Apparatus for supplying ink to an ink jet printer
US5486855A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 28, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 28, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB41J2/17556
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer that supplies ink at a negative pressure is disclosed. The cartridge includes a cartridge housing having an upper chamber and a lower chamber and a first wall therebetween. The upper chamber has an aperture exposed to atmosphere and it also contains a capillary foam having a specifiable capillarity for absorbing ink. The lower chamber is airlocked until the ink level in the upper chamber is sufficiently low to allow the passage of air through the pores. A printhead is disposed at a vertical height greater than a top level of the lower chamber. A supply line is provided which conveys ink by capillary action of the nozzles to the printhead. A second capillary foam has a specifiable capillarity greater than the capillarity of the first capillary foam. The second foam is in fluidic communication with the upper and lower chambers and with the supply line.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.