Drop-on-demand ink jet printer capable of directional control of ink drop ejection and method of assembling the printer

A drop-on-demand ink jet printer capable of directional control of ink drop ejection for selectively depositing ink drops upon a receiver, comprising:

• (a) a print head body having a plurality of ink channels therein each terminating in an ink ejection orifice adapted to poise an ink meniscus thereat symmetrically about a center axis normal to the orifice;
• (b) a heater assembly connected to said print head body and adapted to be in heat transfer communication with the poised meniscus for lowering surface tension of a side region of the poised meniscus, so that the poised meniscus laterally deflects away from the side region of lower surface tension and away from the center axis to define a deflected meniscus, and so that an ink drop separated from the deflected meniscus travels along a trajectory at a predetermined variable angle with respect to the center axis and deposits upon the receiver,
• (c) a pressurizer connected to said print head body and in communication with each of the channels for pressurizing the channels to form the poised menisci and thereafter to separate the ink drop from the deflected meniscus, and
• (d) wherein said printer is a gutterless printer.

A drop-on-demand ink jet printer capable of directional control of ink drop ejection for selectively depositing ink drops upon a receiver, comprising:

• (a) a print head body having a plurality of elongate ink channels therein each terminating in a generally circular ink section orifice adapted to poise an ink meniscus thereat symmetrically about a center axis normal to the orifice;
• (b) a plurality of arcuate-shaped heater segments connected to said print head body and symmetrically arranged in an annular ring surrounding each orifice, said heater segments adapted to be in heat transfer communication with the poised meniscus and energized for lowering surface tension of a predetermined side region of the poised meniscus while a selected one of heater segments is energized so that the poised meniscus lately deflects away from the side region of lower surface tension and away from the center as to define a deflected meniscus, and so that an ink drop separated from the deflected meniscus travels along a trajectory at a predetermined variable angle with respect to the center axis and deposits upon the receiver,
• (c) a pressurizer connected to said print head body and in communication with each of the channels for pressurizing the channels to form the poised meniscus and thereafter to separate the ink drop from the deflected meniscus, and
• (d) wherein said printer is a gutterless printer.

A method of assembling a drop-on-demand ink jet printer capable of directional control of ink drop ejection for selectively depositing ink drops upon a receiver, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a print head body having a plurality of ink channels therein each terminating in an ink ejection orifice adapted to poise an ink meniscus thereat symmetrically about a center axis normal to the orifice;
• (b) connecting a heater assembly to the print head body, the heater assembly being adapted to be in heat transfer communication with the poised meniscus for lowering surface tension of a side region of the poised meniscus, so that the poised meniscus laterally deflects away from the side region of lower surface tension and away from the center axis to define a deflected meniscus, and so that an ink drop separated from the deflected meniscus travels along a trajectory at a predetermined variable angle with respect to the center axis and deposits upon the receiver and the printer is gutterless so that no ink drop deposits in a gutter;
• and
• (c) connecting a pressurizer to the print head body, the pressurizer being in communication with each of the channels for pressurizing the channels to form the poised menisci and thereafter to separate the ink drop from the deflected meniscus.

A method of operating a drop-on-demand ink jet printer capable of directional control of ink drop ejection for selectively depositing ink drops upon a receiver, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a print head body having a plurality of elongate ink channels therein each terminating in a generally circular ink ejection orifice adapted to poise an ink meniscus thereat symmetrically about a center axis normal to the orifice;
• (b) providing a plurality of arcuate-shaped heater segments, the heater segments being symmetrically arranged in an annular ring surrounding each orifice, and selectively energizing one of heater segments to lower surface tension of a predetermined side region of the poised meniscus, so that the poised meniscus laterally deflects away from the side region of lower surface tension and away from the center axis to define a deflected meniscus, and so that an ink drop separated from the deflected meniscus travels along a trajectory at a predetermined variable angle with respect to the center axis and deposits upon the receiver and the printer is gutterless so that no ink drop deposits in a gutter;
• and
• (c) operating a pressurizer that is in communication with each of the channels and pressurizing the channels to form the poised meniscus and thereafter to separate the ink drop from the deflected meniscus.