Ink cartridge
OwnerKenneth Yueninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ink container includes a housing that defines an ink reservoir, an air vent in air flow communication with the ink reservoir, and an ink outlet in ink flow communication with the ink reservoir. The air vent provides air flow communication between atmosphere and the ink reservoir. The ink outlet provides an ink flow path out of the ink reservoir through a leading surface of the housing. The ink outlet and air vent can be positioned on different sides of the cartridge or on the same side of the housing. The leading surface faces in a generally horizontal direction. The leading surface can include a contoured shape such as a convex shape.
Claims24
An ink cartridge, comprising:
- a housing defining an ink reservoir, the housing including a leading surface oriented in a generally vertical plane, the leading surface having a contoured shape;
- and
- an ink outlet from the ink reservoir positioned on the leading surface.
A printer ink cartridge, comprising:
- a housing defining an ink reservoir containing ink, the housing having a leading surface and at least one latching surface, the latching surface including a contoured structure and arranged facing in a direction generally opposite the leading surface;
- and
- an ink outlet positioned on the leading surface.
An ink cartridge, comprising:
- a housing defining an ink reservoir containing ink, the housing having a leading surface facing in a generally horizontal direction on a front side of the housing;
- an ink outlet positioned on the leading surface;
- and
- an air valve arrangement, the air valve arrangement including an air vent positioned on a side of the housing different from the front side, the air valve arrangement actuatable from the front side to create air flow communication between the ink reservoir and the air vent.
A method of filling an ink cartridge, the ink cartridge including a body portion and a lid portion, the lid portion defining a contoured leading surface of the ink cartridge, the method comprising:
- filling the body portion with ink;
- and
- securing the lid portion to the body portion to seal the ink within the ink cartridge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.