US 2003/0146960 A1Published application

Ink container having a pressure stabilizer module

AssigneeNanodynamics, Inc.

InventorsChuang-Hsien Chiu, Chien-Ming Lin, Kun-Lang Yang

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Abstract

The specification discloses an ink container having a pressure stabilizer module. The module contains an airtight membrane, a passive plate, and an elastic device. The airtight membrane separates a box into an ink chamber and an air chamber. The passive plate is connected to one side of the airtight membrane and to the elastic device. The elastic device is normally depressed or stretched to move the airtight membrane. The ink chamber is thus slightly extended outward and maintains a negative pressure. As the ink stored inside the ink chamber gets less, the elastic device provides a restoring force to push or drag the passive plate. The negative pressure is thus maintained within a specific range. The invention further uses a conic spiral spring to avoid ink waste.

Claims13

Dependent claims

An ink container having a pressure stabilizer module for applications in inkjet printers, which comprises:

a box having an accommodation space with one end having a plurality of nozzle devices to eject ink;
and
at least one pressure stabilizer modules installed inside the box for controlling the pressure of the ink, each of the pressure stabilizer modules containing:
an airtight membrane installed inside the box to form an ink chamber for storing the ink;
a passive plate connected to the air-tight membrane and installed on the inner side of the ink chamber;
and
a conic spiral spring having one end connected to one side of the passive plate and is installed in such a way that it is normally depressed on the inner side of the ink chamber to provide a negative pressure;
wherein as the size of the ink chamber gets smaller in use, the conic spiral spring provides a depressing force to push against the passive plate, the conic spiral spring is depressible down to the thickness of the spring wire to reduce the waste of ink, and the conic spiral spring helps maintaining the negative pressure within a specific range.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.