Shield assembly for ink jet printing
First Claim
1. A shield assembly for use in combination with a print head of an ink jet printer, the print head supported by a carriage assembly for moving the print head in a direction orthogonal to the feed path of a print media, the shield assembly comprising:
- a shield defining a contact surface; and
a mount attaching the shield to the carriage assembly such that the contact surface is disposed laterally of the print head nozzle and operative to reposition the shield such that the contact surface engages the print media upstream of the print head nozzle when depositing ink on the print media.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A shield assembly is provided for use in combination an ink jet printer and is operative to provide a smooth planar surface for printing on a print media. The described embodiment includes a shield having first and second contact surfaces to define an opening therebetween. The opening of the shield assembly is aligned with the print head of the ink jet printer for permitting the deposition of ink through the opening. The assembly further includes a pivot mount operative to pivot the shield about a rotational axis which is substantially parallel to the feed path of the print media and orthogonal to the motion of the print head. Moreover, the assembly includes a means for pivoting the shield about the rotational axis in a first and second direction thereby causing one of the contact surfaces to engage the print media upstream of the print head when depositing ink on the print media.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A shield assembly for use in combination with a print head of an ink jet printer, the print head supported by a carriage assembly for moving the print head in a direction orthogonal to the feed path of a print media, the shield assembly comprising:
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a shield defining a contact surface; and a mount attaching the shield to the carriage assembly such that the contact surface is disposed laterally of the print head nozzle and operative to reposition the shield such that the contact surface engages the print media upstream of the print head nozzle when depositing ink on the print media. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A shield assembly for use in combination with a print head of an ink jet printer, the print head supported by a carriage assembly for moving the print head in a direction orthogonal to the feed path of a print media, the shield assembly comprising:
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a shield having first and second contact surfaces and defining an opening therebetween, the opening aligned with the print head to permit the deposition of ink therethrough; a pivot mount for pivoting the shield about a rotational axis, the rotational axis being substantially parallel to the feed path of the print media and orthogonal to the motion of the print head; and a means for pivoting the shield about the rotational axis in a first and second direction, the pivot means, furthermore, operative to cause one of the contact surfaces to engage the print media upstream of the print head when depositing ink on the print media. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for printing on a print media, the method employing an ink-jet printer having a print carriage for effecting bidirectional motion of the print head, the shuttle print motion orthogonal to the feed path of the print media, the method comprising the steps of:
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attaching a shield assembly to a print carriage, the shield assembly including a shield having contact surfaces disposed on each side of the print head, the contact surfaces forming an acute angle relative to a planar surface defined by the print media; displacing the contact surfaces of the shield assembly to engage the print media upstream of the print head when shuttling the print carriage and head in one of two directions; wherein the contact surfaces engage the print media to provide a planar surface as ink is deposited by the print head. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A print head assembly for an ink jet printer, comprising:
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a print head having a plurality of ink jet nozzles for depositing ink on a print media, a carriage assembly including a print head mounting block and a guide rail disposed orthogonal to a feed path of the print media, the print head mounting block for supporting the print head therein and mounting to the guide rail, a drive motor for positioning the print head mounting block along the guide rail and bi-directionally shuttling the print head parallel to the guide rail and across the print media; a shield assembly including a shield having first and second contact surfaces disposed at opposite ends thereof and defining an opening disposed between the contact surfaces, the shield assembly furthermore, being pivotally mounted to the carriage assembly about a rotational axis, the rotational axis being substantially parallel to the feed path of the print media and orthogonal to the motion of the print head, the shield furthermore being mounted to the carriage assembly such that the print head is aligned with the opening to permit the deposition of ink through the opening, a means for effecting pivot motion of the shield about the rotational axis in a first and second direction, the pivot means, furthermore, operative to cause one of the contact surfaces to engage the print media upstream of the print head when depositing ink through the opening of the shield. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification