Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

Ram Santhanam

Junji Yamamoto

Daniel Steven Kline

Marcus L Scholz

Chee Meng Chen

Andrew J Zoolakis

Erich E Coiner

William T Fitzsimmons

Jason W Livengood

Jose L Ortega

Mark McCluskey

Marcus Scholz

An apparatus for horizontally loading and unloading an ink-jet print cartridge from a carriage in a printer. The apparatus includes a generally rectangular print cartridge, an elongate supporting lip located on a side wall of the print cartridge, a carriage body, a chute mounted on the carriage for receiving the print cartridge, and a generally horizontal rail on a side wall of the chute for guiding the print cartridge into the carriage. In operation, the apparatus horizontally loads a print cartridge into a carriage by translating the print cartridge horizontally forward into a carriage, engaging a lip on the print cartridge with a guide rail on the carriage, sliding the print cartridge up and over a datum on the carriage with the guide rail and latching the print cartridge in the carriage. The apparatus unloads a print cartridge from a carriage by rotating the print cartridge about a datum on the carriage, unlatching the print cartridge from the carriage, and horizontally translating the print cartridge out of the carriage.

Method and apparatus for horizontally loading and unloading an ink-jet print cartridge from a carriage

A technique for dispensing ink into an inkjet cartridge. An ink filling kit includes an ink supply including at least one ink chamber for holding a fill supply of liquid ink, and at least one protruding needle in communication with each ink chamber. The kit can include a vacuum system for applying a vacuum to the nozzle array of the printhead nozzle array to draw air through the nozzle array. A method for filling an inkjet cartridge includes providing an ink supply including at least one ink chamber for holding a fill supply of liquid ink, and at least one protruding needle in communication with the ink chamber, holding the inkjet cartridge in a position during a fill procedure relative to the ink supply, wherein the needle extends into internal ink reservoir, dispensing ink from the ink supply through the needle into the ink reservoir, and applying a vacuum to the nozzle array of the printhead nozzle array during the fill procedure to draw air through the nozzle array. The cartridge can include a two part lid structure, including a lid portion for permanent attachment to the housing, and a cover portion having a closed position for covering at least one fill port in the lid structure, the cover portion movable to allow access to the at least one fill port.

Ink-jet pen with two-part lid and techniques for filling

A carriage assembly for holding one or more inkjet print cartridges. A mechanical key on a carriage chute is formed in a predetermined pattern having a plurality of columns such that at least one of the columns acts as a barrier preventing a non-compatible print cartridge from staying in a secured mounting position.

Multiple bit matrix configuration for key-latched printheads

A mechanical key scheme is integrated into a composite pattern on both a print cartridge and its corresponding printer carriage chute. In a preferred embodiment the pattern incorporates a plurality of adjacent contiguous columns on both sides of a latch, with each column capable of defining multiple position bits in order to precisely differentiate between different types and/or different families of print cartridges.

Methods for encoding mechanical keys on printheads

A spring for latching a print cartridge in a carriage in a facsimile printer mechanism. The spring is a cantilever that is doubled back on itself to obtain a long effective length is a short space.

Spring for latching a print cartridge in a carriage

An ink-jet print cartridge includes a body with a lid. The body defines a vent structure communicating between ambient and an ink reservoir internally of the body. One embodiment of the vent structure includes a straight cylindrical bore opening through the lid of the print cartridge body between ambient and the ink reservoir. This vent structure includes a tapered annular surface surrounding the opening of the straight cylindrical bore on a surface of the lid, so as to direct ink away from the opening of the bore. An annular ink well surrounds the tapered annular surface so as to catch and hold ink flowing along this surface away from the opening of the straight cylindrical bore.

Vent for an ink-jet print cartridge

An ink-jet print cartridge is especially configured for loading and unloading into and from an inkjet print cartridge by use of substantially only horizontal translational movements relative to a carriage of the printer. The apparatus includes a generally rectangular prismatic print cartridge having its major axis of elongation disposed horizontally. The print cartridge includes a pair of outwardly extending elongate horizontal supporting lips located one on each of the opposite side walls of the print cartridge, a carriage body, a chute mounted on the carriage for receiving the print cartridge, and a generally horizontal guide rail on each of the pair of side walls of the chute. The guide rails guide the print cartridge into the carriage by supportingly engaging the lips. The print cartridge provides user engageable features which are located remotely from an array of electrical contacts on the cartridge body, and which are separated from a user by the length dimension of the cartridge body so that the electrical contacts are not easily contaminated by fingerprints. Further, a user's pushing installation force passed along a line passing through this array of electrical contacts, insuring good electrical connection of the print cartridge with the carriage.

Ink-jet print cartridge, ink-jet printer, method and apparatus

The disclosure describes a method for the solderless laser welding of two materials by using a laser light beam attached to a fiber optic system which directs the light to a region where the laser beam can shine through one of the materials to create a seam weld. By using a fiber optic system the laser beam is optimally converted into thermal energy and weld flaws due to underheating or destruction of the materials due to overheating does not occur. The method and apparatus provide rapid, reproducible laser welding even for the smallest of contact geometries. For example, the method results in solderless gold-to-gold compression laser welding of a silicon substrate to the material contained in a polymer flex circuit tape, such as a polyimide, without damaging the tape. A strong solderless gold-to-gold bond can be formed between a gold bond line, or complex weld seam pattern, on the flex circuit tape and a mating gold bond line or weld seam pattern on a semiconductor chip. Such a bond is formed without any damage to the tape and prevents delamination and nozzle skewing during the adhesive curing process of other methods. The reduced nozzle skewing provides less dot placement error for print cartridges, and therefore better print quality. Disclosed is an improved printhead configuration for facilitating the attachment of a nozzle member to the substrate which increases nozzle area stiffness and nozzle camber angle and directionality as well as, the substrate/tape interface bond strength, and reduces deformation of the nozzle member. The configuration thereby provides higher consistent ink chamber refill speeds, and reduces ink trajectory errors and delamination. In addition, in particular embodiments increased tolerance to aggressive solvents in inks and more consistent chamber geometry result in better control over drop volume. The method improves the quality, repeatability and reliability of the pen and results in fewer process steps, thereby improving processing time, cost and reduced in-process handling. The above in turn results in ease of assembly, higher yields, improved reliability, ease of nozzle serviceability, and overall material and manufacturing cost reduction.

Laser welded inkjet printhead assembly utilizing a combination laser and fiber optic push connect system

An ink-jet print cartridge having a low profile. The print cartridge includes a print cartridge body, a lid securely affixed to the body, and a latch located on the lid. The print cartridge further includes two elongate supporting lips located along the side walls of the body for supporting the print cartridge during loading. Loading is effected with a plurality of gripping surfaces remotely located from the latch.

Ink-jet print cartridge having a low profile

Ink jet print cartridge

An ink delivery system which includes a short form factor ink jet pen having a supply of ink for depositing on an ink receiving medium. An adapter is mounted to the short form factor pen to permit it to be removably mounted within a pen receptacle or stall dimensioned to receive a tall form factor pen. The ink jet cartridge includes a housing, a printhead mounted on the housing, datum surfaces on the housing for registering a position of the housing in a fixed, repeatable position in a first carriage structure, and a cartridge set of electrical contacts mounted to the cartridge housing and electrically coupled to the printhead. The cartridge set of electrical contacts is positioned on the housing for electrical contact with a corresponding first carriage set of electrical contacts when the cartridge is mounted in the first carriage structure. The adapter structure is mounted to the cartridge housing to provide an assembly of the adapter structure and the cartridge, the assembly adapted for mounting in a second carriage structure configured to receive an inkjet cartridge of a different size in a fixed, repeatable position. The second carriage structure has a second carriage set of electrical contacts, and contact is made between the set of electrical contacts and the second carriage set of contacts when the cartridge is in the fixed, repeatable position in the second carriage structure.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Ram Santhanam