Patent Grant
6929357
This invention relates to an ink cartridge for storing liquid ink for use with an ink jet head or printer head and supplying ink thereto. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cartridge having a one-way valve for controlling ink supply to the print head. The cartridge also involves a sealing assembly integrally formed with a sealing portion and a block portion.
This invention still relates to an ink filling method and apparatus for the ink cartridge, which employs a one-way valve to control the ink flow and especially either using positive or negative pressure difference to fill the cartridge.
Conventionally, in an ink jet printer, it is desirable to keep the interior of the ink tank under a suitable negative pressure. Chinese Patent Publication No. 1185379A discloses a device (
U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,447—Nielsen teaches use of a check valve 22 and an ink tank 20 to control ink flow as shown in FIG. 2. An elastic umbrella-shaped diaphragm 22 selectively seals about an opening 25. In operation, negative pressure acts on the diaphragm valve to allow ink 24 to flow from the reservoir into a small cavity adjacent nozzles of a thermal ink jet print head. The check valve of this structure, however, is not capable of preventing air bubbles. The air bubbles become trapped within the cavity 26, and expand and contract in response to pressure or temperature changes and preclude ink from leaving the cavity. Ink leakage can occur through the nozzles of the print head by an expanding and contracting air bubble forcing ink from the small cavity and through the nozzles.
For example, Chinese Patent Publication CN1133784A discloses a funnel-shaped packing member 100 being formed with a through hole as shown in FIG. 3A. The packing member is also provided with a tapered surface 102 engaging with the needle 104 for providing ink to an associated printing mechanism. It is necessary to add an additional sealing film 106 in the ink supply port in order to prevent ink from leaking, thus the cost would increase.
U.S. Pat. No 5,790,158 discloses an ink cartridge, which also possesses a sealing “O” ring 120 with a hole as shown FIG. 3B. This kind of sealing structure plays a good role in sealing but it is also necessary to add a sealing film 124 outside the chamber 122 for purposes of shipping.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,458 discloses a sealing member 130 as shown in FIG. 3C. The sealing member 130 is integrally formed with a pierceable sealing septum 132. In application the septum is sometimes not be easily pierced through, as the septum 132 possesses high tenacity.
Obviously, the above mentioned sealing structures need a seal film welded in the outside surface of the ink cartridge to prevent ink leakage upon the insertion of ink supply needle and there still needs a sealed package during shipping and when the cartridge is out of use.
It is known how to produce an ink cartridge in mass production and fill ink in the cartridges efficiently in order to increase productivity.
U.S. Pat. No 5,280,299 discloses an ink cartridge employing a porous material shown in FIG. 4 and method of filling ink as shown in FIG. 5. The porous material 14 is located in the tank and the tank attached to a print head. The process of filling ink in the ink cartridge is shown in FIG. 5. That is, at step 1(p1), the process includes the step of providing an empty ink cartridge; at step2 (p2), putting porous material into the tank; at step 3 (p3), sealing the entrance for the porous material of the tank; at step 4 (p4), checking for leakage; at step 5 (p5), reducing the pressure; at step 6 (p6), filling the ink; at step 7 (p7), removing the residual free ink; and at step 8 (p8), sealing the outlet of the liquid ink.
The above mentioned method is difficult to operate. There is some space or gap between the porous material and the inside of ink cartridge that stores some liquid ink called “free ink”. “Free ink” could ultimately leak from the cartridge and removing the residual is needed. But the “free ink” may not be located or reserved at the same place and the location of the “free ink” is different according to the different ink cartridges. Especially “free ink” is not always located near the entrance of the liquid ink but appears far away in remote regions of the cartridge. In that case, it is difficult to remove the “free ink”, and it is possible that the liquid ink stored in the porous materials to be removed as “free ink”, may lead to the change of the total input of ink as well as the ink distribution in the porous materials.
It should be pointed out that the operation of removing the “free ink” is occurring at the print head. The liquid ink is filled near the ink print head and the “free ink” from other areas of the cartridge could be withdrawn together with the stored ink and lead to starvation of liquid ink in operation.
As mentioned above, it is difficult for the process to fill ink into porous materials of the ink cartridge and it is difficult to remove the “free ink”. As the porous material occupies some space of the ink cartridge, there is some ink remained in the porous materials after printing, which limits the amount of liquid ink which should be provided by the ink cartridge and increases the cost.
Accordingly, an improved ink cartridge and filling method and apparatus that address these problems and others would be desirable.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is an ink cartridge of simple structure, which is easy to handle, easily manufactured, of high mechanical strength, does not mix air with the liquid ink supplied from the cartridge, and prevents ink from leaking from the cartridge.
The present invention provides an ink cartridge, which employs a one-way valve operatively associated with ink supply port for controlling ink flow. The present invention provides a one-way valve, which is step-shape designed in order to be deformed easily.
The present invention provides a cartridge in which an outlet is sealed though a sealing assembly integrally formed with a sealing portion and a block portion. This device functions well in sealing the cartridge both during transport and in operation upon the insertion of the printer needle.
The present invention provides a method of filling liquid ink into an ink cartridge by means of a one-way valve under negative pressure. The present invention provides a device for filling the ink into the cartridge in which the needle is used to withdraw the air to form a negative pressure and fill ink to a predetermined level.
The present invention provides a method of filling the ink cartridge employing a one-way valve to store and control the liquid ink, directly by positive pressure under normal temperature.
An ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprises: a cartridge body for accommodating ink provided with at least one ink chamber, wherein the cartridge body comprising
According to the ink cartridge, the wall support portion projects at an angle from the foot support portion.
According to the ink cartridge, the shoulder support portion is provided with a recess formed by the wall support portion bending inwardly.
According to the ink cartridge, the head support portion projects at an angle from the shoulder support portion.
According to the ink cartridge, the head support portion is cone-shaped.
According to the ink cartridge, the sloping angle of the head support portion is dimensioned to be greater than that of the wall support portion.
According to the ink cartridge, the thickness of the foot support portion is dimensioned to be greater than that of the head support portion and the thickness of the head support portion is dimensioned to be greater than that of the shoulder support portion.
According to the ink cartridge, a recess is formed by an interior wall of the ink outlet port for receipt of the valve.
According to the ink cartridge, the recess further includes a stepped circular region defined by the bottom wall of the recess for receipt of a filter member.
According to the ink cartridge, the head support portion of the one-way valve is in a slightly compressed state with the valve sealing assembly.
According to the ink cartridge, an ink leakage preventing device is disposed at the air vent to prevent ink leaking from the air vent.
According to the ink cartridge, an ink leakage preventing device is a protrusion extending outwardly from the air vent to the ink chamber.
According to the ink cartridge, the ink leakage preventing device is a bending tube surrounding the periphery of the air vent, with one end connecting to the air vent and the other end coming out of the ink.
According to the ink cartridge, the ink leakage preventing device is a bag-shaped member disposed within the ink chamber comprising an open end, for connecting to the air vent; and
According to the ink cartridge, the bag-shaped member is an elastic balloon.
According to the ink cartridge, a bowl-shaped cap for fixing the elastic balloon comprises
an opening therethrough, the opening having a wide end dimensioned to engage with the out periphery of the protrusion of the air vent and a narrow end acting as an elongated part of the air vent; and
a shoulder on which the open end of the elastic balloon is mounted.
According to the ink cartridge, the bottom wall of the ink chamber leans or slopes to the ink outlet port.
According to the ink cartridge, at least an ink guide groove is formed in the surface of the bottom wall of the ink chamber.
According to the ink cartridge, a projection is provided on the bottom wall of the ink chamber to prevent the bag-shaped member from blocking the opening of the valve sealing member.
According to the ink cartridge, the open end of the bag-shaped member has an opening substantially equal to the wall of cartridge body on which the air vent is provided within.
According to the ink cartridge, the bag-shaped member has several overlapped layers.
According to the ink cartridge, the air vent communicates with the outside or atmosphere via the irregular air-guided vent formed in the wall of the cartridge body.
According to the ink cartridge, part of the air-guided vent is disposed at the interior surface of the wall.
According to the ink cartridge, an air guide film is provided on the outside surface of the wall on which the air vent is provided.
According to the ink cartridge, an ink filling hole is provided on a wall of the cartridge body and is sealed by a seal plug.
According to the ink cartridge, the sealing assembly provided within the ink outlet comprises
According to the ink cartridge, a tapered surface is provided inwardly of the sealing assembly.
According to the ink cartridge, a circle-shaped groove is provided for placing the support portion of the sealing assembly to facilitate separation of the block portion from the sealing assembly.
According to the ink cartridge, the thickness of the connection portion is different.
According to the ink cartridge, the thickness of the connection portion decreases from one side to the other.
According to the ink cartridge, an off-gas vent is provided on the wall of the ink outlet port.
A one-way valve for controlling the ink flow comprises
According to the one-way valve, the shoulder support portion is provided with a recess formed by the wall support portion bending inwardly.
According to the one-way valve, the head support portion projects at an angle from the shoulder support portion.
According to the one-way valve, the thickness of the foot support portion is dimensioned to be greater than that of the head support portion and the thickness of the head support portion is dimensioned to be greater than that of the shoulder support portion.
An ink filling method for filling an ink cartridge, comprises the steps of:
According to the ink filling method, the step b) comprises the steps of
According to the ink filling method, the method further comprises the steps of
An ink filling apparatus for filling the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge comprising:
An ink filling method for filling the ink cartridge, comprising:
An ink filling method according to claim 40, further comprising:
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the air bubble will be prevented as there is a small cavity between the valve and the bottom wall and a reserving liquid in the small cavity.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the air bubble will be prevented as the ink cavity or ink guide chamber is configured small enough, and the air trapped in the ink guide chamber can be drawn out by the cleaning action of the printer operation.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the liquid ink will fill the small cavity from the tank to support printing as the one-way valve operates in response to very small pressure changes, the valve may be used in a wider range of pressures and adapt well thereto. It is important that the ink be fully used and the cost of making the ink cartridge is reduced, the process of filling is simple and operation control is increased.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an ink cartridge of the present invention can prevent ink leakage.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an ink cartridge of the present invention guarantees the seal part both to withstand a certain degree of force and to engage with the needle upon the insertion of the ink supply needle.
In accordance with further aspect of the present invention, the operation of sealing assembly is easy and the cost is low as the sealing part is designed by integration of the supporting portion, sealing portion, block portion and connection portion.
The present invention will be obvious by description combined with the following drawings and the preferred embodiments.
Referring to
When the printer operates, there is a difference of pressure between two sides of the valve, which direction is like the arrows in the FIG. 7B and results in the deformation of the valve. The wall support portion 322 which bends to the inside of the shoulder support portion 324 and forms the sink, guarantees that the supporting head portion 330 moves in response to small pressure changes. In fact, the configuration of the shoulder support portion 324 guarantees that subtle changes result in influence in head support portion 330. Therefore, The configuration of the shoulder support portion 324 provides for a sensitive releasing of pressure.
The movement of the head support portion 330 is greater when there is a large negative pressure difference in order to both control the flow of ink and to reset the head support portion 330 quickly. Therefore the thickness of the foot support portion 310 is greater than that of the head support portion 330 and the supporting shoulder 324 of the valve. It is easy to understand that the head support portion 330 may respond to a small negative pressure and the thickness of a shoulder support portion 324 is designed less than the thickness of the head support portion 330, especially in the shoulder support portion 324 which is 0.15-0.5 mm. The hole 332 of the wall support portion 322 is designed cone-shaped. The head support portion 330 slopes inwardly at an angle θ1 which is less than the slope angle of the foot support portion 310 represented by θ2. An equilibrium condition is obtained when the sloping angle θ1 is reduced in response to negative pressure in the ink chamber as shown in FIG. 6.
The bellows valve 30 is designed inside in the ink cartridge 40 to reserve the liquid ink and control ink flow. Back to
There are various choices of the sealing device 340, such as a design combined as shown in
As shown in
When the operation stops, the bellows valve 30 restores to its initial position, and the bellows valve 30 controls ink flow from the ink chamber 402.
When in use, an air vent must be exposed to balance the air pressure inside and outside of the cartridge. If the negative pressure within the ink chamber increases as the ink chamber is consumed, air communicates into the ink chamber 402 through the air vent 414 to maintain a substantially constant negative pressure. But the residual ink will leak from the air vent when the ink cartridge is moved. Therefore, to prevent ink leaks from air vent 414, the air vent 414 extends into the ink chamber 402 approximately one-third to one-half of the depth of the chamber. This is suitable to prevent ink leakage through the air vent. The extended length can be provide by a rubber tube or soft tube connected to the air vent 414.
A filter 56 is disposed within the ink outlet port for preventing the air and impurity from the needle and improving quality.
In
Meanwhile an air vent 414 may be designed to extend into ink chamber 402 approximately one-third of the depth of the ink chamber.
In order to prevent the ink from leaking, there is a porous material 436 located in the air vent 414 for reserving or retaining the ink as shown in FIG. 10.
In order to prevent the ink from leaking while the ink cartridge is removed from the printer, it is best to locate a one-way valve 428 in the air vent 414, as shown in FIG. 11. Welding a cylinder block 428 with mouth 426 into the chamber of valve 422, results in the trough 430 increasing in size from the end A of the block to the end B, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
For providing the ink steadily, the hardness of the rubber of the sealing assembly is SHORE degree of 25 to 65, preferably 30 to 55. The preferred materials are the following: SBR, EPM, EPDM, butyl rubber, chloroprene rubber, urethane rubber, ethylene rubber, acrylic rubber, and SBP rubber.
As seen in the
As seen in the
When the printer is in operation, the balloon 450 expands gradually with the continual ink flow. When the balloon enlarges to a certain volume, the hole 454 in the wall of the balloon is opened and air is supplemented into the ink chamber for the balance of pressure as well as to guarantee the quality of printing. When the operation is finished, the hole is closed by means of the elastic nature of the balloon and prevents the ink from flowing into the chamber of the balloon. The hole 454 in the wall of the balloon 450 plays a certain role like a one-way valve and opens or closes according to the needs of printing. Meanwhile, as the temperature of the environment changes, the air in the ink cartridge will expand with the increased temperature and press on the balloon. As the result, the air in the balloon is squeezed out in order to retain the balance of the pressure in the ink cartridge and prevent ink leakage. Especially when the ink cartridge is thrown away after being used up or for other reasons, where there are more amounts of ink remaining in the ink cartridge in the latter situation, the ink cartridge may be placed upside down. In above situation, according to the principle, if the volume of the ink cartridge is 14 ml and the temperature rises up by 30 degrees and the enlarged ratio is 10% of original one, then the air enlarges to 1.4 ml but the volume of balloon is 1.8 ml.
That means the enlarged volume of the balloon is enough to cancel the volume of the expanding air in the ink chamber. Thus, the air expanded in the ink chamber presses the air out of the balloon in order to balance the pressure in the ink chamber and prevent ink leakage.
There are some irregular labyrinth grooves 484, 485 and 486 provided in the wall of the cartridge, that individually connect with the air vent 414. When operating, air flows from the labyrinth groove 486 to groove 484, and from the hole 485 to the inside of balloon 456. The labyrinth grooves 484-486 are located on the surface of the cover 410, therefore the surface of the irregular labyrinth grooves 484, 465 and 486, are individually sealed by the package seal 491 and 495 for transport, as shown in FIG. 16F. Before usage, the package seal 495 is peeled off to expose part of the labyrinth groove. The film seal 96 will be pierced by the ink supply needle.
There is a circular protrusion 405 in the wall of the chamber for supporting the sealing parts 520. The inside of the protrusion 405 engages with the upper or top side 524 of the sealing parts to strengthen the stiffness and to facilitate the separation of the block portion from the sealing member.
As a part of the filling process there is a hole 440 in the wall of the outlet. The hole connects with the top chamber of the sealing part and is sealed by plug 472.
FIG. 18A and
Preferably, the block portion 526 has a generally planar surface for engagement by the ink supply needle making it easy to push. The sealing portion 524 is horizontally dimensioned to maintain the block portion upon insertion of ink supply needle 50. As shown in
In
Sealing portion 524 in the embodiment of
The sealing part is designed integrally and meets the different demand, such as assembly and transport as well as in operation, therefore the sealing film for the ink supply needle to pierce in the outlet is reduced, and the difficulty of piercing through the septum of the sealing member of the traditional ink cartridge has been overcome.
Referring to
The embodiment of
Referring now to FIG. 26 and
As shown in the
As shown in
Under the circumstances of negative pressure, the pressure of the small cavity under the valve 30 is −700 mPa to −750 mPa, while the pressure above the valve is increasing as the amount of ink increases in the ink tank. When a predetermined value is reached, the valve 30 opens and allows ink flows to the lower part of the tank. The volume of the lower part of the valve is so small that it can be filled almost at the same time the valve 30 is opened. Then the valve closes by its elastic nature and the upper part fills fully until the filling process is finished.
As shown in
Negative pressure could also be used for filling ink in the ink cartridge of the invention as can be see in the FIG. 16E and FIG. 29. When filling ink, first the assembled ink cartridge 400 is inserted upright or on its side and the needle 506 is inserted into the ink filling hole 440 of the cover 410 of cartridge. The other end of the needle 506 connects to a tube 508 which connects to the vessel of ink supply container 502. The level of the vessel of ink supply container 502 is higher than the level of the ink cartridge 400. An air hole 470 in the wall of the outlet 404 is plugged by the stopper 472. The air needle 560 sticks to the stopper 472 at one end and connects to the air-liquid separator 580 by an electromagnetic valve 540. The air and liquid separator 580 connects to the vacuum pump 590 by the ink flow control device 570. When filling, the pressure device 510 seals the cover of the cartridge 400 and the switch of the vacuum pump 590 is turned on at the same time. When the vacuum pump 590 is operating, electromagnetic valve 540 is open and electromagnetic valve 520 is closed and the air of the lower part of the valve 30 is withdrawn out. The valve 30 is opened in response to the pressure difference ,and as a result the air in the upper part of the valve 30 is withdrawn out too. At that time the air of the balloon chamber 456 is withdrawn as there is a hole 454 in the wall of balloon 450. When the vacuum meter 570 is −700 to −750 mPa, electromagnetic valve 540 is closed and electromagnetic valve 520 and electromagnetic valve 530 are open. There is negative pressure in the ink cartridge and the ink is withdrawn from the ink supply container 502 to the tank of the ink cartridge. As the amount of the ink increases in the ink cartridge, the pressure of the upper part of the valve increases to a certain value, while the pressure of the ink guide chamber is still negative (around 700 to 750 mPa), and the valve 30 opens and allows ink flow to the ink guide chamber. The lower part of the valve can be filled almost at the same time as valve 30 opens. Then the valve closes by its elastic capability and the upper part completely fills and the filling process is finished.
According to the invention, the vacuum meter 570 connects to the vacuum pump 590 in one side and to the electromagnetic valve 540 in the other. When the vacuum meter 570 is at the negative 700 to 750 mPa level, electromagnetic valve 540 is closed and separates the air needle 534 from the stopper 472 of the air hole 470.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modification and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the present application. It is intended to include such modifications and alterations.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00131642 A | Oct 2000 | CN | national |
| 00133063 A | Nov 2000 | CN | national |
| 01107578 A | Feb 2001 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/930,517, filed Aug. 15, 2001 abandoned of Xiao Qingguo, et al., which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/225,722 filed, Aug. 16, 2000, herein incorporated by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1133784 | Oct 1996 | CN |
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| 1016533 | Jul 2000 | EP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030128257 A1 | Jul 2003 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60225722 | Aug 2000 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09930517 | Aug 2001 | US |
| Child | 10373330 | US |
