Ink container providing pressurized ink with ink level sensor

An ink container for holding a pressurized supply of ink, comprising:

• a pressure vessel for defining a chamber, the vessel having an opening formed therein;
• a collapsible ink reservoir for holding a supply of liquid ink, said reservoir disposed within said pressure vessel;
• an electrical circuitry attached to the collapsible ink reservoir for sensing the amount of ink within the reservoir, said circuitry including conductive leads passing from the reservoir through the vessel opening to a set of electrical contacts external to the pressure vessel;
• an apparatus for providing an ink path from the exterior of said pressure vessel through said opening to said ink reservoir and for providing a gas seal around the conductive leads and ink path to close said opening.

An ink container for holding a pressurized supply of ink, comprising:

• a collapsible reservoir for holding a supply of liquid ink, said reservoir having an ink outlet for providing ink to an inkjet printhead;
• a pressure vessel that surrounds the collapsible reservoir and provides a pressurized region around the collapsible reservoir such that ink in the reservoir is pressurized, said pressurized region substantially sealed from an outside atmosphere;
• electrical circuitry disposed within the pressure vessel for providing an electrical signal that is indicative of a volume of ink in the reservoir;
• a plurality of container contacts disposed on an outside surface of the ink container;
• and
• an electrical pathway that electrically couples the electrical circuitry to the container contacts, the electrical pathway traversing a seal zone that separates the pressurized region from the outside atmosphere.

An ink container for an inkjet printing system, the printing system having a printhead for ejecting ink on media, said ink container comprising:

• a fluid outlet for providing ink to said printhead;
• a collapsible ink reservoir for holding a supply of ink, said reservoir in fluid communication with said outlet;
• a pressure vessel that surrounds said collapsible reservoir and provides a pressurized region around said collapsible reservoir such that ink in said reservoir is pressurized, said pressurized region substantially sealed from an outside atmosphere;
• electrical circuitry disposed within said pressure vessel for providing an electrical signal that is indicative of a volume of ink in said reservoir;
• an externally accessible plurality of container contacts;
• and an electrical pathway that electrically couples said electrical circuitry to said container contacts, said electrical pathway traversing a seal zone that separates said pressurized region from said outside atmosphere.

A method of assembling an ink container to be installed in an inkjet printing system, said inkjet printing system having a printhead for ejecting ink on media, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a first housing member including a fluid pathway with a fluid outlet for providing ink to said printhead;
• (b) fluidically coupling a collapsible reservoir to said fluid outlet;
• (c) attaching an ink level sensing circuit to said collapsible reservoir;
• (d) attaching a plurality of container contacts on an outside surface of said first housing member;
• (e) routing a plurality of electrical paths that couple said sensing circuit to said container contacts;
• (f) attaching a second housing member to said first housing member, said second housing member abutting said first housing member along a seal zone, said first and second housing members forming a pressure vessel that surrounds said collapsible reservoir, said pressure vessel and said collapsible reservoir defining a pressurized region therebetween, said plurality of electrical paths passing through said seal zone from said pressurized region to said outside atmosphere.