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:
May. 30, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 30, 1996
Gary L Miller, Vancouver, WA (US);
Ted T Lee, Escondido, CA (US);
Kenneth R Williams, Vancouver, WA (US);
Bruce A McFadden, Vancouver, WA (US);
Norman E Pawlowski, Jr, Corvallis, OR (US);
Michael K Bowen, Vancouver, WA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A tube routing configuration for a printing system with an off-axis ink supply system. The system includes a printer housing and a transporting system for transporting a print medium along a medium path to a print area. A scanning carriage holds a printing cartridge with a print-head, the carriage holding the cartridge such that the printhead faces the print zone. A carriage scanning apparatus moves the carriage along a scanning axis transverse to the medium path at the print area. An off-axis ink supply station is mounted in a fixed position relative to the printer housing. Hollow flexible tubing interconnects between the carriage and the off-axis ink supply station to provide an ink replenishment path for the printer cartridge. The tubing is routed between the carriage and the off-axis supply station such that a loop is formed in the tubing, and wherein the loop is substantially contained within a vertically projected volume swept out by the carriage, thereby reducing the need for additional product volume required for the tubing.