Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-24
2001-10-30
Nguyen, Judy (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
C222S493000, C222S496000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309059
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a cartridge stopper with a valve function, especially for printing ink cartridges made of plastic.
2. Description of Related Art
Modern printing presses use continuously controlled automatic ink feed to the fountain. For this purpose, plastic cartridges filled with ink are placed in pneumatic extrusion devices mounted on the printer fountain that extrude ink pneumatically pulsewise into the fountain in the quantities required. The cartridges have a cartridge stopper with a valve function (i.e., it also functions as a valve).
Known cartridge stoppers of this type include elastic sealing membranes that act as valves and are cut in a stellate or simple diametral fashion. Such stoppers open when pressure is exerted on the cartridge contents and automatically close again by elastic return when the pressure is relieved. However, such stoppers do not operate satisfactorily as experience has shown.
A number of requirements are placed on such a cartridge stopper with a valve function. For example, to hold and transport the cartridges until they are used and to store opened cartridges until they are used again, the cartridge must be sealed absolutely air-tight to prevent the ink from drying out. Any leak, however small, in the vicinity of the cartridge stopper causes the ink to dry out even to a small extent in the outlet area, clogging the outlet opening and preventing the valve from functioning, and especially making tight re-closure impossible. This poses the unwanted condition of ink cartridges that are still mostly full, becoming useless. This is especially serious when only small quantities of one color are required (at any particular time) for multicolor printing.
Additionally, when the color cartridge is in use, application of pneumatic pressure to the extruding piston is intended to open the seal in order to allow ink to escape and then to close it again as tightly as possible. This function is extremely important for the use of printing ink cartridges in presses with continuously controlled automatic ink feed to the fountain since the ink cartridges remain in place in the pneumatic extrusion devices throughout printing and must supply ink to the fountain without dripping, and in particular with no air being allowed to enter the cartridges between ink extrusion pulses as a result of leaks at the cartridge stopper.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Hence, it is one aspect of embodiments of the invention to provide a cartridge stopper with a valve function that meets the above-noted requirements in an optimum fashion.
These and/or other aspects can be achieved by providing a cartridge stopper with a valve function, preferably for printing ink cartridges made of plastic, with one or more of the following features. An outwardly convex central body is connected to a mouthpiece neck of a cartridge end wall by inwardly projecting ribs. The mouthpiece neck preferably has a cylindrical end section that extends beyond a connecting area with the ribs, the end section terminating approximately at the circumference of the central body and delimiting a slit opening therewith. Preferably, there is a valve sleeve on the mouthpiece neck. The valve sleeve has a lower (axially inner) part that latches axially with the mouthpiece neck and an upper (axially outer) part connected therewith by wall ribs. The upper part has a sealing lip that cooperates with the central body. The wall ribs produce a connection that is spring-elastic in the axial direction between the lower part and the upper part of the valve sleeve.
The cartridge stopper also can include a sealing lid that fits over the central body, and the valve sleeve and can be screwed onto (or otherwise connected to) the mouthpiece neck.
Each of the wall ribs of the cartridge stopper can have an approximately S-shape, extend between the lower part and the upper part of the valve sleeve, and are positioned around a circumference of the valve sleeve. The S-shaped wall ribs can be arranged in pairs or double pairs with opposite circumferential directional patterns in a plurality of groups distributed at the circumference of the sleeve. The lower (annular) part of the valve sleeve can be made with a plurality of latching openings distributed around the circumference, the openings being latchable over latching protuberances formed at the outer circumference of the mouthpiece neck.
The upper part of the valve sleeve can be made with a U-shaped profile that fits over the upper end area of the mouthpiece neck. The inner U-leg of the U-shaped profile can be formed as an elastic sealing lip cooperating with the inside wall area of the mouthpiece neck. The U-shaped profile of the upper part of the valve sleeve and the profile of the free end of the mouthpiece neck can be designed in complementary fashion so that there is a double linear contact between the two along two concentric annular contact lines.
The stopper lid can have an inside wall area that tensions the sealing lip of the upper part of the valve sleeve against the central body when the stopper lid is screwed on.
When the upper part of the valve sleeve has the U-shaped profile, the stopper lid can have an inside wall area which tensions the U-shaped profile of the upper part of the valve sleeve against the free end of the mouthpiece neck when the stopper lid is screwed onto the mouthpiece neck.
The mouthpiece neck can have on its inside wall surface, a shoulder or transition positioned in such fashion and formed by a change in diameter such that when the valve sleeve is located in a rear (closed) position, the sealing lip cooperates with a larger-diameter inside wall area of the mouthpiece neck, and alternately cooperates with a smaller-diameter inside wall area of the mouthpiece neck located beyond the shoulder or transition when the valve sleeve is deflected axially into an advanced (open) position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2628004 (1953-02-01), Schlicksupp
patent: 4141474 (1979-02-01), Nilson
patent: 1 56 379 B (1939-06-01), None
patent: 19 05 452 (1964-11-01), None
patent: 1 908 821 (1970-09-01), None
patent: 78 18 797 U1 (1978-10-01), None
patent: 197 05 201 C1 (1998-04-01), None
patent: 1 593 084 (1981-07-01), None
Nguyen Judy
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
LandOfFree
Cartridge stopper with a valve function does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Cartridge stopper with a valve function, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cartridge stopper with a valve function will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2605314