Filling, identifying, validating, and servicing tip for fluid-ejection device

• US 20080068435A1
• Filed: 09/14/2006
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Benjamin, Trudy, Seu, Preston, Kent, Blair M., Lowe, David, Axtell, James P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,578,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/109
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17506 Refilling of the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/36 for portability , i.e. hand-held printers or laptop printers B41J3/4075 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/407 for marking on special material

Abstract

A tip to be placed on a fluid-ejection device is filled with fluid. The fluid may be introduced into a substantially hollow body of the tip at a first end of the body. The body of the tip has a second end at which a fluid-ejection mechanism is disposed to eject the fluid as controlled by the fluid-ejection device. The fluid may be introduced into the substantially hollow body of the tip through of the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the second end of the body of the tip. The tip may further be identified and/or serviced, and the tip and/or the fluid-ejection device my further be validated.

Claims

1. A method for initially filling with fluid a tip to be placed on a fluid-ejection device, comprising one or more of:

introducing the fluid into a substantially hollow body of the tip at a first end of the body, the body of the tip having a second end at which a fluid-ejection mechanism is disposed to eject the fluid as controlled by the fluid-ejection device; and

/or,

introducing the fluid into the substantially hollow body of the tip through of the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the second end of the body of the tip.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the fluid into the substantially hollow body of the tip at the first end of the body comprises metering the fluid into the body of the tip at the first end of the body, such that the fluid passively flows to the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip to wet the fluid-ejection mechanism with the fluid.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the fluid into the substantially hollow body of the tip at the first end of the body comprises:

metering the fluid into the body of the tip at the first end of the body; and

,

exerting positive pressure against the fluid within the body of the tip to actively push the fluid to the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip to wet the fluid-ejection mechanism with the fluid.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein exerting the positive pressure against the fluid within the body of the tip comprises placing the tip onto the fluid-ejection device, such that placing the tip onto the fluid-ejection device momentarily creates the positive pressure within the body of the tip that is exerted against the fluid within the body to actively push the fluid to the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the fluid into the substantially hollow body of the tip through the orifices of the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the second end of the body of the tip comprises dipping the second end of the tip into the fluid,

such that the tip comes into contact with the fluid at the second end of the body of the tip, and such that the fluid is passively drawn into the body of the tip through the fluid-ejection mechanism.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the fluid into the substantially hollow body of the tip through the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the second end of the body of the tip comprises:

dipping the second end of the body of the tip into the fluid such that the tip comes into contact with the fluid at the second end of the body of the tip; and

,

exerting negative pressure within the body of the tip to actively pull the fluid through the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the second end of the body of the tip into the body of the tip.

7. A method for at least identifying a tip capable of being placed on a fluid-ejection device comprising the fluid-ejection device:

detecting whether the tip has been placed on the fluid-ejection device, such that an electrical connector of the fluid-ejection device has electrically coupled with an electrical connector of the tip;

repeating

repeatedly reading a first instance of an identification string of the tip via electrical coupling of the electrical connectors of the fluid-ejection device and of the tip until the first instance of the identification string contains at least one binary zero and at least one binary one;

waiting a predetermined length of time;

reading a second instance of the identification string of the tip via the electrical coupling of the electrical connectors of the fluid-ejection device and of the tip; and

,

until one or more conditions have been satisfied, the conditions including the first instance of the identification string of the tip matching the second instance of the identification string of the tip.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein detecting whether the tip has been placed on the fluid-ejection device comprises detecting whether an open circuit is present at the electrical connector of the fluid-ejection device, which indicates an absence of the electrical coupling of the electrical connectors of the fluid-ejection device and of the tip, or whether a closed circuit is present at the electrical connector of the fluid-ejection device, which indicates a presence of the electrical coupling of the electrical connectors of the fluid-ejection device and of the tip.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the method is further for validating the tip and/or the fluid-ejection device where the tip contains a supply of fluid and a fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at an end of the tip has been wetted with the fluid, the method further comprising the fluid-ejection device:

exerting a back pressure against the fluid contained within the tip that is less than a threshold pressure corresponding to a pressure at which gas is drawn through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and at which bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip are created;

reading the pressure against the fluid contained within the tip a first time;

waiting a predetermined length of time;

reading the pressure against the fluid contained within the tip a second time;

where the pressure against the fluid contained with the tip as read the second time is less than the pressured against the fluid contained with the tip as read the first time by more then a predetermined threshold, signaling that a leak exists; and

,

otherwise, signaling that the tip is properly sealed and connected to the fluid-ejection device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises determining the threshold pressure corresponding to the pressure at which the gas is drawn through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and at which the bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip are created.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the threshold pressure corresponding to the pressure at which the gas is drawn through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and at which the bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip are created comprises:

setting a test back pressure at a minimum back pressure value;

repeating

exerting the test back pressure against the fluid contained within the tip;

determining whether the test back pressure has resulted in drawing of the gas through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and in creation of bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip;

where the test back pressure has not resulted in drawing of the gas through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and in creation of bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip, increasing the test back pressure by a predetermined amount;

until one or more conditions have been satisfied, the conditions including the test back pressure having resulted in drawing of the gas through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and in creation of bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip; and

,

setting the test back pressure that resulted in drawing of the gas through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and in creation of bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip as the threshold pressure.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining whether the test back pressure has resulted in drawing of the gas through the fluid-ejection mechanism at the end of the tip and in creation of bubbles of the gas within the fluid contained within the tip comprises:

reading the pressure against the fluid contained within the tip; and

,

determining whether the pressure against the fluid contained within the tip has changed by less than a threshold pressure differential.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the method is further for validating the tip and/or the fluid-ejection device where the tip contains no fluid, the method further comprising:

creating a pressure differential between inside of the tip and outside of the tip;

ceasing creation of the pressure differential between the inside of the tip and the outside of the tip, such that the pressure differential ultimately stabilizes at zero;

measuring a change rate of the pressure differential between the inside of the tip and the outside of the tip as the pressure differential stabilizes towards zero;

where the change rate is less than a first threshold, signaling that a blockage exists within one of the tip and the fluid-ejection device; and

,

where the change rate is greater than a second threshold, signaling that a leak exists within one of the tip and the fluid-ejection device.

14. A method for servicing a tip containing a supply of fluid and placed on a fluid-ejection device comprising repeating one or more times:

expelling one or more drops of the fluid from the tip onto a fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip disposed at an end of the tip and from which fluid is ejected as controlled by the fluid-ejection device; and

,

drawing the drops of the fluid expelled from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip back into the tip.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein expelling the drops of the fluid from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip comprises wetting the fluid-ejection mechanism with the fluid, via the fluid passively flowing from within the tip to the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein expelling the drops of the fluid from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip comprises wetting the fluid-ejection mechanism with the fluid, by exerting positive pressure against the fluid within the tip to actively push the fluid to the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein drawing the drops of the fluid expelled from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip back into the tip comprises waiting a predetermined length of time for at least most of the drops of the fluid to passively wick from the fluid-ejection mechanism back into the tip.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein drawing the drops of the fluid expelled from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism of the tip back into the tip comprises exerting negative pressure against the fluid within the tip to actively pull the fluid from the fluid-ejection mechanism back into the tip.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising one or more of:

ejecting the drops of fluid as expelled from the tip onto the fluid-ejection mechanism and drawn back into the tip from the tip onto a disposal area through the fluid-ejection mechanism; and

,

contact-wiping the fluid-ejection mechanism disposed at the end of the tip to clean the fluid-ejection mechanism.