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US 4,791,439 AGranted
Ink jet apparatus with improved reservoir system for handling hot melt ink
AssigneeDataproducts Corporation
InventorJoseph W. Guiles
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Ink jet apparatus for use with hot melt ink has an integrally connected ink jet head and reservoir system, the reservoir system including a highly efficient heat conducting plate, such as aluminum, inserted within an essentially non-heat conducting reservoir housing. The reservoir system has a sloping flow path between an inlet position and a sump from which ink is drawn to the head, and includes a plurality of vanes situated upon the plate for rapid heat transfer.
Claims14
An ink jet apparatus for use with hot melt ink, comprising:
- movable means for ejecting droplets of ink from at least one orifice;
- supply means, coupled to said movable ejecting means, for providing ink in its liquid state to said movable ejecting means;
- first low-mass reservoir means, including heater means for melting the ink, for containing a supply of ink;
- and
- second low-mass reservoir means, substantially surrounding said first reservoir means and supporting said movable ejecting means for movement therewith, for maintaining said supply of ink at a substantially constant head of ink pressure regardless of the movement of said first and second reservoir means, wherein said second reservoir means comprises a non-metallic base formed to hold said first reservoir means therein, and a non-metallic cover attached to said base thereby sealing said first reservoir means and its associated supply of ink.
2 more elements
A hot melt ink jet apparatus, comprising:
- a scanning ink jet print head having at least one chamber and a respective orifice from which droplets of ink are ejected in response to the state of energization of a transducer which communicates with said chamber through a foot forming a movable wall, thereby varying the volume of said chamber, said at least one chamber and its respective orifice being formed by a metallic foot plate bonded to a lightweight, insulating body, metallic chamber forming means attached to said foot plate, said chamber forming means including a heater, and a metallic orifice plate containing said orifice attached to said chamber forming means;
- first reservoir means, including another heater, for containing a supply of liquid ink;
- second reservoir means, substantially surrounding said first reservoir means and supporting said scanning ink jet print head for movement therewith, for maintaining said supply of liquid ink at a substantially constant head of ink pressure regardless of the movement of said first and second reservoir means;
- and
- a heat-conducting tube in thermal contact with said other heater, said tube being formed within said lightweight, insulating body supplying ink at said substantially constant head of ink pressure from said first reservoir means to said chamber.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.