Patent ID: 7735981

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling ink in a continuous ink jet printer in which a continuous stream of ink is emitted from a nozzle bore; said apparatus comprising: an ink delivery channel; a source of pressurized ink communicating with the ink delivery channel, said nozzle bore opening into the ink delivery channel to establish a continuous flow of ink in a stream, the nozzle bore defining a nozzle bore perimeter; and a droplet-forming heater which causes the stream to break up into a plurality of droplets at a position spaced from the nozzle bore; and a droplet-steering heater including a plurality of individually, selectively actuated sections associated with less than the entire perimeter of the nozzle bore, whereby actuation of one of the individually selectively actuated sections of the droplet-steering heater produces an asymmetric application of heat to the stream to control direction of the stream.