orifice 35 in the ink jet head ll when operation of the system is started after a shut-down. For this purpose the air pump 21 is arranged as described above to supply increased pressure through the line 22 to the deaerator 20. This causes the flexible membranes 30 and 31 to move toward each other. Since the check valve 26 prevents ink from moving back into the reservoir 17, the ink in the passage 27 is forced into the ink jet head 11, expel--6- ~3~
ling any ink therein which may contain air bubbles through the ink jet orifice 35.
In order to deaerate ink in the ink jet head 11 which may have dissolved air received through the orifice 35, a heater 36 is mounted on the rear wall 37 of an ink jet passage 38 which leads from the passages 28 and 29 to the orifice 35. When the heater 36 is energized, ink in the passage 38 which may contain dissolved air received through the orifice 35 during inactive periods in the operation of the jet is cir-culated continuously by convection upwardly through the passage 38 and then through the passage 29 to the deaerating passage 27. In the deaerating passage 27 the ink is deaerated as it moves downwardly to the passage 28, and it then returns through the passa~e 28 to the passage 38.
In operation, ink from the reservoir 17, which contains dissolved air, is transferred to the ink jet head 11 through the passage 27 as the ink jet head operates. The reduced pressure in the plenums 32 and 33 causes dissolved air in the ink to be extracted from the ink through the membranes 30 and 31. As the deaerator 20 moves in its reciprocal motion, the air pump 21 i3 operated by the lug 24 and lever 23 to maintain reduced pressure in the plenums. When it is necessary to expel ink from the ink jet head on tart-up of the system, the air pump 21 is arranged to supply increased pressure to the plenums 32 and 33.
During nonjetting periods of the ink jet head, the ink circulates convectively through the passages 38, 29, 27 and 28, transporting ink which may contain air from the orifice 35 to the deaerator.
Although the invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment, many modi-fications and variations therein will readily occur tothose skilled in the art. ~or example, the permeable membrane and air plenum may form one wall of an ink reservoir. Accordingly, all such variations and modi--7~ ~.3~
fication~ are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined ~y the following claims~
capable of dissolving large amounts of air, e.g., up to 20 percent by volume. Moreover, air may dissolve into the ink at the ink jet orifice during periods of non-jetting. Such dissolved air may diffuse through the ink into the jet pressure chamber, and thereby cause malfunction of the jet. Consequently, air bubble formation in the ink jet head of a hot melt jet apparatus is a primary cause o~ hot melt ink jet failure.
Disclosure of Invention In accordance with the invention ink in an ink jet system is subjected to reduced pressure applied through a membrane which is permeable to air but not to ink. In one form of the invention, ink is conveyed to an ink jet head through a passage which communicates through a permeable membrane with a plenum maintained at a reduced air pressure. To eject ` any air bubbles which may have been formed prior to removal of dissolved air, the permeable membrane may be flexible and an increased air pressure may be applied to the membrane which raises the pressure on the ink in the jet, causing expression of such ink and thus purging the jet of air bubbles.
In a particular embodiment, the ink supply leading to the ink jet head includes a deaerating passage in which the ink i5 form~d into an elongated thin layer between two opposite wall portions and at least one of the wall portions comprises a flexible, air-permeable membrane covering a plenum in which the air pressure may be reduced or increased. In addi-tion, 2 check valve is provided upstream from the deaerating passage so that increased pressure in the plenum will eject ink and any trapped air bubbles from the ink jet head. Within the ink jet head, ink is circulated by convection from the orifice to the deaerating passage.
_3_ ~3~ 9 Brief Descri~tions of the Drawinas Fig. 1 is a block diagram, partly in section, schematically illustrating a representative embodiment of an ink jet ink supply system inclu~ing an ink deaerator in accordance with the present invention;
and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ink deaerator used in the ink supply system of Fig, 1.
Best Mode for Carryinq Out the InventiQn In the typical embodiment of the invention illus-trated in the drawings, an ink jet apparatus includes an ink supply reservoir 10 holding liquid ink for use in an ink jet head 11 from which ink is ejected to produce a desired pattern on a sheet or web 12 of paper or other image support material in the usual manner. The ink jet head 11 is supported by conven-tional means for reciprocal motion transverse to the web 12, i.e., perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 1, and the web is transported by two sets of drive rolls 13 and 14 in the direction inclicated by the arrow past the ink jet head.
The ink supply system includes an ink pump 15 for transferring ink from the ink supply lQ through a flexible supply line 16 to a reservoir 17 which is supported for motion with the ink jet head 11. If hot melt ink is used in the ink jet apparatus, the ink ~upply system may be of the type described in the ~ine et al. ~nited States patent no. 4,814,786 issued ~arch 29, 1989, for "Hot Melt Ink Supply System", assigned to the same applicant as the present application. In that ink supply system ink is transferred from the ink supply 10 to the reservoir 17 only when the level of the ink 18 in the reservoir is lo~.
To maintain the ink in the reservoir 17 at atmos-pheric pressure, a vent 19 is provided. Accordingly, the ink 18 standing in the reservoir 17 contains air .A
~.3(;~ ?0~
even if the ink was protected from air in the ink supply lO. Moreover, when hot melt inks are used, as much as 20 percent by volume of air may be dissolved in the ink. If ink containing such dissolved air is subjected to the periodic decompression which takes place in the ink jet head 11, air bubbles can form in the ink, causing failures in the operation of the ink jet head.
To overcome this problem in accordance with the present invention, an ink deaerator 20 i5 provided in the ink supply path between the reservoir 17 and the ink jet head 11. An air pump 21 is connected through a flexible air line 22 to provide increased or reduced air pressure to the ink deaerator. The ink deaerator 20 is mounted for reciprocal motion with the ink jet head ll and the reservoir 17, and, in the illustrated embodiment, the air pump 21 is operated by engagement of a projectable pump lever 23 with a projecting lug 24 on the deaerator 20 during the reciprocal motion of the deaerator.
The pump lever 23 is connected to a piston 25 within the pump arranged so that, if negative pressure is to be provided to the deaerator, the pump lever will be engaged during motion of the deaerator in one direction, causing the piston to move in a direction to apply reduced pressure through the line 22, after which the pi~ton may be locked in position. If increased pressure is to be applied to the deaerator, the lever 23, together with the piston 25, is moved in the opposite direction by the lug 24.
The internal structure of the deaerator 20 and the ink jet head 11 is shown in the sectional view of Fig. 2. At the lower end of the reservoir 17 a check valve 26 is arranged to permit ink to pass rom the reservoir to a narrow elongated deaerating passage 27 which leads to two passages 28 and 29 in the ink jet head ll through which ink is supplied to the head. In a particular embodiment, the passage 27 is about _5 ~ 3~
0.10 cm. thick, 1.5 cm. wide and 8.89 cm. long and is bounded by parallel walls 30 and 31 which are made from a flexible sheet material which is permeable to air but not to ink. The material may, for example, be a 0.025 cm. thick layer of medical grade silicon sheeting such as Dow Corning SSF MEXD-174.
On the other side of the membranes 30 and 31 from the passage 27, air plenums 32 and 33, connected to the air line 22, are provided. Each plenum contains a membrane support 34 consisting, in the illustrated example, of a corrugated porous sheet or screen, to support the membrane when the pressure within the plenum is reduced. The air pump 21 is arranged to normally maintain pressure within each plenum at less than about 0.75 atmosphere and, preferably at about 0.4 to 0.6 atmosphere. In addition, the length and width of the passage 27 are selected so that, during operation o~ the ink jet head, the ink being supplied thereto i5 subjected to a reduced pressure within the passage for at least about one half minute and, preferably for at least one minute. ~ith this arrangement, enough dissolved air is extracted through the membranes 30 and 31 from the ink within the pas-sage to reduce the dissolved air content of the ink below the level at which bubbles can be formed in the ink jet head.
The membranes 30 and 31 and the plenums 32 and 33 are also arranged to expel ink which may contain air bubbles through the orifice 35 in the ink jet head ll when operation of the system is started after a shut-down. For this purpose the air pump 21 is arranged as described above to supply increased pressure through the line 22 to the deaerator 20. This causes the flexible membranes 30 and 31 to move toward each other. Since the check valve 26 prevents ink from moving back into the reservoir 17, the ink in the passage 27 is forced into the ink jet head 11, expel--6- ~3~
ling any ink therein which may contain air bubbles through the ink jet orifice 35.
In order to deaerate ink in the ink jet head 11 which may have dissolved air received through the orifice 35, a heater 36 is mounted on the rear wall 37 of an ink jet passage 38 which leads from the passages 28 and 29 to the orifice 35. When the heater 36 is energized, ink in the passage 38 which may contain dissolved air received through the orifice 35 during inactive periods in the operation of the jet is cir-culated continuously by convection upwardly through the passage 38 and then through the passage 29 to the deaerating passage 27. In the deaerating passage 27 the ink is deaerated as it moves downwardly to the passage 28, and it then returns through the passa~e 28 to the passage 38.
In operation, ink from the reservoir 17, which contains dissolved air, is transferred to the ink jet head 11 through the passage 27 as the ink jet head operates. The reduced pressure in the plenums 32 and 33 causes dissolved air in the ink to be extracted from the ink through the membranes 30 and 31. As the deaerator 20 moves in its reciprocal motion, the air pump 21 i3 operated by the lug 24 and lever 23 to maintain reduced pressure in the plenums. When it is necessary to expel ink from the ink jet head on tart-up of the system, the air pump 21 is arranged to supply increased pressure to the plenums 32 and 33.
During nonjetting periods of the ink jet head, the ink circulates convectively through the passages 38, 29, 27 and 28, transporting ink which may contain air from the orifice 35 to the deaerator.
Although the invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment, many modi-fications and variations therein will readily occur tothose skilled in the art. ~or example, the permeable membrane and air plenum may form one wall of an ink reservoir. Accordingly, all such variations and modi--7~ ~.3~
fication~ are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined ~y the following claims~
Claims (17)
1. A deaerator for removing gas dissolved in hot melt ink at elevated temperatures from molten ink in a hot melt ink jet system comprising gas-permeable/ink-impermeable barrier means forming a wall of an ink-containing element of the ink jet system, plenum means forming a plenum on the side of the barrier means opposite from the ink-containing element, and pressure control means for providing a reduced gas pressure in the plenum means sufficient to cause gas dissolved in the hot melt ink at elevated temperatures to be extracted from the molten ink in the ink-containing element through the barrier means.
2. A dearerator according to claim 1 wherein the ink-containing element forms an ink flow path between an ink reservoir and an ink jet head in the ink jet system.
3. A deaerator according to claim 2 wherein the ink flow path maintains ink in contact with the barrier means for more than about one half minute during operation of the ink jet system and the pressure control means maintains a pressure of less than about three quarters atmosphere in the plenum means.
4. A deaerator according to claim 2 including check valve means at an inlet end to the portion of the ink flow path, and ink passage means connecting the other end of the ink flow path to the ink jet head, wherein the pressure control means includes means for applying increased pressure to the plenum means to force ink in the portion of the ink flow path toward the ink jet head.
5. A deaerator according to claim 2 wherein the ink jet head includes an orifice and a closed loop path between the orifice and the ink-containing element and including heater means for causing convective circulation of ink in the closed loop path between the orifice and ink-containing element.
6. A deaerator according to claim 1 wherein the barrier means comprises a flexible membrane and including membrane support within the plenum means for holding the membrane means in position when reduced pressure is applied to the plenum means.
7. A method for removing gas dissolved in hot melt ink at elevated temperatures from the hot melt ink in a hot melt ink jet system comprising providing a gas-permeable/ink-impermeable barrier means having one side in contact with molten hot melt ink in the ink jet system and applying reduced gas pressure to the other side of the barrier means.
8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the barrier means has said one side exposed to an ink passage in the ink jet system and including passing ink in contact with said one side and applying subatmospheric pressure to the other side of the barrier means.
9. A method according to claim 7 wherein the reduced gas pressure is less than about three quarters of the gas pressure on the other side of the barrier means.
10. A method according to claim 7 wherein the ink is maintained in contact with the barrier means for more than about one half minute.
11. A device for removing dissolved gas from ink in an ink jet system comprising gas-permeable, ink-impermeable membrane material in sheet form, support means for sporting the sheet-form membrane material in a substantially planar disposition, means for applying ink containing dissolved gas to one side of the sheet-form membrane material, and means for applying a reduced gas pressure to the other side of the sheet-form membrane material to cause gas dissolved in ink to be extracted from the ink through the sheet-form membrane material.
12. A device according to claim 10 wherein the sheet-form membrane thickness is approximately 0.01 inch.
13. A device according to claim 10 wherein the sheet-form membrane material comprises a flexible polymer material.
14. A device according to claim 12, wherein the sheet-form membrane material comprises silicone sheet material.
15. A method for removing dissolved gas from ink in an ink jet system comprising providing sheet-form gas permeable, ink-impermeable membrane material, supporting the sheet-form membrane material, in a substantially planar disposition, applying ink containing dissolved gas to one side of the sheet-form membrane material, and applying reduced gas pressure to the other side of the sheet-form membrane material.
16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the sheet-form membrane material comprises a flexible polymer material.
17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the sheet-form membrane material comprises silicone sheet material.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/043,372 US4788556A (en) | 1987-04-28 | 1987-04-28 | Deaeration of ink in an ink jet system |
| US043,372 | 1987-04-28 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1304009C true CA1304009C (en) | 1992-06-23 |
Family
ID=21926843
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000563250A Expired - Lifetime CA1304009C (en) | 1987-04-28 | 1988-04-05 | Deaeration of ink in an ink jet system |
Country Status (9)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (2) | US4788556A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0313598B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH0818434B2 (en) |
| KR (1) | KR920003530B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE90031T1 (en) |
| BR (1) | BR8807029A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1304009C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3881475T2 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1988008515A1 (en) |
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| US5900895A (en) | 1995-12-04 | 1999-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Method for refilling an ink supply for an ink-jet printer |
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| KR100209513B1 (en) | 1997-04-22 | 1999-07-15 | 윤종용 | Active liquid containing and supplying apparatus in inkjet print head |
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-
1987
- 1987-04-28 US US07/043,372 patent/US4788556A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1988
- 1988-03-31 DE DE88903678T patent/DE3881475T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-03-31 JP JP63503563A patent/JPH0818434B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-03-31 AT AT88903678T patent/ATE90031T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1988-03-31 KR KR1019880701748A patent/KR920003530B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1988-03-31 EP EP88903678A patent/EP0313598B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-03-31 WO PCT/US1988/001045 patent/WO1988008515A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1988-03-31 BR BR888807029A patent/BR8807029A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1988-04-05 CA CA000563250A patent/CA1304009C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-11-15 US US07/272,004 patent/US4961082A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0313598B1 (en) | 1993-06-02 |
| EP0313598A1 (en) | 1989-05-03 |
| WO1988008515A1 (en) | 1988-11-03 |
| BR8807029A (en) | 1989-10-17 |
| ATE90031T1 (en) | 1993-06-15 |
| KR920003530B1 (en) | 1992-05-02 |
| DE3881475T2 (en) | 1994-01-13 |
| EP0313598A4 (en) | 1990-02-22 |
| KR890700812A (en) | 1989-04-27 |
| JPH01502504A (en) | 1989-08-31 |
| JPH0818434B2 (en) | 1996-02-28 |
| US4788556A (en) | 1988-11-29 |
| US4961082A (en) | 1990-10-02 |
| DE3881475D1 (en) | 1993-07-08 |
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