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:
Jul. 01, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 04, 1997
Eric L. Gasvoda, Salem, OR (US);
Susan M. Hmelar, Corvallis, OR (US);
David O. Merrill, Corvallis, OR (US);
Norman E. Pawlowski, Jr., Corvallis, OR (US);
Rhonda L. Wilson, Monmouth, OR (US);
Dennis W. Houpt, Toledo, OH (US);
David C. Kamp, Grand Rapids, OH (US);
Thomas J. Krall, Toledo, OH (US);
William E. Fillmore, Toledo, OH (US);
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
An ink container for an off-carriage printing system including an ink supply station. The ink container contains a collapsible reservoir filled with ink that is in fluidically connectable to a conduit that leads to a pressure regulator. The outlet of the regulator delivers ink to a printhead. A pressure vessel surrounds the reservoir. The system pressurizes the pressure vessel, which results in pressurized ink being delivered to the regulator. The ink container has a sensor that infers the actual volume of ink in the reservoir by sensing the relative position of the reservoir walls. This sensor is mounted between the pressure vessel and the collapsible reservoir. The sensor is electrically connected to pads that are accessible from the outside of the ink container. Leads route from the pads, through a seal zone, and to the sensor. The seal is provided by a compressed o-ring.