Ink cartridge body and carrier assembly

US6692107B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Lexmark International, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Michael David Lattuca · Lexington, US
• James Philip Harden · Lexington, US
• Larry Steven Foster · Lexington, US
• Frank Hughes · Paris, US
• Darren Wayne Tosh · Lexington, US
• Michael Leiter · Bad Marienberg, DE
• Benjamin Alan Askren · Lexington, US
• David A. Ward · Cynthiana, US
• Brian Smith · London, GB
• Robert Samples · Lexington, US
• Donn Duane Bryant · Lexington, US
• Paul Douglas Horrall · Lexington, US
• David Michael Cseledy · Lexington, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 25, 2001
• Grant date: Feb 17, 2004
• Expiry date: Jul 30, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B41J25/34
• WIPO field: Textile and paper machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

The invention relates to an ink cartridge body which is removably mountable in a printer carriage area of an ink jet printer and an alignment and latching mechanism for the ink cartridge body. The printer carriage area includes at least first and second spaced-apart elongate guide rails and the ink cartridge body includes a printhead and at least two bearing points at predetermined locations on the ink cartridge body, each of the bearing points disposed on the cartridge body for separately engaging at least one of the elongate guide rails for aligning and maintaining the printhead in a predetermined orientation relative to the print media in the printer. The invention substantially reduces the number of parts and tolerances thereof required for aligning a printhead relative to a print media by directly aligning the cartridge body rather than the carrier in the carriage area of the printer.