The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 02, 1997
Filed:
Nov. 14, 1994
James D Story, Houston, TX (US);
Bruno L Richet, Redwood City, CA (US);
Christopher B Fruhauf, Stanford, CA (US);
JetFill, Inc., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a refill insert that is couplable to an ink jet printhead. The refill insert comprises a housing that has an enclosed, defined volume therein for receiving a predetermined quantity of ink. Included substantially within the structure of the housing is a subhousing having an interior volume in fluid communication with the defined volume of the housing. The housing further includes an ink egress port and an air ingress port that is separated a distance from the ink egress port and are in fluid communication with the subhousing. The ink egress port, which is in fluid communication with the printhead, and the air ingress port may be located on a single wall of the subhousing or they may be located on separate walls of the subhousing. Additionally, the subhousing and the housing may share a common wall. The subhousing completely spans the distance separating the ink egress port and the air ingress port with the interior volume of the subhousing encompassing the ink egress port. An ink entraining material, which is preferably comprised of a sponge, is disposed in the subhousing and is adapted to allow the ink to flow from within the housing to the ink egress port. Air enters the subhousing via the air ingress port to equalize a pressure of the housing with an ambient atmospheric pressure external to the housing.