Ink jet printer

Claim 1

An ink jet printer comprising: a source of pressurized air; a liquid container; an ink jet print comprising a front nozzle member having a front channel, a housing secured to said front nozzle member, a rear nozzle member defining with said housing a liquid chamber connected to said container and defining with said front nozzle member a laminar airflow chamber, the rear nozzle member having a forwardly projecting nozzle and a rear channel extending from the liquid chamber in axial alignment with said front chamber said front and rear nozzle members being respectively formed of a flat panel and arranged in face-to-face relationship with each other, and said forwardly projecting nozzle being in the shape of a ring projecting from the flat-panel rear nozzle member as an extension of said rear channel for forming a meniscus at a forward end of said extension, said ring-shaped projection substantially corresponding in radial dimensions to said front channel, said airflow chamber being connected to said air source for directing air to a point between said front and rear channels so that it makes a sharp turn at the entry into said front channel creating a sharp pressure gradient along a path between forward ends of said front and rear channels and creating a dead air region surrounding said meniscus as a result of the sharp pressure gradient; means including an electrode adjacent the forward end of said front channel for establishing an electric field gradient between said front channel and said meniscus to cause the meniscus to be partially expelled through said front channel; means connecting said liquid container to said air source so that in the absence of said electric field gradient the liquid pressure in said rear channel is statically balanced with the combined forces of said air pressure acting on said meniscus and the surface tension of the liquid;