Abstract: This specification describes connectors for tubes, pipes and poles, such as can be used in laser marking systems. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a body having a hole formed to receive a tube to connect an interior of the tube with an interior of the body, the tube having a circular groove formed in an exterior surface of the tube; and a clamp including a tab sized to fit within the circular groove of the tube; wherein the clamp is configured and arranged to attach to the body in a first state and in a second state, the first state being where the tube is held to the body axially by the tab and is freely rotatable, and the second state being where the tube is held in a fixed position relative to the body.

Abstract: This specification describes connectors for tubes, pipes and poles, such as can be used in laser marking systems. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a body having a hole formed to receive a tube to connect an interior of the tube with an interior of the body, the tube having a circular groove formed in an exterior surface of the tube; and a clamp including a tab sized to fit within the circular groove of the tube; wherein the clamp is configured and arranged to attach to the body in a first state and in a second state, the first state being where the tube is held to the body axially by the tab and is freely rotatable, and the second state being where the tube is held in a fixed position relative to the body.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods that utilize material-handling systems in which material in the systems has enhanced stability, e.g., during conveyance of the material from a reservoir to a printhead through a conduit, the conduit having a conduit wall defining an inner conduit space and including a material line for carrying the printing material in the inner conduit space, wherein the inner conduit space is configured to carry a heated liquid, being heated from a liquid heater, to contact the material line.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are described that utilize material-handling systems in which material in the systems has enhanced stability, e.g., during conveyance of the material from a reservoir to a printhead.

Abstract: An ink supply system for an ink jet printhead having an orifice plate with orifices includes an ink reservoir connected through a valve and a luer connection to an ink supply container and an air pump arranged to produce a vacuum in the ink reservoir to draw ink form the ink supply container into the ink reservoir. The ink reservoir has an ink sensor to detect a desired ink level in the reservoir and to detect a low ink condition along with a control unit which controls the operation of the air pump for a predetermined period established by the control unit in response to signals from the sensor. A restricted passage connects the ink reservoir to the atmosphere through a filter so that the ink in the reservoir is maintained at atmospheric pressure and the level of the ink in the reservoir is selected to provide a desired negative liquid pressure head at the orifices in the ink jet printhead.

Abstract: In the particular embodiment described in the specification, an ink jet printhead has a linear array of orifices and is adapted to be mounted in three mutually orthogonal orientations to eject ink drops from the orifices in horizontal or vertical directions. The printhead includes a reservoir for supplying ink to the orifices and the outlet from the reservoir is positioned below the level of ink in the reservoir in each of the orientations of the ink jet printhead. A reservoir vent is located above the level of the ink in each of the reservoir orientations and a U-shaped tube within the reservoir has one end connected to the vent and another end which is open to the interior of the reservoir at a location which is above the level of the ink in each of the reservoir orientations.

Abstract: Improvements are provided to improve an apparatus and method for processing a substantially constant velocity flow of a web of material, including a cutting mechanism and a web accumulator upstream of the cutter. The improvements include stopping the web by a side surface of the movable blade and configuring the accumulator dimensions and cutting speed to cause an appropriate level of force between the upstream severed end of the web and the blade. Several features achieve a low cutting time and modify cutting force to cut web regions with different characteristics, such as for cutting through splices. A low inertia rotary solenoid accelerates a blade through the web and against a resilient stop. The blade bounces off of the stop to its spring-biased home position. A permanent magnet or electromagnet holds the blade in the home position as solenoid current develops. These features result in reduced noise and shorter cutting time, thereby allowing an increase in web speed.

Abstract: In the ink jet printing system described in the specification, a hot melt ink jet printhead having two ink reservoirs is coupled through an ink supply line to a remote hot melt ink supply and a temperature controller is arranged to control the temperatures of the ink in the remote ink supply, the supply line, the ink reservoirs in the printhead and passages leading from the reservoirs to the ink jet orifices at selected temperature levels to inhibit high-temperature degradation of the ink while permitting the ink to be jetted at the desired jetting temperature. In addition, a pressure control system controls the pressure of the ink in the printhead at one or more selected levels to permit the printhead to be used at different orientations and to permit purging of air bubbles and contaminants from the orifice passageways and to supply a relatively high vacuum to a deaerator in the printhead to extract dissolved air from the ink.

Abstract: In the ink jet printing system described in the specification, a hot melt ink jet printhead having two ink reservoirs is coupled through an ink supply line to a remote hot melt ink supply and a temperature controller is arranged to control the temperatures of the ink in the remote ink supply, the supply line, the ink reservoirs in the printhead and passages leading from the reservoirs to the ink jet orifices at selected temperature levels to inhibit high-temperature degradation of the ink while permitting the ink to be jetted at the desired jetting temperature. In addition, a pressure control system controls the pressure of the ink in the printhead at one or more selected levels to permit the printhead to be used at different orientations and to permit purging of air bubbles and contaminants from the orifice passageways and to supply a relatively high vacuum to a deaerator in the printhead to extract dissolved air from the ink.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for the accumulation, cutting, and stacking of continuously moving web material such as fabric tape that is to be printed and cut by appropriate processing apparatus into a plurality of discrete labels. The method and apparatus provide for the accumulation of the continuously-supplied web between a base and an overlying resilient spring member while other processing steps such as web cutting are being performed on the web. The spring member engages the tape to temporarily suspend its forward advancement while allowing the tape to accumulate between the spring member and the base. The cut labels are stacked in a bottom-fed stacking assembly having a stacker chute that is angled both rearwardly with respect to the machine front and backwardly in the direction of label advancement to permit the removal of previously processed labels during operation of the processing apparatus.

Abstract: A magnetic brush developing apparatus is described which comprises a vertically positioned magnetic supply roll, a similarly positioned magnetic developer roll, and supply means such as a hopper for supplying magnetically attractable developer particles to the lower portion of the supply roll. The supply roll is provided with a magnetization pattern in which the magnetic poles are arranged in helical bands with respect to the roll axis. The developer roll has a symmetric magnetization pattern in which the magnetic poles are arranged in straight linear bands parallel to the roll axis. Developer particles move circumferentially and vertically upward on the surface of the supply roll and are transferred to the surface of the developer roll across a narrow vertical gap separating the two rolls. A doctor blade associated with the supply roll returns excess developer from the supply roll to the hopper.

Abstract: In the label printing system of the present invention, a strip of adhesive-backed label stock capable of receiving a latent charge image and having a releasable backing layer is drawn continuously from a supply reel and passed successively through an electrostatic print head, a developer, a pressure fixer, and a rotary die or butt cutter for separating the printed stock into individual labels on the uncut releasable backing layer. The latent imaging of each label at the electrostatic print head is carried out at defined discrete locations on the label stock. These locations may be defined in response to a synchronization signal produced by an angular position detector cooperating with the rotary cutter. The synchronization signal is indicative of a predetermined instantaneous rotational orientation of the cutting elements on the rotary cutting member, thereby insuring that the printed label indicia are properly centered within the label edges after die or butt cutting.

Abstract: An improved electrostatic print head is disclosed comprising a corona source, an aperture mask, a slotted focus plane, and a back plane electrode for supporting a moving dielectric print medium. The aperture mask includes two rows of staggered circular apertures which are surrounded by individual aperture electrodes on the side of the mask facing away from the corona source. The side of the aperture mask facing the corona source has a continuous conductive layer thereon which is biased at a fixed potential. The aperture electrodes are selectively pulsed with a control potential to control the flow of ions from the corona source through the two staggered rows of apertures and the slotted focus plane to form any desired dot-matrix latent image on the moving dielectric print medium.

Abstract: A strip of adhesive-backed label stock capable of receiving a latent charge image and having a releasable backing layer is drawn continuously from a supply reel and passed successively through an electrostatic print head, a developer, a pressure fixer, and a rotary die or butt cutter for separating the printed stock into individual labels on the uncut releasable backing layer. The latent imaging of each label at the electrostatic print head is commenced in response to a synchronization signal produced by an angular position detector cooperating with the rotary cutter. The synchronization signal is indicative of a predetermined instantaneous rotational orientation of the cutting elements on the rotary cutting member, thereby insuring that the printed label indicia are properly centered within the label edges after die or butt cutting. When die cutting is used, separate takeup reels are provided for the waste cuttings and for the finished labels on the uncut releasable backing layer.