DE-102024131693-B4 - ink reservoir

Abstract

An ink reservoir (201) for holding ink (202) for an inkjet printing device (100) is described, wherein the ink reservoir (201) has a dispensing opening (209) configured for connecting a line (219) for dispensing ink (202) from the ink reservoir (201), and wherein the ink reservoir (201) has a machine-readable code (305). The ink reservoir (201) is configured such that the code (305) is damaged when access is gained to the dispensing opening (209) to connect a line (219) to the dispensing opening (209), and/or when a line (219) is connected to the dispensing opening (209).

Inventors

• Florian Hitzlsperger
• Ulrich Stöckle
• Claus Schneider

Assignees

• CANON PRODUCTION PRINTING HOLDING B.V.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20241030

Claims (5)

1. Ink reservoir (201) for receiving ink (202) for an inkjet printing device (100); wherein - the ink reservoir (201) has a dispensing opening (209) designed for connecting a line (219) for dispensing ink (202) from the ink reservoir (201); - the ink reservoir (201) has a machine-readable code (305); and - the ink reservoir (201) is designed such that the code (305) is damaged if -- access to the dispensing opening (209) is created to connect a line (219) to the dispensing opening (209); and/or -- a line (219) is connected to the dispensing opening (209), characterized in that - the ink reservoir (201) has a cover (309) that covers the dispensing opening (209) and/or that blocks access to the dispensing opening (209); - the code (305) is arranged on the cover (309); - the ink reservoir (201) is designed such that the cover (309) must be damaged or removed in order to -- create access to the dispensing opening (209); and/or -- connect a line (219) to the dispensing opening (209), and - wherein the ink reservoir (201) -- comprises an inner sleeve (302) for receiving the ink (202); wherein the dispensing opening (209) is arranged on the inner sleeve (302); and -- comprising an outer shell (301) that encloses the inner shell (302); wherein the cover (309) is arranged on the outer shell (301).
2. ink reservoir (201) according to Claim 1 , wherein - the inner shell (302) is flexible and/or is made of a flexible material, in particular plastic; and/or - the outer shell (301) is designed as a supporting structure for the inner shell (302) and/or is made of a rigid material, in particular cardboard.
3. Ink reservoir (201) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein - the code (305) indicates information relating to the ink (202) contained in the ink reservoir (201); and/or - the code (305) comprises a QR code.
4. ink reservoir (201) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispensing opening (209) comprises a coupling, in particular a hose coupling, which is configured to be connected to a complementary coupling of a line (219).
5. Ink reservoir (201) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein - the dispensing opening (209) comprises a valve; and - the dispensing opening (209) is in particular configured such that the valve is automatically opened when a line (219) is connected to the dispensing opening (209).

Description

The invention relates to an ink reservoir for providing ink for an inkjet printing device according to the preamble of claim 1, as described in the printed document. JP 2019 - 188 736 A can be removed. An inkjet printing device for printing onto a recording medium may comprise a print bar with one or more printheads, each with one or more nozzles. The nozzles are each configured to eject ink droplets to print pixels of an image onto the recording medium. The individual printheads of a print bar are supplied with ink by an ink supply system, which typically includes an ink reservoir from which ink is provided for the operation of the inkjet printing device. The ink reservoir may be tampered with, for example, by being filled with ink unsuitable for the printing device, which could impair the print quality of the inkjet printing device. This document addresses the technical problem of providing efficient and reliable protection for an ink reservoir against tampering, in particular to ensure consistently high print quality of an inkjet printing device. This problem is solved by the features of independent claim 1. According to one aspect, an ink reservoir for holding ink for an inkjet printing device is described. The ink reservoir has a dispensing opening designed for connecting a line for drawing ink from the reservoir. Furthermore, the ink reservoir has a machine-readable code. The ink reservoir is designed such that the code is damaged, and in particular must be damaged, when access is gained to the dispensing opening to connect a line to it, and/or when a line is connected to the dispensing opening. The ink reservoir has a cover that covers the dispensing opening and/or blocks access to it. The code is located on the cover. Furthermore, the ink reservoir is designed such that the cover must be damaged or removed to access the dispensing opening and/or to connect a line to it. The ink reservoir also includes an inner sleeve for holding the ink, with the dispensing opening located on the inner sleeve. Finally, the ink reservoir includes an outer sleeve that encloses the inner sleeve, with the cover located on the outer sleeve. Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the schematic drawing. These show: 1 a block diagram of an exemplary inkjet printing device; 2 an exemplary ink supply system for a print bar of an inkjet printing device; 3a an example of an ink reservoir in a front view; 3b an example of an ink reservoir in a side view; and 4 A flowchart of an exemplary procedure for operating a printing device with an ink reservoir. The in 1 The illustrated printing device 100 is designed for printing onto a sheet-shaped, flat, plate-shaped, or web-shaped recording medium 120. The recording medium 120 can be made of paper, cardboard, carton, metal, plastic, textiles, a combination thereof, and/or other suitable and printable materials. The recording medium 120 is guided through the printing unit 140 of the printing device 100 along the transport direction 1, indicated by an arrow. In the illustrated example, the printing unit 140 of the printing device 100 comprises two printing bars 102, each printing bar 102 being usable for printing with ink of a specific color, e.g., black, cyan, magenta, and/or yellow, and optionally MICR ink. Different printing bars 102 can be used for printing with different inks. Furthermore, the printing device 100 typically includes at least one fuser or drying unit, which is not integrated into 1 is shown and is set up to fix a printed image printed on the recording medium 120. A print bar 102 can comprise one or more print heads 103, which may be arranged side by side in several rows to print the pixels of different columns 31, 32 of a print image onto the recording medium 120. In the 1 In the illustrated example, a print bar 102 comprises five printheads 103, each printhead 103 printing the pixels of a group of columns 31, 32 of a print image onto the recording medium 120. The number of printheads 103 For example, the number of pressure bars 102 can be 5, 10 or more. Each printhead 103 of the printing unit 140 comprises in the 1 In the illustrated embodiment, several nozzles 21, 22 are provided, each nozzle 21, 22 being configured to fire or propel ink droplets onto the recording medium 120. For example, a printhead 103 of the printing unit 140 can comprise several thousand effectively used nozzles 21, 22 arranged along several rows transverse to the transport direction 1 of the recording medium 120. By means of the nozzles 21, 22 of a printhead 103 of the printing unit 140, pixels of a line of a printed image can be printed onto the recording medium 120 transverse to the transport direction 1, i.e., along the width of the recording medium 120. The printing device 100 further comprises a control device 101, e.g. a control hardware and/or a controller, which is configured to control the actuators of the individual nozzles 21, 2