ES2398829A1 - Ink cartridge (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Ink cartridge. The ink cartridge (1) for printing or tracing machines comprises an identification element, and is characterized in that said identification element is an electronic identification element (2) in which information related to the cartridge (1) can be written and it is in bidirectional communication with said printing or tracing machine. The identification element includes information about the cartridge, for example, actual information of the ink present in the cartridge from the printing or tracing machine, thus enabling the user to provide said information. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

Ink cartridge

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge for printing or plotting machines, which allows obtaining actual updated information on the amount of ink remaining in the cartridge.

Background of the invention

Printer and plotter machines comprise ink cartridges that provide the ink needed for printing.

Usually each printer or plotter machine comprises more than one ink cartridge to be able to print in different colors.

For the user it is necessary to know the amount of ink remaining in the cartridge to anticipate its replacement in advance or to foresee the amount of prints that can be made with the ink of the cartridge.

There are currently systems to determine the remaining amount of ink in a cartridge, for example by software installed on the computer to which the printer or plotter is connected. These systems have the disadvantage that they are only approximations of the remaining ink, but do not allow to determine the actual amount of ink remaining in the cartridge.

In addition, these known systems do not envisage preventing the ink from completely depleting, which can deteriorate the inkjet channels.

Another drawback of the systems for determining the remaining amount of ink is that if a cartridge is placed in the printing machine or plotter that is not completely filled with ink, it is not possible to know exactly the amount of actual ink in the cartridge.

Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge that allows to know the actual amount of ink remaining therein, this information being constantly updated in the cartridge itself.

Description of the invention

With the ink cartridge of the invention, the aforementioned drawbacks are resolved, presenting other advantages that will be described below.

The ink cartridge for printing or plotting machines of the present invention comprises an identification element, and is characterized in that said identification element is an electronic identification element in which information about the cartridge can be written and which is in bidirectional communication with said printing or plotter machine.

Thanks to this feature, the identification element includes information about the cartridge, for example, actual information of the ink present in the cartridge from the printing or plotting machine, thus allowing the user to provide such information.

Advantageously, said identification element is in wireless communication with said printing or plotter machine.

Furthermore, said identification element is preferably housed in a housing of said cartridge, the housing of which may comprise a closure element.

If desired, said identification element may be attached inside said housing by a sealant material, such as, for example, epoxy resin or others.

Thanks to the fact that said identification element is electronic, in addition to the information of the ink remaining inside the cartridge indicated above, it can also include any suitable information, such as, for example, the refill number, the color, the reference of the cartridge, etc.

In addition, by having updated information on the amount of ink remaining in each cartridge, the printer or plotter can use this information to improve print management. In this way, for example:

-

 the number of prints that can be made with the current ink can be foreseen;

-

 notify in advance of the replacement of the cartridge;

-

 if a cartridge runs out, when the machine uses more than one cartridge simultaneously, the machine can use the remaining cartridges, avoiding stops;

-

 if it is detected that the ink of a cartridge is running out, it does not allow the cartridge to be completely empty, but leaves a small amount, preventing the injection channels from deteriorating, and allowing these cartridges to be recycled with a very high percentage high functioning;

-

 The cartridge can be refilled and write on the identification element the number of refills that have been made therein, allowing precise control over the life of the cartridge and its reliability.

Brief description of the drawings

For a better understanding of how much has been exposed, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only by way of non-limiting example, a practical case of realization is represented.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cartridge of the present invention with the identification element housed in a cartridge housing; Y

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of the present invention with the identification element and the closure element of the cartridge housing.

Description of a preferred embodiment

The ink cartridge of the present invention is generally identified by reference number 1 and, according to the invention, comprises an electronic identification element 2, such as, for example, an RFID tag or a similar element.

By means of this electronic identification element 2, two-way wireless communication is achieved with the printing or plotting machine, which will comprise a transmitter element and a complementary information receiving element.

Said electronic identification element 2 will preferably be housed in a housing 3 provided in the ink cartridge itself 1. At present, the cartridges already comprise a hollow projection that is used to manually remove the cartridge from its working position, and it is planned to place said electronic identification element 2 in the housing 3 defined by said hollow projection.

Said electronic identification element 2 is fixed in position inside said housing 3 in any suitable manner and in any orientation, for example by means of a sealing material, such as epoxy resin or the like, or by a closing element 4, which closes said housing and also limits the displacement of said electronic identification element 2 inside the housing 3.

When the cartridge 1 of the present invention is introduced into the printer or plotter machine provided with said emitter, an exchange of information will occur between the cartridge and the printer or plotter machine. In this way, the cartridge 1 transmits information about the amount of ink present in the cartridge to the printer or plotter and can also send information about the color present in the cartridge, the reference thereof, and any other information that could be of user utility.

When a print is made, the printing machine or plotter can determine the amount of ink used, and will send this information to the electronic identification element 2, which will write and update in real time the amount of ink present in the ink cartridge 1 in said electronic identification element 2.

By updating the actual information on the amount of ink present therein, the cartridge 1 could be changed to another printing machine or plotter and, at the time of placement, this printing machine or plotter would immediately know the amount of ink present in cartridge 1.

Although reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is evident to one skilled in the art that the described ink cartridge is susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be replaced by others technically equivalent, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims (6)

1. Ink cartridge (1) for printing or plotting machines, comprising an identification element, characterized in that said identification element is an electronic identification element (2) in which 5 can write information related to the cartridge (1) and is in two-way communication with said printer or plotter machine. 2. Ink cartridge (1) according to claim 1, wherein said electronic identification element (2) is in wireless communication with said printer or plotter machine. 10 3. Ink cartridge (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said electronic identification element (2) is housed in a housing (3) of said cartridge (1). 4. Ink cartridge (1) according to claim 3, wherein said housing (3) comprises a closure element 15 (4). 5. Ink cartridge (1) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said electronic identification element (2) is secured inside said housing (3) by a sealing material. SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201231901 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 05.12.2012 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: B41J2 / 175 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

X

JP 2010012659 A (CANON KK) 21.01.2010, Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; paragraph [0002], [0024-0027]; figures. 1-5

X

US 2009 195364 A1 (EDWARDS MARK JOSEPH et al.) 06.08.2009, paragraph [0049]; figure 5. 1-5

X

US 2008036827 A1 (ANDERSON JAMES DANIEL et al.) 02.02.2008, paragraphs [0037-0040]; figures. 1-5

X

JP 2005104117 A (KONICA MINOLTA MED & GRAPHIC) 04/21/2005, Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; figures. 1-5

X

CN 201645995U U (ZHUHAI NINESTAR MAN CO LTD) 24.11.2010, Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; figures. 1-5

X

US 2008165009 A1 (HIROTA MITSUO) 10.07.2008, paragraphs [0066-0076]; figure 7. 1-5

X

DE 102007051340 A1 (3T SUPPLIES AG) 04/30/2009, Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE. 1-5

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 01.03.2013

Examiner G. Villarroel Álvaro Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201231901 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) B41J Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201231901 Date of Written Opinion: 01.03.2013 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-5 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-5 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201231901  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

JP 2010012659 A (CANON KK) 21.01.2010

D02

US 2009 195364 A1 (EDWARDS MARK JOSEPH et al.) 06.08.2009

D03

US 2008036827 A1 (ANDERSON JAMES DANIEL et al.) 02/14/2008

D04

JP 2005104117 A (KONICA MINOLTA MED & GRAPHIC) 04/21/2005

D05

CN 201645995U U (ZHUHAI NINESTAR MAN CO LTD) 11/24/2010

D06

US 2008165009 A1 (HIROTA MITSUO) 10.07.2008

D07

DE 102007051340 A1 (3T SUPPLIES AG) 04/30/2009

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The use of electronic identification elements in ink cartridges in order to send information to the printing machine is known in the state of the art as reflected in the Report developed below. Paragraph [0002] of document D01 discusses the known use of RFID identifications on the ink cartridge that also employs a wireless system for communicating with the printer. In this same document you can see: the identification element of the cartridge, or RFID tag in this case (see reference 204, figure 3, or references 322 to 325 of figure 4 corresponding each to a color), which are in communication with the printer which carries a reader of said identification that acts wirelessly. In the cited state of the art there is also document D02 detailing the existence of the automatic identification devices in ink cartridges that send information on the use of the ink, the serial number etc. to the printing machine that incorporates them (see paragraph [0049] of this document). As for the characteristic of having a closure element and incorporating a sealant material, design options are considered that are also evident to a person skilled in the art. A detailed example of how to place the identification tag on the cartridge can be seen in document D03 in which several embodiments including a housing and a cover are observed. Other relevant documents are found in the state of the art that are cited as an example among the many found, see documents D04 to D07, all of them providing the same solution as the application to the problem posed. Therefore, and taking into account said documents, it is considered that in all of them the elements claimed in the application are found (collected in claims R1 to R5), which cancels their novelty, and for not having a novelty as a whole, the invention also lacks inventive activity. All this according to articles 6.1 (novelty) and 8.1 (inventive activity) of patent law 11/1986. State of the Art Report Page 4/4