Patent Abstract:
A method of modifying an imaging cartridge detachably mountable to an imaging apparatus, the imaging cartridge comprising a cartridge chip, the method including detaching the cartridge chip from the imaging cartridge, the cartridge chip comprising a light emitting device adapted for emitting light in the visible spectrum; and attaching a replacement cartridge chip to the imaging cartridge, the replacement cartridge chip comprising a light emitting device adapted for emitting light outside the visible spectrum.

Full Description:
[0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/120,672 filed Dec. 8, 2008, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to manufacturing, remanufacturing and repairing replaceable imaging components, and more particularly to techniques for manufacturing or remanufacturing a replaceable imaging cartridge such as an inkjet cartridge including a memory element and a light emitting device. 
         [0003]    In the imaging industry, there is a growing market for the remanufacture and refurbishing of various types of replaceable imaging components such as toner cartridges, inkjet cartridges, and the like. Imaging cartridges, once spent, are unusable for their originally intended purpose. Without a refurbishing process, these cartridges would simply be discarded, even though the cartridge itself may still have potential life. As a result, techniques have been developed to remanufacture imaging cartridges. These processes may entail, for example, the disassembly of the various structures of the cartridge, replacing toner or ink, cleaning, adjusting or replacing any worn components and reassembling the cartridge. 
         [0004]    Some imaging cartridges may include a chip having a memory device which is used to store data related to the cartridge or an imaging device, such as a printer, for example. The printer reads this data to determine certain printing parameters and communicate information to the user. For example, the memory may store the model number of the cartridge so that the printer may recognize the cartridge as one which is compatible with that particular printer. Additionally, by way of example, the cartridge memory may store the number of pages that can be expected to be printed from the cartridge during a life cycle of the cartridge and other useful data. The printer may also write certain data to the memory device, such as the amount of ink or toner remaining in the cartridge. Other data stored in the cartridge may relate to the usage history of the imaging cartridge. The chip may also include a light emitting diode for transmitting light in the visible spectrum. During the remanufacturing process, it may be desirable or necessary to replace the chip to maintain or improve upon the functionality and reporting capabilities of the imaging cartridge. Additionally, for a new, compatible cartridge, it may be desirable to install a chip which improves upon the functionality of the chip provided by an OEM. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of modifying an imaging cartridge detachably mountable to an imaging apparatus, the imaging cartridge comprising a cartridge chip, the method including detaching the cartridge chip from the imaging cartridge, the cartridge chip comprising a light emitting device adapted for emitting light in the visible spectrum; and attaching a replacement cartridge chip to the imaging cartridge, the replacement cartridge chip comprising a light emitting device adapted for emitting light outside the visible spectrum. 
         [0006]    In another aspect of the present invention, the light emitting device for emitting light in the visible spectrum emits visible light towards at least one of a photoreceptor of the imaging apparatus and a user to provide the user with information. 
         [0007]    In another aspect of the present invention, the light emitting device adapted for emitting light outside the visible spectrum emits light outside the visible spectrum towards at least one of a photoreceptor of the imaging apparatus and a user, the light outside the visible spectrum not visible to the user. 
         [0008]    A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a prior art inkjet cartridge with a chip having a light emitting diode which emits visible light; 
           [0010]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  show side views of prior art inkjet cartridges mounted in a carriage of an inkjet printer; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a prior art inkjet cartridge with the chip having the light emitting diode which emits visible light removed; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of a perspective view of the installation of a replacement chip having a light emitting source which emits light outside the visible spectrum; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of an inkjet cartridge with the replacement chip having a light emitting source which emits light outside the visible spectrum is installed; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  shows a schematic gram of a cartridge chip having a light emitting device which transmits light outside the visible spectrum; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a new compatible inkjet cartridge with a chip having a light emitting source which emits light outside the visible spectrum is installed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The following detailed description of preferred embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiments of the invention. In the discussion that follows, specific systems and techniques for manufacturing, repairing or remanufacturing an inkjet cartridge having a cartridge chip are disclosed. Other embodiments having different structures and operations for the repair of other types of replaceable imaging components and for various types of imaging devices do not depart from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a prior art inkjet cartridge  100  including a cartridge chip (“chip”)  102  having a light emitting diode  104  which emits light in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the light emitting diode  104  is disposed on the side of the chip  102  facing the cartridge  100 . The visible spectrum may be generally considered to be light having wavelengths in the range of 380 nm to 750 nm through air. U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,881 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0219303, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, disclose exemplary inkjet cartridges having light emitting diodes which emit light in the visible spectrum. 
         [0018]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a side view of the inkjet cartridge  100  when mounted in a carriage  106  of an inkjet printer, or imaging apparatus. When installed in the inkjet printer, the printer can communicate with the cartridge  100  through an electrical bus and command the activation of the light emitting diode  104 . The light emitting diode  104  emits visible light towards a photoreceptor  108  of the inkjet printer to communicate information to the inkjet printer and/or towards a user  110  of the inkjet printer to communicate information to the user  110 . For example, the light emitting diode  104  may be illuminated constantly to indicate a normal condition, be illuminated with a slow pulse to indicate a low ink level, and be illuminated with a fast pulse to indicate an out of ink condition.  FIG. 2B  illustrates a side view of an alternate embodiment of the inkjet cartridge  100  in which the visible light from the light emitting diode  104  is not directly observable by the user, but is directed through a light conduit  107  which will glow, or emit the visible light. Further details of such a system are found in Appendix A. 
         [0019]    During the remanufacturing of the inkjet cartridge  100 , the chip  102  having the visible light emitting diode  104  may be removed, by prying or some other suitable technique, in order to be replaced with a replacement chip.  FIG. 3  shows the inkjet cartridge  100  with the chip  102  having the light emitting diode after removal. 
         [0020]    A variety of techniques may be used to install a replacement cartridge chip  112  on the inkjet cartridge  100 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the replacement cartridge chip  112  may be adhered to an installation handle  116  by an adhesive layer on the rear of the replacement cartridge chip  112 .  FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of the replacement cartridge chip  112  positioned for attachment to the inkjet cartridge  100 . The installation handle  116  is used to maneuver the replacement cartridge chip  112  into place and then removed to expose the adhesive layer on the rear of the chip  112 , attaching the chip  112  to the inkjet cartridge  100 . The inkjet cartridge  100  with the attached replacement cartridge chip  112  is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Other techniques for attaching replacement chips are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/183,561 filed on Jul. 31, 2008 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
         [0021]    As described in more detail below, the replacement cartridge chip  112  includes the light emitting device  114  adapted for emitting light outside the visible spectrum. Light outside the visible electromagnetic spectrum, also referred to as invisible light, may include infrared (IR) light or ultraviolet (UV) light, for example. The model no. SIR19-21C/TR8 sold by Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. is one example of an invisible light emitting device suitable for use in conjunction with the present invention. Other exemplary light emitting devices may be the XZTHI53W-1 infrared emitter made by SunLED and the SPH4050 infrared emitter made by OSRAM. This light outside the visible spectrum is used to directly communicate with the photoreceptor of the printer. 
         [0022]      FIG. 6  illustrates a functional block diagram of the replacement cartridge chip  112 . The replacement cartridge chip  112  may suitably comprise a controller  150  having a memory unit  152 . The controller  150  provides the appropriate electronic circuitry for communication with an imaging device, such as a printer, through a contact  154  (ground), a contact  156  (data line), a contact  158  (clock signal), and a contact  160  (VCC, or power). Further details of a communication technique which may be used with the present invention may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,881 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0219303. 
         [0023]    The controller  150  controls the operation of the replacement cartridge chip  112  and provides a functional interface to the memory  152 , including controlling the reading of data from and the writing of data to the memory  152  by the printer. The data read from or written to the replacement cartridge chip  112  may include a variety of data. Through the contacts  154 ,  156 ,  158  and  160 , the controller interfaces to the printer. The controller  150  may be suitably implemented as a custom or semi-custom integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, a microprocessor executing instructions from the memory  152  or other memory, a microcontroller, or any other type of circuitry and/or software, for example. The replacement cartridge chip  112  also includes the invisible-light emitting device  114  connected to the controller  150  through a resistor  162 . The resistor  162  may range from  360  ohms to  1000  ohms, for example. The controller  150  determines when the invisible-light emitting device  114  is turned on or off, based in part on commands received from the imaging device through the contacts  154 ,  156 ,  158  and  160 . A capacitor  163  of 0.1 micro-Farads may be connected between ground and the power line. Such modules described above may be suitably mounted to a printed circuit board to form the universal cartridge chip  112 . 
         [0024]    In addition to being used to with remanufactured inkjet cartridges, the cartridge chip  112  may be attached to new, compatible inkjet cartridges.  FIG. 7  shows the cartridge chip  112  with the invisible-light emitting device  114  attached to a new, compatible inkjet cartridge  170 . 
         [0025]    Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and that the invention has other applications in other environments. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention. The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1