This invention relates generally to containers for consumable substances, and more particularly to replaceable containers having integral electronic memory devices.
Many types of equipment or devices require a supply of a consumable substance. The substance may be needed for the equipment to operate properly, such as a fuel or lubricant; or the substance may be utilized by the equipment as a component or ingredient in forming a final product or output. Consumable substances may be provided in replaceable containers that are changed when the substance is depleted.
Printers with user-replaceable consumables (and related devices, such as facsimile machines and copiers) are well known in the art. For example, inkjet printers typically utilize replaceable ink supplies, either integrated with a printhead or in the form of separate supplies. In laser printers, toner is typically supplied in a replaceable cartridge, which may include the photosensitive drum on which images are formed.
In manufacturing containers of consumable substances, it is typical to fill the containers at a much more rapid rate than the rate at which the substance is subsequently withdrawn from the container by the utilizing equipment. With ink supplies for printers, for example, one common technique for rapidly filling consumables with ink is to provide a separate filling port on the consumable, sized to accept an ink-fill needle. Ink is then rapidly injected into the container on an assembly line. After the consumable is filled and the needle withdrawn, the filling port is closed, typically with a plug.
It is increasingly common for containers of consumable substances to have integral electronic memory devices, which may be used for a variety of purposes by the utilizing equipment. The memory device may be used as a “keying” feature to differentiate between different substances, may contain calibration information, or may be used to indicate a status condition of the consumable, such as the substance level within the consumable. The memory devices may also be used for many other purposes, such as enabling specialized features of the device or providing other value to the equipment user. While earlier memory devices typically had electrical contacts that had to connect to mating contacts in the utilizing equipment, newer devices are often wireless and rely on radio frequency (RF) communication.
Changes to the physical design of a replaceable container can be prohibitively expensive, both in terms of research and development expense and in the costs of retooling an assembly line. While adding a memory device to an existing line of containers may be desirable, there is also generally a need to maintain backward compatibility to older equipment.
When a memory device is used to differentiate between substantially similar containers having different contents (such as ink supplies containing different ink colors or having different fill levels), it is typically preferable that the differentiation take place as far down the assembly line as possible, such that fewer distinct lines of components need to be dealt with, and greater flexibility exists in the supply chain and manufacturing process.
Further, if a need arises to re-characterize a container after manufacturer (such as, for example, to provide updated information about the consumable substance or to enable new or revised features of the equipment), a simple method of replacing the integral memory device may prove more cost effective than electrically reprogramming the memory device. If an integral memory device on a container has failed, a simple method of replacement can also allow for cost-effective repair of a consumable container.
Embodiments of the present invention include wireless electronic memory devices formed within plugs or “corking members” for sealing the filling ports of containers of consumable substances; containers incorporating the plugs; and related methods.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are partial cross-sectional views taken along line 2-2 of
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate one approach that may be utilized to physically insure that the exemplary corking member maintains a correct alignment when placed in the fill port;
FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) illustrate another approach that may be utilized to physically insure that the exemplary corking member maintains a correct alignment when placed in the fill port;
FIGS. 9(a), 9(b), 9(c), and 9(d) illustrate how one corking member 200′″ previously placed in a fill port 120 may be replaced with a new corking member 700′ according to an embodiment of the invention; and
Embodiments of the invention are described with respect to an exemplary inkjet printing consumable; however, the invention is not limited to the exemplary consumable nor to the field of inkjet consumables, but may be utilized in other consumable substance containers having fill ports.
The exemplary consumable is shown oriented with the fill port 120 facing up, as the consumable would be oriented during the ink-fill operation. The illustrated consumable is formed of a rigid outer frame 102 onto which metal side pieces 104 are pressed; the consumable has a “snout” region 106 that includes a printhead 108. A circular fill port 120 is provided through the frame 102, allowing the consumable to be filled with liquid ink.
For clarity the exemplary consumable 100 is shown in somewhat simplified form. Embodiments of the exemplary consumable may have a more complex structure, such as, for example, the frame for an ink-jet cartridge described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,002 (Swanson et al., TWO MATERIAL FRAME HAVING DISSIMILAR PROPERTIES FOR THERMAL INK-JET CARTRIDGE). Embodiments of the exemplary consumable may also include additional mechanisms, such as mechanisms for regulating backpressure during printing (not shown in
FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are partial cross-sectional views taken along line 2-2 of
One exemplary suitable technology for implementing the memory device is Coil-on-Chip™ technology developed by Hitachi Maxell. The exemplary memory device includes an antenna coil 214 mounted on a 2.5 mm square integrated circuit chip; the antenna surrounds electronic circuitry 212 providing power generation, control circuitry, and memory, as described below. With the antenna coil formed on the chip surface, the exemplary electronic memory device 210 may be embedded into the corking member 200′ without the need for any additional electronic circuitry or external electrical connections. Other suitable technologies may also be used, including technologies in which the electronic circuitry and antenna are mounted on a common substrate, and technologies utilizing a discrete antenna element.
The exemplary memory device 210 is a Read/Write device with 128 byte total memory which can be written to or read using various RFID reader methods known in the art. Typically, a reader/writer (not shown in
Corking member 200′ may be produced by molding a suitable material 216 around the memory device 210, or by any of the various packaging methods known in the art.
In operation, control electronics 420 in the device in which the consumable is installed (or in a separate programming or reading station) generate signals to control a transceiver 422 attached to an antenna 424, which generates an RF field that allows reading and writing of data from the memory device 310.
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate one approach that may be utilized to physically insure that the exemplary corking member 700 maintains a correct alignment when placed in the fill port 120. As shown in
Alternatively, FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) illustrate how “fins” or protuberances 804 may be provided on the trailing portion of the corking member 800, with the leading portion 802 substantially the same as shown in
Combinations of the leading and trailing features as shown in
FIGS. 9(a), 9(b), 9(c), and 9(d) illustrate how one corking member 200′″ previously placed in a fill port 120 may be replaced with a new corking member 700′ according to an embodiment of the invention. Replacement may be effectuated to replace a defective memory device with a properly operating device, to upgrade or change the contents of the memory device by physically replacing it, or to provide a memory device on a container that previously lacked a memory device.
As seen in
Other methods of replacing the corking member may also be utilized, such as withdrawing the corking member out of the fill port (not shown).
Some types of containers for consumable substances have a fill port that is sealed in some other fashion than the insertion of a corking member, such as, for example, the placement of a sealing tape or label over the fill port. A memory device according to the present invention may be added to these containers by removing the sealing tape or label, if necessary, and pressing a corking member into the fill port as depicted in FIGS. 9(c) and 9(d).
The above is a detailed description of particular embodiments of the invention. It is recognized that departures from the disclosed embodiments may be within the scope of this invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. It is the intent of the applicant that the invention include alternative implementations known in the art that perform the same functions as those disclosed. This specification should not be construed to unduly narrow the full scope of protection to which the invention is entitled.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or acts for performing the functions in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed.