Print engine with a refillable printer cartridge and ink refill port
View Patent ↗A print engine for a printhead assembly includes a refillable cartridge having a body defining a plurality of fluid chambers, the body having a lid assembly with a plurality of ink refill ports leading to respective fluid chambers, the lid assembly having an actuator to actuate a refill unit; a number of micro-electromechanical nozzle arrangements configured to operatively eject printing fluid onto a printing medium; and a fluid distribution member operatively arranging the nozzle arrangements in fluid communication with respective fluid chambers. The lid assembly engages with the refill unit to actuate the refill unit. The refill unit includes an outlet adapted to engage with the plurality of ink refill ports, a fluid reservoir, and an ejector assembly configured to incrementally eject fluid from the reservoir when the ejector assembly is actuated by the actuator during operative engagement of the print cartridge by the lid assembly. Each fluid chamber includes a stack of polymer layers with a micro-capillary array of channels formed therein to form an absorbent assembly within the fluid chamber.
1. A print engine for a printhead assembly, the print engine comprising:
a refillable cartridge having a body defining a plurality of fluid chambers, the body having a lid assembly with a plurality of ink refill ports leading to respective fluid chambers, the lid assembly having an actuator to actuate a refill unit;
a number of micro-electromechanical nozzle arrangements configured to operatively eject printing fluid onto a printing medium; and
a fluid distribution member operatively arranging the nozzle arrangements in fluid communication with respective fluid chambers, wherein
the lid assembly engages with the refill unit to actuate the refill unit,
the refill unit includes an outlet adapted to engage with the plurality of ink refill ports, a fluid reservoir, and an ejector assembly configured to incrementally eject fluid from the reservoir when the ejector assembly is actuated by the actuator during operative engagement of the print cartridge by the lid assembly, and
each fluid chamber includes a stack of polymer layers with a micro-capillary array of channels formed therein to form an absorbent assembly within the fluid chamber.
2. The print engine of claim 1 , wherein the polymer of the stack is selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, acrylic, polysulfone, polystyrene, fluoropolymer, cyclic olefin polymer, and cyclic olefin copolymer.
3. The print engine of claim 1 , wherein the ejector assembly includes a piston and cylinder arrangement with the piston biased into the cylinder with a compressed spring, said ejector assembly having a pawl-and-ratchet detent preventing the biased piston entering the cylinder until the pawl is actuated by the actuator.
4. The print engine of claim 1 , wherein the ejector assembly includes a plunger having a toothed thread which engages with a screw thread provided in an internal wall of the housing, the ejector having a drive gear so that actuation of the drive gear imparts rotation to the toothed thread so as to rotate the plunger within the screw thread of the housing to eject ink from a bellows-like reservoir.
5. The print engine of claim 1 , wherein the ejector assembly includes a piston and cylinder ink reservoir, said piston having a thread which engages a screw thread in an internal wall of the cylinder, the piston rotationally biased by a wound spring and the ejector having a pawl-and-ratchet detent preventing the biased piston threading into the reservoir until the pawl is actuated by the actuator.