Back to results
US 5,856,838 AGranted
Ink supply device and recording apparatus
AssigneeFuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
InventorsKazuyuki Oda, Katsuyuki Fujii
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ink supply device for supplying ink to a print head, the device containing a main ink chamber, an intermediate ink chamber, a first meniscus forming member with pores between the main and intermediate ink chambers and a joint portion between the first meniscus forming member and the print head. The ink supply device holds ink by negative pressure maintained therein and extends the efficiency of the ink supply device. Preferably, the intermediate ink chamber is hermetically sealed.
Claims7
An ink supply device for supplying ink to a print head, comprising:
- a first meniscus forming member with pores and having a face, said first meniscus forming member formed in a communicating hole for use in supplying ink,
- a first ink chamber comprising a porous member and a bubble generator, said first ink chamber being capable of containing ink under a negative pressure,
- a joint portion communicating with said communicating hole and simultaneously with said print head, and
- a hermetically sealed second ink chamber,
- wherein the pores of the first meniscus forming member are sized such that the first meniscus forming member creates a bubble point pressure that satisfies the following relation:
- .vertline.PB.vertline..gtoreq..vertline.PR.vertline.+.vertline.PH.vertline.
- where
- PR=negative pressure generated in said first ink chamber;
- PB=bubble point pressure of said first meniscus forming member;
- and
- PH=hydraulic head pressure of ink acting on the face on a first ink chamber side of said first meniscus forming member.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.