CN214240047U - Ink storage bin, continuous ink supply system and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure relates to the technical field of ink-jet printers, in particular to an ink storage bin, a continuous ink supply system and a printer. An ink reservoir for use in a continuous ink supply system, the ink reservoir comprising: the ink bottle comprises an integrally formed body, wherein the body is provided with at least one ink storage cavity, the upper end of the body is provided with a vent hole and an ink injection hole, the vent hole and the ink injection hole penetrate through the ink storage cavity, the ink injection hole is suitable for being connected with an ink bottle, and the lower end of the body is provided with an ink outlet hole, the ink outlet hole penetrates through the ink storage cavity. The ink storage bin disclosed by the invention adopts an integrally formed structure, is simple in structure, simplifies the processing and packaging processes, reduces the cost, reduces the difficulty of the sealing design of the ink storage bin, and increases the sealing reliability.

Description

Ink storage bin, continuous ink supply system and printer

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of ink-jet printers, in particular to an ink storage bin, a continuous ink supply system and a printer.

Background

The continuous ink supply system is called continuous supply for short, and refers to that an external ink bin is connected with an ink box of a printer, so that the ink bin continuously supplies ink to the ink box. The continuous ink supply printer has the advantages of large ink supply amount, convenience in ink addition, no need of frequent ink box replacement and the like.

In the related art, the ink chamber of the continuous supply printer has a complex packaging structure and a complex sealing design, so that the reliability of the whole printer is poor.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to solve the technical problems of complex structure and complex sealing design of an ink bin of a continuous supply printer in the related art, the embodiment of the disclosure provides an ink storage bin, a continuous ink supply system and a printer.

In a first aspect, the disclosed embodiments provide an ink tank for a continuous ink supply system, the ink tank comprising:

the ink bottle comprises an integrally formed body, wherein the body is provided with at least one ink storage cavity, the upper end of the body is provided with a vent hole and an ink injection hole, the vent hole and the ink injection hole penetrate through the ink storage cavity, the ink injection hole is suitable for being fixedly connected with an ink bottle, and the lower end of the body is provided with an ink outlet hole, the ink outlet hole penetrates through the ink storage cavity.

In some embodiments, the ink filling hole of the body is provided with a connecting portion, and the connecting portion is provided with a first connecting structure and is adapted to be fixedly connected with the ink bottle through the first connecting structure.

In some embodiments, the connecting portion is formed on the body and is formed by protruding from an upper end surface of the body toward a side away from the ink storage cavity, and the ink injection hole is formed through the middle of the connecting portion.

In some embodiments, the first connection structure includes a threaded structure provided at the connection portion.

In some embodiments, the first connecting structure comprises a snap structure provided at the connecting portion.

In some embodiments, the body includes a plurality of ink storage chambers, the plurality of ink storage chambers are arranged in parallel in sequence, and a reinforcing rib structure is formed between outer side walls of two adjacent ink storage chambers.

In some embodiments, the body is integrally formed by a blow molding process.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a continuous ink supply system, including:

the ink reservoir according to any of the embodiments of the first aspect;

the ink bottle is fixedly connected with the ink injection hole of the body; and

and the ink box is connected with the ink outlet of the body.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a printer, including:

an apparatus body; and

a continuous ink supply system according to any one of the embodiments of the second aspect.

In some embodiments, the apparatus body is internally provided with a receiving cavity, the ink reservoir is provided in the receiving cavity, and the ink reservoir is matched with the receiving cavity in shape.

The ink storage bin of the embodiment of the disclosure is applied to a continuous ink supply system and comprises an integrally formed body, wherein the body is provided with at least one ink storage cavity for storing ink, the upper end of the body is provided with a through air hole and an ink injection hole, the air hole is used for communicating with the atmospheric pressure, the ink injection hole is suitable for being fixedly connected with an ink bottle, the lower end of the body is provided with a through ink outlet hole, and the ink outlet hole is suitable for being connected with an ink box. The ink storage bin disclosed by the invention adopts an integrally formed structure, is simple in structure, simplifies the processing and packaging processes and reduces the cost.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ink reservoir according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of an ink reservoir according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an assembled ink reservoir and ink bottle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Description of reference numerals:

100-an ink reservoir; 110-an ink reservoir; 120-a vent hole; 130-ink injection holes; 140-ink outlet holes; 150-a connecting portion; 151-thread structure; 152-buckling; 160-rib plate; 170-ink outlet pipe; 200-ink bottle.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is to be understood that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by one of ordinary skill in the art from the embodiments disclosed herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. In addition, technical features involved in different embodiments of the present disclosure described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

The continuous ink supply system is called continuous supply for short, and is a new ink supply mode of an ink jet printer. The continuous supply finger is connected with an ink box of the printer by adopting an ink storage bin, so that ink in the ink storage bin can be continuously supplied to the ink box. The continuous supply printer has large ink supply amount and convenient ink addition, so that the ink box does not need to be frequently replaced by a user, and the use cost of the user is greatly reduced. The ink chamber of the continuous supply system can be externally arranged or internally arranged in the printer, and the most important structural requirement for the ink chamber is the tightness.

In the related art, the ink chamber usually adopts a complex structure and a complex packaging mode, for example, a plastic cavity and an aluminum-plastic film form a complete ink chamber in an aluminum-plastic packaging mode; for another example, the plastic upper and lower covers and the enclosure are packaged by a blanching process to form a complete ink chamber; and the like. The ink chamber is complex in structure, the precision requirement of the packaging process is high, the cost of the ink chamber is high, the sealing performance of the ink chamber is difficult to effectively guarantee in long-term use, and the service life of the ink chamber is short.

Based on the above-mentioned defects in the related art, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ink tank, a continuous ink supply system, and a printer, so as to improve the sealing performance of the ink tank and simplify the structure and the manufacturing process of the ink tank.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ink reservoir that may be used in a continuous ink supply system of an inkjet printer.

In some embodiments, an ink reservoir of the present disclosure includes an integrally formed body that includes at least one ink reservoir. The body is integrally formed by a forming process, such as blow molding and the like. The body is roughly of a cavity structure, and the cavity is used for storing ink, namely an ink storage cavity is formed.

In one example, the body includes one ink reservoir. For example, the printer may use only black ink, and the body may form only one ink reservoir for containing black ink.

In another example, the body may include a plurality of ink reservoirs. For example, the printer is a color printer, and the main body may include four ink reservoirs for respectively containing black, yellow, magenta and cyan inks.

It will be appreciated that the number of ink reservoirs is not limited to the above examples, and may be any other number suitable for implementation, as the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The body structure of the ink reservoirs will be described in detail below, but not shown here.

For each ink storage cavity, the lower end of the body is provided with an ink outlet hole penetrating through the ink storage cavity, and the ink outlet hole can be connected to an ink box of the printer through a connecting pipe so as to supplement ink for the ink box. The upper end of the body is provided with a vent hole and an ink injection hole which penetrate through the ink storage cavity, and the vent hole is used for communicating atmospheric pressure, so that the air pressure in the ink storage bin is ensured to be stable when ink flows out, and the ink can smoothly flow out. The ink injection hole can be used for connecting an ink bottle, so that the ink in the ink bottle can be supplemented into the ink storage bin, and a larger ink supply amount is realized through the ink bottle.

It is understood that, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the connection manner of the ink bottle and the body is not limited. In one example, the ink bottle may communicate with the ink injection hole of the body through a connection tube. In another example, the ink bottle may be secured in place at the ink fill port by a connecting structure. This disclosure is not further enumerated here.

Through the above, this ink storage bin of embodiment of this disclosure adopts the integrated into one piece structure, and simple structure need not additional encapsulation shaping, and is lower to the processing technology requirement, reduces ink storage bin manufacturing cost, and the integrated into one piece structure leakproofness is better moreover, and sealed test is simple, increase of service life.

One particular embodiment of an ink reservoir of the present disclosure is shown in FIGS. 1-3, where the number of ink reservoirs is two by way of example. The ink tank of the present embodiment will be further described with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the ink reservoir includes an integrally formed body 100. The body 100 may be integrally formed using a blow molding process. The body 100 includes two ink reservoirs 110, the two ink reservoirs 110 are isolated from each other, and the ink reservoirs 110 are used for storing ink. In the present embodiment, the two ink tanks 110 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, and a rib structure is provided between outer sidewalls of the two ink tanks 110. As shown in fig. 1, the reinforcing rib structure includes a plurality of rib plates 160 formed on the outer side walls of the two ink storage chambers 110, and the reinforcing rib structure can improve the structural strength between the two adjacent ink storage chambers 110, and ensure the structural strength of the body 100 under the condition of multi-chamber connection.

The upper end surface of the main body 100 is provided with a vent hole 120, and the vent hole 120 penetrates the ink storage chamber 110. The vent 120 is used to communicate the inside of the ink storage chamber 110 with the outside atmospheric pressure, so that the internal atmospheric pressure of the ink storage chamber 110 is not changed, and the ink can flow out conveniently.

It is understood that, in the present embodiment example, the vent hole 120 is opened on the upper end surface of the body 100, but in other embodiments, the vent hole 120 may be opened at any other position suitable for implementation, as long as it is ensured that the ink storage chamber 110 can communicate with the external atmosphere through the vent hole 120. For example, in one example, the vent holes 120 may be opened on the front side, the rear side, the left and right sides, and the like, which is not limited by the present disclosure. It is also understood that, in order to ensure that the ink in the ink storage chamber 110 does not flow out through the vent 120, the vent 120 should be located at the upper end of the body 100 as much as possible, and the disclosure will not be repeated herein.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the body at the position of the vent hole 120 is formed with a protruding structure, so that a vent pipe can be connected through the protruding structure, that is, the vent hole 120 is externally connected with a vent pipe (not shown in the drawings), and the vent pipe can be communicated to the outside of the printer. The vent tube can also form a communicating vessel with the ink storage cavity 110, so long as the height of the outlet of the vent tube is higher than the liquid level in the ink storage cavity 110, the ink cannot leak out of the vent tube, and the risk of ink leakage from the position of the vent hole 120 is further avoided.

As shown in fig. 2, an ink outlet 140 is opened at the lower portion of the main body 100, and the ink outlet 140 penetrates the ink storage chamber 110, so that the ink in the ink storage chamber 110 can flow out through the ink outlet 140. In this embodiment, the body at the position of the ink outlet 140 is also formed with a protrusion structure, so that the ink outlet tube 170 can be connected through the protrusion structure, and the other end of the ink outlet tube 170 is connected to the ink cartridge of the printer, thereby continuously supplying ink to the ink cartridge.

It is understood that the ink outlet 140 is opened at the lower front side of the body 100 in this embodiment, but the ink outlet 140 may be provided at any other position suitable for implementation in other embodiments. For example, in one example, the ink outlet 140 may be disposed on the lower end surface of the body 100, which is not limited by the present disclosure. Meanwhile, it can be understood that the ink outlet 140 is used to facilitate the ink to flow out, and therefore the ink outlet 140 should be located at the lower end of the body 100 as much as possible, which is not described in detail in this disclosure.

As shown in fig. 2, each ink storage chamber 110 is correspondingly provided with a vent 120 and an ink outlet 140, and an ink outlet pipe 170 is connected to the ink outlet 140 of each ink storage chamber 110. When the body 100 has a larger number of ink storage chambers 110, the number of ink outlet tubes 170 is also increased, which leads to disorder of the pipeline routing of the supply system, and leads to bending or winding blockage of the ink outlet tubes 170. Therefore, in one embodiment, the ink outlet tubes 170 connected to the plurality of ink outlet holes 140 may be bundled into a line or a bundle by, for example, bonding, bundling, and the like, thereby preventing the tube from being twisted.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, in the present embodiment, an ink injection hole 130 is further opened at the upper end of the main body 100, and the ink injection hole 130 penetrates the ink storage chamber 110. The ink inlet 130 is used to connect the ink bottle 200 so that the ink bottle 200 can fill the ink reservoir 110 through the ink inlet 130, i.e., to provide a larger supply of ink for the entire continuous supply system.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the connection portion 150 is formed on the upper end surface of the body 100, the connection portion 150 is formed by protruding the upper end surface of the body 100 to the side away from the ink storage cavity 110, that is, the connection portion 150 protrudes from the surface of the body 100, and the ink injection hole 130 is opened in the middle of the connection portion 150. The connecting portion 150 is provided with a first connecting structure, and the ink bottle 200 is fixed on the main body 100 through the first connecting structure.

It is understood that the first connecting structure functions to fixedly connect the body 100 and the ink bottle 200, which may be any connecting manner capable of achieving the function, and the present disclosure does not limit thereto. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the first connecting structure includes a thread structure 151 disposed on an inner wall of the connecting portion 150, and a catch 152 disposed on an outer wall of the connecting portion 150. Correspondingly, the bottle opening of the ink bottle 200 is provided with a screw thread and a snap connection structure, so that the ink bottle 200 is fixedly connected to the connection part 150 through the screw thread and the snap connection structure, and the structure of the ink bottle 200 after being installed is shown in fig. 3.

As can be seen from the above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the ink bottle 200 is connected to the body 100, so that the ink bottle 200 can continuously provide ink to the ink storage cavity 110, and then the ink storage cavity 100 provides ink to the printer cartridge, that is, compared with the conventional continuous supply system, the present disclosure can provide a larger amount of ink supply, and reduce the replacement frequency of the cartridge. And the ink bottle 200 is fixedly connected with the connecting part 150 through threads and buckles, so that the sealing effect of the ink injection hole 130 is improved.

It should be noted that the first connection structure between the ink bottle 200 and the body 100 is not limited to the disclosed example, as long as the sealed and fixed connection between the ink bottle 200 and the body 100 is ensured. For example, in one example, the ink bottle 200 is fixedly connected to the body 100 only by threads. In another example, the ink bottle 200 is fixedly connected to the body 100 only by a snap, thereby facilitating the detachment of the ink bottle 200. In yet another example, the ink bottle 200 and the body 100 may be fixedly connected by a bolt, a rotational snap, an adhesive, or the like. The present disclosure is not so limited.

In some embodiments, the ink reservoir 100 is integrally formed using a blow molding process, and therefore, the ink reservoir 100 may be made of a material suitable for blow molding, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, etc., without limitation.

In some embodiments, in order to provide good internal visibility of the ink reservoir 100 so that the reservoir in the ink reservoir 110 is visible to the user from the outside, the ink reservoir 100 may be provided with a degree of transparency so that the user can view the reservoir in the ink reservoir 110. This can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art, and the disclosure will not be described in detail herein.

While the ink reservoir of the disclosed embodiments has been described above, other alternative embodiments of the ink reservoir of the disclosed embodiments are possible on the basis of the above embodiments.

In alternative embodiments, the ink reservoir 100 configuration is not limited to the cubic configuration shown in FIG. 1, but may be any other configuration suitable for implementation, such as a cylinder or other irregular shape. For example, the ink reservoir 100 is integrally molded by blow molding, so the ink reservoir 100 can be shaped accordingly depending on the space in the printer in which the ink reservoir 100 is placed. Particularly, can set up corresponding mould according to the shape that the printer held the chamber to utilize this mould blow molding ink storage tank, thereby ink storage tank 100's shape and the complete adaptation of holding the chamber, can make full use of printer inner space, improve the holding capacity on the one hand, on the other hand stacks for printer inner space and provides more design.

In other alternative embodiments, the body 100 and the ink bottle 200 may be connected by a connection tube, so that the ink bottle 200 may be externally disposed to the printer. Moreover, where ink reservoir 100 includes a plurality of ink reservoirs 110, the arrangement of the plurality of ink reservoirs 110 is not a limitation of the present disclosure, and may be set by one skilled in the art depending on the particular circumstances.

The ink storage bin of the embodiment of the present disclosure is described above, and it can be known from the above that, the ink storage bin of the embodiment of the present disclosure adopts an integrally formed structure, has a simple structure, does not need additional encapsulation molding, has low requirements on a processing process, reduces the production cost of the ink storage bin, and has a better sealing performance of the integrally formed structure, a simple sealing test, and a prolonged service life. And utilize the ink bottle to continuously provide ink in the storage ink chamber, and then storage ink chamber provides ink to the printer ink cartridge, promptly, compare traditional confession system even, this disclosed scheme can provide a larger amount of ink supply, reduces the ink horn and changes the frequency. And the ink bottle and the connecting part are fixedly connected through threads and buckles, so that the sealing effect of the ink injection hole is improved. Moreover, the storage ink tank utilizes blow molding integrated into one piece to the shape of storage ink tank can hold the chamber complete adaptation with printer inside, can make full use of printer inner space, improves on the one hand and stores up the volume of storing ink, and on the other hand piles up for printer inner space and provides more design.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a continuous ink supply system that includes an ink reservoir 100, an ink bottle 200, and an ink cartridge. The ink reservoir 100 is the ink reservoir 100 of any of the above embodiments, and the ink bottle 200 is connected to the ink reservoir 100 through any of the above embodiments. The ink bottle is typically provided in the printhead of the printer and is connected to an ink outlet tube 170 so that ink is continuously supplied from the ink reservoir 100 to the ink bottle.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for the parts which are not described in detail, those skilled in the art can understand and realize the embodiments by referring to the foregoing and related technologies in the field, and the detailed description is omitted here.

In the continuous ink supply system in the embodiment of the disclosure, the integrally formed ink storage bin structure is adopted, the ink storage bin is simple in structure, additional packaging and forming are not needed, the requirement on the processing technology is low, the production cost of the ink storage bin is reduced, the integrally formed structure is better in sealing performance, the sealing test is simple, and the service life is prolonged. And utilize the ink bottle to continuously provide ink in the storage ink chamber, and then storage ink chamber provides ink to the printer ink cartridge, promptly, compare traditional confession system even, this disclosed scheme can provide a larger amount of ink supply, reduces the ink horn and changes the frequency. And the ink bottle and the connecting part are fixedly connected through threads and buckles, so that the sealing effect of the ink injection hole is improved. Moreover, the storage ink tank utilizes blow molding integrated into one piece to the shape of storage ink tank can hold the chamber complete adaptation with printer inside, can make full use of printer inner space, improves on the one hand and stores up the volume of storing ink, and on the other hand piles up for printer inner space and provides more design.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a printer including an apparatus body and the continuous ink supply system of any one of the above embodiments. The device body refers to a main structure of the printer, and includes a hardware portion and an electrical portion, and those skilled in the art can refer to the related art, and the disclosure is not described herein again.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an accommodating chamber is provided inside the apparatus body of the printer, and the accommodating chamber is used for accommodating the ink reservoir 100. In some embodiments, the ink reservoir 100 is integrally molded by blow molding, and the ink reservoir 100 is configured to form fit with the receiving cavity. Specifically, a corresponding mold may be provided according to the shape of the receiving cavity of the printer, so that the ink tank 100 is blow molded by using the mold, and even if the receiving cavity is irregular in shape, the ink tank 100 can be completely fitted with the receiving cavity, making full use of the internal space of the printer.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for the parts which are not described in detail, those skilled in the art can understand and realize the embodiments by referring to the foregoing and related technologies in the field, and the detailed description is omitted here.

It can be known from the foregoing that, the printer of the embodiment of the present disclosure adopts the integrally formed ink storage bin structure, and the ink storage bin has a simple structure, does not need additional encapsulation molding, has a low requirement on the processing technology, reduces the production cost of the ink storage bin, and has a better sealing performance of the integrally formed structure, a simple sealing test, and a prolonged service life. And utilize the ink bottle to continuously provide ink in the storage ink chamber, and then storage ink chamber provides ink to the printer ink cartridge, promptly, compare traditional confession system even, this disclosed scheme can provide a larger amount of ink supply, reduces the ink horn and changes the frequency. And the ink bottle and the connecting part are fixedly connected through threads and buckles, so that the sealing effect of the ink injection hole is improved. Moreover, the storage ink tank utilizes blow molding integrated into one piece, and the shape of storage ink tank and the inside chamber complete adaptation that holds of printer can make full use of printer inner space, improves on the one hand and stores up the volume of storing up, and on the other hand piles up for printer inner space and provides more design.

It should be understood that the above embodiments are only examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art in light of the above description. And are neither required nor exhaustive of all embodiments. And obvious variations or modifications of the present disclosure may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (10)

1. An ink reservoir for use in a continuous ink supply system, the ink reservoir comprising:

the ink bottle comprises an integrally formed body, wherein the body is provided with at least one ink storage cavity, the upper end of the body is provided with a vent hole and an ink injection hole, the vent hole and the ink injection hole penetrate through the ink storage cavity, the ink injection hole is suitable for being connected with an ink bottle, and the lower end of the body is provided with an ink outlet hole, the ink outlet hole penetrates through the ink storage cavity.

2. The ink reservoir of claim 1,

the ink bottle is characterized in that a connecting part is arranged at the position of the ink injection hole of the body, a first connecting structure is arranged on the connecting part, and the connecting part is suitable for being fixedly connected with the ink bottle through the first connecting structure.

3. The ink reservoir of claim 2,

the connecting part is formed on the body, the upper end face of the body faces away from the ink storage cavity, one side of the ink storage cavity is formed in a protruding mode, and the ink injection hole penetrates through the middle of the connecting part.

4. The ink reservoir of claim 2,

the first connecting structure comprises a thread structure arranged on the connecting part.

5. The ink reservoir of claim 2,

the first connecting structure comprises a buckle structure arranged on the connecting part.

6. The ink reservoir of claim 1,

the body includes a plurality of storage ink chambers, and is a plurality of storage ink chamber sets up side by side in proper order, and the shaping has the strengthening rib structure between two adjacent storage ink chamber's the lateral wall.

7. The ink reservoir of claim 1,

the body is integrally formed by a blow molding process.

8. A continuous ink supply system, comprising:

an ink reservoir according to any one of claims 1 to 7;

the ink bottle is fixedly connected with the ink injection hole of the body; and

and the ink box is connected with the ink outlet of the body.

9. A printer, comprising:

an apparatus body; and

a continuous ink supply system according to claim 8.

10. Printer according to claim 9,

the inside chamber that holds that locates of equipment body, the ink storage bin is located hold in the chamber, just the ink storage bin with hold the chamber form fit.

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