Air bag placed in a print cartridge and method for manufacturing the same

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6764172
  • Patent Number
    6,764,172
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 14, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 20, 2004
    19 years ago
Abstract
An air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same are provided, wherein a layered material with two faces of different ingredients are utilized. After cutting and opening of connection holes and air vent holes, flexible stacking according to the capacity requirement of the air bag and thermal pressuring are performed. Through the characteristic that two low-melting-point ingredients can be affixed together but two high-melting-point ingredients or a low-melting-point ingredient and a high-melting-point ingredient cannot be affixed together, the whole air bag can be integrally formed. The air bag forms a plurality of receiving rooms having connected air vent holes. The air bag can be folded up to make inflation and deflation, hence filling up the ink-storage capacity of the print cartridge. Moreover, the back pressure can be adjusted.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a folding type air bag and a method for manufacturing the same, which applies to a print cartridge of an inkjet printer to fill its volume and adjust its back pressure.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Printers are the primary data output devices among computer peripherals. Recently, inkjet printers have been developed to have a high-quality printing effect and a low cost so as to become standard equipments of computer. One characteristic of an inkjet printer is its diversified variation of colors. In the design of a print cartridge including inks of various kinds of colors, the ink-out smoothness and the consuming rate of ink are taken into serious consideration.




A print cartridge comprises an ink reservoir and a printing head. When not in use, in order to avoid stains or blocking of the printing head, a back pressure is usually added in the ink reservoir. That is, when the ink-storage capacity in the ink reservoir decreases, the back pressure rises to prevent leakage of ink. When the exterior pressure decreases (e.g. during transportation high up in the air), it is necessary to keep an appropriate back pressure in the ink reservoir. When ink gradually goes out for printing, the back pressure will rise along with decrease of ink. Once the back pressure exceeds the range of the ink-out pressure of the printing head (i.e. the back pressure is larger than the ink-out pressure required for printing texts and pictures), smooth ink-out actions for printing will no longer be feasible. When ink gradually runs out, rise of the back pressure will also let normal ink-out actions for printing be unfeasible, hence wasting residual ink in the partial cartridge.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,030 disclosed a pressure control device. As shown in

FIG. 1

, a bubble generator


25




a


is disposed in an ink reservoir


15




a


of a print cartridge


1




a.


The bubble generator


25




a


has a pipe


26




a


connected with exterior air. A ball


27




a


is disposed in the pipe


26




a.


A gap (not shown) is disposed at the contact portion of the pipe


26




a


and the ball


27




a.


A liquid seal is formed by the capillary phenomenon to isolate the ink reservoir


15




a


from exterior air. Simultaneously, the generated bubble enters into the ink reservoir timely. When ink goes out for printing, the back pressure of the ink reservoir


15




a


will start to rise. When the exterior pressure is larger than the pressure of the liquid seal, the bubble will enter into the ink reservoir


15




a


to lower the back pressure in the ink reservoir


15




a.


A liquid seal immediately forms by the capillary phenomenon to isolate the ink reservoir


15




a


from exterior air again. Generation of bubbles of the bubble generator


25




a


depends on the surface tension of ink and the design of the gap's size. Therefore, the design of the bubble generator


25




a


differs according to different inks. The pipe


26




a


needs to be located in the ink to truly exploit the bubble-generating function. Once the exterior pressure decreases, leakage of ink cannot be avoided.




R.O.C. Pat. No. 438,684 disclosed another pressure control device. As shown in

FIG. 2

, a print cartridge


1




a


comprises an upper portion


11




a,


a first sidewall


12




a,


a second sidewall


13




a,


and a bottom portion


14




a,


which form an ink reservoir


15




a.


A pressure adjuster


28




a


and a bubble generator


25




a


are disposed in the ink reservoir


15




a.


The pressure adjuster


28




a


has an air bag


10




a,


a pressing plate


21




a,


and a spring


20




a.


The air bag


10




a


has a first receiving room


33




a


and a second receiving room


34




a.


The pressing plate


21




a


has a first surface


22




a


and a second surface


23




a.


One end of the spring


20




a


is connected to the first sidewall


12




a


of the print cartridge


12




a,


and the other end thereof is connected to the first surface


22




a


of the pressing plate


21




a.


An outside of the first receiving room


33




a


contacts the second surface


23




a


of the pressing plate


21




a.


An air vent hole


32




a


for free flow of air is disposed between the first receiving room


33




a


and the second receiving room


34




a.


An outside of the second receiving room


34




a


contacts the second sidewall


13




a


of the print cartridge


1




a.


The second receiving room


34




a


has a guide pipe


24




a


connected to the upper portion


11




a


of the print cartridge


1




a


to communicate with exterior air. The bubble generator


25




a


is disposed at the bottom portion


14




a


of the print cartridge


1




a.


The bubble generator


25




a


comprises a pipe


26




a,


a ball


27




a,


and an elastic component


29




a.


The pipe


26




a


is disposed at the bottom portion


14




a


of the print cartridge


1




a


to communicate with exterior air. The ball


27




a


is disposed at the top of the pipe


26




a


to prevent air from entering into the ink reservoir


15




a.


The elastic component


29




a


is fixed at the bottom portion


14




a


of the print cartridge


1




a,


and has a first portion


30




a


and a second portion


31




a.


The first portion


30




a


contacts the ball


27




a.


The second portion


31




a


contacts the first surface


22




a


of the pressing plate


21




a


of the pressure adjuster


28




a.


A printing head


19




a


is disposed at the bottom portion


14




a


of the print cartridge


1




a.


When the back pressure rises, the air bag


10




a


of the pressure adjuster


28




a


inflates a let the pressing plate


21




a


push the second portion


31




a


of the elastic component


29




a.


The first portion


30




a


of the elastic component


29




a


will thus leaves from the ball


27




a


to lift the ball


27




a


so that exterior air can either into the ink reservoir


15




a.


A bubble can thus be generated to enter into the ink reservoir


15




a,


hence lowering the back pressure. After the back pressure decreases, the spring


20




a


will exert a force onto the pressing plate


21




a


to deflate the air bag


10




a


so as to restore the elastic component


29




a.


The ball


27




a


will again prevent air from entering into the ink reservoir


15




a.


Therefore, keeping of the back pressure will not be affected by the surface tension formed by different kinds and properties of ink. Moreover, it is not necessary to precisely design the size of the pipe


26




a.


However, the design and manufacturing of the air bag


10




a


of the pressure adjuster


28




a


limits the ink-storage capacity, hence not meeting the requirement of full usage of ink. Moreover, due to creases formed by retractile actions of the air bag


10




a,


the effect of the air bag


10




a


inflating repetitively and the functions of other devices disposed in the ink reservoir


15




a


will be influenced.




Accordingly, the design of the conventional print cartridge has inconvenience and drawbacks in practical manufacturing and use. The present invention aims to resolve the problems in the prior art.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary object of the present invention is to provide an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same, whereby the air bag can fill the ink-storage capacity in the print cartridge so that ink can be used up completely.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same, whereby the manufacturing process of the air bag can be simplified and sped up.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same, whereby the proceeding direction of the air bag can be easily controlled.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same, whereby creases will not be generated when the air bag inflates and then deflates, and the functions of other devices in the print cartridge will not be easily influenced after the air bag inflates again.




To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same. The method comprises the following steps.




(1) A layered material having double faces of different ingredients is provided;




(2) A side membrane is placed with a high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and a low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(3) A connection membrane is placed with the high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and the low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(4) A folding membrane is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(5) A folding membrane is placed with the high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and the low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(6) A connection membrane is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(7) A side membrane is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards;




(8) Thermal pressure is performed to integrally from the whole air bag.




The present invention provides an air bag placed in a print cartridge. The print cartridge comprises an upper portion, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom portion, which form an ink reservoir. The upper portion has an ink-filling hole and an air vent. The ink-filling hole has a plug. The bottom portion has a printing head. Ink is received in the ink reservoir. The air bag comprises side membranes whose one face adhering a low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering a high-melting-point ingredient; folding membranes whose one facing adhering the low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering the high-melting-point ingredient, and connection membrane whose one face adhering the low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering the high-melting-point ingredient. The peripheral size of the folding membrane corresponds to that of the side membrane. A connection hole is opened at the folding membrane. The peripheral size of the connection membrane is larger than the size of the connection hole of the folding membrane. An air vent hole is opened at the connection membrane. The size of the air vent hole is smaller than that of the connection hole of the folding membrane. The periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient of the side membrane connects the periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient of the folding membrane to form a first receiving room and a last receiving room. The peripheries of the low-melting-point ingredient of two folding membranes are connected together. The periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient of the connection hole of the folding membrane connects the periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient of the connection membrane. The peripheries of the low-melting-point ingredient of the air vent holes of two folding membranes are connected together to form other receiving rooms having connected air vent holes. A folding air bag capable of inflating and deflating is thus formed. Ink can be received in the air bag. The ink reservoir forms an air-storage capacity (i.e. an air tank), while the air bag forms an ink-storage capacity (i.e. an ink-storage bag).




The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a side cross-sectional view of a conventional print cartridge;





FIG. 2

is a side cross-sectional view of another conventional print cartridge;





FIG. 3

is a flowchart of the manufacturing method of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view showing air bags the present invention are arranged in order and integrally formed by thermal pressuring;





FIG. 5

is a side cross-sectional view of the air bag of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a side cross-sectional view of the air bag placed in a print cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a side cross-sectional view of the air bag filling up the ink reservoir according to the first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 8

is a side cross-sectional view of the air bag placed in a print cartridge according to a second embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




As shown in

FIGS. 3

to


5


, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a printing cartridge. The method comprises the following step.




(1) A layered material


3


having double faces of different ingredients is provided;




One face of the layered material


3


adheres a low-melting-point ingredient


30


like polyethylene (PE), and the other face thereof adheres a high-melting-point ingredient


31


like polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or nylon;




(2) Membranes of appropriate size are cut;




The layered material


3


is cut to form side membranes


32


;




The layered material


3


is cut to form folding membranes


33


. The peripheral size of the folding membrane corresponds to that of the side membrane. A connection hole


35


is opened at the folding membrane


33


;




The layered material


3


is cut to form connection membranes


34


. The peripheral size of the connection membrane


34


is larger than the size of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


. An air vent hole


36


is opened at the connection membrane


34


. The size of the air vent hole


36


is smaller than that of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


;




(3) The side membrane


32


is placed with the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing downwards and the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing upwards;




(4) One of the connection membranes


33


is placed with the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing downwards and the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing upwards;




(5) One of the folding membrane


33


is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing upwards;




The periphery of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


is lapped at the periphery of the connection membrane


34


. The periphery of the folding membrane


33


aligns with the periphery of the side membrane


32


. A first receiving room


37


is thus formed.




(6) The other folding membrane


33


is placed with the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing downwards and the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing upwards;




This folding membrane


33


aligns with the preceding folding membrane


33


. That is, periphery of the connection hole


35


of this folding membrane


33


aligns with the periphery of the connection hole


35


of the preceding folding membrane


33


;




(7) The other connection membrane


34


is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing upwards;




This connection membrane


34


aligns with the preceding connection membrane


34


. That is, the periphery of this connection membrane


34


is lapped at the periphery of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


, and the periphery of the air vent hole


36


of this connection membrane


34


is lapped at the periphery of the air vent hole


36


of the preceding connection membrane


34


.




(8) Steps (4) and (5) are repeated once;




The connection membrane


34


aligns with the preceding connection membrane


34


, and the folding membrane


33


aligns with the preceding folding membrane


33


. Another receiving room


38


is thus formed;




(9) Steps (6) to (8) are repeated;




The folding membrane


33


aligns with the preceding folding membrane


33


, and the connection membrane


34


aligns with the preceding connection membrane


33


. Other receiving rooms


38


are thus formed;




(10) Steps (6) and (7) are repeated once;




The folding membrane


33


aligns with the preceding folding membrane


33


, and the connection membrane


34


aligns with the preceding connection membrane


33


;




(11) A side membrane is placed with the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) facing downwards and the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) facing upwards;




The periphery of the side membrane


32


aligns with the periphery of the folding membrane


33


. A last receiving room


39


is thus formed;




(12) Thermal processing is performed to integrally form the whole air bag.




A thermal pressuring device


4


comprises an outer ring pressuring plane


40


and an inner ring pressuring plane


41


. The outer ring pressuring plane


40


corresponds to the peripheries of the side membrane


32


and the folding membranes


33


. The inner ring pressuring plane


41


corresponds to the periphery of the connection membranes


34


. The whole air bag


10


is integrally formed by thermal pressuring once.




The thermal deformation temperature of the thermal pressuring process affixes the surfaces of two lapped low-melting-point gradients (


30


). The inner side surfaces of the first receiving room


37


and the last receiving room


39


of the peripheries of the side membranes


32


and the folding membrane


33


are fused together. The inner side surfaces of the receiving room


38


of the peripheries of two folding membranes


34


are fused together. The peripheries of the connection membrane


34


and the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


are fused together. The air vent holes


36


of two connection membranes


34


adjacent to the receiving room


38


are fused together so that the receiving rooms


38


of the air bag


10


can have connected air vent holes


36


to achieve good strength and air tightness.




Because of the distinction between the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) and the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET), thermal pressuring cannot affix the surfaces of two high-melting-point ingredients


31


(PET) or a high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET) and a low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) together. For instance, the side membrane


32


and the connection membrane


34


cannot be fused together. The outer side surfaces of the receiving room


38


at the peripheries of the two folding membrane


33


cannot be fused together. Two connection membranes


34


of the same receiving room


38


cannot be fused together. Therefore, the air bag


10


can be folded up to make actions of inflation and deflation.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the air bag


10


placed in the print cartridge


1


of the present invention comprises a side membrane


32


, folding membranes


33


, and connection membranes


34


.




One face of the side membrane


32


adheres the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE), and the other face thereof adheres the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET or nylon).




One face of the folding membrane


33


adheres the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE), and the other face thereof adheres the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET or nylon). The peripheral size of the folding membrane


33


corresponds to that of the side membrane


32


. The connection hole


35


is opened at the folding membrane


33


.




One face of the connection membrane


34


adheres the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE), and the other face thereof adheres the high-melting-point ingredient


31


(PET or nylon). The peripheral size of the connection membrane


34


is larger than the size of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


. The air vent hole


36


is opened at the connection membrane


34


. The size of the air vent hole


36


is smaller than that of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


.




The periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) of the side membrane


32


is connected with the periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) of the folding membrane


33


to form the first receiving room


37


and the last receiving room


39


. The peripheries of the-low-melting-point ingredients


30


(PE) of two folding membranes


33


are connected together. The periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) of the connection hole


35


of the folding membrane


33


and the periphery of the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) of the connection membrane


34


are connected together. The peripheries of the low-melting-point ingredient


30


(PE) of the air vent hole


36


of two connection membranes


34


are connected together, thereby forming other receiving rooms


38


and having connected air vent holes


36


. A folding type air bag


10


capable of making actions of inflation and deflation is thus formed.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, the folding type air bag


10


is disposed in the print cartridge


1


. The print cartridge


1


comprises an upper portion


11


, a first sidewall


12


, a second sidewall


13


, and a bottom portion


14


, which form an ink reservoir


15


. Ink is received in the ink reservoir


15


. The upper portion


11


has an ink-filling hole


16


and an air vent


17


. The ink-filling hole


16


has a plug


18


. The bottom portion


14


has a printing head


19


. The ink reservoir


15


has an elastic component


20


and a pressing plate


21


. The pressing plate


21


has a first surface


22


and a second surface


23


. One end of the elastic component


20


is connected to the first sidewall


12


, while the other end thereof is connected to the first surface


22


of the pressing plate


21


. The second surface


23


of the pressing plate


21


contacts the outside of the first receiving room


37


of the air bag


10


. The outside of the lasting receiving room


39


contacts the second sidewall


13


. A guide pipe


24


is connected to the air vent


17


of the upper portion


11


.




When ink is injected and the plug


18


is closed, the elastic component


20


will exert a force onto the air bag


10


to keep a back pressure so as to form an initial value of the back pressure in the print cartridge


1


, hence avoiding leakage of ink. When the exterior pressure decreases, the elastic component


20


will exert a force onto the pressing plate


21


to push the air bag


10


. The ink-storage capacity in the ink reservoir


15


thus increases to enlarge the back pressure so that the printing head


19


will have no ink leakage phenomenon. When ink goes out for printing, the back pressure rises, and the air bag


10


inflates to push the pressing plate


21


to press the elastic component


20


downwards, hence decreasing the ink storage capacity in the ink reservoir


15


. The back pressure can thus be controlled within the range of ink-out pressure of the printing head


19


for normal ink-out actions. As shown in

FIG. 7

, when the air bag


10


arrives its maximum volume, the air bag


10


will almost fill up the ink reservoir


15


to reduce residual ink to minimum.




Moreover, there are four receiving rooms being formed in the embodiment just for explanation. In practice, the present invention also can be realized with two or more than two receiving rooms.




As shown in

FIG. 3

, the folding type air bag


10


is disposed in the print cartridge


1


. The print cartridge


1


comprises an upper portion


11


, a first sidewall


12


, a second sidewall


13


, and a bottom portion


14


, which form an ink reservoir


15


. Ink is received in the ink reservoir


15


. The upper portion


11


has an ink-filling hole


16


and an air vent


17


. The ink-filling hole


16


has a plug


18


. The bottom portion


14


has a printing head


19


. The ink receiving


15


has an elastic component


20


and two pressing plates


21


. The pressing plate


21


has a first surface


22


and a second surface


23


. Two ends of the elastic component


20


are connected to the first surfaces


22


of the two pressing plates


21


, respectively. The two second surfaces


23


of the two pressing plates


21


contact insides of the first receiving room


37


and the last receiving room


39


of the air bag


10


. Ink is received in the air bag


10


. The ink reservoir


1


forms an air-storage capacity (i.e. an air tank), and the air bag


10


forms an ink-storage capacity (i.e. an ink-storage bag). The outside of the last receiving room


39


of the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag) contacts the second sidewall


13


. A guide pipe


24


is connected to the ink-filling hole


16


of the upper portion


11


. An ink-out guide pipe


25


is connected to the printing head


19


at the bottom portion


14


.




When ink is injected and the plug


18


is closed, ink fills up the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag), and the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag) almost fills up the ink reservoir


15


of the print cartridge


1


so as to form an initial value of the back pressure, hence avoiding leakage of ink. When the exterior pressure decreases, the elastic component


20


will exert a force onto the pressing plate


21




s


to lead the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag) to inflate. The ink-storage capacity in the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag) thus increases to enlarge the back pressure so that the printing head


19


will have no ink leakage phenomenon. When ink goes out for printing, the back pressure rises, and the air-storage capacity of the ink reservoir


15


(i.e. the air tank) increases to push the pressing plates


21


to press the elastic component


20


downwards, hence deflating the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag) to decrease the ink-storage capacity in the air bag


10


(i.e. the ink-storage bag). The back pressure can thus be controlled within the range of ink-out pressure of the printing head


19


for normal ink-out actions. When ink in the air bag


10


almost runs out, air will fill up the ink reservoir


15


to shrink the air bag


10


to its smallest volume, hence reducing residual ink to minimum.




To sum up, the air bag placed in a print cartridge and a method for manufacturing the same of the present invention has the following characteristics.




(1) The foldable characteristic of the air bag forms a plurality of receiving rooms so that the air bag can fill up the ink-storage capacity in the print cartridge. Ink can thus be used up completely.




(2) Through the characteristic of two ingredients having different melting points at two faces of the layered material used by the air bag, the whole air bag can be integrally formed by thermal pressuring once, hence speeding up the manufacturing process, simplifying the components, and facilitating the design.




(3) The receiving rooms of the air bag are orderly and densely arranged so that the proceeding direction of the air bag can be easily controlled.




(4) Because the size of the periphery of the folding membranes of the air bag is small, no creases will be generated when the air bag inflates and then deflates. Therefore, the functions of other components in the print cartridge will not be easily influenced when the air bag inflates again.




Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and other will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge comprising the steps of:(1) providing a layered material having two faces of different ingredients; (2) placing a side membrane with a high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and a low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; (3) placing a connection membrane with said high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and said low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; (4) placing a folding membrane with said low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and said high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; (5) placing a folding membrane with said high-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and said low-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; (6) placing a connection membrane with said low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and said high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; (7) placing a side membrane with said low-melting-point ingredient facing downwards and said high-melting-point ingredient facing upwards; and (8) performing thermal pressuring to integrally form the air bag.
  • 2. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in said step (1), one face of said layered material adheres said low-melting-point ingredient, and the other face thereof adheres said high-melting-point ingredient.
  • 3. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein, in said step (1), said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, and said high-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene terephthalate.
  • 4. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein, in said step (1), said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, and said high-melting-point ingredient is nylon.
  • 5. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein a step for cutting membranes of appropriate size is added between said step (1) and (2).
  • 6. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 5, wherein said layered material is first cut to form side membranes and then cut to form folding membranes, the peripheral size of said folding membrane corresponds to that of said side membrane, a connection hole is opened at said folding membrane, said layered material is subsequently cut to form connection membranes, the peripheral size of said connection membrane is larger than the size of said connection hole of said folding membrane, an air vent hole is opened at said connection membrane, and the size of said air vent hole is smaller than the size of said connection hold of said folding membrane.
  • 7. The method of manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 6, wherein, in said step (4), the periphery of said connection hole of said forming membrane is lapped at the periphery of said connection membrane, and the periphery of said folding membrane aligns with the periphery of said side membrane.
  • 8. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 7, wherein said folding membrane in said step (5) aligns with the preceding folding membrane.
  • 9. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 8, wherein said connection membrane in said step (6) aligns with the preceding connection membrane.
  • 10. The method for manufacturing an air bag placed in a print cartridge as claimed in claim 9, wherein, in said step (7), the periphery of said side membrane aligns with the periphery of said folding membrane.
  • 11. An air bag placed in a print cartridge, said air bag comprising:side membranes whose one face adhering a low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering a high-melting-point ingredient; folding membranes whose one face adhering said low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering said high-melting-point ingredient, the peripheral size of said folding membrane corresponding to that of said side membrane, a connection hole being opened at said folding membrane; and connection membranes whose one face adhering said low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering said high-melting-point ingredient, the peripheral size of said connection membrane being larger than the size of said connection hole of said folding membrane, an air vent hole being opened at said connection membrane; whereby the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said side membrane connects the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said folding membrane to form a first receiving room and a last receiving room, the peripheries of said low-melting-point ingredient of two said folding membranes are connected together, the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said connection hole of said facing membrane connects the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said connection membrane, the peripheries of said low-melting-point ingredient of said air vent holes of two said folding membranes are connected together to form other receiving rooms having connected air vent holes, a folding type air bag capable of inflating and deflating is thus formed.
  • 12. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 11, said print cartridge comprising an upper portion, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom portion, which form an ink reservoir, said upper portion having an ink-filling hole and an air vent, said ink-filling hole having a plug, said bottom portion having a printing head, ink being received in said ink reservoir.
  • 13. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, while said high-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene terephthalate.
  • 14. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, while said high-melting-point ingredient is nylon.
  • 15. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein said ink reservoir has an elastic component and a pressing plate, said pressing plate has a first surface and a second surface, one end of said elastic component is connected to said first sidewall, the other end thereof is connected to said first surface of said pressing plate, said second surface of said pressing plate contacts an outside of said first receiving room of said air bag, said air bag has also a guide pipe connected to said air vent of said upper portion.
  • 16. An air bag placed in a print cartridge, said air bag comprising:side membranes whose one facing adhering a low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering a high-melting-point ingredient; folding membranes whose one face adhering said low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering said high-melting-point ingredient, the peripheral size of said folding membrane corresponding to that of said side membrane, a connection hole being opened at said folding membrane; and connection membranes whose one face adhering said low-melting-point ingredient and whose other face adhering said high-melting-point ingredient, the peripheral size of said connection membrane being larger than the size of said connection hole of said folding membrane, an air vent hole being opened at said connection membrane; whereby the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said side membrane connects the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said folding membrane to form a first receiving room and a last receiving room, the peripheries of said low-melting-point ingredient of two said folding membranes are connected together, the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said connection hole of said folding membrane connects the periphery of said low-melting-point ingredient of said connection membrane, the peripheries of said low-melting-point ingredient of said air vent holes of two said folding membranes are connected together to form other receiving rooms having connected air vent holes, a folding type air bag capable of inflating and deflating is thus formed, ink is received in said air bag.
  • 17. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 16, said print cartridge comprising an upper portion, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom portion, which forms an ink reservoir, said upper portion having an ink-filling hole and an air vent, said ink-filling hole having a plug, said bottom portion having a printing head.
  • 18. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 16, wherein said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, while said high-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene terephthalate.
  • 19. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 16, wherein said low-melting-point ingredient is polyethylene, while said high-melting-point ingredient is nylon.
  • 20. The air bag placed in the print cartridge as claimed in claim 16, wherein said ink reservoir has an elastic component and two pressing plates, said pressing plate has a first surface and a second surface, two ends of said elastic component are connected to said first surfaces of said two pressing plates, respectively, said second surfaces of said two pressing plates contact insides of said first receiving room and said last receiving room of said air bag, said ink reservoir forms an air-storage capacity while said air bag forms an ink-storage capacity, a guide pipe is connected to said ink-filling hole of said upper portion, and an ink-out guide pipe is connected to said printing head of said bottom portion.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
5537134 Baldwin et al. Jul 1996 A
5975686 Hauck et al. Nov 1999 A
5988803 Komplin et al. Nov 1999 A
6067906 Ryan et al. May 2000 A
6145973 Wu et al. Nov 2000 A
6213598 Hou et al. Apr 2001 B1