Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc.

Marlene McDonald

Robert A Hasenbein

William R Letendre

John G Kelly

Robert L Wells, Jr

Matthew Aubrey

Bailey Smith

Darrell Herrick

Jaan Thomas Laaspere

Xi Wang

Robert Hasenbein

An apparatus includes an inkjet assembly having inkjet nozzles through each of which ink flows at a nominal flow rate as it is ejected from the nozzle onto a substrate. Ink is held under a nominal negative pressure associated with a characteristic of a meniscus of the ink in the nozzle when ejection of ink from the nozzle is not occurring. The apparatus includes recirculation flow paths, each flow path having a nozzle end at which it opens into one of the nozzles and another location spaced from the nozzle end that is to be subjected to a recirculation pressure lower than the nominal negative pressure so that ink is recirculated from the nozzle through the flow path at a recirculation flow rate. Each recirculation flow path has a fluidic resistance between the nozzle end and the other location such that a recirculation pressure at the nozzle end of the flow path that results from the recirculation pressure applied at the other location of the flow path is small enough so that any reduction in flow rate below the nominal flow rate when ink is being ejected is less than a threshold, or a change in the nominal negative pressure when ink is not being ejected is less than a threshold, or both.

Recirculation of ink

Described herein is a method and apparatus for driving a drop ejection device to produce drops having straight trajectories. In one embodiment, a method for driving a drop ejection device having an actuator includes building a drop of a fluid with at least one drive pulse by applying a multi-pulse waveform having the at least one drive pulse and a straightening pulse to the actuator. Next, the method includes causing the drop ejection device to eject the drop with a straight trajectory in response to the pulses of the multi-pulse waveform. The straightening pulse is designed to ensure that the drop is ejected without a drop trajectory error.

Method and apparatus to eject drops having straight trajectories

Among other things, a cavity plate for use in ink jetting includes an outlet end. Elongated lands extend from the outlet end toward an inlet end of the cavity plate. The elongated lands have side walls between top and bottom surfaces of the cavity plate to form elongated cavities. There are structural supports upstream of the ink outlets and between the elongated lands, to support the elongated lands.

Cavity plate

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Norwich, VT, United States of America

Marlene McDonald