The present invention generally relates to filling containers with fluid, and more specifically relates to refilling printer ink cartridges.
Ink jet printers are a popular form of printer used with computers and similar applications involving document printing or graphics preparation. Typical ink jet printers have replaceable ink jet cartridges with built-in print heads. While replaceable ink jet cartridges are a convenient manner of supplying ink to such printers, the cartridges are necessarily expensive due to their complexity and the provision of print heads with the cartridges. Cartridges provided by manufacturers are typically not designed to be refilled when the ink supply runs out. It is well known, however, that such cartridges have useful lives significantly longer than that provided by the initial supply of ink. As a result, there have been substantial efforts directed at providing a simple, easy-to-use system for refilling cartridges with ink.
Known ink cartridge refill systems may have certain drawbacks related to ink flow from the ink refill system to the printer cartridge. Therefore, additional efforts have been directed at providing reliable, consistently functioning systems for refilling printer cartridges with ink.
An ink refill device and method for refilling an ink reservoir(s) of a printer ink cartridge. The ink refill device includes an ink container that defines an internal ink tank(s) containing ink, drain and vent members that are adapted and arranged to replenish the ink reservoir(s) with ink from the ink tank(s). The drain and vent member are arranged within a single elongate conduit profile. The drain and vent member may be arranged coaxially, bisectionally, or in some other orientation relative to each other that provides the single conduit profile.
Another aspect of the disclosure relates to an ink cartridge refilling system that is configured to refill a housing interior of a printer ink cartridge. The system includes an ink container having at least one ink reservoir and configured to be connected to the printer ink cartridge housing, and at least one ink communication path in fluid communication with the at least one ink reservoir. The system also includes at least one vent communication path in fluid communication with the at least one ink reservoir, wherein a combination of the at least one ink communication path and the at least one vent communication path is defined within a single elongate conduit profile.
One method according to principles of the present disclosure relates to assembling of an ink refill system. The method includes providing an ink container, a drain conduit, and a vent member, the drain conduit and vent member together defining an elongate member having a generally cylindrical cross-section. The method also includes coupling the elongate member to the ink container, wherein a first end of each of the drain conduit and the vent member is exposed within the ink container and a second end of each of the drain conduit and vent member is exposed outside of the ink container.
A still further aspect of the disclosure relates to an ink cartridge refill kit. The refill kit includes a package and an ink refill system positioned in the package. The ink refill system includes an ink tank, a drain conduit, and a vent conduit. The drain conduit is in ink flow communication with the internal ink tank, the vent conduit is in air flow communication with the internal ink tank, and the drain conduit and air conduit extending coaxially from a position exposed to ink in the ink tank to a position exterior of the ink tank.
Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a method of refilling an ink cartridge with an ink refill system. The ink refill system includes a drain conduit, a vent member, and an ink container filled with ink. The method may includes steps of forming an aperture in a wall of the ink container, defining the drain conduit and vent member within a single elongate conduit profile, inserting the drain conduit and vent member into the aperture, and draining ink out of the ink container through the drain conduit and filling the ink container with air through the vent member to fill the ink cartridge.
A still further aspect of the disclosure relates to an ink cartridge refill system configured to refill an ink chamber of a printer ink cartridge with ink. The system includes an ink container, a drain conduit, a vent member, and a sealing member. The ink container is configured for coupling in ink flow communication with the ink cartridge, wherein the ink container defines at least one internal ink tank and the ink tank includes a bottom wall having a conduit aperture form therein. The drain conduit is in fluid communication with the at least one internal ink tank through the conduit aperture and projecting outwardly from the ink container. The vent member extends coaxially with the drain conduit and in fluid communication with the at least one internal ink tank. The sealing member is positioned between the ink container and at least one of the drain and vent conduits to provide a fluid seal there between. In a coaxial arrangement wherein the drain conduit extends within the vent conduit, the sealing members seals between an outer surface of the vent member and the ink container such as at the bottom wall of the ink container adjacent to the conduit aperture.
The above summary is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the inventive aspects disclosed herein. Figures in the detailed description that follow more particularly describe features that are examples of how certain inventive aspects may be practiced. While certain embodiments are illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that the invention/inventions of the disclosure are not limited to such embodiments.
FIGS. 8A-E show example steps of preparing an ink cartridge for refilling using the ink refill kit shown in
FIGS. 9A-F show example steps of filling an ink cartridge that has been prepared using the steps shown in FIGS. 8A-E; and
While the inventive aspects of the present disclosure are amenable to various modifications and alternate forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings, and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the inventive aspects to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the inventive aspects.
The present disclosure provides an ink refill system for filling a refillable container such as a printer ink cartridge. The refill system includes an ink refill apparatus that includes an ink tank containing refill ink, at least one ink conduit configured to provide ink flow communication with the container to be filled, and a venting structure configured to provide venting in the container to be filled during ink flow communication. When in use, the refill apparatus facilitates ink flow from the ink tank of the ink refill apparatus to the container to be filled with ink. The following detailed description, with reference to
As used herein, the terms “printer ink cartridge”, “ink cartridge”, “printer cartridge”, and “cartridge” generally refer to an ink cartridge for an ink jet printer. A printer ink cartridge may be configured to include an inlet port that facilitates fluid communication with an interior chamber of the cartridge. The present disclosure utilizes such an inlet port of an ink cartridge to refill the cartridge using an easy-to-use method and apparatus, examples of which are described herein. The term “coaxial” is defined as having two coincident axes. The term “bisectional” is defined as a single member having a dividing feature that provides two sections or spaces. A “bisectional conduit” includes a dividing partition or wall within an interior and along a length of the conduit to provide two passages within the conduit.
The upper housing member 12 includes an internal ink tank or container 22 defined by bottom, top and first and second side interior walls 24, 26, 28, 30. A recess 32 is formed in the bottom interior wall 24 and sized to retain the pump member 18. An interior space defined by the pump member 18 is in fluid communication with the internal ink tank 22 via pump opening 34. A refill opening 38 is formed in the top interior wall 26 to provide refilling of ink into the internal ink 22. The refill opening 38 is capped or filled with the refill plug 20. A vent/drain opening 36 is also formed in the top interior wall 26. The drain/vent assembly 15 is positioned in fluid communication with the internal ink tank 22 via the vent/drain opening 36.
The drain conduit 14 includes first and second ends 42, 44 and first and second openings 46, 48 at the respective ends 42, 44. The vent conduit 16 includes first and second ends 50, 52 with first and second openings 54, 56. The second end 52 of the vent conduit 16 may be crimped or otherwise sealed shut against an exterior of the drain conduit 14 at the second end 44, or may be left open relative to the drain conduit. The second opening 56 may be positioned at any location along the length of the vent conduit 16 proximal of the opening 48 at the second end 44 of the drain conduit. The position of the second opening 56 determines the fill level in the cartridge. The position of the second opening 56 is predetermined according to the fill level desired and may be formed at different positions for different applications.
In other embodiments, the second end 52 is left open to provide different venting options. An open end of the vent conduit 52 may be used in place of or in combination with an opening formed in a side wall of the vent conduit (e.g., opening 56). In still further embodiments, the drain and vent conduits 14, 16 may have the same length. Typically, providing a vent conduit having a lower opening (e.g., opening 56 or an opening at the second end 52) that is at the same or a vertically higher level than the second opening 48 of the drain conduit 14 (when refilling the cartridge) results in optimum draining of ink and venting of air. However, in some configurations it may be possible to have a second opening of the vent conduit that is lower than a second opening of the drain conduit or have a second end of the vent conduit that extends distally beyond the second end of the drain conduit.
The portions of the ink refill apparatus shown in
The base member 66 includes a cartridge seat 78, a guide support 80, a retaining clip 82, and latch arms 84, 86. A cartridge (not shown) is retained by the base member 66 with one end of the cartridge fit in the cartridge seat 78, and an opposing end of the cartridge retained by the retaining clip 82. The retaining clip 82 may be lifted up manually or when engaged by the cartridge being fit in the cartridge seat 78 and then latched to a top surface of the cartridge to retain the cartridge in the base member 66. The latch arms 84, 86 fit within the track portions 74, 76 of the lower housing member 60 to help properly align the opening 65 in the drill guide 64 with the drain/vent assembly 15 when inserting the cartridge into position for refilling in the ink refill apparatus 10 (see FIGS. 9B-C).
The ink absorbing member 68 is positioned along a bottom surface of the cartridge seat 78 in alignment with the cartridge printer head and is configured to absorb any ink that may be expelled from the printer head while refilling the cartridge. The ink absorbing member 68 may include a non-porous foam or sponge material. The ink absorbing member 68 may function to prevent ink leakage from the print head of the cartridge and provide cushioning for the print head.
Referring now to
The upper housing member 112 includes an internal ink tank 122 defined by bottom, top and first and second side interior walls 124, 126, 128, 130. A recess 132 is defined in the bottom interior wall 124 and sized to retain the pump member 118. The vent/drain opening 136 is defined in the top interior wall 126 and sized to receive the drain/vent assembly 115 to provide fluid communication between the ink tank 122 and the drain and vent conduits 114, 116. A refill opening 138 is also defined in the top interior wall 126. The refill plug 120 can be inserted into the refill opening 138 to prevent ink from draining out of the internal ink tank 122.
The drain conduit 114 includes first and second ends 142, 144 and first and second openings 146, 148 at respective ends 142, 144. The vent conduit includes first and second ends 150, 152 and first and second openings 154, 156 at respective ends 150, 152. A third opening 157 may be defined in a side wall of the vent conduit 116 along the length thereof between the first and second ends 150, 152.
The partition 158 may have various configurations and positioned orientations that affect the size and shape of the drain and vent conduits 114, 116. In some instances, it may be advantageous to provide a drain conduit that is larger in cross sectional area then the vent conduit to optimize ink flow out of the ink tank 122. Due to viscosity and other physical characteristics of the ink as compared to air, a larger cross sectional area for the drain conduit is typically preferred so as to provide ink flow out of the ink chamber through the drain conduit at substantially the same rate as the air flow into the ink chamber through the vent conduit.
Those features illustrated in
The ink refill kit may also include a vent cap 162, a drill guide 164, a base member 166, and a sponge or other ink absorbent member 168. The conduit cap 162 is sized to fit over the drain/vent assembly 115 to prevent the flow of ink out of the internal ink tank 122 when the drain/vent assembly 115 is not being used for filling an ink cartridge. The drill guide 164 is configured for attachment to an ink cartridge that includes an opening 165 that is aligned with an ink refill opening of the ink cartridge (see, for example, FIGS. 8A-C). The drill guide 164 is configured to help direct a drill member (see, for example, drill 100 shown in
The base member 166 includes a cartridge seat 178, a guide support 180, a guide 182, and latch arms 184, 186. The cartridge seat 178 is configured to retain one end of an ink cartridge and the guide 182 is configured to engage and retain an opposing end of the ink cartridge. The latch arms 184, 186 fit within the track portions 174, 176 of the lower housing member to help align and direct the drain/vent assembly 115 through the opening 165 and the drill guide 164 (see, for example, FIGS. 9B-C). The sponge 168 is positioned along the cartridge seat 178 for alignment with a printer head of the ink cartridge. The sponge 168 is configured to absorb any ink that may be expelled from the print head while refilling the ink cartridge.
The drill guides 64, 164 described above may have multiple embodiments in accordance, for example, with those drill guides disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 10/438,254 filed on May 13, 2003 and entitled DRILL GUIDE FOR AN INK REFILL SYSTEM, which application is incorporated herein by reference. The pump members 18, 118 described above may have various configurations and related advantages discussed, for example, in U.S. Ser. No. 10/817,424 filed on Apr. 2, 2004, and entitled ACTUATOR FOR AUTOMATIC INK REFILL SYSTEM, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
While the embodiments shown and described with reference to
A drain/vent assembly having a single elongate conduit profile such as shown and described with reference to
In operation, a coaxial, bisectional, or other drain/vent assembly configuration with a single elongate conduit profile uses similar principles as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,863. Such general principles relate to a closed system in which the flow of a liquid out of the system must be balanced by an equal volume of fluid into the system. The ink refill apparatuses 10, 110 include three basic elements: an enclosed ink tank filled with ink, a drain conduit and a vent conduit. The lower ends of the conduits are inserted into a printer cartridge. When the ink level in the cartridge is low, the ink flows out of the drain conduit and seeps into the internal ink cavity of the ink cartridge (which is typically filled with a foam material) causing a vacuum in the internal ink tank of the ink refill apparatus. This vacuum condition draws air up from the internal ink cavity of the ink cartridge, through the vent conduit, and into the internal ink tank. When the level of the ink cartridge rises to the highest opening of the vent conduit, the ink seals the ink conduit to prevent air flow into the internal ink tank. Without such an air flow, it is not possible for ink to flow out of the internal ink tank into the ink cartridge.
Prior to ink flow from the ink tank of the refill apparatus into the cartridge through the drain conduit at the outset of the refill process, both the vent tube and drain tube have an air/ink mixture in them. After some time period, capillary forces generated by fluid in the ink and drain conduits causes ink in the ink tank to begin flowing through the longer of the drain and vent conduits. Simultaneously, air begins flowing through the shorter of the drain and vent conduits under vacuum forces caused by ink leaving the ink tank. Since it is advantageous to fill the ink cartridge with ink from the bottom towards the top in order to prevent the trapping of air beneath the ink, having ink flow through the longer of the drain and vent conduits is advantageous for the filling process.
An advantage of a two-tube drain/vent assembly is that it is clean and “automatic” in that it operates upon principles of gravity. Although a pump member has been included in the embodiments shown and described herein for use in initiating ink flow out of the internal ink tank, there is otherwise no need to force the ink into the ink cartridge. Furthermore, the larger the cross-section of the drain conduit, the less need there is to initiate ink flow in the drain conduit. By eliminating the need to force ink into the cartridge, the possibility of spilling is significantly reduced. Further, the flow of ink into the ink cartridge is typically relatively slow due to the size of the drain and vent conduits. In most circumstances, this relatively slow flow of ink is preferred so as to allow complete absorption of the ink into the foam of the ink cartridge. However, when using the example ink refill apparatuses with an ink cartridge that does not include foam, it may be possible to provide drain and vent conduits with larger sizes or other configurations that provide increased ink flow so as to speed up the process of filling the ink cartridge. If a cartridge does not include foam to retain the ink, other means of ink retention (e.g., negative pressure or one-way valves) must be used. The two-tube system of the present disclosure may work less effectively with cartridges that include a vacuum condition.
Another advantage of the example systems disclosed herein is that the refill level in the ink cartridge is controlled by the position of the opening into vent conduit. Positioning the opening into the vent conduit (the opening positioned within the ink cartridge) at a certain height will control the level of ink filling within the ink cartridge. The drain/vent assemblies 15, 115 described above include second openings 56, 156 that are formed in a side of a conduit 116, which second opening may be repositioned at any location along the length of the vent conduit to control the ink level in the ink cartridge.
Using a drain/vent assembly with a single elongate conduit profile also provides several advantages over a system that includes separated, spaced apart vent and drain conduits. One advantage of using a single elongate conduit is that the conduit cap requires a single opening that functions to cap both the drain and vent conduit. This is an important advantage over a cap that requires a separate opening for each conduit. In a two opening cap configuration, it can be difficult to simultaneously fit the cap over both conduits (which is typically required). It may also be difficult to provide a proper seal on both the drain and vent conduits with a two opening cap because the cap is relatively small and very tight tolerances are required for the openings to provide the proper seal. By eliminating one of these openings, the overall cap size and the opening in the cap can be increased, which can improve the required tolerances necessary to perform the proper seal, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve the easy of fitting the cap onto the conduits.
A further advantage of a drain/vent assembly with a single elongate conduit profile is that only one vent/drain opening must be formed in the upper housing member in order to provide fluid communication into the internal ink tank. Providing one hole versus two holes reduces manufacturing and assembly costs by simplifying the overall design of the ink refill apparatus.
A further advantage of a drain/vent assembly with a single elongate conduit profile is that the drain conduit cross-sectional area can be modified relative to the vent conduit cross-sectional area to optimize the ink flow for a given ink cartridge application. In either the coaxial or bisectional configuration, the drain/vent assembly can be modified for customization that provides the desired ink flow. A related advantage is that the overall cross-sectional area available for fluid flow in a coaxial or bisectional tube is typically greater than a pair of side-by-side tubes. As a result, more flow may be possible in the coaxial and bisectional configurations as compared to a side-by-side tube arrangement. The cross-sectional area of the conduits may be limited by, for example, the size of the opening into the conduit. The opening into the conduit may be determined according to other considerations more relevant to, for example, performance of the ink cartridge.
Another advantage relates to controlling the cross-sectional area of the vent conduit. The cross-sectional area of the vent conduit is typically required to be less than the cross-sectional area of the drain conduit for reasons related to viscosity and other flow properties of the two fluids (e.g., ink and air). In a coaxial conduit configuration, a relative small difference between the inner diameter of the outer conduit and an outer diameter of the inner conduit can define a precise flow area for the air while maximizing the flow area for the ink within the inner conduit.
The example ink refill apparatus is 10, 110 may be used as a part of a method of refilling an ink cartridge as described with reference to the ink refill kit 101 shown in
A printer ink cartridge 90 having first and second ends 92, 94, a print head 96 at the first end 92, and a fill hole 98 at the second end 94 must first be prepared for refilling with ink. A first step in the preparation of the printer ink cartridge 90 is to remove a removable seal 99 from covering the fill hole 98 (see FIGS. 8A-B). Next, the drill guide 64 is secured to the second end 94 such that opening 65 of the drill guide is aligned with the fill hole 98 of the print cartridge (see FIGS. 8B-C). With the drill guide 64 in position, the drill 100 may be inserted through the opening 65 and the fill hole 98 and inserted into the ink chamber defined by the ink cartridge 90 (see
After drilling in the ink cartridge 90 with the drill 100, the drill is removed and the combination ink cartridge 90 with drill guide 64 is positioned within the base 66 (see
With the cartridge 90 mounted to the base member 66, the cartridge is now prepared for refilling with ink as shown in FIGS. 9A-F. First, the ink refill apparatus 10 is positioned with the lower housing member 60 facing upward so that there is no ink flow through the drain/vent assembly 15 when the cap 62 is removed (see
With the cartridge 90 and base member 66 coupled to the ink refill apparatus 10, the assembly of components is turned upright with the upper housing 12 vertically above the cartridge 90 (see
A filled condition in the cartridge 90 is typically manifest when there are no bubbles being formed in the ink tank 22 and the ink level 21 is no longer changing. Once the cartridge 90 is filled to the desired level, the assembly is turned upside down again (see
After completing the process of filling the cartridge 90, a user may check for ink flow from the print head 96. If there is not ink already shown on print head 96 (which would indicate the cartridge 90 is ready for use), the user may imprint or press print head 96 on a tissue to see if there are any ink in the print head that will flow into the tissue (not shown). If there is no ink in the print head 96, the user may force ink into the print head 96 by inserting a blower (not shown) into the refill hole 98 or another “breather hole” or other venting in the opening in the cartridge 90 to force ink in the print head 96. When ink appears on print head 96 or if ink flows into a tissue against which print head 96 is imprinted, cartridge 90 is ready for use.
All the above method steps of preparing and refilling an ink cartridge are preferred, other method steps may be added or some of the above described steps may be removed when using different ink refill apparatuses or when refilling different ink cartridge configurations. For example, the base member 66 may be eliminated altogether and the ink cartridge and/or the ink refill apparatus may be configured for direct engagement or attachment of the ink cartridge to the ink refill apparatus during refilling of the ink cartridge. An example ink refill apparatuses that can be attached directly to an ink cartridge is shown and described with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,863.
Referring now to
The use of an o-ring or other such generally flexible sealing member at the connection point between the coaxially arranged drain and vent conduits 214, 216 and the housing member 212 may result in some advantages. Providing a reliable connection between of the conduits 214, 216 to the housing member 212 is important, but such a connection may not provide the desired sealing function in many embodiments. Depending on the materials and configuration of the bottom wall 226 and the tubes 214, 216, it may be difficult to provide a connection between those features that maintains a reliable seal (e.g., using adhesives, interference fits, welding, etc.) during multiple uses of the refill system. Using a sealing member (e.g., o-ring 202) to seal the conduits 214, 216 with the housing member 212 separate from the structure or other means used to secure the conduits 214, 216 to the housing member 212 permits optimizing of the sealing function. While
The use of a sealing member such as o-ring 202 at the attachment point of the conduits 214, 216 to the housing member 212 is particularly effective for maintaining a fluid seal even when the conduits 214, 216 are moved in a lateral or axial direction relative to the axis of the conduits. Such lateral or axial movements in embodiments that do not include a sealing member (e.g., separate o-ring 202) may result in damage to the fluid seal the conduits 214, 216 to the housing member 212.
The attachment member 201 includes a cylindrical washer structure having an internal diameter substantially the same size as an outer diameter of the vent conduit 216. In other embodiments, the outer circumference may have alternative shapes and sizes and a thickness of the member 201 may vary as desired. The internal diameter may be modified to match the outer circumference structure of the conduit to which it is attached. Since the attachment structure 201 is not required to provide a sealing function when it is used with the sealing member 202, there is no requirement for the internal diameter to provide a sealing function.
In some embodiments, an attachment member such as member 201 may be used to both connect and seal the conduits 214, 216 to the housing member 212. In other embodiments, a sealing member may be positioned on an opposing side of the attachment member than the orientation shown in
In some embodiments the attachment member 201 and o-ring 202 may be secured within respective recesses 203, 204 or to each other using, for example, adhesives, interference fits, co-molding, etc. Similar attachment means may be used to secure the attachment member 201 and o-ring 202 to the conduits 214, 216. In other embodiments, the recesses 203, 204 may be formed as a single recess rather than as two recesses having different dimensions as shown in
Other configurations for securing and sealing the drain and vent conduits of the ink refill device to the housing may be used within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, a similar o-ring shaped sealing member and washer shaped attachment member may be used to attach different single conduit profile drain and vent member such as, for example, the bi-sectional vent and drain conduits 114, 116 shown in
The drain conduits 14, 114, 214 shown and described herein including a primary opening (e.g., 48, 148, 248) at the bottom end of the respective conduits. This opening faces downwards toward the foam of a cartridge when the conduit 14, 114, 214 is inserted into an opening formed in the foam as a result of pre-drilling of the foam with a foam drill. In some instances, the opening in the foam is not drilled to a depth greater than a length of the drain tube that is inserted into the cartridge. As a result, the opening 48, 148, 248 may be blocked by the foam and the flow of ink through the drain conduit is restricted. To address this potential drain problem, another opening 249 (see
The principles of the present disclosure related to a single elongate conduit profile for the drain/vent assembly can be applied to many other refill ink apparatuses than those shown and described with reference to
The above specification provides examples of how certain inventive aspects may be put into practice. It will be appreciated that the inventive aspects can be practiced in other ways than those specifically shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive aspects.