Recorders – Markers and/or driving means therefor – With ink supply to marker
Patent
1991-01-24
1994-02-01
Fuller, Benjamin R.
Recorders
Markers and/or driving means therefor
With ink supply to marker
340618, 222147, 137885, 335205, 200 83R, B41T 217, B65D 4702, H01H 900, H01H 3534
Patent
active
052835936
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an ink reservoir for ink printer means that can be coupled via a connecting region to the ink supply system of the ink printer means.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ink printer means, a print head moving along a recording medium is generally supplied with writing fluid from a supply bottle by an ink supply system. The printing head can be composed of a mosaic printing head in which a plurality of printing nozzles are arranged. Due to the contraction events occurring in these printing nozzles during writing mode, such a printing head automatically supplies itself with writing fluid from an ink reservoir. Such ink reservoirs are generally interchangeably fashioned (German AS 26 10 518).
Ink reservoirs for ink printer means are generally fashioned as one-way containers that are filled with ink in the factory and that dare not be re-employed after the ink supply has been used. A refilling of the ink reservoirs is not provided because this refilling harbors the risk that air will penetrate into the ink reservoir. Air bubbles contained in the ink lead to malfunctions of the printing operations, particularly when the ink printing equipment operates based on the under-pressure principle, a principle wherein the ink supply system has a slight under-pressure in comparison to the actual printing nozzle.
Whether bubble jet printing equipment or printing equipment operating according to the piezo-electric principle, ink printer equipment require ink fluid adapted thereto in terms of their composition. If used ink reservoirs are then again filled with ink of an unknown composition by outside manufacturers, then this can lead to malfunctions in the ink printing means. Such an uncontrolled refilling of used ink reservoirs must therefore be prevented.
U.S. Application No. 3,704,813 discloses a container for butane or liquefied gas that comprises a means that prevents a refilling of the container via the valve for safety reasons. To this end, a resilient mount for a closure element in the form of a ball is provided. After the actual filling event, the closing ball is separated from the mount and is irreversibly thrust in front of the filling opening of the container to be filled.
DE-A-34 22 504 also discloses a replaceable ink supply container of the species initially cited that comprises a contact element in the floor region that interacts with an elastic wall of the ink supply container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object (H the invention to fashion an ink reservoir of the species initially cited such that an unauthorized refilling of used ink reservoirs is prevented or, respectively, such that ink reservoirs that have been refilled without authorization can be recognized.
In an ink reservoir of the species initially cited, this object is achieved by the ink reservoir having a means for preventing refilling of the ink reservoir after it is used. In one embodiment, the means for preventing refilling of the ink reservoir includes an elastic wall on the ink reservoir and a contact element arranged inside the ink reservoir in the floor region thereof, this contact element interacting with the elastic wall of the ink reservoir such that, when a minimum ink volume is reached, the elastic wall of the collapsing ink reservoir moves the contact element into a contact position, the contact element being fashioned such that, after a minimum volume of the ink supply is reached, the contact element retains its contact position independently of refilling of the ink reservoir. The ink printer means also has a control arrangement that senses the contact position of the contact element and, dependent thereon, actuates an alarm means and/or suppresses the printer operation. The contact element is formed of two contact pieces, and, in a preferred embodiment, one of the two contact pieces is composed of magnetizable material, and the other contact piece is a magnetic element.
Alternately, the means for preventing refilling of the reservoir is a
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patent: 4604633 (1986-08-01), Kimura et al.
Fuller Benjamin R.
Mannesmann AG
Yockey David
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