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AssigneeBurlington Industries, Inc.
InventorsMichael I. Glenn, Bruce W. Halliday, Richard Sutera
Estimating the term…
An electrode for use in a fluid-jet marking apparatus includes a flexible and tensionable electrode member mounted in confronting, substantially parallel alignment to a linear array of fluid droplet streams. The mounting of the flexible and tensionable electrode member is accomplished by a pair of mounting arms in spaced-apart relationship, one of the arms being pivotal while the other arm is immovable. The one pivotal arm is thus displaced relative to the other immovable arm so as to responsively tension the electrode member therebetween. In order to increase the vibrational frequency of the flexible and tensionable electrode member and/or to substantially decrease the vibrational amplitude thereof, at least one intermediate arm having a terminal end in operative contact with the electrode member is provided. The contact of the terminal end of the intermediate arm occurs at least one location along the electrode member between the pair of spaced-apart mounting arm members and thus essentially shortens the "free length" of the electrode member so that vibrational frequency of the electrode member is substantially increased thereby responsively substantially decreasing the vibrational amplitude of the electrode member towards and away from the droplet streams. In such a manner, the electrode member can be closely positioned laterally of the droplet streams. An alternative embodiment of the electrode structure employs an additional flexible and tensionable ground electrode ("ground shield") preferably composed of a flexible ribbon of electrically conductive material disposed directly beneath the deflection electrode and in a substantially opposed confronting relationship to the droplet catching structure.
An electrode structure for use in a fluid jet marking apparatus of the type having means to generate at least one linear array of fluid droplet streams, means for charging selected ones of said droplets in said streams, and means for electrostatically deflecting said selected charged droplets towards a droplet catching structure, wherein said electrode structure comprises (a) said means for charging selected ones of said fluid droplets;
A ground electrode for use in a fluid jet marking apparatus of the type having means to generate at least one linear array of fluid droplet streams, means for charging selected ones of said droplets in said streams and means for electrostatically deflecting said selected charged droplets towards a droplet catching structure, said ground electrode comprising
A fluid-jet marking apparatus of the type having means for generating at least on linear array of fluid droplet streams, charge means for charging selected ones of said droplets, a droplet catcher for catching said charged selected ones of said droplets, deflection for deflecting said charged selected ones of said droplets towards said catcher and away from ground electrode means, wherein said ground electrode means includes:
An electrode assembly for a fluid jet marking apparatus of the type which generates at least one linear array of fluid droplet streams, said electrode assembly comprising a flexible and tensionable electrode, and mounting means for mounting said electrode under tension laterally of and substantially parallel to the at least one linear array of fluid droplet streams generated by means of the fluid jet marking apparatus, said electrode thereby establishing an electrode mounting plane, wherein said mounting means includes:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.