Patent ID: 8556397

Claim:
An ink container usable with an image forming apparatus having a carriage to transport the ink container in a reciprocating motion across a substrate and an ink ejector to eject the ink onto the substrate, the ink container comprising: a chamber configured to supply ink to the ink ejector of the image forming apparatus; and a separation member disposed within the chamber and including a plurality of side walls extending downwardly and a ramp portion disposed between the side walls, the separation member configured to separate unwanted particles from the ink in response to the reciprocating motion of the carriage and gravity, and to direct the ink downstream to the ink ejector; the plurality of side walls configured to form at least a portion of trenches to collect the unwanted particles, respectively; and the ramp portion configured to direct the unwanted particles to the respective trenches in response to the reciprocating motion of the carriage and the gravity, and to direct the ink downstream to the ink ejector of the image forming apparatus.