Ink supply container and system
US5187498A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 24, 1991 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 24, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01F23/0007
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An ink supply for an ink jet printer, preferably comprises a bellows filled with liquid ink. The bellows has first and second opposite end walls and a bellowed side wall attached to and extending between the first and second end walls to define a variable volume ink chamber. The bellows is movable between an extended position and a contracted position and is biased toward the contracted position. The first end wall includes an outlet which, when opened, permits the ink to be expelled from the bellows at a low pressure. A rigid frangible shell is provided to support the bellows and to retain the bellows in an extended position during storage and prior to use. The bellows may include a magnet which, when used in combination with a printer and a sensing device, can detect and signal a near empty or empty ink supply condition.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.