Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-13
2001-12-11
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328424
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a disposable ink jet cartridge for use on devices of the type having an ink supply located off-board the printhead carrier for continuously replenishing ink in the cartridge via a siphon system. The cartridge is characterized in that it has a refill opening disposed on the same side wall that carries the tab circuit so that fluid connection of the cartridge to an off-board ink supply is accomplished at the same time an electrical connection is made to circuits controlling the cartridge.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The assignee of the present invention currently manufactures an ink jet cartridge for use on wide format inkjet plotters having a large off-carrier ink supply and an ink supply hose through which ink is siphoned from the off-carrier supply to continuously replenish an ink reservoir in the cartridge. The cartridge ink reservoir has an opening extending through a female part of a Luer-Lock fitting. The ink supply hose is connected to one end of an opening in the male part of the fitting and an elongated hollow needle extends from the other end of this opening. When the cartridge is installed on the printhead carrier and the two parts of the fitting are mated, ink is siphoned from the off-carrier ink supply into the cartridge reservoir to replace ink drawn from the cartridge reservoir during printing.
The currently manufactured cartridge has a disadvantage in that it can not be filled and tested prior to shipment from the factory. If the opening into the ink reservoir is left open, ink leaks from the cartridge during shipment and storage. On the other hand, the opening can not be closed by a temporary cap because changes in the ambient temperature or pressure during shipment or storage either causes air bubbles to be drawn into the cartridge through apertures in the nozzle plate, or causes ink to be forced from the apertures. Therefore, the presently manufactured cartridge is shipped empty and untested from the factory. Prior to use a customer must fill, prime and test the cartridges. The process is messy, error prone and costly in that many cartridges fail to print properly.
In our copending application Ser. No. 09/074,215 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,643 we solve the aforementioned problems by providing a cartridge having partitions dividing the interior of the cartridge into a free ink reservoir communicating with a foam-filled ink reservoir via a passage in one of the partitions, and an air buffer region, the air buffer region being open to the foam filled ink reservoir. The fitting that connects the cartridge to an off-board ink supply is located in the lid or top cover of the cartridge so that when the cartridge is not connected to the off-board ink supply the air buffer region is open to the atmosphere. One of the partitions has an opening therein, aligned with the opening in the fitting, and closed by an elastic septum so that when the fitting is connected to an off-board ink supply the hollow needle extends into the free ink reservoir.
While this solves the problem of ink leakage during shipment and storage, it still requires handling of the ink supply line because cartridges do have to be replaced due to wear of the apertures through which ink is ejected. For obvious reasons it would be advantageous if the user did not have to handle the ink supply line during cartridge replacement.
Furthermore, the cartridge described in our above-mentioned application, like many cartridges using an off-board ink supply, requires two steps to install it in a printer. The ink supply must be connected to the cartridge and electrical connections must be established to the heaters on the cartridge which heat the ink to control ejection of ink during printing. The electrical connections are established at the time the cartridge is mounted on the printhead carrier by providing a tab circuit with contacts on an outer surface of a side wall of the cartridge, these contacts being brought into engagement with contacts provided on the printhead carrier as the cartridge is mounted on the carrier.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a continuously refillable ink cartridge suitable for use with an off-board ink replenishment system, the cartridge being characterized in that electrical and fluid connections to the cartridge are simultaneously established as the cartridge is mounted on a cartridge carrier.
Another object of the invention is to provide a refillable ink cartridge suitable for use with an off-board ink replenishment system, the cartridge requiring no handling of the ink supply line as the cartridge is installed or removed.
A further object of the invention is to provide a refillable ink cartridge that may be filled with ink, primed and tested prior to shipment from the factory, the cartridge permitting simultaneous electrical and fluid connections thereto as it is installed on a cartridge carrier.
A refillable ink cartridge according to the invention has an interior divided by partitions into a free ink reservoir, a foam-filled ink reservoir, and an air buffer region; an ink passage permitting flow of ink between the foam-filled ink reservoir and the free ink reservoir; and heaters mounted on a first outer wall for ejecting ink from the free ink reservoir during printing, the cartridge having a tab circuit mounted on a second outer wall and connected to the heaters; the second outer wall having an opening therein through which replenishment ink may be drawn into the free ink reservoir during printing. In a first embodiment, the opening is a vent opening for admitting ambient pressure to the air buffer region during shipment and storage of the cartridge, the cartridge having a refill opening in one of the partitions separating the air buffer region from the free ink reservoir, the refill opening being axially aligned with the vent opening and sealed by a pierceable elastic barrier. In a second embodiment, the opening is sealed with a pierceable elastic barrier, and the cartridge is provided with a vent opening in the second wall for admitting ambient pressure to the air buffer region during shipment and storage of the cartridge.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cartridge according to the first or second embodiment in combination with a cartridge carrier having a flexible flat cable which is brought into electrical contact with the tab circuit as the cartridge is installed on the carrier, an ink supply needle which pierces the elastic barrier as the cartridge is installed, and a boss and O-ring for sealing the vent opening.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become obvious upon consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings.
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Cook William Paul
Denton Gary Allen
Griffin, Jr. B. Franklin
Le N.
Lexmark International Inc.
Nghiem Michael P.
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