MXPA00000784A - Ink bottle with puncturable diaphragm closure - Google Patents

Abstract

A replaceable ink container or bottle (1) is disclosed for an ink jet printing apparatus in which the mouth of the bottle is closed by a puncturable diaphragm (19). A puncturing member (35) carried by the ink reservoir (21) of the ink jet printing apparatus pierces through the diaphragm upon the container being installed in the ink jet printing apparatus. Upon the puncturing member (35) puncturing through the diaphragm (19), the diaphragm sealingly engages the sides of the puncturing tube so as to substantially prevent the ink from leaking therepast, and the puncturing tube opens communication between the ink within the container and the ink reservoir thereby permitting ink to flow from the bottle into the ink reservoir via the puncturing member. An air path (37) is provided which is in communication with the atmosphere and with the reservoir so that ink from within the container and atmospheric air may be exchanged via the puncturing member so that ink is free to flow from the container into the reservoir, and so that the pressure within the container is maintained substantially at atmospheric pressure.

Description

s INK BOTTLE WITH PUNCHABLE DIAPHRAGM COVER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an ink bottle (or any other container) for containing an ink supply for an ink jet printing system. The ink jet recording apparatus for which the ink bottle of the present invention is intended to be used, is generally refers to an industrial type ink jet printing system (as opposed to an office type ink jet printer) that is typically used to print marks on packaging or secondary packaging of products transported by the head of ink jet printing of this system, as the products inside their packaging are transported by the print head on a conveyor belt or the like. These inkjet printing systems are shown the Request F20 of United States Patent No. 08 / 728,774 filed October 11, 1996, assigned to the Marsh Company of Belleville, Illinois. It will be appreciated that these industrial inkjet printing systems typically use considerably more ink at a specific time than the ink jet printers that are used in the offices, because the area printed by these industrial printers is larger and the printing systems P1065 / 00MX industrial operate continuously. Therefore, it is desired to provide a relatively large ink supply for industrial ink jet printers, as compared to office ink jet printers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION To date, the ink was supplied to these commercial inkjet printing systems by means of a disposable ink bottle containing a desired quantity of ink, for example a pint (0.4732 liters) or one liter. An ink bottle of this type is shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,344,326 entitled "Ink Jet Ink Supply Apparatus," which has a spring-loaded lift valve incorporated in a screw on the cover, so that when the bottle is inverted and screwed into a receptacle in the inkjet printer, the finger will engage with the normally closed, spring-loaded valve in the cap and force the valve to open , thus allowing the ink inside the bottle to fill a reservoir of the ink jet printing apparatus. When the ink bottle is removed from the printing apparatus, the valve will be closed by the spring pushing action, and therefore the valve will prevent the flow of ink from the bottle when it is removed. While these P1065 / 0OMX jars work well for their intended purpose, the need to include the spring-loaded valve on the lid of the jars, is expensive. Reference is also made to the Patents of ^ 5 United States Nos. 4,531,656 and 4,678,101 which state the use of a punctureable closure for a bottle, from which a liquid is pressurized. EP-A-0322131 discloses a process and a system for supplying ink to an ink jet pen, wherein an external ink supply is provided, remotely located to the pen, and the ink is fed from this supply to the pen by capillary action created during an ink jet printing operation. The nib includes a porous storage medium that is initially filled with ink at a slightly negative column height. However, this negative column height increases during the depletion of the ink from the storage medium and provides the capillary forces necessary to pull the ink into the storage medium from the external ink supply. The driving energy for this action is provides by means of a current drive towards a thin film print head of the pen, thus making the print head multifunctional and simplifying the apparatus P1065 / 00MX supplier of ink for it. The use of an intermediate porous storage medium allows the ink supply system to adapt to large rates of change in the ink demand of the pen, while the user can still be provided with a large capacity ink system where the Disposable pens can be replaced quickly and easily in an operation where no experience is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an ink reservoir, a replaceable ink container for supplying ink to the reservoir, the container has a supply of ink inside it; a punctured diaphragm that closes the container; a punching member carried by the ink reservoir and having a passage therethrough whereby the ink that is inside the container can be exchanged by air, the punching member can be coupled with the diaphragm when the diaphragm is facing the member punch, when the container and the diaphragm are moved towards the punching member and the punching member punctures through the diaphragm, the diaphragm engages the sides of the member P1065 / 00MX Punch In order to substantially prevent the ink from leaking between the punching member and the diaphragm, the punching member opens the communication between the ink inside the container and the ink tank, thus allowing the ink to flow through of the passageway in the punching member, from the interior of the container to the ink reservoir; and an air path in communication with the atmosphere and the reservoir, so that the ink that is inside the container and the atmospheric air can be exchanged inside the container by passing through the punching member, so that the ink is free to flow from the container to the tank and so that the pressure inside the container is maintained essentially at atmospheric pressure. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink bottle for an ink jet printing system, the latter having an ink tank for containing an ink supply for the ink jet printing system, the bottle has a closed container body having a mouth at one end thereof, a punctured diaphragm sealed in a sealable manner to the mouth and closing the bottle, the diaphragm consists of a sheet of resilient elastomeric material, a lid secured to the mouth and that it overlies the diaphragm, the lid has a P1O65 / 00 X opening through it exposes a portion of the diaphragm so that it is punctured by a punching member when the bottle is installed in the ink jet printing system, in the inverted position, with the mouth oriented down, so that the ink that is inside the bottle and the atmospheric pressure are exchanged by means of a passage through the punching member, the diaphragm engages the sides of the punching member in order to essentially prevent the ink from leaking between the punching member and the diaphragm. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply system for an ink jet recording apparatus comprising an ink reservoir for containing an ink supply, which is supplied to a printing head by ink jet or the like, a replaceable ink bottle to contain an ink supply for the ink tank, an ink bottle diaphragm carried by the ink bottle, a punching member carried by the ink tank and having a passage through it by which the ink in the bottle can be exchanged by air, the punching member is engageable with the diaphragm when the ink bottle moves towards the punching member, so that the punching member punctures through the diaphragm, the member P1065 / 00MX punch is sealingly engaged with the diaphragm in order to essentially prevent any leakage of ink between the punching member and the region of the diaphragm that is engaged with the punching member; and an air path between the outer atmosphere and the reservoir, which allows the exchange of air and ink within the ink bottle by passage through the punching member. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for supplying ink to an ink jet printing system, the latter having a closed ink reservoir, a punching tube that extends above the reservoir and which provides , through the passage through it, communication to the inside of the tank, where the punching tube extends downwards inside the tank to a predetermined level, a passage for air that extends from the atmosphere from the outside of the tank to the inside of the tank. same and an ink bottle having a puncturable diagram, the method comprises the steps of: orienting the ink bottle so that the diaphragm faces the punching tube; making the puncture tube puncture through the diaphragm, whereby communication is opened by passage through the tube, between the interior of the ink bottle and the reservoir, so that the ink inside the P1065 / 00MX Ink bottle can flow into the reservoir; the diaphragm engages the sides of the punching tube in order to substantially prevent leakage of ink between the punching tube and the diaphragm; and allow the exchange of ink from the bottle to the reservoir and of atmospheric air to the bottle, as the ink flows therefrom through the passage of the punching tube. Among the various features of the embodiment of the present invention will be observed: the provision of a container or a bottle for containing an ink supply for an ink jet printing apparatus, wherein the mouth of the bottle is closed by a punctifiable diaphragm sealed with respect to said mouth, so that during the installation of the bottle in an inverted position within the ink jet recording apparatus, a hollow puncturing member will puncture through the diaphragm and open communication with the ink that is in the inside of the bottle, thus allowing the ink to flow by gravity through the punching member into the interior of the reservoir of the ink jet printing system, and this atmospheric air can enter the bottle through the punching member to replace the ink as it flows from the bottle into the interior of the ink jet printing apparatus; P1065 / 00MX the provision of this container or bottle in which the diaphragm has on it a weakening area (line) previously formed, but nevertheless sealed, which breaks when the member ^^ > punch is inserted through it, wherein the edges of that weakening area are, at least in part, in sealing couplings with the sides of the punching member, in order to substantially avoid any undesirable leakage of ink; the provision of this container wherein the diaphragm is made of elastomeric sheet material having sufficient resilience and memory so that as the punching member is withdrawn from the diaphragm, the opening formed by the member The punch will close, effectively closing (and in some cases re-sealing) the opening and preventing leakage of the ink; the provision of this container where the material from which the diaphragm is made has a surface energy in relation to the surface tension of the ink, so that upon re-closing the weakening line or slot of the diaphragm, the ink will bridge through the slot so that the ink leak through this is substantially avoided; and the provision of this type of container that is simple and inexpensive construction, which can be easily filled with ink, which can be sealed P1065 / 00 X easily with this diaphragm, which is easy to use and which requires few special instructions regarding its use, and which is sturdy construction. In summary, the embodiment of the invention is intended to be used with an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink reservoir for receiving an ink supply from a replaceable ink container, the latter having a mouth and a supply of ink inside the container, the ink tank has an ink well to hold an ink supply. The modality includes a resilient and punctonable diaphragm that closes the mouth of the container. A punching member is carried by the ink reservoir of the ink jet recording apparatus. The punching member may engage with the diaphragm when the container is reversed, so that the diaphragm faces downward, as the container and diaphragm move downwardly on the punching member, so that the puncturing member makes a puncture through the diaphragm. When the puncturing member punctures through the diaphragm, the latter is sealingly coupled to the sides of the punching tube in order to essentially prevent leakage of ink through this joint. The punching member opens the communication between the ink that is in the container P1065 / 00MX and the ink reservoir, thus allowing ink to flow from the bottle into the ink reservoir via the punching member. An air path is provided which is in communication with the atmosphere and the reservoir, so that the ink inside the container and the atmospheric air can be exchanged by means of the punching member, so that the ink will be free to flow from the container to the tank and so that the pressure inside the container is essentially maintained at atmospheric pressure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described below, by way of example, in relation to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a top perspective view of an ink tank of a commercial apparatus for jet printing of ink, that r20 has two disposable ink bottles according to the present invention, installed in the ink tank in order to supply ink thereto; Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of one of the ink bottles 25 (containers) of Figure 1 containing ink, placed in its inverted and installed position, in the form that is installed in the ink tank, illustrating an ink supply inside the P1065 / 00 X and further illustrating a punching member that has drilled through a flexible, elastomeric diaphragm that closes the mouth of the container, and also illustrates how atmospheric air can be vented to the container when the The ink level within the reservoir falls below a predetermined level, so that air and ink are exchanged in the bottle by the punching member; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the diaphragm or elastomeric membrane that closes the mouth of the bottle, which has a preformed partial groove (i.e., a weakening area) thereon; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a cap to be threadedly installed on the threaded neck of the ink bottle, the cap having external threads formed thereon for threadably coupling the internal female threads within a receptacle in the reservoir from ink; Figure 5 is an enlarged and exploded view of a portion of the ink bottle and the ink reservoir, illustrating the installation of the ink bottle within a threaded receptacle in the ink reservoir and further illustrating a punching member for making a puncture through the punctureable membrane, in the lid of the ink bottle, in order to open the communication between the ink that P1065 / 00MX is inside the bottle, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 2, illustrating the punching tube or septum that 'passes through the slot in the diaphragm; Figure 7 is a plan view of the diaphragm showing drops of inks thereon; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7, showing a preferred construction of the • diaphragm, where the surface energy of the diaphragm is less than the surface tension of the ink, so that a drop of ink on the surface of the diaphragm and the opening of the re-closed slot will not form a wick through the diaphragm. slot and Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, but where the surface energy of the diaphragm 20 is a little greater than the surface tension of the ink, so that at least some of the ink is removed by capillary action ( wicks) through the re-closed slot. Corresponding reference numbers 25 indicate that they are corresponding parts in the various views of the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION P1065 / 00MX With reference to the drawings, there is shown an ink supply system for an ink jet recording apparatus wherein an ink bottle or container 1 supplies ink to the printing head of the printing apparatus by ink jet, such as the one disclosed in United States Patent No. 08 / 728,774. To be brief, only the ink bottle 1 and the structure of the ink jet printing apparatus that is needed to illustrate the relationship between the ink and the reception thereof from the bottle 1, is what will be described. As shown in Figure 2, the ink bottle 1 is in an inverted position when installed in the ink jet printing apparatus. The bottle 1 has a bottle body 3 having a closed bottom 5, a neck 7, a mouth 9. The neck 7 of the bottle 1 has suitable external screw threads 11 (see Figure 5) formed on the outer surface thereof and a suitable cover cap 15 having internal threads 16 (see Figure 5) the cap is threaded on the threads 11 of the neck 7 of the bottle 1. As shown in Figure 2, the bottle 1 contains a supply of ink 17 Preferably the bottle 1 is a semi-rigid blow-molded bottle made from a suitable synthetic resin, for example high density polyethylene (HDPE) or the like, which is compatible with P1065 / 00MX the ink 17 contained inside the bottle. Of course, experts in this field will recognize that bottle 1 must have sufficient barrier properties and the like to ensure a shelf life suitable for the ink. According to this invention, an elastomeric and resilient membrane or diaphragm 19 covering the open mouth of the bottle 1 is sealably secured to the mouth 9 of the bottle 1, in order to seal the ink that is inside the bottle. Preferably, the diaphragm 19 is made of a suitable elastomeric sheet material, for example natural rubber or sheet silicone material. However, other materials such as low density polyethylene (LDPE) could be used. The elastomeric material from which the diaphragm 19 is formed preferably has a sufficient memory that after being deformed, causes the diaphragm to quickly and resiliently return to its flat position, as shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the diaphragm 19 is interposed between the lower side of the lid 15 and the edge of the mouth 9 of the bottle, so that when the lid is screwed tightly in place on the neck of the bottle, the diaphragm will be fixed firmly between the mouth of the bottle and the lid, thus sealing the space between them. The diaphragm can also be sealed securely to the mouth of the bottle P1065 / 00MX by ultrasonic welding or similar. As shown in Figure 3, the elastomeric diaphragm 19 may have an optional slot 20 previously formed therein. The slot 20 preferably does not traverse the entire thickness of the diaphragm, but is only a line of weakness (area) that will open or tear when the bottle 1 is installed in the ink jet printer, as will be described in more detail then. However, within the broader aspects of this invention, the slot 20 is not required, since the punching member, as will be described later, can punch the diaphragm without the need for the preformed weakening area. Furthermore, while the slot 20 is shown as a single slot, multiple slots in the form of a pay slice or star-shaped (or other area of weakening) can also be used, as shown further in the Figure 2, an ink reservoir of the ink jet printing apparatus, as generally indicated at 21, has an ink well 22a containing an ink supply 22 which is dispensed from the bottle 1 for use by the jet printing apparatus. from ink. The ink from the reservoir 21 is conveyed to the print head (not shown) of the inkjet printer apparatus for printing P1065 / 00MX the desired marks on the objects, in the manner well known to those skilled in the art. For simplicity and brevity, the ink supply tube of the reservoir 21 of the print head is not shown. The reservoir 21 has a reservoir cap 23 that encloses the ink therein. The lid 23 of the reservoir has two recesses or receptacles 25 formed in the upper portion thereof to receive the lid 15 of the respective flask 1. Preferably each recess 25 has female threads 27 (see Figures 2 and 5) on its sides and the lid 15 has matching male threads 29 on its outer sides, which can be coupled with the female threads 27. A package 31 having a central opening 32 (see Figure 5) is interposed between the cover 15 and the base of the recess 25 , so that by screwing the lid 15 into the recess 25, the lid will sealingly engage the package 31 and seal the lid with the lid 23 of the container. Preferably the lid 15, in addition to being able to be screwed on the neck 7, is adhesively attached (or otherwise secured) to the bottle so that the lid will not unscrew. As shown in Figures 2, 4 and 5, the lid 15 has a central opening 33 which exposes a portion of the diaphragm 19 through the packing 31. The lid 23 of the reservoir has a punching or piercing member or septum 35 fixed with P1065 / 00MX with respect to the lid 23 of the reservoir and extending upwardly within the center of the recess 25. Preferably, the punching member 35 is a hollow tubular member which, as will be described in detail below, allows the exchange of air and ink through it. The diameter of the perforator tube 35 is dimensioned in relation to the density and viscosity of the ink and in relation to the resilient and elastomeric properties of the diaphragm 19, so that the perforator tube will easily pierce the diaphragm and the leaks from the diaphragm will be lowered. minimum. As shown in Figure 5, the punch tube 35 is supported by an open spider structure 39 having one or more passages 41 extending from the area below the packing 33, down into the interior of the reservoir 21. In this In this manner, any amount of ink that leaks between the slot 20 of the diaphragm 19 and the punching tube 35 is drained into the reservoir and is not wasted. By way of example, a typical ink used for ink jet printing could have a surface tension of about 35 dynes / cm and a viscosity of up to 350 centipoise. The diaphragm 19 can be of sheet silicone elastomer which is commercially obtained from SFS Industries of Santa Fe Spring, California which has a thickness of 2.38 mm P1065 / 00MX (3/32 inches) and a Shore hardness of approximately 70A. The diameter of the mouth 9 of the bottle 1 is approximately 37.59 mm (1.48 inches) and the length of the preformed slot 20 in the diaphragm 19 is approximately 20.32 mm (0.8 inches). The punch tube 35 has a length of stainless steel tube having an outer diameter of about 9,525 mm (0.375 inches). The above example illustrates a bottle size and a diaphragm thickness. It will be understood by the experts that the material from which the membrane is made, the diameter of the punching member, the diameter of the mouth of the bottle and other factors may vary widely according to this invention. In addition to the aforementioned physical properties of the diaphragm 19, it is preferred that the diaphragm 19 have a surface energy less than the surface tension of the ink 17., so that the droplets D of ink (as shown in Figure 8) form beads on the surface of the diaphragm 19 and will form a bridge in a re-closed slot 20, so that the ink will not form a wick through the ink. the slot by capillary action effect. Therefore, by removing a partially filled bottle 3 from the perforator tube 35, the resilient nature of the diaphragm will cause the slot 20 to close again and the lower surface energy P1065 / 00MX diaphragm material will prevent ink loss. For example, for the aforementioned ink having a surface tension of about 35 dynes / cm, the elastomeric material of the diaphragm 19 will have a surface energy less than about 20 dynes / cm to provide ink bead formation as shown in the Figure 8. The surface energy is greater than the surface tension of the ink, the ink droplet D 'as shown in Figure 9, will not form a bridge in the re-closed slot 20 and will form a wick or leak through of the slot. By way of example, the filled ink bottle 1 is inverted so that the cover 15 is facing downwards. The cap 15 is inserted into the receptacle 25 and the male threads 29 of the outer surface of the cap 15 are threaded into the female threads 27 in the receptacle 25. As the cap 15 is threaded downwardly into the recess 25, the The upper end of the punching member 35 engages the preformed weakening area (slot 20) and the punched hole through the membrane 19, along the preformed slot (or line of weakness) 20. As the punching member 35 punctures through the membrane 19, the membrane 19 resiliently holds the outer surface of the punching member 35 and seals the outer surface thereof with respect to the membrane 19, thus preventing leakage P1065 / 00MX substantial ink from the interface between the punching member 35 and the membrane 19. Of course, once the communication between the inside of the bottle 1 and the ink tank 21 has been opened, the ink will flow from the bottle 1 to the reservoir 21. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the lid 23 of the reservoir has an air path 37 therethrough which allows atmospheric air to enter the reservoir 21 and allows the exchange of air and ink inside. of the bottle 1 by the punch tube 35, as the ink flows from the bottle into the ink reservoir 21. As shown in Figure 2, the level of the ink 22 in the reservoir 21 is at the level of the end bottom of the punching tube 35. When the ink level of the reservoir 21 falls below the lower end of the punching tube 35, the air in the air path 37 is free to enter the punching tube 35 and bubble through the tube 35 towards the interior of the f ink scraper 1, thus allowing the ink inside the bottle 1 to flow downwards, through the punching tube 35, towards the ink tank 21 and to replace the ink 17 drained from the bottle 1. In this form, the atmospheric pressure is stored inside the bottle 1 and the ink 17 is free to flow from the bottle 1 in order to preserve a desired quantity of ink 22 in the tank 21.

P1065 / 00MX If it is desired to remove the bottle 1 from the inkjet printer, the bottle is simply unscrewed from the female threads 27 in the lid 23 of the reservoir. As the bottle is unscrewed, • the diaphragm 19 will retain its sealing coupling with the external surface of the punching tube 35. As the membrane 19 moves to free the punching tube 35, the resilient membrane 19 will be closed by a spring action in order to close the effectively slot 20 (or any other punched opening through the membrane), • retaining the ink remaining in the bottle 1. In essence, the resilient characteristics of the membrane 19 cause the slot 20 to act as a Normally closed valve that, when removing the punching tube, closes automatically and quickly. In this way, a partially filled bottle can be removed from the punching tube 35, essentially without spilling or leakage of ink, even when the bottle is in an inverted shipping position. Furthermore, since the slit 20 in the membrane 19 is resiliently closed, any ink remaining inside the bottle is kept in a closed container, thus avoiding the operation of the solvents and avoiding that airborne contaminants enter the ink bottle .. Due to the open spider support structure 39 for the punch tube 35 and the openings 41, in case the ink leaks P1065 / 00 X ^^ 9 * "" from the slot 20 as the bottle is removed, the ink will flow into the reservoir and will not be wasted.

• • P1065 / 00MX

Claims (18)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the property contained in the following ^ CLAIMS is claimed as property: 1. An ink jet printing apparatus comprising: an ink tank; a replaceable ink container to supply ink to the reservoir, the container has an ink supply 10 in it; a punctured diaphragm that closes the container; a punctonable member carried by the ink reservoir and having a passage therethrough, by means of which the ink which is inside the container may be exchanged by air; the member The punch can be coupled with the diaphragm when the diaphragm is oriented towards the punching member and when the container and the diaphragm are moved towards the punching member, so that the punching member punctures through the diaphragm and 20 the diaphragm engages the sides of the punching member, so as to substantially prevent the ink from leaking between the punching member and the diaphragm; the punching member opens the communication between the ink that is inside the container and the 25 ink reservoir, thereby allowing ink to flow through the passageway in the punching member from the container to the ink reservoir; and an air route in communication with the atmosphere and the deposit P1O65 / 00MX so that the ink that is inside the container and the atmospheric air can be exchanged inside the container by means of the passage that is in the punching member, so • that the ink is free to flow from the container to the tank and so that the pressure inside the container is maintained essentially at atmospheric pressure.
2. 2. An ink jet printing system according to claim 1, wherein the punctureable diagram has a weakening area to which * the punching member can be attached in order to facilitate puncture of the diaphragm.
3. 3. A ink jet printing system according to claim 2, wherein the weakening area is a preformed groove in the diaphragm, which does not extend fully through the diaphragm thickness.
4. 4. A jet printing system The ink according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the punching member extends downwardly within the reservoir, and wherein when the level of ink in the reservoir falls below the level of the lower end of the punching member, the atmospheric air 25 and the ink in the air path are exchanged within the container by the punching member.
5. 5. A jet printing system P1065 / 00MX 6 ink according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the container has a lid secured to its mouth that overlies the punctured diaphragm, the lid has an opening therein • to receive the punching member as the container is moved into a puncture relationship with the punching member, as the latter makes a puncture through the diaphragm.
6. 6. An ink jet printing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the diaphragm has an energy # surface less than the surface tension of the ink, so that ink droplets will be substantially prevented from leaking through the region of the diaphragm punched by the punching member, upon removal of the container from the punching member.
7. 7. An ink jet printing system according to claim 6, wherein the surface energy of the diaphragm is about 20. 20 dynes / cm and the surface tension of the ink is about 35 dynes / cm.
8. 8. An ink bottle for an ink jet printing system, the latter having an ink tank to contain a supply of ink. 25 ink for the ink jet printing system, the bottle has a closed container body having a mouth at one end thereof, a punctifiable diaphragm sealingly secured to the mouth and P1O65 / 00MX that closes the bottle, the diaphragm is an elastomeric material with a resilient leaf; a lid secured to the mouth and overlying the diaphragm, the lid has an opening therethrough which exposes a portion of the diaphragm so as to be pierced by a punching member, when the bottle is installed in the printing system by ink jet, in an inverted position, with the mouth facing downwards so that the ink inside the bottle and the atmospheric air are exchanged through a passage that is through the punching member, the diaphragm engages the sides of the punching member so as to essentially prevent the ink from leaking between the punching member and the diaphragm.
9. An ink bottle according to claim 8, wherein the cap has external threads for threaded engagement with the internal threads provided in the ink jet printing system, so that the bottle can be installed in the jet printing system of ink and the punching member pierces through the diaphragm in order to maintain the bottle in an essentially sealed relationship with the ink jet printing system.
10. 10. An ink bottle according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the diaphragm has a surface energy less than the surface tension of the ink, so that it will essentially be prevented from P1065 / 00MX droplets of ink leak through the diaphragm region punched by the punching member when the container is removed from the punching member.
11. 11. An ink supply system for an ink jet printing apparatus comprising an ink reservoir for containing an ink supply that is delivered to an ink jet print head or the like, a replaceable ink bottle to contain a supply of ink for the ink tank, a diaphragm of the ink bottle carried by said bottle; a punching member carried by the ink reservoir and having a passage therethrough through which the ink of the bottle can be exchanged for air, the punching member can engage with the diaphragm when the ink bottle moves towards the punching member, so that the punching member punctures through the diaphragm, the punching member is sealingly engaged with the diaphragm so as to substantially prevent leakage of ink between the punching member and the region of the diaphragm in engagement with the punching member; and an air path between the outer atmosphere and the reservoir that allows the exchange of air and ink within the ink bottle by the passage that is through the punching member. P1065 / 00MX
12. 12. An ink supply system according to claim 11, wherein the punching member extends downwardly towards the interior of the reservoir, up to a predetermined level, so that when the level of ink inside the reservoir falls below of the level of the punching member, the air that is inside the reservoir can enter the punching member to be exchanged with ink that is inside the bottle, thus allowing the Ink flows into the reservoir through the punching member.
13. 13. An ink supply system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the diaphragm has a surface energy less than the voltage The surface area of the ink will be substantially reduced, so that ink droplets will essentially escape through the diaphragm region punched by the punching member when it is removed from the bottle. •
14. 14. An ink supply system according to claims 11, 12 or 13, wherein the diaphragm has a weakening area engageable by the punching member as the bottle moves towards its operating position in order to 25 facilitate the punching of the diaphragm.
15. 15. An ink supply system according to any of the preceding claims 11 to 14, wherein the reservoir has a proximal opening P1065 / 00MX to the punching member, so that ink which may leak around the punching member or which may leak through the diaphragm will flow into the reservoir. %
16. 16. An ink supply system according to any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the diaphragm is made of an elastomeric sheet material, so that the punched opening therethrough by the punching member will be returned to 10 to close substantially when the bottle is removed from the punching member, in this way # will substantially reseal the bottle so that at least part of the contamination of the remaining ink in the bottle is prevented, so that the bottle 15 can again be installed on the punching member.
17. 17. A method of ink supply to an ink jet printing system, the latter having a closed ink tank, a tube 20 punch that extends above the tank and provides, through the passage that is through the same communication into the tank and the punching tube extends down into the tank to a predetermined level, a passage 25 of air extending from the outside of the atmosphere of the reservoir to the interior of the reservoir and an ink vial having a puncturable diagram; The method comprises the steps of: P1065 / 00MX orient the ink bottle so that the diaphragm faces the punching tube; make the puncture tube puncture through the diaphragm to thereby open the communication through the passage through the tube, between the inside of the bottle and the reservoir, so that the ink inside the bottle can flow inside the reservoir, the diaphragm engages the sides of the punching tube in order to substantially prevent the ink from leaking between the punching tube and the diaphragm; and allow the exchange of ink from the bottle to the reservoir and of atmospheric air to the bottle, as the ink flows therefrom through the passage of the punching tube.
18. 18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of allowing the exchange of ink and air through the punching tube, when the level of ink within the reservoir drops below the level of the lower end of the punching tube within the reservoir. P1065 / 00 X