A continuous ink jet print head (10), including: an ink droplet generator (116) configured to emit an ink droplet (158) along an undeflected droplet flight path (30); a charge electrode (118) configured to impart a charge to the ink droplet; deflector plates (120A, 120B) adjacent the undeflected droplet flight path, downstream from the charge electrode, and configured to deflect the ink droplet to a deflected droplet flight path that lies within a range of deflected flight paths bounded by at least deflected droplet flight path and a most deflected droplet flight path; a gutter (122) configured to receive an ink droplet traveling along the undeflected droplet flight path; and an ink buildup sensor (102) configured to detect an accumulation of ink (140) relative to a droplet flight path disposed within the range of deflected flight paths.

A continuous ink jet print head (10), including: an ink droplet generator (116) configured to emit an ink droplet (158) along an undeflected droplet flight path (30); a charge electrode (118) configured to impart a charge to the ink droplet; deflector plates (120A, 120B) adjacent the undeflected droplet flight path, downstream from the charge electrode, and configured to deflect the ink droplet to a deflected droplet flight path that lies within a range of deflected flight paths bounded by at least deflected droplet flight path and a most deflected droplet flight path; a gutter (122) configured to receive an ink droplet traveling along the undeflected droplet flight path; and an ink buildup sensor (102) configured to detect an accumulation of ink (140) relative to a droplet flight path disposed within the range of deflected flight paths.

The invention relates to a print head of a binary continuous jet printer comprising: means for producing a plurality of ink jets in a cavity, delimited by lateral walls, and by an upper wall and a lower wall, means for separating drops or sections of one or more of said jets intended for printing from drops or sections that do not serve for printing, a slot, which passes through the lower wall, enabling the exit of ink drops intended for printing, a gutter for recovering drops or sections not intended for printing, means for injecting gas into the cavity, and for making this gas circulate, in the cavity, to the means for producing a plurality of ink jets in said cavity, then to the gutter.

A method to obtain high-throughput printing or dispensing of biological samples, especially for use in assay methods employs a continuous flow inkjet printer modified to dispense suitable-sized droplets of biocompatible solutions containing said biological samples.

A device for measuring the level in a reservoir of an inkjet printer, comprising: an electrode, which has a first end and an second end, and which is covered from the first end up to an intermediate level between the first end and the second end, with an electrically insulating coating, where the electrode has capacitive behaviour for a level of liquid between the first end and the intermediate level, and resistive behaviour beyond this, circuit for measuring a signal which is characteristic of capacitive behaviour of the device, for a liquid level between the first end and the intermediate level, and for identifying resistive behaviour of the device for a level of the liquid above the intermediate level, circuit for estimating or calculating, from the characteristic signal, a height of the liquid contained in the reservoir, for a liquid level between the first end and the intermediate level.

Under a condition in which bowed printing occurs, a horizontal shift is suppressed to improve print quality. Following a program stored in a ROM 12, an MPU 10 generates video data for charging print particles according to print contents data stored in a RAM 11. Based on the print contents data, the MPU 10 detects a letter to be printed last, and when the letter to be printed last is printed to end a print operation, generates video data so that based on the video data, a non-print charge voltage driving non-print particles to an extent that they do not fly over a gutter 25 is applied to non-print particles. The number of the non-print particles subjected to the non-print charge voltage is determined by the MPU 10, based on the distance from a print head 2 to a print subject 30, a letter height preset value, etc. A character signal generating circuit 18 generates the non-print charge voltage, based on the video data, and applies the generated the non-print charge voltage to a charging electrode 22.

Under a condition in which bowed printing occurs, a horizontal shift is suppressed to improve print quality. Following a program stored in a ROM 12, an MPU 10 generates video data for charging print particles according to print contents data stored in a RAM 11. Based on the print contents data, the MPU 10 detects a letter to be printed last, and when the letter to be printed last is printed to end a print operation, generates video data so that based on the video data, a non-print charge voltage driving non-print particles to an extent that they do not fly over a gutter 25 is applied to non-print particles. The number of the non-print particles subjected to the non-print charge voltage is determined by the MPU 10, based on the distance from a print head 2 to a print subject 30, a letter height preset value, etc. A character signal generating circuit 18 generates the non-print charge voltage, based on the video data, and applies the generated the non-print charge voltage to a charging electrode 22.

A modular inkjet printhead assembly including a plurality of printhead modules mounted on alternating sides of a central rail assembly. The rail assembly includes a beam and a rod attached to a side of the beam. The printhead modules include a jetting module having an array of nozzles, a first alignment tab having a first alignment datum and a second alignment datum, a second alignment tab having a third alignment datum and a fourth alignment datum, a rotational alignment feature including a fifth alignment datum, and a cross-track alignment feature including a sixth alignment datum. Portions of the alignment tabs of the jetting module are adapted to fit within corresponding notches in the beam. A jetting module clamping mechanism and a jetting module cross-track force mechanism apply forces to the jetting module that causes each alignment datum to engage with corresponding alignment features on the rail assembly.

An inkjet recording device automatically determines an excitation voltage of a piezoelectric element for formation of ink droplets. An excitation voltage value is applied to the piezoelectric element of a nozzle over a plurality of sweeping events. A charge voltage is applied to ink droplets generated by the applied excitation voltage value in a plurality of arbitrary printing phases to give an electric charge thereto. A charge amount given to the ink droplets is detected by a sensor to obtain a printing phase. When the relationship of a current printing phase to a previous printing phase detected for each sweeping event is reversed from an increasing side to a decreasing side and two decrease determinations of the printing phase are established in succession, an excitation voltage value corresponding to the printing phase of the sweeping event immediately before the first decrease determination is set as a final excitation voltage value.

An inkjet recording device automatically determines an excitation voltage of a piezoelectric element for formation of ink droplets. An excitation voltage value is applied to the piezoelectric element of a nozzle over a plurality of sweeping events. A charge voltage is applied to ink droplets generated by the applied excitation voltage value in a plurality of arbitrary printing phases to give an electric charge thereto. A charge amount given to the ink droplets is detected by a sensor to obtain a printing phase. When the relationship of a current printing phase to a previous printing phase detected for each sweeping event is reversed from an increasing side to a decreasing side and two decrease determinations of the printing phase are established in succession, an excitation voltage value corresponding to the printing phase of the sweeping event immediately before the first decrease determination is set as a final excitation voltage value.