This invention relates generally to inkjet cartridge construction, and more particularly to mechanisms for attaching an ink supply tube to an inkjet cartridge.
Modern inkjet printers employ a variety of ink cartridges for dispensing ink onto a media sheet. The cartridge typically includes an internal ink reservoir and a printhead. The printhead includes nozzles through which ink droplets are ejected. Ink is drawn from the reservoir into the nozzles. As inkjet printing technology has developed, one of the challenges has been to improve print quality and avoid clogging and failure of the inkjet printhead. A partial solution to these problems has been the development of inexpensive, disposable inkjet cartridges.
Disposable inkjet cartridges typically are designed to operate for a given useful life. The printhead is designed to function properly for a very high percentage of time during such useful life. One manner of ensuring that performance is maintained is to implement an internal reservoir having a specified capacity which is depleted before the printhead's useful life expires. When the reservoir is empty the cartridge is discarded.
The use of disposable cartridges has effectively assured that print quality is maintained within the failure rates dictated for a particular cartridge. When an existing inkjet cartridge runs out of ink, however, the printhead is still operating effectively in most cases. The printhead often has some useful life left. One result has been the development of an after-market in which used cartridges are refilled, resold and re-used. With the continued advancement of inkjet printhead technology, the useful life of the printhead has progressively outdistanced the conventional capacity of the disposable cartridge's internal reservoir. As a result, the refill market has evolved.
A benefit of the increasing useful life of the inkjet printhead and advancement of inkjet printhead technology has been the development of inkjet printing systems employing a print cartridge and an external high capacity supply reservoir. The supply reservoirs, not having the same limitations as the local cartridge are easily refilled or replaced. Typically, the supply reservoir is coupled to the print cartridge via an ink supply tube. The cartridge printhead thus is used for a life exceeding a one-time capacity of its internal reservoir.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds