EP0947329A2 - Tintenzufuhrbehälter für einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf - Google Patents

Tintenzufuhrbehälter für einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0947329A2
EP0947329A2 EP99302527A EP99302527A EP0947329A2 EP 0947329 A2 EP0947329 A2 EP 0947329A2 EP 99302527 A EP99302527 A EP 99302527A EP 99302527 A EP99302527 A EP 99302527A EP 0947329 A2 EP0947329 A2 EP 0947329A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
ink
container
foam
compartment
foam member
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP99302527A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0947329A3 (de
Inventor
Thomas R. Binnert
Vladimir M. Kupchik
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Xerox Corp
Original Assignee
Xerox Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Xerox Corp filed Critical Xerox Corp
Publication of EP0947329A2 publication Critical patent/EP0947329A2/de
Publication of EP0947329A3 publication Critical patent/EP0947329A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/17556—Means for regulating the pressure in the cartridge
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/17513—Inner structure

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to ink recording devices and, more particularly, to an improved ink supply container of the type that delivers ink to a printhead from an ink impregnated foam member stored within a compartment of the container.
  • Ink jet recording devices include one or more printheads which eject ink onto a print medium such as paper in controlled patterns of closely spaced dots. To form color images, multiple printheads are used, with each printhead being supplied with ink of a different color from an associated ink container.
  • Thermal ink jet printing systems use thermal energy selectively produced by resistors located in capillary filled ink channels near channel terminating nozzles or orifices to vaporize momentarily the ink and form bubbles on demand. Each temporary bubble expels an ink droplet and propels it toward a recording medium.
  • the printing system is generally incorporated in a carriage type printer.
  • a carriage type printer generally has a relatively small printhead containing the ink channels and nozzles.
  • the printhead is usually sealingly attached to an ink supply container and the combined printhead and container form a cartridge assembly which is reciprocated to print one swath of information at a time on a stationarily held recording medium, such as paper. After the swath is printed, the paper is stepped a distance equal to the height of the printed swath, so that the next printed swath will be contiguous therewith. The procedure is repeated until the entire page is printed.
  • Ink from the ink supply container is drawn by capillary action through an outlet port in the container and into a manifold fluidly connecting ink to the printhead.
  • the manifold supplies ink to the ink channels replenishing the ink after each ink ejection or firing from the associated nozzle.
  • a negative pressure also advantageously ensures that the size of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzle remain constant as ink is depleted from the reservoir.
  • the negative pressure is usually in the range of -0.5 to -2.0 inches.
  • One known method of supplying ink at a negative pressure is to place within an ink container an open cell foam in which ink is suspended by capillary action. The foam is generally a partially saturated, reticulated urethane foam. The absorption of the foam member maintains the ink at a negative pressure at the printhead.
  • Ink tanks which contain ink-holding foam are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent 5,185,614, 4,771,295, 5,486,855.
  • a problem with this type of foam-delivery ink container is that the foam is inserted into the container so that it contacts all of the internal walls. This results in a portion of ink-impregnated foam contacting the ink tank vent required to maintain the required negative pressure.
  • the ink builds up a concentration of ink adjacent the vent hole. The vent hole is sealed following initial fill of the container and during shipping, but upon removal of the seal, the ink can "squirt" from the vent hole. Ink can also leak from the vent hole during normal installation of the container.
  • an ink supply container comprising a compartment having a vent hole therein, and a foam member located in the said compartment, wherein the container further comprises means for creating an air space between the foam member and the vent hole thereby to prevent the foam member from coming contact with vent hole.
  • an air space is created adjacent the vent hole of a container by adding a barrier internal to the container and adjacent the vent hole to prevent the foam from coming into contact with the vent.
  • said barrier assembly comprises a pair of ribs mounted, respectively, to opposed walls of said compartment, the ribs being separated by a gap therebetween.
  • a portion of the foam is embossed in the area adjacent to the ink tank vent hole thereby providing an air space between the foam and the vent.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a full color ink jet printer which incorporates the ink supply container of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view through one of the printhead cartridges shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the manifold to ink tank arrangement of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the ink tank prior to the foam insertion and ink filling steps showing the structure of a barrier member located adjacent the air vent.
  • FIG. 5 shows a foam member which has been embossed to create an air space in an area adjacent the air vent.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a full color thermal ink jet printer 6 which incorporates a preferred embodiment of the foam retention ink container of the present invention.
  • Printer 6 is exemplary only. The invention can be practiced in other types of thermal ink jet printers as well as other reproduction devices such as piezoelectric printers, dot matrix printers and ink jet printers driven by signals from a document Raster Input Scanner.
  • Printer 6 includes four ink containers 10, 12, 14, 16 fluidly connected to a segmented printhead 18.
  • Printhead 18 has groups or segments of nozzles, each group associated with a different ink color.
  • the cartridge is mounted on a carriage 19 supported by carriage rails 20. The carriage rails are supported by a frame 21 of the ink jet printer 6.
  • Each printhead cartridge comprises an ink container containing ink for supply to a ink jet printhead 18 which selectively expels droplets of ink under control of electrical signals received from a controller (not shown) of the printer 6 through an electrical cable (not shown).
  • the ink container is polypropylene.
  • the carriage 19 When printing, the carriage 19 reciprocates back and forth along the carriage rails 20 in the direction of the arrow 21, the entire width traverse constitutes a scanning path. The actual printing zone is contained within the scanning path.
  • a recording medium 34 such as a sheet of paper or a transparency
  • droplets of ink are expelled from selected ones of the printhead nozzles towards the sheet of paper.
  • the recording medium 34 is held stationary.
  • the recording medium 34 is stepped in the direction of the arrow 36.
  • FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of ink container 10 having an outlet port 40 and an air vent 32.
  • Manifold member 42 shown in a perspective exploded view of FIG. 3, comprises a plate 44 with ink pipes 46A-46D. The end of ink pipe 46A is engaged in compressive contact (by means not shown) with an ink impregnated foam member 48 in container 22.
  • Another foam member 50 has a plurality of apertures 52A-52D therethrough and is seated on manifold 42 so as to fit snugly over the ink pipes 46A-46D.
  • foam member 48 is compressed against the foam cover 49 of container 10, except for an area around vent 32 as described below.
  • FIG. 4 shows the ink tank 60 prior to installation of foam member 48 and the ink.
  • each ink container represented by container 10 contains two compartments.
  • a first compartment 60 has ink stored therein. Ink is introduced through ink inlet 61 in top wall 62C.
  • a second compartment 62 has open cell foam member 48 inserted therein.
  • Compartment 62 has side walls 62A, 62B. Ink from compartment 60 moves through port 68 to contact foam member 48 and saturate the member with ink.
  • a barrier assembly 55 creates an air space 56 to prevent any part of foam member 48 from being compressed against the portion of cover 49 containing vent 32.
  • Assembly 55 consists of two ribs 55A, 55B (FIG. 4) mounted to walls 62A, 62B, respectively, and located a distance d below the top wall 62C, d being about 3 mm in a preferred embodiment.
  • the ribs are aligned so as to leave a gap 63 therebetween.
  • the gap permits air and a small amount of ink to enter into the air space, the ink dropping down into the underlying foam.
  • FIG. 4 shows an empty container 22 to illustrate the location of barrier assembly 55.
  • foam member 48 When foam member 48 is inserted into compartment 62, an air space 56 (FIG. 2) is created.
  • the foam member 48 When ink is introduced into compartment 60, the foam member 48 will become impregnated with ink but no ink will contact the vent 32.
  • vent 32 will be sealed during transit or storage, typically with a sealing tape. Upon removal of the tape and installation of the container, no ink can be ejected through vent 32 solving the prior art problem.
  • FIG. 5 A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5.
  • foam member 48 has been embossed along an area 48A which would otherwise contact vent 32, resulting in removal of a foam section 48A.
  • container 10 has an open face 70 into which the foam 48 is to be inserted.
  • Polypropylene foam cover 49 is welded into place following foam insertion.
  • a fixture is used to compress the foam to 27% of its original size and then push the compressed foam into the cavity until the foam is fully bottomed.
  • Teflon-coated fingers are used to compress the foam so that it does not physically contact the walls of the ink tank. This results in no static or dynamic load opposing the insertion motion
  • a pusher bar protrudes through the compression fingers to hold the foam in place within the cavity as the fingers are retracted.
  • the embossed section 48A results in an air space separating the body of foam member 48 from vent 32 providing the same benefits obtained from use of the barrier member described above.

Landscapes

  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
EP99302527A 1998-04-06 1999-03-31 Tintenzufuhrbehälter für einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf Withdrawn EP0947329A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US5541798A 1998-04-06 1998-04-06
US55417 1998-04-06

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0947329A2 true EP0947329A2 (de) 1999-10-06
EP0947329A3 EP0947329A3 (de) 2000-01-26

Family

ID=21997652

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99302527A Withdrawn EP0947329A3 (de) 1998-04-06 1999-03-31 Tintenzufuhrbehälter für einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0947329A3 (de)
JP (1) JPH11320908A (de)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1232866A1 (de) * 2001-02-20 2002-08-21 Xerox Corporation Flüssigkeitsausstosssystem und Verfahren mit dielektrischer Sekundärflüssikeit
EP1308289A2 (de) * 2001-11-02 2003-05-07 Xerox Corporation Tintenstrahlpatrone
WO2005025875A1 (de) * 2003-09-10 2005-03-24 Kmp Printtechnik Ag Tintenpatrone
GB2409434A (en) * 2003-12-03 2005-06-29 Dynamic Cassette Int An ink cartridge having leakage prevention means

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
TWI282310B (en) * 2002-06-28 2007-06-11 Oce Tech Bv Ink tank
KR101442631B1 (ko) * 2013-09-05 2014-09-22 김경규 프린터의 무한 잉크공급기

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4571599A (en) 1984-12-03 1986-02-18 Xerox Corporation Ink cartridge for an ink jet printer
US4771295A (en) 1986-07-01 1988-09-13 Hewlett-Packard Company Thermal ink jet pen body construction having improved ink storage and feed capability
US4833491A (en) 1988-06-15 1989-05-23 Xerox Corporation Thermal ink jet printer adapted to operate in monochrome, highlight or process color modes
US5185614A (en) 1991-04-17 1993-02-09 Hewlett-Packard Company Priming apparatus and process for multi-color ink-jet pens
US5486855A (en) 1990-12-27 1996-01-23 Xerox Corporation Apparatus for supplying ink to an ink jet printer

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0424133B1 (de) * 1989-10-20 1995-03-22 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Kassette mit Tintenvorratsbehälter auf einem Farbstrahlgerät aufstellbar
JP3347559B2 (ja) * 1994-12-28 2002-11-20 キヤノン株式会社 インクタンク及びインクジェットカートリッジならびにインクジェット記録装置
EP0841169A1 (de) * 1996-11-07 1998-05-13 Dynamic Cassette International Limited Tintenpatrone
KR100209513B1 (ko) * 1997-04-22 1999-07-15 윤종용 잉크젯 프린트헤드에서 액티브(Active) 액체 저장 및 공급 장치
JP3720586B2 (ja) * 1997-07-30 2005-11-30 キヤノン株式会社 インクタンク、該インクタンクに用いられるインク吸収体、及びインクタンクの製造方法

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4571599A (en) 1984-12-03 1986-02-18 Xerox Corporation Ink cartridge for an ink jet printer
US4771295A (en) 1986-07-01 1988-09-13 Hewlett-Packard Company Thermal ink jet pen body construction having improved ink storage and feed capability
US4771295B1 (en) 1986-07-01 1995-08-01 Hewlett Packard Co Thermal ink jet pen body construction having improved ink storage and feed capability
US4833491A (en) 1988-06-15 1989-05-23 Xerox Corporation Thermal ink jet printer adapted to operate in monochrome, highlight or process color modes
US5486855A (en) 1990-12-27 1996-01-23 Xerox Corporation Apparatus for supplying ink to an ink jet printer
US5185614A (en) 1991-04-17 1993-02-09 Hewlett-Packard Company Priming apparatus and process for multi-color ink-jet pens

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1232866A1 (de) * 2001-02-20 2002-08-21 Xerox Corporation Flüssigkeitsausstosssystem und Verfahren mit dielektrischer Sekundärflüssikeit
EP1308289A2 (de) * 2001-11-02 2003-05-07 Xerox Corporation Tintenstrahlpatrone
EP1308289A3 (de) * 2001-11-02 2003-10-15 Xerox Corporation Tintenstrahlpatrone
WO2005025875A1 (de) * 2003-09-10 2005-03-24 Kmp Printtechnik Ag Tintenpatrone
GB2409434A (en) * 2003-12-03 2005-06-29 Dynamic Cassette Int An ink cartridge having leakage prevention means
GB2409434B (en) * 2003-12-03 2007-08-22 Dynamic Cassette Int An ink cartridge

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH11320908A (ja) 1999-11-24
EP0947329A3 (de) 2000-01-26

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