An ink printing unit includes a platen for supporting a record carrier, an ink printing head movable along a path of travel parallel to the platen. The ink printing head has nozzles and a nozzle outlet area through which ink is ejected onto the record carrier. The unit further has a sealing device for periodically closing off the nozzles by engaging an end face of the ink printing head in the zone of the nozzle outlet area. The sealing device comprises a sealing cushion; a mounting carrying the sealing cushion; a support for positioning the mounting such that the sealing cushion is held substantially in a plane of the end face; a guiding arrangement constraining the mounting and the sealing cushion to travel with the ink printing head as a unit; and a setting mechanism supported in the ink printing unit for moving, at any location of the ink printing head along its path of travel, the mounting and the sealing cushion as a unit into a first position in which the sealing cushion sealingly closes off the nozzle outlet area and into a second position in which the sealing cushion is withdrawn from the nozzle outlet area. The setting mechanism is stationary with respect to the travelling path of the ink printing head.
A liquid jet recording apparatus comprises a first ink tank for storing an amount of ink, a second ink tank for receiving the ink from said first tank through a feed tube, a recording head for jetting the ink fed from said second tank, and a carriage for reciprocally moving said second ink tank and recording head together, characterized in that at least a portion of said feed tube is lengthwise moved following the movement of said second ink tank along the course of its reciprocation and thereby the ink is fed to said second ink tank from said first ink tank.
An ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type includes a carriage travelling across the printing region. A nozzle for emitting ink droplets and a slidable member are disposed on the carriage. The slidable member supports a charging tunnel and a cleaning pad for cleaning the front surface of the nozzle. When the carriage is positioned at the leftmost position before initiating the actual printing operation, the slidable member is slided on the carriage so that the cleaning pad contacts the front surface of the nozzle for cleaning purposes. Thereafter, the slidable member is held stationary on the carriage at a position wherein the charging tunnel confronts the nozzle.
The invention relates to a covering device for protecting the nozzle area of an ink jet writing head, which device is detachably connected to the ink jet writing head in a sealing manner and forms a cavity which is opened towards the nozzles, into which cavity liquid ink is transported through the nozzles. In order to be able to store and transport an ink jet writing head filled with liquid ink for a long period of time, in particular also as an individual component, for example as a spare part, without the possibility existing the liquid ink of drying in the nozzle area and without enclosed or penetrating air bubbles that can lead to a chemical change of the liquid ink, it is ensured that the covering device (7) is form-coupled to the ink jet writing head (1) and that the cavity (8) comprises a closable ventilation duct (12) which communicates with the atmosphere.
An ink jet printing apparatus includes elements for capillary support of ink in a region adjacent the orifice plate and lower print head structure and elements for selectively enclosing that region from the atmosphere. Elements for selectively removing ink from the capillary support region are provided.
The sealing and cleaning apparatus for an ink head consists of an electromotively driven endless band, on which two wedge-shaped wiping lips are arranged. For cleaning and sealing, the nozzle head is brough a close distance in front of the endless band, a surface of the endless band not provided with wiping lips serving as spraying surface for the squirting-out of the ink head. A cleaning device of wiping edge or cleaning roller removes the ink on the endless band. For covering in breaks in recording, the endless band has, furthermore, a depression formed by bulges, which is brough into contact in front of the nozzle plate or covering. For sealing, a convexly formed flexible pad, which is arranged between the endless belt, is pressed by means of a pressure-applying device against the endless band and cosequently against the nozzle plate. Due to the convex form, no air entrapment can occur in the region of the nozzle plate.
