Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-09
2001-01-09
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170938
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The following invention relates to a method and an apparatus for refilling a printer ink cartridge with ink.
Ink cartridges for use with ink jet printers are designed to be used once and discarded. As replacement ink cartridges are expensive, it has been known to refill used cartridges with new ink as an alternative. However, it is fundamental to the operation of known printers that little or no air is allowed to pass through the printer-head as otherwise poor print or even no print can result.
It has hitherto been difficult to refill used ink cartridges without entrainment of air in critical areas of the cartridge.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantage and/or more generally to provide a method and apparatus for refilling used ink cartridges.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
There is disclosed herein an apparatus for use in refilling a used ink cartridge with ink, wherein the ink cartridge has a funnel having situated therein a resiliently deformable washer having a void space therein which might receive air, said apparatus being in the form of a plug element having a longitudinal extent and a passageway throughout that extent and through which ink can press into said cartridge, the plug element further having a tip portion and a wide portion delimited from the tip portion by a ramp portion, the ramp portion and the wide portion being adapted, upon insertion thereof into the resilient washer, to deform same so as to expel entrained air from said void space.
Preferably, the tip portion is dimensioned so as to be sealingly received by an aperture in the ink cartridge.
Preferably, the plug element is essentially circular in transverse cross section.
Preferably, the ramp portion is frustoconical.
Preferably, the longitudinal passageway is adapted to receive the nozzle of an ink refiller bottle.
Preferably, the plug element is formed of a resiliently deformable material.
There is further disclosed herein a method of refilling a used ink cartridge with ink, the ink cartridge having an ink funnel, the method including the steps of forming an air hole in the ink cartridge if an air hole does not already exist therein, inserting a plug element into the funnel, which plug element has a passageway therethrough, inserting the nozzle of an ink refiller bottle partly into the passageway, injecting ink from the refiller bottle through the passageway into the ink cartridge, removing the nozzle from the passageway, and removing the plug element from the funnel.
Typically, associated with the ink funnel of the cartridge is a resiliently deformable washer element defining a void space therein and the step of inserting the plug element into the funnel includes inserting the plug element into the washer element so as to deform the same ad expel air from the void space.
Preferably, upon withdrawal of the plug element, some ink from the ink cartridge is drawn back from inside the cartridge to fill the void space of the washer, thus displacing air therefrom.
There is further disclosed herein an apparatus for use in refilling a used ink cartridge with ink, wherein the ink cartridge has a funnel having situated therein a resiliently deformable washer having a void space therein which might receive air, said apparatus being in the form of a plug element having a longitudinal extent and a passageway throughout that extent and through which ink can pass into said cartridge, the plug element further having a tip portion and a body portion, the tip portion widening toward the body portion, the tip portion being adapted, upon insertion thereof into the resilient washer, to deform same so as to expel entrained air from said void space. Preferably the plug element is formed of a resiliently deformable plastics material.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3245569 (1966-04-01), Essich
patent: 3246647 (1966-04-01), Kapeker
patent: 5329294 (1994-07-01), Ontawar et al.
patent: 5883652 (1999-03-01), Moser et al.
Calidad Holdings Pty Ltd.
Le N.
Smith , Gambrell & Russell, LLP
Vo Anh T. N.
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