Orifice plate cleaning system
US4528996A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1983 |
| Grant date | Jul 16, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01D15/18
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An orifice plate cleaning system having a source of solvent, an elongate orifice plate having a plurality of orifices therethrough and an elongate plate face composed of a solvent-wettable material and oriented to be inclined downwardly from the horizontal, and a solvent conduit for depositing solvent at an upper end of the plate face so that solvent flows downwardly by gravity to wet the plate face completely and remove dried ink deposits therefrom. The system includes a vacuum tube adjacent a lower end of the plate face to remove the solvent containing dissolved ink from it. In preferred embodiments, the plate face includes sharply-defined, opposing longitudinal edges which prevent the solvent from running off of the orifice plate, a side plate having a surface made of a solvent-wettable material which abuts an upper longitudinal edge of the plate face so that it is wetted by a solvent flowing along the orifice plate, a second side plate made of a non-solvent-wettable material abutting a lower longitudinal edge of the orifice plate, or a support plate for supporting the orifice plate and made of a non-solvent-wettable material, all acting to prevent the solvent from running off o…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.