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US 2017/0246880 A1Published application
Printer fluid priming using multiple air priming units
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsSin Yan Wan, Michelle Mae Marinito
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air priming system is described that can prime printer fluid of one or more printer fluid tanks of a printer. The air priming system includes multiple priming units that are coupled together so as to be rotated or otherwise adjusted together to be paced into one of a plurality of priming stages. In each of the plurality of priming stages, air flow is either allowed or blocked through specific priming units.
Claims15
A system comprising:
- a first priming unit to prime a first tank of printer fluid, the first priming unit including a first priming unit gear;
- and
- a second priming unit to prime a second tank of printer fluid, the second priming unit including a second priming unit gear that is coupled to the first priming unit gear so as to rotate when the first priming unit gear is rotated;
- wherein the system is adjustable between a first priming stage and a second priming stage in which:
- (1) the first priming stage allows air flow through the first priming unit to prime the first tank while blocking air flow through the second priming unit to prevent priming of the second tank, and (2) the second priming stage blocks air flow through the first priming unit to prevent priming of the first tank while allowing air flow through the second priming unit to prime the second tank.
2 more elements
A printer comprising:
- a first tank of printer fluid;
- a second tank of printer fluid;
- an air priming system including:
- an air pump to provide priming air;
- a first priming unit coupled to the air pump and the first tank to allow priming of the first tank, wherein the first priming unit includes a first priming unit gear;
- a second priming unit coupled to the air pump and the second tank to allow priming of the second tank, wherein the second priming unit includes a second priming unit gear that is coupled to the first priming unit gear so as to rotate when the first priming unit gear is rotated;
- and
- a motor unit including a motor gear that is coupled to the first priming gear to place the air priming system in a first priming stage in which the first tank is primed by flowing air through the first priming unit and the second tank is not primed, and a second priming stage in which the first tank is not primed and the second tank is primed by flowing air through the second priming unit, wherein the priming stage is based on the rotation of the first and second priming gears;
- and
- a printhead fluidly connected to the first tank and the second tank to receive printer fluid from the first tank and printer fluid from the second tank.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- a first priming unit including a first rotatable component that is rotatable between a priming state in which a first air channel is opened to allow an air pump to prime a first printer fluid tank and a non-priming state in which the first air channel is closed to prevent the air pump from priming the first printer fluid tank;
- and
- a second priming unit including a second rotatable component that is rotatable between a priming state in which a second air channel is opened to allow the air pump to prime the second printer fluid tank and a non-priming state in which the second air channel is closed to prevent the air pump from priming the second printer fluid tank,
- wherein rotation of the first rotatable component is to cause rotation of the second rotatable component such that when the first priming unit is in the priming state, the second priming unit is in the non-priming state and when the first priming unit is in the non-priming state, the second priming unit is in the priming state.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.