Patents by Inventor Steven J. Dietl

Steven J. Dietl has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5971531
    Abstract: An ink jet cartridge for use in an ink jet printer has replaceable ink supply tanks. The cartridge includes a housing with an integrally mounted printhead, at least one ink pipe connector protruding from a floor thereof, and internal passageways which interconnect the ink pipe connectors and printhead. The replaceable ink supply tanks, one for each color and each ink pipe connector, contain an ink saturated foam or needled felt member, an ink outlet port, and a filter element which covers the ink outlet port. When the ink supply tank is installed in the cartridge housing, the ink pipe connector extends through the outlet port of the tank and deforms the filter element into compressive contact with the foam or needled felt member. Whenever an ink depleted ink supply tank is replaced with a new ink supply tank, a fresh filter element is available for the cartridge, thus preventing degradation of the cartridge filters during the useful life of the cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, David P. Breemes, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5959649
    Abstract: A system for supplying liquid ink to a thermal ink-jet printing apparatus comprises a housing defining a single chamber having a ventilation port and an outlet port. A medium occupies at least a portion of the chamber, the medium being adapted to retain a quantity of liquid ink. A scavenger member is disposed across the outlet port, providing a capillary force greater than that of the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, Michael Carlotta
  • Patent number: 5786834
    Abstract: A method an apparatus for storing and supplying liquid ink to a thermal ink-jet printer includes a printhead that has ink ejection nozzles and an ink supply housing connected to the printhead. The ink supply housing defines an ink storage chamber, and an ink flow path communicating with the printhead and ink storage chamber. An ink storage medium and a scavenger member are placed in the ink storage chamber for retaining, and controllably supplying a quantity of liquid ink from the chamber within a desirable back pressure range at the printhead. The ink storage medium is a medium density non-reticulation process produced copolymer polyurethane foam consisting essentially of a blend of polyether and polyester materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Carlotta, Steven J. Dietl, David P. Breemes, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5519425
    Abstract: An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer has an ink supply in a housing and a printhead assembly fixedly attached thereto. The ink is contained in an absorbent material in the housing which is partitioned from the printhead assembly by a housing wall having a vent and an ink outlet. The ink flow path from the housing outlet to the printhead inlet is produced by a recess in the outer surface of the housing wall and a film member bonded thereover by a thermosetting adhesive. The film member has a slot therethrough, and the adhesive is the type not attacked by the ink. The surface of the film member opposite the surface bonded to the housing wall is coated with the same thermosetting adhesive which bonds to the printhead assembly surface containing the ink inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, Vladimir M. Kupchik, Manfred H. Goeserich
  • Patent number: 5491501
    Abstract: A system for supplying liquid ink to a thermal ink-jet printing apparatus comprises a housing defining a chamber having a ventilation port and an outlet port. The chamber retains a quantity of liquid ink. An ink delivery medium is disposed across the outlet port, providing a capillary force greater than that of the medium. The ink delivery medium is a high density, fine pore fully open cell polyester polyurethane, preferably, ULTRA FINE. A filter is attached to the ink delivery medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 13, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, David P. Breemes
  • Patent number: 5486855
    Abstract: An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer that supplies ink at a negative pressure is disclosed. The cartridge includes a cartridge housing having an upper chamber and a lower chamber and a first wall therebetween. The upper chamber has an aperture exposed to atmosphere and it also contains a capillary foam having a specifiable capillarity for absorbing ink. The lower chamber is airlocked until the ink level in the upper chamber is sufficiently low to allow the passage of air through the pores. A printhead is disposed at a vertical height greater than a top level of the lower chamber. A supply line is provided which conveys ink by capillary action of the nozzles to the printhead. A second capillary foam has a specifiable capillarity greater than the capillarity of the first capillary foam. The second foam is in fluidic communication with the upper and lower chambers and with the supply line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 23, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Carlotta, Steven J. Dietl, Richard A. Morano
  • Patent number: 5467116
    Abstract: An ink jet printer in which an ink cartridge is used. The cartridge includes an ink tank and a head base plate which has an ink jet head including a plurality of ink discharging nozzles. A carriage for mounting an ink cartridge thereon has at least three projections for individually contacting with at least three portions of the head base plate. The head base plate is pressed against the projections to fix the ink cartridge to the carriage thereby to position ink discharging nozzles of the ink jet head accurately at predetermined positions with respect to a recording medium so that ink may be jetted in a predetermined direction with certainty from the ink jet head to the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 14, 1995
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Tec, Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Nakamura, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Steven J. Dietl, Donald M. Stevens
  • Patent number: 5420625
    Abstract: A system for supplying liquid ink to a thermal ink-jet printing apparatus comprises a housing defining a single chamber having a ventilation port and an outlet port. A medium occupies at least a portion of the chamber, the medium being adapted to retain a quantity of liquid ink. A scavenger member is disposed across the outlet port, providing a capillary force greater than that of the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, Michael Carlotta
  • Patent number: 5343230
    Abstract: An ink jet printer having cap station articulation with a printhead cartridge located on a fast scan carriage. The fast scan carriage includes a sliding connector plate which allows easy vertical insertion and electrical interconnect of the printhead cartridge without interference of the capping station. Movement of the sliding connector plate can be controlled manually, or automatically, by a latch to provide for cartridge installation. When the latch is closed, the latch fixedly attaches the sliding connector plate on the fast scan carriage. When the latch is opened, the sliding connector plate is movable to a cartridge install position spaced a distance along the scan carriage and displaced from a cap station. In this position, the cartridge is free to be dropped vertically onto the sliding connector plate, using features provided by a heat sink and a plastic cartridge wall as rough locators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 30, 1994
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Steven J. Dietl
  • Patent number: 5325111
    Abstract: A process and apparatus for removing waste ink from a capping station on a low cost integral capping, priming and wiping station for a thermal ink jet printer. In particular, the prime operation is repeated so that the scanning carriage (containing the ink jet printhead) travels past the capping position which breaks the vacuum seal and causes waste ink in the cap volume to be released into the pump chamber, thus cleaning the cap volume of excess ink. The additional prime cycle does not remove ink from printhead orifices because the scanning carriage travels away from the capping position as vacuum is applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1994
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Steven J. Dietl
  • Patent number: 5233369
    Abstract: An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer that supplies ink at a negative pressure is disclosed. The cartridge includes a cartridge housing having an upper chamber and a lower chamber and a first wall therebetween. The upper chamber has an aperture exposed to atmosphere and it also contains a capillary foam having a specifiable capillarity for absorbing ink. The lower chamber is airlocked until the ink level in the upper chamber is sufficiently low to allow the passage of air through the pores. A printhead is disposed at a vertical height greater than a top level of the lower chamber. A supply line is provided which conveys ink by capillary action of the nozzles to the printhead. A second capillary foam has a specifiable capillarity greater than the capillarity of the first capillary foam. The second foam is in fluidic communication with the upper and lower chambers and with the supply line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1993
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Carlotta, Steven J. Dietl, Richard A. Morano
  • Patent number: 5159348
    Abstract: In an ink jet printer, a printhead assembly comprising a printhead and an ink reservoir is mounted on a scanning carriage for movement across a recording medium. During printing, droplets of ink are expelled from ink channels within the printhead and the channels are replenished with ink which is drawn in from the reservoir. The reservoir is connected by supply and return lines to an ink source, and a pump is provided to deliver ink from the source along the supply line to prime the printhead and reservoir. To ensure that the reservoir is filled with ink during the priming operation, the outlet from the reservoir to the return line incorporates a flow restriction equal to, or greater than, that of the printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1992
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Dietl, David G. Anderson, Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Carlotta, Richard A. Morano