Claims
- 1. An inkjet printer for printing on a print medium, the inkjet printer comprising:
a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed therein through which ink drops are ejected into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium with an intended ink drop trajectory toward the print medium during printing; and an air movement system directing a stream of gas to the print zone substantially parallel to the intended ink drop trajectory as the ink drops are ejected during printing, wherein the stream of gas affects air currents acting on the ink drops during printing to prevent print defects caused by the air currents.
- 2. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the stream of gas prevents the air currents from forming and acting on the ink drops during printing, but does not disrupt the intended ink drop trajectory during printing.
- 3. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the stream of gas disrupts the air currents acting on the ink drops during printing, but does not disrupt the intended ink drop trajectory during printing.
- 4. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas substantially parallel to a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 5. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the air movement system supplements air in the print zone to eliminate air cavities formed in the print zone during printing.
- 6. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink orifices are formed in a front face of the printhead, and wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas substantially parallel to the front face of the printhead.
- 7. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the air movement system includes a flow channel.
- 8. The inkjet printer of claim 7, wherein the flow channel has a flow path oriented substantially perpendicular to a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 9. The inkjet printer of claim 7, wherein the flow channel has at least one outlet flow path offset from a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 10. The inkjet printer of claim 9, wherein the at least one outlet flow path is oriented substantially parallel to the column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 11. The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the stream of gas is an air stream.
- 12. The inkjet printer of claim 11, wherein movement of the printhead within the printer generates the air stream.
- 13. An inkjet printer for printing on a print medium, the inkjet printer comprising:
a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed therein through which ink drops are ejected toward the print medium during printing, the printhead having a scan axis along which the printhead traverses during printing, the printhead having a leading end oriented substantially perpendicular to the scan axis and a trailing end opposite the leading end; and an air movement system which directs a stream of gas to the trailing end of the printhead during printing.
- 14. The inkjet printer of claim 13, wherein the air movement system includes a flow channel.
- 15. The inkjet printer of claim 14, wherein the flow channel directs the stream of gas from the leading end of the printhead to the trailing end of the printhead during printing.
- 16. The inkjet printer of claim 14, wherein the flow channel has an inlet flow path oriented substantially parallel to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 17. The inkjet printer of claim 16, wherein the inlet flow path communicates with the leading end of the printhead.
- 18. The inkjet printer of claim 14, wherein the flow channel has an outlet flow path oriented substantially perpendicular to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 19. The inkjet printer of claim 18, wherein the outlet flow path communicates with the trailing end of the printhead.
- 20. The inkjet printer of claim 13, wherein the printhead has a first trailing end when the printhead traverses the scan axis in a first direction during printing and a second trailing end opposite the first trailing end when the printhead traverses the scan axis in a second direction during printing opposite the first direction, and wherein the air movement system includes a first flow channel which directs a first stream of gas to the first trailing end when the printhead traverses the scan axis in the first direction and a second flow channel which directs a second stream of gas to the second trailing end when the printhead traverses the scan axis in the second direction.
- 21. The inkjet printer of claim 13, wherein the ink drops are ejected into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium during printing, and wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas to the print zone during printing and to the trailing end of the printhead during printing.
- 22. The inkjet printer of claim 21, wherein the air movement system includes a flow channel.
- 23. The inkjet printer of claim 22, wherein the flow channel has an inlet flow path oriented substantially parallel to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 24. The inkjet printer of claim 22, wherein the flow channel has at least one outlet flow path oriented substantially perpendicular to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 25. The inkjet printer of claim 22, wherein the flow channel has a first outlet flow path communicating with the trailing end of the printhead and a second outlet flow path offset from a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 26. The inkjet printer of claim 13, wherein the stream of gas is an air stream.
- 27. The inkjet printer of claim 26, wherein movement of the printhead within the printer generates the air stream.
- 28. The inkjet printer of claim 13, wherein a speed of the stream of gas is proportional to a speed of movement of the printhead along the scan axis during printing.
- 29. An inkjet printer for printing on a print medium, the inkjet printer comprising:
a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed therein through which ink drops are ejected toward the print medium during printing, the printhead having a scan axis along which the printhead traverses during printing, the printhead having a leading end oriented substantially perpendicular to the scan axis and a trailing end opposite the leading end; and an air movement system directing a stream of gas to the trailing end of the printhead during printing, wherein the stream of gas prevents air currents from forming and acting on the ink drops during printing to prevent print defects caused by the air currents.
- 30. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein the stream of gas supplements air at the trailing end of the printhead to eliminate air cavities formed at the trailing end during printing.
- 31. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas from the leading end of the printhead to the trailing end of the printhead during printing.
- 32. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein the air movement system has an outlet flow path communicating with the trailing end of the printhead.
- 33. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein the ink drops are ejected into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium during printing, and wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas to the print zone during printing and to the trailing end of printhead during printing.
- 34. The inkjet printer of claim 33, wherein the stream of gas supplements air in the print zone and at the trailing end of the printhead to eliminate air cavities formed in the print zone and at the trailing end during printing.
- 35. The inkjet printer of claim 33, wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas substantially parallel to a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 36. The inkjet printer of claim 33, wherein the air movement system directs the stream of gas substantially perpendicular to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 37. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein the stream of gas is an air stream.
- 38. The inkjet printer of claim 37, wherein movement of the printhead within the printer generates the air stream.
- 39. The inkjet printer of claim 29, wherein a speed of the stream of gas is proportional to a speed of movement of the printhead along the scan axis during printing.
- 40. A method of printing on a print medium with an inkjet printer including a printhead having a scan axis and a plurality of ink orifices formed therein, the method comprising the steps of:
scanning the print medium with the printhead during printing, including traversing the scan axis; ejecting ink drops through the ink orifices toward the print medium during printing; and directing a stream of gas to a trailing end of the printhead during printing, wherein the stream of gas prevents air currents from forming and acting on the ink drops during printing to prevent print defects caused by the air currents.
- 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes supplementing air at the trailing end of the printhead to eliminate air cavities formed at the trailing end during printing.
- 42. The method of claim 41, wherein supplementing air at the trailing end of the printhead includes increasing an air pressure at the trailing end during printing.
- 43. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas from a leading end of the printhead to the trailing end of the printhead.
- 44. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas in a direction substantially parallel to a front face of the printhead.
- 45. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas substantially perpendicular to the scan axis of the printhead.
- 46. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas substantially parallel to a column of the plurality of ink orifices.
- 47. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of ejecting the ink drops includes ejecting the ink drops with an intended ink drop trajectory toward the print medium during printing, and wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas substantially parallel to the intended ink drop trajectory during printing and not disrupting the intended ink drop trajectory during printing.
- 48. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of ejecting the ink drops includes ejecting the ink drops into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium during printing, and wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes directing the stream of gas to the print zone during printing and to the trailing end of the printhead during printing.
- 49. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of directing the stream of gas includes supplementing air in the print zone and at the trailing end of the printhead to eliminate air cavities formed in the print zone and at the trailing end during printing.
- 50. The method of claim 49, wherein supplementing air in the print zone and at the trailing end of the printhead includes evening an air pressure within the print zone during printing and increasing an air pressure at the trailing end during printing.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/571,959, entitled “Inkjet Printing with Air Current Disruption” filed on May 15, 2000, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09677837 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
10439700 |
May 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09571959 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
09677837 |
Oct 2000 |
US |