Printer having multi-chamber print cartridges and off-carriage regulator

• US 6,183,076 B1
• Filed: 10/24/1996
• Issued: 02/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Timm, Dale D. Jr., Childers, Winthrop D., Trueba, Kenneth E., Pawlowski, Norman E. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGHIEM, MICHAEL P
• Application Number:
  US08/736,108
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 347/85, 347/86, 347/87, 347/94, 347/84
• US Class Current: 347/86
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04546 Multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0458 controlling heads based on heating elements forming bubbles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14024 Assembling head parts
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1404 Geometrical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14072 Electrical connections, e.g. details on electrodes, connecting the chip to the outside...
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14129 Layer structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14145 Structure of the manifold
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14201 Structure of print heads with piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1433 Structure of nozzle plates
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1603 of the front shooter type
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1626 etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1634 laser machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1643 thin film formation by plating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/175 Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17509 Whilst mounted in the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 : Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1752 : Mounting within the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17523 : Ink connection
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17526 : Electrical contacts to the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1753 : Details of contacts on the cartridge, e.g. protection of contacts
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17553 : Outer structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17556 : Means for regulating the pressure in the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14387 : Front shooter
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/13 : Heads having an integrated circuit

Abstract

An inkjet printer includes at least one print cartridge mounted in a scanning carriage having an ink interconnect coupled, via a flexible tube, to an ink output of a stationary pressure regulator. An ink input of the pressure regulator is connected, via a tube, to a stationary ink supply having replaceable ink cartridges. The print cartridge contains one or more printheads and one or more ink interconnects, one interconnect for each color ink which is printable by the print cartridge. To avoid ink pressure spikes due to the momentum of the ink in the flexible ink tube as the carriage scans across the medium, a flexible diaphragm is incorporated in the ink chamber of the print cartridge. The print cartridge is inserted in the scanning carriage so as to create a fluid coupling between the printhead and the flexible tube leading to the scanning carriage.

Claims

1. A printing device comprising:

a movable carriage for scanning along a carriage path;

a first print cartridge mounted on the movable carriage, the first print cartridge having a print cartridge body containing a first ink chamber, said first ink chamber containing a variable amount of ink;

a printhead supported by said print cartridge body including a substrate having a front surface and including ink ejection elements on said front surface, said printhead being in fluid communication with said first ink chamber; and

a flexible diaphragm having a surface forming at least a portion of one wall of said first ink chamber for mitigating ink pressure spikes occurring solely in said first ink chamber due to acceleration and deceleration of the carriage, said surface being perpendicular to a scanning direction of said carriage.

2. The printing device of claim 1 wherein ink within said first ink chamber is fed around an outer edge of said substrate to said front surface of said substrate and to said ink ejection elements formed on said front surface.

3. The printing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second ink chamber; and

a center wall, said center wall separating said first ink chamber from said second ink chamber, wherein a back surface of said substrate is sealed with respect to said center wall, and wherein ink within said first ink chamber flows around a first outer edge of said substrate to said front surface of said substrate and to a first set of ink ejection elements on said front surface of said substrate and wherein ink within said second ink chamber flows around a second outer edge of said substrate to said front surface of said substrate and to ink ejection elements on said front surface of said substrate.

4. The printing device of claim 1, wherein said flexible diaphragm has a reference surface and an internal surface, said reference surface being in communication with an outside atmosphere, and said internal surface being in fluid communication with ink within said first ink chamber.

5. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the carriage path has a carriage axis and further comprising:

a media path having a media axis that is substantially perpendicular to said carriage axis;

a fixed ink supply station;

a replaceable ink supply releasably mounted on said fixed ink supply station;

a fixed pressure regulator having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet being in fluid communication with said replaceable ink supply when said replaceable ink supply is releasably mounted to said fixed ink supply station; and

a flexible conduit in fluid communication between said outlet of said pressure regulator and said print cartridge body.

6. The printing device of claim 5, wherein said regulator is external to said replaceable ink supply.

7. The printing device of claim 6 wherein said replaceable ink supply has an ink discharge port, and further comprising a fixed conduit in fluid connection between said ink discharge port of said replaceable ink supply and said inlet of the regulator.

8. The printing device of claim 5 further comprising a second print cartridge supporting a second printhead, said carriage supporting said second print cartridge and said first print cartridge in a side-by-side relationship.

9. The printing device of claim 5 further comprising a second print cartridge body supporting a second printhead, said movable carriage supporting said second print cartridge body and said print cartridge body in a side-by-side relationship.

10. A printing device comprising:

a movable carriage for scanning along a carriage path;

a print cartridge body mounted on the movable carriage and containing two ink chambers, said body containing a center wall separating said two ink chambers, said chamber containing different colors of ink; and

a printhead including a substrate and including ink ejection elements on a front surface of said substrate, wherein a back surface of said substrate is connected to said center wall, said substrate having a first outer edge in fluid communication with a first of said two ink chambers and a second outer edge in fluid communication with a second of said two ink chambers, wherein ink within said first ink chamber flows around said first outer edge of said substrate to said front surface of said substrate and to a first set of ink ejection elements on said front surface of said substrate and wherein ink within said second ink chamber flows around said second outer edge of said substrate and to a second set of said ink ejection elements on said front surface of said substrate.

11. The printing device of claim 10, further comprising a flexible diaphragm forming at least a portion of one wall of at least one of said two ink chambers for mitigating ink pressure spikes due to acceleration and deceleration of the carriage.

12. The printing device of claim 11, wherein said flexible diaphragm has a reference surface and an internal surface, said reference surface being in communication with an outside atmosphere, and said internal surface being in fluid communication with ink within said at least one of said two ink chambers.

13. The printing device of claim 10, wherein the carriage path has a carriage axis and further comprising:

a media path having a media axis that is substantially perpendicular to said carriage axis;

a fixed ink supply station;

a replaceable ink supply releasably mounted on said fixed ink supply station;

a fixed pressure regulator having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet being in fluid communication with said replaceable ink supply when said replaceable ink supply is releasably mounted to said fixed ink supply station; and

a flexible conduit in fluid communication between said outlet of said pressure regulator and said print cartridge body.

14. The printing device of claim 13, wherein said regulator is external to said replaceable ink supply.

15. The printing device of claim 14 wherein said replaceable ink supply has an ink discharge port, and further comprising a fixed conduit in fluid connection between said ink discharge port of said replaceable ink supply and said inlet of the regulator.

16. An ink delivery system for an inkjet printer, the inkjet printer including a fixed ink supply station, a media path and a movable scanning carriage, wherein said carriage scans along a scan axis perpendicular to said media path, said carriage having a printhead mounted thereon for ejecting ink onto media, said printer also including a fixed ink pressure regulator connected to said ink supply station, said regulator having an inlet and an outlet, said printer also including a cartridge for mounting on the carriage in fluid communication with said regulator, said cartridge including an ink chamber, said ink chamber being located on the movable carriage when said cartridge is mounted on said carriage, said ink chamber containing a variable amount of ink, said ink chamber having a flexible diaphragm having a surface forming at least a portion of a wall of said ink chamber, said surface being perpendicular to a scanning direction of said carriage, said ink delivery system comprising:

an ink reservoir for removeably mounting to the fixed ink supply station on said printer, said ink reservoir having a fluid outlet port; and

ink that flows out of said ink reservoir, through said inlet of said regulator, said regulator having a valve that opens and closes in response to a gauge pressure within said regulator, through said outlet of said regulator, and to said ink chamber of said cartridge, said movable carriage creating pressure spikes of said ink occurring solely in said ink chamber that are mitigated by said surface of said flexible diaphragm flexing.

17. A method performed by an inkjet printer, the printer including a scanning carriage, a print cartridge body mounted on said scanning carriage, a stationary pressure regulator, a fixed ink supply station, and an ink supply cartridge removeably mounted on said fixed ink supply station, said print cartridge body being mounted on the scanning carriage and including a printhead, an ink chamber in fluid communication with said printhead, said ink chamber containing a variable amount of ink, and a diaphragm, the diaphragm having a surface forming at least a portion of a wall of the ink chamber, said surface being perpendicular to a scanning direction of said carriage, the printer further including a flexible tube in fluid communication between said regulator and said ink chamber, the method comprising the steps of:

supplying energization signals to said printhead as said scanning carriage scans across a medium, so as to eject droplets of ink from said printhead;

supplying ink to said printhead comprising the steps of;

creating a negative pressure in said ink chamber as said printhead ejects ink droplets onto said medium;

supplying ink to said ink chamber through said flexible tube in fluid communication between said ink chamber and said stationary pressure regulator within said printer; and

mitigating ink pressure spikes occurring solely in said ink chamber due to movement of said scanning carriage perpendicular to said surface of said diaphragm by flexing said surface of said diaphragm within said print cartridge body.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

regulating a pressure of said ink by said regulator entering said flexible tube such that a pressure of ink leading to said ink chamber is of a desired negative pressure relative to atmosphere pressure; and

supplying ink to said regulator from said removeably mounted ink supply cartridge installed in said fixed ink supply station.

19. An ink delivery system for an inkjet printing system, said printing system having a media transport path for transporting media along a media axis, said printing system having a scanning carriage that moves along a scan axis substantially perpendicular to said media axis, said ink delivery system comprising:

a stationary ink supply station;

a plurality of releasably mounted ink supplies supported on said stationary ink supply station, said releasably mounted ink supplies including a first ink supply and a second ink supply;

a print cartridge mounted in said scanning carriage, said print cartridge having at least two chambers including a first chamber and a second chamber, said first chamber receiving a first ink type from said first ink supply when said first ink supply is releasably mounted on said stationary ink supply station, said second chamber receiving a second ink type from said second ink supply when said second ink supply is releasably mounted to said stationary ink supply station, wherein said first ink type and said second ink type are different, said print cartridge including a printhead having first and second sets of ink ejection elements in fluid communication with said first and second chambers, respectively, said ink ejection elements for ejecting droplets of ink in a first direction onto media, said first chamber and said second chamber containing variable amounts of ink, said print cartridge further including a damping element having a surface forming at least a portion of one wall of said first chamber, said surface being perpendicular to a scanning direction of said carriage, said damping element for reducing ink pressure variations occurring solely in said first chamber caused by motion of said print cartridge and scanning carriage; and

a plurality of fluid paths for establishing ink flow paths between said first ink supply and said first chamber and between said second ink supply and said second chamber.

20. The ink delivery system of claim 19, wherein said print cartridge includes a substrate having ink ejection elements on a top surface of said substrate, said top surface being parallel to said first direction.

21. The ink delivery system of claim 20, wherein said substrate is substantially rectangular with a first outer edge and a second outer edge, wherein said first ink type flows over a section of said first outer edge, and said second ink type flows over a section of said second outer edge.

22. The ink delivery system of claim 19, wherein said damping element is a flexible member having a reference surface and an internal surface, said reference surface being in fluid communication with an outside atmosphere, and said internal surface being in fluid communication with ink within said first chamber.

23. The ink delivery system of claim 19, wherein each of said ink flow paths includes:

a stationary pressure regulator having an inlet and outlet;

a stationary inlet conduit establishing fluid communication between a respective one of said ink supplies and said inlet of its associated pressure regulator; and

a flexible outlet conduit establishing fluid communication between one of said at least two chambers and said outlet of its associated pressure regulator.

24. The ink delivery system of claim 19, wherein said first ink type has a color different from a color of said second ink type.