Burlington Industries, Inc.

Bruce W Halliday

Richard Sutera

John L Dressler

Timothy H Archer

Michael I Glenn

A tray for a fluid-jet printing device for starting fluid-jet streams issuing from an orifice plate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the orifice plate. The tray includes an elongated box-like structure movable between various positions, including a sealing position below the orifice plate for drawing a vacuum through the orifice plate and facilitating flow of fluid from a plenum chamber above the orifice plate through the orifice plate for start-up. The tray is provided with backlighting such that, upon movement of the tray into a second position, the fluid streams issuing from the orifice plate may be visually observed against the backlighting to ensure proper start-up. Thereafter, the tray is moved to subsequent positions enabling location of the charging and deflection electrodes and droplet catcher structure below the orifice plate, as well as the substrate on which the printing will be effected.

Vacuum tray fluid-jet start-up system

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.

Tensionable ground electrode for fluid-jet marking apparatus

A turbulence damping apparatus for a fluid supply chamber of an ink-jet printing head assembly substantially damps multiaxis or turbulent fluid flow immediately upstream of an orifice plate from which at least one column of sequential fluid droplets is issued. The apparatus includes a center support member which defines openings and is adapted for rigid disposition in the fluid supply chamber to thus define upper and lower subchambers. Upper and lower damping structures are rigidly fixed to the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the center support member. The upper and lower damping structures respectively include upper and lower apertures such that initial damping of turbulent fluid flow is effected as the fluid flow through the upper apertures and into the openings of the center support member with final damping of the turbulent flow being accomplished as the fluid flows through the lower apertures.

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Centerville, OH, United States of America

Bruce W Halliday