Patent number: 6003982

Disposable ink cartridge recharge system

Inventors:

  • Curley; Charles M.

Field of technology: Furniture and Household Articles, Miscellaneous

Patent granted on: Tue, 21 Dec 1999

Patent drawing

Abstract

A disposable ink refill system includes a recharge cartridge that attaches to a conventional desktop inkjet printer. A host cartridge unit, which includes a translating inkjet cartridge and an attached umbilical assembly, is fluidly connected to the recharge cartridge. The umbilical assembly easily attaches and detaches from the recharge cartridge to facilitate quick and easy exchange of the ink recharge cartridge, thereby providing a significantly less expensive alternative to ink cartridge replacement. The host ink cartridge unit, which has a useful life exceeding its ink capacity, is refilled instead of replaced, thus lowering a user's costs. The docking platform is integrated into the printer chassis, thus further facilitating quick and easy coupling of the umbilical assembly to the recharge cartridge. A docking platform, attached to the printer, provides the interconnection between the recharge cartridge and the host cartridge unit. An umbilical suspension is self-supporting, thereby resulting in a significant reduction in the printer footprint.