CN1618614A - Print cartridge with air filter - Google Patents

Abstract

A print box with air filter is composed of a cylindrical casing with an internal cavity, an ink supplying unit arranged in said cavity, and a print medium supplying unit installed in such manner that it can revolve relatively to said cylindrical casing.

Description

Print cartridge with air filter

technical field

The present invention relates to a print cartridge, and more particularly to a print cartridge for use with a digital camera with an instant printing function.

Background technique

More and more consumers like to use digital cameras to record images. But there is also a troublesome problem in using a digital camera: the digital camera needs to be connected to a computer to print the image. The serial number of this application in the Patent Application Bulletin is 09/112,783, the application date is July 10, 1998, and the title is "Ink and Printing Media Cartridge with Media Winding on Ink Storage Cartridge", this patent application is a digital camera A replaceable print cartridge is provided.

This digital camera uses a page-wide printhead, which means that the printhead prints one line at a time on the media without sliding or rasterizing the printhead across the media as it passes the printhead.

The printhead under consideration uses a nozzle guard through which ink droplets are ejected and then dropped onto the print medium. The nozzle guard and printhead must be free of debris, so blowing air into the nozzle guard prevents dirt from getting trapped on the nozzle guard or printhead.

When the print media and ink in the print cartridge run out, the print cartridge needs to be replaced. The air delivered to the nozzle guard and print head must also be clean, so the air must be filtered, and if a separate dedicated air filter is used, it should be durable and not need to be replaced frequently.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides a print box, which includes:

a support device;

a print media supply and an ink supply housed within the support means;

Mounted on the support means is a filter means, in use, for filtering the air supplied to the printheads.

The supporting device may have a box-shaped housing therein, and the housing has a cavity for accommodating the printing medium supply device and the ink supply device.

The housing can have a compartment-shaped receiving device, which can be positioned next to the cavity where the filter device is installed.

Such a print cartridge may have a carrier for carrying the filtering device, and the carrier is matched with the housing of the supporting device for positioning the filtering device and the printing medium supply device and the ink supply device.

The filter unit has a cartridge in which filter media is placed. The cartridge can be shaped to conform to a space in the housing to be placed therein, this space being closed on one side by a carrier. The canister may have one or more air inlets and each air outlet is isolated from the or each air inlet to ensure that air drawn from the canister air outlets passes through the filter media. The carrier has an opening which, in use, is aligned with the air outlet of the cartridge through which the extracted air is blown to the printhead and its nozzle guard.

A slit connected with the cavity may be reserved on the shell, and the printing medium is sent out through it when in use.

The print media can be wound on a roll frame placed in the cavity in the housing, and the roll frame is rotatable.

Therefore, the print cartridge should also have a flatten and drive mechanism that unrolls the media and drives it through the slots in the housing as it is fed from the roll, the flatten and drive mechanism also mounted in the The media roll and the slot act as a bridge. The flattening and driving device shall have a roller assembly with active rollers and at least one idler wheel. The active rollers are controlled by a mechanical device that controls the print head, so that the movement of the media and the printing action of the print head on it are synchronized. .

The active roller can use a non-sliding bearing device to press the printing medium to prevent the medium from slipping when it is sent out of the shell.

The ink may be stored in a container mounted to the housing, which may be a right cylindrical container around which the printing medium is wound and rotatable. Because the printheads on the printing device using the cartridge may be color printheads, the container is also divided into compartments, each containing a different type or color of ink.

One end of the container may be closed with an end cap closed by a pierceable seal. Access to this seal is through the carrier. The seal may include an overmold member which acts to protect the seal prior to use.

The carriage may contain an identification device to confirm that the print cartridge is suitable for and compatible with the equipment it is installed in.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be described below in conjunction with examples and accompanying drawings. in:

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a print cartridge drawn according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional sectional view of the print box;

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the print cartridge;

Figure 4 is a three-dimensional exploded view of an ink cartridge forming part of the print cartridge;

Figure 5 is a three-dimensional view of the air filter of the print cartridge.

Detailed ways

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally refers to a print cartridge 10 , which has an ink cartridge 12 in the present invention.

Print cartridge 10 has a casing 14, can see more clearly among Fig. 2: this casing 14 is made of an upper molded part 16 and a lower molded part 18, molded part 16 and molded part 18 use The clips 20 are clipped together. A label 22 is affixed to the casing 14 , which makes the print box 10 look more attractive, and the information required by the user to use the print box 10 is also printed on the label 22 .

Housing 14 has a cavity 24 in which ink cartridge 12 is received and secured.

The supply device 26 of the printing medium is also in the cavity 24 formed by the housing 14. It is a roll of film/medium wound on the roll holder 28. The roll holder 28 is placed above the ink tank and can slide and rotate on this axis. .

As shown in Figure 2, when the upper molding 16 and the lower molding 18 are brought together, an exit slit 32 is left through which one side of the paper 34 exits.

On the cartridge 10 is a roller assembly 36 which functions to flatten the paper 34 as it is fed from the roll 30 and to drive the paper 34 through the slot 32 . The roller assembly 36 consists of a driving roller 38 and two driven rollers 40 which are rotatably mounted on a post 42 protruding from a bottom plate 44 of the lower molding. The driven roller 40 and the driving roller 38 jointly pull the movement of the paper, and control the speed and position when it is sent out from the casing 14 . The driven roller 40 is an injection molded part of a suitable synthetic plastic such as polystyrene, as is the upper and lower moldings 16, 18 of a suitable plastic such as polystyrene molded parts.

A driving shaft 46 is suspended on the driving roller 38 between two recesses 48 and 50 reserved on the upper molding 16 and the lower molding 18 of the housing 14 respectively, and can rotate. The other end 52 of the driving roller 38 is coupled to corresponding structural members (not shown) on the upper molded part 16 and the lower molded part 18 of the casing 14, and can rotate.

The driving roller 38 is a secondary injection molding, and the shaft 46 above is made of high-impact polystyrene material. There is a bearing device on the shaft 46. The rolling surface part 54 of the bearing device is made of elastic measuring material or Made of rubber. The rolling surface part 54 is attached to the paper 34 and plays a role in preventing the paper 34 from slipping when the paper 34 is sent out from the print box 10 .

An engagement mechanism is arranged at one end of the driving roller 38 protruding from the casing 14, which is a cross-shaped device 56 (as shown in Figure 1), which prints on the equipment (such as a camera) using this print box 10. A geared drive interface (not shown) of the head assembly engages. The speed of feeding paper to the printheads can be synchronized with the printing speed of the printheads by means of the crisscross arrangement to ensure accurate printing on the paper 34 .

Ink cartridge 12 has an extruded right cylindrical receptacle 58 which is extruded from a suitable synthetic plastic such as polystyrene.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the print head used with the print cartridge 10 is usually a color print head, and accordingly, the container 58 is also divided into a plurality (more precisely, four) compartments or compartments 60, each One color or type of ink is stored in the memory cell 60 . In one embodiment, the inks of cyan, magenta, yellow and black are stored in each memory cell, and in another embodiment, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink are respectively stored in three memory cells 60, and in Another kind of ink that can only be seen under the infrared spectrum is stored in the fourth storage cell 60 .

Can see more clearly among Fig. 3 and Fig. 4: one end of container 58 is closed by an end cap 62, has reserved a plurality of openings 64 on the end cap 62, communicates with each storage cell 60 respectively, with The air pressure in each storage compartment 60 in the container 58 is kept constant.

The end that has end cap 62 on the container 58 is equipped with a sealing device 66, and in each storage cell 60, there is this quarter cylindrical shape pellet 68 that is made of jelly-like substance material, is made of Song Dynasty. The colloidal substance material that makes pellet 68 is a kind of compound that is made of thermoplastic rubber and hydrocarbon, and hydrocarbon is a kind of white mineral oil. The thermoplastic rubber is a copolymer which makes the mineral oil sufficiently rigid so that the ball 68 will retain its shape at normal operating temperatures where it can slide in the compartment 60. A thermoplastic rubber sold by Shell Petroleum Company under the trademark "Kraton" can meet the requirements. , depending on the type used, the content of this heteromolecular polymer is usually about 3% to 20% of the total mass.

In use, the compound is heated to make it into a liquid state, and after filling each memory cell 60 with a specific type of ink, the compound in a molten state is injected into each memory cell 60, and then left to form a pellet 68. The air pressure behind the ball 68 , that is, the air pressure at the end facing the end cap 62 , ensures that the self-lubricating ball 68 slides toward the other end of the container 58 as the ink retreats from the compartment 60 . When the container was turned upside down, the small ball 68 played a role in preventing the ink from pouring out from the container, preventing the ink in the storage compartment 60 from mixing with dirt and preventing the ink in the storage compartment 60 from evaporating. The small ball 68 is hydrophobic, and it can also prevent the ink from leaking in the memory cell 60 .

The other end of the container 58 is closed by an ink collar molding 70. A resilient sealing molding 74 is located within the bulkhead 72 on the molding 70 . Hydrophobic molding 74 has a plurality of sealing curtains 76, and each sealing curtain 76 has an elongated opening 78, so that a matching thin tube (not shown) on the printhead assembly can be inserted into the elongated opening 78 , and come into contact with the liquid stored in the compartment 60 of the container 58. On the other side of the ink collar molding 70 protrudes a plurality of hollow protrusions 80, which are shaped to merge with and protrude into their corresponding storage compartments 60 for positioning the ink collar mold at the end of the container 58. Plastic parts.

Referring back to Figure 3, the ink collar molding 70 is placed in place by a carrier or pallet molding 82 which leaves a four-bladed A small window 84 through which the resilient sealing molding 74 is accessible. The tray molding 82 is suspended between the upper molding 16 and the lower molding 18 of the housing 14 . Carrier molding 82 and webs 86 and 88 protrude from the inner surfaces of upper molding 16 and lower molding 18, respectively, of housing 14 to define a space 90 in which air filter 92 is placed, Molding 82 may be used for positioning. The air filter 92 cooperates with the print head assembly to blow air to the nozzle guard of the print head assembly to clean impurities on the nozzle guard. Air is drawn in by a thin tube (not shown) located in an air inlet 94 on the pallet molding 82 and passed through an air filter 92 for filtering purposes.

In Fig. 5, the air filter 92 can be seen in more detail, the filter 92 has a filter medium 102, this filter medium 102 is made of synthetic fibers, and is made into a grooved shape, To increase the surface area to achieve better filtering effect. In addition to the paper filter medium 102, other fiber mats can also be used.

The filter media 102 is housed in a cartridge 104 with a base molding 106 and a cover 108 which is shaped as a half ring or horseshoe in order to fit the cartridge into the space 90 of the housing 14 . Thus, the barrel has two opposite ends 110, each end 110 leaving an air inlet 112 thereon.

Leave an air outlet 114 on the cover 108, which is initially closed with a film or membrane 116. After the filter 92 is installed in the corresponding position in the space 90, the air outlet 114 is aligned on the pallet molding 82. The thin tube on the printhead assembly pierces the membrane 116 through the port 94, then draws air through the filter 92, and then blows the nozzle guard and the printhead of the printhead assembly.

Base molding 106 has locating features 118 and 120 thereon for locating filter media 102 in cartridge 104 . The positioning structures 118 are a plurality of thin tubes 122 , while the positioning structures 120 are a plurality of rib-like protrusions that engage the ends 124 of the filter media 102 .

After the filter media 102 is placed in place on the base molding 106, the cover 108 is mounted on the base molding 106 using ultrasonic welding or the like.

After assembling a print cartridge 10, a thin film or membrane 96 is attached to the outer end of the pallet molding 82 to close the small window 84, and in use, this thin film or membrane 96 is pierced by the tubule. Membrane 96 prevents debris from entering ink reservoir 60 .

An identification chip 98 is housed in the opening 100 on the pallet molding 82, which performs the identification function, and the print head assembly interrogates and interacts with the identification chip 98 to confirm whether the print cartridge 10 is suitable for the print head assembly of the device. And it's compatible with it.

Those skilled in the art will know that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the given embodiments without departing from the essence and protection scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the examples now given should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (19)

1, a kind of print cartridge, it comprises:

A shell;

A cylindric body that is positioned at described shell, described cylindric body is provided with a cavity;

An ink supply unit of being located in the described cavity; And,

A print media feeding mechanism of rotatably installing with respect to described cylindric body.

2, print cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described print media feeding mechanism makes the assembly of described print media feeding mechanism and coil holder be contained in described cylindric body top slidably on a coil holder.

3, print cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described cavity is divided into a plurality of rooms, and in use, each room comprises dissimilar inks.

4, print cartridge as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, described cavity seals by an end cap at first end of room, and second end is by the packoff sealing that can pierce through.

5, print cartridge as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that, each room extends to second end by first end.

6, print cartridge as claimed in claim 5 is characterized in that, the described packoff that pierces through pierces through by the pin on the print head assembly of being located in the printer, makes the described packoff that pierces through can prevent that chip from entering each room.

7, print cartridge as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that, described end cap has a plurality of openings, and each opening and a corresponding room are complementary, and makes described in use print cartridge keep atmospheric pressure at first end of cylindric body.

8, print cartridge as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that, a packoff is placed in first end of described cylindric body slidably, and described packoff is made of colloidal material.

9, print cartridge as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, in use, when ink was extracted out from room, described packoff slided into its second end from first end of described cylindric body.

10, print cartridge as claimed in claim 9 is characterized in that, in use, atmospheric pressure promotes described packoff and slides into its second end from first end of cylindric body.

11, print cartridge as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that, described packoff is self-lubricating.

12, print cartridge as claimed in claim 11 is characterized in that, in use, described packoff is realized at least one in the following function:

A) in reversing during print cartridge, prevent ink leakage arrive cylindric external;

B) prevent to pollute ink in each room; With

C) stop the ink in the room withered.

13, print cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described print cartridge comprises the recognition device of an identification chip form, and wherein, in use, print head assembly is inquired described identification chip, to guarantee the compatibility of print cartridge and print head assembly.

14, print cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described print cartridge comprises a filtration unit that is arranged in the described shell, is used to filter the air that will supply to print head assembly, and described print head assembly is equipped with printhead in use.

15, print cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described shell is provided with a slit, during use, sends print media by this slit.

16, print cartridge as claimed in claim 15, it is characterized in that, described print cartridge comprises that one flattens and drive unit, be used for print media being flattened when described print media feeding mechanism is presented print media, and being used to drive the slit of described print media by described shell, described flattening and drive unit are positioned between described print media and the described slit.

17, print cartridge as claimed in claim 16, it is characterized in that, described flattening and drive unit comprise a roll wheel assembly, described roll wheel assembly has an active roller and at least one idle pulley, described active roller is by the mechanism controls of a control print head assembly, so that moving with printing thereon of print media is synchronous.

18, print cartridge as claimed in claim 17 is characterized in that, described active roller has anti-skidding fulcrum arrangement, and described anti-skidding fulcrum arrangement is supported on print media to prevent print media skidding when shell is sent.

19, a kind of printer, described printer comprise a print cartridge according to any one of the preceding claims.

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