Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-26
2001-07-31
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
C401S034000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267475
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to ink-jet printing and, more particularly, to a technique for modifying the number of ink containing reservoirs to suit printer requirements.
A typical ink-jet printer includes a printhead mounted to a carriage that is moved back and forth across print media, such as paper for example. As the printhead moves across the print media, a control system activates the printhead to deposit or eject ink droplets onto the print media to form desired images and characters.
Some ink-jet printers utilize ink supplies that are not mounted to the carriage. Such ink supplies, because they are stationary within the printer, are not subject to the size limitations of the carriage-mounted ink supply and as a result, can hold a substantially greater ink volume. Some printers with stationary ink supply systems utilize replaceable ink reservoirs. These reservoirs are not carriage mounted and thus are not moved with the printhead during printing. In some cases, a printhead pen is mounted on the carriage and the pen is fluidly coupled to the ink containing reservoirs that supply ink to the printhead. (Those skilled in the art will realize that while the term “pen” is used, the term is not intended to refer to a device that actually contacts the media, such as paper.)
Some printers utilize an ink supply system comprising a single reservoir while others, used in industrial applications for mail addresses or bar code printing, for example, can have between one and six ink reservoirs. In other cases, reservoirs containing black, cyan, magenta and yellow colorants are found in a single printer. In addition to the complications introduced by the varying numbers of reservoirs, complicating the picture still further is the fact the architecture of one printer may differ substantially from that of another. In this regard, for example, the reservoirs may be stacked vertically in one printer and in side by side relationship in another. Moreover, in some cases, the reservoirs may be stacked both vertically and in side by side relationships.
The prior art solution to the complexities presented by differing numbers of reservoirs from one printer to the next, and differing printer architectures, is to require a reservoir support system tailored to the requirements of a specific printer. Such an approach is wasteful and can require printer manufacturers to maintain an inventory of different reservoir support systems in order to accommodate different printers. In addition, it requires manufacturers of OEM (original equipment manufacture) to maintain an ink supply inventory of varying shapes and sizes, in order to accommodate the variety of differing printer requirements in the modem marketplace.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is a need for a technique for a printer ink supply system that is simple to construct and is sufficiently flexible to have utility for a broad spectrum of printers having differing architectures. Desirably, such a technique would give an OEM manufacturer the capability of meeting a variety of different printer ink supply needs without requiring an inventory of differing printer ink supplies.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a printer ink supply system that includes a docking station having a pair of separated keying members and another docking station having another pair of separated keying members, wherein the docking station and the other docking station can be arranged in a stacked relationship when one of the keying members on the docking station is interlocked with a keying member on the other docking station. The keying members are distributed on the top, bottom and side walls of both docking stations thereby enabling the two to be interlocked in top to bottom or side to side relationships. The docking stations are interchangeable and any number can be joined in vertical or horizontal relationships, or in combinations of vertical and horizontal relationships.
The printer ink supply system of the present invention affords several distinct advantages. Since the docking stations are interchangeable, any suitable stacking can be accomplished to satisfy the different needs among ink printers. Thus, a majority of printers requiring different numbers of ink supplies can now use the stackable docking stations of the present invention to match the desired number and stacked configuration of individual printers. In this regard, the stackable ink supply docking stations of the present invention save time and costs since the need for developing new ink supply systems for new printers has been substantially eliminated. In addition, since the docking stations are interchangeable, the OEM manufacturer is required to maintain an inventory only of individual docking stations.
Another advantage of the present invention is that, in some cases, the capability of stacking ink supply docking stations vertically can provide the gravity height required by some printers to support adequate ink flow.
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patent: 5057854 (1991-10-01), Pond et al.
patent: 5376958 (1994-12-01), Richtsmeier et al.
patent: 5686947 (1997-11-01), Murray et al.
patent: 5844579 (1998-12-01), Barinaga et al.
patent: 5872580 (1999-02-01), Ochi et al.
patent: 5975677 (1999-11-01), Marler et al.
patent: 5984450 (1999-11-01), Becker et al.
Lee Ted Tuern
Vives Juan Carlos
Hewlett--Packard Company
Le N.
Vo Anh T. N.
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