Abstract:
A pocket assembly for use in an ink jet printer included in a mailing machine. The pocket assembly is adapted to receive an ink cartridge and includes: a housing defining a pocket for receiving the ink cartridge, a needle, a door and a door mechanism. The housing has an open end and a closed end and includes a recess extending away from the pocket. The needle is mounted to the housing closed end and protrudes into the pocket. The door is movably mounted to the housing and is located within the pocket. The door mechanism is operatively coupled with door for repositioning the door between a closed position blocking access to the needle and an open position allowing access to the needle. The door is seated in the recess when in the closed position so that the door is less likely to be manually repositioned to the open position.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to the following concurrently filed copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/327,654, entitled DISPOSABLE INK CARTRIDGE (E-875), the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to mailing machines including an ink jet printing system. More particularly, this invention is directed to a mailing machine including a pocket assembly for receiving a disposable ink cartridge. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ink jet printers are well known and have been adapted to a variety of applications, such as: general office printers, point of sale terminals, scientific recording devices and postage metering systems. Generally, ink jet printers include a print head and a supply of ink. In order to print, a series of ink drops are ejected from the print head onto paper until a desired image is achieved. To keep the print head supplied with ink, a variety of ink delivery systems have been developed. In applications where the print head has a long life and the printer exhibits high volume usage, it is desirable to provide a disposable ink cartridge for supplying ink. In this manner, when the ink has been exhausted, a new ink cartridge may be conveniently installed. 
     There are several important considerations for ink jet printers employing disposable ink cartridges. A few of the considerations are described generally below in no particular order of importance. One consideration is ease of use. The ink cartridge must be easily inserted into and removed from the ink jet printer. That is, even an inexperienced operator must find this process intuitive and quick so that time is not wasted. Another consideration is assurance of a proper mating relationship between the ink cartridge and the ink jet printer. In this manner, ink may be properly delivered from the ink cartridge to the print head. Otherwise, poor quality printing may result. Yet another consideration is operator safety. Replacing ink cartridges must not put the operator at risk of injury due to exposure to sharp objects or moving parts. 
     Typically, a mailing machine includes a postage metering system. Because postage metering systems store and dispense postage, print quality takes on an even greater significance. The ink jet printer must operate reliably so that the operator does not experience a loss of postal funds (money). Therefore, proper delivery of ink from the ink cartridge to the print head is critical. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective mailing machine including an ink jet printer having a pocket assembly for receiving a disposable ink cartridge that is both easy and safe to install/remove and is designed to provide a proper mating relationship between the ink cartridge and the pocket assembly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mailing machine that addresses those issues described above. 
     In accomplishing these and other objects there is provided a pocket assembly for use in a mailing machine. The pocket assembly is adapted to receive an ink cartridge and includes: a housing defining a pocket for receiving the ink cartridge, a needle, a door and a door mechanism. The housing has an open end and a closed end and includes a recess extending away from the pocket. The needle is mounted to the housing closed end and protrudes into the pocket. The door is movably mounted to the housing and is located within the pocket. The door mechanism is operatively coupled with door for repositioning the door between a closed position blocking access to the needle and an open position allowing access to the needle. The door is seated in the recess when in the closed position so that the door is less likely to be manually repositioned to the open position. 
     Therefore, it should now be apparent that the invention substantially achieves the objects and advantages discussed above. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Moreover, the objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown through out the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts. 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a pocket assembly into which an ink cartridge (not shown) may be installed in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side sectional view, as defined by line  2 — 2  as shown in FIG. 1, of the pocket assembly without the ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a top sectional view, as defined by the line  3 — 3  as shown in FIG. 2, of the pocket assembly without the ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3A is a top sectional view, as defined by the line  3 — 3  as shown in FIG. 2, of the pocket assembly having the ink cartridge installed therein in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a side sectional view, as defined by the line  4 — 4  as shown in FIG. 3, of the pocket assembly without the ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4A is a side sectional view, as defined by the line  4 — 4  as shown in FIG. 3, of the pocket assembly having the ink cartridge installed therein in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an end sectional view, as defined by the line  5 — 5  as shown in FIG. 4, of the pocket assembly without the ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5A is an end sectional view, as defined by the line  5 — 5  as shown in FIG. 4, of the pocket assembly having the ink cartridge installed therein in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge and the pocket assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view of a mailing machine including the pocket assembly fixably mounted therein in a vertical orientation and the ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a top view of a pocket assembly  100  into which an ink cartridge (not shown) may be installed in accordance with the present invention is shown. The pocket assembly  100  may be incorporated into a mailing machine  10  such as the one shown in FIG. 7 in any conventional manner. A more detailed description of the mailing machine  10  is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/294,606, entitled POSTAGE METERING SYSTEM HAVING MULTIPLE POSTAGE METER CONFIGURATION CAPABILITY (E-863), filed on Apr. 19, 1999, the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference. The pocket assembly  100  is fixably mounted to the mailing machine  10  in a vertical orientation and accepts an ink cartridge  200  in a direction indicated by a double sided arrow A in accordance with the present invention. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 , the pocket assembly  100  includes a needle  102 , a housing  110 , a door  160 , a door mechanism  170 . The needle  102  is mounted to the housing  110  so as to protrude into the interior of the housing  110  and serves as a hollow tube for supplying a passage for the ink (not shown) within the ink cartridge (not shown) to flow out of the ink cartridge and into the ink jet printer (not shown). 
     The housing  110  is generally a thin walled box type structure that encloses a volume of space, more commonly referred to as a pocket  111 . The housing  110  includes a pair of snaps  112  located on a top side  110 t of the housing  110  and protruding into the pocket  111 , an opening  114  at one end for receiving the ink cartridge (not shown) as indicated by the doubled sided arrow A, a recess  116 , a pair of bosses  118  and a pair of grooves  120 . The needle  102  is mounted at the other end of the housing  110  opposite to the opening  114 . 
     The door  160  and the door mechanism  170  operate to protect an operator (not shown) from inadvertently touching the needle  102  when the ink cartridge (not shown) is not installed. The door  160  is pivotably mounted to the housing  110  within the pocket  111 . The door  160  is designed to substantially close off a portion of the pocket  111  proximate to the needle  102 . When the ink cartridge (not shown) is not installed, the door  160  is in a closed position (FIG. 4) blocking access to the needle  102  from the opening  114 . In contrast, when the ink cartridge (not shown) is installed, the door  160  is in an open position (FIG. 4A) allowing access to the needle  102 . The door mechanism  170  actuates the door  160  between the closed and open position and includes a pivot finger  172  having a first end  172   a  and a second end  172   b,  a push arm  174  having a first end  174   a  and a second end  174   b,  a spring  176  and a spur gear  178 . The pivot finger  172  is rotatively mounted along its length to the housing  110  in any conventional manner, such as by snapping it onto a boss extending from the housing  110 . The first pivot finger end  172   a  extends into one of the pair of grooves  120  while the second pivot finger end  172   b  is pivotably mounted in any conventional manner to the first push arm end  174   a.  The second push arm end  174   b  includes a rack gear  174   c  that is in operative engagement with the spur gear  178 . The spur gear  178  and the door  160  are fixably mounted together, such as by fixably mounting on a common shaft  175 , so that as the spur gear  178  rotates, the door  160  rotates in kind. The spring  176  extends between the door  160  and the housing  110  so that the door  160  is biased toward the closed position. 
     Referring to FIGS. 6 and 3A, an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge  200  and the pocket assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention is shown. The ink cartridge  200  includes a main body or housing  200   h,  a supply of ink  201  contained within an ink bag  203  in turn located within the housing  200   h,  an extended region  204  on a first end  200   a  of the main body  200   h,  an extended region  205  on a second end  200   b  of the main body  200   h,  a rubber septum  206  located within the extended region  204 , a pair of recesses  208  located on a top side  200   t  of the main body  200   h  and a pair of tabs  210  (only one visible) located on lateral sides  200   c  of the main body  200   h.  The tabs  210  includes a first portion  210   a  and a second portion  210   b  larger than the first tab portion  210   a.  The pair of recesses  208  are adapted to receive the pair of snaps  112 , respectively while the pair of tabs  210  are adapted to travel within the pair of grooves  120  (not shown), respectively. 
     With the structural aspects of the present invention described as above, various preinstallation operational aspects will now be described. Referring primarily to FIG. 4 in view of the structure of FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3 ,  5 , and  6 , in the absence of the ink cartridge  200 , the spring  176  maintains the door  160  in the closed position. In the closed position, the door  160  blocks access to the needle  102 . Thus, if the operator were to reach inside the pocket  111 , then the door  160  prevents inadvertent injury due to touching the needle  102 . As an additional safety measure, a top edge  160   a  of the door  160  is seated in the recess  116 . The top edge  160   a  and the recess  116  are designed to have conforming shapes (both rounded as shown) so that the operator cannot get a grip on the door top edge  160   a  and pull the door  160  toward the open position. As still another safety measure, the door top edge  160   a  is seated in the recess  116  so that the door  160  assumes a reclined angle (toward the opening  114 ). Thus, provided that the door  160  is sufficiently rigid (a pattern of strengthening ribs may be employed), the operator cannot push the door  160  open due to the positive interference between the door  160  and the housing  110 . 
     With the pre-installation operational aspects of the present invention described as above, various operational aspects concerning installation of the ink cartridge  200  will now be described. Referring primarily to FIGS. 5,  5 A and  6  in view of FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3 ,  3 A,  4  and  4 A, the cartridge  200  and the pocket assembly  100  are adapted so that the cartridge  200  can only be assembled in one particular orientation. Generally, the tabs  210  are offset from the center of the lateral sides  200   c  while the grooves  120  are correspondingly offset from the center of the pocket  111 . In this way, the cartridge  200  may only be inserted so that the cartridge top side  200   t  is aligned substantially parallel with and directly opposite to the housing top side  110   t.    
     Referring primarily to FIGS. 2,  4 ,  4 A,  5  and  5 A in view of FIGS. 1,  3 ,  3 A, and  6 , the cartridge  200  is installed in the pocket assembly  100  by inserting the cartridge first end  200   a  containing the rubber septum  206  into the pocket  111 . The tabs  210  fit within and slide along the grooves  120 , respectively, as the cartridge  200  is inserted. During insertion, one of the tabs  210  engages the pivot finger first end  172   a  that protrudes into the groove  120 . As the cartridge  200  continues toward the needle  102 , the pivot finger  172  rotates causing the push arm  174  to translate so that the spur gear  178  rotates counter-clockwise (as view in FIG. 2) which in turn causes the door  160  to rotate from the closed position to the open position. It should be noted that the door  160  should reach the open position prior to the arrival of the cartridge first end  200   a  so that an interference does not occur. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 4A, the cartridge  200  is shown fully installed within the pocket assembly  100 . In this position, the needle  102  has pierced the septum  206  and entered the ink bag  203  so that the needle  102  is in contact with the ink  201 . Also, the snaps  112  have seated themselves in the recesses  208 . This serves as an additional measure to keep the cartridge  200  from inadvertently dislodging from the final installation position due to vibration or other reasons. 
     To prevent the needle  102  from becoming damaged, the cartridge  200  is not allowed to “bottom outs” in the pocket  111 . Instead, the cartridge  200  comes into contact with the bosses  118  to define a final or forward most insertion position for the cartridge  200 . In this forward most insertion position, the cartridge first end  200   a  does not contact the housing  110 . As a result, the shear forces on the needle  102  are reduced. To provide further positive tactile feedback to the operator, the recesses  208  and corresponding snaps  210  are located on their respective parts to be in proper mating relationship in the final insertion position. 
     To further prevent the needle  102  from becoming damaged, the cartridge  200  will only cause the door  160  to rotate to the open position when the cartridge end  200   a  is inserted. If the cartridge second end  200   b  is inserted, then the door  160  will not rotate to the open position. Since the extended region  205  of the cartridge second end  200   b  contacts the door  160  before the tab  210  sufficiently engages the pivot finger  172  to rotate the door  160  to the open position, the cartridge  200  cannot reach the needle  102  when inserted in this manner. Here, the important consideration is that a first distance D 1  (measured along the insertion direction) between a forward most point of the cartridge first end  200   a  and the tab first portion  210   a  allows the pivot finger  172  to be engaged without obstructing the movement of the door  160  while the a second distance D 2  (measured along the insertion direction) between a rearward most point of the cartridge second end  200   b  and the tab second portion  210   b  does not allow engagement of the pivot finger  172  sufficient to rotate the door  160  to the open position before the rearward most point contacts the door  160 . Thus, the first distance D 1  is less than the second distance D 2 . Preferably, the rearward most point contacts the door  160  before the tab second portion  210  reaches the pivot finger  172 . Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognize that there is only one orientation for which the cartridge  200  will reach the needle  102  so that the operator cannot improperly install the cartridge  200 . 
     With the structural and operational aspects of the present invention described as above, various dimensional aspects will now be described. Referring to FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 , the grooves  120  are dimensioned (less than approximately 0.250 inches wide, preferably about 0.200 inches) to be smaller than an adult&#39;s finger so that the pivot finger  172  cannot be articulated manually. The depth of the grooves  120  must be sufficient to accommodate the pivot finger  172 . Preferably, the pivot finger  172  is more than about 0.200 inches deep into the groove  120 . This provides an added measure of safety for operators that may insert their hand into the pocket  111 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 3,  3 A,  4 ,  4 A,  5 ,  5 A and  6 , the tabs  210  perform dual functions. First, the tabs  210  and the grooves  120  are dimensioned to facilitate insertion of the cartridge  200  and proper alignment of the septum  206  with the needle  102 . Second, as described above, the tabs  210  engage the door mechanism  170 . The tab first portion  210   a  is smaller than the tab second portion  210   b,  preferably on all three sides of the tab  210  by about 0.030 inches per side. Similarly, the grooves  120  includes a first portion  120   a  and a second portion  120   b  where the groove second portion  120   b  is smaller than the groove first portion  120   a,  preferably on all three sides of the groove  120  by about 0.030 inches per side. Thus, when the cartridge first end  200   a  is initially inserted into the pocket  111 , sufficient clearance (about 0.080 inches per side) exists between the tab first portion  210   a  and the groove first portion  120   a  to facilitate easy installation by the operator. However, in the final insertion position, the tab first portion  210   a  is in mating relationship with the groove second portion  120   b  while the tab second portion  210   b  is in mating relationship with the groove first portion  120   a.  In this position, the clearance (about 0.020 inches per side) has been reduced to that which is necessary to allow the cartridge  200  to be installed without binding and provide for proper alignment of the septum  206  with the needle  102  to avoid damage to the needle  102  during installation. 
     Many features of the preferred embodiment represent design choices selected to best exploit the inventive concepts of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications to the preferred embodiment may be made with departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the tabs and grooves may be tapered instead of stepped to produce the same desired effects as described above. As another example, only one tab and one groove may be employed. As yet another example, only one snap and one recess may be employed. As yet still another example, only the snap(s), the recess(es) and the tab(s) may all be located on the same surface of the housing. Still further, those skilled in the art will recognize that the features described above are largely independent and may be employed in a variety of combinations depending upon the needs of the particular application for the disposable ink cartridge. 
     Therefore, the inventive concepts in their broader aspects are not limited to the specific details of the preferred embodiment but are defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.