The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 27, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 27, 1998
Kazuo Shima, Niigata, JP;
Junichi Suetsugu, Niigata, JP;
Tadashi Mizoguchi, Niigata, JP;
Hitoshi Minemoto, Niigata, JP;
Tomoya Saeki, Niigata, JP;
Hitoshi Takemoto, Niigata, JP;
Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Niigata, JP;
Toru Yakushiji, Niigata, JP;
NEC Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
The electrostatic ink-jet recording head according to the present invention comprises: recording electrodes which eject ink towards the recording paper; an opposing electrode for generating a prescribed electric field between the recording electrodes and the opposing electrode; and ink discharge end sections formed in the vicinity of the recording electrodes. The ink discharge end sections are formed closer to the opposing electrode than the end portions of the recording electrodes. In this case, the equipotential lines in the region of the ink discharge end sections when a recording voltage is applied are virtually perpendicular to the direction in which the ink is discharged. This is because, the recording electrodes are positioned slightly behind the ink discharge end sections in the ink discharge member. In this case, an electrostatic force acts on the toner particles near the ink discharge end sections in the direction of the ink discharge end sections. Therefore, even when a recording voltage is applied, there is a continuous supply of toner particles to the ink discharge end sections. As described above, in the electrostatic ink-jet recording head according to the present embodiment, a convex ink meniscus is formed in front of the recording electrodes. Therefore, toner particles gather at the discharge points, even when a recording voltage is applied, and thus a sufficient quantity of toner particles for forming a desired dot size can be supplied.