Patent Publication Number: US-6213597-B1

Title: Apparatus for ink cartridge of a jet printer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an ink cartridge of a jet printer, and particularly to an apparatus for ink cartridge of a jet printer. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In the conventional jet printer, the ink is loaded in a cartridge, and the ink jetted on the printing paper is controlled with a sprayer; when ink in the cartridge is used up, the cartridge has to be replaced for further printing operation; however, the ink cartridge supplied by the original manufacturer is considerably expensive, i.e., a user to print a lot of papers will spend a lot of money. 
     In the conventional ink cartridge of a jet printer, the ink chamber of the ink cartridge is usually loaded with an equalization air bladder or a piece of sponge for soaking and supplying ink. The ink cartridge supplied by the original manufacturer Unusually has an equal pressure in the ink chamber during the automatic manufacturing process, and there will be no leak during printing operation. 
     When refilling ink into a conventional hollow ink cartridge, and if such ink cartridge is furnished with an equalization air-bladder in the ink chamber thereof, a sticky tape should be used to close the air vent of the maze passage on the bottom of the ink cartridge so as to prevent ink from leaking; then, the intake hole of the airbladder should also be closed with sticky tape so as to maintain equalization of pressure; then, use a sharp point to press the seal bead out of its position so as to provide a refilling hole. Take a suitable amount of ink with a syringe, and then inject the ink into the refilling hole on the ink cartridge slowly until the cartridge being full; use a rubber plug to seal the refilling hole, and then tear off the sticky tapes on the intake hole and on the bottom of the ink cartridge respectively; it is quite often that the opening end of the maze passage or the jet nozzle would have a leakage of ink after the sticky tape on the bottom of cartridge being removed because of the pressure in the ink chamber not being equalized. To overcome such leakage, the only method is to rub off the ink leaked slowly until the leak stopped. 
     In the conventional ink cartridge loaded with a sponge, an empty ink cartridge can be replenished by sealing and closing the end opening of the output port by means of a glue paper; then, a center through hole on lid of the top surface of the ink cartridge is sealed with a membrane; a syringe is sucked with a suitable amount of ink. A slender hollow needle is used to stab through the membrane on the through hole, and to the most lower portion of the storage chamber so as to inject ink in the storage chamber; however, the sponge in the storage chamber contains a great amount of bubbles, and the ink injected is unable to exhaust the air therein; as a result, the ink injected in is limited. Since there is a mesh furnished between the storage chamber and the second chamber, if air in the second chamber is unable to exhaust, the ink in the storage chamber will be unable to enter the second chamber via the mesh, and the ink will be unable to flow into the spraying chamber. 
     When the ink cartridge on a printer fails to print continuously, the major cause is that the sprayer in the printing head is in short supply of ink, i.e., lack of sufficient ink flowing through the passage defined by the bearing member; in other words, if too much air enters the second chamber in the printing head, such air would enter the storage chamber of the sprayer to cause interruption of ink, i.e., having no ink to spray out; in the event of no ink to spray out of the sprayer for a considerable time, the sprayer might be burned out. 
     In the former application Ser. No. 09/328,378, “An Ink-replenishing Device for Ink Cartridge of A Jet Printer” of the applicant, the device comprises an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder; the outer end of the outer cylinder is furnished with a thread cap of the ink straw; the inner surface thereof is to receive the inner cylinder. One end of the inner cylinder that faces the ink straw has an empty part, of which the outer end is mounted with a ring seal having a plurality of contact rings to be in close contact with the inner surface of the outer cylinder. When the disk member of the inner cylinder is pushed to the shortest distance from the lugs of the outer cylinder, a suitable amount of ink will be stored in the front end of the outer and inner cylinders. After the ink-injection cylinder is connected with the ink-injection hole of the ink cartridge, the air in the ink-storage chamber will be evacuated first by means of vacuum suction before filling ink into the ink-storage chamber of the ink cartridge by means of negative pressure method; after the aforesaid procedures being done for several times, there will be no bubbles or air left in the sponge of the ink-storage chamber and the second chamber. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The prime feature of the present invention is that the former application Ser. No. 09/328,378, “An Ink-replenishing Device for Ink Cartridge of A Jet Printer” will further be improved; for instance, the ink is to be stored in an isolated ink-storage container, which is to be mounted in a cylinder with an ink straw by means of a piston ring mounted on the bottle mouth of the ink-storage chamber. The ink straw on the front end of the cylinder is to be connected with the ink-injection hole of the ink cartridge of a jet printer, and then the ink in the ink-storage container will be filled into the ink-storage chamber of the ink cartridge by means of a negative pressure method. 
     Another feature of the present invention is that the bottle mouth of the ink-storage container is furnished with screw threads and a retaining ring; the retaining ring is to be mounted with a piston ring. The screw threads on the bottle mouth is to be mated with a threaded cap so as to form into an isolated ink-storage container for storing ink to be used in an ink cartridge of a jet printer. After the threaded cap is removed from the ink-storage container, the piston ring on the bottle mouth will be plugged into the inner cylinder of the cylinder; the ink straw on the front end of the cylinder is to be connected with the through hole of the ink cartridge; hold the cylinder with a hand, and push the ink-storage container upwards with thumb so as to generate a negative pressure between the ink-storage container and the ink-storage chamber of the ink cartridge; the ink in the ink-injection cylinder will be injected quickly into the ink-storage chamber to have the sponge soaked with ink completely. 
     Still another feature of the present invention is that the ink-storage container includes a cylindrical body portion to be plugged in the cylinder and an outer body portion having a larger diameter. The piston ring on the cylindrical body portion is to be plugged into the inner cylinder of the cylinder so as to form into a sealed chamber having a large capacity; the sealed chamber can communicate with the outside only through the ink straw. To fill the ink cartridge with ink, the ink straw should be connected with the through hole of the ink cartridge, and then push the ink-storage container outwards with thumb so as to have the sealed space in the ink-storage container increased, and to generate the negative pressure in the sealed space in order to evacuate the air and bubbles from the ink-storage chamber and the sponge. As soon as the pushing force to the ink-storage container is removed, the negative pressure in the ink-storage chamber will force ink in the ink-injection cylinder to flow into the ink cartridge before the pressure being set in a balance condition. 
     A further feature of the present invention is that the ink straw for connecting the cylinder and the ink cartridge is furnished in the center or one side of the sealed surface of the cylinder, and it is molded with the cylinder together as one piece. 
     A still further feature of the present invention is that the ink straw for connecting the cylinder and the ink cartridge has a connecting stem in the center of the sealed surface of cylinder, and the connecting stem includes a connector with an ink straw; the connector is connected together with the connecting stem by means of screw threads. 
     Yet another feature of the present invention is that the ink straw on the outer end of the cylinder is designed into a short tapered member, of which the outer surface is connected together and closely with the ink-injection hole of the ink cartridge. 
     Yet still another feature of the present invention is that the larger diameter of the outer body portion of the ink-storage container is approximately equal to the maximum diameter of the lugs of the cylinder. In ink-filling operation, hold the cylinder with a hank, and push the shoulder portion upwards with thumb, and the ink-filling operation will be done. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows the ink cartridge and ink-injection cylinder assembled together for replenishing ink. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the ink cartridge, showing the inner structure thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is a disassembled view of the cylinder according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a dissembled view of the ink-storage container according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cylinder, showing an ink straw assembled together with the cylinder by means of a threaded cap. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cylinder, showing the ink straw being molded together with the cylinder as one piece. 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the ink-storage container, showing the structure thereof. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing the structure of the ink-injection cylinder. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing the assembled condition between the ink-injection cylinder and the ink cartridge. 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing the ink-injection cylinder being pushed to move. 
     FIG. 11 to  13  are perspective views of the present invention, showing the relation between the ink-injection cylinder and the different embodiments. 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the third embodiment according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 to  2 , an ink cartridge  11  of Epson color jet printer (S020110) is shown. The inner space of the body part  12  of the ink cartridge  11  includes several isolated ink-storage chambers  15  in accordance with different colors of ink; every ink-storage chamber  15  is loaded with a sponge  20 ; the lower part of every ink-storage chamber  15  is mounted with a mesh  19  to isolate the second chamber  16  so as to prevent the impurities of ink in the ink-storage chamber  15  from entering the second chamber  16 . By means of siphon effect, the ink can flow into the second chamber  16  of each ink-storage chamber  15 ; the second chamber  16  is not a large one. When assembling the ink cartridge  11 , a hermetic gasket  17  is first mounted in the second chamber  16  on the output port of the ink cartridge  11 ; the end opening thereof is sealed with an isolation film  18 , and then a sponge  20  is loaded in the ink-storage chamber  15  of every body part  12 . The top of the body part  12  is sealed with a cap, of which the top surface  28  is furnished with a plurality of maze grooves  22  in accordance with the corresponding number of the ink-storage chambers  15 . The tail and of every maze groove  22  has a through hole  25  in communication with the chamber  15 , and another through hole  24  for replenishing ink, i.e., the top surface  28  is furnished with two through holes  24  and  25 ; the prime object thereof is that the through hole  24  is used for plugging an ink needle into the sponge  20 . The ink needle and the through hole  24  are connected together hermetically; the other end of the through hole  25  is connected hermetically with an independent connector of a vacuum sucking assembly. The ink can be directed to flow into the sponge  20  in the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  by means of a vacuum sucking force of a vacuum sucking assembly, and simultaneously the air in the sponge  20  and the second chamber  16  will be exhausted. After the top surface  28  of the cap on the ink cartridge  11  is sealed thermally with a membrane  23 , the two through holes  24  and  25 , and the maze groove  22  will be formed into a maze passage  27 . The ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  will be in communication with the atmosphere via the fine maze passage  27 . The sponge  20  in the ink-storage chamber  15  provides a function of sucking ink and of balancing the inner pressure of the ink-storage chamber  15 . Before the ink cartridge  11  being used, the maze passage  27  of the top surface  22  would not cause ink to be leaked out. After the ink cartridge  11  and the printer are assembled together, the isolation film  18  attached to the output port will be stabbed through by the guide straw of the connecting seat; then, the hermetic gasket  17  of the output port will be in close contact with the guide straw of the connecting seat. The ink soaked in the sponge  20  of the ink-storage chamber  15  will be consumed and reduced upon printing operation being under way until the sponge  20  unable to supply ink via the mesh  19  and to enter the second chamber  16 ; then, the ink cartridge should be replaced with a new one so as to provide the printer with ink continuously. 
     In fact, the isolation film  18  attached to the output port will be broken upon replenishing ink for the ink cartridge  11  with sponge  20 . After the ink cartridge  11  is separated from the connecting seat of the printer, air will enter the second chamber  16  of the ink cartridge  11  .When replenishing ink, the output port of the ink cartridge  11  must be sealed with a glue paper  62 , which is glued over the isolation film  18 . In order to seal the output port of the ink cartridge  11  surely, a protection clamp  14  is used during replenishing ink so as to have the output port sealed correctly. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  9  and  10 , the ink-replenishing apparatus for ink cartridge of a jet printer is mainly used for a used and empty ink cartridge  11 . The output part of the second chamber  16  of the ink cartridge  11  should be sealed with a glue paper  62  first, and the output part of the ink cartridge  11  is held with a protection clamp  14  so as to prevent the output port from leaking ink. Let the ink straw  42  of the ink-injection cylinder stab through a membrane  29  covered a through hole  25  of the ink cartridge  11 , and let the ink straw  42  and the through hole  25  be in close contact; let hand hold the cylinder  31  of the ink-injection cylinder  13 , and let the thumb contact with the shoulder portion  36  of the outer body portion  39 , and then push the ink-storage container  30  upwards. When the sealed space between the ink-injection cylinder  13  and the ink cartridge  11  is expanded in terms of capacity, a negative pressure will be generated; then, the air in the ink-storage chamber  15  will be sucked into the upper portion of the ink chamber  48  of the ink-storage container  30  of ink-injection cylinder  13 . As soon as the pushing force applied to the ink-storage container  30  is exhausted, the ink in the ink-storage container  30  will flow into the ink-storage chamber  15  by means of a negative pressure, and will be soaked into the sponge  20 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 3 to  8 , the ink-injection cylinder  13  for replenishing the ink cartridge  11  includes an ink-storage container  30  and a cylinder  31 ; the cylinder  31  is substantially a syringe in terms of shape, and the center part thereof has an inner cylinder  54  in close contact with a piston ring  34 ; the lower end opening of the cylinder  31  is furnished with two symmetrical lugs  49  on two sides thereof. The upper end of the cylinder  31  has an ink straw  42 . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the sealed surface  46  of the cylinder  31  has a connecting stem  43  with a threaded portion  44  and a through hole  45  in the center thereof. The retaining groove  40  is to be connected with the connector  33  having a threaded cap  35 ; the outer end of the connector  33  is furnished with a tapered ink straw  42 . As shown in FIG. 6, the center or one side of the cylinder  31  is furnished with a tapered ink straw  42  extended out of the sealed surface  46  directly. The ink straw  42  is designed to fit the diameter and taper shape of the through hole  25  as shown in FIG. 1; the ink straw  42  can stab in the through hole  25  and into the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11 . As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the through hole of the ink cartridge  11  is mounted with an auxiliary plug  59  or an auxiliary pad  60 , and then the cylindrical hole  58  of the auxiliary plug  59  or the cylindrical hole  61  of the auxiliary pad  60  is connected with the ink straw  42 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1,  4 ,  7  and  8 , the ink-storage container  30  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  includes a bottle body  26 , a piston ring  34  and a threaded cap  35 ; the bottle body  26  has a cylindrical body portion  32  with a bottle mouth  47 , which is furnished with a retaining ring  37  and screw threads  38 . The retaining ring  37  is to be mounted with the piston ring  34 ; the screw threads  38  is to be mated with the threaded cap  35  so as to seal the bottle mouth  47  of the ink-storage container  30  to prevent ink from leaking. 
     The inner center of the piston ring  34  mounted on the retaining ring  37  has a retaining groove  40  to be mated with the retaining ring  37 . Both the upper and lower edges of the piston ring have ring-shaped surfaces  41  to be in contact with an inner cylinder  54  of the cylinder  31  upon the ink-storage container  30  and the cylinder  31  being assembled together. The bottle body  26  of the ink-storage container  30  includes a cylindrical body portion  32  and an outer body portion  39  having a larger diameter; the cylindrical body portion  32  has a diameter less than that of the inner cylinder  54  of the cylinder  31  so as to fit in the inner cylinder  54 . The diameter of the outer body portion  39  is approximately equal to the maximum outer diameter of the lugs  49  of the cylinder  31 . A shoulder portion  36  is furnished between the cylindrical body portion  32  and the outer body portion  39  so as to provide a thumb-catch surface upon pushing the ink-storage container  30 . 
     The space in the cylindrical body portion  32  and the outer body portion  39  of the ink-storage container  30  forms into an ink chamber  48  for storing ink. The screw threads  38  of the bottle mouth  47  is to be closed with the threaded cap  35  so as to prevent ink from leaking out of the ink-storage container  30 ; an outer O-ring surface  50  covers the outer surface of the piston ring  34  so as to prevent any miscellaneous matters from contacting the piston ring  34 , and to prevent from leaking during handling the same. 
     During replenishing ink for the ink cartridge  11  by using the ink-injection cylinder  13 , the threaded cap  35  of the ink-storage container  30  is removed first, and then the cylinder  31  and the inner cylinder  54  are assembled together as shown in FIG.  8 . The ring-shaped surface  41  of the piston ring  34  of the ink-storage container  30  is in close contact with the inner cylinder  54  of the cylinder  31 . After the piston ring  34  of the ink-storage container  30  is pushed closely to the inner surface of the sealed surface  46 , the outer body portion  39  having larger diameter will near the outer edge of the lugs  49  of the cylinder  31 . As shown in FIG. 6, the ink straw  42  and the cylinder  31  are molded together as one piece; the center of the ink straw  42  has a through hole. As shown in FIG. 5, the front end of the cylinder  31  has a connecting stem  43  to be mounted with a connector  33 ; the end of the ink straw  42  is in sealed condition, and should be stabbed through with a thumb pin before using. As shown in FIG. 2, the output port of an empty ink cartridge  11  is sealed up with a protection clamp  14 . As shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  9 , the ink straw  42  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  faces downwards to stab through the membrane  29  on the through hole  25  in the ink cartridge  11 , and to extend into the ink-storage chamber  15 ; in that case, the ink straw  42  and the wall of the through hole  25  are in close contact; the ink chamber  48  of the ink-storage container  30  and the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  form into a sealed and through space. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1,  9  and  10 , after the ink-injection cylinder  13  and the through hole  25  of the ink cartridge  11  are connected together, the ink nearing the ink straw  42  would not drip down as a result of gravity force because of the ink-storage container  30  having a given thickness. User&#39;s hand can hold the cylinder  31 , ad the thumb thereof can push the shoulder portion  36  of the ink-storage container  30  upwards at a given distance; then, the piston ring  34  will move along the surface of inner cylinder  54  to increase the capacity of the sealed space and to generate a negative pressure in the sealed space. When such negative pressure is generating in the ink-injection chamber  13 , air in the ink cartridge  11  will, as a result of the negative pressure, enter the inner cylinder  54  of the cylinder  31  and the top part of the outer body portion  39  quickly. As soon as the pushing force of thumb is removed, the negative pressure in the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  and in the ink chamber  48  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  will be removed; then, the ink-storage container  30  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  will be pulled to its original position; in that case, the ink dropped to the ink straw  42  will flow into the ink-storage chamber  15 . After the ink-storage container  30  being pushed upwards and being pulled back repeatedly, the replenishing operation for the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge will be completed. 
     After the ink cartridge  11  is refilled, the through hole  25  on the ink-storage chamber  15  must be sealed with a glue paper to cover the membrane  23  so as to restore the original function for the maze groove  27  in order to balance the inner pressure of the ink-storage chamber  15  by means of a fine passage, through which the ink for the jet printer can be supplied. 
     Referring to FIG. 13, an ink cartridge  11  (51641A) of HP jet printer on sale in the market is shown; the body part  12  of the ink cartridge  11  includes several isolated ink chambers corresponding to the number of ink colors; the top every ink chamber has a through hole  56 ; as soon as each such chamber is filled with ink, the through hole is sealed up with a ball plug  57 . When the ink in a chamber  15  is used up, the output port of the second chamber of the ink cartridge  11  will be sealed up with a glue paper  62  before replenishing ink operation; then, the output port is clamped with the protection clamp  14  so as to have the output port sealed up completely. The ball plug  57  in the through hole  56  on the ink cartridge  11  can be pushed away with a pin, and then the end  53  of the ink straw  42  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  is stabbed through with a thumbtack or the like; the ink straw  42  of the ink-injection cylinder  13  is plugged into the through hole  56  of the ink cartridge  11  and the chamber, being in close contact with the wall surface of the through hole  56 . User&#39;s hand holds the cylinder  31  to push the ink-storage container  30  upwards with his (or her) thumb and let it move back repeatedly so as to let the chamber generate a negative pressure; such negative pressure would provide a convection and exchange between the air in the chamber and the ink in the ink-injection cylinder  13 , i.e., to exhaust the air in the sponge in the ink cartridge  11  so as to have the ink entered the sponge quickly. 
     Referring to FIG. 11, an ink cartridge (BC-20) of CANON jet printer on sale in the market is shown; the inside of the body part of the ink cartridge  11  includes ink-storage chamber with sponge; the top of the ink cartridge has a through hole  63 , which is to be sealed up with a cylindrical hole plug. During ink-replenishing operation, the output port of the second chamber of the ink cartridge  11  should be sealed up with a glue paper  62 , and clamped with the protection clamp  14  so as to have the output port sealed up completely; remove the cylindrical hole plug in the through hole  63  with a tool, and then use an auxiliary plug  59  having a cylindrical hole  58  to seal the through hole; plug the ink straw  42  of the cylinder  31  into the cylindrical hole  58  of the auxiliary plug  59 , and let them contact each other hermetically. By means of the same method as mentioned in the aforesaid embodiment, the ink in the ink-storage container  30  will be injected into the sponge of the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  quickly. 
     Referring to FIG. 12, an ink cartridge (51626A) of a HP jet printer on sale in the market is shown; the bottom surface of the body part of the ink cartridge  11  is furnished with a maze passage for regulating the pressure in the chamber; during ink-replenishing operation, the bottom surface of the ink cartridge  11  is glued with a two-side-glue auxiliary pad  60 , which has a through cylindrical hole  61  for plugging the ink straw  42  of the cylinder  31  so as to have the ink in the ink-storage container  30  injected into the sponge of the chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  quickly by using the same method as mentioned in the aforesaid embodiment. 
     As shown in FIG. 14, the cylinder  31  is substantially a conventional syringe  51 , in which one side of the sealed surface  46  thereof is furnished with a connecting stem  43 . An inner cylinder  54  of the syringe  51  and the ink-storage container  30  are assembled together; the connecting stem  43  is connected with an ink straw  42 ; then, the ink cartridge  11  can be replenished with ink by means of the aforesaid same replenishing method. 
     According to the technique of the present invention, the ink-storage container  30  is an independent container, of which the bottle mouth  47  is furnished with a retaining ring  37  and screw threads  38  to be connected with the piston ring  34  and the threaded cap  35  respectively so as to have ink stored therein. Remove the threaded cap  35 , and have the inner cylinder  54  of the cylinder  31  assembled with the ink-storage container; the tapered ink straw  42  on the cylinder  31  can be plugged into the through hole of the ink cartridge  11  directly; such connection may be done by using an auxiliary plug  59  or an auxiliary pad  60 . Hold the cylinder  31  with a hand, and push the shoulder portion  36  of the ink-storage container  30  upwards so as to have the sealed space in the ink-injection cylinder  13  and the ink cartridge  11  generate a negative pressure. As soon as the pushing force is removed, the ink in the ink chamber  48  of the ink-storage container will fill into the ink-storage chamber  15  of the ink cartridge  11  as a result of balanced pressure; after the aforesaid steps are done repeatedly several times, there will be no bubbles or air left in the sponge  20  and the second chamber  16  of the ink cartridge  11 . According to the aforesaid description for the embodiments, the features of structure of the ink-injection cylinder  13  and the ink replenishing method have been disclosed completely; it is apparent that the present invention has provided an evident improvement and novelty thereto; the objects anticipated have been fulfilled, and such objects have never been anticipated and accomplished by any person in the field.