This application claims the priority from international application No. PCT/CN2011/076108 filed on Jun. 22, 2011, which claims priority from Chinese patent application No. 201010510617.X filed on Oct. 15, 2010. These applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to an imaging device. The invention also relates to a method for remodeling an existing imaging device. Furthermore, the invention relates to a consumables container for the remolded imaging device.
As a result of developments in science and technology, the imaging device advanced from the early copy machine, facsimile machine, ink-jet printer and laser printer to an integrated device having multiple functions. A variety of imaging devices use either ink or toner as consumables to form images on paper or other media.
From their structures, various imaging devices comprise a machine body and a housing which essentially seals off the machine body. This means, when the imaging device is working, the housing prevents people from improperly touching the machine body and prevents dirt from passing the housing to enter into the machine body to interfere with normal operation. Machine body means integrated machine components which comprise mechanical components for imaging and electronic components for controlling and operating the mechanical components.
The consumables are contained in consumables containers. The consumables container is detachably installed on the consumables container installer of the machine body and provides the imaging device with consumables needed for image formation. Different imaging devices have different types of consumables container installers; they can be those which do not move in relation to the consumables container installers, such as toner cartridges of copy machines and black-white laser printers; they can also be those which move in relation to the consumables container installers such as printing vehicle of some desktop inkjet printers and toner cartridges of some laser color printers.
The number of consumables containers of an imaging device depends on the image colors of the imaging device. A black-white imaging device usually needs only one consumables container, while a color imaging device needs a number of different color consumables containers depending on the color of the image to be formed on the media according to the color formation principle.
To meet the requirements on image quality and image formation speed, one type of imaging device may have different models; each model uses a specified consumables container and special consumables. To ensure quality, it is necessary that a given imaging device uses a corresponding consumables container. Therefore, many imaging devices have identification systems which not only tell whether the consumables containers are compatible with the imaging devices, but also record and calculate the remaining amounts of the consumables inside the consumables containers. When the remaining amount is lower than a given value, the identification system gives a signal to change the consumables container. Information relating to the consumables containers and consumables are stored by consumables chips. Current consumables chips are installed on the outside walls of consumables containers. When a consumables container is installed on a consumables container installer, the electrode terminals inside the consumables container installer will communicate with a communications module of the imaging device.
The electric components of the imaging device include a master control circuit board. The master control board has a central treatment device, control modules and communications module. The communications module is used to communicate with the consumables chip; communication can be by wire or wireless such as radio frequency, infrared, and Bluetooth. Therefore, in a broad sense of this invention, the electronic components inside the consumables container installer of this invention should include the electrical contact, radio frequency antenna, infrared and Bluetooth receiving and dispatching windows.
With the development of environmental protection, people now refill consumables containers and then reuse them. Information stored in the consumables chips can be reset for new consumables containers.
There are many methods for manufacturing and resetting the resetting chips, including automatic resetting chips such as those disclosed by the Chinese Invention Patent Application No. 101362401A and manual resetting chips such as those disclosed by Chinese Utility Model Patent Application No. 201109239Y. The resetting of the manual resetting chips is performed by a resetting switch. To avoid any improper touching of the resetting switch and mistakenly resetting, a lock switch can be installed in a place apart from the resetting switch and the lock switch and the resetting switch must be pushed down simultaneously to reset the consumables chip.
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Another current inkjet printer is shown in
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Another current inkjet printer is shown in
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A current color laser printer is shown on
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A current copy machine is shown in
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The above imaging devices have a common feature: the communications module connects with the electrode terminal on the consumables container installer and the consumables chip is attached to the consumables container. Therefore, each consumables container, hew or recycled, must have a consumables chip. This design requires a large number of consumables chips and results in expensive consumables containers.
A main objective of the invention is to provide an imaging device which uses fewer consumables chips and has reduced consumables costs.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for remodeling current imaging devices which use high-cost consumables containers into imaging devices which use the consumables containers having reduced costs.
Still another objective of the invention is to provide a consumables container for use in an imaging device which uses a consumables container having reduced costs.
To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides an imaging device which comprises a housing; a machine body is installed inside the housing; the machine body comprises a master control circuit board; the master control circuit board comprises a communications module for communication with a consumables chip; a consumables container installer is installed inside the machine body which can be used to detachably install one or more consumables containers; and a consumables chip that stores the information relating to the consumables container. In addition, a connector is installed apart from the consumables container installer, and the consumables chip is installed on the connector and communicates with the communications module.
A preferred scheme of the invention is as follows. The connector comprises a box. The box is fixed on a wall of the housing of the imaging device. The consumables chip can be a resetting chip. A resetting switch of the resetting chip is placed on a wall of the box or on a wall of the housing. The box can be fixed on an inner wall of the housing and the resetting switch of the resetting chip is then placed on a wall of the housing for convenience of the operation. The box can also be fixed on an outside wall of the housing and the resetting switch is then placed on a wall of the box for operational convenience.
A detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The printing vehicle has an ink supply needle. The consumables container is an ink cartridge having an ink supply port. The ink cartridge is detachably installed inside the printing vehicle so that the ink supply port and the ink supply needle have a fluid connection.
Another detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The consumables container is an ink cartridge having a printing head. The ink cartridge is detachably installed inside the printing vehicle.
Still another detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is placed on the machine body inside the housing. There is a consumables container installation port in the corresponding position of the consumables container installer. The consumables container is an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is detachably installed on the consumables container installer via the consumables container installation port.
The invention also provides a method for remodeling current imaging devices. Prior to remodeling, the imaging device comprises a housing; a machine body is installed inside the housing; the machine body comprises a master control circuit board; the master control circuit board comprises a communications module which communicates with a consumables chip; the machine body also comprises a consumables container installer; one or more consumables containers are detachably installed on the consumables container installer; the consumables chip stores information relating to the consumables container and is fixed on an outside wall of the consumables container; the consumables container is equipped with an electrode terminal which is electrically connected with the communications module. The remodeling method comprises installing a connector in a place which is apart from the consumables container installer; breaking the electrical connection between the communications module and the electrode terminal; and installing the consumables chip in the connector which communicates with the communications module.
A preferred scheme of the invention is as follows. The connector is a box. The box is fixed on a wall of the housing of the imaging device. The consumables chip inside the connector box can be a resetting chip. A resetting switch of the resetting chip is placed on a wall of the box or the housing. The box can be installed on an inner wall or an outside wall of the housing of the imaging device. If a new consumables chip is used as an automatic resetting chip, the box is preferably installed on an inner wall of the housing in order to reduce the size of the imaging device. If a manual resetting chip is used, it can be installed on either an inner wall or an outside wall of the housing provided that the operation of the resetting switch, which is either on a wall of the box or the housing, is convenient.
A detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The printing vehicle has an ink supply needle. The consumables container is an ink cartridge having an ink supply port. The ink cartridge is detachably installed inside the printing vehicle so that the ink supply port and the ink supply needle can have fluid connection.
Another detailed scheme is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The consumables container is an ink cartridge which has a printing head. The ink cartridge can be detachably installed inside the printing vehicle.
Still another detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is on the machine body. A consumables container installation port is on the housing corresponding to the position of the consumables container installer. The consumables container is an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is detachably installed on the consumables container installer via the consumables container installation port.
The invention also provides a consumables container which can be detachably installed on the consumables container installer of imaging devices. The imaging device comprises a housing and a machine body inside the housing. The machine body comprises a master control circuit board. The master control circuit board comprises a communication module which communicates with a consumables chip. The consumable chip stores information relating to the consumables container. A connector is placed apart from the location of the consumables container installer. The consumables chip is installed inside the connector and communicates with the communication module.
A preferred scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables chip is a resetting chip. The connector is a box and the resetting switch of the resetting chip is on an accessible wall of the box or the housing.
A detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The printing vehicle has an ink supply needle. The consumables container is an ink cartridge having an ink supply port. The ink cartridge is detachably installed inside the printing vehicle so that the ink supply port and the ink supply needle can have fluid connection.
Another detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is a printing vehicle. The consumable container is an ink cartridge having a printing head. The ink cartridge is installed inside the printing vehicle.
Still another detailed scheme of the invention is as follows. The consumables container installer is installed on the machine body inside the housing. The housing has a consumables container installation port on a location corresponding to the consumables container installer. The consumables container is an ink cartridge which is detachably installed on the consumables container installer via the consumables container installation port.
As indicated in the above schemes, according to this invention, the consumables container and the consumables chip are placed apart; the consumables chip is installed inside a connector which is apart from the consumables container installer. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the consumables chip when the consumables container is replaced because the consumables chip is not attached to the consumables container. The invention thus reduces the consumables container costs.
This invention also provides a method for remodeling existing imaging devices which use the consumables containers having attached consumables chips into new imaging devices in which the consumables chips are installed inside a connector and are not attached to the consumables containers. The remodeled imaging devices have reduced consumables container costs.
The consumables container of the invention eliminates consumables chips and thus it has reduced manufacturing costs compared with the conventional consumables containers.
The invention is further illustrated by the combination of the embodiments and the drawings as follows.
An imaging device, a method of remodeling an imaging device and a consumables container for the imaging device of the invention can be illustrated by the following embodiments.
An embodiment of the imaging device of the invention can also be illustrated by
The consumables container of the invention is especially useful for such an inkjet printer which uses consumables container 151 of no consumables chip attached.
Another embodiment of the imaging device of the invention can be seen in
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Another embodiment of the imaging device of the invention can also be seen in
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Another embodiment of the imaging device of the invention can also be seen in
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Another embodiment of the imaging device of the invention can also be seen in
The spirit of the invention is to change the traditional concept that every consumables container must have a consumables chip. According to this invention, the consumables chip is installed in a connector which is apart from the consumables container installer and therefore the cost of the consumables container is greatly reduced. Therefore the spirit of the invention shall not be limited by the above embodiments. Many variations and embodiments can still fall within the scope of the invention. For instance, the consumables chip can be an automatic resetting chip and thus there is no need for the resetting switch and lock switch. Also, the communication between the electrode terminal and the consumables chip can be infrared and Bluetooth, etc.
This invention separates the consumables container from the consumables chip and installs the consumables chip in a connector on the housing of the imaging device. It diverges from the traditional concept that when a consumables container is changed, the consumables chip must also be changed. The invention therefore has reduced consumables container costs.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010 1 0510617 | Oct 2010 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CN2011/076108 | 6/22/2011 | WO | 00 | 4/11/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2012/048586 | 4/19/2012 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130187997 A1 | Jul 2013 | US |