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Filling an ink jet printer supply system involving the formation of an air bubble in a subspace of a print head tank having two subspaces divided by a mesh
Filling an ink jet printer supply system involving the formation of an air bubble in a subspace of a print head tank having two subspaces divided by a mesh
A method and apparatus for filling an ink supply system in an ink jet printer is disclosed, a nozzle print head tank 3 (Fig.1) of which is fed from an ink reservoir 2 (Fig.2) via a feed valve 9. Nozzle outlets 8b of a print head 1 are arranged to contact a cleaning station 4 including a suction pump 5 which cleans the nozzles. The nozzle print head tank is filled with ink 6 which may be mixed with air. The nozzle print head tank is divided into two subspaces 3a,3b separated by a fine-mesh screen 7. In a filling operation, the feed from the ink reservoir is closed by the valve and suction applied through the nozzles 8 of the print head by the pump to produce a reduced, small air bubble 11 which forms in the space 3b before the nozzle inlets 8a. The pump is then stopped and the valve opened to replenish the tank through a suction effect which compresses the air bubble due to ambient pressure. A compensating air bubble remains in the tank subspace 3b as a cushion against pressure fluctuations in the ink supply caused by vibrations/oscillations of a carriage (not shown) on which the print head tank may be mounted.
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