Abstract: An integral seal for priming or maintaining the nozzles or orifices of an ink jet printhead in an ink jet printer. The ink jet printhead includes a plurality of ink ejecting orifices arranged on a surface of the printhead and includes a seal integral with the surface which surrounds the ink ejecting orifices. The seal member is located within a recess formed in the surface and has a contacting surface which can be recessed from the ink ejecting orifices so that cleaning operations of the surface which, for instance, use a wiping blade, are not impeded. A capping member on a maintenance station contacts and slightly compresses the seal member to provide an airtight seal during priming/maintenance operations.

Abstract: An apparatus for uniformly coating a planar substrate with an adhesive layer has a rotatably mounted sleeve with closed ends to form an internal cavity therein. The sleeve has a plurality of holes therein and its outer surface is covered by a porous layer such as a foam layer. A vacuum is applied to the sleeve cavity, while the sleeve is rotated. One surface of a polymeric film is positioned on the porous layer and held in place by the vacuum acting through the sleeve holes and porous layer. The other surface of the polymeric film contains a uniform adhesive coating. The surface of a planar substrate is tangentially transported past the polymeric film surface with the adhesive layer and in timed registration therewith, so that a nip is formed between the planar substrate and the polymeric film which transfers a uniformly thick portion of adhesive to the planar substrate surface.

Abstract: A mechanism for accurately mounting a large area semiconductive device within a larger system is disclosed. The semiconductive device, formed by the linear abutment of semiconductive sub-units divided from a larger semiconductive wafer must be accurately positioned to enable the operation of which it was intended. In one embodiment, the sub-units are thermal ink jet arrays which are abutted to form a pagewidth printhead. The semiconductive device includes a reference plate or substrate having a generally planar surface for mounting an array of functional sub-units thereon. The semiconductive device further includes two or more individual sub-units which are also affixed to the planar surface, thereby forming alignment pads for the assembled semiconductive device. When incorporated into the system, the alignment pads are received by frame members or alignment points to provide positive alignment of the reference plate, and the attached array of sub-units, within the system.

Abstract: Distortion-free method of mounting an end piece member on a thin-walled hollow tube member, particularly in the assembly of photoreceptor drums and the like, includes the steps of supporting an expandable end piece member within the chamber of an air centering device with its central axis aligned vertically; applying a layer of flowable adhesive to the interior surface of an open end of the hollow tube member; freely suspending the tube member above the end piece member with the open end remaining free of radial distortion and directed toward the end piece member; centering the tube member, by means of the air centering device, to concentrically align the tube member with the end piece member; inserting the end piece member into the tube member; deformingly expanding the end piece member until the layer of flowable adhesive is sufficiently compressed between an outer peripheral edge of the end piece member and the interior surface of the tube member, so as to absorb any dimensional discrepancies therebetween;

Abstract: An apparatus in which a liquid image is transferred from a surface to a substantially electrically non-conductive, flexible copy sheet with the liquid image being charged to one polarity and the surface being charged to a polarity opposite to the polarity of the charge of the liquid image. A first charge is applied on the copy sheet. The first charge is of the same polarity as the polarity of the charge of the liquid image. This causes the copy sheet to adhere releasably to the surface with the liquid image being interposed therebetween. A second charge is applied on the copy sheet after the first charge has been applied thereon. The second charge is of an opposite polarity to the polarity of the charge of the liquid image. This causes the liquid image to be attracted to the copy sheet.

Abstract: An apparatus in which a plurality of liquid images are transferred from a photoconductive member to a copy sheet. The liquid images, which include a liquid carrier having toner particles dispersed therein, are attracted from the photoconductive member to an intermediate belt. Liquid carrier is moved from the intermediate belt and the toner particles are compacted thereon in image configuration. Thereafter, the toner particles are transferred from the intermediate belt to the copy sheet in image configuration.