An integrated fluid ejection and spectroscopic sensing system may include a fluid ejector to eject a droplet of fluid through an ejection orifice towards a deposition site, a sensor array, a dispersive element to project light onto the sensor array. The dispersive element, the sensor and the fluid ejector are joined as part of an integrated unit.

An image formation device includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion along a travel path is to receive droplets of color ink particles within a dielectric carrier fluid onto a substrate to form an image. The second portion includes a charge source to emit airborne charges to charge the color ink particles to move, via attraction relative to the substrate, through the carrier fluid to become electrostatically fixed relative to the substrate and to become additionally fixed, in their electrostatically fixed position, via distance-dependent, molecular forces relative to the substrate. The duration of additional fixation via distance-dependent, molecular forces may be at least greater than a duration of the electrostatic fixation.

An image formation device includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion along a travel path is to receive droplets of color ink particles within a dielectric carrier fluid onto a substrate to form an image. The second portion includes a charge source to emit airborne charges to charge the color ink particles to move, via attraction relative to the substrate, through the carrier fluid to become electrostatically fixed relative to the substrate and to become additionally fixed, in their electrostatically fixed position, via distance-dependent, molecular forces relative to the substrate. The duration of additional fixation via distance-dependent, molecular forces may be at least greater than a duration of the electrostatic fixation.

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the flow of air flowing from the outside of a cover part into the cover part via an ink droplet passing hole as air accompanying printing droplets outflows. An inkjet recording device is provided with: a recording mechanism (printing mechanism) having an ink room 101 that ejects an ink column 107, charging electrodes 103A and 103B that charge ink droplets 106 generated from the ink column 107, and deflection electrodes 105A and 105B that deflect charged ink droplets 106A; and a cover part 118 that has an ink droplet passing hole 117 through which the ink droplets 106A deflected by the deflection electrodes 105A and 105B pass and covers the recording mechanism. The inkjet recording device causes the ink droplets 106A to land onto a recording object 116 that moves relative to a recording head 100 to perform recording. A vent hole 130 is provided in a lateral surface of the cover part 118.

A method of operating a continuous inkjet printer (1). The printer comprise a printhead. The printhead comprises a droplet generator (16) comprising a printing nozzle (17) for ejecting an ink jet for printing, at least one electrode (22, 23) for steering the inkjet, and a gutter (18) having an ink receiving orifice (24) for receiving parts of the ink jet which are not used for printing. The method comprises performing a cleaning operation. Said cleaning operation comprises: ejecting a solvent jet from the printing nozzle towards the gutter; and causing at least a portion of the solvent jet to contact at least a part of the gutter (18) surrounding the orifice (24) for cleaning said part of the gutter surrounding the orifice.

The present invention provides an inkjet recording device capable of automatically cleaning the head tip and a cleaning method for inkjet recording apparatus.

An inkjet recording apparatus has a printhead that receives a supply of ink and prints, a main unit that supplies said ink to said printhead, and a cleaning unit that has a cleaning tank into which said entire printhead is inserted and injects a cleaning solution from a cleaning nozzle to said printhead for cleaning. The cleaning unit has a cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank and a cleaning base section that has a housing section that accommodates the tip of the printhead and allows said cleaning liquid to flow into the housing section. The cleaning liquid is allowed to flow into the housing section to clean the tip of the printhead.

An ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink container in which ink to be used to perform printing on a print target is stored, a nozzle which is connected to the ink container and from which pressurized and supplied ink is jetted, charging electrodes that charge ink particles jetted from the nozzle with electricity, deflecting electrodes that polarize the ink particles charged with electricity by the charging electrodes, a gutter that recovers ink not used for printing, a solvent container in which a solvent is stored, and a liquid nozzle which is connected to the solvent container and from which a pressurized and supplied solvent is jetted. The liquid nozzle includes a liquid flow passage portion that extends from the nozzle in a direction of the gutter, and a liquid jet hole that is formed at an angle allowing the pressurized and supplied solvent to hit the nozzle through the liquid flow passage portion.

An ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink container in which ink to be used to perform printing on a print target is stored, a nozzle which is connected to the ink container and from which pressurized and supplied ink is jetted, charging electrodes that charge ink particles jetted from the nozzle with electricity, deflecting electrodes that polarize the ink particles charged with electricity by the charging electrodes, a gutter that recovers ink not used for printing, a solvent container in which a solvent is stored, and a liquid nozzle which is connected to the solvent container and from which a pressurized and supplied solvent is jetted. The liquid nozzle includes a liquid flow passage portion that extends from the nozzle in a direction of the gutter, and a liquid jet hole that is formed at an angle allowing the pressurized and supplied solvent to hit the nozzle through the liquid flow passage portion.

There is provided a novel inkjet recording device capable of preventing an ink droplet from being attached to and firmly fixed to a bent pipe part formed at a gutter. The device has a configuration where separately from air flowing through an inflow opening 36 of a gutter 29, secondary air is supplied to a bent region 34bent of a bent pipe part 34, the secondary air flowing in the same direction as air flowing out from an outflow 34out side of the bent pipe part 34. The ink droplet is prevented from being attached and fixed to the bent pipe part 34 formed at the gutter 29 because the secondary air can increase a flow rate of an air flow in an inner peripheral surface region 40 on an inner side of the bent pipe part 34.

The current at a deflection electrode 23, 25 of an electrostatic deflection continuous inkjet printer 127 is monitored. If the current reaches a level higher than normal for a clean print head but below the current required to trigger an automatic shutdown, a warning is generated. The warning indicates that an automatic shutdown is likely to follow unless the print head is cleaned. This allows the operator to shut the printer down in a planned manner for cleaning. The warning may be provided at the printer 127 or it may be provided by an external system 121, 129 which allows personnel who are not at the printer to be alerted. The monitoring may be done by the printer or information about the deflection electrode current may be provided to an external system 121, 129 that performs the monitoring.