Lexmark International, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Fred Young Brandon

Curtis Ray Droege

James Harold Powers

Bruce David Gibson

Gary Raymond Williams

John Dennis Zbrozek

Lawrence Russell Steward

Michael David Lattuca

Robert Arnold Christiansen

Kenneth James Harshbarger

William Michael Toon

Paul Douglas Horrall

Edmund Hulin James, Iii

James Philip Harden

Kermit Arnold Meece

William D Clark

Troy A Lee

Jan Richard DeMeerleer

Jack William Morris

William J Bernardelli

Charles Leonard DeCoste, Jr

Jack P Chang

Eugene G Stahlberg

A print head having an ink reservoir therein is made by forming, in a one-shot plastic injection molding step, a rigid monolithic frame including high melt temperature material having an opening therein extending from a first side to a second side, and first and second bonding surfaces surrounding the opening and facing the first and second sides, respectively. First and second thin flexible films are adhesively secured to the first and second bonding surfaces, respectively. The adhesive material may be a hot melt adhesive or dry adhesive films pre-formed to the shape of the bonding surfaces. By securing the flexible films to the bonding surfaces adhesively, rather than by heat staking, it is not necessary to form the frame of different materials during two separate molding steps.

Print head cartridge made with jointless one-piece frame consisting of a single material throughout

A print head having an ink reservoir therein is made by forming, in a one-shot plastic injection molding step, a rigid monolithic frame comprising high melt temperature material having an opening therein extending from a first side to a second side, and first and second bonding surfaces surrounding the opening and facing the first and second sides, respectively. First and second thin flexible films are adhesively secured to the first and second bonding surfaces, respectively. The adhesive material may be a hot melt adhesive or dry adhesive films pre-formed to the shape of the bonding surfaces. By securing the flexible films to the bonding surfaces adhesively, rather than by heat staking, it is not necessary to form the frame of different materials during two separate molding steps.

Print head cartridge and method of making a print head cartridge by one-shot injection molding

An ink jet printhead body includes one or more zones for cleaning, guiding and stabilizing a printhead wiper of an ink jet printer. The printhead body includes a receptacle providing a reservoir for ink, and the receptacle includes a wall having an outer surface. The wall includes a region at which location of one or more ink discharge nozzles is established. A plurality of ribs is located in each of the wiper cleaning zones, which in turn is located to be adjacent the wall region. The orientation of the ribs may be defined with reference to a first axis extending in the plane of the outer wall surface and intersecting the wall region in a first direction, and by a second axis, or axis of symmetry, extending in the plane of the outer wall surface and extending substantially parallel to an edge of the wall and through a central portion of the region to perpendicularly intersect the first axis. The orientation of the plurality of ribs is such that a direction of elongation of at least some of the plurality of ribs is in a direction substantially non-orthogonal to both the first axis and the second axis. The plurality of ribs defines a plurality of non-rectangular cavities. The plurality of ribs and plurality of cavities cooperate to remove and collect excess ink and contaminants from the printhead wiper.

Ink jet printhead body having wiper cleaning zones located on both sides

An ink-jet printer cartridge having a center reservoir chamber and two side reservoir chambers for holding inks of three different colors is provided with ink flow pathways of special configuration for connecting the reservoir chambers to exit ports at the print element. The ink flow pathways are provided with ridges extending along substantially their entire lengths so that air bubbles cannot completely block ink flow through the pathways. The ink flow pathways are disposed such that they have a vertical component of direction over their entire length and the pathways connecting the side reservoir chambers to exit ports include duct portions disposed at compound angles relative to the axes of the cartridge so that air bubbles, because of their buoyancy, will naturally tend to drift upwardly through the inclined ducts toward the reservoir chambers during normal usage, or drift toward the exit openings when the cartridge is inverted for priming. The duct portions of the ink flow pathways are generally trapezoidal in cross-section, the side walls intersecting the top wall at acute angles so that air bubbles cannot completely block the duct portions. The duct portions have end surfaces for directing air bubbles toward the reservoir chambers during priming, the end surfaces being end faces of plugs.

Ink jet print head cartridge

The invention is directed to an ink jet cartridge assembly, including a cartridge body and a print head. The cartridge body includes a die cavity and at least one groove disposed in communication with the die cavity and with an ambient environment. The print head is disposed at least partially within the die cavity. An adhesive is disposed within the die cavity between the body and the print head for bonding the print head to the body. The at least one groove defines a vent to the ambient atmosphere for a gas which may be produced during curing of the adhesive.

Ink jet cartridge body with vented die cavity

A cartridge for an ink-jet printer includes a nozzle plate having nozzles therein. A region around the nozzles is sealed when a maintenance cap is moved into contact with a surface of the cartridge surrounding the nozzle plate. Vent passages are provided in the cartridge body for venting the sealed region to the atmosphere. The vent passages are formed as grooves in a surface of the cartridge body, the open sides of the grooves being closed by an adhesive preform which attaches a tab circuit to the surface. One end of each passage vents to the atmosphere at a second surface of the cartridge body underneath a portion of the tab circuit which is not adhesively attached to the second surface. A second end of each vent passage extends into a region of the first surface that is not covered by the adhesive preform and tab circuit so that the vent passages communicate with the sealed region formed when the cap is moved into contact with the cartridge.

Ink-jet cartridge venting

Reliable connecting pathways for a three-color ink-jet cartridge

An ink jet printer cartridge assembly including a cartridge body with at least one ink chamber from which ink flows to a print head. A standpipe in the ink chamber includes an opening therethrough for the flow of ink to the print head, and a filter cap is secured on the top of the standpipe to limit the introduction of air bubbles and particulate matter in the flow of ink toward the print head. The filter cap includes a mesh material formed into a dome-shaped configuration and an elastomeric material molded about the periphery of the mesh portion, with the elastomeric material being received around the top portion of the standpipe.

Ink jet cartridge including filter inserts

A printing machine includes a charge neutralizing system for neutralizing static charge on sheets of material fed therethrough. The charge neutralizing system includes a grounded wire (47) located in proximity to the sheets for neutralizing charge on the sheets. The charge neutralizing system further includes a grounded conductive brush (81) mounted on a sheet deflector (61) so that one end of the brush (77) contacts sheets as they traverse a first sheet feed path (71) and the other end of the brush (79) contacts sheets are they are routed by the deflector to a second alternative sheet feed path (63). The grounded brush (81) further serves to decelerate the sheet as it exits the printing machine over the second sheet feed path (63).

Printing machine with charge neutralizing system

An electrophotographic copier machine with a roll fuser where one of the mating rolls is comprised of a thin outer shell which takes a variable taper so that a concave shape is produced under high humidity conditions and a relatively straight roller is produced under low humidity conditions. Means for changing the support at the roll ends is provided to produce the variable taper. End plugs can be moved axially inward at high humidity to provide support for the end portions of the normally concave roll and can be moved axially outwardly under low humidity such that no support is provided until the roll ends are flattened under the pressure of a mating roll.

Hollow fuser roll with variable taper

A hot roll fuser includes a heated roller and a substantially non-deformable backup roll forming a nip through which a carrier with unfused toner may pass, the toner becoming fused by virtue of the heating action from the hot roll. A cleaning arrangement for cleaning the backup roll comprises a support and a pair of scraping blades, each supported in contacting relationship with the backup roll. To insure good scraping action, each of the blades has a serrated or interrupted scraping edge, and the serrations or interruptions of the first and second blades are offset so that the entire surface area of the backup roll is scraped either by the first or second blades, or both.

Backup roll cleaning system for a heated roll fuser

A heated fuser roller and backup roller fix toner on a sheet passing therebetween. These rollers are separated during nontoner fixing periods and normally closed for a predetermined early closure period prior to arrival of a sheet at the nip between the rollers. The immediate past history of fusing activity is monitored to determine whether the early roll closure is to be inhibited, a situation existing whenever the immediate past history indicates that steps must be taken to prevent backup roller overheating. The past history monitoring is performed by direct backup roller temperature sensing, timeout circuit operation or the like.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Fred Young Brandon