The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 31, 2026
Filed:
Mar. 12, 2024
Brady Worldwide, Inc., Milwaukee, WI (US);
Ryan Maloney, Milwaukee, WI (US);
Gregg J. Haensgen, Menomonee Falls, WI (US);
Gregory S. Retzlaff, Menomonee Falls, WI (US);
Brent A. Bandholz, Hubertus, WI (US);
Richard C. Sonntag, Swarthmore, PA (US);
Jonathan M. Mantes, Franklin, WI (US);
Brady Worldwide, Inc., Milwaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
A maintenance carousel for collecting waste ink ejected by one or more printheads of an inkjet printer is provided. In some instances, the maintenance carousel may include a tray and an actuator assembly retained within an enclosure. The actuator assembly may be configured to drive rotation (e.g., indexing) of the tray each time the printheads eject waste ink into the maintenance carousel. This rotation may cause ink to accumulate within a tray of the maintenance carousel in a circular pattern. In some instances, the maintenance carousel may include electrostatic plates configured to generate an electromagnetic field which may improve collection of small droplets or aerosolized particles of waste ink. In further instances, the maintenance carousel may include a fan assembly configured to generate an airflow through the maintenance carousel such that small droplets or aerosolized particles of waste ink may be collected by one or more filters.