Abstract: An ink jet print head includes an ink delivery system and a plurality of ink jet modules connected to the ink delivery system, the plurality of ink jet modules including a first ink jet module and a second ink jet module. The ink delivery system includes a first cut-off device selectively blocking ink flow to the first ink jet module and a second cut-off device of the ink delivery system selectively blocking ink flow to the second ink jet module.

Abstract: An ink jet device includes an ink jet print head and a deaerator having an ink passage, a membrane and a vacuum chamber. The ink passage has an exit connected to the ink jet print head and an inlet, and the membrane has a first side and a second side. The first side contacts ink in the ink passage and the second side contacts the vacuum chamber. The inlet of the ink passage is located above the exit.

Abstract: A single-pass print head has multiple orifice plates each serving some but not all of the area to be printed.

Abstract: An apparatus for depositing droplets on a substrate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a support for the substrate, a droplet ejection assembly which includes a pumping chamber, a controller and a source of static pressure to maintain the total pressure in the pumping chamber above a threshold pressure level to avoid rectified diffusion type bubble growth in the pumping chamber. The droplet ejection assembly is positioned over the support for depositing the droplets on the substrate and includes, in addition to a pumping chamber, a displacement member and an orifice that ejects the droplets. The controller provides signals to the displacement member to eject drops.

Abstract: A cleaning member is pivotally fixed to a support member to clean ink-jet print heads that are positioned on a print-head receptor module. The cleaning member pivots from a cleaning position to an idle position and the print-head receptor module is pivotally fixed to a support member to allow the module to pivot from a printing position to a cleaning position. The pivotal supports are positioned such that, when the module and the cleaning member are each in their respective cleaning positions, the cleaning member is positioned to clean ink jets inserted into the receptors.

Abstract: A fluid droplet ejection device including a body defining a plurality of fluid paths that each include an inlet including a flow restriction, a pumping chamber, and a nozzle opening communicating with the pumping chamber for discharging fluid droplets. An actuator is associated with each pumping chamber. The pumping chamber has a largest dimension that is sufficiently short and the flow restriction provides sufficient flow resistance so as to provide a fluid droplet velocity and/or volume versus frequency response that varies by less than plus or minus 25% over a droplet frequency range of 0 to 40 kHz. Also disclosed are fluid droplet ejection devices in which the ratio of the inlet flow resistance to the pumping chamber flow impedance is between 0.05 and 0.9, the pumping chamber has a time constant for decay of a pressure wave in the pumping chamber that is less than 25 microseconds.

Abstract: In general, in a first aspect, the invention features a droplet deposition system, including a jetting assembly comprising one or more modules capable of ejecting droplets, a plurality of conduits in fluid communication with the jetting assembly, and a valve coupled to the conduits and adjustable between a first state in which fluid flow through the conduits is substantially prevented and a second state in which fluid flow through the conduits is allowed.

Abstract: A piezoelectric ink jet printing module has a semiconductive material on a surface of a piezoelectric element of the module.

Abstract: In an aspect, the invention features an apparatus and method for cleaning with a flow of gas. In embodiments, a gas cleaning assembly is provided that includes a nozzle outlet that directs cleaning gas, e.g., toward a work piece, and a sheath gas jacket surrounding at least a portion of the nozzle that directs a sheath gas into contact with the nozzle.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an ink jet printing module can include forming a piezoelectric element having a stiffened surface.

Abstract: A piezoelectric ink jet head that includes a polymer film, for example a flex print, located between the piezoelectric element and the reservoirs in the jet body. The film provides an efficient seal for the reservoirs and also positions the electrodes on the side of the piezoelectric element in which motion is effected, which can reduce the magnitude of the drive voltage. This location of the compliant flex print material also can enhance electrical and mechanical isolation between reservoirs, which improves jetting accuracy. The compliance of the polymer also reduces strain on the ink jet head.

Abstract: During a print cycle, fire pulses of different profiles are delivered to ink-jets of a print head. Selected ones of the ink-jets are enabled in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the fire pulses to control a characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective ink-jets.

Abstract: In the embodiments of the simplified ink jet head described in the specification, a carbon body is formed with ink passages, such as internal passages extending through a carbon plate, pressure chambers on one side of a carbon plate, flow-through passages on the other side of the same plate and ink supply passages, and a piezoelectric plate is affixed to the pressure chamber side of the carbon plate by a thin layer of epoxy adhesive. The piezoelectric plate may have a conductive coating on one side which is photo-etched to produce an electrode pattern corresponding to the pattern of the pressure chambers in the carbon plate. An orifice plate may have specially profiled orifice openings to assure axial projection of drops and may be affixed by a thin layer of epoxy adhesive to a carbon plate having orifice passages supplying ink from the pressure chambers to the orifices.

Abstract: A piezoelectric device can be prepared by placing an acicular seed crystal on a substrate, orienting the seed crystal on the substrate, and growing a piezoelectric film from the acicular seed crystal.

Abstract: During a print cycle, fire pulses of different profiles are delivered to ink-jets of a print head. Selected ones of the ink-jets are enabled in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the fire pulses to control a characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective ink-jets.

Abstract: A print head has an array of ink orifices arranged to selectively deposit drops of ink along parallel print lines on the medium while the medium and the print head undergo relative motion in a printing direction parallel to the print lines, the printing being completed in a single pass of the print head relative the medium. The orifices in the array are arranged in a pattern such that adjacent parallel print lines on the medium are served by orifices that have different positions in the array along the direction of the print lines. The different positions of the orifices that serve any pair of adjacent parallel lines are separated by no less than a first predetermined distance along the direction of the print lines.

Abstract: A single-pass print head has multiple orifice plates each serving some but not all of the area to be printed. In embodiments, the printhead includes an array of ink jet outlets sufficient to cover a target of a print substrate at a predetermined resolution, and orifice plates, each of the orifice plates having orifices, each of the orifice plates serving some but not all of the area to be printed. The orifices are arranged in a pattern such that adjacent parallel lines on the print medium are served by orifices that have different positions in the array along the direction of the print lines, that are separated by a distance that is at least an order of magnitude greater than the distance between adjacent orifices in a direction perpendicular to the print line direction.

Abstract: During a print cycle, fire pulses of different profiles are delivered to ink-jets of a print head. Selected ones of the ink-jets are enabled in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the fire pulses to control a characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective ink-jets.

Abstract: Conditioning an ink jet orifice by illuminating the orifice with radiation from a laser to remove contaminants and smooth rough surfaces.

Abstract: In the embodiments described in the specification, a piezoelectric transducer has electrodes to the piezoelectric layer with an adhesive bonding agent under pressure applied hydraulically so as to be distributed uniformly throughout the surface of the piezoelectric layer. In one embodiment the dielectric film also carries conductor arrays for connecting the electrodes to remote driver chips at locations spaced from the surface of the piezoelectric layer.