CN217319801U

CN217319801U - Ink container and image forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN217319801U
Application number: CN202220713550.8U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁仕超; 夏敬章
Original assignee: Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-29
Filing date: 2022-03-29
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-29

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of printing, in particular to an ink container and an image forming device, which comprise a container main body part and an ink outflow part, wherein the ink outflow part is provided with an ink flow channel; the ink container also comprises a sealing element, wherein the sealing element comprises a sealing element main body, and a guide structure and a sealing structure which are arranged in the sealing element main body; a cavity is formed between the guide structure and the sealing structure; the sealing element is also provided with an air guide channel; when the ink container is butted with the image forming device, the cavity and an ink injection pipe of the image forming device form a sealing cavity, and the air guide channel is communicated with the outside of the ink container and the sealing cavity. The utility model provides an ink container, through set up the air guide passageway on the sealing member, its intercommunication ink container reaches the sealed chamber outward, after supplying ink, when extracting notes china ink pipe, the atmospheric pressure in balanced sealed chamber can prevent to annotate china ink pipe and leak black because of the negative pressure, promotes user experience.

Description

Ink container and image forming apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of printing technologies, and particularly to an ink container and an image forming apparatus.

Background

In a conventional ink bottle, an outlet forming portion is provided at an end portion of a container main body, a valve for controlling ink flow is provided at an end portion of the outlet forming portion, different numbers of slits are provided in the valve, and a guide fixing ring is provided at a portion of the valve away from the slit end. When supplying ink, the ink bottle is inverted, the outlet forming part is combined with the ink inlet concave part of the printer, and the ink supplying needle opens the notch through the guide fixing ring and enters the container main body part to supply ink.

However, the guide fixing ring is tightly attached to the ink supply needle, and the notch valve is tightly attached to the ink supply needle to form a double-layer sealed space.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The application provides an ink container and an image forming apparatus, which can prevent an ink filling pipe from leaking ink due to negative pressure by arranging an air guide channel on a sealing member.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the following technical solutions are specifically adopted in the present application:

in a first aspect, the present application provides an ink container, including a container main body for containing ink, and an ink outflow portion communicating with the container main body, the ink outflow portion being provided with an ink flow channel; the ink container further includes a sealing member for opening or closing the ink flow path;

the sealing element comprises a sealing element main body, and a guide structure and a sealing structure which are arranged in the sealing element main body, wherein the sealing structure is arranged at one end, close to the container main body, in the sealing element main body, and the guide structure is arranged at one end, far away from the container main body, in the sealing element main body; a cavity is formed between the guide structure and the sealing structure;

the sealing element is also provided with an air guide channel; when the ink container is in butt joint with the image forming device, the cavity and an ink injection pipe of the image forming device form a sealed cavity, and the air guide channel is communicated with the outside of the ink container and the sealed cavity.

In a possible embodiment, the guide structure is provided with a guide opening and the sealing structure is provided with at least one cut-out;

when the ink container is butted with the image forming device, the ink injection pipe is abutted against the guide opening and expands the cut.

In a possible embodiment, the seal body further includes an opening extending in a radial direction of the seal body to form an annular boss, and the seal is configured to be engaged with the ink outlet of the ink outflow portion through the annular boss.

In a possible embodiment, a support protrusion is provided on the outer side wall of the sealing member main body, and the support protrusion extends towards the container main body;

the ink outflow part is internally provided with a supporting surface, and the supporting bulge is abutted against the supporting surface.

In a possible embodiment, one side of the support protrusion forms a catching groove;

the ink outflow part extends radially to form a clamping bulge, and the clamping groove is matched with the clamping bulge.

In a possible embodiment, the guide structure is provided with at least one through slot, which forms the air guide channel.

In a possible embodiment, the ink container is further provided with a seal ring disposed between the ink outflow portion and the container main body portion for preventing leakage of the printing material.

In a possible embodiment, a connection between the ink discharging portion and the container main body portion is provided with a screw thread, and the screw thread can prevent the ink discharging portion from falling off during use.

In a possible embodiment, the ink container further includes a cap body, and the cap body is sleeved on the ink outflow portion to prevent the printing material from being contaminated.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an image forming apparatus including the ink container of the first aspect.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the application has at least the following beneficial effects:

the application discloses ink container, through set up the air guide passageway on the sealing member, its intercommunication ink container reaches the seal chamber outward, after supplying ink, when extracting notes china ink pipe, the atmospheric pressure in balanced seal chamber can prevent to annotate china ink pipe and leak china ink because of the negative pressure, promotes user experience.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an overall structure of an ink container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an ink container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a seal member of an ink container according to embodiment 1 of the present application;

fig. 4 is a plan view of a seal member of an ink container according to embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a seal member provided in embodiment 1 of the present application installed in an ink flow path;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic view of the structure at A in FIG. 5;

fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a seal member of an ink container according to embodiment 2 of the present application.

The attached drawings are as follows:

1-an ink container; 11-a container body portion; 111-threads; 12-an ink outflow portion; 121-ink outlet; 122-a support surface; 123-a clamping protrusion; 13-a seal; 130-an opening; 131-a seal body; 131 a-a cut; 131 b-an annular boss; 131 c-support protrusions; 131 d-a clamping groove; 132-a guide structure; 132 a-a pilot port; 133-a sealing structure; 134-an air guide channel; 14-a cover body; 15-sealing ring;

2-ink injection tube.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the present application is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

In the description of the present application, unless explicitly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "first", "second", and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance; the term "plurality" means two or more unless specified or indicated otherwise; the terms "connected," "fixed," and the like are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, integrally connected, or electrically connected; may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as appropriate.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "upper" and "lower" used in the description of the embodiments of the present application are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. In addition, in this context, it will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on" or "under" another element, it can be directly on "or" under "the other element or be indirectly on" or "under" the other element via an intermediate element.

Example 1:

embodiment 1 of the present application provides an ink container 1, fig. 1 is a schematic view of an overall structure of the ink container provided in the embodiment of the present application, fig. 2 is a schematic view of an exploded structure of the ink container provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, the ink container includes a container main body 11 for accommodating ink and an ink outflow portion 12 communicated with the container main body 11, the ink outflow portion 12 is provided with an ink flow channel; the ink container 1 further includes a sealing member 13, the sealing member 13 being used to open or close the ink flow path;

fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing member of an ink container according to embodiment 1 of the present application, and fig. 4 is a top view of the sealing member of the ink container according to embodiment 1 of the present application, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the sealing member 13 includes a sealing member main body 131, and a guiding structure 132 and a sealing structure 133 which are disposed in the sealing member main body 131, the guiding structure 132 being disposed in the sealing member main body 131 at an end close to the container main body 11, the guiding structure 132 being disposed in the sealing member main body 131 at an end far from the container main body 11; a cavity is formed between the guide structure 132 and the sealing structure 133;

the sealing member 13 is also provided with an air guide channel 134; when the ink container 1 is butted with the image forming device, the cavity and the ink filling pipe 2 of the image forming device form a sealed cavity, and the air guide channel 134 is communicated with the outside of the ink container 1 and the sealed cavity.

In the above scheme, the air guide channel 134 is arranged on the sealing element 13 of the ink container 1, the air guide channel is communicated with the outside of the ink container 1 and the sealing cavity, after ink supply is finished, when the ink injection tube 2 is pulled out, air pressure in the sealing cavity is balanced, ink leakage of the ink injection tube 2 due to negative pressure can be prevented, and user experience is improved.

In some embodiments, the ink container 1 includes a container body 11, an ink outflow portion 12 mounted on the container body 11, and a lid 14 for preventing contamination of ink.

In the present embodiment, the container main body portion 11 is used to store printing material such as ink to be supplied to the ink supply tube 2 on the image forming apparatus. The container body 11 may be a metal container, a plastic container, or other materials that meet the ink storage standards, and is not limited thereto.

The ink outflow portion 12 attached to the container main body portion 11 is provided with an ink flow path forming a path through which ink flows, one end of the ink outflow portion 12 is connected to the container main body portion 11, one end of the ink flow path is provided with an ink outlet 121, and the container main body portion 11 and the ink outflow portion 12 are in a communicating structure. In actual use, the ink outflow portion 12 of the ink container 1 is brought into contact with the ink supply tube 2 of the image forming apparatus, whereby the ink stored in the container main body portion 11 flows through the ink flow path of the ink outflow portion 12, and then flows out from the ink outlet port 121 into the ink supply tube 2, thereby filling the ink.

In some embodiments, the ink container 1 further includes a sealing member 13, and the sealing member 13 is at least partially embedded in the ink flowing portion 12 for opening or closing the ink flow path, so as to control the flowing in and out process of the ink. In the application, the material of the sealing element 13 may be at least one of rubber and plastic, and when the material is plastic, the material may have better corrosion resistance and prolong the service life; when the material is rubber, the sealing member 13 has good plastic deformability and can be adapted to the structure of the ink discharging portion 12. The material can be other materials, and can be selected according to actual needs, and is not limited herein.

The sealing member 13 includes a sealing member main body 131, and a guide structure 132 and a sealing structure 133 provided in the sealing member main body 131, and the sealing member main body 131 constitutes a mounting portion of another structure and is at least partially fitted in the ink flow path of the ink discharging portion 12.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of the sealing element provided in embodiment 1 of the present application installed in an ink flow channel, and fig. 6 is an enlarged structural view of a position a in fig. 5, as shown in fig. 5 and fig. 6, the sealing element main body 131 further includes an opening 130, the opening 130 extends along a radial direction of the sealing element main body 131 to form an annular boss 131b, and an outer diameter of the annular boss 131b is larger than a diameter of the ink outlet 121 of the ink flow channel, so that the sealing element 13 can be clamped at the ink outlet 121 through the annular boss 131b, and at least a portion of the sealing element main body 131 is embedded in the ink flow channel, which can prevent the sealing element 13 from falling into the ink flow channel due to the fact that the diameter of the sealing element main body 131 is smaller than or equal to the diameter of the ink outlet 121 in a use process.

Furthermore, a support protrusion 131c is further disposed on an outer side wall of the sealing member main body 131, and the support protrusion 131c is disposed at an end of the sealing member main body 131 far from the opening 130, and extends toward a direction close to the container main body 11, so as to further support the sealing member main body 131. Specifically, the supporting protrusions 131c and the sealing member main body 131 used in the present application are integrally formed, when the sealing member 13 having the supporting protrusions 131c is installed in the ink flow channel, the supporting surface 122 is further disposed in the ink outflow portion 12, the number of the supporting surfaces 122 is the same as that of the supporting protrusions 131c, and the number of the supporting surfaces 122 used in the present application, that is, the number of the supporting protrusions 131c is two. The support surface 122 abuts against the support protrusion 131c and cooperates with the annular protrusion to prevent the seal body 131 from falling into the ink flow path due to its own weight or excessive pressure during installation.

Further, since the ink container 1 is inverted during the ink filling process, the seal 13 is prevented from being detached when the container is inverted, and the seal 13 is further provided with an engaging groove 131d, and the engaging groove 131d is provided between the inner side of the support protrusion 131c and the annular boss 131 b. Specifically, the catching groove 131d may be formed between the supporting protrusion 131c and the sealing member main body 131, or formed concavely on a sidewall of the sealing member main body 131. The engagement protrusion 123 is formed in the ink outflow portion 12 to extend in the radial direction, and when the sealing member 13 is mounted in the ink flow path, the engagement groove 131d engages with the engagement protrusion 123 to radially restrict the movement of the sealing member 13, so that the sealing member main body 131 does not fall off during the ink filling process, and the ink filling process can be performed stably.

The engaging groove 131d may be an annular engaging groove 131d, that is, a groove is formed in a circle along the radial direction of the sealing member main body 131, or a plurality of recesses are formed in the sealing member main body 131 at a certain interval, and may be engaged with the engaging protrusion 123.

In addition to the above-described support protrusion 131c and the engagement groove 131d, the seal 13 may be fixed in the ink flow path by other means, for example, a screw 111 is provided on the seal body 131, and the seal 13 is fixed by the screw 111; or, an area having a friction force is provided on an inner side wall of the ink outflow portion 12, and the ink outflow portion 12 may prevent the sealing member 13 from moving relatively by the friction force, or other methods may be used, and the fixing method of the sealing member 13 may be selected according to actual needs, so that the sealing member 13 may be clamped in the ink outflow portion 12, which is not limited herein.

The fixing action of the annular boss 131b, the support protrusion 131c, and the engaging groove 131d allows the seal 13 to be firmly mounted in the ink outlet 12. After the seal 13 is mounted, an ink filling process, i.e., a process of abutting the ink filling tube 2 to the ink discharging portion 12 of the ink container 1, may be performed.

The sealing element main body 131 is internally provided with a guide structure 132 and a sealing structure 133, the guide structure 132 can be used for guiding the insertion process of the ink injection tube 2, the sealing structure 133 is used as an opening 130 of an ink flow channel, and the ink injection tube 2 can flow in the ink process after reaching the sealing structure 133 through the guide structure 132 and expanding the sealing structure 133.

Specifically, the sealing structure 133 is disposed at an end of the sealing member main body 131 close to the container main body 11, and the guiding structure 132 is disposed at an end of the sealing member main body 131 far from the container main body 11, i.e., the guiding structure 132 is located above the sealing structure 133 during normal placement. The guiding structure 132 is an annular structure formed inside the sealing member main body 131, and the annular structure extends along the radial direction of the sealing member main body 131 and is not closed, that is, the guiding structure 132 is provided with a guiding opening 132a, and the diameter of the guiding opening 132a is consistent with that of the ink filling tube 2, so that the ink filling tube 2 can reach the sealing structure 133 after passing through the guiding opening 132 a. The sealing structure 133 is an end portion of the sealing member main body 131 close to the container main body 11, and the sealing structure 133 is provided with at least one notch 131a, and the notch 131a is opened or closed, so that the inflow and outflow of the ink can be stably performed.

Because the guide structure 132 and the sealing structure 133 are arranged at intervals, a cavity is formed between the guide structure 132 and the sealing structure 133, when the ink filling tube 2 abuts against the guide opening 132a and the notch 131a is opened, the cavity and the ink filling tube 2 of the image forming device form a sealed cavity, namely the guide opening 132a, the ink filling tube 2 and the notch 131a are mutually attached to form a closed structure, and negative pressure is easily generated in the closed structure.

Furthermore, in order to prevent the ink from being brought out by the ink filling tube 2 due to negative pressure after the ink is filled, the sealing member 13 further includes an air guide channel 134, and the air guide channel 134 can communicate the sealing chamber and the outside of the ink container 1 to eliminate the influence caused by the negative pressure. Specifically, at least one through groove is formed in the guide structure 132, the through groove forms an air guide channel 134, that is, a plurality of notches are formed in the annular extension portion of the guide structure 132, so that the notches are communicated with the sealing cavity.

In some embodiments, the ink container 1 further includes a seal ring 15, the seal ring 15 is disposed between the ink outflow portion 12 and the container body 11, and is used to prevent the printing material from leaking from the place where the ink outflow portion 12 abuts against the container body 11 during the ink replenishment process, and in the present application, the seal ring 15 may be mounted in the ink outflow portion 12 by bonding or the like, and may be selected according to actual needs.

It should be noted that, in addition to the seal ring 15, other types of seal parts may be used in the present application, and the sealing function may be achieved, which is not limited herein.

In the using process, at least part of the sealing element 13 is embedded in the ink flow channel of the ink outflow part 12, the annular boss 131b is clamped with the ink outlet 121, the supporting protrusion 131c is abutted against the supporting surface 122, the clamping groove 131d is clamped with the clamping protrusion 123, and at this time, the installation of the sealing element 13 is completed; after the seal ring 15 is fixed in the ink discharging portion 12, the ink discharging portion 12 with the seal 13 attached thereto is attached to the container main body portion 11, and in the present application, the screw 111 may be provided at a portion where the container main body portion 11 and the ink discharging portion 12 abut against each other, and the ink discharging portion 12 may be stably attached to the container main body portion 11 by the screw 111, whereby the assembly of the ink container 1 is completed.

The ink supply tube 2 of the image forming apparatus is abutted against the inverted ink container 1, and at this time, the ink supply tube 2 enters the guide structure 132 and supports the notch 131a of the seal structure 133, and the ink stored in the container main body 11 flows out from the ink outlet 121 into the ink supply tube 2, thereby filling the ink. After the ink is filled, the ink container 1 is removed, and the negative pressure of the sealing cavity is balanced due to the air guide channel 134, so that the ink leakage of the ink filling pipe 2 is prevented.

Example 2:

embodiment 2 of the present application provides an ink container 1 including a container main body 11 for containing ink and an ink outflow portion 12 communicating with the container main body 11, the ink outflow portion 12 being provided with an ink flow path; the ink container 1 further includes a sealing member 13, the sealing member 13 being used to open or close the ink flow path;

the sealing member 13 includes a sealing member main body 131, and a guiding structure 132 and a sealing structure 133 which are arranged in the sealing member main body 131, wherein the sealing structure 133 is arranged at one end of the sealing member main body 131 close to the container main body 11, and the guiding structure 132 is arranged at one end of the sealing member main body 131 far away from the container main body 11; a cavity is formed between the guide structure 132 and the sealing structure 133;

The difference from example 1 is: the air guide channel 134 in embodiment 2 is provided in the side wall of the seal main body 131.

Specifically, the inner wall of the sealing member main body 131 is a structure having a certain thickness, in embodiment 2, fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the sealing member of the ink container provided in embodiment 2 of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, at least one air guide channel 134 is disposed inside the side wall of the sealing clip main body along the height direction of the sealing member main body 131, and the air guide channel 134 is connected to the sealing cavity and outside the ink container 1, so that in the ink filling process, the air guide channel 134 can balance the air pressure in the sealing cavity, and ink leakage when the ink filling tube 2 is pulled out after ink filling is completed is prevented.

Except for the above special description, the other features of embodiment 2 are the same as those of embodiment 1, and are not described again.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the attaching structure of the seal attaching portion may have other shapes than flat or corrugated, such as end bending, and the like, and may be selected according to actual needs. And these modifications or substitutions do not depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An ink container (1) includes a container main body portion (11) for containing ink and an ink outflow portion (12) communicating with the container main body portion (11), the ink outflow portion (12) being provided with an ink flow path; the ink container (1) is characterized by further comprising a sealing member (13), wherein the sealing member (13) is used for opening or closing the ink flow channel;

the sealing piece (13) comprises a sealing piece main body (131), and a guide structure (132) and a sealing structure (133) which are arranged in the sealing piece main body (131), wherein the sealing structure (133) is arranged at one end, close to the container main body part (11), in the sealing piece main body (131), and the guide structure (132) is arranged at one end, far away from the container main body part (11), in the sealing piece main body (131); a cavity is formed between the guide structure (132) and the sealing structure (133);

the sealing element (13) is also provided with an air guide channel (134); when the ink container (1) is butted with an image forming device, the cavity and an ink filling pipe (2) of the image forming device form a sealed cavity, and the air guide channel (134) is communicated with the outside of the ink container (1) and the sealed cavity.

2. The ink container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the guide structure (132) is provided with a guide opening (132a), and the seal structure (133) is provided with at least one cutout (131 a);

when the ink container (1) is docked with the image forming apparatus, the ink filling tube (2) abuts against the guide opening (132a) and expands the notch (131 a).

3. The ink tank (1) according to claim 1, wherein the seal body (131) further comprises an opening (130), the opening (130) forms an annular projection (131b) extending in a radial direction of the seal body (131), and the seal (13) is configured to be engaged with the ink outlet (121) of the ink outflow portion (12) via the annular projection (131 b).

4. The ink container (1) according to claim 1, wherein a support protrusion (131c) is provided on an outer side wall of the seal main body (131), the support protrusion (131c) extending in a direction of the container main body (11);

a support surface (122) is provided in the ink outflow portion (12), and the support protrusion (131c) abuts against the support surface (122).

5. The ink container (1) according to claim 4, wherein one side of the support protrusion (131c) forms a catching groove (131 d);

an engaging protrusion (123) is formed in the ink outflow portion (12) in a radially extending manner, and the engaging groove (131d) is engaged with the engaging protrusion (123).

6. An ink container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the guiding structure (132) is provided with at least one through slot forming the air guiding channel (134).

7. The ink container (1) according to claim 1, wherein a seal ring (15) is further provided on the ink container (1), and the seal ring (15) is provided between the ink outflow portion (12) and the container main body portion (11) for preventing leakage of printing material.

8. The ink tank (1) according to claim 1, wherein a screw (111) is provided at a connection of the ink discharging portion (12) and the tank main body portion (11), and the screw (111) prevents the ink discharging portion (12) from falling off during use.

9. The ink container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the ink container (1) further comprises a cap (14) which is fitted over the ink outflow portion (12) to prevent the printing material from being contaminated.

10. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that the image forming apparatus comprises the ink container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.