WO1997045269A1

WO1997045269A1 - Ink jet printer cartridge refilling method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1997045269A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/009336
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Christopher Dean
Original assignee: Dataproducts Corporation
Priority date: 1996-05-29
Filing date: 1997-05-28
Publication date: 1997-12-04
Also published as: AU3150997A

Abstract

A refill apparatus for refilling a liquid for a printer includes a printer cartridge housing, a liquid refill bottle and an adapter piece to convert the printer cartridge housing. The printer cartridge housing has an interior compartment and a print head (22) to deliver the liquid to the computer printer. The refill bottle (102) contains the liquid and has a septum (118) covering an opening to deliver the liquid from the refill bottle (102) to the print head in the printer cartridge housing. The adapter piece is placed in the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing for converting the printer cartridge housing to be connectable with the refill bottle. The adapter piece includes a base (146), a seat (148), a foot (158) and plumbing. The seat (148) is coupled to the base and adapted to connect with the refill bottle (102) of liquid. The foot is coupled to the base and adapted to connect with the printer cartridge housing. The plumbing in the base is coupled to both the seat and the foot to deliver liquid from the refill bottle to the printer cartridge housing, and is also connected with the seat to deliver air to the refill bottle of liquid. The refill bottle is connected to the printer cartridge housing by the adapter piece, and the liquid is delivered from the refill bottle by the plumbing in the adapter piece.

Description

INK JET PRINTER CARTRIDGE REFILLING METHOD AND APPARATUS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to ink refill cartridges and methods for printers and the like and, in particular embodiments, to ink refill bottles and adapter pieces for modifying disposable, single-use ink jet ink cartridges to allow reuse of the same, and methods of making and using the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Over the years, computers and computer operated printers have become much more prevalent and are now being used more and more often to generate documents such as letters, publications, printed graphics or forms. Due to the complexity of the many documents that are being printed, traditional platen strike or daisywheel printers are unable to produce the required diversity of documents that are being produced on computers or the graphics that often accompany the text of such documents. Therefore, different types of printers, such as laser printers, dot matrix printers, and ink jet printers, have been developed to give the computer user greater flexibility and freedom in printing documents. Laser printers provide very high resolution and great versatility; however, they are often very expensive to manufacture and maintain. For example, the toner tends to be expensive, the circuitry can be relatively complicated and the computer memory needed for such printers can be relatively large. Dot matrix printers have also been used, since they are less expensive than laser printers. Dot matrix printers have print heads that utilize a plurality of pins that place a series of dots on paper to form text or graphics. However, these dot matrix printers are typically unable to provide the desired resolution and flexibility that is available from a laser printer, and dot matrix printers are often very slow.

As a result, ink jet printers have been a popular choice. In this type of printer technology, liquefied ink is jetted out as droplets against the printing medium. Inkjet printers may be faster than dot matrix printers and can achieve resolutions comparable to those of the best laser printers. However, the cost of the ink jet printers can be comparable to that of dot matrix printers. Typical ink jet printers are made by Hewlett-Packard Company, Canon, Hitachi and Epson, and are commonly known as ink jets, bubble jets, bubble type printers, or the like. Typically, ink jet printers utilize single-use, disposable cartridges that are placed into the printer to distribute the ink. Once the ink in the disposable cartridge is depleted, the cartridge is simply thrown away, and a new cartridge is inserted. This is a costly procedure, since the ink jet print head and circuitry related to the ink jet print head is often incorporated into each disposable ink jet cartridge. It is also wasteful since the ink jet print head and the cartridge, although empty, would still function properly if the cartridge contained ink.

To spread the cost of the print head and circuity over more usage time, there has been a desire to increase the capacity of disposable ink jet cartridges. For example, as shown in Figs. 13-15, Hewlett-Packard Company (300 Hanover, P.O. Box 10301, Palo Alto, California 94303-0890, U.S.A.) recently introduced an improved cartridge 10 (Model No. HP51626A) that contains a greater ink capacity than previous versions of the Hewlett- Packard ink jet cartridges. This improved the printing capacity over that previously available and effectively reduced the cost of disposable Ink jet cartridges.

The increased ink capacity of the new cartridge 10 was accomplished by sealing the air vent hole 12 with an air tight press fit plastic plug, which is located at one of the four corners of the top portion 14 of the cartridge 10. A set of inflatable air bladders 16, which do not allow direct access to the ink reservoir, were placed within the bottom portion 18 of the ink jet cartridge 10. A hole 20 at the top center of the cartridge 10 provides a direct connection with the inflatable air bladders 16 within the cartridge 10. The air bladders 16 help control air pressure in the closed chamber above the liquid ink level to prevent the ink from leaking out of the minute orifices in the print head 22 at the bottom of the cartridge 10. As ink is pulled out of the cartridge reservoir by the print head 22, the vacuum inside the cartridge 10 increases until the vacuum is sufficient to open a valve 24 on the bottom of the cartridge 10, which allows air to enter the cartridge 10 through an air hole 26 to decrease the vacuum. Once the vacuum level decreases sufficiently, the valve 24 reseats, due to the weight of the valve, to keep the ink from prematurely dripping out of the print head 22. The bottom wall 32 of the bottom portion 18 has an upward extending cylindrical portion 34 with a fine screen 30 on top (see Fig. 14). Ink drips through the screen into a small pool to feed the print head 22. Although greater printing capacity is useful, it still does not overcome the drawbacks of the wasted print head 22 and electronics 28, and the overall casing expense of the disposable cartridges 10, since even doubling the capacity of the cartridge 10 is still not sufficient to abate the costs. The costs are primarily due to the plastic casing, print head 22 and electronic circuitry 28 used in the disposable cartridge 10. The ink is a relatively inexpensive component of the disposable ink jet cartridge 10.

To overcome the drawbacks of single-use cartridges, refilling of the cartridges has been attempted. However, this has been problematic because the disposable ink jet cartridges are sold as a sealed unit that are not intended to be opened and refilled. Although there is typically a port for admitting ink into the disposable cartridge, the disposable cartridge is sealed after initial manufacture and attempts to refill the cartridge through this port can be messy and often result in leakage. Therefore, previous attempts to refill these disposable cartridges have been somewhat impractical.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an improved refill apparatus for modifying single-use, disposable ink jet cartridges to allow multiple refills, which obviates, for practical purposes, the above mentioned limitations.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a refill apparatus for refilling a liquid (such as ink, liquid adhesive, cleaning fluid, tracers, ultraviolet dyes, infrared dyes, or the like) for a printer (such as computer printers, fax machines, sign printers, label makers, cash registers, copy machines, or the like) includes a printer cartridge housing, a liquid refill bottle and an adapter piece to convert the printer cartridge housing. The printer cartridge housing has an interior compartment and a print head to deliver the liquid to the printer. The refill bottle contains the liquid and has a septum covering an opening to deliver the liquid from the refill bottle to the print head in the printer cartridge housing. The adapter piece is placed in the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing for converting the printer cartridge housing to be connectable with the refill bottle. The adapter piece includes a base, a seat, a foot and plumbing. The seat is coupled to the base and adapted to connect with the refill bottle. The foot is coupled to the base and adapted to connect with the printer cartridge housing. The plumbing in the base is coupled to both the seat and the foot to deliver the liquid from the refill bottle to the printer cartridge housing, and is also connected with the seat to deliver air to the refill bottle. In particular embodiments, the refill bottle is connected to the printer cartridge housing by the adapter piece, and the liquid is delivered to the print head from the refill bottle by the plumbing in the adapter piece. In preferred embodiments, cartridge housings of existing cartridges are modified with the components, illustrated in Figs. 1-12. However, in alternative embodiments, new cartridges may be originally manufactured to include an adapter piece that permits the cartridge housing to receive refill bottles. In particular embodiments, the plumbing is sized and shaped to control the flow of the liquid from the refill bottle to the foot and to minimize leaks. The plumbing typically includes at least two needles, one of the two needles being used to deliver the liquid from the refill bottle to the foot and printer cartridge housing, and another of the needles being used to deliver air to the refill bottle. In preferred embodiments, the needles extend into the seat to pierce the refill bottle. Also, when the septum of the refill bottle is pierced, the liquid is held within the refill bottle by vacuum pressure and withdrawn from the refill bottle by using a combination of vacuum and air flow in the refill bottle.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a refill bottle includes a lower portion, an upper portion and a septum. The lower portion holds the liquid and is adapted to fit within the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing. The upper portion extends beyond the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing for additional capacity and to facilitate insertion and removal of the lower portion into and out of the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing. The septum is coupled to the lower portion to seal the liquid inside the refill bottle prior to use of the refill bottle and to minimize leakage of the liquid during and after use of the refill bottle, the septum is adapted to be coupled with the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing to deliver liquid from the refill bottle to the printer cartridge housing. In particular embodiments, the upper portion and lower portion of the refill bottle are formed as a single unitary piece from a suitable plastic material. The refill bottle may also include a neck portion coupled between the lower portion and the septum. Also, the upper portion may have a flared shape to provide a finger grip location to facilitate insertion and removal of the lower portion into and out of the printer cartridge housing.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A detailed description of embodiments of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a refill bottle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a right side view of the refill bottle shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front side view of the refill bottle shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a left side view of the refill bottle shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a rear side view of the refill bottle shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a top side view of the bottle shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a bottom side view of the refill bottle shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a top view of an adapter piece placed inside a disposable ink jet ink cartridge.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the adapter piece inside a disposable ink jet ink cartridge.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship of the various components inside the adapter piece.

Fig. 1 1 is a perspective of a refill cartridge apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that utilizes the refill bottle shown in Figs. 1-7 and the adapter piece shown in Figs. 8-10.

Fig. 12 is an exploded side cross-sectional view of the refill cartridge apparatus shown in Fig. 1 1.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a typical disposable ink jet printer cartridge.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view with a partial cut-away of the typical disposable ink jet printer cartridge shown in Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a bottom view of the exterior of the typical disposable ink jet printer cartridge shown in Fig. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a refill apparatus for modifying existing single-use, disposable ink jet cartridges using the illustrated components or providing new cartridges during original manufacture with an adapter to receive refill bottles. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the refill cartridge apparatus is for use with Hewlett-Packard ink jet printers. However, it will be recognized that cartridges according to further embodiments of the invention may be used with other types of ink jet printers including, but not limited to, bubble jets, bubble printers, computer printers, fax machines sign printers, label makers, cash registers, copy machines or the like, and printers made by other manufacturers including, but not limited to, Canon,

Epson, Brother, Apple, Hitachi, Shaφ, Minolta, NEC, IBM, or the like, and to deliver jetable substances including, but not limited to, ink, liquid adhesive, cleaning fluid, tracers, ultraviolet dyes, infrared dyes, or the like. Fig. 13 shows an example of a typical ink jet printer ink cartridge 10 that is designed for a single use in a Hewlett-Packard ink jet printer, after which the cartridge 10 is discarded. The cartridge 10 is shaped and adapted to fit within an ink jet printer to deliver ink to a printing medium to print out a document. Embodiments of the present invention, as shown in Figs. 1- 12, utilize emptied ink cartridges 10 to form a refillable cartridge apparatus 100 (see Figs. 11 and 12), which are then refilled using a refill bottle 102 and an adapter piece 104 so that cartridge 10 may be used multiple times without having to buy a new single-use, disposable ink jet cartridge 10 every time the cartridge 10 is emptied. In this manner, the print head 22 and the electronics 28 do not need to be replaced after a single-use, only the ink needs to be refilled. Refilling is also better for the environment since less disposable material is produced. In preferred embodiments, the cartridge 10 is an HP 51626A print cartridge. However, alternative embodiments may use cartridges including but not limited to an HP 51625 (three color cartridge for 500 series printers), an HP 51629 (black cartridge for 600 series printers), HP 51645 (three color cartridge for 600 series printers), a Canon BC01 /02 cartridge that fits a variety of Canon printers or various other cartridges manufactured by other manufacturers, such as Epson, Brother, IBM, NEC or the like.

As shown in Figs. 1-7, the refill bottle 102 has a lower portion 1 10 that is generally shaped to fit inside the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10 and an upper external portion 112 that extends above the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10. The shape of the upper external portion 112 maximizes the amount of liquid ink available for use in the ink jet head and also facilitates insertion and removal of the refill bottle 102 from the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10. While the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10 is configured to fit a Hewlett-Packard printer, in alternative embodiments, the lower portion 1 10 and upper external portion 1 12 may be sized and configured to fit the bottom portion of cartridges for other printers (such as computer printers, fax machines, sign printers, label makers, cash registers, copy machines or the like) and cartridges. In addition, the shape of the upper external portion 1 12 may be changed to accommodate additional ink or other liquids, with the shape being dependent on the space and size restrictions provided by various printing devices. At a base 1 14 of the lower portion 110 is a neck 1 16 that provides an opening into the refill bottle 102. Capping the opening and the neck 1 16 is a septum 1 18 having a pierceable membrane 120 that seals the refill bottle 102 until inserted in the refill apparatus 100, and aids in resealing the refill bottle 102 when removed from the cartridge 10 to reduce leakage of any remaining ink in the refill bottle 102. The outer periphery of the septum 1 18 is coupled to a bendable, annular frame, such as a thin metal ring. The septum 1 18 is held onto the neck 1 16 by bending the frame of the septum 1 18 over a lip 122 (see Fig. 12) on the end of the neck 1 16; however, in alternative embodiments other methods for securing the septum 1 18 to the neck 1 16 may be used, such as threads, adhesives, the resilient nature of the septum material itself, or the like. In preferred embodiments, the septum 1 18 is a medical grade septum; however, other grades of septums or other types of pierceable closures may be used, so long as the ink is sealed within the refill bottle 102 prior to use. Preferably, the membrane 120 is a flexible rubber sheet that, due to its resilient nature reseals the refill bottle 102 when the refill bottle 102 is removed from the refill apparatus 100. Alternatively, plastic, paper materials, or the like, may be used as a membrane.

In preferred embodiments, the refill bottle 102 is formed from high-density polypropylene plastic that is blow molded. In alternative embodiments, different materials such as acrylic, glass, resin, metal, plastic coated paper or the like, may be used, or different methods of forming the refill bottle 102, such as casting, folding or the like, may be used. In further alternative embodiments, the refill bottle 102 may be internally partitioned to include multiple chambers for holding different liquids, such as different colored inks to be used with ink jet printers that distribute colored ink. In such embodiments, a separate neck and septum may be provided for each different liquid. In addition, the neck 1 16 and the septum 1 18 may be positioned at a different location on the base 1 14 of the lower portion 1 10 of the refill bottle 102 so that, for example, the neck 1 16 and septum 1 18 may be positioned directly over the print head 22 of the cartridge 10 to provide a straight path for delivery of the ink to the print head 22. Alternatively, the septum 1 18 or seal may be placed at the top of the refill bottle 102, and ink is removed from the refill bottle 102 by simply piercing the bottom of the refill bottle 102. As shown in Figs. 8-10, the adapter piece 104 includes a cartridge insert base 146 that has a periphery that is shaped to fit tightly in the base of the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10. The bottom wall 32 of the bottom portion 18 includes a cylindrical portion 34 (see Figs. 9 and 14) in which ink forms a small pool to feed the print head 22. Attached to the cartridge insert base 146 is a refill bottle seat 148 adapted to mate with and hold the septum 1 18 of the refill bottle 102, and a print head reservoir foot 150 that is adapted to fit over or in the cylindrical portion 34 that forms the ink reservoir above the print head 22 of the cartridge 10. The reservoir foot 150 has an outer radius slightly larger (or smaller) than the diameter of the cylindrical portion 34 in the bottom portion 18 so as to fit tightly over the ink reservoir above the print head 22. The cartridge insert base 146 contains the plumbing for the refill apparatus 100. The plumbing includes two needles 152 and 154 that act as conduits, the ink needle 152 for removing ink from the refill bottle 102 and the air needle 154 for admitting air into the refill bottle 102. Both the ink needle 152 and the air needle 154 protrude into the refill bottle seat 148 and have pointed ends that permit the needles 152 and 154 to pierce the membrane 120 of the septum 1 18 on the refill bottle 102. Preferably, the needles 152 and 154 are positioned in the refill bottle seat 148 as shown in Figs. 8-10. However, the needles 152 and 154 may be arranged in a side-by-side position as shown in Fig. 12. In preferred embodiments, the needles 152 and 154 pierce the septum 118 for withdrawing the ink; however, in alternative embodiments, the needles may pierce the bottom of the refill bottle 102 rather than the septum 1 18, if the septum 1 18 is located, for example, on the top or another location of the refill bottle 102 or used mainly to admit ink into the refill bottle 102 and seal it. In further alternative embodiments, side piercing or top piercing of the refill bottle 102 may be used to control and withdraw ink from the bottle 102 with the piercing method and location being determined by the printer specifications and type of control desired. In preferred embodiments, the needles 152 and 154 are formed from metal and manufactured by Holgrath Medical Technologies of Cheshire, Ct. However, in alternative embodiments, the needles may be formed from glass, plastic, ceramic or the like or may be formed as an extension of the adapter base 146 material.

The ink needle 152 draws ink from the lower portion 110 and out the opening in the neck 1 16 of the refill bottle 102 through a series of bends 156 and 158 that pass the ink through the adapter piece 104 and out the reservoir foot 150 on the cartridge insert base 146 of the adapter piece 104. Once passed through the reservoir foot 150, the ink is deposited into a small pool above the ink jet print head 22 for use for supplying the print head 22, which functions in the same manner as it would function in an unaltered single-use cartridge 10, shown in Figs. 13-15. In preferred embodiments, the diameter of the ink needle 152 ranges between 0.04 to ^ 08 inches, and is sized to permit the ink to be drawn easily to the print head 22 by the vacu m generated by the print head 22. In alternative embodiments, larger or smaller diameters may be used based upon the vacuum generated by the print head 22 or the type of ink used. Also, the ink needle 152 may be straight and located in a different position to provide a straight path between the refill bottle 102 and the print head 22. For example, the neck 1 16 and the septum 1 18 of the refill bottle 102 may be positioned directly over the print head 22. The length, diameter and number of bends of the ink needle 152 may be selected to generate a sufficient vacuum inside the ink bottle 102 as ink is drawn out to prevent leaks through the air needle 154. The air needle 154 takes air from inside the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10 and allows it to pass into the refill bottle 102, which permits the ink to flow out through the ink needle 152. In preferred embodiments, the air needle takes air from the interior of the bottom portion 18 that is not occupied by the refill bottle 102. However, in alternative embodiments the air needle 154 takes air from outside the bottom portion 18, for example by direct coupling to the bearing valve 24 and the air hole 26 already present in the bottom portion 18 of the disposable cartridge 10, to allow the air to enter from the exterior of the cartridge 10. In preferred embodiments, the air needle 154 is sized so that the diameter of the needle prevents the ink from being drawn down the needle 154 by capillary action. However, the diameter is still small enough so that the surface tension of the ink prevents the ink from flowing down the needle 154. Preferably, the diameter is selected within the range of 0.04 to 0.08 inches, but the actual diameter will be dependent on the viscosity of the ink, the composition of the ink and the vacuum level in the refill bottle 102. In preferred embodiments, the air needle 154 only extends a small distance into the refill bottle 102 when the refill bottle 102 is connected to the adapter piece 104. However, in alternative embodiments, the air needle 154 may extend to near the top 124 of the external upper portion 112 of the refill bottle 102 to facilitate the introduction of air into the top of the refill bottle 102 and to minimize the amount of ink covering the opening in the air needle 154.

The vacuum present in the refill bottle 102 is generated by the ink flowing down the ink needle 152, which is drawn through the ink needle by the strong vacuum force generated by the print head 22 as it operates. Typically, the vacuum in the refill bottle ranges from approximately 2-8 inches of water, for example, a sufficient force to lift and open the valve 24 shown in Fig. 15. Once the vacuum reaches this level, the surface tension of the ink surrounding the opening in the air needle 154 is overcome and air is drawn into the refill bottle 102, through the air needle 154. In further alternatives, the air needle 154 may be formed with a small bearing type valve or flap type valve on the top (or middle or bottom) of the air needle 154 to permit air to enter, but which also substantially prevents the ink from leaking down the air needle 154 when the valve is closed. This alternative provides several advantages since the ink cannot enter (or exit) the air needle 154 even during shaking, abrupt shocks or squeezing of the refill bottle 102. If a refill bottle 102 having multiple chambers is used, the adapter piece 104 will utilize multiple sets of needles 152 and 154 to access and direct the ink in each chamber of the refill bottle 102. In additional alternatives, the cartridge 10 may be sized to receive multiple refill bottles 102, and may use a plurality of adapter pieces 104 or a single large adapter piece having a plurality of sets of bottle seats 148, reservoir feet 150 and needles 152 and 154 to hold the multiple refill bottles 102 for delivery of various liquids, such as different color inks, inks in combination with other materials such as tracers or adhesives, or the like.

Prior to reusing the single-use, disposable ink jet cartridge 10, the ink jet cartridge 10 is converted to accept the refill bottle shown in Figs. 1-7 and the adapter piece 104 shown in Figs. 8-10. The conversion is begun by removing the top portion 14 of the cartridge 10 by breaking the heat seal that holds the top portion 14 of the cartridge 10 to the bottom portion 18 of the single-use, disposable ink jet cartridge 10. In preferred embodiments, a special "Cap Popper" tool available from American Ink Jet Corporation of Billerica, Ma. is used. The C portion of the tool is placed around and between the seam separating the top portion 14 from the bottom portion 18, and a pressure applying bar that closes off the C portion is closed to completely surround the seam so that the top portion 14 is essentially pried off by compression of the special tool. In alternative embodiments, other methods of separating the cartridge, such as wedges, saws, solvents, lasers, or the like, may be used. Once the top portion 14 is removed, the top portion 14, the bladders 16 and the small filter screen 30 (see Fig. 14) over the print head 22 are discarded since they will not be used again. Then the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10 is thoroughly cleaned and any leftover ink is removed. After this, the refill apparatus 100 is ready to be assembled.

To assemble the refill apparatus, 100, the adapter piece 104 shown in Figs. 8-10 is pressed into the bottom portion 18 of the ink jet cartridge 10 so that the reservoir foot 150 that contains the ink needle 152 seats into the reservoir for holding ink over the ink jet print head 22. In preferred embodiments, the adapter piece 104 is simply pressed into the bottom portion 18 and is maintained in position by friction. In alternative embodiments, adhesives or the like may be used to secure the adapter piece 104 in the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10.

Once the adapter piece 104 is seated in the bottom portion 18 of the cartridge 10, the cartridge 10 has been converted so that it can be used multiple times with the replacement refill bottles 102 shown in Figs. 1-7 to form the refill apparatus shown in Figs. 1 1 and 12. To complete assembly of the refill apparatus 100, the refill bottle 102 is pressed down into the bottom portion 18 of the single-use, disposable ink jet cartridge 10 until it mates with the refill bottle seat 145 on the adapter piece 104 and both the ink needle 152 and the air needle 154 pierce the membrane 120 of the septum 1 18. Once the ink needle 152 and the air needle 154 pierce the septum 118, air flows into the refill bottle 102 allowing the ink to be withdrawn by the vacuum pressure from the print head 22 through the ink needle 152 to the print head 22.

In preferred embodiments, the refill apparatus 100 uses parts of a single-use, disposable ink jet cartridge 10. However, in alternative embodiments, the lower portion 18 of the cartridge 10 may be new and never previously assembled into a single-use disposable cartridge or the lower portion 18, print head 22, and electronics 28 may be formed together with the adapter piece 104 during manufacturing to form a single integral unit designed expressly for the purpose of receiving refill bottles 102, without the necessity of disposing of parts, such as the top portion 14, air bladders 16 and filter screen 30, from a single-use, disposable cartridge 10. In preferred embodiments, the ink contained in the refill bottle is water based. However, alternative embodiments, may use inks based on other liquids, such as alcohol, oil or the like. In addition, the refill bottle may contain other jetable substances such as tracers, ultraviolet dyes, infrared dyes, or the like. If other bases or types of jetable materials are used, the needles 152 and 154 may need to be altered to accommodate changes in viscosity and/or surface tension of the inks or liquids. Preferably, the refill apparatus 100 will be sold as a kit containing a bottom portion 18 of the single-use, disposable cartridge 10, an adapter piece 104 and at least one refill bottle 102. However, in alternative embodiments, the user may buy just the adapter piece 104 and refill bottles 102, and the user will perform the conversion of the single-use, disposable cartridge 10 that they already have in their possession to accept the adapter piece 104 and the refill bottle 102. While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.

The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A refill system for refilling a liquid for a printing device, the refill system comprising: a cartridge housing having an interior compartment and a print head to deliver the liquid; a bottle for containing the liquid, the bottle having an opening and a septum covering the opening, wherein the bottle is configured to be removably disposed in the interior compartment of the cartridge housing; and an adapter disposed in the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing for coupling the cartridge housing to the bottle of liquid, the adapter including: a seat for engaging with the bottle of liquid; and a conduit for conveying liquid from the bottle to the print head and for conveying air to the bottle interior.

2. A refill system according to claim 1, wherein the conduit is sized and shaped to control the flow of the liquid from the bottle to the print head and to minimize leaks.

3. A refill system according to claim 1, wherein the conduit includes at least two hollow needles, one of the at least two needles to deliver the liquid from the bottle, and another of the at least two needles to deliver air to the bottle.

4. A refill system according to claim 3, wherein the at least two needles extend into the seat to pierce the bottle of liquid.

5. A refill system according to claim 1, wherein the adapter piece is secured to the printer cartridge housing by friction.

6. A refill system according to claim ! , wherein the bottle is shaped such that when the septum of the bottle is pierced, the liquid held within the bottle by vacuum pressure and withdrawn from the bottle by using a combination of vacuum and air flow in the bottle.

7. A refill system according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge housing is a portion of a single-use, disposable printer cartridge.

8. A refill system for refilling a liquid for a printing device, the refill system comprising: a bottle having an interior containing the liquid, the refill bottle having an opening and a septum covering the opening; a cartridge housing having an interior compartment and a print head to deliver the liquid, wherein the bottle is configured to be removably disposed in the interior compartment of the cartridge housing; the cartridge housing including an adapter in the interior compartment of the cartridge housing for coupling the bottle of liquid to the cartridge housing, the adapter including a conduit for conveying liquid from the bottle to the print head and for conveying air to the bottle interior.

9. A refill system according to claim 8, wherein the conduit is sized and shaped to control the flow of the liquid from the bottle to the cartridge housing and to minimize leaks.

10. A refill system according to claim 8, wherein the conduit includes at least two hollow needles, one of the at least two needles to deliver the liquid from the bottle, and another of the at least two needles to deliver air to the bottle.

1 1. A refill system according to claim 10, wherein the at least two needles extend to pierce the bottle of liquid.

12. A refill system according to claim 8, wherein the bottle is shaped such that when the septum of the refill bottle is pierced, the liquid is held within the bottle by vacuum pressure and withdrawn from the bottle by using a combination of vacuum and air flow in the bottle.

13. A method of refilling a liquid for a printing device, the method comprising the steps of: inserting a bottle having an interior holding the liquid into an interior compartment of a cartridge housing having a print head; piercing the bottle with a first and second conduit positioned within the interior compartment of the cartridge housing; drawing ink from the bottle to the print head through the first conduit; and delivering air to the bottle through the second conduit to allow the liquid to flow through the first conduit.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of sizing and shaping the first and second conduits to control the flow of the liquid from the bottle and to minimize leaks.

15. A method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of using at least two hollow needles for the first and second conduits, one of the at least two needles to deliver the liquid from the refill bottle, and another of the at least two needles to deliver air to the bottle.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of removing the bottle from the interior compartment of the cartridge housing when all of the liquid has been drawn out of the bottle and inserting a new bottle holding the liquid into the interior compartment of the cartridge housing.

17. A method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of securing the bottle to the interior compartment of the cartridge housing by friction.

18. A method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of shaping the bottle such that when the bottle is pierced, the liquid is held within the bottle by vacuum pressure and drawn from the bottle by using a combination of vacuum and air flow in the bottle.

19. A bottle for holding liquid and for use with a cartridge housing having an interior compartment, the bottle comprising: a lower portion for holding liquid and adapted to fit within the interior compartment of the cartridge housing; an upper portion extending beyond the interior compartment of the cartridge housing to hold liquid and to facilitate insertion and removal of the lower portion into and out of the interior compartment of the printer cartridge housing; and a septum coupled to the lower portion to seal in the liquid held inside the bottle prior to use of the bottle and to also minimize leakage of the liquid during and after use of the bottle, the septum being adapted to couple with the interior compartment of the cartridge housing to deliver the liquid from the bottle to the cartridge housing.

20. A bottle according to claim 19, wherein the septum is adapted to connect with an adapter piece contained within the interior compartment of the cartridge housing.

21. A bottle according to claim 19, wherein the septum is a medical grade septum.

22. A bottle according to claim 19, wherein the upper portion and lower portion of the bottle are formed as a single unitary piece from plastic materials.

23. A bottle according to claim 19, further including a neck portion coupled between the lower portion and the septum.

24. A bottle according to claim 19, wherein the upper portion has a flared shape to facilitate insertion and removal of the lower portion into and out of the cartridge housing.

25. A bottle according to claim 19, wherein the bottle is shaped such that when the septum is pierced, the liquid is held within the bottle by vacuum pressure and withdrawn from the bottle by using a combination of vacuum and air flow in the bottle.

26. An adapter piece for converting a single-use, disposable cartridge with a print head into a multiple use cartridge that accepts bottles of liquid, the adapter piece comprising: a seat for engaging with the bottle of liquid; a foot for engaging with the cartridge; and conduit for conveying the liquid from the bottle to the print head and for conveying air to an interior of the bottle.

27. An adapter piece according to claim 26, wherein the conduit is sized and shaped to control the flow of liquid from the bottle to the foot and to minimize leaks.

28. An adapter piece according to claim 26, wherein the conduit includes at least two needles, one of the at least two needles to deliver the liquid from the bottle to the cartridge, and another of the at least two needles to deliver air to the bottle.

29. An adapter piece according to claim 28, wherein the at least two needles extend into the seat to pierce the bottle of liquid.

30. An adapter piece according to claim 26, wherein the adapter piece is secured to the cartridge by the foot.

31. An adapter piece according to claim 26, wherein the conduit is formed from metal, and wherein the seat and the foot are formed from a single piece of plastic material surrounding the metal plumbing.