Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2001-03-06
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196665
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to apparatus for removably mounting one or more ink cartridges within a carriage for reciprocally moving the cartridge of a small ink jet printer through the printing station of a machine.
In particular, this invention relates to a latching mechanism for removably securing one or more ink cartridges in the carriage of a small point of sale type printer. Many of the devices for securing an ink cartridge in a carriage involves lever and spring mechanisms that are relatively large and complex devices. As a consequence, these devices consume a good deal of valuable space and leave little room for the user to operate the mechanism during insertion and removal of the cartridge. It should be further noted that many of these prior art devices are arranged so that they bear directly upon the back wall of the cartridge when the cartridge is latched within the carrier. The cartridge is typically constructed of a thin material such as plastic and the holding force of the latching device can deform the cartridge forcing ink from the nozzles. This, in turn, produces unwanted dirt problems within the printer which, in extreme cases, requires the machine to be taken out of service for cleaning.
By the same token, if the latching mechanism does not hold the cartridge securely within the carrier, there is a high probability that the electrical connector located upon the front face of the cartridge will not make positive contact with the input terminals located on the opposing front wall of the carrier. When this occurs, the printer will produce a faulty or unintelligible printout.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,247, some latching devices require specially configured ink cartridges to insure proper engagement and operation of the latching mechanism. The cost of the ink cartridge is therefore substantially higher than the less complex cartridges presently in the market and therefore, reliability is generally lessened due to the close tolerances between parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to improve apparatus for reciprocally moving one or more ink cartridges through the printing station of a small ink jet printer.
It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the size of a carriage required to reciprocally move one or more ink cartridges through the printing station of a small ink jet printer.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for easy insertion and removal of an ink cartridge from an ink cartridge carrier.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for more positive registration of an ink cartridge in an ink cartridge carriage.
Yet another object of the present invention is to positively register an ink cartridge within a carriage without deforming the ink cartridge.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by apparatus for reciprocally moving one or more ink cartridges through the printing station of a small ink jet printer. The apparatus includes a carriage containing an open top compartment for removably containing an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge rests upon a raised pad mounted in the floor of the compartment and a latching mechanism urges the front wall of the cartridge into registration with the front wall of the compartment. The latching mechanism includes a frame that is rotatably supported in the rear wall of the compartment. A biasing member is pivotally supported in the frame and contains a pair of spaced apart ramps that are adapted to contact the back of an ink cartridge that is inserted into the compartment immediately behind the corner where the back wall of the cartridge joins the side walls. The ramps are contoured so that they ride in rolling contact against the back of the cartridge as the frame is raised from an initial rearwardly canted position to an upright vertical position. When the frame is placed in the upright position, the flat section on each ramp snaps over into vertical alignment with the back wall of the cartridge thereby urging the front of the cartridge into positive registration with the front wall of the compartment.
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Le N.
Nguyen Judy
TransAct Technologies, Inc.
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
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