Start-up and shut down of continuous inkjet print head
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsGregory J. Garbacz, Charles F. Faisst JR., John Sechrist, Joseph R. West
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cleaning system for a continuous inkjet printer comprises a cleaning chamber positioned substantially parallel to an ink supply chamber and nozzle plate, and a gas supply, such as air or nitrogen. The cleaning chamber is formed by a cover and the nozzle plate, wherein the gas is routed between the cover and the nozzle plate so as to remove debris and excess ink from the inkjet nozzles and surrounding area. A fluid may also be applied in addition to the gas, and a deflector may be positioned on the cover to increase the angle of incidence of air and fluid as it contacts the inkjet nozzles and surrounding area.
Claims26
A print system, comprising:
- a print head, configured to output a stream of ink from a plurality of nozzles;
- a cleaning chamber substantially around an ink ejection area of said plurality of nozzles, wherein said cleaning chamber has an outlet for said stream of ink;
- and
- a pressurized gas source coupled to said cleaning chamber, whereby said gas is routable through said cleaning chamber at a flow rate sufficient to remove debris and excess ink from a region of said print head.
A method of removing unwanted particles from one or more print head nozzles, comprising forcing a blast of air into a chamber substantially surrounding said nozzle at a flow rate sufficient to remove unwanted particles from said print head nozzle.
A system for removing unwanted particles from one or more print head nozzles, comprising means for forcing a blast of gas at said print head nozzle and a surrounding area.
A printing system, comprising:
- a print head, configured to produce a stream of ink from a plurality of nozzles;
- a first flow path positioned proximate to an ink ejection area of said plurality of nozzles, wherein gas is routed through said first flow path at a flow rate sufficient to remove debris and excess ink from said plurality of nozzles and a surrounding area;
- and
- a second flow path positioned farther away from said ink ejection area of said plurality of nozzles than said first gas flow path, configured to provide a path for gas flow for deflecting at least portions of said stream of ink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.