Patent ID: 7337720

Claim:
A doctor blade assembly for use in a flexographic printing system comprising: an ink tray, an anilox roll, an assembly mount positioned in spaced relation adjacent to said anilox roll and above said ink tray, an upper doctor blade extending from said assembly mount into contact with said anilox roll, a lower doctor blade extending from said assembly mount to a position spaced from said anilox roll to form a gap between said lower doctor blade and said anilox roll, said anilox roll, said assembly mount, said upper doctor blade, and said lower doctor blade forming a chamber to receive a flow of ink into and out of said ink tray through said gap, said anilox roll being rotatable through said ink tray to receive a coating of ink on the surface of said anilox roll and direct flow of ink through said gap into said chamber, said upper doctor blade scraping excess ink from said anilox roll into said chamber until the hydraulic pressure in said chamber reaches a predetermined pressure and excess ink is expelled from said chamber through said gap into said ink tray.