WO2001049495A1

WO2001049495A1 - Ink box for use in an inkjet printer

Info

Publication number: WO2001049495A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/001565
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oh-Chan Kwon
Original assignee: Iplemb Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-01-04
Filing date: 2000-12-29
Publication date: 2001-07-12
Also published as: AU2556501A

Abstract

An ink box includes an ink envelope for storing an ink and a cover provided with a capillary tube, an ink path and a small ink envelope. The ink envelope has an ink outlet to send the ink to a nozzle. When the nozzle uses a predetermined amount of ink, an air introduced into the capillary tube controls the pressure of the ink envelope. Therefore, it is possible to the ink in the form of liquid is stored into an ink box without utilizing sponge.

Description

INK BCO FOR USE IN AN INKJET PRINTER

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge for

Inkjet printers; and, more particularly, to a cartridge for sending liquid ink to a printer nozzle at a steady and moderate pressure utilizing a capillary tube pin through which external air comes m.

Background Art

As known very well, printers are a kind of devices that prints hard copy of what was worked in computer. Among the kinds of Printers are dot printers, inkjet ones and laser beam printers (LBP) according to the printout methods. Usually, dot printers prevail for a black and white printing, while inkjets and LBPs are popular for color printing. With lower price than LBP, Inkjet printers have secured steady demand m the market.

In general, Inkjet printers require an ink cartridge 100 to contain ink, and as shown m Fig. 1, existing ink cartridges 112 consist of a nozzle body, a nozzle ink influx pm 114 therein and sponge 116 that holds ink. Conventional ink printers have sponge m an ink chamber and send ink to a nozzle ink influx pm 114.

Conventional cartridges for ink et printers, however, send bubbles formed of the air of the sponge to a nozzle along with ink, making printout messy, or an overloaded nozzle going out of work. Also, putting sponge m every ink chamber has been one reason for higher unit cost, and ink has to be contained in as less a space as sponge occupies. The fact that people can hardly check on how much ink is used and left has been another problem of the existing cartridges.

Disclosure of Invention

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge with a structure that sends ink to a nozzle while maintaining proper pressure by flowing m outer air via a capillary tube pm; has a vertical film near the capillary tube pm so that air bubbles do not enter a nozzle; and maintains quality printouts keeping proper pressure even when ink is used below a certain amount, at the same time, providing an ink cartridge for Inkjet printers whose nozzles last longer. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ink storage member to contain ink; an ink outlet member to discharge ink; an air injection member which is formed at an inner sidewall of the ink storage member to flow m outer air to the bottom of ink; and a cover member which is designed to reserve ink temporarily when ink flows backward due to pressure shift in the ink storage member caused by the alteration of outer condition .

Brief Description of Drawings

Other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which: Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional ink cartridge for mkjet printers;

Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the structure of an ink cartridge for mkjet printers according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic figure of the cover of the mk cartridge for mkjet printers shown n Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the cover of Fig. 3 taken along a line A; and

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a structure of an mk cartridge for mkjet printers in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERRED E BODYMENTS

As shown in Fig. 2, an mk cartridge 200 of the present invention includes an mk barrel for storing mk 226; and a nozzle body 210 with a nozzle k influx pm 213 that props up the mk barrel and jets out mk 226 flowed from the barrel. The mk barrel includes the mk chamber 222 equipped with an mk outlet 213 through which mk 226 is introduced into a nozzle mk influx pm tube 214 and a cover 250 to shut up the upper part of the mk chamber 222.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the cover 250 includes a cover body 252 provided with a capillary tube pm 228, mk path 254 and a small mk retention portion 260, a celluloid membrane 258 inserted to the small mk storage portion 260 by elastic force and a transparent plastic sheet 264 which is tightly adhered and fixed on the upper side of the cover body 252 and the small mk retention portion 260 to form an air influx tube along the mk path 254 formed on the cover body 252. The cover 250 further includes grooves 262 that leads to the other end of the mk path 254 to which the capillary tube pm 228 is not connected so that a user combines the mk barrel to a printer nozzle body 210, and let external air flow m through a hole penetrated above the grooves 262 of the transparent plastic sheet 264 attached to the cover 250.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this structure of the mk cartridge allows mk to be temporarily reserved in a small mk retention portion 260, in case that mk 226 flows backward due to pressure change in the mk chamber caused by the alteration, e.q., temperature gap between day and night, of external condition. In other words, when the pressure inside the k chamber 222 increases, k 226 comes to be stored temporarily in the small retention portion 260 arranged on the cover 250 through the capillary tube pm 228 and the mk path 254.

On the other hand, when external temperature drops sending down the internal pressure of the mk chamber 222, k 226, which has temporarily been reserved in the small mk retention portion 260, flows back to the mk chamber 222 by the capillary phenomenon of the celluloid film 258 inserted into the small mk retention portion 260.. Referring to Fig. 2, it's desirable to make a step height at the bottom of the mk chamber 222. This is because the capillary tube pm 228, which is placed lower than the mk outlet 213, can induce external air at the bottom of the mk 226 when the cover 258 is combined with the mk chamber 222. Also, the ink chamber 222 may have a vertical film 218 near the k outlet 213 so that even when mk 226 is used more than a certain amount, the water level m the capillary tube p 228 can be kept invariably. It's advisable to place the vertical film 218 between a capillary tube pm 228 and an mk outlet 213.

When a nozzle mk influx pm 212 and an mk outlet 213 are joined together, it's desirable to use a sealing rubber 224 to make the nozzle mk influx pm 212 and the mk outlet 213 sheilded. It is preferable that a filter 232 is applied to the bottom of the mk outlet 213 order to filtrate foreign materials m k at the same time preventing mk 226 from backflow.

Hereinafter, the function of the mk cartridge 200 for mkjet printers is described m detail m accordance with an preferred embodiment of the present invention. A certain amount of mk 226 is provided to a nozzle through the mk cutYt 213 and an mk influx pm 212 as printout proceeds. Consequently, the amount of mk in the chamber 222 reduces, dropping down the internal pressure of the mk chamber 222. So, with air flowed from outside through the capillary tube pm 228 which reaches to the bottom of mk chamber 222, the pressure maintain still balanced without getting any influence from the remaining mk in the chamber 222. Thus, the pressure of mk 226 coming out of the mk outlet 213 is kept at the similar level of atmospheric pressure, forming a very natural pressure of the mk flowing to the nozzle mk influx pm 212. So mk do not run down for itself and it is provided at the similar level of atmospheric pressure with only the force of surface tension at the nozzle, maintaining a printer in the best condition.

Meanwhile, air moving from outside into the mk chamber 222 via a capillary tube pm 228 passes mk 226 in the form of bubbles and arrives in the vacancy above mk chamber 222. Here, due to the property of air bubble whose specific gravity is lighter than that of mk 226, the bubbles do not go into the k outlet 213. Also, the vertical film, formed between a capillary tube pm 228 and mk outlet 213, could play a role of blocking bubbles generated at the capillary tube pm 228 from entering the outlet 213.

Different from conventional mk cartridges having sponge inside, the present invention injects liquid mk without sponge m it. So, k of this cartridge lasts more than twice as long as that of the existing ones with sponge inside, when the same amount of mk was given. This is possible because using a capillary tube pm instead of inserting sponge in the mk chamber, liquid mk can be protected from running down to a nozzle, and flow back to the mk chamber thanks to the small mk retention portion on the cover when external condition changes and mk flows backward through the capillary tube pm.

Adopting translucent or transparent material, the mk cartridge of the present invention allows users to check with their eyes how much mk 226 is used and left and when to replace it, preventing mk waste occurred by indiscreet cartridge replacement.

Also, using liquid k without putting sponge the mk chamber, mk cartridges of the present invention keeps air bubbles away from entering mk outlet at the very source, thus preventing the overloading of a nozzle, which eventually leads to a dramatic decline in nozzle troubles that accounts for most of printer breakdown.

Referring to Fig. 5, a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter. Except the mk influx tube 316 and the horizontal film 318, the other elements and functions of a second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

In this second embodiment, the nk influx tube 316 and the horizontal film 322 are formed m parallel with the bottom of mk chamber 322 so that air bubbles generated at a capillary tube pm 328 are prevented from entering the ink outlet 312.

While the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments only, othei modifications and variation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth m the following claims.

Claims

Claimed

1. An mk cartridge for mkjet printers, comprising : an mk storage member for containing liquid ink; an mk outlet member for ejecting the liquid mk; and an air injection member, formed close to an inner sidewall of the k storage member, for introducing air from outside to a bottom of the liquid mk.

2. The mk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the air injection member is small enough to cause a capillary phenomenon .

3. The mk cartridge of claim 2, wherein the mk storage member is shielded from the outside ust except the air injection member and the mk outlet member.

4. The mk cartridge of claim 3, further comprises a cover member for temporarily retaining a portion of the liquid mk when the liquid mk flows backward by a change of pressure caused by the alteration of external condition.

5. The mk cartridge of claim 4, wherein the cover member includes: a small mk retention portion; and a path portion which spatially leads the portion of the liquid mk to the small mk retention portion where a portion of the liquid k can be stored temporarily through the air injection member, when external condition changes and alters the internal pressure of the k storage member.

6. The mk cartridge of claim 5, further comprises a membrane, inserted m the small mk retention portion by an elastic force and stick tightly to a sidewall of the small mk retention portion, for causing the capillary phenomenon and inducing the temporarily reserved k back to the mk storage member.

7. The k cartridge of claim 6, wherein the membrane includes a celluloid.

8. The mk cartridge of claim 1, further comprises an air bubble blocking portion for preventing air bubbles generated at the air injection member from entering the mk outlet member.

9. The mk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the air bubble blocking portion stands between the air injection member and the k outlet member.

10. The mk cartridge of claim 9, wherein the air bubble blocking portion is installed in parallel with the air injection member.

11. The mk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the air bubble blocking portion is install between the mk outlet member and the other sideof the mk storage member.

12. The mk cartridge of claim 11, wherein the air bubble blocking portion is formed m parallel with the bottom of the ink storage member, thereby secures a quιcκ bubble disposal space.

13. The mk cartridge of claim 12, further comprises an mk injection tube comes between the quick bubble disposal space and the ink outlet.

14. The mk cartridge of claim 1, further comprises a nozzle body for fixing the k storage member and the mk injection tube.

15. The IY cartridge of claim 14, further comprises a nozzle mk injection portion for sending mk from the mk outlet member to a nozzle.

16. The k cartridge of claim 15, further comprises a sealing rubber for sealing up a gap between the nozzle mk injection portion and the mk outlet member.

17. The mk cartridge of claim 16, further comprises a filter, installed between the mk outlet member and the nozzle mk injection portion, for filtering impurities in the liquid ink and preventing a backflow of the liquid mk.