Abstract: An ink refill system is provided for an ink jet printer having a print carriage that traverses across a print medium and is adapted to receive one or more ink jet cartridges. The ink refill system includes a disposable ink jet cartridge removably mountable in the print carriage and constructed as a selfcontained unit that includes a print head and an ink supply container that stores a first quantity of liquid ink at a given sub-atmospheric pressure hydrodynamic condition. An ink reservoir external to the print carriage stores a second quantity of ink for replenishing the first quantity of ink in the ink supply container. Flexible supply tubing couples the ink reservoir to the ink supply container to supply ink from the second quantity of ink to the first quantity of ink during operation of the ink jet printer as the print carriage traverses across the print medium.

Abstract: A scanning head ink jet printer utilizes variable paper advance interlacing. The printer includes a plurality of heads each having a plurality of rows of uniformly spaced ink jets which print different colors. A printing medium is advanced in a series of non-uniform distances (d.sub.1, d.sub.2, d.sub.3, d.sub.4) the sum of which is equal to the total number of uniformly-spaced ink jets (n) of one of the colors times the uniform spacing (s) of one pixel row from an adjacent pixel row. In a specific embodiment, a total advance of the printing medium is equal to the total number of uniformly-serial spaced ink jets of one color is 48, the spacing is four pixels, and the non-uniform distances include 49, 49, 45 and 49 pixels.

Abstract: A printer controller for an ink jet printer controls a print head to selectively print only a portion of the print dots at pixels locations in a print swath during each pass of a print carriage across a print medium. At least four passes are made before the print medium is advanced to a new print swath. The portion of the pixel locations for each pass are chosen such that no pixel location to be printed on that pass is orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to any other pixel location to be printed in the same pass. To improve linear print speed, the print carriage is moved across the print medium at a speed that is greater than a maximum firing rate for the print head divided by a print dot density for the ink jet printer.

Abstract: A hot melt ink jet printer capable of handling 54 inch media widths and printing at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch. The ink jet printer of the present invention includes a printing medium handling system for transporting the printing medium through the printer. The printing medium handling system includes a paper tensioning system for maintaining a constant tension in the printing medium as the printing medium is advanced past the print heads for imaging and also subsequently as the printing medium is post-image heated. A readable/writable memory unit accompanies the supply of printing medium and provides information indicative of the color characteristics, handling characteristics, and/or related characteristics associated with the printing medium for use by a controller at each important control point of the paper path.

Abstract: A high resolution thermal printer capable of printing both directly on a thermally responsive media and indirectly through a thermally responsive donor media is disclosed. The printer has a printing media guide mounted as an intermediate clamshell structure to accurately position the printing media immediately adjacent the print head and platen. The printing media guide includes a nip roller and guide bar independently suspended on a spring biased, pivot plate arrangement. The printing media is centered on the supply spool, and the printer includes a read/write circuit to communicate with a profiler chip centrally mounted in the printing media roll. The printer may also include a read/write circuit to communicate with a donor profiler chip centrally mounted in the donor media roll. A constant pressure brake with a friction belt is used directly against the printing media. A spring arm latch/channel block arrangement is used to secure the printing media supply spool.

Abstract: A scanning head ink jet printer prints at high-speed to produce large format output of graphics quality. The printer utilizes variable paper advance interlacing, which allows high speed, full coverage printing with a variety of saber angles. Several series of variable paper advances can be used to optimally correct potential banding problems in the image. The printer utilizes multiple print heads mounted on a single carriage. The multiple print head system allows for higher ink delivery rates than possible on prior art printers. Bi-directional printing allows even faster output, and several adjustments can be made to address the order of ink laydown. The printer utilizes a new calibration pattern wherein different frequencies of marks are printed by different colored ink jets. The marks can be easily analyzed to determine proper calibration setting between jets. The carriage rides on a single rail having upper and lower v-shaped roller tread surfaces.

Abstract: An expansible dam of a configuration to seal the spacing between a reverse clutch cylinder and casing of an automatic transmission/transaxle which cooperates with a plug of a size to seal the rear oil drain in the casing to the oil pan to thereby create a buildup of lubricating oil in the area of the planetary gears of the transmission.

Abstract: An ink supply line support system (100) for a continuous ink refill system (10) for an ink jet printer (90) having a print carriage (91) that traverses across a print bed (96) and is adapted to receive one or more disposable ink jet cartridges (12). The ink supply line support system (100) includes an elongate guide structure (102) having a first end (104) operably connected to the ink jet printer (90) at a fixed location (106) and a second end (108) operably connected to the print carriage (91). The second end (108) is movable relative to the first end (104) in a first orientation along the direction in which the print carriage (91) traverses across the ink jet printer (90), but is substantially rigid relative to the first end in a second orientation that is transverse to the first orientation. An attachment mechanism (110) is positioned along an exposed surface (111) of the guide structure (100) for detachably securing at least a portion of at least one ink supply line (16) to the guide structure (102).

Abstract: An improved method and apparatus for treating chromium containing leather scrap to recover chromium compounds and to produce a protein hydrolysate. The leather scrap is fed into an upstream mixing zone of a reaction vessel along with an alkali metal solution and the scrap and the solution are mixed by a plurality of kneading paddles carried by a rotating shaft. The mixture is then passed to a downstream hydrolyzing zone and conveyed through the hydrolyzing zone by a spiral flight. The mixture is heated by the injection of steam to thereby produce a hydrolyzed mixture comprising a protein hydrolysate containing suspended, insoluble particles of chromium compound. The hydrolysate is separated from the precipitated chromium compounds and can be recirculated to the reaction vessel while the chromium compounds can be recovered for use in the tanning process. The concentrated hydrolysate can be subjected to electrophoresis to increase the concentration of any desired amino acid in the hydrolysate.

Abstract: An ink refill system is provided for an ink jet printer having a print carriage that traverses across a print medium and is adapted to receive one or more ink jet cartridges. The ink refill system includes a disposable ink jet cartridge removably mountable in the print carriage and constructed as a self-contained unit that includes a print head and an ink supply container that stores a first quantity of liquid ink at a given subatmospheric pressure hydrodynamic condition. An ink reservoir external to the print carriage stores a second quantity of ink for replenishing the first quantity of ink in the ink supply container. Flexible supply tubing couples the ink reservoir to the ink supply container to supply ink from the second quantity of ink to the first quantity of ink during operation of the ink jet printer as the print carriage traverses across the print medium.

Abstract: An apparatus and process for the removal and recovery of sulfides from tannery waste water or liquor. The apparatus comprises a closed vessel, the sulfide-bearing liquor is introduced into a first or acidulation zone of the vessel and mixed with acid to decrease the pH, preferably to a value below 4.0, and generate hydrogen sulfide. The acidified liquor is then overflowed into a second or desorption zone of the vessel and slowly agitated and conveyed through the second zone by disc conveyors to release the hydrogen sulfide gas from the liquor. A slight vacuum is drawn on the vessel causing the released hydrogen sulfide gas to be drawn into a third reaction zone of the vessel, where the gas combines with sodium hydroxide solution to form sodium sulfhydrate. The effluent from the second zone can be filtered or dewatered and the filtrate discharged to a disposal site while the proteinaceous solids can be recovered for use as fertilizer.

Abstract: A method and system for dewatering coal fines from the centrate of a pipeline slurry centrifuge, to recover the coal and purify the water, includes blending the centrate from the centrifuge with slurry from the pipeline in the proportion of about 4:1. The blend is chemically conditioned agglomerating polymer, and then dewatered on a belt press. The cake from the belt press is dry enough to burn in the boiler, and the filtrate is clarified in a gravity clarifier. The clarifier effluent is clean enough for plant purposes or to return to the environment, and the clarifier underflow is returned to the blend for dewatering in the belt press. In a second embodiment, the blend is dewatered directly in a disphragm filter press without chemical conditioning, and the filtrate is clean enough to use directly without clarifying.

Abstract: A process for removing colloidal and soluble contaminants from impure water moving through a hollow, cylindrical microscreen under a positive head pressure, comprising dispersing insoluble, finely divided particulate matter into the impure water and rotating the microscreen at a rate that will form, during each rotation thereof, an intermixed layer of contaminants and particulate matter over substantially the entire inner surface of the microscreen through which the impure water is passing. The intermixed layer forms a filter substantially impermeable to contaminants and particulate matter of a size that could pass through the microscreen pores, but it is not impermeable to water. Preferably, the finely divided particulate matter can be a sorbent material, e.g. powdered activated carbon, so that contaminants are both filtered and sorbed from the water.

Abstract: An alkaline wash water system for cleaning metal-working oil and scale from metal parts including a heated wash water recirculation system in which a small portion of the wash water is continuously removed, the oil and scale separated, and the cleaned portion returned with any make-up water required. The wash water is recirculated through a central zone of the separator. The separation may be a dual, alternate batch separation with a surge tank.