Ink jet printing system, ink container and method of preparing the same

• US 20020063762A1
• Filed: 11/26/2001
• Published: 05/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Océ-Technologies B.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Océ-Technologies B.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Jozef Haan, Maurice Johan, Wierink, Hans, Koning, Johannes
• Granted Patent: US 6,712,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/88
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17546 electronically

Abstract

An ink jet printing system comprising a print head containing nozzles, a replaceable ink container, an ink supply reservoir connecting the ink container to the nozzles of the print head, and a temperature control system for controlling the temperature of the ink in the ink supply reservoir, wherein the parameters T(0); ΔT/Δt, which permit a determination of the optimal operating temperature for the ink are physically encoded on the ink container to be read by the temperature control system, T(0) being the optimal operating temperature at time 0 and ΔT/Δt representing the temperature change of the ink over time.

Claims

1. An ink jet printing system comprising a print head containing nozzles, a replaceable ink container, an ink supply reservoir connecting the ink container to the nozzles of the print head, and a temperature control system for controlling the temperature of the ink in the ink supply reservoir, wherein the parameters T(0);

Δ

T/Δ

t, which permit a determination of the optimal operating temperature for the ink are physically encoded on the ink container to be read by the temperature control system, T(0) being the optimal operating temperature at time 0 and Δ

T/Δ

t representing the temperature change of the ink over time.

2. The ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the physical encoding on the ink container is formed by an electronic memory chip adapted to communicate with a reading head.

3. The ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print head is a multi-color print head having a plurality of ink supply reservoirs, and the temperature control system is adapted to individually control the temperature of the ink in each of the ink supply reservoirs.

4. The ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the ink container contains hot-melt ink, and the temperature control system includes a heating element.

5. The ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control system includes a cooling element.

6. The ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the information encoded on the ink container includes at least one target value (T(0)) for the temperature of the ink.

7. The ink jet printing system according to claim 6, wherein said information includes a filling date of the ink container and the parameters Δ

T/Δ

t indicate the time dependence of the optimal operating temperature of the ink.

8. The ink jet printing system according to claim 7, wherein the parameters T(0) and Δ

T/Δ

t are in the form of a table indicating different operating temperatures for different types of print heads over time.

9. An ink distribution system for distributing ink to the nozzles of a print head which comprises at least one ink container, an ink supply system for connecting the ink container to the nozzles of the print head, and a temperature control system for controlling the temperature of the ink in the ink distribution system, wherein information permitting a determination of the optimal operating temperature for the ink is physically encoded on the ink container to be read by the temperature control system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein means are provided for separating a batch of ink from that to be filled into the ink container, providing means for measuring the viscosity of the ink prepared in that batch, determining the optimal operating temperature for the ink on the basis of the measured viscosity and programming the ink container in accordance with the temperature thus determined.