JPH0350708B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

This invention relates to an ink agitator,
It particularly relates to non-rotating wedge type ink stirrers. In printing presses, it is common to form an ink reservoir or container between a reservoir roller and an ink reservoir blade. Between the ink reservoir blade and the ink reservoir roller,
There is a metering nip, or gap, that controls the amount of metered ink on the sump roller. It is common to include an ink agitator within the ink reservoir to mix the ink within the ink reservoir and also to help ensure uniform distribution of the ink within the reservoir. Traditionally, ink agitators have been used more often in sheet-fed printing presses rather than web printing presses. This is because, generally speaking, sheet-fed printers use more viscous ink than web printers. Fluid inks used in web printing presses did not require the use of ink agitators. Furthermore, if the web printing press is hand-fed,
Ink agitators are undesirable due to the time required for periodic cleaning and maintenance tasks which add to the difficulty. The recent increase in the use of web printing presses and the trend towards thicker and more viscous inks has substantially increased the use of ink agitators. Similarly, for sheet-fed printing presses, more and more printing devices are being equipped with ink stirrers.
Accordingly, the demand for ink agitators has increased. There are five reasons why a stirrer is used. 1. To prevent ink film. 2. Maintain an adequate supply of ink to the metering nip. 3. Maintaining uniform distribution of ink along the length of the reservoir. 4. Making the ink work to improve the flow characteristics of the ink on the roller. 5. Mix the ink in the reservoir. Ink film involves the formation of a partially dry film or thin film on the surface of the ink. Although this occurs more quickly in sheet-fed presses, the problem also occurs in commercial web presses that use heatset inks if the ink used dries out by oxidation. Apart from the consequences of ink wastage, coatings are undesirable because the thin film dissipates and causes spots. This in turn leads to waste of important paper and loss of productivity. A properly configured ink agitator eliminates the film by continuously stirring the ink and creating a new surface free of a thin film. Proper operation of the ink reservoir requires that a sufficient supply of ink be provided to the metering nip. However, the ink tends to recede or drain from the sump roller and even form crevices adjacent to the roller. In the end, this
Even if there is sufficient ink remaining in the reservoir, the nip will run out of ink. A suitably configured ink agitator maintains the ink in contact with the sump roller. Ink agitators can also help prevent metering nip starvation in areas of heavy ink application, which can adversely dilute print density. When ink does not flow freely along the length of the reservoir, ink starvation may occur where more ink is used, especially in areas where less fluid ink is used. A poorly configured ink stirrer will push or plow ink toward the ends of the reservoir. Thus increasing the problem. A fourth reason for using an ink agitator is to create an effect on the ink present in the reservoir, thereby reducing the viscosity of the ink delivered to the inking roller. The agitator makes this possible by continuously pushing the ink in contact with the roller, although the actual action of the ink is influenced by the sump roller rather than the agitator. Another reason for using an ink agitator is its mixing ability, which prevents sudden changes in the composition of the ink presented to the metering nip, which can cause sudden or drastic changes in print density.
Sudden changes in ink composition occur due to fresh ink being added to the ink reservoir to compensate for consumption.
i.e. previous down collar (previous down collar)
waste paper, emulsified ink, or ink bleed from the rollers, all of which are carried into the sump by the ink returned from the roller wheels. The prior art teaches a variety of different types of ink agitator devices. A commonly used arrangement consisted of one or more narrow vane-shaped fingers positioned proximate a reservoir vane perpendicular to the roller. The fingers reciprocate parallel to the axis of the roller. Additionally, other agitator constructions have been attempted to include plow-type traverse fingers and also include vertical rods configured to longitudinally break the ink waves created by conventional vane-type fingers. Attempts have also been made to have Another stirrer using two rocking arms was placed at the bottom of the box basin. None of these proposals were completely satisfactory in that they were difficult to clean and sometimes a gap of ink formed at one end of the reservoir. More recently, pyramidal traverse members have been used with some success in small copying presses. The most commonly used ink agitator is a rotating cone-shaped member placed in the ink sump substantially perpendicular to the sump roller, with less than 1/16 inch (0.16 cm) gap between it and the sump vane. use. The cone is attached to an agitator that traverses the cone back and forth along the length of the reservoir. When the stirrer moves back and forth, the cone also rotates in the counter-rotational direction. In other words, the conical stirrer rotates in the opposite direction to the direction in which it would rotate due to movement of the stirrer if it were freely mounted. This counter-rotation action is very important because it prevents ink from plowing into one end of the reservoir.
If the cone does not rotate in the counter-rotational direction,
Ink is skimmed or pushed along the edges of the reservoir. Scooping is generally defined as pushing the ink stirrer to the ends of the ink reservoir and back. This is undesirable. This is because rapid depletion of the metering nip occurs in the center of the ink reservoir. Additionally, as a result of plowing, some ink will be pushed up and behind the sump vanes, creating a higher ink shoreline. Scooping also causes ink overflow at both ends of the reservoir. Conical stirrer by HW Gegenheimer
U.S. Patent No. 3,848,529 dated November 19, 1974;
and HW Gegenheimer, US Pat. No. 3,084,025, April 9, 1963. Although cone-type ink agitators have improved to become a valuable accessory to offset printing presses, the need to provide a rotating cone has evolved to become a burden. This creates two drawbacks when used with certain types of printing presses. The first of these drawbacks arises from the location and arrangement of the agitator housing body, which is limited by the need to accommodate the traverse mechanism and to conically transmit rotational motion. The main element of the agitator traverse mechanism consists of a U-shaped cross-section body mounted parallel to the sump roller. The body has rails that hold and support the conical carriage. An endless chain driven by an electric motor traverses the carriage back and forth along the agitator body. The agitator cone is mounted on a shaft which is held by bearings in the carriage. A gear fixed to the shaft engages a fixing rack mounted within the body. Thus, when the carriage is moved by the endless chain, the cone is rotated by the action of the gear rotating along the rack. Although this configuration is functionally satisfactory, it provides little flexibility in the positioning of the stirrer body. Several different indirect disk drive arrangements have been tried to provide greater flexibility in the placement of the agitator body. However, all of the agitator designs have one feature in common, namely that a U-shaped cross-section body is mounted on its side with the opening of the body facing the sump. This arrangement causes problems in web printing presses in that the traverse mechanism is exposed to dirt and contamination from ink leakage, both during manual feeding and during sump cleaning. The second restoration of the rotating cone configuration arises from the fact that, even with various configuration variations, it is not always possible to install an ink stirrer at the location of the printing press. The press does not obstruct access to the ink reservoir or incorporate printer procedures. This problem is particularly acute for both the lower printing units of many web printing presses and many conventional recessed sheet-fed printing presses. Moreover, the conical, traverse, rotating ink agitator cone requires relatively large component parts, as previously indicated. Manufacturing such an ink stirrer is thus expensive. It is also difficult and time wasted cleaning the ink covered areas. Web printing presses operate at high speeds and as a result use more ink than normal, and printers are constantly replenishing ink, which means that an inattentive printer can transfer ink into the inner workings of the ink stirrer. Because it will spill. It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved ink agitator for use in an ink fountain. Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved non-rotating ink agitator. Yet another object of the invention is to prevent plowing and to provide effective mixing of the ink within the ink reservoir. A new and improved non-rotating ink agitator is provided. Still another object of the invention is a non-rotating ink agitator which is substantially wedge-shaped and reciprocated to mix the ink within the ink reservoir and which is capable of uniformly distributing the ink with respect to the ink reservoir and preventing plowing. Our goal is to provide the following. Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved ink agitator that is simple in construction and reduces manufacturing costs. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a non-rotating wedge type ink agitator that is simple in structure. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, and to some extent will be apparent from the drawings, and the objects and advantages will be particularly apparent from the parts, apparatus, methods and apparatus pointed out in the claims. It will become clear that it is understood and held by means of and procedures. Briefly, the present invention relates to a non-rotating wedge-shaped ink agitator that traverses back and forth within an ink reservoir. The wedge-shaped agitator is moved back and forth within the ink reservoir by means of an endless chain, which may be of the art known in the art or of any other known means. The main purpose of a typical wedge agitator is to push the ink against the sump roller. That is, even though there is a natural tendency of the ink to recede from the ink roller, it creates a nip feed. Additionally, the ink agitator creates rotational motion by creating waves of ink that cause turbulence and mixing of the ink. At the same time, the stirrer must not create a plow. That is, ink is moved from the center within the reservoir and deposited at both ends of the reservoir. The ink stirrer of the present invention, which achieves the above-mentioned effects, is non-rotating and slides along the sump vane in the longitudinal direction of the sump adjacent to the sump roller. The bottom surface of the wedge stirrer is substantially flat, allowing the stirrer to slide closely along the bottom surface of the sump, which is the sump vane. A wedge agitator extends into the sump and terminates a short distance from the sump roller. The narrowest portion of the wedge is adjacent to the sump roller. The ink stirrer has a vertical cross-sectional shape that is a typical inverted trapezoid, with both non-parallel sides having equal lengths. The size of the trapezoid decreases in its cross-sectional shape as it approaches the tip or tip of the ink stirrer. There are several important angles in the construction of a wedge-shaped ink stirrer. These are the nose angle, plow angle and cone angle. By proper control and interrelation of these angles, the wedge-shaped non-rotating ink stirrer achieves the desired results. The invention comprises new parts, receivers, structures and improvements as shown and described. The completed drawings embodying and forming a part of this specification illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the drawings, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In FIG. 1, an overview of the invention is shown. As illustrated therein, a typical sump roller 2, sump vane 4, housing 6, and ink agitator 8 are shown. The sump vanes 4 are arranged relative to the sump rollers so as to form an ink metering gap 11 . The ink reservoir roller 2, the ink reservoir vane 4, and the side wall for the ink reservoir (not shown) form an ink reservoir space for receiving ink. In the normal case, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink agitator is mounted proximate the ink sump and extends into the sump to a terminal position proximate the sump roller 2. The ink agitator is reciprocated back and forth within the sump by conventional means shown, from one end of the sump to the other and from one end of the sump roller to the other. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink in the ink reservoir tends to form valleys along the ink reservoir roller 2 at locations adjacent to the ink reservoir roller 2. As shown in FIG. Figure 3 shows the direction of the waves formed,
The waves formed cause mixing of the ink.
(See arrow) As previously mentioned, one known type of ink agitator is a conical agitator that traverses the ink reservoir while rotating in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation. That is, the agitator reciprocates within the reservoir in a direction opposite to that of the freewheel. This type of stirrer is quite satisfactory from a practical point of view. However, as pointed out earlier, with such a configuration, the stickiness can lead to contamination of the ink, and this can cause interference with mechanisms such as the ink reservoir. will occur. Efforts have been made to avoid problems involving sticking mechanisms where rotating cones are used, and one effort has been to develop non-rotating ink agitators. This structural arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the non-rotating ink agitator has a base 1 with a base plate 12.
has 0. The base plate 12 is adapted to be coupled to a suitable housing that can cause reciprocating movement of the base plate 12 and its associated structure. The structure 14 extends from the base 10.
It's like a horn. The corner corner 14 is wide proximate the base 10 and tapers uniformly to a terminal apex 16 normally located proximate the ink roller 2. The wedge-shaped portion shown in cross section (FIG. 7) is generally triangular in shape. Square pyramidal element 14
has a tip 18 and two slanted sides 20. In non-rotating ink agitators, it has been found that there are several important angles, some of which have been found to be important, at least for some situations. Conical angle: An angle shown at C in FIG. 5 formed between the ends of the inclined side surfaces 20. Plow Angle: The angle between the bases of the sloping sides. This is essentially the angle of the side 20 that is in contact with the ink. The clearance angle is shown at P in FIG. Nose angle: The angle of inclination from the base 24 to the tip 18 shown at N in FIG. There are several criteria used to determine the effectiveness of an ink agitator. Ink Mixing: The ability to mix the inks in the ink reservoir. This has been evaluated by the number of ink stirrer passes required to add a known amount of yellow ink to a known amount of varnish and mix the two. Vertical Distribution: The ability of an ink agitator to evenly distribute ink along the reservoir nip. Nip Supply: The ability of an ink agitator positioned to feed ink adjacent to the sump roller to the sump nip. Film Prevention: The ability of an ink agitator to prevent the formation of a thin film and crust of ink within the ink reservoir. Plow and lack of plow: The ability of an ink agitator to prevent ink from accumulating or being washed away at one end of the ink reservoir. The table is a comparison between various ink agitator designs. A standard rotary agitator is an ink agitator of the type described in the aforementioned patent that rotates in a non-rotational direction. A counter-rotating stirrer has a similar structure to a standard rotary stirrer, except that it rotates in the opposite direction, i.e. in the direction of rotation. Ink stirrers, described as pyramidal, are illustrated in FIGS. 4-7. The agitator described as an improved non-rotating agitator is an ink agitator according to the present invention. As seen in the table, the stirrer according to the invention led to the best overall effectiveness.

【table】

[Table] One embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 to 11. As shown therein, the non-rotating ink agitator has a substantially flat base 2
6. It has a side surface 28 that slopes upward and outward from the flat base, a top surface 30 that slopes toward the base 26 toward the tip of the stirrer, and a rear surface 32. As shown in Figures 9 to 11,
There is a plow angle P, a cone angle C, and a nose angle N that are less than 90°. This is shown in FIG. 11 that the cross section of the ink stirrer is in the shape of an inverted isosceles trapezoid with equal clearance angles. To determine preferred cone and plow angles, a series of tests were conducted using plow angles varying from 45° to 135° and cone angles varying from 0° to 90°. The results are explained in the table where the following results are explained. 1. Plow 2. Rotation (mixing) 3. Feeding 4. Objective evaluation of overall performance

【table】

[Table] As a result of these tests, it has been found that the plow angle should be less than 90°, that is, in the range from 45° to 90°. The cone angle should range from 15° to 45°. In a preferred embodiment, the clearance angle is approximately 60° and the cone angle is approximately
It is 45°. While nose angle was not considered important, it has been found that a nose angle of about 30° gives satisfactory results. In FIG. 3, the ink agitator of the present invention is shown in a functional position. As can be seen there, the ink agitator causes a rotating motion of the ink in the general shape of waves as indicated by the arrows. The ink wave causes thorough and complete ink mixing. It has been found that with certain devices and under certain conditions there is a lift problem. The lift consists of a column of ink that rises or moves upward from a sump roller within the sump. If allowed continuously, the rise is the result of ink leakage. In either case, excessive rise creates problems with the formation of a thin film within the ink reservoir. Figures 12-16 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention that provides a proposed solution to the lift problem. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 8-11. The agitator according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 16 has a base 36, inclined side surfaces 38, 3
8, a sloped top surface 40, and a rear surface 32, all of which are seen in the embodiment of FIGS. 8-11. The structural member 44 connecting the wedge-shaped stirrer with stirrer carriage consists of a relatively thin wedge-shaped piece of material. In a preferred embodiment, the effective angle of the wedge-shaped support member is approximately 15 degrees. (FIG. 15) It has been found that this support member, which is curved rather than straight as shown in the figure, prevents lifting. In agitator embodiments, it has been found important to control the cross-sectional area to prevent plowing. that the cross-sectional area of the wedge agitator that engages the ink, normal to the sump roller axis and plane, should be in the range 1/6 to 1/9 of the cross-sectional area of the ink in the filled sump; I started to feel nervous. A preferred ratio is that the cross-sectional area of the agitator is 1/8 of the area of ink contained in the filled reservoir.
Two examples below illustrate the advantages of the invention. EXAMPLE 1 A series of tests was carried out using a conventional rotating cone stirrer as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, a square pyramid stirrer as shown in FIGS. was performed to evaluate the comparative performance of the configured configurations. These tests were performed in a typical ink fountain, which is 48 inches (122 cm)
It was the length of. At the beginning of each test, temporary partitions were placed in the reservoir to form three separate containers. The central container was placed in the middle and measured 11 inches (28 cm) long, while the two outer containers each measured approximately 18 inches (46 cm). The center area was filled with No. 760870 Heatset Yellow Ink manufactured by Inmant Corporation. The two end containers were filled with No. OPKJ255 varnish, also supplied by Inmant Corporation. in general,
Two types of tests were performed at high level and low level. In the high level test, 5 pounds (2.3
Kg) of ink was placed into the full reservoir length, whereas in the low level test, the equivalent amount of ink was approximately 2 lbs (0.9 Kg). The test method involves moving temporary partitions;
This includes starting both the ink agitator and the roller ratch mechanism at the same time. The plowing performance of the stirrer is
The number of traverses of the stirrer was observed subjectively while being recorded for various mixing conditions. In the case of the improved configuration, three different sizes were tried. These dimensions are determined as the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the ink contained in the filled reservoir to the cross-sectional area of the agitator. These test results, summarized in Table
Cone angle 45°, nose angle 25°, and area ratio 8
V.1) has greatly improved mixing performance at low sump levels. This is especially important. This is because it indicates good mixing of the ink supplied to the sump metering gap. At high ink levels, the mixing performance of the improved configuration is also better than the rotating cone,
Corresponds to square geometry. Ultimately, the test results show that the plow performance of the improved configuration is significantly sensitive to its magnitude. If the improved arrangement is oversized (eg, 6 to 1), the plow performance of the improved arrangement will be unmatched. However, if the size is appropriate (for example, 8
1), the plowing performance of the improved configuration is excellent. Noise relates to a reservoir roller that does not move, whereas indexing relates to a reservoir roller that is indexed. That is, it partially rotates a certain amount.

【table】

[Table] *This data is important because the metering nip was thoroughly mixed. The ink thus metered onto the sump roller was 100% mixed. The unmixed ink settled along the back edge of the ink volume. In other words, it is further away than the nip.
Example 2 To evaluate the performance of the improved configuration, a series of tests were carried out on a GTO type Heidelberg printing press with respect to a conventional rotating cone and a stirrerless machine.
The whole concept of these tests is to place a pre-selected amount of ink into the press sump and print, using the format shown in Figure 17, so that a good quality paper is filled with ink. Until it can no longer be obtained due to local deficiency of the reservoir nip. In Figure 17, this form is a sheet that was used to test the non-rotating ink stirrer of the present invention, and has a size of 31.43 cm x 46.99 cm, and the shaded area is the solid printing area covered with ink. express. The area covered by ink is 348.38 cm ² or 24% of the printing area. In Figure 17,
(SA) indicates the solid printing area of 7.62 cm x 15.24 cm, and (SAP) is related to the density line in Figure 18, measured at a point 3.175 cm from the left edge of the solid printing area. It shows the points.
The number of good sheets obtained and the amount of ink remaining in the reservoir provided a measure of the lateral ink distribution within the reservoir. The next step was to run the press to smoothen until a satisfactory paper was obtained. The press was then stopped and all ink in the reservoir was removed. Next, 3 ounces (85 g) of ink was measured and placed into the reservoir. The printer was instructed to use an ink knife to distribute this initial ink filling as evenly as possible over the 18 inch (46 cm) length of the reservoir. The press counter was reset to 0 and the press was started. Print density and ink level in the reservoir were monitored to detect occurrences of reservoir starvation. about
200 sheets of paper were run past that point and the printing press was stopped at that time. Concentration readings were taken and plotted as shown in FIG. Figure 18 shows that while the conical configuration is much better than the stirrerless configuration, the improved configuration represents an even more significant improvement over both. Specifically, 2275 sheets of high quality paper can be printed using the improved configuration,
That is in contrast to 1750 sheets of high quality paper in a rotating cone and 1375 sheets of high quality paper when no agitator was used. The comparative performance of different stirrer configurations was also evaluated by that fact. The fact is that the improved configuration consumes 85% of the ink (0.45 oz (13 g) remaining in the reservoir), 68% for the rotating cone (0.97 oz (27 g) remaining), and For non-stirrers, only 55% (remaining 1.34%)
as opposed to an ounce (38g). Figure 18 shows the results. The print test is run with 3 ounces (85 g) of ink in the reservoir at the beginning of the test. The lack of sump nip in a non-stirring machine is
This occurred after 1375 sheets of paper were printed and 1.34 ounces (38 grams) of ink remained in the reservoir. With the improved agitator configuration installed, nip starvation did not occur until 2275 sheets of paper had been run and nearly 0.45 ounces (13 g) of ink had been consumed. A similar test with a conical agitator yielded 1750 sheets of good paper with 0.97 ounces (27 grams) of ink remaining. Testing was carried out on a Heidelberg GTO printing press at 6500 iph (165 mph)
It was run on 80 lb (36 Kg) coated printing paper using a yellow ink process.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the ink agitator of the present invention in the ink reservoir adjacent to the ink reservoir roller;
3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one type of prior art; and FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 6 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 6; and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. , FIG. 9 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG.
11 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10; FIG.
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention;
3 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 14 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in FIG.
Vertical cross-sectional view at 15-15 in Figure 2, No. 17
Figure 18 is an illustration of a table used to test ink density after a period of use, and Figure 18 is a comparison table illustrating one of the advantages of the present invention. 2... Ink reservoir roller, 4... Ink reservoir blade, 8... Non-rotating ink agitator, 36... Bottom surface, 38... Side surface, 40... Head surface, P...
Plow angle, C... Cone angle.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An ink reservoir having an ink reservoir vane and an ink reservoir roller, the ink reservoir having a portion extending in close proximity to the ink reservoir roller and adapted to reciprocate back and forth within the ink reservoir. A non-rotating ink agitator comprising: (a) a plate adapted to be connected to reciprocating means; (b) an ink agitator mounted to extend from said plate; and (c) the ink stirrer is adapted to slide in close proximity to the top surface of the ink sump vane;
(d) having a substantially planar base surface that is relatively wide at one end and tapered at a relatively narrow portion proximate the sump roller; (d) a side surface extending upwardly and outwardly from the base surface; (e) said side surface forms an acute angle with respect to an extension of said base surface; and (f) has a substantially flat top surface that is relatively wide at one end and tapers at a relatively narrow portion proximate said sump roller. (g) said base surface, said side surfaces, and said top surface form an isosceles trapezoid in a vertical cross section; and (h) said top surface is wider on a wider side than on a narrower side of said base surface; A wedge-shaped ink agitator device, characterized in that the wedge-shaped ink agitator device is spaced apart from the base surface by a large distance. 2. A non-rotating ink stirrer used to reciprocate back and forth within the ink reservoir along the length direction of the ink reservoir roller in an ink reservoir having an ink reservoir blade and an ink reservoir roller, a) a relatively flat bottom surface adapted to be proximate to the ink fountain vane; and (b) extending upwardly and outwardly from said bottom surface, thereby forming a respective clearance angle therebetween. (c) the bottom surface, the side surfaces, and the top surface,
(d) forming an isosceles trapezoid in vertical cross section and having an area that is smallest in proximity to the sump roller and gradually increases away from the sump roller; A wedge-shaped ink agitator device, characterized in that it tapers towards the end, thereby forming a conical corner. 3. The non-rotating ink agitator according to claim 2, wherein the gap angle is an acute angle. 4. The non-rotating ink agitator according to claim 3, wherein the gap angle is in the range of 45° to 90°. 5. The cone angle is in the range of 15° to 45°,
A non-rotating ink agitator according to claim 4. 6. The non-rotating ink agitator of claim 5, wherein the cone angle is about 45 degrees. 7. The non-rotating ink agitator of claim 5, wherein the gap angle is about 60 degrees. 8. The non-rotating ink stirrer of claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional area of the stirrer is in the range of 1/6 to 1/9 of the cross-sectional area of a filled ink reservoir. 9. Claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional area of the stirrer is 1/8 of the cross-sectional area of the filled ink reservoir.
Non-rotating ink agitator as described in Section. 10. The non-rotating ink agitator of claim 3, comprising a wedge-shaped support member attached to the agitator. 11. The non-rotating ink agitator of claim 10, wherein the wedge-shaped support member has an included angle of about 15 degrees. 12. A non-rotating ink agitator according to claim 11, having means for preventing ink from rising within the ink reservoir. 13. Claim 1, wherein said means comprises a wedge-shaped support member connected to said top surface of said agitator.
The non-rotating ink agitator according to item 2. 14. The non-rotating ink agitator of claim 13, wherein the wedge-shaped support member has an included angle of about 15 degrees.