Patent Publication Number: US-7594717-B2

Title: Inkjet printer and method of controlling same

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This Application is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IL2005/001388 having International Filing Date of Dec. 28, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/643,359 filed on Jan. 11, 2005. The contents of the above Applications are all incorporated herein by reference. 

   FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to inkjet printers, and also to methods of controlling inkjet printers. 
   Inkjet printers are based on forming drops of liquid ink and selectively depositing the ink drops on a substrate. Known inkjet printers generally fall into two categories: drop-on-demand (DOD) printers, and continuous-jet (CJ) printers. Drop-on-demand (DOD) printers selectively form and deposit the inkjet drops on the substrate as and when demanded by control signals from an external data source; whereas continuous-jet (CJ) printers discharge a continuous stream of ink drops towards the substrate for printing thereon, the ink drops not to be printed being intercepted by a gutter. 
   Continuous-jet (CJ) printers are divided into two types of systems: binary, and multi-level deflection (MLD) systems. In binary systems, the drops are either charged or uncharged, and accordingly, either reach or do not reach the substrate at a single predetermined position. In MLD systems, the drops can receive a large number of charge levels, and accordingly can generate a large number of print positions. 
   Continuous jet printheads employing the Multi-Level Deflection (MLD) technique are very sensitive to the stability of the speed of the stream of drops formed by the nozzle. This sensitivity is related to the time of flight and the path of each of the drops while passing through a high electrical deflection field. Each of the drops is charged with a specific charge, corresponding to the specific required location of the drop on the printed substrate. A good first order approximation of the distance that each drop passes inside the deflection field can be presented by the equation:
 
 L= ⅓ FL+[ (⅔ FL ) 2   +MD ( T ) 2 ] 1/2   (Eq. 1)
 
Where:
         L=distance of flight   FL=the deflection field length   MD=the deflection of the drop from the undisturbed flight path, inside the deflection field. For a specific deflection field geometry and strength, and for a specific drop mass and charge, MD is dependent on T, which is:   T=the presence time of the drop in the deflection field
 
T itself can be presented as:
 
 T=L/[Vj+ΔVj]   (Eq. 2)
 
Where:
   Vj=the nominal drop speed   ΔVj=the speed variation of the drop
 
It is reasonable to approximate from the above formulas that:
 
 MD˜α/Vj   n   +β/ΔVj   n   (Eq. 3)
 
Where:
   α, β—are constants   n—equals approximately 8/3.       

   It is clear that any speed variation of a certain drop will change the undisturbed flight path (MD) value from the required value. 
   Most of the printheads which use the MLD technique are single nozzle units. For these printheads, stitching between drops delivered by adjacent nozzles is not required. Thus, the need to keep MD as accurate as possible by reducing the speed variation is minor. 
   On the other hand, when printing with multiple nozzle printheads and when very accurate results are required, it is extremely important to minimize MD errors. 
   Most of the printers currently available in the market use gear pumps in order to generate a sufficient pressure in the nozzle chamber. This pressure determines the speed of the drop via the equation:
 
 P=AVj   2   +BμVj+C   (Eq. 4)
 
Where:
         P—the chamber pressure   μ—the ink viscosity   A, B, C—constants.       

   In practical implementations, the pumping pressure cannot be ideally constant. Even a gear pump tends to create some pressure fluctuations, which are translated into MD errors. There are some solutions for these pressure fluctuations, using pressure dampeners, but in most cases significant MD errors still remain. 
   Pumps are driven by motors, which can be very precisely controlled. Theoretically, this is sufficient to maintain the chamber pressure constant. On the other hand, the pump efficiency relates to the viscosity of the ink (that can vary due to multiple reasons), thus closing a control loop on the pressure using the variation of the speed of the pump motor is complicated. 
   When the ink viscosity varies, the speed of the drops (for a certain chamber pressure) might vary, as clear from the above equation. This complicates the control loop mentioned above to a non-reasonable complexity, which makes it non-reliable, and a major contributor to artifact MD errors. 
   Some of the available printers attempt to avoid the pump regulation issue through an air-cushion, i.e., an “air over ink” device. This device is an air-pressurized tank which has two internal level indicators: One level indicates “full” condition, and the other indicates “empty” condition. The tank is filled with compressed air, which is easy to accurately and precisely regulate using commercial devices. In these devices, the ink pump fills the compressed tank, through a primary port, until the indicator indicates “full”. Meanwhile, the ink is delivered to the printhead through a secondary port at a pressure that is close to the preset air pressure compressing the tank. After the ink level reaches the “full” condition, the ink pump stops and the tank is drained very slowly (as this device supports only one or couple of nozzles) till the indicator indicates “empty”. This causes the ink pump to start again to fill the tank. If the pump is slow enough, the tank is big enough, the drain rate (the consumption of the nozzle or nozzles) is small enough, and the precise air regulator can support the air volume change in the tank without fluctuation (jiggle), the ink pressure in the nozzle chamber will be much more stable than the similar pressure supported by a controlled gear pump solution. In this case, the MD errors will be reduced dramatically. 
   However, in multiple nozzle devices (some hundreds of nozzles per device), this solution would not be practical. Multiple nozzle devices require a by-pass flow of the ink inside the printhead, in order to maintain a thermal stability in all the nozzle pressure chambers, which ensures viscosity stability while jetting drops from all the nozzles. The practical meaning of this is that only a small percent of the delivered ink volume is jetted, while most of the delivered ink is by-passed and recirculated back to the ink reservoir. In these consumption conditions, the above-described solution would require a large, high volume, costly cylinder, and a large amount of circulated ink in the system, together with a highly accurate air regulator. Some applications require using an elevated temperature of the ink (above the room temperature) in order to avoid variations in the ink (that might cause color variations). Typically, the ink itself must be heated gently to avoid its separation. Large volumes of ink in the system would require enormous conditioning time. All these disadvantages make the above-described pressurized cylinder techniques impractical in a multiple nozzle apparatus. 
   OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
   One object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer having advantages in the above respects. Another object of the invention is to provide a method of controlling an inkjet to provide a number of advantages, as will be described more particularly below. 
   According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inkjet printer, comprising: an ink reservoir for holding a supply of liquid ink; a printhead including at least one nozzle for discharging a continuous stream of ink drops towards a substrate for printing thereon, a gutter for intercepting the ink drops not to be printed, an inlet for receiving ink from the ink reservoir, and an outlet for returning to the ink reservoir the ink not printed on the substrate; a pressure-regulated tank having an ink inlet connected to the ink reservoir for receiving ink therefrom, and an ink outlet connected to the printhead inlet for supplying pressurized ink thereto; a bypass line between the tank outlet and the ink reservoir for directing the ink from the tank to the ink reservoir while bypassing the printhead; and a bypass control valve in the bypass line for controlling the flow rate of ink via the bypass line from the tank outlet to the ink reservoir enabling the flow rate to be preset according to a desired value. 
   In the described preferred embodiment, the printer further comprises a purgeing valve connected between the tank outlet and the bypass line and adapted to be opened in order to enable the bypass control valve to be preset or pre-calibrated while the bypass line directs ink from the tank to the ink reservoir to bypass the printhead. The tank includes a high-level sensor and a low-level sensor defining a known volume between the sensors, such that the bypass control valve may used to preset the flow rate by measuring the elapsed time during which the ink in the tank drains from the high-level to the low-level. 
   According to further features in the described preferred embodiments, the printer further comprises a pump between the ink reservoir and the tank inlet for pressurizing the ink supplied to the tank to a desired pressure, the pump being controllable to enable presetting or pre-calibrating the pump during the filling of the tank. The tank includes a high-level sensor and a low-level sensor defining a known volume between the sensors, such that the pump may be preset or pre-calibrated by measuring the elapsed time during which the tank is filled with ink from the low-level to the high-level. 
   As will be described more particularly below, the foregoing features of the invention are particularly advantageous when the printhead includes a plurality of nozzles each capable of discharging a continuous stream of ink drops towards the substrate for printing thereon, and a plurality of gutters each for intercepting the ink drops not to be printed by its respective nozzle and for returning same via the printhead outlet to the ink reservoir. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an inkjet printer comprising an ink reservoir for holding a supply of liquid ink; a printhead including at least one nozzle for discharging a continuous stream of ink drops towards a substrate for printing thereon during a printing operation, a gutter for intercepting the ink drops not to be printed, an inlet for receiving ink from the ink reservoir, and an outlet for returning to the ink reservoir the ink not printed on the substrate; and a pressure-regulated tank having an ink inlet connected to the ink reservoir for receiving ink therefrom, an ink outlet connected to the printhead inlet for supplying pressurized ink thereto, and a sensor for sensing a predetermined level of ink in the tank; the method comprising: determining a nominal flow rate of the pump for pumping the liquid ink through the printhead; operating the pump to fill the tank to or above the predetermined level during a non-printing operation; and controlling the pump during a printing operation to produce a flow rate slightly-below the nominal flow rate when the level of the ink in the tank is at or above the predetermined level, and a flow rate slightly-above the nominal flow rate when the level of the ink in the tank is below the predetermined level. 
   Preferably, the slightly-below flow rate is 0.85-0.95, more preferably about 0.9, of the nominal flow rate; whereas the slightly-above flow rate is preferably 1.05-1.15, more preferably about 1.10, of the nominal flow rate. 
   As will be described more particularly below, the above-described features enable inkjet printers to be constructed and operated with a minimum undisturbed flight path (MD) errors without the need for large-volume, costly pressure-regulated tanks for this purpose. This makes the printer and method particularly useful with multiple-nozzle printheads. 
   Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the main ink-circulation sub-systems in an inkjet printer constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating the main printing sub-system in the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating the overall operation of the illustrated inkjet printer; 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating the System-Conditioning mode in the diagram of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating the System-Calibration Mode in the diagram of  FIG. 3 ; 
     and  FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating the Printing Mode in the diagram of  FIG. 3 . 
   

   It is to be understood that the foregoing drawings, and the description below, are provided primarily for purposes of facilitating understanding the conceptual aspects of the invention and possible embodiments thereof, including what is presently considered to be a preferred embodiment. In the interest of clarity and brevity, no attempt is made to provide more details than necessary to enable one skilled in the art, using routine skill and design, to understand and practice the described invention. It is to be further understood that the embodiments described are for purposes of example only, and that the invention is capable of being embodied in other forms and applications than described herein. 
   DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a preferred construction of an inkjet printer in accordance with the present invention, and  FIGS. 3-6  illustrate a preferred mode of operation of such a printer for (among other advantages) obviating the need for a large-volume expensive pressure-regulated tank while still minimizing the undisturbed flight path (MD) of ink drops produced by the printer. 
   Inkjet Printer Construction (FIGS.  1  and  2 ) 
   Overall Construction 
   The inkjet printer described below as a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an ink circulation system schematically illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Such an ink circulation system includes a tank  2 , which serves as the main ink reservoir for holding a supply of liquid ink; and a main printing sub-system  3 , which includes the printhead. As described below, the printhead communicates with the ink reservoir to receive via line  3   a  the ink for printing on a substrate, and to return via line  3   b  the ink not printed on the substrate. The ink circulation system further includes a temperature-conditioning sub-system  4  communicating with the main ink reservoir via lines  4   a ,  4   b  to cool the ink to the correct preset temperature; and a viscosity-conditioning system  5 , also communicating with the main ink reservoir via lines  5   a ,  5   b  to replenish the ink, or dilute it, to ensure maintaining a preset viscosity despite evaporation, etc. from the ink during its circulation in the system. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the ink is continuously circulated from the main ink reservoir  2  to each of the sub-systems  3 ,  4 ,  5 , to maintain the preset temperature and viscosity in the ink circulated through the main, printing sub-system  3 . 
   Printing Sub-System  3  ( FIG. 2 ) 
   The present invention is concerned primarily with the main, printing sub-system  3 , which communicates with the ink reservoir  2 , via lines  3   a  and  3   b . The main, printing sub-system  3  is more particularly illustrated in  FIG. 2 . It includes three liquid loops, namely: an idle loop generally designated  10 ; a pressure-regulating loop, generally designated  20 ; and a printing loop, generally designated  40 . 
   The idle loop  10  includes a pump  11  that pumps the liquid ink from the main ink reservoir through line  3   a , and a filter  12  for removing impurities, to the inlet  13   a  of a circulation valve  13 . In its normal condition, circulation valve  13  directs the liquid ink via its outlet  13   b  back to the ink reservoir  2  via line  3   b . Circulation valve  13 , however, can be actuated to direct the ink via its outlet  13   c  to the pressure-regulating loop  20 . 
   The pressure-regulating loop  20  includes a pressure-regulated tank  21  having an inlet  21   a  connected via a check valve  22  to outlet  13   c  of circulation valve  13  so as to receive the liquid ink from ink reservoir  2  as pumped by pump  11 . Inlet  21   a  of tank  21  is connected by a feed tube  23  to feed the liquid ink to the bottom of tank  21  via a mesh filter  24 . Tank  21  includes an ink outlet  21   b  at the bottom of the tank for feeding the ink therein via another filter  25  to the printing loop  40  containing the printhead for printing on a substrate, as will be described more particularly below. 
   Ink outlet  21   b  of tank  21  is also connected, via filter  25  and a purgeing valve  26 , to a bypass line  27  for bypassing the printing loop  40 , and for connecting the tank outlet  21   b  back to the ink reservoir  2  via an inlet conduit  28 . Bypass line  27  includes a bypass control valve  29 , controllable by a controller  29   a  for controlling the flow rate of the ink via the bypass line  27  from the tank outlet  21   b  to reservoir  2  according to a desired value. As will be described more particularly below, controller  29   a  of bypass control valve  29  enables the flow rate to be preset according to the desired value. Bypass control valve  29  may be a needle valve controlled by motor controller  29   a.    
   Tank  21  further includes a temperature sensor  30  for sensing the temperature of the ink within the tank. 
   Tank  21  further includes three ink-level sensors, namely: low-level sensor  31 , high-level sensor  32 , and emergency sensor  33 . Level sensors  31 - 33  may be floats, conductivity electrodes, or any other liquid-level sensor. They, particularly the low-level sensor  31  and the high-level sensor  32 , are located at known distances from each other, such that they define known volumes between them. This feature is utilized to enable presetting or pre-calibrating the bypass control valve  29  and also the feeding pump  11 , as will be described more particularly below. 
   Tank  31  further includes a compressed air inlet  34  at the upper end of the tank for pressurizing the tank by an air cushion over the liquid ink therein. The pressure of the air cushion is sensed by a pressure sensor  35 , and is regulated by a pressure regulator  36 . 
   Tank  21  is externally covered by a heating blanket  37  preventing heat dissipation from the conditioned ink inside the tank to the ambient. The temperature of the ink inside the tank, as monitored by temperature sensor  30 , may be transmitted externally of the tank in any suitable manner. 
   Printing loop  40  includes a printhead  41  having a plurality of nozzles  42  each capable of discharging a continuous stream of ink drops towards the substrate (not shown) for printing thereon. The ink is supplied to the nozzles  42  via an ink inlet  43  connected to the ink outlet  21   b  of tank  21  via an inlet valve  44 . Printhead  41  further includes a plurality of gutters (not shown) each for intercepting the ink drops not to be printed by its respective nozzle, and for returning the intercepted ink via an ink outlet  45  to the main ink reservoir  2  via bypass line  27 . The pressure of the inletted ink inletted via line  43  is sensed by a pressure sensor  46 . 
   Printhead  41  may be of any desired construction, such as one of those described in our prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,969,733, 6,003,980 and 6,106,107. 
   Operation 
   The operation of the above-described inkjet printer is more clearly described below with respect to the flow charts of  FIGS. 3-6 . 
   Overall Apparatus Operation ( FIG. 3 ) 
   The overall operation of the illustrated apparatus, as shown by the diagram of  FIG. 3 , includes three modes, namely: the Ink-Conditioning Mode  51 , as more particularly illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; the System-Calibration Mode  52 , as more particularly illustrated in  FIG. 5 ; and the Printing Mode  53 , as more particularly illustrated in  FIG. 6 . 
   Normally, when the printer is first turned-on, it will be operated in the above three modes according to the sequence illustrated in  FIG. 3 . However, it will be appreciated that whenever desired while in the Printing Mode, the system can be operated according to the Ink-Conditioning Mode to re-condition the ink, or according to the System-Calibration Mode to recalibrate the system, whenever it appears appropriate. 
   The Ink Conditioning Mode ( FIG. 4 ) 
   For operating the printer in the Ink-Conditioning Mode illustrated in  FIG. 4 , circulation valve  13  is actuated to circulate the ink through the idle loop  10  into and out of the main tank reservoir  2 , as indicated by block  61 . During this circulation of the ink through the idle loop, the temperature-conditioning system  4  ( FIG. 1 ) is effective to heat or cool the ink to the desired preset temperature; and the viscosity-conditioning system  5  of  FIG. 1  is effective to replenish or dilute the ink to the preset viscosity, e.g., to make-up for evaporation losses or any other factors tending to change the viscosity. 
   System Calibration Mode ( FIG. 5 ) 
   One purpose of this mode is to preset or calibrate the bypass control valve  29  in order to produce a preset or desired rate of ink flow via the bypass line  27  during the Printing Mode. Another important purpose of the System-Calibration Mode is to calibrate pump  11  to show how the pump feed rate varies with speed, which information is also used during the Printing Mode. As described below, the presetting of the bypass control valve  29  is effected during a draining operation of the pressure-regulated tank  21 ; whereas the calibration of the pump  11  is effected during an ink-pumping operation into the tank. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , in this mode the printhead valves  44  and  45  are closed (normal condition), and purge valve  26  is also closed (normal condition), to thereby disconnect the pressurized tank loop  20  from the printing loop  40 , and also from the bypass line  27 , as indicated by block  71  in  FIG. 5 . 
   Circulation valve  13  is actuated to direct the liquid ink from reservoir  2 , via outlet  13   c  to the pressurized-tank loop  20 , as indicated by block  72 . Pump  11  is then operated to fill tank  21  to or slightly-above the high-level sensor  32  (block  73 ) while compressed air is introduced via tank inlet  34  to produce an air-cushion over the ink volume in tank  21 , as indicated by block  74 . The air pressure in tank  25  is then preset by regulator  36  to the desired value (block  75 ). 
   With printhead valves  44  and  45  still closed, purgeing valve  26  is opened, to drain the liquid ink from the tank via bypass line  27 , while measuring the elapsed time of draining of the ink from the high-level sensor  32  to the low-level sensor  31  (block  76 ). Since the volume between these two sensors is known, a measurement of such elapsed time will produce a measurement of the flow rate of the ink through bypass line  27  back to the reservoir  2 . Bypass control valve  29  in bypass line  27  may be varied by controller  29   a  to preset the flow rate to a desired value. 
   This draining operation may be repeated many times in order to calibrate the bypass control valve  29  to different values. Thus, the system utilizes the known volume between the high-level sensor  32  and the low-level sensor  31  to produce a measurement of the flow rate of the ink back to the main reservoir  2  via the bypass line  27  during a draining operation. It will be appreciated that emergency-level sensor  33 , or any other sensor within tank  21  enabling a precise determination to be made of ink volume within the tank, can be used for producing this measurement of flow rate. 
   Pump  11  may then be calibrated by measuring the elapsed time for filling the tank from the low-level  31  sensor to the high-level sensor  32  while varying the pump speed in order to produce a curve of feed-rate versus pump speed (block  78 ). A nominal pump feed rate may then be determined (block  79 ), e.g. while the printing loop  40  is disabled (by valves  43  and  45  and purge valve  26  being closed), or while a printing operation is performed by a nominal printing pattern. This nominal pump feed rate is used during the Printing Mode, as described below with respect to the flow chart of  FIG. 6 . 
   Printing Mode ( FIG. 6 ) 
   In the Printing Mode, illustrated by the flow chart of  FIG. 6 , circulation valve is actuated to direct the liquid ink from pump  11  via outlet  13   c , first to the pressurized-tank loop  20 , and from there to the printing loop  40 . It will be appreciated that for this purpose printhead valves  44  and  45  are both open, whereas purgeing valve  26  is closed. 
   At the beginning of the Printing Mode, pump  11  is operated to pump the ink into tank  21  to the high-level sensor  32  (block  82 ). 
   During the printing operation, the plurality of nozzles  42  in the printhead  41  discharge continuous streams of ink drops towards the substrate. Some of these drops are intercepted by the substrate, but most are intercepted by gutters included in the printhead and are returned via outlet valve  45  and bypass line  27  to the main ink reservoir  2 . Accordingly, the ink within tank  21  must be continuously replenished according to the amount of ink intercepted by the substrate. In the conventional inkjet printer, this replenishment of the ink within tank  21  is generally effected by the low-level sensor  31  which, when reached by the liquid ink within the tank, actuates pump  11  to pump more liquid ink into the tank to the high-level sensor  32 . As indicated earlier, not only does this require large-volume tanks, particularly where the printhead included multiple nozzles, but also this large variation in the ink volume within the tank makes it extremely difficult to accurately maintain the preset pressure within the tank, thereby causing undisturbed flight path (MD) errors. 
   In the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, however, only the high-level sensor  32  is used for controlling the pump speed during a printing operation. Thus, as shown by block  83 ,  FIG. 6 , pump  11  is operated at the pre-calibrated pump speed to produce a flow rate slight-below the previously-determined Nominal Flow Rate when the level of the ink in tank  21  is at or above the pre-determined level of the high-level sensor  32  (block  84 ); and when the ink level is below the high-level sensor  32 , the pump speed is increased so as to increase the flow rate slightly above the nominal flow rate (block  85 ). 
   Preferably, the slightly-below flow rate is 0.85-0.95, more preferably about 0.9 of the nominal flow rate; whereas the slightly-above flow rate is preferably 1.05-1,15, more preferably about 1.10, of the nominal flow rate. 
   Since the ink level in the pressurized tank  21  will change very little, the pressure within the tank will be maintained relatively constant, thereby substantially minimizing changes in the undisturbed flight path (MD) of the ink drops. The above-described arrangement thus obviates the need for large-volume tanks in multiple-nozzle inkjet printing systems, thereby reducing the cost and size of such systems. 
   While the invention has been described with respect to one preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that this is set forth merely for purposes of example, and that many other variations, modifications and applications of the invention may be made.