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:
Mar. 09, 2004
Filed:
Jan. 30, 2002
Takeshi Kono, Kanagawa, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An ink supply mechanism comprises an ink supply tube for supplying ink to a recording head, an ink supply needle communicated with a liquid flow path, and an air inducing needle communicated with an atmospheric communication port. The ink supply needle and the air inducing needle are communicated with the inside of a main tank by being penetrated through rubber plugs provided for the bottom of the main tank, respectively, to enable liquid paths to be communicated through the main tank. Also, both the ink supply needle and the air inducing needle are formed by conductive material, and a circuit is connected therewith to measure the electrical resistance of ink. The flow path is communicated with the atmospheric communication port by way of a portion positioned higher than the upper opening of the air inducing needle. With the structure thus arranged, the ink supply mechanism prevents ink from leaking from the atmospheric communication port.