EP0953450B1 - Tintenstanddetektor für Tintenstrahldrucker - Google Patents

Tintenstanddetektor für Tintenstrahldrucker Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0953450B1
EP0953450B1 EP19990106827 EP99106827A EP0953450B1 EP 0953450 B1 EP0953450 B1 EP 0953450B1 EP 19990106827 EP19990106827 EP 19990106827 EP 99106827 A EP99106827 A EP 99106827A EP 0953450 B1 EP0953450 B1 EP 0953450B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
ink
glass beads
reflectivity
pen
pen housing
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.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19990106827
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0953450A1 (de
Inventor
D. Seu Preston
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.)
HP Inc
Original Assignee
Hewlett Packard Co
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
Priority claimed from US09/181,953 external-priority patent/US6302503B1/en
Application filed by Hewlett Packard Co filed Critical Hewlett Packard Co
Publication of EP0953450A1 publication Critical patent/EP0953450A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0953450B1 publication Critical patent/EP0953450B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime 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
    • B41J2/17506—Refilling of the cartridge
    • B41J2/17509—Whilst mounted in the printer
    • 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
    • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
    • 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
    • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
    • B41J2002/17573—Ink level or ink residue control using optical means for ink level indication

Definitions

  • the present invention is directed to an inkjet printing system and method having an ink level detection system that uses changes in optical characteristics of a capillary ink containment material.
  • Inkjet printers operate by ejecting small droplets of ink from a printhead onto a print medium.
  • the printhead is mounted in an inkjet pen, which is held in the printer at the appropriate position with respect to the media.
  • the ink must be presented to the printhead at the appropriate "backpressure," (i.e., less than ambient atmospheric pressure) to keep the ink from drooling from the printhead when the pen is not operating.
  • Various mechanisms have been employed to contain the ink at the appropriate backpressure, including resilient elastomeric bladders, porous foam, internal accumulators, bubble generators, and spring-biased flexible bags.
  • the system may be designed to automatically refill the pen by means of a flexible trailing tube or an automated refill station.
  • damage may be done to the printhead if it is operated when the pen is empty.
  • US Patent No. 5,751,300 (Cowger et al.), assigned to the present assignee, discloses an ink level sensor used in trailing tube printer. A pair of electrical leads are implanted in a body of foam, and the current between the leads indicates ink level. The level of ink is used to operate a valve that controls the amount of ink allowed into the pen.
  • US Patent No. 5,079,570 (Mohr et al.), assigned to the present assignee, discloses a binary fluidic indicator in a disposable print cartridge that uses a small tube or other element formed on the ink tank of an inkjet print cartridge.
  • the main ink tank of the print cartridge is filled with a porous material such as polyurethane foam.
  • a porous material such as polyurethane foam.
  • This patent also mentions as alternative ink containing members: glass beads, felt pen fibers, capillary tubes, and rolled up plastic film (column 4, lines 15-18).
  • the small element that provides the optical ink level indication does not contain the capillary material. When the ink level drops to a certain level, the capillary material draws the ink from the indicator, to thus provide a binary indication that the ink has dropped to a selected level.
  • the indicator can be either human or machine readable.
  • US Patent No. 5,406,315 (Allen et al.), assigned to the present assignee, discloses an optical sensor that detects the temperature and ink level based on changes in the reflectivity of a phase change material adjacent to or within the pen body housing.
  • EP-A-0 706 888 discloses an inkjet printing system in which a low-ink condition may be optically detected on the basis of the quantity of light reflected by a boundary portion between a wall surface and an ink absorber.
  • the reflectivity is affected by the amount of ink in the gap between the interior wall surface of the pen housing and the absorbent material.
  • the quantity of reflected light is different when the gap is full from when it has a lesser amount of ink.
  • the present invention is based on the object of providing an inkjet printing system having an inexpensive and reliable system for automatically detecting the level of ink in the printhead.
  • the invention thus provides an efficient and reliable mechanism and method for determining an out of ink condition in an inkjet pen.
  • Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printing system of the invention.
  • Fig. 2 is a perspective illustration of a pen and optical sensor of the invention.
  • Fig. 3 is perspective illustration of a pen, carriage, and optical sensor assembly of the invention.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of the printing system of Fig. 1.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of an alternative printing system of the invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a graph of ink level sensor voltage versus ink depletion for cyan ink.
  • Fig. 7 is a graph of ink level sensor voltage versus ink depletion for magenta ink.
  • Fig. 8 is a graph of ink level sensor voltage versus ink depletion for yellow ink.
  • Fig. 9 is a graph of ink level sensor voltage versus ink depletion for black ink.
  • Fig. illustrates a trailing tube embodiment of a printing system of the invention.
  • This printing system includes a printer 10 having a chassis 12, carriage rod 14, carriage 16, ink cartridge stall 18, ink tanks 20, 22, 24, 26, pens 23,30,32,34 (shown in phantom lines), and controller 36.
  • chassis 12 Also attached to chassis 12 is an input paper tray 38 and an output paper tray 40.
  • Controller 36 is communicatively connected to a host printing device (not shown), such as a personal computer, from which it receives data signals representative of the image andlor text desired to be printed.
  • Controller 36 is also communicatively connected with pens 28,30,32,34 and to a medium-advance motor and a carriage advance motor (not shown).
  • Carriage 16 rides upon rod 14 as it scans back and forth across the print media.
  • controller 36 actuates the carriage advance motor to drive carriage 16 in the carriage advance axis X to scan pens 28, 30, 32, 34 over the current swath on a sheet 50 of print medium.
  • the printheads are addressed by controller 36 to expel droplets of ink in the desired dot matrix pattern across the page.
  • controller 36 sends a signal to the medium-advance motor to advance the sheet incrementally in the medium advance direction Y so that the pens can begin another pass. Multiple adjacent horizontal passes are printed in this manner to complete the printing of the desired image on the page.
  • Ink is fed from the ink tanks 20, 22, 24, 26 by means of tubes 46 to pens 28, 30, 32, 34.
  • any one of the ink tanks is depleted of ink, it is replaced with anew ink tank.
  • one of the pens 28,30,32,34 may become degraded. In this case, the degraded pen can also be replaced, either by the user or a trained technician.
  • Fig. 2 illustrates pen 28, which consists of an outer housing 50, printhead 52, mesh filter 54, internal wall 56, and glass beads 58.
  • the exterior walls of housing 50 are made of a transparent high density polyethylene or polypropylene.
  • interior wall 56 defines a small secondary cavity 66.
  • Pen 28 has an input port 68 for receiving ink and an air vent 70.
  • the main portion of the pen body is filled with glass beads 58, as shown.
  • Port 68 is fluidically connected to one of tubes 46 (see Fig. 1), which is in turn connected to ink cartridge 20.
  • Filter 54 keeps glass beads 58 from filling into the small sub-chamber 70 just above the printhead 52. The filter 54 also keeps foreign particles and air from reaching the printhead. Air that reaches the filter 54 through the beads 58 is stopped by the filter.
  • Filter 54 is preferably formed of stainless steel wire mesh, and has pores of about 20 microns. Ink saturated glass beads surround the volume near the filter screen. Wetted but only partially saturated beads extend out from this volume. The partially filled beads contain the ink-to-air interfaces that produce the negative pressure. The interface between partially saturated beads and saturated beads moves toward the filter screen as the ink is fired through the printhead. When filter 54 is wetted, the filter has a large "bubble pressure" that keeps bubbles from passing through it. Ink passes preferentially through the screen where the screen contacts saturated beads.
  • Glass beads 58 have an average diameter of about 0,3 mm (.012 inches) and have a range from about 0,25 mm to about 0,41 mm (.010 to about .016 inches) in diameter. In the presence of typical inkjet inks these beads produce a backpressure of about 38 mm (1.5 inches) of water. The size of the beads can be adjusted to meet the backpressure needs of the printhead.
  • ink flowing into pen 28 from the tube is pressurized by a pumping mechanism (not shown). Ink flowing into pen 28 fills first into small chamber 60, from where it is absorbed into beads 58. It has been found that flowing ink into the bottom of the pen is less likely to raise the pressure of ink presented to the printhead 52 than if the ink were flowed to the top of beads 58.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates pens 28, 30, 32, 34 connected to carriage 16.
  • Ink level detector 60 is positioned to detect the change in reflectivity from beads 58 in each of the pens.
  • Ink level detector 60 is comprised of two Hewlett-Packard Company blue (481 nm) light emitting diodes (LED's) 62 and a photodetector 64.
  • Photodetector 64 is a Texas Instruments TLS 250, which is composed of a photodiode and a transimpedence amplifier. Photodetector 64 is electronically linked to controller 36.
  • Carriage 16 scans each of pens 28, 30, 32, 34 past a position where the LED's 62 can illuminate the pens, and where photodetector 64 can detect the reflectivity of the glass beads.
  • Photodetector 64 and LED's 62 are mounted near the right hand side of printer 10 as viewed in Fig. 1, but is not visible in Fig. 1.
  • the glass beads chosen exhibit a change in reflectivity depending on whether there is ink present in the beads.
  • they When the glass beads are not saturated with ink, they are white in appearance and look somewhat like snow. When they are saturated with ink, they take on the appearance of the ink. When the beads are no longer saturated, they take on a very pale version of the ink color, and are much more reflective. To the eye, this change is quite easily detected.
  • testing has indicated that for each of the ink colors, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, detectable changes in reflectivity occurs in the glass beads between their saturated state to their non-saturated state, so that this change in reflectivity can be optically detected by an optoelectronic sensor.
  • the ability of a capillary element to provide a capillary pressure results from the interaction of three physical components, a liquid, a solid, and a gas.
  • the liquid is the inkjet ink
  • the solid is the capillary material
  • the gas is air.
  • Capillary pressure depends on the of surface tension the liquid, cohesion of the liquid molecules among each other, and the adhesion of the liquid molecules with the solid forming the capillary element.
  • An important way of measuring the molecular interaction between the liquid and the solid forming the capillary element is the contact angle ⁇ that will occur when the liquid is placed on the solid.
  • the wall material of high-density polyethylene has a higher contact angle with ink than the glass beads. This means that the polyethylene is less wettable by the ink than the glass beads. This fact is important to the function of the out-of-ink sensor. An easily wetted window may remain coated with an ink film and therefore mask the reflectivity (and therefore the ink saturation) of the glass beads.
  • a very wettable porous media is desired in order decrease resistance to fluid flow.
  • a very wettable material one with a very low contact angle, reduces resistance to flow in two ways. First, it allows larger void size and often a larger permeability for a given capillary head.
  • capillary head The measure of the ability of a capillary member, such as a capillary tube or a porous material, to draw liquid upward from a given level against the force of gravity is referred to as its "capillary head.”
  • a small ratio of L p /A p corresponds to a large void size and often correlates to a large permeability.
  • a less wettable material (one for which the cos ⁇ term is small) must have a larger ratio of L p /A p , and a correspondingly smaller void size and lower permeability, than a more wettable material in order to achieve the same capillary head.
  • Small pore size and low permeability may result in unacceptable pressure loss and inadequate ink flow at high ink flow rates.
  • a second way in which a very wettable material may reduce resistance to ink flow is by reducing the threshold pressure necessary to initiate movement in the ink menisci of the porous media. It has been noted that menisci in porous media tend to exhibit hysteresis in which they resist movement of the air/liquid interface until a threshold pressure is reached. This phenomenon can be observed on raindrops which stick to a windshield. The magnitude of this resistance increases with increasing contact angle. In other words, for a given liquid (ink for example) the resistance to meniscus movement is higher for porous media which are less wettable.
  • Glass beads are a good porous medium for the ink. Glass has a low contact angle with liquids such as water, alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, xylene, glycerin an acetic acid. The low advancing liquid contact angles are helped by the clean and smooth surfaces available with glass beads. Tests show a capillary pressure that is more consistent than foam during imbibation and drainage.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a printing system of the invention, and includes pen 28, optical sensor 60, pressurized ink reservoir 20, valve 80, and tube 46.
  • a personal computer 82 is communicatively linked to controller 36.
  • controller 36 When optical sensor 60 detects a low ink level, a signal indicating such is sent to controller 36. Based on this signal, controller opens valve 80 to allow pressurized ink to flow to pen 28.
  • Controller 36 actuates valve 80 to open and allow a preselected amount of ink to fill pen 28. This amount is selected to be enough to fill the pen to a full state from the low state at which a low ink level is detected. The amount required to refill the pen is approximately the same each time because the low level detection is made at approximately the same low level. The printing system then can print again until another low ink level is sensed. When the low ink level is sensed, controller 36 again opens valve 80 to refill pen 28. This process continues until the ink reservoir is empty. When the ink reservoir 20 is empty, it is discarded and replaced with a new one.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of an intermittent-fill or "take-a-sip" embodiment of a printing system of the invention. Only a single pen and ink tank described, but it will be understood that this discussion is representative of multiple pens, as discussed in reference to Figs. 1-4.
  • This printing system includes pen 90, optical sensor 92, controller 94, carriage motor 96, valve 98, and ink tank 100. Controller 94 is also communicatively linked to a personal computer 102.
  • Inkjet pen 90 has transparent walls and is filled with glass beads.
  • Optical sensor 92 optically detects the ink level in pen 90 by means of a change in reflectivity of the glass beads.
  • controller 94 When a low ink level is detected, controller 94 sends a signal to carriage motor 96 to position pen 90 in fluidic contact with ink tank 100. When pen 90 is in this position, controller 94 actuates valve 98 to cause ink tank 100 to refill pen 90.
  • Figs. 6 through 9 are graphs of the voltage readouts from ink sensor 60 as a function of ink depletion from, respectively, the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black pens 28, 30, 32, 34.
  • the ink removal is given in milliliters and the sensor voltage is given in millivolts.
  • a definite change in sensor voltage occurs as ink leaves the pens.
  • the voltage sensor level is of all colors is between about 350 and 400 millivolts. This low voltage level represents a first reflectivity of the glass beads. As ink is depleted from the pens, the saturation of the beads becomes less, their reflectivity increases, and the voltage level of the sensor increases.
  • the controller may be programmed to select a specific voltage level for the out-of-ink condition. For example, 500 millivolts may be selected as the out-of-ink condition for all colors. Alternatively, each color may have its own unique threshold level. For example, given the voltage output levels shown in Figs. 6-9, a level of 1000 millivolts may be chosen for cyan and 500 millivolts may be chosen for the other colors. This higher voltage level represents a second reflectivity for the glass beads.

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  • Ink Jet (AREA)

Claims (7)

  1. Ein Tintenstrahldrucksystem, das folgende Merkmale aufweist:
    einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf (52):
    ein Stiftgehäuse (50) mit Wänden, das konfiguriert ist, um fluidisch mit dem Druckkopf verbunden zu sein;
    einen Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58), der in dem Stiftgehäuse (50) angeordnet ist;
    eine Tinte, die in dem Tintengehäuse (50) zwischen den Glaskügelchen (58) angeordnet ist;
    wobei der Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) eine erste Reflexionsfähigkeit aufweist, wenn der Körper mit Tinte gesättigt ist, und eine zweite Reflexionsfähigkeit aufweist, wenn der Körper nicht mit Tinte gesättigt ist;
    ein transparentes Fenster, das in einer der Wände des Gehäuses (50) gebildet ist, um optischen Zugang zu dem Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) zu liefern; und
    einen optischen Sensor (60), der optisch mit dem Stiftgehäuse (50) gekoppelt ist und konfiguriert ist, um die erste Reflexionsfähigkeit und die zweite Reflexionsfähigkeit zu erfassen und die Ergebnisse der Erfassung auszugeben.
  2. Ein Tintenstrahldrucksystem gemäß Anspruch 1, das ferner folgendes Merkmal aufweist:
    einen Tintentank (20, 22, 24, 26), der fluidisch mit dem Stiftgehäuse (50) gekoppelt ist und konfiguriert ist, um zusätzliche Tinte in das Tintengehäuse (50) zu liefern.
  3. Ein Tintenstrahldrucksystem gemäß Anspruch 2, das ferner folgendes Merkmal aufweist:
    ein Ventil, das fluidisch mit dem Tintentank (20, 22, 24, 26) gekoppelt ist und konfiguriert ist, um sich zu öffnen, um Tinte von dem Tank (20, 22, 24, 26) in das Stiftgehäuse (50) zu lassen, wenn der optische Sensor (60) die zweite Reflexionsfähigkeit erfaßt.
  4. Ein Tintenstrahldrucksystem gemäß Anspruch 2, bei dem das Drucksystem konfiguriert ist, um den Tank intermittierend fluidisch (20, 22, 24, 26) mit dem Stiftgehäuse (50) zu verbinden, wenn der optische Detektor ein Ausgangssignal liefert, daß der Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) die zweite Reflexionsfähigkeit aufweist.
  5. Ein Verfahren zum Liefern von Tinte an einen Tintenstrahldruckkopf (52), das folgende Schritte aufweist:
    Füllen von Tinte in einen Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58), der fluidisch mit dem Druckkopf (52) gekoppelt ist und an denselben Tinte liefert;
    optisches Überwachen der Reflexionsfähigkeit des Körpers aus Glaskügelchen (58);
    optisches Erfassen einer Änderung der Reflexionsfähigkeit des Körpers aus Glaskügelchen (58), wenn die Tinte in dem Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) entleert ist und Erzeugen eines Signals zum Anzeigen der Änderung der Reflexionsfähigkeit; und
    Nachfüllen von Tinte in den Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58), basierend auf dem Schritt des optischen Erfassens der Änderung der Reflexionsfähigkeit.
  6. Ein Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 5, bei dem die Schritte des Füllens von Tinte und des Nachfüllens von Tinte von einem Tank (20, 22, 24, 26) durch eine Röhre durchgeführt werden, die fluidisch mit dem Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) gekoppelt ist.
  7. Ein Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 5, bei dem die Schritte des Füllens von Tinte und des Nachfüllens von Tinte von einem Tank (20, 22, 24, 26) durchgeführt werden, der intermittierend fluidisch mit dem Körper aus Glaskügelchen (58) gekoppelt ist.
EP19990106827 1998-04-30 1999-04-06 Tintenstanddetektor für Tintenstrahldrucker Expired - Lifetime EP0953450B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US7089898A 1998-04-30 1998-04-30
US70898 1998-04-30
US181953 1998-10-28
US09/181,953 US6302503B1 (en) 1998-04-30 1998-10-28 Inkjet ink level detection

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0953450A1 EP0953450A1 (de) 1999-11-03
EP0953450B1 true EP0953450B1 (de) 2002-07-17

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19990106827 Expired - Lifetime EP0953450B1 (de) 1998-04-30 1999-04-06 Tintenstanddetektor für Tintenstrahldrucker

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0953450B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH11334100A (de)
CN (1) CN1111480C (de)
DE (1) DE69902121T2 (de)
TW (1) TW445214B (de)

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US6402306B1 (en) 2000-07-28 2002-06-11 Hewlett-Packard Company Method and apparatus for refilling an ink container
JP3434497B2 (ja) * 1999-10-29 2003-08-11 ヒューレット・パッカード・カンパニー インク容器にインクを補充する装置および方法
ATE468227T1 (de) 2000-06-16 2010-06-15 Canon Kk Kommunikationssystem mit festkörperhalbleiterbauelement, tintenbehälter, mit diesem tintenbehälter ausgestattete tintenstrahlaufzeichnungsvorrichtung.
US7802859B2 (en) 2006-10-30 2010-09-28 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Refilling a used ink cartridge
US11809100B2 (en) 2012-03-05 2023-11-07 Landa Corporation Ltd. Intermediate transfer members for use with indirect printing systems and protonatable intermediate transfer members for use with indirect printing systems
GB201609463D0 (en) 2016-05-30 2016-07-13 Landa Labs 2012 Ltd Method of manufacturing a multi-layer article
JP7279085B2 (ja) 2018-06-26 2023-05-22 ランダ コーポレイション リミテッド デジタル印刷システム用の中間転写部材
JP7246496B2 (ja) 2018-10-08 2023-03-27 ランダ コーポレイション リミテッド 印刷システムおよび方法に関する摩擦低減手段
US20220274411A1 (en) * 2019-03-31 2022-09-01 Landa Corporation Ltd. Systems and methods for preventing or minimizing printing defects in printing processes
EP4066064A4 (de) 2019-11-25 2024-01-10 Landa Corp Ltd Trocknen von tinte im digitaldruck mit infrarotstrahlung, die von in einem itm eingebetteten partikeln absorbiert wird

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4432005A (en) * 1982-05-10 1984-02-14 Advanced Color Technology, Inc. Ink control system for ink jet printer
US5079570A (en) * 1989-10-18 1992-01-07 Hewlett-Packard Company Capillary reservoir binary ink level sensor
US5136305A (en) * 1990-12-06 1992-08-04 Xerox Corporation Ink jet printer with ink supply monitoring means
JP3138359B2 (ja) * 1993-05-13 2001-02-26 キヤノン株式会社 インクタンク、該タンクとインクヘッドとを一体に構成してなるインクタンク一体型ヘッドカートリッジ、前記インクタンクまたはヘッドカートリッジを具備したインクジェットプリント装置
DE69529792T2 (de) * 1994-10-14 2003-10-23 Canon Kk Tintenstrahlaufzeichnungsgerät mit Restantenüberwachung und Verfahren dazu
US5971529A (en) * 1994-10-31 1999-10-26 Hewlett-Packard Company Automatic ink interconnect between print cartridge and carriage
CA2236599A1 (en) * 1995-11-03 1997-05-09 Jetfill, Inc. Ink cartridge with improved volumetric efficiency
JP3450643B2 (ja) * 1996-04-25 2003-09-29 キヤノン株式会社 液体収容容器への液体補充方法、該補充方法を用いる液体吐出記録装置、液体補充容器、液体収容容器およびヘッドカートリッジ
US5745138A (en) * 1996-05-16 1998-04-28 Ostermeier; Bruce H. Ink chamber with pressure relief chamber having pressure relief aperture and microparticles to exert capilliary action on ink

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE69902121D1 (de) 2002-08-22
CN1111480C (zh) 2003-06-18
EP0953450A1 (de) 1999-11-03
JPH11334100A (ja) 1999-12-07
TW445214B (en) 2001-07-11
CN1235090A (zh) 1999-11-17
DE69902121T2 (de) 2003-03-06

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