Burlington Industries, Inc.

Coulter Systems Corporation

Timothy H Archer

Richard Sutera

John L Dressler

John C Butler

Roger C Burchett

Michael I Glenn

John F Keane

Bruce W Halliday

Randy Bowman

James C Rouch

Greg S Wood

Disclosed is a clean air hood for disposition above the print head of a fluid jet printing apparatus having an orifice plate on one side of the print head for forming a plurality of droplet streams. The droplet streams flow past charge and deflection electrode means as well as a fluid catcher whereby uncharged droplets are deposited on a substrate. The clean air hood includes an interior baffle for directing clean air through the hood for issuance through a pair of laterally spaced slots along opposite sides of the hood whereby the air curtains formed thereby straddle the print head. In operation, the air curtains flow along opposite sides of the print head and opposite sides of the droplet streams ot maintain a clean air region about the electrode means and dampen any tendency of particulate matter carried by the substrate from migrating into the region of the electrodes. The print bar is rotated 180.degree. to locate the orifice plate in opposition to the opening through the lower end of the hood whereby the orifice plate may be changed in a clean air region.

Clean air hood for fluid jet printing

A fluid distribution bar has a plurality of superposed channels with the lower channel in communication with an orifice plate for issuing fluid droplets for deposition on a substrate. The bar is formed from identically cast sections having channel portions opening through a side face thereof which open into one another when the sections are secured each to the other. The channels have a plurality of longitudinally spaced ports providing communication one between the other, the ports communicating between the lower and the intermediate channels being longitudinally offset from the ports communicating between the intermediate and upper channels. The upper surfaces of the lower and intermediate channels are shaped to guide air bubbles in the fluid to the ports such that, as fluid is supplied to the orifice plate, the air bubbles rise in the fluid and pass from one channel to the next through the ports and out of the bar.

Fluid distribution bar for fluid-jet printing

A fluid jet printing line has a plurality of fluid jet printing devices arranged serially to sequentially print on a substrate. Each printing device includes a print bar movable relative to a print head and substrate. Each print head including the print bar carried thereby is mounted for movement between positions in the line and a clean or ready room. In the print line, a sensor detects any increased thickness of the substrate and a pneumatic-mechanical system responds to the sensor to raise the print bar above the thickened portion of the substrate as it passes below the orifice plate and to lower the print bar after the thickened portion has passed. Should a print head malfunction, the line is converted to a full-catch mode, the substrate transport is stopped and the malfunctioning print head is removed. A replacement print head is transported to the line from the clean room in a full-catch running mode and, when disposed in the line, all fluid jet print heads are converted from the full-catch mode to the full print mode. Three-point mountings of the print bar relative to the head and the head relative to the base are provided to assure accurate and repeatable location of the devices in the line and to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction.

Multi-color fluid jet pattern generator for textiles

A fluid-jet printer has a droplet catcher structure and an ingestion blade whereby deflected charged droplets flow by means of a vacuum from the catcher structure along the ingestion blade for recirculation and reuse. The ingestion blade is preferably flat and is releasably clamped between a retainer plate along the underside of the catcher structure and a set screw threaded into the upper surface of the catcher structure. The ingestion blade is disposed in the opening of a cavity along the underside of the catcher structure and is removable therefrom by backing off the set screw, whereby the blade can be removed through the bottom cavity opening for replacement.

Fluid-jet catcher with removable porous metal ingestion blade

The fluid jet applicator orifice plate inspection apparatus provides an optoelectronic inspection system including a laser light source and an optical detector mounted on a carriage for traversing an orifice plate to cause laser light to pass through the orifices one at a time for detection on the other side of the orifice plate by an optical detector. The intensity of the detected light is proportional to the area of an individual orifice through which the laser light has been transmitted. The detector generates light intensity signals which are proportional to the area of the orifices and which signals are processed, digitized, and further processed by a data processor to determine, for example, the relative sizes of the orifices along the plate, the orifice size distribution along the plate and flaws of the individual orifices.

Orifice plate inspection apparatus and method

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

A tensioning mechanism includes a frame pivotally carrying an arm at one end intermediate its length and carrying an arm fixed to the frame at its opposite end intermediate its length. Tension springs are disposed between the arms on one side of the frame and the ends of the arms on the opposite side of the frame releasably carry clamps for securing a substrate between the arms. When the substrate is clamped to the arms, the springs pivot the one arm to apply a tension to the substrate to ensure flatness and planarity of the substrate. The mechanism may then be disposed in an electrolytic bath for plating the substrate and hence defining locations for orifices to be formed in the substrate.

Method and apparatus for assuring plating uniformity

A drop-catching structure for use in a liquid jet printing apparatus of the type which generates a linear array of closely spaced (i.e., high density) droplet streams from an orifice plate. The droplets are deflected from a normal droplet path towards a catching structure, the preferred embodiment of which includes an upper first planar surface substantially parallel to the droplet path, an intermediate planar surface disposed below the first planar surface and inclined downwardly and outwardly relative to the first planar surface, and a lower planar surface disposed below the intermediate surface which terminates in an upwardly directed channel defined with the ingesting blade.

Ink jet system catcher structure

Sequential scanned scaled density data representing a varying tone image is electronically screened to form binary element data that when imaged to form an array of orthogonally arranged binary elements on a member produces screened color separation plates of that original image suitable for use as the printing plates in a lithographic printing press. Screening occurs by comparing sequential density data with selected screen matrix data contained in a memory. The matrix data is ordered with density values increasing outwardly from the matrix center to the corners and edges. The matrix data is selected from matrix locations related to the desired screen frequency and angle with the selected matrix locations being determined by the application of fundamental right triangle trigonometric relationships to the matrix. Screening and imaging occurs sequentially with two density data being compared to matrix data simultaneously. The binary elements of the several plates are produced in one pass across the surface of the member.

Growing community of inventors

Centerville, OH, United States of America

Timothy H Archer