Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Corporation

Fred E Tarver

Bruce Cowger

Marc A Baldwin

John G Wydronek

Gary D Tarver

George M Custer

Robert R Beeson

An ink jet printer having a travelling ink jet pen with a foam-filled ink chamber. A separate source reservoir includes an ink outlet nozzle connectable to the pen chamber for refilling. A probe on the reservoir partially compresses the foam to decrease its ink capacity during filling. An electrical contact on the reservoir or pen detects over-filling and over-saturation of the foam to stop the filling process. As the foam is decompressed, its increased absorptive capacity accommodates any excess overflow.

Ink jet printer cartridge refilling method and apparatus

The accumulator regulates changes in the back pressure of an ink-jet pen reservoir so that ink does not leak from the pen print head and so that the print head is able to completely empty the reservoir of ink. The accumulator includes a flexible bag that is mounted to a flat curved spring. The elasticity of the spring tends to contract the bag as the bag expands in response to back pressure reduction in the reservoir.

Pressure-sensitive accumulator for ink-jet pens

Growing community of inventors

Corvallis, OR, United States of America

Fred E Tarver