Ink jet hard copy apparatus ink cartridge

摘要

A collapsible ink reservoir structure to facilitate assembly of a replaceable or refillable printer ink cartridge is comprised of a relatively rigid inner frame and flexible membranes forming an ink reservoir having side walls which collapse to a substantially flat shape to minimize the amount of ink remaining in the reservoir structure after computer generated printing has depleted the ink from the cartridge. The reservoir structure is a separate unit from the ink discharge aperture device which is assembled and mounted in an outer housing and includes the inner frame and ink bags formed of films to form the cartridge assembly. Multiple reservoirs can be formed within the structure to permit the use of different colorants in each reservoir. The structure preferably contains an ink pressure regulator within each reservoir to maintain a negative pressure therein.