Patent Application
20100165060
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to inkjet printer systems and, more particularly, to an ink tank with features spaced apart by distances ensuring interface with a printhead and carrier support structure of an inkjet printing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional inkjet printing system forms an image on a print medium by ejecting ink from a plurality of ink jetting nozzles of an inkjet printhead to form a pattern of ink dots on the print medium. Inkjet printing is accomplished without contact between the printing system and the print medium. Such printing system typically includes a receptacle-like support structure mounted to a reciprocating carrier of the printing system. The carrier support structure permanently or at least semi-permanently mounts the inkjet printhead and also removably supports one or more ink containers or tanks in which ink is stored and from which ink is supplied to the printhead. The ink tanks may be removed and replaced once their ink is fully consumed during the printing operation.
Typically, a plurality of replaceable ink tanks are employed for supplying the printhead with inks of different colors, such as black (or mono), yellow, cyan and magenta. In one embodiment of the printing system, a multi-ink tank is utilized for holding the three ink colors, yellow, cyan and magenta, in separate compartments. The ink tanks when properly seated in the carrier support structure mate in a sealed ink supplying relationship with the printhead mounted on the carrier support structure.
As disclosed in the first patent application cross-referenced above, the carrier support structure and the ink tanks have features that must properly interface with one another to operatively seat the ink tanks in the carrier support structure in the sealed flow communicative relationship with the printhead.
The present invention is directed to the provision of these interface features on an ink tank, such as an individual color ink tank, and some other features thereon as well, spaced apart relative to one another at distances that ensure the desired seating and sealing of the individual color ink tank in the printhead and carrier support structure and thereby the reliable supply of ink for the operation of the inkjet printing system.
Accordingly, in an aspect of the present invention, an ink tank with features spaced apart by distances ensuring interface with a printhead and carrier support structure of an inkjet printing system comprises a reservoir body with a length, a width and a height, and having front and rear walls, right and left walls and a bottom wall connected together at respective right and left front and rear corners, right and left bottom corners, front and rear bottom corners, and right, and left, front, rear top edges which merge to form a top rim defining a top opening in the reservoir body. The reservoir body has a width extending between the outer surfaces of its right and left walls within a range of from approximately 9.7 mm to 11.7 mm. The ink tank also comprises a top cover attached on the reservoir body so as to close the top opening of the reservoir body for containing a supply of ink within at least one interior chamber of the ink tank. The ink tank further comprises a protrusion on the front wall having an upper edge disposed adjacent to the top rim and defining a lip on the protrusion adapted to engage a latch on a printhead, the lip enabling seating and releasable locking of the reservoir body therein. The ink tank still further includes at least one protuberance on the rear wall disposed adjacent to and above the rear bottom corner and diagonally across the reservoir body from the lip on the protrusion. The protuberance is adapted to insert into a slot in the printhead, the protuberance enabling seating and releasable locking of the reservoir body therein. The ink tank also further includes at least one snout on the bottom wall disposed closer to the front wall than to the rear wall and adapted to be in fluid communication with an orifice in a printhead as the reservoir body is pivotally inserted and seated in the carrier support structure.
A furthermost point of the protuberance is displaced from a furthermost point of the lip by a distance of no more than 78.0 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body. The lip of the protrusion has a width within a range of from approximately 0.3 mm to 4.3 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body. The lip of the protrusion also has a height extending above the top rim of the reservoir body at the front wall within a range of from approximately 0.3 to 17.5 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body. Further, the lip of the protrusion is displaced from the outer surface of the bottom wall by a distance within a range of from approximately 33.7 mm to 34.3 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body.
The protuberance has a height extending above an outer surface of the bottom wall within a range of from approximately 0.3 mm to 4.6 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body. The protuberance also has a length extending rearward from the rear wall within a range of from approximately 1.2 mm to 1.7 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. The protuberance has a width within a range of from approximately 0.5 mm to 10.6 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body. The reservoir body has a pair of the protuberances, and a recessed key is defined between the protuberances and has a width within a range of from approximately 1.8 mm to 10.1 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body.
The snout has a central axis displaced from the lip of the protrusion by a distance within a range of from approximately 18.1 mm to 19.1 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body. The snout also has a height extending below the outer surface of the bottom wall within a range of from approximately 1.2 mm to 3.8 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body. The central axis of the snout further is displaced from the outer surface of either the right wall or left wall by a distance within a range of from approximately 5.6 mm to 6.6 mm, as measured along an axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which may or may not necessarily be drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numerals refer to like elements throughout the views. Words such as ‘right’, ‘left’, ‘front’, ‘rear’ and the like are used herein for purposes of convenience in describing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, not for purposes of limitation of the scope of the invention.
Referring now to
Referring to
The ink tank 10 also includes certain interface features that must properly interface with features on the printhead and carrier support structure to operatively seat the ink tank 10 in the carrier support structure in a sealed flow communicative relationship with the printhead. It is these interface features that are spaced apart relative to one another at distances (or dimensions) that ensure the desired seating and sealing of the ink tank 10 in the carrier support structure and thereby the reliable supply of ink for operation of the inkjet printing system.
Turning now to
By protruding forwardly and diverging from the front wall 22 going from its lower end 54a to its upper end 54b, the protrusion 54 engages and deflects a complementary interface feature in the form of a deformable latch, as disclosed in the first patent application cross-referenced above, on a front portion of the carrier support structure as the ink tank 10 is pivotally inserted into the carrier support structure. Then, once the lip 56 is located below an upper end of a slot in the corresponding latch on the carrier support structure, as the ink tank 10 reaches a fully seated position in the carrier support structure, the lip 56 makes a snap-fit engagement with the latch in which the protrusion 54 projects into the latch slot and the lip 56 underlies an interior edge portion of the latch defining the upper end of the slot. As will become clear below, the location of the lip 56 on the protrusion 54 is coordinated with the locations of the other interface features of the reservoir body 12 of the ink tank 10 such that when they are displaced from each other by distances within approximate ranges as will be set forth below, the ink tank 10 is releasably seatable and lockable in the carrier support structure so as to thereby ensure the reliable supply of ink for operation of the inkjet printing system.
Turning now to
By protruding rearward from the rear wall 24 of the reservoir body 12 just above the rear bottom corner 42, the protuberances 58 are insertable into complementary interface features in the form of corresponding slots, as disclosed in the first patent application cross-referenced above, defined on a rear portion of the carrier support structure. Insertion of the protuberances 58 into such slots occurs at the start or initiation of installing the ink tank 10 into the carrier support structure. These slots in the rear portion of the carrier support structure are located diagonally opposite and across from the above-described latch on its front portion.
Turning now to
The snout 60 is sufficiently displaced away from the front bottom corner 40 of the reservoir body 12 to leave a sufficient solid area 26a of the bottom wall 26 to overlie at least one spring, as disclosed in the first patent application cross-referenced above, supported on the bottom of the carrier support structure adjacent to its latch. The spring is yieldably depressed by engagement with this solid area 26a of the bottom wall 26 of the reservoir body 12 as the ink tank 10 is pivoted forward and downward, generally about the location of the rear slots of the carrier support structure when the protuberances 58 of the reservoir body 12 inserted therein, to the fully seated upright position in the carrier support structure.
Installing the individual color ink tank 10 in the carrier support structure involves: first, tilting the ink tank 10 to enable inserting its rear protuberances 58 into the rear slot of the carrier support structure; next, pivoting the ink tank 10 forward and downward toward the upright seated position in the carrier support structure; and, finally, seating the ink tank 10 in the carrier support structure by contacting the protrusion 54 against the latch of the carrier support structure and then deflecting the latch forwardly, concurrently depressing the spring with the bottom wall 26 of the reservoir body 12 of the ink tank 10 and forcing the sealing insertion of the snout 60 of the ink tank 10 into the orifice of the printhead on the carrier support structure, until the protrusion 54 on the ink tank 10 has sufficiently deflected the latch to enable the lip 56 to snap-fit into the slot in the latch. The upwardly directed force of the depressed spring against the bottom wall 26 of the ink tank 10 maintains the ink tank 10 seated, with its protuberances 58 inserted through the slots, and thus locked in the carrier support structure.
There may be additional interface and non-interface features incorporated by the ink tank 10. As seen in
Most of the distances (or dimensions) given are measurements that locate various ones of the above-described interface features and other features of the reservoir body 12 of the ink tank 10 relative to the lip 56 in a three-dimensional reference field having the orthogonal X, Y, Z axes (see
The various distances (or dimensions) as provided herein are in millimeter (mm) units and identified by the noted reference letters in the various ones of
Other distances (or dimensions), with L standing for length, H standing for height, and W standing for width, of various ones of the interface and other features described above are, as follows:
Thus, each protuberance 58 at a rear surface 58a thereon is displaced from the lip 56 of the protrusion 54 by a distance AX within a range of from approximately 72.35 mm to 78.0 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. Each protuberance 58 has a height JH extending above an outer surface 26b of the bottom wall 26 within a range of from approximately 0.3 mm to 4.6 mm, and in an exemplary embodiment is 4 mm, as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. The bottom surface 58b of each protuberance 58 which is coplanar with the outer surface 26b of the bottom wall 26 is displaced from the lip 56 of the protrusion 54 by a distance AZ within a range of from approximately 33.7 mm to 34.3 mm as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. Each protrusion 58 at a top surface 58c thereon is displaced from the lip 56 of the protrusion 54 by a distance BZ within a range of from approximately 29.7 mm to 33.4 mm, as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. Each protuberance 58 has a length JL extending along the outer surface 26b of the bottom wall 26 within a range of from approximately 1.2 mm to 1.7 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. Each protuberance 58 has a width JW within a range of from approximately 0.5 mm to 10.6 mm, as measured along the Y axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body 12.
The snout 60 has a central axis 60a displaced from the lip 56 of the protrusion 54 by a distance CX within a range of from approximately 18.1 mm to 19.1 mm, and in an exemplary embodiment is 18.62 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. The snout 60 has a height IH extending below the outer surface 26b of the bottom wall 26 within a range of from approximately 1.2 mm to 3.8 mm, and in an exemplary embodiment is 2.3 mm, as measured along the axis Z extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. The central axis 60a of the snout 60 further is displaced from the outer surface 18a, 20a of either the right wall 18 or left wall 18 by a distance HW within a range of from approximately 5.6 mm to 6.6 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 6.1 mm, as measured along the Y axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body 12.
The lip 56 of the protrusion 54 has a length GL extending from the front top edge 48 of the front wall 22 within a range of from approximately 0.5 mm to 4.5 mm, and in an exemplary embodiment is 1.5 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. The lip 56 of the protrusion 54 also has a width GW within a range of from approximately 0.3 mm to 4.3 mm, and in an exemplary embodiment is 3.6 mm, as measured along the Y axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body 12. The lip 56 of the protrusion 54 further has a height GH extending above the front top edge 48 within a range of from approximately 0.3 to 17.5 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 1.5 mm, as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. The lip 56 of the protrusion 54 is displaced from the outer surface 24a of the rear wall 24 by a distance BX within a range of from approximately 69.76 mm to 72.1 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12.
The recessed key 76 extends into the rear wall 24 from the rear surface 58a of the protuberance 58 through a distance KL within a range of from approximately 3.2 mm to 4.4 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 3.4 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. The recessed key 76 also has a width KW within a range of from approximately 1.8 mm to 10.1 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 234 mm, as measured along the Y axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body 12.
The top cover 16 has a height MH extending above the top rim 52 within the range of from approximately 2.1 mm to 4.0 mm, as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. The ink tank 10 has a height PH extending between the outer surface 26b of the bottom wall 26 and a top surface 16a of the top cover 16 within a range of from approximately 29.9 mm to 39.9 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 34.9 mm, as measured along the Z axis extending substantially parallel to the height of the reservoir body 12. The reservoir body 12 has a width NW extending between the outer surfaces 18a, 20a of its right and left walls 18, 20 within a range of from approximately 9.7 mm to 11.7 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 11.1 mm.
A central depression 64a in the RFID tag mounting recess 64 has a central axis 64b displaced from the lip 56 of the protrusion 54 by a distance FX within a range of from approximately 33.3 mm to 43.3 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 38.3 mm, as measured along the X axis extending substantially parallel to the length of the reservoir body 12. Also, the central axis 64b of the central depression 64a is displaced from the outer surface 20a of the left wall 20 by a distance L within a range of from approximately 4.6 mm to 6.6 mm and in an exemplary embodiment is 5.6 mm, as measured along the Y axis extending substantially parallel to the width of the reservoir body 12.
The foregoing description of several embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.
