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US 8,556,364 B2Granted
Determining whether a flow path is ready for ejecting a drop
AssigneeFUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.
InventorsPaul A. Hoisington, Mats G. Ottosson, Steven H. Barss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of determining whether a flow path is ready for ejection includes supplying liquid to the flow path, which includes a pumping chamber and a nozzle, after supplying fluid to the flow path, applying energy to an actuator adjacent to the pumping chamber, measuring an electrical characteristic of the actuator to obtain a measured value, and comparing the measured value to a threshold value to determine if the flow path is ready for ejection.
Claims29
A method of determining whether a flow path is ready for ejection, comprising:
- supplying fluid to the flow path, which includes a pumping chamber and a nozzle;
- after supplying the fluid to the flow path, applying energy to an actuator adjacent to the pumping chamber;
- measuring an electrical characteristic of the actuator to obtain a measured value;
- and
- comparing the measured value to a threshold value to determine if the flow path is ready for ejection;
- and
- purging the fluid from the flow path if the flow path is not ready for ejection.
4 more elements
A print system, comprising:
- a print head having a flow path including a pumping chamber and a nozzle;
- an actuator adjacent to the pumping chamber;
- a circuit configured to measure an electrical characteristic of the actuator to obtain a measured value;
- and
- a controller configured to compare the measured value to a threshold value to determine if the flow path is ready for ejection, and to send a signal to the print head to purge the flow path if the flow path is not ready for ejection.
2 more elements
A print system, comprising:
- a print head having a flow path including a pumping chamber and a nozzle;
- an actuator adjacent to the pumping chamber;
- a circuit configured to measure an electrical characteristic of the actuator to obtain a measured value;
- and
- a controller configured to compare the measured value to a threshold value to determine if the flow path is ready for ejection, and to send a signal to the print head to prime the flow path if the flow path is not ready for ejection.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.