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US 4,291,317 AGranted
Inking system for multi-pen recorders
AssigneeBeckman Instruments, Inc.
InventorsWilliam C. Corwin, Raymond M. Pawlak
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBeckman Instruments, Inc.
InventorsWilliam C. Corwin, Raymond M. Pawlak
Estimating the term…
An ink priming system for a multi-pen recorder of the gravity-fed capillary tube type comprises a gas manifold common to all of the ink bottles individually provided for each channel of the recorder. Individual control valves may be selectively actuated by the operator to prime each pen. When the control valve is closed, the gas pressure is bled off so that the inking system thereafter acts as a normal gravity-fed capillary tube system. A non-clogging inking system is provided by utilizing a short length of flexible thin walled tubing to supply ink to the movable recording pen. The length of this tubing is sufficiently short that evaporation of the ink solvent through the walls of the tube is accompanied by diffusion of the dye back to the ink bottle so that the concentration of dye in the ink at the end of the tube adjacent the recording pen does not exceed saturation value during prolonged periods of non-use of the recorder.
In a multi-pen recorder, a plurality of recording pens, means including a plurality of separate ink reservoirs one for each pen for normally supplying ink to said pens on a gravity-fed capillary basis, a gas manifold common to said recording pens, means for supplying gas under pressure to said manifold, and valve means for individually connecting said ink reservoirs to said manifold, thereby selectively to prime any one of said recording pens.
In a multi-pen recorder, a plurality of recording pens, means including a plurality of separate ink reservoirs one for each pen for normally supplying ink to said pens on a gravity-fed capillary basis, and means for selectively supplying gas under pressure to any one of said ink reservoirs, thereby selectively to prime a selected one of said recording pens.
In a multi-pen recorder, a plurality of recording pens, means including a plurality of separate ink reservoirs one for each pen for normally supplying ink to said pens on a gravity-fed capillary basis, a manifold common to said recording pens, means including a plurality of valves one for each pen for individually connecting said ink reservoirs to said manifold and means for lowering the pressure in said manifold below atmospheric pressure, whereby ink in any one of said recording pens may be selectively drawn back into the corresponding ink reservoir by selective actuation of said valve means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.