Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6361157
-
Patent Number
6,361,157
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, August 30, 200023 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 26, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 347 84
- 347 85
- 347 86
- 347 87
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
An ink jet printing apparatus that includes a spring-backed fluid interconnect seal that provides a seal between an ink handling component and an ink pipe that is attached to the ink handling component. The spring-backed fluid interconnection seal more particularly includes a generally conically tapered resilient seal, and a pre-loaded spring configured to axially extend or tension the seal.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ink delivery systems for supplying ink to an ink jet printhead of an ink jet printing apparatus, and more particularly to a spring backed seal for a fluid interconnect between ink-containing components of an ink delivery system.
Ink jet printers commonly employ an ink jet printhead cartridge that includes an ink jet printhead supported by a print carriage that is moved relative to a print medium, such as paper. As the printhead and the print medium are moved relative to each other, a control system activates the printhead to deposit or emit ink droplets onto the print medium to form a printed image. Ink is provided to the printhead, for example, from an ink reservoir that is integral with the printhead cartridge, or from an ink reservoir that is replaceable separately from the printhead cartridge.
A consideration with a printing system that makes use of an ink reservoir that is replaceable separately from the printhead cartridge is the need for a reliable fluidic interconnection seal between the ink reservoir and the printhead cartridge that reduces evaporation of water and other volatile ink components, minimizes air transfer into the ink delivery system, and is robust against contamination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disclosed invention is directed to an ink delivery system for an ink jet printer that includes a spring-backed sealing structure for providing a seal between an ink handling component and an ink pipe. The spring-back seal more particularly includes a circumferential resilient seal formed of a conically tapered seal body having first and second annular sealing collars at respective end openings of the seal body, and a pre-loaded compression spring configured to axially urge one of the sealing collars against the ink handling component which can comprise a replaceable ink container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages and features of the disclosed invention will readily be appreciated by persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with e drawing wherein:
FIG. 1
is one exemplary embodiment of an ink jet printing system of the present invention shown with a cover opened to show a plurality of replaceable ink containers of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a schematic representation of the inkjet printing system shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a spring-backed sealing structure in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 4
is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a further spring-backed sealing structure in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
In the following detailed description and in the several figures of the drawing, like elements are identified with like reference numerals.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a printing system
10
shown with its cover open, that includes at least one replaceable ink container
12
that is installed in a receiving station
14
. With the replaceable ink container
12
properly installed into the receiving portion
14
, ink is provided from the replaceable ink container
12
to at least one ink jet print cartridge
16
. The ink jet print cartridge
16
includes a small ink reservoir and an ink jet printhead
17
(
FIG. 2
) that is is responsive to activation signals from a printer portion
18
to deposit ink on print media. As ink is ejected from the printhead
17
, the print cartridge
16
is replenished with ink from the ink container
12
. In an illustrative embodiment, the replaceable ink container
12
, receiving station
14
, and ink jet printhead cartridge
16
are each part of a scanning print carriage
20
that is moved relative to a print media
22
to accomplish printing. The printer portion
18
includes a media tray for receiving the print media
22
. As the print media
22
is stepped through a print zone, the scanning carriage
20
moves the print cartridge
16
relative to the print media
22
. The printer portion
18
selectively activates the printhead
17
to deposit ink on print media
22
to thereby accomplish printing.
The scanning carriage
20
is moved through the print zone on a scanning mechanism which includes a slider rod
26
on which the scanning carriage
20
slides as the scanning carriage
20
moves along a carriage scan axis. A positioning mechanism (not shown) is used for precisely positioning the scanning carriage
20
. In addition, a paper advance mechanism (not shown) is used to step the print media
22
through the print zone as the scanning carriage
20
is moved along the carriage scan axis. Electrical signals are provided to the scanning carriage
20
for selectively activating the printhead
16
by means of an electrical link such as a ribbon cable
28
.
FIG. 2
is a simplified schematic representation of the inkjet printing system
10
of
FIG. 1
that illustrates the use the disclosed fluid interconnect seal between a printhead cartridge
16
and an ink container
12
.
FIG. 2
is simplified to illustrate a single printhead
16
connected to a single ink container
12
. The ink jet printing system
10
includes the printer portion
18
and the ink container
12
, which is configured to be received by the printer portion
18
. The printer portion
18
includes the inkjet printhead
16
and a controller
29
. With the ink container
12
properly inserted into the printer portion
18
, an electrical and fluidic coupling is established between the ink container
12
and the printer portion
18
. The fluidic coupling allows ink stored within the ink container
12
to be provided to the printhead
16
. The electrical coupling allows information to be passed between an electrical storage device
80
disposed on the ink container
12
and the printer portion
18
. The exchange of information between the ink container
12
and the printer portion
18
is to ensure the operation of the printer portion
18
is compatible with the ink contained within the replaceable ink container
12
, thereby achieving high print quality and reliable operation of the printing system
10
.
The controller
29
, among other things, controls the transfer of information between the printer portion
18
and the replaceable ink container
12
. In addition, the controller
29
controls the transfer of information between the printhead cartridge
16
and the controller
29
for activating the printhead
17
to selectively deposit ink on print media. In addition, the controller
29
controls the relative movement of the printhead
16
and print media. The controller
29
performs additional functions such as controlling the transfer of information between the printing system
10
and a host device such as a host computer (not shown).
The replaceable ink container
12
is more particularly fluidically connected to the printhead cartridge
16
by an upstanding ink pipe or conduit
36
that extends upwardly into the ink container
12
and downwardly into the ink jet print cartridge
16
. By way of illustrative example, the ink pipe
36
is fixedly attached to the printhead cartridge
16
, and is removably disposed in the replaceable ink container, so that the ink container
12
can be selectively attached to and detached from the ink pipe
36
.
Fluid sealing structures can be provided at the ends of the ink tube, and an external fluid interconnect sealing structure
40
is provided as a water vapor and air barrier to reduce evaporation of volatile ink components such as water, to minimize air transfer into the ink handling components, and to minimize contamination.
As illustrated in
FIG. 3
, the fluid interconnect sealing structure
40
more particularly includes a generally circumferential resilient seal
50
and a pre-loaded compression spring
60
that assists to axially extendingly urge the resilient seal
50
when the sealing structure is appropriately installed. The resilient seal
50
more particularly includes a generally conically tapered seal body
53
having an axial extent and a circular cross-section orthogonally to such axial extent. First and second annular sealing collars
51
,
52
are disposed at respective end openings of the seal body
53
.
The first sealing collar
51
includes an inner radial sealing surface
51
a that engages the ink pipe
36
and applies a radial sealing force to the ink pipe, and an outer tapered flange or barb-like feature
51
b
that engages a retaining ring
63
mounted on the print cartridge
16
.
The second sealing collar
52
includes an annular axial sealing surface comprised of a plurality of radially concentric, axially extending annular sealing rims or lips
52
a
,
52
b
that are separated by a sealing lubricant retaining annular groove
52
c
. The second sealing collar
52
further includes an outer spring retaining pocket or groove
52
d
for retaining one end of the spring
60
which by way of example surrounds the seal body
53
. The other end of the spring
60
rests, for example, against the retaining ring
63
of the print cartridge
16
.
The seal body
53
and the first and second annular sealing collars
51
,
52
preferably comprise a resilient integral elastomeric structure comprising for example an Ethylene-Propylene-Diene monomer/butyl blend (EPDM/butyl), and different portions of the seal
50
can be formed of different elastomers.
The sealing structure
40
is dimensioned such that the resilient seal
50
and the spring
60
are axially compressed when the replaceable ink container
12
is properly connected to the ink pipe
36
. In this manner, the sealing lips
52
a
,
52
b
of the second sealing collar
52
are axially urged against a flat surface disposed on the lower surface of the replaceable ink container
12
, and the sealing structure
40
thus provides a seal between the ink container
12
and the ink tube
36
. In other words, the sealing structure
40
sealingly encloses a region between the replaceable ink container
12
and the ink tube
36
, and thus provides a seal between the replaceable ink container
12
and the ink tube
36
.
The compression spring
60
is more particularly dimensioned to function as an expansion spring when the sealing structure is retained by the retaining ring
63
of the printhead cartridge
16
, and thus axially, expandingly pre-loads or tensions the seal
50
so that the seal
50
will return to its non-deformed axial length when compressive forces are removed from the sealing structure. Stated yet another way, since the retaining barb-like feature
51
b
of the first sealing collar
51
is pulled against the retaining ring
63
when the sealing structure
40
is installed in the retaining ring
63
, the spring
60
axially urges the sealing collars
51
,
52
away from each other.
By way of illustrative example, the spring
60
comprises a tapered coil spring that generally follows the contour of the conically tapered seal body. The spring
60
can also comprise another suitable spring structure such as a leaf spring structure illustrated in
FIG. 4
which includes a plurality of spring leaves that extend axially and are interconnected at their ends. The first sealing collar
51
of the sealing structure of
FIG. 4
extends outward radially to capture the lower portion of the leaf spring structure
60
. Generally, the disclosed sealing structure contemplates some form of axially expanding spring structure.
The foregoing has thus been a disclosure of an ink jet printing system that employs a spring-backed fluid interconnect seal that advantageously provides a consistent seal pressure over a range of compression conditions and over a long life, and allows the use of materials for the resilient seal portion that have low permeability to air and water vapor but have less than optimal compression and stress relaxation properties.
Although the foregoing has been a description and illustration of specific embodiments of the invention, various modifications and changes thereto can be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Claims
- 1. An ink delivery system for an ink jet printer, comprising:a first ink handling component; a second ink handling component an ink pipe interconnected between said first ink handling component and said second ink handling component; a spring-backed sealing structure for providing a seal between said first ink handling component and said ink pipe; said spring-backed sealing structure including: a seal comprised of a seal body having a circular cross-section and axial extent, a first sealing collar disposed at a first end of said seal body, and a second sealing collar disposed at a second end of said seal body; and a spring configured to axially expand said seal.
- 2. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said spring comprises a compression spring.
- 3. The ink delivery system of claim 2 wherein said compression spring comprises a coil spring.
- 4. The ink delivery system of claim 3 wherein said coil spring comprises a tapered coil spring.
- 5. The ink delivery system of claim 2 wherein said compression spring comprises a leaf spring.
- 6. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said seal body is conically tapered.
- 7. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said first sealing collar includes a radial sealing surface for engaging said ink pipe.
- 8. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said second sealing collar includes an annular sealing surface for engaging said first ink handling component.
- 9. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said seal body, said first sealing collar and said second sealing collar comprise an integral structure formed of an elastomer.
- 10. The ink delivery system of claim 1 wherein said spring-backed interconnect seal is axially compressed between said first ink handling component and said second ink handling component.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5905518 |
DeFilippis |
May 1999 |
A |
6033064 |
Pawlowski, Jr. et al. |
Mar 2000 |
A |