Method and apparatus for merging satellites in an ink jet printing system
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsEdward F. Helinski, Jack L. Zable
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an ink jet recorder, a ferrofluid ink is supplied under pressure to a nozzle to form a continuous ink jet stream. The jet stream is subjected to two or more perturbation forces out-of-phase with each other causing the satellites and drops to fast merge. Plural electromagnetic transducers are located at spaced locations along the stream and energized to produce out-of-phase perturbations on the stream. The spacing of the transducers is differentially related to spacing of varicosities or ink drops produced by first transducer. The out-of-phase perturbations can also be obtained using an electromechanical transducer and electromagnetic transducers located out-of-phase or energized out-of-phase with each other.
Claims15
In an ink drop forming system of the type having means for supplying magnetic ink under pressure to a nozzle or the like to cause a continuous jet stream of magnetic ink to flow from said nozzle and magnetic transducer means for applying periodic perturbations at plural spaced locations along said stream in advance of drop breakoff, a method of controlling the merging of satellites comprising
- making the spacing between said spaced location different from the wavelength of the peturbations.
A liquid jet apparatus comprising,
- means for projecting a liquid jet stream, and
- means for producing regularly spaced varicosities in said jet stream for producing drops of substantially uniform size and spacing,
- said means for producing said regularly spaced varicosities comprising
- first means for cyclically perturbing said stream with a first longitudinal force component in said jet stream, and
- second means for cyclically perturbing said stream with a second longitudinal force component in said jet stream out of phase with the wavelength of said varicosities produced by said first perturbing means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.