Patent ID: 7118048
Filing Date: 2006-10-10
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. A device for altering a trajectory of a droplet comprising: a nozzle for accepting a fluid stream and at least one droplet having a first trajectory, the nozzle being shaped so that the fluid stream alters the first trajectory, the nozzle comprising an entrance port at a proximal end of the nozzle, an exit port at a distal end of the nozzle and a throat through which the fluid stream and the droplet move, with the throat extending from the entrance port to the exit port, and the entrance port having a first cross-sectional diameter taken perpendicular to a centerline that is centered in the throat and that extends from the proximal end to the distal end, and the exit port having a second cross-sectional diameter taken perpendicular to the centerline that is less than the first cross-sectional diameter, and the throat having a throat cross-sectional diameter taken perpendicular to the centerline with the throat cross-sectional diameter changing over most of the distance from the entrance port to the exit port; and wherein the first trajectory of the droplet traversing the throat is alterable by the fluid stream in the throat to a second trajectory without breaking apart the droplet.