Hewlett-packard Company

Ignacio Olazabal

Elizabeth Zapata

Mark E Young

Max Stephen Gunther

Joseph Edward Scheffelin

David S Hunt

Robert R Giles

Alfred U Zepeda

Felix Ruiz

An inkjet printing system provides an automated mechanism for the connection/disconnection of an ink supply valve to inkjet printheads without having to remove the printheads from a carriage. The automated mechanism includes a bracket for holding a plurality of ink supply valves in a passive first position displaced from a corresponding number of inlet ports on inkjet printheads mounted in the carriage which moves back and forth across a print zone. During normal printing operations there is no connection between the ink supply valves and the inkjet printheads. When it becomes necessary to replenish ink in the printheads from a supplemental ink container connected to the ink supply valve, the carriage comes to a rest position away from the print zone, and a motor causes the bracket to move toward the carriage so that an ink supply valve can directly engage an inlet port on the inkjet printhead. In an exemplary embodiment, an ink cartridge having a reservoir capacity of about 40 cc. can receive about 15 cc. of ink from the supplemental ink container through the ink supply valve during a relatively short time period of approximately two minutes. Since the bracket moves all the ink supply valves as a group, all of the printheads are replenished at the same time, even through only one printhead may have reached a threshold level which triggered the replenishment procedure.

Printer apparatus for periodic automated connection of ink supply valves

An ink-jet printing system includes a printer frame structure, with a carriage mounted on the printer frame structure for movement across a print zone during normal printing operations and which is positionable in a refill position. At least one printhead is mounted on the carriage, with an inlet port accessible without having to remove the printhead. A support bracket is attached to the printer frame structure. The system further includes at least one ink supply valve mounted on the support bracket. A clamp structure is mounted on the support bracket and moveable between a clamping position for engaging the carriage in the refill position and stabilizing its position during a refill operation, and a disengaged position wherein the clamp structure is not in contact with the carriage. An automated mechanism is operatively connected to the support bracket which moves the clamp structure from the disengaged position to the clamping position, and which moves the at least one ink supply valve toward the carriage in said refill position for engagement of the ink supply valve with the inlet port of the printhead mounted in the carriage. The clamp structure is adapted to exert reaction clamping forces on said carriage in response to pen engagement forces exerted on the carriage during the pen engagement so that the resultant reaction on the carriage as a result of the clamping forces and the pen engagement forces is virtually nulled.

Carriage stabilization during periodic valve engagement for printhead

An inkjet printing system provides an on/off valve adapted for periodic engagement with an inlet port on a print cartridge mounted in a carriage. The valve is connected to an ink supply which is located off the carriage. As the ink reservoir in the print cartridge is slowly depleted during operation of the printing system, a mechanism periodically moves the valve from a first passive position separated from the print cartridge to a second active position engaged with the inlet port of the print cartridge in order to allow replenishment of the ink reservoir in the print cartridge without removing the print cartridge from the carriage.

Printing system with single on/off control valve for periodic ink

Growing community of inventors

Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain

Ignacio Olazabal