Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
1997-02-28
2001-08-21
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276786
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaging structure for an ink tank and an ink tank packaged in such packaging structure, and especially a packaging structure for an operator-changeable ink tank to be used in the form of coupling to an ink-jet head or an intermediate connecting member and an ink tank packaged in such packaging structure.
2. Description of Related Art
In most cases, an operator-changeable ink tank, which is to be used in the form of coupling to an ink-jet head or an intermediate connecting member, comprises two different openings: an ink supply port for supplying ink to the ink-jet head and an atmosphere communicating port for introducing air commensurate in volume with ink consumption.
For avoiding contamination of the ink tank, its user's hands, or the like with an ink leak, a requirement for the ink tank having such two different openings is to prevent leakage of ink therefrom at a physical distribution with reliability and to prevent leakage of ink therefrom at the time of opening a sealed package reliably for replacing the ink tank with new one.
One of the previous attempts to fill the requirement, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 76367/1995, is to provide a packaging member that comprises: an ink cartridge for retaining ink therein and having an opening portion for supplying ink to the outside; and a packaging member for packaging the ink cartridge, in which at least one end of a seal member for sealing the opening portion of the ink cartridge is anchored to an inner surface portion of the packaging member. In that reference, furthermore, a method for opening the sealed package is also disclosed. The method includes the step of tearing a part of the packaging that corresponds to a non-sealed portion of the ink cartridge by utilizing the packaging member itself to bare a part of the ink cartridge and stripping the seal member from the ink cartridge as a result of pulling the ink cartridge out of the packaging member.
For an ink cartridge having two different openings: an ink supply port and an atmosphere communicating port, it has been suggested that a seal member for sealing the openings is shaped so as to have a portion thereof in close proximity to a portion for sealing the ink supply port and the former portion is responsible for reducing peel force to be generated by stripping the seal member from the ink cartridge to open the atmosphere communicating port at fast to prevent an ink leak to be caused by increasing an inner pressure of the ink cartridge at the time of opening the package.
Considering the packaging member and its opening method disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 76367/1995, by the way, it is possible to avoid an ink leak in physical distribution because a part of the packaging that corresponds to a non-sealed portion of the ink tank can be torn by utilizing the packaging member itself to bare a part of the ink tank and the seal member is pulled from the ink tank as a result of pulling the ink tank out of the packaging member. In this case, however, there is no guarantee that the atmosphere communicating port can be opened at fast, resulting in the reliability being insufficient.
Furthermore, a seal member having a portion for reducing a peel force in close proximity to the portion for sealing an ink supply port is only effective on a usage pattern that a single seal member seals upon the ink supply port and an atmosphere communicating port together. Therefore, the range of uses of the seal member is limited to a particular configuration of the ink tank.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention with overcoming the disadvantages in the prior art to provide a packaging structure for an ink tank insuring no ink leakage in physical distribution and also insuring that an atmosphere communicating port is surely opened at first, which is a essential function, when the user opens a package of the ink tank.
More concretely, for consumers using an ink tank of an ink jet recording apparatus or a printer, the above object is especially to provide a packaging structure for the ink tank in which an ink supply port can be opened after opening the atmosphere communicating port of the ink tank without errors when he or she opens the package at the time of replacing the ink tank with new one purchased by the above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cost-effective packaging structure for an ink tank that realizes a printed product of satisfactory quality through the use of an ink-jet recording apparatus, where troubles to be caused by a physical shock or a change in surroundings in physical distribution can be prevented. These troubles include peeling or removing seal members provided on their respective openings (i.e., an ink supply port and an atmosphere communicating port) of an ink tank or an ink-jet cartridge integral with the ink tank.
At the time of replacing the used ink tank with new one, in other words, an opening portion of the packaging member is limited to one while other portions remain just as they are, so that the ink supply port is exposed after opening the sealed atmosphere communicating port by tearing the packaging member in a manner that the user does not confuse the sequence of opening the packaging member and performs the correct opening procedure to finally mount the ink tank on the printer's body.
In the present specification, by the way, the term “an ink tank” is not limited within a particular meaning of its words. It stands for all of the tanks or the like having two openings: an ink supply port and an atmosphere communicating port and retaining ink therein to be supplied to an ink-jet head. It may be provided, for example, as the type of ink tank which almost entirely contains a vacuum generating member inside thereof or the so-called direct liquid type of ink tank which is constituted by containing ink directly and further comprising a vacuum generating source in its inside. Alternatively, it may be provided as another type one comprising a portion for storing a negative pressure-generating member in its inside and a portion for only storing ink, in which these portions are adjacent to each other and communicated to each other through a connecting portion in the bottom of the ink tank.
The term “a seal member for sealing an atmosphere communicating port” is used to mean a member that blocks a communication between the atmosphere and the inside of the ink tank up to the time of mounting the ink tank on a printing device; and allows the above communication by removing the member partially or entirely. If a seal member for sealing an atmosphere communicating groove has the effect of the above functions, it could be regarded as one for sealing the atmosphere communicating port.
For accomplishing the foregoing objects, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a packaging structure for an ink tank having an ink supply port and an atmosphere communicating port, comprising:
an ink supply port seal member for sealing the ink supply port; and
an integrated covering member for covering the ink tank, including at least the atmosphere communicating port and the ink supply port seal member,
wherein a partial breakage of the covering member leads to open the atmosphere communicating port at first.
According to the first aspect of the invention, leakage of ink in physical distribution can be perfectly prevented because an ink tank is wrapped in a single-piece covering member having at least a sealing member for sealing an atmosphere communicating port and a sealing member for sealing an ink supply port. In addition, it is constructed so as to open the atmosphere communicating port at first as the covering member is broken in part at the time of opening a sealed package. Therefore, there is no chance to accidentally open the ink supply port at first, resulting in the prevention of ink leakage from the ink supply port with reliability. Furthermore
Eida Masataka
Kamitakahara Hirofumi
Kishida Hajime
Nakajima Kazuhiro
Ookawara Kenji
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Le N.
Nghiem Michael
LandOfFree
Packaging structure for ink tank and ink tank packaged in... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Packaging structure for ink tank and ink tank packaged in..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Packaging structure for ink tank and ink tank packaged in... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2543249