Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.p.

Hewlett-Packard Company

John Michael Kniffin

Alan Shibata

Justin M Roman

Stephen William Bauer

Dustin W Blair

Thomas Michael Sabo

Grant Allen Webster

Paul L Nash

Timothy A Longust

Ah Chong Johnny Tee

Lap Thai Nguyen

Yi Liu

Joe R Pietrzyk ()

Alan Biggs

Gerald A Mello

A fluid transport conduit for conveying ink-jet ink from a reservoir to a printhead in an ink-jet printer is provided. The fluid transport conduit comprises at least one inner layer, such as high density polyethylene, cyclic olefin copolymer, or polypropylene homopolymer, that is flexible and is a barrier to liquids, and at least one outer layer, such as nylon or polyvinyl alcohol, that is a barrier to air and is softer, or more compliant, than the inner layer, with the inner layer bonded to the outer layer. The two layers are advantageously co-extruded to form the fluid transport conduit.

Co-extruded tubing for an off-axis ink delivery system

An inkjet printer for printing on a print medium includes a printhead having an ink orifice formed therein through which an ink drop is ejected into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium during printing, and an air movement system which directs a stream of gas through the print zone as the ink drop is ejected during printing. When ejected, the ink drop forms a head and a tail. As such, the stream of gas converges the tail of the ink drop and the head of the ink drop during printing so as to improve the shape of a dot formed by the ink drop on the print medium.

Inkjet printing with air movement system to improve dot shape

Growing community of inventors

Wilsonville, OR, United States of America

John Michael Kniffin