Fluid cartridge and system for dispensing fluid

摘要

A fluid cartridge has a bottle to retain a volume of fluid. An ejector chip resides in fluid communication with the bottle and causes ejection of fluid upon activation of fluid ejectors. Control logic coordinates ejector activation with dose control logic and temperature control circuitry. The dose control logic pre-specifies an amount of fluid to be ejected and prevents further ejection upon reaching the amount. Meanwhile, the temperature control circuit inhibits any ejection until a temperature of the fluid is within a predefined acceptable range. Bottle modularity, fluid dispense-areas and group-control of the ejectors facilitate certain designs.

主权项

1. A handheld fluid cartridge to hold a volume of fluid for dispensing and for docking with a control device, comprising:
a bottle to retain the volume of fluid; an ejector chip on a board in fluid communication with the bottle to receive the volume of fluid and having pluralities of ejectors that cause ejection of the fluid upon actuation, wherein the bottle defines a fixed volume selected from a plurality of bottles modularly attachable to the ejector chip by way of a substrate attached to the board and having ribs for user manipulation; and control logic in electrical communication with the ejector chip and programmed to cause said actuation of the ejectors, wherein the control logic includes a memory that stores an energy pulse profile, a pre-specified amount of the volume of fluid to be ejected by the ejectors during use, and a desired temperature at which the pre-specified amount of the volume of fluid is to be ejected, a fire signal generator in communication with the memory and programmed to supply electrical signals to the ejectors according to the energy pulse profile for ejecting the pre-specified amount of the volume of fluid from the ejector chip, a dose control logic circuit in communication with the memory and that is programmed to prevents further ejection of the volume of fluid upon reaching said pre-specified amount, the dose control logic circuit including an output signal that confirms to the control device when docked that a proper dose of fluid has been ejected or not from the bottle, and a temperature control circuit in communication with the memory that inhibits ejection of any of the volume of fluid until a temperature of the fluid to be ejected is within a predefined acceptable range of the desired temperature.