Fluid droplet recorder

Claim 3

A method as in claim 1 in which the electrical signal values applied to the charging electrode are correlated with the cyclically varying energy applied to the fluid.

Claim 4

A method as in claim 2 in which selected droplets are intercepted and thereby not deposited on the record medium.

Claim 5

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, and electrostatic means for deflecting said discrete droplets in accordance with the charges carried by said droplets during the flight of said droplets between said projecting means and said record receiving member, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 6

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, and electrostatic means for deflecting said discrete droplets in accordance with the charges carried by said droplets during the flight of said droplets between said projecting means and said record receiving member, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 7

A direct writing recorder as in claim 4 in which said droplets are formed at a predetermined rate, together with bias signal means coupled to said electrostatic charging means for placing a predetermined bias charge on selected droplets, said bias means including synchronization means for synchronizing said droplet selection with said droplet formation rate.

Claim 8

A direct writing recorder as in claim 5 in which said synchronization means causes at least two adjacent ones of said droplets to be successively charged in accordance with said input signal and with said bias charge.

Claim 9

A direct writing recorder as in claim 5 in which the magnitude of said bias signal is distinct from the range of magnitudes of said input signal whereby bias charged droplets follow a trajectory substantially different from trajectories followed by droplets charged in accordance with said input signal.

Claim 10

A direct writing recorder as in claim 7 together with intercepting means located in said trajectory of said bias charged droplets for preventing such droplets from striking said record receiving members.

Claim 11

Apparatus as in claim 5 together with means for intercepting said selected droplets.

Claim 12

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different variable on at least some of the droplets of the succession, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said discrete droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, wiTh droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 13

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different variable on at least some of the droplets of the succession, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said discrete droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, wiTh droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 14

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension at a constant rate, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 15

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension at a constant rate, means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 16

The invention as set forth in claim 11 wherein said means for introducing said varicosities in said stream comprises electromechanical vibrating means mechanically coupled to vibrate said nozzle, and means for exciting said vibrating means at the desired formation rate.

Claim 17

A direct writing recorder comprising, in combination, means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member including a nozzle, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, a feed pipe connected to said nozzle for supplying writing fluid thereto, and means for establishing a substantial pressure head on said fluid in said feed pipe; means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate; means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession; a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets; and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said nozzle and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 18

A direct writing recorder comprising, in combination, means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member including a nozzle, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, a feed pipe connected to said nozzle for supplying writing fluid thereto, and means for establishing a substantial pressure head on said fluid in said feed pipe; means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate; means for electrostatically charging said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession; a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets; and means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said nozzle and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, with droplets having different charges being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 19

The invention as set forth in claim 13 wherein said means for introducing said varicosities in said stream comprises an electrode positioned adjacent said nozzle and surrounding said stream and means for establishing an oscillatory electrostatic field between said stream and said electrode.

Claim 20

The invention as set forth in claim 13 wherein said means for introducing said varicosities in said stream comprises means for vibrating said nozzle.

Claim 21

The invention as set forth in claim 15 wherein said vibrating means comprises an electromechanical transducer.

Claim 22

The invention as set forth in claim 15 wherein said vibrating means comprises a magnetostrictive driving element mechanically couPled to said feed pipe and means for exciting said magnetostrictive element at the desired formation rate.

Claim 23

The invention as set forth in claim 13 wherein said means for charging said droplets comprises a charging electrode spaced slightly from said nozzle and surrounding said stream at the point of the formation of said droplets, and means for applying a charging signal between said fluid and said charging electrode.

Claim 24

The invention as set forth in claim 13 and characterized by the addition of means for introducing a laminar flowing stream of air into the area embracing said stream of droplets whereby to reduce interaction between successive droplets.

Claim 25

The invention as set forth in claim 19 wherein said stream of air is collinear with said stream of droplets.

Claim 26

The invention as set forth in claim 19 wherein said stream of air is perpendicular to said stream of droplets.

Claim 27

The invention as set forth in claim 13 wherein said record receiving member defines a cylindrical surface for the reception of said ink droplets, said deflection electrodes are in the form of a pair of flat, parallel toroids, and means are provided for rotating said nozzle about the axis of said cylindrical surface whereby said stream of droplets define a substantially circular trace about said axis.

Claim 28

A direct writing recorder as in claim 13 wherein said means for introducing varicosities in said stream comprises means for introducing superimposed fluctuations in the established pressure head on said fluid, said fluctuations being at the desired rate of formation.

Claim 29

A direct writing recorder comprising, in combination, means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member including a nozzle, a feed pipe connected to said nozzle for supplying writing fluid thereto, and means for establishing a substantial pressure head on said fluid in said feed pipe; electromechanical vibrating means for vibrating said nozzle to introduce regularly spaced varicosities in the issuing stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate; means for exciting said vibrating means at the desired formation rate; a charging electrode positioned adjacent said nozzle and surrounding the path of said stream; means for applying a charging signal between said fluid and said charging electrode whereby to electrostatically charge said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of an input signal; a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets; means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said nozzle and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets; guide means for guiding said record receiving member in a position to receive said stream of droplets; and record receiving member driving means for driving said record receiving member through said guide means.

Claim 30

A direct writing recorder comprising, in combination, means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record receiving member including a nozzle, a feed pipe connected to said nozzle for supplying writing fluid thereto, and means for establishing a substantial pressure head on said fluid in said feed pipe; electromechanical vibrating means for vibrating said nozzle to introduce regularly spaced varicosities in the issuing stream of said writing fluid to assure the formation of a succession of discrete droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate; means for exciting said vibrating means at the desired formation rate; a charging electrode positioned adjacent said nozzle and surrounding the path of said stream; means for applying a charging signal between said fluid and said charging electrode whereby to electrostatically charge said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of an input signal; a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets; means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said nozzle and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets; guide means for guiding said record receiving member in a position to receive said stream of droplets; and record receiving member driving means for driving said record receiving member through said guide means.

Claim 31

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record member, means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said fluid to assure the formation of droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate, means for electrostatically charging selected ones of said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a signal input, means for causing the remainder of said discrete droplets to have a common charge value, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, and means for intercepting those droplets having said common charge value.

Claim 32

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid toward a record member, means for introducing regularly spaced varicosities in the stream of said fluid to assure the formation of droplets of uniform dimension and at a constant rate, means for electrostatically charging selected ones of said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a signal input, means for causing the remainder of said discrete droplets to have a common charge value, a pair of electrostatic deflecting electrodes positioned, respectively, on opposite sides of said stream of droplets, means for applying a constant unidirectional electrostatic charge to said deflecting electrodes to produce a constant electric field therebetween whereby to deflect the path of said droplets in their course between said projecting means and said record receiving member in accordance with the charges carried by said discrete droplets, and means for intercepting those droplets having said common charge value.

Claim 33

The invention as set forth in claim 25 wherein said intercepting means comprises a receptacle positioned adjacent the path of said droplets and into which the common charge value droplets are directed.

Claim 34

The invention as set forth in claim 25 wherein said intercepting means includes one of said deflecting electrodes, said one of said electrodes comprising a hollow shell member formed of impervious conductive material and a face member formed of material which is pervious to the writing fluid and onto which the common charge value droplets impinge and means for drawing the intercepted droplets through said pervious member into said hollow shell member.

Claim 35

The invention as set forth in claim 25 wherein the ratio of the number of said selected droplets to the number of the common charge value droplets is a predetermined fixed ratio.

Claim 36

The invention as set forth in claim 25 wherein the ratio of the number of the selected droplets to the number of the common charge value droplets is a function of the rate of change of the signal input.

Claim 37

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced, discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for characterizing said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different characterizations on at least some droplets of the succession, and means for deflecting said discrete droplets in accordance with the characterizations of said droplets during the flight of said droplets between said projecting means and said record receiving member, with droplets having different characterizations being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 38

A direct writing recorder comprising means for projecting a stream of writing fluid in the form of a single file succession of spaced, discrete droplets toward the surface of a record receiving member, means for supporting a record receiving member and for effecting relative movement between the same and said projecting means, means for characterizing said discrete droplets in accordance with the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to effect different characterizations on at least some droplets of the succession, and means for deflecting said discrete droplets in accordance with the characterizations of said droplets during the flight of said droplets between said projecting means and said record receiving member, with droplets having different characterizations being deflected to take different trajectories, said droplets being deposited on the surface of the record member to produce a record that is characterized by the signal variations.

Claim 39

A direct writing recorder as in claim 30 in which the means for characterizing the discrete droplets consists of means for electrostatically charging the droplets and in which the means for deflecting the discrete droplets consists of means forming an electrostatic field through which the droplets are projected.

Claim 40

A direct writing recorder as in claim 31 together with a droplet interceptor disposed whereby predetermined ones of the droplets that are so characterized are projected toward and intercepted by the same.

Claim 41

Liquid droplet recording apparatus comprising, means for forming a fluid jet by supplying fluid to an orifice at a pressure sufficient to cause fluid to issue from the orifice as an unsupported stream, means for providing periodic varicosities in said jet to cause it to divide at predetermined intervals into a single file succession of discrete droplets, means for establishing a droplet charging electric field at the region of said fluid jet where said drop division occurs including means for varying said electric field with time as a function of the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to charge the droplets in accordance with said instantaneous values to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, means for establishing a deflecting electric field in a region traversed by said droplets for causing said drops so charged to follow trajectories that are a function of the amount of charge on said droplets, and means for collecting said droplets, said last means serving to collect droplets having different trajectories in different regions.

Claim 42

Liquid droplet recording apparatus comprising, means for forming a fluid jet by supplying fluid to an orifice at a pressure sufficient to cause fluid to issue from the orifice as an unsupported stream, means for providing periodic varicosities in said jet to cause it to divide at predetermined intervals into a single file succession of discrete droplets, means for establishing a droplet charging electric field at the region of said fluid jet where said drop division occurs including means for varying said electric field with time as a function of the instantaneous values of a variable signal input to charge the droplets in accordance with said instantaneous values to effect different charges on at least some droplets of the succession, means for establishing a deflecting electric field in a region traversed by said droplets for causing said drops so charged to follow trajectories that are a function of the amount of charge on said droplets, and means for collecting said droplets, said last means serving to collect droplets having different trajectories in different regions.