INK CARTRIDGE FOR COMPACT PRINTER SYSTEM

Abstract: An ink cartridge for a printer module of a compact printer system. The ink cartridge is characterized by being located on the opposite side of a printable media from a printhead in the printer module. The ink cartridge houses a pair of neutral rollers that cooperate with powered rollers in the printer module to urge the printable media past the printhead.

Description: INK CARTRIDGE FOR COMPACT PRINTER SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a compact pπnter system able to pπnt full-color, business card size documents from a device about the size of a pen The system includes vaπous hot-connectable modules that provide a range of functions In particular the invention relates to an ink cartπdge for a pπnter module Reference may be had to co-pending applications claiming pπoπty from Australian Provisional Patent Application number PQ0560 dated 25 May 1999 The co-pending applications descπbe related modules and methods for implementing the compact pπnter system The co-pending applications are as follows BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Microelectronic manufactuπng techniques have led to the mi atuπzation of numerous devices Mobile phones, persona] digital assistant devices, and digital cameras are very common examples of the mimatuπzation trend One device that has not seen the advantage of microelectronic manufactuπng techniques is the pπnter Commercially available pπnters are large compared to many of the devices they could support For instance, it is impractical to carry a color pπnter for the purpose of instantly pπnting photographs taken with known compact digital cameras A compact pπnthead has been descπbed in co-pending Patent Cooperation Treaty applications filed simultaneously to the present application and hereby incorporated by cross reference A compact pπnter system must provide as much ink as possible to pπnt multiple images between ink cartπdge replacements In known systems the pπnthead is incorporated into the ink cartπdge and the entire unit is replaced when the ink is exhausted In other systems the mk cartπdge is a separate unit In either case, the cartπdge is a relatively small component compared to the total size of the pπnter In a compact pπnter system the ink cartridge is a substantial part of the whole pπnter module and therefore careful attention must be given to its design to maximize the amount of ink available for pπnting SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, the invention resides in an ink cartπdge for a pπnter module having a full-width stationary pπnthead for pπnting an image on pπntable media compπsing a molded body defining a number of ink containing chambers, means communicating with said chambers for supplying mk to said pπnthead, characteπzed by said ink cartπdge being located on an opposite side of said pπntable media from said pπnthead Further features of the invention will be evident from the following descπption BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to assist with descπbing prefeπed embodiments of the invention, reference will be made to the following figures in which FIG 1 is a pπnter module, FIG 2 is a camera module, FIG 3 is a memory module, FIG 4 is a communication module, FIG 5 is a flash module, FIG 6 is a timer module, FIG 7 is a laser module, FIG 8 is an effects module, FIG 9 is a characters module, FIG 10 is an adaptor module, FIG 11 is a pen module, FIG 12 is a dispenser module, FIG 13 is a first compact pπnter configuration, FIG 14 is a second compact pπnter configuration, FIG 15 is a third compact pπnter configuration, FIG 16 is a fourth compact pπnter configuration, FIG 17 is an exploded view of the Pπnter Module of FIG 1 , and FIG 18 is a cross-sectional view of an ink cartπdge DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Refernng to FIGs 1 to 12, there are shown vaπous modules that together form a compact pπnter system Individual modules can be attached and detached from the compact pπnter configuration to allow a user-definable solution to business-card sized pπnting Images can also be transfeπed from one compact pπnter to another without the use of a secondary computer system Modules have a minimal user-interface to allow straightforward interaction A compact pπnter system configuration consists of a number of compact pnnter modules connected together Each compact pπnter module has a function that contnbutes to the overall functionality of the particular compact pπnter configuration Each compact pπnter module is typically shaped like part of a pen, physically connecting with other compact pπnter modules to form the complete pen-shaped device The length of the compact pπnter device depends on the number and type of compact pπnter modules connected The functionality of a compact pπnter configuration depends on the compact pπnter modules in the given configuration The compact pπnter modules connect both physically and logically The physical connection allows modules to be connected in any order, and the logical connection is taken care of by the compact pπnter Seπal Bus - a bus that provides power, allows the modules to self configure and provides for the transfer of data In terms of physical connection, most compact pπnter modules consist of a central body, a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other Since most modules have both a male and female connector, the modules can typically be connected in any order Certain modules only have a male or a female connector, but this is determined by the function of the module Adaptor modules allow these single-connector modules to be connected at either end of a given compact pπnter configuration A four wire physical connection between all the compact pπnter modules provides the logical connection between them in the form of the compact pπnter Seπal Bus The compact pπnter Seπal Bus provides power to each module, and provides the means by which data is transferred between modules Importantly, the compact pπnter Seπal Bus and accompanying protocol provides the means by which the compact pπnter system auto-configures, reducing the user-interface burden on the end-user Compact pπnter modules can be grouped into three types • image processing modules including a Pπnter Module (FIG 1), a Camera Module (FIG 2), and a Memory Module (FIG 3) Image processing modules are pπmaπly what sets the compact pπnter system apart from other pen-like devices Image processing modules capture, pπnt, store or manipulate photographic images, • housekeeping modules including an Adapter Module (FIG 10), an Effects Module (FIG 8), a Communications Module (FIG 4), and a Timer Module (FIG 6) Housekeeping modules provide services to other modules or extended functionality to other modules, and • isolated modules including a Pen Module (FIG 11) and a Laser Module (FIG 7) Isolated modules are those that attach to the compact pπnter system but are completely independent of any other module They do not necessaπly require power, and may even provide their own power Isolated Modules are defined because the functionality they provide is typically incorporated into other pen-like devices Although housekeeping modules and isolated modules are useful components in a compact pπnter system, they are extras in a system dedicated to image processing and photographic manipulation Life size (1 1) illustrations of the compact pπnter modules are shown in FIGs 1 to 12, and example configurations produced by connecting vaπous modules together are shown in FIGs 13 to 16 FIG 1 shows a pπnter module that incorporates a compact pπnthead descπbed in co-pending United States Patent Applications listed m the Background section of this application, incorporated herewith by reference, and refeπed to herewith as a Memjet pπnthead The Memjet pπnthead is a drop-on-demand 1600 dpi Inkjet pπnter that produces bi- level dots in up to 4 colors to produce a pπnted page of a particular width Since the pπnthead pπnts dots at 1600 dpi, each dot is approximately 22 5μm in diameter, and spaced 15 875μm apart Because the pπnting is bi-level, the input image should be dithered or error-diffused for best results Typically a Memjet pπnthead for a particular application is page- width This enables the pπnthead to be stationary and allows the paper to move past the pπnthead A Memjet pπnthead is composed of a number of identical 1/2 inch Memjet segments The pπnter module 10 compnses a body 11 housing the Memjet pπnthead Power is supplied by a three volt battery housed in battery compartment 12 The pπnthead is activated to commence pπnting when a business card (or similar sized pπntable media) is inserted into slot 13 Male connector 14 and female connector 15 facilitate connection of other modules to the pπnter module 10 FIG 2 shows a camera module 20 The camera module provides a pomt-and-shoot camera component to the compact pπnter system as a means of captuπng images The camera module compnses a body 21 having a female connector 22 A lens 23 directs an image to an image sensor and specialized image processing chip within the camera 24 A conventional view finder 25 is provided as well as a lens cap 26 An image is captured when the Take button 27 is pushed Captured images are transfeπed to the Pnnter Module 10 for subsequent pnnting, manipulation, or storage The Camera Module also contains a self-timer mode similar to that found on regular cameras FIG 3 shows a Memory Module 30 compnsing a body 31 , LCD 32, IN button 33, OUT button 34 and SELECT button 35 The Memory Module 30 is a standard module used for stoπng photographic images captured by the Camera 20 The memory module stores 48 images, each of which can be accessed either at full resolution or at thumbnail resolution Full resolution provides read and wnte access to individual images, and thumbnail resolution provides read access to 16 images at once in thumbnail form The Memory Module 30 attaches to other modules via a female connector 36 or male connector 37 The male and female connectors allow the module to be connected at either end of a configuration Power is provided from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Senal Bus A Communications Module 40 is shown in FIG 4 The communications module 40 consists of a connector 41 and a cable 42 that terminates in an appropπate connector for a computer port, such as a USB port, RS232 seπal port or parallel port The Communications Module 40 allows the compact pnnter system to be connected to a computer When so connected, images can be transferred between the computer and the vaπous modules of the compact pπnter system The communications module allows captured images to be downloaded to the computer, and new images for pnnting to be uploaded into the pπnter module 10 A Hash Module 50 is shown in FIG 5 The Flash Module 50 is used to generate a flash with flash cell 51 when taking photographs with the Camera Module 20 The Flash Module attaches to other modules via female connector 52 and male connector 53 It contains its own power source The Flash Module ts automatically selected by the Camera Module when required A simple switch allows the Flash Module to be explicitly turned off to maximize battery life FIG 6 shows a Timer Module 60 that is used to automate the taking of multiple photos with the Camera Module 20, each photo separated by a specific time interval The captured photos are stored m Memory Module 30 Any flash requirements are handled by the Camera Module 20, and can therefore be ignored by the Timer Module The Timer Module 60 consists of a body 61 housing a LCD 62, START/STOP button 63 and UNITS button 64 A SELECT button 65 allows the user to select time units and the number of units are set by UNITS button 64 The Timer Module 60 includes a male connector 66 and female connector 67 The Timer Module takes its power from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Seπal Bus A Laser Module 70 is shown m FIG 7 The Laser Module 70 consists of a body 71 containing a conventional laser pointer operated by button 72 As the Laser Module is a terminal module it only has one connector, which in the example is a male connector 73 The Laser Module is an isolated module, in that it does not perform any image capture, storage, or processing It exists as a functional addition to the compact pπnter system It is provided because laser pointer services are typically incorporated into other pen-like devices The Laser Module contains its own power supply and does not appear as a device on the Seπal Bus The Effects Module shown in FIG 8 is an image processing module It allows a user to select a number of effects and applies them to the current image stored in the Pnnter Module 10 The effects include borders, clip-art, captions, warps, color changes, and painting styles The Effects Module compnses a body 81 housing custom electronics and a LCD 82 A CHOOSE button 83 allows a user to choose between a number of different types of effects A SELECT button 84 allows the user to select one effect from the number of effects of the chosen type Pressing the APPLY button 85 applies the effect to image stored in the Pπnter Module 10 The Effects Module obtains power from the Senal Bus Male connector 86 and female connector 87 allow the Effects Module to be connected to other compact pnnter system modules FIG 9 shows a Character Module 90 that is a special type of Effects Module (descπbed above) that only contains character clip-art effects of a given topic or genre Examples include The Simpsons ® , Star Wars ® , Batman ® , and Dilbert ® as well as company specific modules for McDonalds ® etc As such it is an image processing module It consists of a body 91 housing custom electronics and a LCD 92 SELECT button 93 allows the user to choose the effect that is to be applied with APPLY button 94 The Character Module obtains power from the Seπal Bus through male connector 95 and female connector 96 The Adaptor Module 100, shown in FIG 10, is a female/female connector that allows connection between two modules that terminate in male connectors A male/male connector (not shown) allows connection between two modules that terminate in female connectors The Adaptor Module is a housekeeping module, in that it facilitates the use of other modules, and does not perform any specific processing of its own All "through" modules have a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other end The modules can therefore be chained together, with each module connected at either end of the chain However some modules, such as the Laser Module 70, are terminating modules, and therefore have either a male or female connector only Such s gle- connector modules can only be connected at one end of the chain If two such modules are to be connected at the one time, an Adaptor Module 100 is required FIG 11 shows a Pen Module 110 which is a pen in a module form It is an isolated module that it attaches to the compact pπnter system but is completely independent of any other module It does not consume or require any power The Pen Module is defined because it is a convenient extension of a pen shaped, pen sized device It may also come with a cap 111 The cap may be used to keep terminating connectors clean in the case where the chain ends with a connector rather than a terminating module To assist with accurately feeding a business card sized pπnt media into slot 13 of the pπnter module 10, a dispenser module 120 is provided as shown in FIG12 The dispenser module 120 compnses a body 121 that holds a store of business card sized pnnt media A Pπnter Module 10 locates into socket 122 on the dispenser module 120 When coπectly aligned, a card dispensed from the dispenser module by slider 123 enters slot 13 and is pπnted In the sense that a minimum configuration compact pπnter system must be able to pπnt out photos, a minimum compact pπnter configuration contains at least a Pπnter Module 10 The Pnnter Module holds a single photographic image that can be pπnted out via its Memjet pπnter It also contains the 3V battery required to power the compact pπnter system In this minimum configuration, the user is only able to pπnt out photos Each time a user inserts a business card 130 into the slot in the Pπnter Module, the image in the Pπnter Module is pπnted onto the card The same image is pπnted each time a business card is inserted into the pnnter In this minimum configuration there is no way for a user to change the image that is pπnted The dispenser module 120 can be used to feed cards 130 into the Pnnter Module with a minimum of fuss, as shown in FIG 13 By connecting a Camera Module 20 to the minimum configuration compact pπnter system the user now has an instant pπnting digital camera in a pen, as shown in FIG 14 The Camera Module 20 provides the mechanism for captuπng images and the Pπnter Module 10 provides the mechanism for pnnting them out The battery in the Pπnter Module provides power for both the camera and the pπnter When the user presses the "Take" button 27 on the Camera Module 20, the image is captured by the camera 24 and transferred to the Pπnter Module 10 Each time a business card is inserted into the pπnter the captured image is pnnted out If the user presses "Take" on the Camera Module again, the old image in the Pπnter Module is replaced by the new image If the Camera Module is subsequently detached from the compact pπnter system, the captured image remains in the Pπnter Module, and can be pπnted out as many times as desired The Camera Module is simply there to capture images to be placed in the Pπnter Module FIG 15 shows a further configuration in which a Memory Module 30 is connected to the configuration of FIG 14 In the embodiment of FIG 15, the user has the ability to transfer images between the Pπnter Module 10 and a storage area contained in the Memory Module 30 The user selects the image number on the Memory Module, and then either sends that image to the Pπnter Module (replacing whatever image was already stored there), or bπngs the current image from the Pπnter Module to the specified image number in the Memory Module The Memory Module also provides a way of sending sets of thumbnail images to the Pπnter Module Multiple Memory Modules can be included in a given system, extending the number of images that can be stored A given Memory Module can be disconnected from one compact pπnter system and connected to another for subsequent image pnnting With the Camera Module 20 attached to a Memory Module/Pπnter Module compact pπnter system, as shown in FIG 15, the user can "Take" an image with the Camera Module, then transfer it to the specified image number in the Memory Module The captured images can then be pπnted out m any order By connecting a Communications Module 40 to the minimum configuration compact pπnter system, the user gams the ability to transfer images between a PC and the compact pπnter system FIG 16 shows the configuration of FIG 15 with the addition of a Communications Module 40 The Communications Module makes the Pnnter Module 10 and any Memory Modules 30 visible to an external computer system This allows the download or uploading of images The communications module also allows computer control of any connected compact pnnter modules, such as the Camera Module 20 In the general case, the Pπnter Module holds the "current" image, and the other modules function with respect to this central repository of the cuπent image The Pπnter Module is therefore the central location for image interchange in the compact pπnter system, and the Pπnter Module provides a service to other modules as specified by user interaction Detailed views of the Pπnter Module 10 are shown in FIGs 17 and 18 The Pπnter Module 10 is the central module in the compact pπnter system It contains a 2-inch Memjet pπnthead 16, a Cyan/Magenta/Yellow ink cartndge 17, the cuπent image stored in flash memory on the pπnthead, and a power source in the form of a 3 V battery 12a in the battery compartment 12 With regards to processing, the Pπnter Module 10 contains a controller 101 that incorporates an image processing chip to pπnt the stored image m high quality, and a QA chip for ensunng the ink cartπdge 17 does not run dry The Pnnter Module 10 can be used as a stand-alone pπnter of a single image (such as business cards), or can be used in conjunction with other modules to pπnt a vaπety of images Looking in detail at FIG 17, the body 11 of the pπnter module is in three parts being a ltd 11a, base 1 lb and chassis l ie Pπnthead 16 with filter 16a fits into the chassis 1 lc Powered rollers 18a are dπven by motor and gearbox 103 Neutral rollers 18b fit into ink cartπdge 17 and guide a card past the pπnthead 16 Spnngs 18c (FIG 18) are housed in the ink cartndge and urge the neutral rollers 18b towards the powered rollers 18a The ink cartndge 17 is located beyond the rollers 18 so that the card passes between the pnnthead 16 and the ink cartπdge 17 Ink inlets 105 provide communication between the ink cartndge 17 and the pπnthead 16 Micro-moulded channels 106 in the chassis 1 lc distπbute the ink from the mk inlets 105 to the length of the pnnthead 16 The structure of the ink cartπdge 17 is shown more clearly in FIG 18 The cartπdge 17 is formed from a back molding 172 and a front molding 173 The moldings are suitably plastic and are ultrasomcally welded together The back molding 172 has two webs 174 that extend to the front molding and divide the cartndge into three chambers, 175y holding yellow ink, 175m holding magenta ink and 175c holding cyan ink If a CMYK ink scheme is used there will be an extra web to define four chambers The front molding 173 has two sockets 176 to receive the neutral rollers 18b and spnngs 18c As seen in FIG 17, the card to be pπnted moves between the neutral rollers 18b housed in the sockets 176 in the cartπdge 17 and the powered rollers 18a adjacent the pπnthead 16 mounted in the chassis 1 lc It will be appreciated that this means that the ink ■ 1 ■ cartπdge is on the opposite side of the pπnted media from the pnnthead The inventor has found that this provides the most efficient use of space in a compact pπnting system A QA chip in the ink cartπdge contains information required for maintaining the best possible pnnt quality It manages 256 bits of data allocated as follows Before each pπnt, the amount of ink remaining is checked by the controller m the pnnter module to ensure that there is enough for a worst-case page (a full coverage pπnt) Once the image has been pπnted, the controller multiplies the total number of drops of each color by the drop volume The amount of pπnted ink is subtracted from the amount of ink remaining The unit of measurement for ink remaining is nanohtres, so 32 bits can represent over 4 liters of ink The amount of ink used for a page must be rounded up to the nearest nanohtre (l e approximately 1000 pπnted dots) The volume of ink present in an mk cartndge is 450 ml (2mm x 3mm x 75mm), enough to produce 450 million dots of a given color The exact number of images that can be pnnted before replacement will depend on the color composition of those images 450 ml represents • 25 full black cards (black requires all three colors to be used) • 50 full sized photos at 50% CMY coverage • 111 typical photo/text cards at 22 5% CMY coverage • 166 cards of black (CMY) text at 15% coverage If there is insufficient ink of any color to pπnt a given image, the card will pass through the pπnter module, but nothing will be pπnted It is a simple matter to replace the old ink cartπdge 17 by sliding latch 171, removing lid 11a, unchpping the old cartndge and clipping on a new one The QA chip in the ink cartndge communicates with the QA chip on the controller 101 via contacts 109 to authenticate the mk cartndge If only a single chip is used, a clone ink cartndge manufacturer could usurp the authentication mechanism Throughout the specification the aim has been to descπbe the prefeπed embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize vanations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall withm the scope of the invention

Claims: CLAIMS 1 An ink cartπdge for a pπnter module having a full-width stationary pnnthead for pπnting an image on pπntable media compπsing a molded body defining a number of ink containing chambers, means communicating with said chambers for supplying ink to said pπnthead, charactenzed by said mk cartπdge being located on an opposite side of said pπntable media from said pnnthead 2 The ink cartndge of claim 1 further compπsing one or more rollers for urging said pπntable media past said pπnthead 3 The ink cartπdge of claim 2 wherein said rollers are neutral rollers that act in cooperation with powered rollers adjacent said pπnthead in said pπnt module to urge said pπntable media past said pπnthead 4 The ink cartπdge of claim 3 wherein there are two neutral rollers and two powered rollers 5 The ink cartπdge of claim 1 wherein said molded body has a generally elongate body 6 The mk cartndge of claim 5 wherein said molded body has a generally semi-cyhndncal body 7 The mk cartndge of claim 1 further compπsing ink outlets communicating with ink inlets on said pnnthead 8 The ink cartndge of claim 1 further compnsing ink level momtoπng means in said mk cartndge in signal communication with a controller in said pπnter module

Inventors: SILVERBROOK KIA, SILVERBROOK, KIA
Applicants: SILVERBROOK KIA, SILVERBROOK RES PTY LTD, SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY LTD, SILVERBROOK, KIA
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J13, B41J23, B41J29, H04N1, H04N5