US 10,293,616 B2Granted

Ink heating device and ink supply system for a printing apparatus

AssigneeOcé Holding B.V.

InventorRoy H. R. Jacobs

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Abstract

An ink supply system for supplying ink to a drop-forming unit of a print-head in a printing apparatus includes a reservoir for holding or storing a volume of liquid ink to be supplied to a drop-forming unit in a print-head, and a heating device arranged upstream of the reservoir for heating the ink to an desired operating temperature. The heating device includes a heating body for transferring heat to the ink, wherein the heating body includes a plurality of channels which extend from an top side of the heating body to an bottom side of the heating body for conveying the ink to the reservoir, whereby the ink is heated via contact with walls of the channels. The heating body typically includes a substantially monolithic body of a highly thermally conductive material and the plurality of channels are substantially parallel channels which extend through the heating body. A print-head of a printing apparatus incorporating the ink supply system, and a heating device are also disclosed.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A heating device for heating liquid ink in an ink supply system of a printing apparatus, comprising:

a heating body for transferring heat to liquid ink in contact with the heating body,
wherein the heating body comprises an essentially solid body of thermally conductive material and includes a plurality of generally parallel channels formed therein which extend from a topside of the heating body to a bottom side of the heating body,
wherein the heating body comprises a receptacle at the top side for receiving the liquid ink, wherein an inlet opening of each of the plurality of substantially parallel channels is formed in a base of the receptacle,
wherein the heating device comprises a passage arranged separated from the receptacle and to provide a fluid connection between the top side and the bottom side of the heating body, which passage in operation provides pressure equalization between the top side and the bottom side of the heating body, and
wherein the plurality of substantially parallel channels are arranged to, in operation, convey the liquid ink from the top side to the bottom side of the heating body whereby the ink is heated via contact with walls of the channels.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.