Appeal No. 1997-1335
Application No. 08/201,023
which is left not coated by the water-repellent material
(brief-page 7). However, Appellants argue, all of Fujimura’s
examples far exceed the 140% relationship claimed by
Appellants. We are unconvinced that Fujimura’s examples limit
the extent to which the uncoated area may exceed the size of
the nozzle opening. This is especially so since Fujimura
states that the size can be set to form any desired meniscus
size.
Fujimura recognizes that nozzle plate geometries may
differ dependent upon the particular environment in which they
are used. Nozzle plates may be subjected to thermal energy in
conjunction with an electrostatic field either simultaneously
or in a timed relationship (column 5, lines 57-68). The
electric (thermal) energy may be pulsed in a variety of ways
to change the ink’s physical properties, such as viscosity,
surface tension, electrical conductivity and the like (column
5, lines 48-50). Example 3-1, with a slit size of 100 Fm,
produced an ink dot of 150 Fm with a printing time of 0.4 msec
(column 9, lines 9,10, 33 and 34); while example 3-2, with a
5
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