Patent ID: 7946696

Claim:
An ink cartridge comprising: a cartridge case comprising a front face, a rear face opposite the front face, and a particular face connected to the front face and to the rear face, wherein the particular face has an opening formed therethrough and the opening is positioned closer to the front face than to the rear face, wherein the cartridge case defines at least a portion of an ink chamber therein and the ink chamber is configured to store ink therein; an ink supply portion comprising a valve assembly, positioned at the front face, and configured to supply ink from an interior of the ink chamber to an exterior of the ink chamber; and an air intake portion configured to introduce air from the exterior of the ink chamber to the interior of the ink chamber, wherein the air intake portion comprises: a particular valve; a particular valve seat; a particular urging member configured to urge the particular valve toward the particular valve seat; and an operation member extending from the particular valve to an exterior of the particular face via the opening, wherein the particular valve is configured to separate from the particular valve seat when an external force is applied to the operation member.