Abstract:
An ink cartridge has a first portion having a plurality of chambers formed therein; a second portion attached to the first portion and having at least one opening into each of the plurality of chambers, and wherein for each opening the second portion further includes at least a portion of a fluid directing channel; and a third portion attached to the second portion and configured to receive a plurality of fluids and direct each of the plurality of fluids into one of the respective fluid directing channels such that each of the plurality of fluids flows into a respective one of the plurality of chambers.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a multiple-chambered inkjet cartridge and more specifically to an arrangement which enables the transport and regulation of multiple different and separate inks, from an inkjet printer, to separate chambers in the ink cartridge.  
         [0002]     In prior arrangements, ink is stored in the cartridge in different chambers. However, these arrangements are such that the different chanbers in the printer cartridge are not configured to support refill.  
         [0003]     Prior solutions have found ways to transport and regulate one ink to a single chambered body. However, numerous intricacies exist in creating a printer cartridge that can transport and regulate multiple inks to a multiple chambered body. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in the form of an exemplary ink cartridge.  
         [0005]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing an exemplary manner in which chambers are arranged in tandem in the body of the ink cartridge shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0006]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the shrouds and ink induction needles that are formed at one end of a crown member of the ink cartridge depicted in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0007]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an upper side of an internal crown of the ink cartridge shown in  FIG. 1  before the cap is disposed thereon.  
         [0008]      FIG. 5  is a top view showing the upper side of the crown of the ink cartridge shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of the underside of the crown member showing the provision of separate pairs of regulator members which control the supply of ink into the separate chambers of the ink cartridge.  
         [0010]      FIG. 6B  is an enlarged view of the arrangement shown in  FIG. 6A  showing the provision of a bladder between a pair regulator members and a spring which biases the pair of regulator members toward one and other.  
         [0011]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an exemplary valve seat which cooperates with a valve member carried on a pair of regulator members to permit passage of ink into a chamber of the ink cartridge.  
         [0012]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the disposition of the two valve seats in a lower face of the crown along with over-molded rubber gaskets which seal the ink in respective chambers of the ink cartridge.  
         [0013]      FIG. 9  is a perspective close-up view showing details of the side walls which form part of ink transfer channels formed on the upper face of the crown.  
         [0014]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing details of an ink channel structure having a fitment that permits air to enter while preventing ink from escaping, and a leak test port which can be permanently sealed after successful testing for leaks. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]     An exemplary embodiment of the invention has a dual-shroud or cap which is snapped into a dual-channel crown, that sits on a dual-chambered pen body. The shroud and crown deliver two different inks from the inkjet printer to the chambers in the pen body. Inks flow into the shroud, through separate channels in the crown, and to their respective chambers in the body of the pen under regulation by the dual/tandem regulators.  
         [0016]     This dual-chambered inkjet cartridge permits a plurality of inks to be dispensed on paper at a lower cost. For example, one cartridge can be used to dispense two or more inks or other fluids, reducing cost and/or permitting more inks to be used in the same space in a printer. Separate ink from the cartridge allows automatic refill of ink into the cartridge. Thus, the printer can run for longer intervals with larger ink supplies before running out, and when ink does run out, only the ink container needs to be replaced, not the entire cartridge. Previously, self-refillable cartridges only contained one ink.  
         [0017]     Some of the features of the exemplary embodiments shown herein include, for example, on-axis/on-carriage regulation of two or more inks, regulation of two or more inks using internal regulator assemblies in separate chambers within the pen, transportation of two or more inks from a printer or other like printing device, through a fluid-interconnect system, to the chambers within the pen, and a system for delivering multiple off-axis/off-carriage ink supplies to one print head (e.g., one silicon die).  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of an ink cartridge  100  which includes multi-chambered pen body  101 , a crown  102  which sits on the pen body  101  in a manner which closes the open mouths of the chambers (see  FIG. 2 ). The ink cartridge  100  further includes a shroud  104  which, in this example, is integral with the crown  102  and disposed at one end thereof. A cap or lid  106  is attached on the upper surface of the crown.  
         [0019]     The shroud  104 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , is such as to surround and enclose two elongate hollow members or needles  104 A which are configured to fit into the open ends of interconnecting tubes or conduits (not shown) so as to enable ink to be received from a printer (not shown) associated with the cartridge  100 . In this embodiment, the shroud  104  is formed separately from the crown  102  and then connected thereto. By way of example, shroud  104  is formed with a T-shaped slot  104 S which is configured to receive a T-shaped guide member  101 B which is integral with the pen body  101 .  
         [0020]     The needles  104 A are arranged to fluidly communicate with a first set of ink transfer ports  102 A 1  and  102 A 2  which are formed in one end of the crown  102  as best seen in  FIG. 4 . These ports  102 A 1  and  102 A 2  respectively communicate with first and second ink transfer channels  102 TC 1  and  102 TC 2 . As shown in this figure, channel  102 TC 1  is longer than  102 TC 2  and extends to an ink transfer port  102 IN 1  which is located proximate an end of the crown that is distal from the end to which the shroud  104  is connected. Ink transfer port  102 IN 1  is configured to communicate with the first ink chamber  101 C 1  ( FIG. 1 ) which is formed in the pen body  101 , when the crown  102  is disposed on the pen body  101 .  
         [0021]     On the other hand, the second ink transfer channel  102 TC 2  is shorter than the first, leads to an ink transfer port  102 IN 2  which is configured to communicate with the second ink chamber  101 C 2  ( FIG. 2 ) in the pen body  101 . As will be noted, the second ink transfer channel  102 TC 2  leads around a leak test port  102 LTP 2  and terminates at the ink transfer port  102 IN 2  which is located between the leak test port  102 LTP 2  and an air vent fitment  102 AV 2 . Another air vent fitment  102 AV 1  is formed on a stepped portion which is located at one end of the crown  102  and thus located in the position just beyond the end of the first ink transfer channel  102 TC 1  and adjacent the ink transfer port  102 IN 1 .  
         [0022]     It should be noted that the channels  102 TC 1 ,  102 TC 2  are carefully routed around the features on the upper face of the crown  102  including the leak test port  102 LTP 2  and fitment  102 AV 2 . For this implementation, the features are disposed between the channels so that the channel design is optimized to minimize the number of bends therein. Channel cross section may also be optimized for flow and available crown real estate.  
         [0023]     In this embodiment, the fitments  102 AV 1  and  102 AV 2  are arranged to permit air to pass in both directions therethrough but prevent the passage of ink in eitehr direction and thus prevent leakage of ink from the ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2 . These fitments  102 AV 1  and  102 AV 2 , are also associated with an arrangement that controls the supply of ink into the chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2 . This control will be explained herein later.  
         [0024]     The upper edges CE (see  FIG. 9 ) of the channels  102 TC 1  and  102 TC 2  are arranged to extend about the upper face of the crown  102  to the degree that, when the cap  106  is attached (e.g., welded into place) on the crown  102 , the lower face of the cap  106  sealingly engages the upper edges CE and thus defines separate passages through which ink can flow. The cap  106  (see  FIG. 1 ) is also provided with ports  106 AV 2  which correspond to the fitment  102 AV 1 , and with port  106 LTP 2  which corresponds with the leak test port  102 LTP 2 .  
         [0025]     As noted above, and as best appreciated from  FIG. 1 , the stepped portion of the crown  102  is, in this particular embodiment, such that the cap  106  leaves leak test port  102 LTP 1  and fitment  102 AV 1 , uncovered.  
         [0026]     It should also be noted that the leak test ports  102 LTP 1  and  102 LTP 2  are permanently sealed after the cartridge has been successfully tested for leaks.  
         [0027]     The lower face of the crown  102  is, as shown in  FIG. 6 , provided with pairs of pivotal flap-like members which shall be referred to as regulators R 1 , R 2 . The regulators R 1 , R 2  are pivotally supported on webs or posts  102 W which are formed on the lower face of the crown  102  (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). The flap-like regulators R 1 , R 2  are arranged to extend into the ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2  when the crown  102  is seated on the pen body  101 .  
         [0028]     Each pair of pivotal members which comprise the regulators R 1 , R 2  is provided with a valve member (not shown) which is configured to engage a structure, referred to herein as “volcano spout.” Each of these volcano spouts  102 VS 1 ,  102 VS 2 , are formed on, or otherwise fixed to the lower face of the crown  102  (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ) so as to form valve seats with which the valve members can engage and close off communication between the ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2  ( FIG. 2 ) and the ink transfer ports  102 IN 1  and  102 IN 2  respectively.  
         [0029]     The regulators R 1 , R 2  each respond to the amount of ink in the respective ink chambers and to move in a manner which brings a valve element into engagement with a corresponding volcano spout when the associated chamber is filled to a predetermined degree with fluid.  
         [0030]     In this embodiment, the fitments  102 AV 1  and  102 AV 2 , are arranged to allow air to pass therethrough, for example, into sealed bags or bladders which are respectively disposed in the first and second ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2  between the two flap-like members of each of regulators R 1  and R 2 . As the ink in the chambers decreases, the pressure in the chambers momentarily decreases, and air is inducted through the fitments and into the respective sealed bags to return the chamber pressure to normal. As each bag fills with air, it expands and forces regulator members apart. The regulators R 1 , R 2  therefore open the volcano spouts and allowing ink to flow through the ink ports into the pen chambers. As ink flows in, the pressure in the respective ink chambers is increased back to nominal, causing the bags to collapse forcing back out through the fitments and allowing the regulators R 1 , R 2  to pivot toward one another and thus close the volcano spouts.  
         [0031]     A biasing spring is used in the manner depicted in  FIG. 6B  to bias the regulators toward one another as the bags therebetween deflate and thus move the valve elements toward and into contact with the respective volcano spout closing the same. This prevents the ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2  from overfilling.  
         [0032]     To seal and separate the two ink chambers  101 C 1  and  101 C 2 , which are arranged in an aligned or tandem arrangement due to the elongate nature of the pen body  101 , the lower face of the crown  102  is formed with two over-molded rubber gaskets  102 G 1  and  102 G 2 . These are best seen in  FIGS. 7 and 8 .  
         [0033]     While the invention has been described with only reference to a limited number of embodiments, it will be understood that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains or most closely pertains, would be able to envisage and make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention which is limited only by the appended claims.