CN116394659A - Liquid container, refilling method for refilling liquid with respect to liquid container, and refilling method for ink - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid container capable of easily cleaning the inside before refilling with liquid. The ink container (10) has: a bag-shaped receiving section (2) for receiving ink; a supply passage (4) for ink; a partition member (5) that is provided in the storage section (2) and can be opened and closed; and a sealed bag-shaped cleaning opening (3) which communicates with the storage section (2) via a partition member. The cleaning port (3) has a cutting start point (6). When the cleaning tool is reused, the cleaning opening (3) is cut from the cutting start point (6) to manufacture an opening (8) (fig. 4), and hands and the cleaning tool are put into the accommodating part (2) from the opening (8) and the opened partition member (5) for cleaning. After the cleaning, the ink is refilled from the opening (8) to the storage part (2) and the partition member (5) is closed, and the opening (8) is thermally fused for reuse.

Description

Liquid container, refilling method for refilling liquid with respect to liquid container, and refilling method for ink

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a liquid container for storing a liquid such as ink, a refilling method for refilling the liquid container with a used liquid, and a refilling method for ink, and more particularly, to a liquid container capable of easily cleaning the liquid container when the used liquid container is reused for refilling, a refilling method for refilling the liquid container with a liquid, and a refilling method for ink.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses an invention of an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge 1 includes an ink container 10 made of a thermoplastic film material, an ink supply portion 13 provided in communication with the ink container 10, and an exterior body 20 as a case body for housing the ink container 10. When the ink cartridge 1 is loaded in the ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130 of the printing apparatus 100, the ink supply portion 13 of the ink cartridge 1 is fitted to the holder 131 of the ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130, and the ink in the ink tank 10 is supplied to the ink tank in the printing apparatus 100 via the ink supply portion 13 and the holder 131.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-132104

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In order to reuse the ink cartridge as described above, in the case of refilling the ink container with ink, it is necessary to sufficiently purge the inside of the ink container before refilling the ink. The reason for this is not only to prevent color mixing in the case of refilling different color inks, but also to: since the ink materials have different formulations depending on colors, grades, and products, if different ink components and materials are mixed, the viscosity may be changed or foreign matters may be generated.

However, in the above-described conventional ink cartridge, the tubular ink supply portion connected to the printing device side has an inner diameter set in consideration of a flow rate at which ink of a required amount can be supplied during printing, and when water is supplied from the ink supply portion to perform a cleaning operation, cleaning cannot be performed sufficiently. Further, it is difficult to perform purging with running water from the ink supply portion, and it is necessary to repeat purging until the ink remaining in the ink tank is sufficiently removed, and it is difficult to reuse (reuse) the ink cartridge.

Fig. 9 is a front view of the ink container 50 of the above-described normal ink cartridge. The ink container 50 is formed into a bag body by: two rectangular thermoplastic films are overlapped with the supply passage 51 interposed therebetween, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are welded to integrate the thermoplastic films with the supply passage 51. Accordingly, the ink tank 50 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 50a for storing ink, and an ink supply passage 51 provided in communication with the storage portion 50 a. In the figure, the welded portion W of the outer peripheral edge of the thermoplastic film is indicated by coloring with a light ink color (gray). The ink container 50 having such a structure is generally called a nozzle bag (japanese) and is used for the ink. In order to refill the ink tank 50 of the used nozzle bag with ink, as described above, a method of refilling ink from the supply passage 51 after water is supplied from the supply passage 51 into the ink tank 50 and purging is performed is considered, but in addition to this, a method as shown in fig. 10 is also considered.

As shown in fig. 10, it is the following method: the rear end portion of the ink container 50 is cut off at a position inside the welded portion, a large opening 52 is formed in the rear end portion of the ink container 50, and cleaning of the inside and refilling of the ink are performed from the opening 52. However, in this method, since the ink tank 50 is cut off, the ink capacity of the ink tank 50 decreases. In this method, as shown in fig. 11, in the process of refilling the ink K or in the state where the ink K for refilling enters the ink container 50, it is necessary to make the opening 52 upward and the lower thin supply path 51 stand by abutting on the mounting table G, and the ink container 50 having the ink K therein is not stabilized unless there is some support. Therefore, after the refilling is completed, it is difficult to perform the operation of sealing and sealing the opening 52 of the ink container 50 in the unstable state shown in fig. 11.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems described above in refilling ink into an ink container, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid container that can be easily cleaned when refilling liquid with a liquid container containing liquid such as ink, and a refilling method for refilling liquid into the liquid container, and an ink refilling method.

Solution for solving the problem

The present invention provides a liquid container, comprising: a storage unit that stores a liquid; a liquid supply passage provided in the storage section; an openable and closable partition member provided in the storage section; and a cleaning port portion that is provided so as to communicate with the housing portion via the partition member.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the case of reusing the liquid container of the present invention, the hand and the cleaning tool can be placed in the storage portion from the cleaning opening portion and the opened partition member, and therefore, the cleaning operation of the liquid storage portion can be easily performed. In addition, the liquid remaining in the storage portion due to insufficient cleaning is not mixed with the refilled liquid of a different type, and the quality of the liquid stored in the liquid container after reuse can be stabilized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 (a) is a plan view of an inkjet printing apparatus in which an ink cartridge according to an embodiment is loaded, fig. 1 (b) is a front view of the apparatus, and fig. 1 (c) is a side view of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 (a) is a perspective view of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment, viewed from the upper surface, and fig. 2 (b) is a perspective view of the ink cartridge, viewed from the lower surface.

Fig. 3 is a front view and a side view showing an ink containing portion of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing a process of cutting the cleaning port in the refilling method of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a front view showing a process of welding the opening 52 of the cleaning port after refilling in the refilling method of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a front view and a side view showing an ink storage portion of an ink cartridge to be refilled in an ink refilling method as a modification of the embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a front view showing a process of cutting a part of an ink containing portion to form an opening in the ink refilling method as a modification of the embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing a process of welding the opening after refilling of the ink in the ink refilling method as a modification of the embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a front view and a side view showing an ink storage portion of a conventional ink cartridge.

Fig. 10 is a front view showing a process of cutting an ink storage portion in order to refill a conventional ink cartridge with ink.

Fig. 11 is a front view showing a process of welding the opening 52 of the cleaning port after refilling in the refilling method of the conventional ink cartridge.

Description of the reference numerals

1. An ink cartridge; 2. 50a, 60a, a housing portion; 3. cleaning the mouth part; 4. 51, 61, supply passage; 5. a partition member; 6. a cutting start point; 8. 52, 62, openings; 10. 50, 60, ink tanks as liquid tanks; 100. a printing device; K. ink as a liquid; w, welding part.

Detailed Description

Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 (a) to 1 (c) show a printing apparatus 100 in which the ink cartridge 1 of embodiment 1 is loaded. The printing apparatus 100 is an inkjet line color printer that includes a plurality of inkjet heads having a plurality of nozzles, and ejects different colors of ink from the inkjet heads in units of lines, so that a plurality of images are superimposed on a printing medium (paper) conveyed by a conveyor belt to form a full-color image.

As shown in fig. 1 (b), the printing apparatus 100 is provided with a control unit 110 and a setting operation unit 120 configured by an input device, the control unit 110 performing printing processing corresponding to a print job by controlling each part of the configuration apparatus in a unified manner, the input device being configured by an operation key, a display/input panel, and the like.

As shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (c), an ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130 to which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted is provided for each ink jet head at an upper portion of the apparatus main body 100a in the printing apparatus 100. In embodiment 1, 4 ink cartridge mounting mechanisms 130 are provided in accordance with the number of ink jet heads. The ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130 is provided with a holding portion 131, and after the ink cartridge 1 is loaded in the printing apparatus 100, the holding portion 131 is fitted into an engagement portion 30 described later.

As shown in fig. 1 (b) and 1 (c), an upper surface device 140 is provided so as to cover the upper side of the ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130, and an image reading device (scanner) and a setting operation unit 120 are disposed on the upper surface device 140. When the ink cartridge 1 is loaded, the ink cartridge 1 is inserted between the lower surface of the upper surface device 140 and the upper surface of the main body 100a of the printing apparatus 100 along the attaching/detaching direction a (refer to fig. 1 (a) and 1 (c)) parallel to the horizontal direction.

Fig. 2 (a) or fig. 2 (b) shows an ink cartridge 1 according to embodiment 1. The ink cartridge 1 is an elongated case having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the ink cartridge 1 is attached to and detached from the printing apparatus 100 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the attaching and detaching direction a. The ink cartridge 1 includes: an ink tank 10 as a liquid tank filled with ink as a liquid; an exterior body 20 which is a protective or decorative packing box for accommodating the ink container 10; and an engagement portion 30 provided at one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the ink container 10 and the exterior body 20, and engaged with a holding portion 131 of the ink cartridge mounting mechanism 130 of the printing apparatus 100. As will be described later, a supply passage 4 (see fig. 3) is connected to the engagement portion 30, and the supply passage 4 is provided in the ink tank 10 so as to communicate with the interior of the ink tank 10.

Fig. 3 is a front view (right view) and a side view (left view) of the ink container 10 of the ink cartridge 1 according to embodiment 1. As described below, the ink tank 10 is configured to facilitate refilling of ink, and the ink cartridge 1 having the ink tank 10 is a product intended for reuse.

As shown in fig. 3, the ink tank 10 has: an ink storage section 2 for storing ink therein; and a cleaning port 3 which is provided in the housing 2 in an integrated structure so as to communicate with the housing 2. The housing portion 2 and the cleaning portion 3 are integrally rectangular bags formed by overlapping two rectangular thermoplastic films and welding the outer peripheral edges thereof. The welded portion W of the outer peripheral edge of the thermoplastic film is shown by coloring with light ink (gray) in the figure.

As shown in fig. 3, a supply passage 4 is provided in the center of the short side (upper side in fig. 3) of the housing portion 2, and the supply passage 4 is a tubular member, and ink from the housing portion 2 flows out (flows in the case of refilling) from the supply passage 4. When the housing portion 2 and the purge port 3 are integrally formed, the supply passage 4 is disposed between two rectangular thermoplastic films which are stacked, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are thermally welded, whereby the supply passage 4 is integrally formed with the ink tank 10. The supply passage 4 is provided with a check valve inside and is connected to an engagement portion 30 (see fig. 2) of the ink cartridge 1. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 1 is engaged with the holding portion 131 (see fig. 1) of the printing apparatus 100, the inside of the ink container 10 and an ink tank, not shown, of the printing apparatus 100 communicate with each other via an open check valve, and ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge 1 to the ink tank of the printing apparatus 100.

As shown in fig. 3, a partition member 5 that can be opened and closed is provided inside the storage section 2 and the cleaning opening section 3 and at the boundary between the storage section 2 and the cleaning opening section 3. The partition member 5 is disposed so as to connect 1 part of the outer peripheral edge of the welding portion W, which is the storage portion 2 and the cleaning portion 3, of the two long sides (two longitudinal sides in fig. 3) to each other in a direction orthogonal to the long sides. That is, the partition member 5 is parallel to the short sides of the outer peripheral edges of the storage section 2 and the cleaning mouth section 3. The volume of the storage portion 2 partitioned from the purge port 3 by the partition member 5 is set according to the volume of ink to be stored. Further, since the purge port 3 is not a space for storing ink but a portion related to purging at the time of refilling ink described later, the size of the purge port 3 separated from the storage portion 2 by the partition member 5 is not particularly limited, but as described later, it is preferable to set the size of the longitudinal side of the purge port 3 according to the number of times the ink container 10 is planned to be reused.

As the partition member 5, a slide fastener or a clip used as an opening/closing member for an opening of a resin bag widely used for various applications can be used. Such a slide fastener or a clip is constituted by a female member having a long groove structure and a male member having a projecting strip structure engaged with the long groove structure, and by engaging the long groove structure and the projecting strip structure with each other at one end in the long side direction and applying pressure from the position toward the other end in the long side direction, the slide fastener or the clip can be easily closed, and the liquid tightness is good. In addition, the tab structure can be easily opened by pulling out the tab structure from the long groove structure. The partition member 5 is not limited to the slide fastener or the clip described above, and may be an openable and closable member that can separate a part of the bag body from other parts in a liquid-tight state.

As shown in fig. 3, 3 cutting start points 6 are formed at equal intervals on one long side of the outer peripheral edge of the welded portion W as the cleaning port 3. The cutting start point 6 is a triangular notch or a cutout formed in the welded portion W. As shown in fig. 4, when the cleaning port 3 is cut from the top of the notch of the cutting start point 6 substantially parallel to the short side of the outer peripheral edge, that is, substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition member 5, the lower end portion 7 of the cleaning port 3, which is welded to form a closed structure, can be cut off to form an opening 8. Since there are 3 cutting start points 6, the operation of cutting the cleaning mouth 3 approximately parallel to the short side of the outer peripheral edge can be performed 3 times. This means that the step of reusing the ink container 10, that is, cleaning the storage portion 2 from the opening 8 of the purge port 3, refilling ink from the purge port 3, and then closing the opening 8 of the purge port 3 by re-welding can be performed 3 times, which will be described later in detail.

As understood from the above description, the ink tank 10 in the ink cartridge 1 of embodiment 1 is made longer in advance in consideration of cutting than the required ink capacity. In addition, a required number of cutting start points 6 (cuts) are formed in advance so that the cutting position can be easily found. In order to facilitate the refilling operation and the welding operation after refilling, the partition member 5 having a clip structure is provided in advance at an optimum size position with respect to the required ink capacity. In the ink container 10 of embodiment 1, the entire circumference of the two overlapped rectangular thermoplastic films is heat-welded to form the circumferential weld W, but this is an example, and the bag may be formed by bending 1 thermoplastic film and heat-welding only the desired portion, or may be formed by combining 3 or more thermoplastic films and heat-welding the desired portion.

Next, a step of refilling ink in the ink container 10 according to embodiment 1 described above, that is, the ink container 10 having the structure in which the partition member 5 and the purge port 3 are provided so as to be easily refilled with ink will be described. Since the ink container 10 of the ink cartridge 1 in which the ink in the storage portion 2 is used up is reused, the ink container 10 is first removed from the engagement portion 30 (see fig. 2) of the ink cartridge 1, and the ink container 10 is taken out from the exterior body 20 (see fig. 2) to be in the state shown in fig. 3.

Of the cutting start points 6 of the cleaning port 3 shown in fig. 3, the cutting start point 6 farthest from the partition member 5, that is, the cutting start point 6 closest to the bottom of the storage portion 2 is selected. Then, as shown in fig. 4, the cleaning port 3 is cut from the cutting start point 6 substantially parallel to the short side of the outer peripheral edge, that is, substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition member 5, and the lower end portion of the cleaning port 3, which is a closed structure, is cut to form an opening 8.

After the cleaning opening 3 forms the opening 8, the partition member 5 is opened and the inside of the housing 2 is cleaned. The opening 8 of the cleaning mouth 3 is the same width as the cleaning mouth 3, and the opening width of the partition member 5 after opening is the same width as the width of the housing 2, both of which are the maximum widths that are possible in terms of construction. Therefore, the cleaning operation of the inside of the housing portion 2 can be performed reliably and easily via the cleaning port portion 3.

Next, the ink can be refilled into the storage portion 2 from the supply passage 4 or from the opening 8 of the purge port 3. In the case of filling from the supply passage 4, filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. When filling is performed from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, the storage section 2 is disposed so that the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 faces upward, and the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed.

As shown in fig. 5, the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is welded to seal the housing 2 and the cleaning port 3 from the outside. At the time of this welding operation, since the partition member 5 is closed, the ink is in a state of being sealed in the storage portion 2 by the partition member 5. Therefore, the ink does not leak to the outside regardless of the posture of the storage portion 2, and the degree of freedom in the manner of placing the storage portion 2 during operation is high. Therefore, for example, if the ink container 10 is placed horizontally (horizontally) on a flat surface so that the supply passage 4 is oriented horizontally, and the opening 8 of the purge port 3 is overlapped and closed, the opening 8 is not affected by the deformation of the storage portion 2 due to ink, and thus remains stable in the closed state. Thus, the operation of closing the opening 8 by heat to form the welded portion W can be performed stably and easily, and as a result, the refilled storage portion 2 can be completely sealed. Further, since the storage portion 2 is sealed by the partition member 5, there is no problem in using it as a reusable product even if the opening 8 (see fig. 4) of the cleaning port 3 is not welded, but if the cleaning port 3 is welded and sealed, leakage of ink can be further reliably prevented.

When the ink tank 10 refilled with ink is housed in the empty package 20 after use so as to have the structure described with reference to fig. 2, and the supply passage 4 of the ink tank 10 is connected to the engagement portion 30 of the package 20, the reuse of the ink cartridge 1 is completed.

When the ink cartridge 1 is mounted to the printing apparatus 100 (see fig. 1) and printed, the ink cartridge 1 can be reused for the 2 nd time when the ink is used up. In this case, since the lowest cut start point 6 among the 3 cut start points 6 of the cleaning port 3 shown in fig. 3 has disappeared, the same process as the 1 st step of reuse is performed using the 2 nd cut start point 6 located lowest at the time of 2 nd reuse. The same applies to the 3 rd reuse. The number of the cutting start points 6 and the number of planned reuse are arbitrary, and may be 1 or 2 times or 4 or more times.

Next, embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. As shown in fig. 9, embodiment 2 relates to a method of reusing the ink container 50 or the ink cartridge 1 by providing the same partition member 5 as embodiment 1 for the ink container 50 of the normal configuration not necessarily assuming reuse.

The ink tank 50 shown in fig. 9 is a tank for a normal conventional ink cartridge, and is a nozzle bag as follows: two rectangular thermoplastic films are overlapped with the supply passage 51 interposed therebetween, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are welded to form a welded portion W, which is integrated with the supply passage 51. That is, the ink tank 50 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 50a for storing ink, and an ink supply passage 51 provided in communication with the storage portion 50 a. In order to reuse the ink cartridge, a step of refilling the ink container 50 with ink after the ink is consumed is performed as follows.

As shown in fig. 10, a part of the storage portion 50a, preferably a portion of the bottom of the storage portion 50a farthest from the supply passage 51, which is separated from the welded portion W at the bottom, is cut in a direction orthogonal to the long side of the storage portion 50a, and the belt-shaped cut-off portion 53 is cut off to form the opening 52.

The hand and the cleaning tool are inserted from the opening 52 of the housing portion 50a, and the inside of the housing portion 50a is cleaned. The opening 52 of the housing 50a has a size equal to the width of the housing 50a and a sufficient size, so that the cleaning operation of the inside can be performed reliably and easily.

Inside the housing portion 50a, a partition member 5 (not shown in fig. 10) that partitions the inside of the housing portion 50a is provided so as to be openable and closable. The partition member 5 is the same as the partition member 5 used in embodiment 1. The ink container 50 shortens the amount of the cut-off portion 53, and therefore, by providing the partition member 5, the capacity of the housing portion 50a after reuse is reduced. The capacity of the storage portion 50a after reuse is determined according to the installation position of the partition member 5. If the partition member 5 is provided at a position as close to the opening 52 as possible, the reduction in volume is small as compared with the case of being provided at a position farther from the opening 52 (a position closer to the supply passage 51).

The ink is refilled into the storage portion 50 a. As in embodiment 1, the supply passage 51 can be refilled, and the opening 52 can be refilled. In the case of filling from the supply passage 51, filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. When filling is performed from the opening 52, the storage portion 50a is disposed so that the opening 52 faces upward, and the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed.

The opening 52 of the housing portion 50a is welded to seal the housing portion 50a from the outside. At the time of this welding operation, since the partition member 5 is closed, the ink is in a state of being sealed in the storage portion 50a by the partition member 5. Therefore, no matter how the storage portion 50a is set, the ink does not leak to the outside, and the degree of freedom in the manner of placing the storage portion 50a during operation is high. Therefore, for example, if the housing portion 50a is placed horizontally (horizontally) on a flat surface so that the supply passage 51 is oriented in the horizontal direction, and the opening 52 is closed while being overlapped, the opening 52 is not affected by deformation of the housing portion 50a due to ink, and thus remains stable in the closed state. Accordingly, the operation of welding the opening 52 to close the opening 52 can be stably and easily performed, and as a result, the refilled storage portion 50a can be completely sealed. Further, since the storage portion 50a is sealed by the partition member 5, there is no problem in using it as a reuse product even if the opening 52 is not welded, but if the opening 52 is welded and sealed, leakage of ink can be further reliably prevented.

When the ink container 50 refilled with ink is housed in the empty package 20 after use so as to have the structure described with reference to fig. 2, and the supply passage 51 of the ink container 50 is connected to the engagement portion 30 (see fig. 2) of the package 20, the reuse of the ink cartridge is completed.

According to the above-described ink cartridge or ink container reuse method, or the refilling method of refilling ink with respect to an ink container, the ink container 50 for which refilling of ink is not planned can be modified to a reusable configuration, and refilling of ink can be performed.

Next, a modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 6 to 8.

The refilling method according to the modification involves a method of refilling ink in the case where the above-described partition member 5 is not provided with respect to the ink container 60 shown in fig. 6 without the partition member 5, and reusing the ink container 60 or the ink cartridge 1.

The ink tank 60 shown in fig. 6 is a nozzle bag as follows: two rectangular thermoplastic films are overlapped with the supply passage 61 interposed therebetween, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are welded to form a welded portion W, which is integrated with the supply passage 61. That is, the ink tank 60 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 60a for storing ink, and an ink supply passage 61 integrally provided with the storage portion 60a so as to communicate with the inside of the storage portion 60a. After the ink is consumed, in order to reuse the ink cartridge, a step of refilling the ink container 60 with ink is performed as follows.

As shown in fig. 7, a part of the housing portion 60a is cut. It is preferable that the storage portion 60a is cut in a direction orthogonal to the long side of the storage portion 60a at a position as close as possible to the welded portion W of the storage portion 60a farthest from the bottom of the supply passage 61 and not intersecting the welded portion W. Thereby, the strip-shaped cut-off portion 63 is cut off to form the opening 62.

The hand and the cleaning tool are inserted into the housing portion 60a through the opening 62 of the housing portion 60a, and the interior of the housing portion 60a is cleaned. The opening 62 of the storage portion 60a has a size equal to the width of the storage portion 60a and a sufficient size, and thus the cleaning operation of the inside can be reliably and easily performed.

The ink is refilled into the storage portion 60a. Both the refilling from the supply passage 61 and the refilling from the opening 62 can be performed. When filling from the supply passage 61, a sealing process (welding process) of the opening 62 to be described later is performed, and then filling is performed. In the case of filling from the opening 62, the storage portion 60a is placed on a stable base or the like so that the opening 62 is positioned above, and the filling operation is performed in a state where the storage portion 60a is held by an appropriate jig or the like without being turned over, and after the filling is completed, the sealing step (welding step) of the opening 62 is performed.

Further, although the ink container 60 is shortened by the cut-off portion 63, the reduction in the capacity of the storage portion 60a after reuse is suppressed to a minimum because the ink container is cut off at a position near the welded portion W of the bottom. The storage portion 60a of the ink container 60 is not necessarily filled with the full volume ink, and when the volume of the storage portion 60a is larger than the ink storage amount and there is a margin, the amount of ink that can be stored can be the same as before the reuse even if the volume of the storage portion 60a is reduced. Alternatively, if the ink amount in the storage portion 60a after reuse is smaller than that before reuse, the volume reduction of the ink tank 60 according to the present modification is not a problem.

The opening 62 of the housing portion 60a is welded to seal or close the housing portion 60a from the outside. In this case, it is necessary to dispose the storage portion 60a such that the opening 62 is directed upward, and if the ink is injected in a state in which the posture of the storage portion 60a is prevented from becoming unstable by stably holding the posture of the storage portion 60a with an appropriate jig or the like on the base or the like as described above, the ink can be refilled without overflowing.

When the ink container 60 refilled with ink is housed in the empty package 20 after use so as to have the structure described with reference to fig. 2, and the supply passage 61 of the ink container 60 is connected to the engagement portion 30 (see fig. 2) of the package 20, the reuse of the ink cartridge is completed.

According to the above-described method of refilling ink in the ink container 60, even if the ink container 60 is a container for which refilling of ink is not particularly planned, it is possible to easily refill ink in the ink container 60 in a short time with relatively low cost and with simple steps without going through the step of providing the partition member 5 in particular.

In the above embodiment, the outer peripheral edges of the two overlapped rectangular thermoplastic films constituting the housing portion 2 are sealed by welding to form a bag body, and the opening 8 formed in the bottom portion of the housing portion 2 is sealed by re-welding in response to re-use. In the modification described above, the opening 62 formed in the housing portion 60a is sealed by re-welding in response to reuse. However, the reseal portion may be formed by welding as described above, but the reseal portion may be formed by bonding using an adhesive, or may be formed integrally by other means, as long as the interior of the housing portion can be sealed or airtight with respect to the exterior.

In the embodiments and modifications described above, the ink cartridge or the ink container is reused, or the ink container is refilled with ink, but the object of reuse is not limited to the ink cartridge or the ink container, and may be a cartridge or a container of another liquid. In addition, the refilled liquid is not limited to ink, and may be other liquid. Examples of the other liquid include a pretreatment liquid applied to a sheet before printing and a protective coating liquid applied to a sheet on which an image is printed. Of course, the present invention is applicable not only to liquids involved in printing but also to various liquids and containers thereof used in all other industries.

Modes and effects of the embodiments

The liquid container 10 according to claim 1 is characterized in that the liquid container 10 includes: a housing part 2 for housing a liquid; a liquid supply passage 4 provided in the storage section 2; an openable and closable partition member 5 provided in the storage section 2; and a cleaning port 3 that is provided so as to communicate with the housing 2 via the partition member 5.

In the case of reusing the liquid container 10 according to embodiment 1, since the hand and the cleaning tool can be inserted into the storage portion 2 from the cleaning opening 3 and the opened partition member 5, the cleaning operation of the storage portion 2 is easier than the case of cleaning from the supply passage 4 having a smaller inner diameter. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the storage portion 2 due to insufficient cleaning is not mixed with the refilled liquid of a different type, and the quality of the liquid stored in the liquid container after reuse can be stabilized.

In the liquid container 10 according to claim 1, the liquid container 10 according to claim 2 is characterized in that a cutting start point 6 is provided in the cleaning port 3, and the cutting start point 6 is used to cut a part of the sealed cleaning port 3 to form an opening 8.

When the sealed cleaning opening 3 is cut from the cutting start point 6 to form the opening 8 and the partition member 5 is opened in the case of reusing the liquid container 10 according to claim 2, the hand and the cleaning tool can be put into the storage portion 2 from the opening 8 and the partition member 5, and therefore the cleaning operation of the liquid storage portion 2 can be reliably and easily performed. After refilling the storage section 2 with the liquid, if the partition member 5 is closed, the liquid is sealed in the storage section 2 by the partition member 5. Therefore, the liquid does not leak outside regardless of the posture in which the storage unit 2 is placed, and the degree of freedom of the manner in which the storage unit 2 is placed during operation increases. Therefore, for example, if the housing portion 2 is placed horizontally (horizontally) on a flat surface with the supply passage 4 facing the horizontal direction, and the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is overlapped and closed, the closed opening 8 is not affected by the deformation of the housing portion 2 due to the liquid, so that the state is stable, the operation of welding the opening 8 to close it can be performed stably and easily, and the refilled housing portion 2 can be sealed completely.

In the liquid container 10 according to claim 2, the liquid container 10 according to claim 3 is characterized in that the storage portion 2 is a bag body formed by welding an outer peripheral edge of a thermoplastic film, the partition member 5 is disposed so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge, the cleaning opening 3 is a bag body integrally formed with the storage portion 2, and the cutting start point 6 is provided on the outer peripheral edge so that the cleaning opening 3 can be cut along the partition member 5.

According to the liquid container 10 of claim 3, the partition member 5 is formed to have a length connecting the two outer peripheral edges of the housing portion 2 as the bag body, that is, a length corresponding to one side of the housing portion 2. Further, the cleaning opening 3 is a bag body integrated with the housing 2, and when the cleaning opening 3 is cut from the cutting start point 6 provided at the outer periphery thereof in a direction parallel to the partition member 5, an opening 8 having a size corresponding to the length of one side of the housing 2 can be formed. Accordingly, the formed opening 8 and the opened partition member 5 have a sufficient length corresponding to the length of one side of the storage section 2, and the hand and the cleaning tool can be easily placed in the storage section 2, so that the cleaning operation of the liquid storage section 2 can be reliably and easily performed.

The refilling method according to the 4 th aspect is a refilling method for refilling a liquid container with a liquid, the liquid container including: a housing part 2 for housing a liquid; a liquid supply passage 4 provided in the storage section 2; an openable and closable partition member 5 provided in the storage section 2; and a cleaning port 3 hermetically provided so as to communicate with the housing 2 via the partition member 5, wherein the refilling method includes: a step of cutting the cleaning opening 3 to form an opening 8; a step of cleaning the inside of the housing part 2; a step of refilling the storage unit 2 with a liquid; and sealing the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 in a state where the partition member 5 is closed.

According to the refilling method of claim 4, the refilling of the liquid and the sealing can be performed by using the liquid container having the structure in which the refilling of the liquid can be performed by providing the partition member 5 and the cleaning port 3. That is, after the cleaning opening 3 is cut to form the opening 8, the partition member 5 is opened to clean the inside of the storage section 2, and the opening 8 of the cleaning opening 3 and the opened partition member 5 are sufficiently large, so that the cleaning operation of the storage section 2 can be reliably and easily performed. Then, the liquid can be refilled from the opening 8 into the storage portion 2, and the refilling can be performed from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 as well as the supply passage 4. In the case of filling from the supply passage 4, filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. In the case of filling from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed. Finally, the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is welded, whereby a liquid container refilled with liquid and sealed can be obtained.

The refilling method according to claim 5 is a refilling method for refilling a liquid container 50 with a liquid, the liquid container 50 including: a housing portion 50a for housing a liquid; and a liquid supply passage 51 provided in the storage portion 50a, wherein the refilling method includes: a step of cutting a part of the storage portion 50a to form an opening 52; a step of cleaning the inside of the housing portion 50 a; a step of providing a partition member 5 that can be opened and closed in the storage portion 50 a; a step of refilling the storage portion 50a with a liquid; and sealing the opening 52 in a state where the partition member 5 is closed.

According to the refilling method of claim 5, the liquid container 50, which is not intended to be refilled with liquid, can be modified to a reusable structure, and refilling with liquid can be performed. First, a part of the storage portion 50a is cut to form the opening 52, and then the inside of the storage portion 50a is cleaned. The opening 52 of the housing portion 50a can be formed in any size. For example, if the size of the opening 52 is equal to the width of the storage portion 50a, it is sufficient to reliably and easily perform the cleaning operation of the storage portion 50 a. After the openable and closable partition member 5 is provided in the storage portion 50a, the liquid can be refilled from the opening 52 into the storage portion 50a, and the refilling can be performed from the supply passage 51 or from the opening 52. In the case of filling from the supply passage 51, filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. In the case of filling from the opening 52, the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed. Finally, by welding the opening 52, a liquid container having a structure that can be refilled with liquid and can be further refilled with liquid can be obtained.

The refilling method according to claim 6 is a refilling method for refilling ink in an ink container 60, the ink container 60 including: a housing portion 60a for housing ink for an inkjet printing apparatus; and an ink supply path 61 provided in the storage portion 60a, wherein the refilling method includes: a step of cutting a part of the storage portion 60a to form an opening 62; a step of cleaning the inside of the housing portion 60 a; a step of refilling the storage portion 60a with ink; and sealing the opening 62.

According to the refilling method of claim 6, even in the case of the ink container 60 in which refilling of ink is not planned, refilling of ink can be performed without reinstalling the openable and closable partition member 5. First, a part of the housing portion 60a is cut to form the opening 62, and then the interior of the housing portion 60a is cleaned. The ink can be refilled into the storage portion 60a from the supply passage 61 or from the opening 62. In the case of filling from the supply passage 61, the opening 62 is sealed and then filled. In the case of filling from the opening 62, if the posture of the storage portion 60a is prevented from becoming unstable, the ink can be refilled without overflowing, and the opening 62 may be sealed after the filling is completed. Thereby, the ink tank 60 refilled with ink can be obtained. In addition, after the ink tank 60 after reuse is used and ink is consumed again, it can be reused further by the same method.

Further, the capacity of the storage portion 60a after reuse is reduced by cutting a part of the storage portion 60a, but there is no particular problem in the case where the amount of ink to be filled is smaller than that before reuse, or the like, in the case where the amount of ink to be filled is equal to that before reuse even if the capacity is reduced because the capacity of the storage portion 60a is left free.

Claims (6)

1. A liquid container is characterized in that,

the liquid container is provided with:

a storage unit that stores a liquid;

a liquid supply passage provided in the storage section;

an openable and closable partition member provided in the storage section; and

and a cleaning port portion that is provided so as to communicate with the storage portion via the partition member.

2. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein,

the cleaning port portion is provided with a cutting start point for cutting off a part of the sealed cleaning port portion to form an opening.

3. The liquid container according to claim 2, wherein,

the receiving portion is a bag body formed by welding the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film,

the partition member is disposed so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge,

the cleaning opening part is a bag body integrally formed with the containing part,

the cutting start point is provided on the outer peripheral edge so that the cleaning opening can be cut along the partition member.

4. A refilling method for refilling a liquid container with a liquid, the liquid container comprising: a storage unit that stores a liquid; a liquid supply passage provided in the storage section; an openable and closable partition member provided in the storage section; and a cleaning port portion hermetically provided so as to communicate with the housing portion via the partition member,

the refilling method comprises the steps of:

cutting the cleaning opening to form an opening;

a step of cleaning the inside of the housing section;

a step of refilling the storage section with a liquid; and

and closing the opening of the cleaning port while the partition member is closed.

5. A refilling method for refilling a liquid container with a liquid, the liquid container comprising: a storage unit that stores a liquid; and a liquid supply passage provided in the storage section, characterized in that,

the refilling method comprises the steps of:

cutting a part of the storage part to form an opening;

a step of cleaning the inside of the housing section;

a step of providing a partition member capable of opening and closing in the storage section;

a step of refilling the storage section with a liquid; and

and closing the opening with the partition member closed.

6. A refilling method of refilling ink with respect to an ink container, the ink container comprising: a storage section for storing ink for an inkjet printing apparatus; and an ink supply passage provided in the storage section, wherein,

the refilling method comprises the steps of:

cutting a part of the storage part to form an opening;

a step of cleaning the inside of the housing section;

refilling ink into the storage portion; and

and sealing the opening.

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