초록 ▼

A paint injector for digital printing in which paint is deposited in metered amounts on a print medium comprises a wheel rotatable by a shaft of a motor, an idler disposed in a paint reservoir, and an endless cable disposed around the wheel and the idler. The motor is preferably computer controlled

A paint injector for digital printing in which paint is deposited in metered amounts on a print medium comprises a wheel rotatable by a shaft of a motor, an idler disposed in a paint reservoir, and an endless cable disposed around the wheel and the idler. The motor is preferably computer controlled such that the rotation of the wheel and thus movement of the cable is selectively controlled. As the wheel is rotated, paint contained within the paint reservoir coats the cable and is thus drawn by the cable in front of an air stream. The air stream pulls the paint from the cable and carries it toward the print medium. By employing a plurality of such paint injectors into a single print head, each containing a different color of paint, and secured to a computer controlled, movable carriage positioned over the print medium, a digital image can be painted by the print head on the print medium.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] An apparatus for depositing a metered amount of a liquified pigmented material on a surface, comprising:a motor having a rotatable shaft;a wheel rotatable by said shaft of said motor;an idler;an elongate segment disposed around at least a portion of said wheel and a porti

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] An apparatus for depositing a metered amount of a liquified pigmented material on a surface, comprising:a motor having a rotatable shaft;a wheel rotatable by said shaft of said motor;an idler;an elongate segment disposed around at least a portion of said wheel and a portion of said idler and advanceable by said wheel, said segment having a quantity of liquified pigmented material disposed on at least a portion thereof;at least one fluid nozzle positioned and oriented for directing at least one jet of fluid toward said at least a portion of said segment to remove an amount of liquified pigmented material from said segment and direct said amount toward a surface; anda controller electronically connected to said motor for selectively controlling advancement of said elongate segment relative to said at least one fluid nozzle thereby substantially controlling the amount of liquified pigmented material removed from said segment.