EP2894035A2 - Tintenpatrone und Montage-/Demontagemechanismus dafür - Google Patents

Tintenpatrone und Montage-/Demontagemechanismus dafür Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2894035A2
EP2894035A2 EP15150439.6A EP15150439A EP2894035A2 EP 2894035 A2 EP2894035 A2 EP 2894035A2 EP 15150439 A EP15150439 A EP 15150439A EP 2894035 A2 EP2894035 A2 EP 2894035A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
inside plug
ink
insertion shaft
socket
joint
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP15150439.6A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2894035B1 (de
EP2894035A3 (de
Inventor
Hirotaka Tominaga
Norihisa Shimamura
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Riso Kagaku Corp
Original Assignee
Riso Kagaku Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US14/151,431 external-priority patent/US9067424B1/en
Application filed by Riso Kagaku Corp filed Critical Riso Kagaku Corp
Publication of EP2894035A2 publication Critical patent/EP2894035A2/de
Publication of EP2894035A3 publication Critical patent/EP2894035A3/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2894035B1 publication Critical patent/EP2894035B1/de
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/1752—Mounting within the printer
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/1752—Mounting within the printer
    • B41J2/17523—Ink connection

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an ink cartridge and an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism which are configured such that a socket portion provided in the ink cartridge is detachably fitted to a joint portion provided in a printing machine.
  • an inkjet printing machine employing an inkjet method uses multiple ink cartridges respectively storing inks of colors such for example as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).
  • Y yellow
  • M magenta
  • C cyan
  • K black
  • a socket portion provided in each of the ink cartridges is detachably fitted to a joint portion provided in the inkjet printing machine and the ink in the ink cartridge is thereby supplied from the socket portion to the inkjet printing machine via the joint portion.
  • the inkjet printing machine can perform color printing of images and characters on paper sheets by supplying the inks from the ink cartridges of the respective colors to inkjet heads provided for the respective ink colors and by ejecting the inks of the respective colors to the paper sheets from the inkjet heads of the respective colors.
  • the inkjet printing machine is thus widely used as a printing machine for home and business use.
  • the inkjet printing machine is configured to perform monochrome printing by using only the ink of one color of black (K).
  • the applicant has proposed before an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism which can detachably attach an ink cartridge to a printing machine, the ink cartridge including an ink supply port which is used to supply ink to the printing machine and which is formed to have a diameter larger than that of an insertion shaft provided to the printing machine (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-69806 ).
  • the ink cartridge is detachably connected to a joint portion provided in the printing machine, in a substantially horizontal direction.
  • the ink cartridge described above includes a socket portion configured to be detachably fitted to the joint portion in the printing machine and an ink storage container storing the ink is attached to a rear end of the socket portion.
  • the ink supply port is opened on the distal end side of a socket body and the socket body is provided with an inside plug movable relative to the ink supply port in front-rear directions.
  • an O-ring is fitted between the ink supply port and a distal end circular protruding portion formed in the inside plug.
  • the inside plug to which the O-ring is fitted is moved forward to the ink supply port and thereby prevents leakage of the ink from the ink cartridge not in use.
  • an insertion shaft to be inserted into and removed from the ink supply port of the socket body is formed in a center portion of the joint body integrally with the joint body.
  • the insertion shaft has a diameter smaller than the hole diameter of the ink supply port.
  • an ink flow-in passage allowing the ink to flow from the ink cartridge is formed around the insertion shaft.
  • an ink leakage preventing member is slidably fitted to the insertion shaft.
  • the ink leakage preventing member is moved forward in the insertion direction in the joint body to prevent leakage of the ink having flowed into the joint body by spring force.
  • the insertion shaft formed in the center portion of the joint body is inserted into the ink supply port of the socket body and pushes and moves the inside plug toward an opposite side of the socket body from the ink supply port side.
  • the ink in the socket body flows into the joint portion through a gap formed between the ink supply port and the insertion shaft because the insertion shaft in the joint body is formed to have the diameter smaller than the hole diameter of the ink supply port of the socket body as described above.
  • the insertion shaft inserted into the ink supply port hinders the ink supply from the socket portion to the joint portion, and reduces the ink flow amount by an amount corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the insertion shaft.
  • the ink flow amount may be increased by increasing the diameter of the ink supply port, but this leads to increase in the size of the ink cartridge.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge and an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in which an insertion shaft provided in a center portion of a joint body does not hinder an ink supply port of a socket body from supplying an ink from a socket portion in the ink cartridge to a joint portion in a printing machine.
  • An ink cartridge in accordance with some embodiments includes: an ink storage container configured to store ink; a socket portion provided at one end of the ink storage container and configured to be fitted to and detached from a joint portion of a printing machine; an ink supply port provided in the socket portion; an inside plug configured to seal an ink passage to the ink supply port by using a biasing force coming from a direction of the ink storage container; an insertion shaft capable of advancing and retreating between a pressing position and a retreat position, the pressing position being a position where the insertion shaft presses the inside plug against the biasing force and thereby unseals the ink passage when the socket portion and the joint portion are fitted to each other, the retreat position being a position where the insertion shaft retreats to outside of the ink supply port; and an inside plug lock portion configured to lock the inside plug at a position where the inside plug is pressed by the insertion shaft, and maintain a locked state of the inside plug independently of a retreating of the insertion shaft to the retreat position after a locking of the
  • the configuration described above particularly includes the inside plug lock portion configured to lock the inside plug at the position where the inside plug is pressed by the insertion shaft at the pressing position in the joint portion, against the biasing force from the ink storage container side, when the socket portion in the ink cartridge and the joint portion in the printing machine are fitted to each other, and to maintain the locked state of the inside plug even if the insertion shaft retreats to the retreat position outside the ink supply port after the locking of the inside plug. Accordingly, the insertion shaft does not hinder the ink supply port from supplying the ink from the socket portion to the joint portion and a large amount of ink on the socket portion side can flow from the ink supply port into the joint portion. In this configuration, it is possible to reduce an ink supply time without increasing the size of the ink cartridge and to thereby print image information on many paper sheets at high speed in the printing machine.
  • the inside plug lock portion may be configured to release the locked state of the inside plug upon the inside plug in the locked state being pressed again, and before the ink cartridge is pulled out from the printing machine, the ink passage may be sealed with the inside plug by moving the insertion shaft to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug, and then by moving the insertion shaft toward the retreat position.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug by moving the insertion shaft to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug, and then by moving the insertion shaft toward the retreat position. Accordingly, the ink on the socket portion side does not leak from the ink supply port and the amount of ink which may drip between the joint portion and the socket portion can be suppressed to the minimum. Hence, it is possible to suppress the dripping of the ink from the ink supply port which occurs when the fitting between the joint portion and the socket portion is released.
  • the ink cartridge can be thus carried at ease after being detached from the printing machine.
  • An ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in accordance with some embodiments includes: a joint portion provided in a printing machine; and a socket portion provided on a distal end side of an ink cartridge, the joint portion and the socket portion configured such that the socket portion is detachably fitted to the joint portion and ink in an ink storage container attached to a rear end side of the socket portion is supplied to the printing machine from the socket portion via the joint portion.
  • the joint portion includes: a joint body provided to face the socket portion; and an insertion shaft capable of advancing and retreating between a pressing position of pressing the socket portion by protruding forward in the joint body and a retreat position retreating to a position rearward of the pressing position.
  • the socket portion includes: a socket body including an ink supply port on a side of the socket body facing the joint body; an inside plug housed in the socket body to seal an ink passage to the ink supply port by using a biasing force coming from a direction of the ink storage container and configured to unseal the ink passage by staying at a position where the inside plug is pressed by the insertion shaft at the pressing position against the biasing force when the socket portion is fitted to the joint body; and an inside plug lock portion configured to lock the inside plug at the position where the inside plug is pressed by the insertion shaft, and maintain a locked state of the inside plug independently of a retreating of the insertion shaft to the retreat position outside the ink supply port after a locking of the inside plug.
  • the joint portion in order to detachably fit the socket portion provided on the distal end side of the ink cartridge to the joint portion provided in the printing machine, the joint portion includes the joint body and the insertion shaft and the socket portion includes the socket body, the inside plug, and the inside plug lock portion.
  • the inside plug lock portion locks the inside plug at the position where the inside plug is pressed by the insertion shaft at the pressing position in the joint portion and maintains the locked state of the inside plug even if the insertion shaft retreats to the retreat position outside ink supply port after the locking of the inside plug.
  • the insertion shaft does not hinder the ink supply port from supplying the ink from the socket portion to the joint portion, and a large amount of ink on the socket body side can flow to the joint body side from the ink supply port.
  • the inside plug lock portion may be configured to release the locked state of the inside plug upon the inside plug in the locked state being pressed again, and before the ink cartridge is pulled out from the printing machine, the ink passage may be sealed with the inside plug by moving the insertion shaft to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug, and then by moving the insertion shaft in a direction toward the retreat position.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug by moving the insertion shaft to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug, and then by moving the insertion shaft to the retreat position. Accordingly, effects similar to those of the configurations described above can be obtained.
  • the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention are applied to a well-known inkjet printing machine.
  • a socket portion provided in the ink cartridge is detachably fitted to a joint portion provided in the inkjet printing machine so that an ink housed in an ink storage container of the ink cartridge can be supplied from the socket portion to the inkjet printer machine via the joint portion.
  • an insertion shaft is provided in a center portion of a joint body of the joint portion to be movable in front-rear directions relative to the socket portion.
  • an inside plug is provided in a socket body of the socket portion to be movable in the front-rear directions and is capable of being locked and unlocked by an operation of the insertion shaft pressing the inside plug.
  • FIG. 1 Before giving description of the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention, an inkjet printing machine to which the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention are applied is briefly described by using Fig. 1 .
  • Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the inkjet printing machine to which the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention are applied.
  • a cartridge attachment mechanism 20 forming part of an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism M/DeM (Mount/DeMount) in the embodiment of the present invention is installed in an upper portion of the printing machine 10.
  • a socket portion 50 provided in an ink cartridge 40 in the embodiment of the present invention is detachably connected to a joint portion 30 supported by a holder 21 of a cartridge attachment mechanism 20 provided in the printing machine 10.
  • the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism M/DeM in the embodiment of the present invention includes the joint portion 30 provided in the printing machine 10 and the socket portion 50 provided in the ink cartridge 40 which is detachably fitted to the joint portion 30.
  • an ink IK in the ink cartridge 40 is supplied to the printing machine 10 when the socket portion 50 is fitted to the joint portion 30.
  • a cartridge mounting table 21b is formed integrally with a front plate 21a to be continuously connected to a lower portion of the front plate 21a.
  • the ink cartridge 40 is mounted on the cartridge mounting table 21b while being inclined at about 2° so that the ink IK can flow toward the printing machine 10.
  • a joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 supported by the front plate 21a of the holder 21 can be linearly moved in the front-rear directions, relative to the socket portion 50 in the ink cartridge 40, by a joint body drive mechanism 11 provided in the printing machine 10.
  • an insertion shaft 32 provided in a center portion of the joint body 31 can be linearly moved in the front-rear directions, relative to the socket portion 50 in the ink cartridge 40, independently of the joint body 31 by an insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 provided in the printing machine 10.
  • the socket portion 50 is disposed in a rectangular-solid outer case 41 to extend toward a front surface 41a of the outer case 41 and an ink storage container 60 storing the oil-based ink IK is attached to a rear end of the socket portion 50.
  • an IC tag 42 is attached to the outer case 41 and an IC tag receiver 13 is installed in the printing machine 10 to face the IC tag 42.
  • the IC tag receiver 13 can wirelessly receive color information and the like of the ink IK stored in the IC tag 42.
  • ink cartridges 40 respectively storing the inks IK of many colors such as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are installed in the printing machine 10.
  • Y yellow
  • M magenta
  • C cyan
  • K black
  • the ink IK from the ink cartridge 40 described above is put into an ink tank 15 from the socket portion 50 through an ink supplementation passage IHR via the joint portion 30 of the printing machine 10, by an on-off operation of a solenoid on-off valve 14.
  • the ink tank 15 is provided with a liquid level sensor S configured to measure the amount of ink IK put into the ink tank 15.
  • the on-off of the solenoid on-off valve 14 is controlled by a controller 19 to be described later, depending on a detection result of the liquid level sensor S.
  • the supply of the ink IK from the ink cartridge 40 to the ink tank 15 is performed by using a pressure difference between the ink cartridge 40 disposed at a higher position and the ink tank 15 disposed at a lower position.
  • the ink IK put into the ink tank 15 is sent to an ink distributor 17 through an ink supply passage IKR and is distributed to multiple inkjet heads 18 by the ink distributor 17. Images and characters can be printed on a paper sheet P by ejecting the ink IK to the paper sheet P from the multiple inkjet heads 18.
  • controller 19 configured to control the entire machine is installed at an appropriate position in the printing machine 10.
  • Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of an external shape of the ink cartridge in the embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figs. 3A and 3B show a state where the ink cartridge in the embodiment of the present invention is to be connected to the cartridge attachment mechanism in the printing machine.
  • the outer case 41 is formed by using a paper material or the like, in a box shape with a ratio between a vertical dimension in a vertical direction and a horizontal dimension in a horizontal direction being set to about 1:2.
  • connection member 43 made of a stiff plate material such as a resin material or a metal material is attached to the front surface 41a side of the outer case 41 and is thereby unified with the outer case 41.
  • connection member 43 described above has a function of connecting the ink cartridge 40 to the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ) and a function of connecting the socket portion 50 in the ink cartridge 40.
  • Lock recess portions 43a, 43b configured to be connected to the cartridge attachment mechanism 20 of the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ) are formed in center portions of upper and lower outer sides of the connection member 43.
  • a pair of protruding portions 43c, 43c are formed to protrude respectively on both sides of the lock recess portion 43a in the upper outer side of the connection member 43.
  • the pair of protruding portions 43c, 43c are detected by a cartridge attachment sensor 24 ( Fig. 3A ) attached to an upper portion of the front plate 21a of the holder 21.
  • connection member 43 a center portion of the connection member 43 is provided with a round hole 43d formed to penetrate the connection member 43.
  • the socket portion 50 is inserted in the round hole 43d in a manner visible from outside, and a later-described ink supply port 51e formed in a socket body 51 of the socket portion 50 is exposed toward the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ).
  • the ink supply port 51e described above is configured such that the ink supply port 51e is opened to have a large diameter of, for example, about ⁇ 3 mm and that a large amount of ink IK ( Fig. 1 ) can be supplied to the printing machine 10 from the ink supply port 51e formed to have a large diameter.
  • the ink supply port 51e is formed in a side of the socket portion 50 corresponding to a distal end circular recess portion (distal end recess portion) 31e described below of the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30.
  • the socket portion 50 is disposed to face the joint portion 30 ( Fig. 1 ) in the printing machine 10. Moreover, the ink storage container 60 ( Fig. 3B ) formed in a bag shape by using a film material is attached to a rear portion of the socket body 51 of the socket portion 50 by heat sealing. The socket portion 50 is thus provided at one end of the ink storage container 60 which is a front end.
  • the holder 21 which is a base made of a resin material is formed as a stiff frame body integrally including: the substantially-vertical front plate 21a; the cartridge mounting table 21b horizontally provided to be continuously connected to the lower portion of the front plate 21a; and a pair of left and right side plates (21c, not illustrated), 21d vertically provided to be continuously connected to left and right portions of the front plate 21a.
  • annular portion 21e having a through hole 21e1 with guide grooves is formed to protrude toward a rear side which is the opposite side to the ink cartridge 40 side.
  • first and second outer periphery cylinder portions 31a, 31b formed in the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 are fitted into and supported by the through hole 21e1 with guide grooves of the annular portion 21e of the holder 21 to be slidable in the front-rear directions.
  • a stopper 21f configured to prevent the joint body 31 from falling out from the through hole 21e1 with guide grooves of the annular portion 21e is provided integrally in a rear end of the annular portion 21e of the holder 21.
  • a later-described outer periphery protruding portion 31c formed in the joint body 31 is brought into contact with and moved away from the stopper 21f.
  • a bottom surface 21b1 is formed to be horizontal and an inclined surface 21b2 is formed above the bottom surface 21b1 to be inclined at about 2° in such a way that the height of the inclined surface 21b2 becomes lower toward the front plate 21a.
  • the ink IK in the ink cartridge 40 flows toward the joint portion 30.
  • lock members 22, 23 which are formed by attaching rollers 22a, 23a respectively to one ends of flat spring materials and which elastically deform are provided in upper and lower portions of the holder 21.
  • the lock recess portions 43a, 43b are formed in upper and lower portions of the connection member 43 to face the lock members 22, 23, the connection member 43 provided on the front surface 41a side of the outer case 41 of the ink cartridge 40.
  • the ink cartridge 40 is connected by being manually pushed toward the holder 21 of the cartridge attachment mechanism 20. At this time, the rollers 22a, 23a of the lock members 22, 23 provided in the upper and lower portions of the holder 21 are fitted into the lock recess portions 43a, 43b of the connection member 43 provided in the ink cartridge 40. The ink cartridge 40 is thereby connected to the holder 21. Moreover, the connection state of the ink cartridge 40 is detected by using the cartridge attachment sensor 24 attached to the upper portion of the holder 21 and the protruding portions 43c ( Fig. 2 ) of the connection member 43.
  • the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 face each other with a small gap therebetween.
  • the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 can be linearly moved in the front-rear directions relative to the socket portion 50 in the ink cartridge 40 by the joint body drive mechanism 11 provided in the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ).
  • the insertion shaft 32 provided in the center portion of the joint body 31 can be linearly moved in the front-rear directions relative to the socket portion 50 by the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 provided in the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ).
  • the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 are fitted to each other only in the case where the ink cartridge 40 and the holder 21 are connected to each other.
  • the joint portion 30 needs to be fitted to the socket portion 50 after the color information of the ink IK outputted from the IC tag 42 attached to the outer case 41 of the ink cartridge 40 is received by the IC tag receiver 13 and the color of the ink IK of the ink cartridge 40 is checked to be correct.
  • the male plug portion (30) and the female socket portion (50) are male-female matched to each other.
  • Figs. 4A to 4D show, in an enlarged manner, the joint portion in the printing machine and the socket portion in the ink cartridge which is to be fitted to the joint portion.
  • Fig. 4B is an enlarged view of the X1 portion of Fig. 4A.
  • Fig. 4D is an enlarged view of the X2 portion of Fig. 4C .
  • Fig. 5A is a perspective view of an inside plug lock/unlock portion and Fig. 5B is an enlarged view of knock cam sections 56b.
  • a side of a cap 37 attached to an outer peripheral portion of a distal end of the joint body 31 is configured as a side to be fitted to the socket portion 50 provided in the ink cartridge 40 to be described later.
  • the joint body 31 which is a base body of the joint portion 30 is formed integrally by using a resin material.
  • the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a is formed in a distal end portion facing the socket portion 50 in the ink cartridge 40.
  • the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a is formed to have such a diameter and a length that the cap 37 can be attached thereto.
  • the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b is formed behind the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a to be continuously connected thereto.
  • the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b is formed to have a long length and a diameter larger than that of the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a and about the same as the outer diameter of the cap 37.
  • the outer periphery protruding portion 31c having a short length is formed to protrude outward in an intermediate portion of the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b having the long length.
  • a flange portion 31d is formed at a rear end of the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b, in a rectangular shape extending vertically to the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b as shown in Fig. 3A .
  • the outer periphery protruding portion 31c formed in the intermediate portion of the second outer periphery cylinder portion 31b functions as a rotation stopper and a movement stopper.
  • the joint body 31 is maintained at an initial position by the joint body drive mechanism 11 in an initial stage where the joint portion 30 is spaced away from the socket portion 50.
  • distal end circular recess portion (distal end recess portion) 31e is formed in an inner peripheral portion of the joint body 31 on the distal end side to be recessed in a circular recess shape.
  • an insertion shaft hole 31f is formed in a center portion of the distal end circular recess portion 31e to penetrate the joint body 31 and extend in an axial direction toward the flange portion 31d on the rear side.
  • the insertion shaft 32 is fitted into the insertion shaft hole 31f formed in the center portion of the joint body 31 to be capable of being linearly moved in the front-rear directions, relative to the socket portion 50, by drive force of the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 provided in the printing machine 10 ( Fig. 1 ).
  • the aforementioned insertion shaft 32 is formed to face the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 to be described later and to have a diameter smaller than a hole diameter of the ink supply port 51e.
  • a distal end sharp portion 32a is formed in a conical shape at a distal end of the insertion shaft 32.
  • the distal end sharp portion 32a has a shape corresponding to a later-described conical hole 53a1 formed in an inside plug 53 housed in the socket body 51, i.e., such a shape that the distal end sharp portion 32a after being inserted from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 can removably come into contact with the conical hole 53a1 and easily press the conical hole 53a1.
  • the insertion shaft 32 is provided to be capable of advancing and retreating between a pressing position and a retreat position in the state where the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 are fitted to each other as will be described later in a below-mentioned operation, the pressing position being a position where the distal end sharp portion 32a protrudes forward to a position of an O-ring (slide-contact member) 36 inside the cap 37 to press the inside plug 53 rearward in the socket body 51, the retreat position being a position where the distal end sharp portion 32a retreats from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 to the outside thereof and moved back to a position rearward of the pressing position in the joint body 31.
  • the pressing position being a position where the distal end sharp portion 32a protrudes forward to a position of an O-ring (slide-contact member) 36 inside the cap 37 to press the inside plug 53 rearward in the socket body 51
  • the retreat position being a position where the distal end sharp portion 32a retreats from the ink supply port 51
  • an ink flow-in passage 31g into which the ink IK supplied from the socket body 51 flows is formed throughout a portion of the joint body 31 behind and under the insertion shaft 32 to continuously extend to the flange portion 31d.
  • An annular (ring shaped) space is thus formed between an inner peripheral surface of the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31 and an outer peripheral surface of the insertion shaft 32 with a small diameter.
  • a compression spring 33 an ink leakage preventing member 34 provided to be slidable in the front-rear directions along the insertion shaft 32, an O-ring holding member 35, and the O-ring 36 are housed inside the annular (ring shaped) space in the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31 in this order from the rear side to the distal end side, with the insertion shaft 32 passing through these members 33 to 36.
  • These members 33 to 36 are formed such that the ink IK supplied from the ink cartridge 40 can be made to flow to the ink flow-in passage 31g of the joint body 31.
  • a circular plate portion 34a is formed to have substantially the same diameter as an inner diameter of the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31, and multiple ink flow-in holes 34b are formed in an outer peripheral portion of the circular plate portion 34a to penetrate the circular plate portion 34a.
  • three protrusions 34c are formed on a front side of the circular plate portion 34a at intervals of 120° in a circumferential direction to protrude toward the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51.
  • the ink leakage preventing member 34 described above faces an outer surface of the socket body 51 forming the ink supply port 51e. Furthermore, the three protrusions 34c come into contact with the outer surface forming the ink supply port 51e while portions of the ink leakage preventing member 34 other than the three protrusions 34c do not come into contact with the outer surface.
  • the ink IK from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 flows into a gap formed between the portions of the ink leakage preventing member 34 other than the three protrusions 34c and the outer surface forming the ink supply port 51e.
  • This ink IK passes through the multiple ink flow-in holes 34b formed in the circular plate portion 34a of the ink leakage preventing member 34 and eventually flows to the ink flow-in passage 31g.
  • the ink leakage preventing member 34 has a function of preventing the ink IK flowing into a space on the rear side of the ink leakage preventing member 34 through the multiple ink flow-in holes 34b from leaking to the socket body 51 side.
  • the cap 37 having a large-diameter circular hole 37a formed in a center portion is attached to the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a of the joint body 31.
  • the ink leakage preventing member 34, the O-ring holding member 35, and the O-ring 36 are pressed toward the cap 37 by biasing force of the compression spring 33 housed in the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31 and the members 33 to 36 are enclosed by the cap 37.
  • the ink supply port 51e side of the socket body 51 of the socket portion 50 described below can advance into and retreat from the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31 and the large-diameter circular hole 37a of the cap 37.
  • a side of an inner periphery cylinder portion 51f and a distal end annular recess portion 51af which are formed on a distal end side of the socket body 51 (in an outer periphery of the ink supply port 51e) are configured as a side to be fitted to the joint portion 30 provided in the printing machine 10.
  • the socket body 51 which is a base body of the socket portion 50 is formed integrally by using a resin material, like the joint body 31.
  • an outer periphery large-diameter cylinder portion 51a is formed in a distal end portion facing the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30, the outer periphery large-diameter cylinder portion 51a formed to have a diameter larger than those of the first and second outer periphery cylinder portions 31a, 31b of the joint body 31 and to have a length large enough to house distal end portions of the first and second outer periphery cylinder portions 31a, 31b.
  • an outer periphery circular protruding portion 51b is formed behind the outer periphery large-diameter cylinder portion 51a to be continuously connected thereto and to have a larger diameter and a smaller length than the outer periphery large-diameter cylinder portion 51a.
  • an outer periphery tapered claw portion 51c is formed behind the outer periphery circular protruding portion 51b to be continuously connected thereto and to have a small length and an outer diameter which gradually becomes smaller toward a rear end.
  • an outer periphery small-diameter cylinder portion 51d is formed behind the outer periphery tapered claw portion 51c to be continuously connected thereto and to extend to a position near a front surface 60a of the ink storage container 60.
  • the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f is formed to be capable of advancing into and retreating from the large-diameter circular hole 37a of the cap 37 and the distal end circular recess portion 31e of the joint body 31, the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f having a distal end surface in which the ink supply port 51e with a diameter larger than the diameter of the insertion shaft 32 is opened.
  • the insertion shaft 32 provided in the center portion of the joint body 31 can advance into and retreat from the ink supply port 51e, and the distal end annular recess portion 51af having the annular (ring-shaped) space is formed on the distal end side of the socket body 51 between the inner peripheral surface of the outer periphery large-diameter cylinder portion 51a and the outer peripheral surface of the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f to have a recess shape.
  • a first circular recess portion 51g, a tapered recess portion 51h, and a second circular recess portion 51i are formed in a step shape in this order from a rear side of the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 toward the rear end of the socket body 51, in such a way that the inner diameters of these portions become larger in this order.
  • the inside plug 53 is housed in the first circular recess portion 51g, the tapered recess portion 51h, and the second circular recess portion 51i of the socket body 51 to be movable between an unlock position and a lock position to be described later.
  • the inside plug 53 described above is integrally formed of: a first cylinder portion 53a facing the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51; a second cylinder portion 53b formed behind the first cylinder portion 53a to be continuously connected thereto and having a diameter larger than the first cylinder portion 53a; a circular protruding portion 53c formed behind the second cylinder portion 53b to be continuously connected thereto and having a diameter larger than the second cylinder portion 53b; and a small-diameter shaft portion 53d formed behind the circular protruding portion 53c to be continuously connected thereto and having a small diameter and a long length.
  • the conical hole 53a1 is formed in a center portion of a distal end surface of the first cylinder portion 53a of the inside plug 53 as a bottomed hole.
  • the distal end sharp portion 32a of the insertion shaft 32 inserted from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 can be brought into contact with and spaced away from the conical hole 53a1.
  • the distal end sharp portion 32a of the insertion shaft 32 presses the inside plug 53 rearward.
  • a pin 53e which is part of the inside plug lock/unlock portion L/UnL (Lock/UnLock) configured to lock and unlock the inside plug 53 is fixedly attached by press fitting to an outer periphery of an intermediate portion of the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 in a longitudinal direction thereof with a protruding height of the pin 53e being low.
  • an O-ring 54 is fitted to the inside plug 53 from the first and second cylinder portions 53a, 53b side of the inside plug 53 and brought into contact with a front surface of the circular protruding portion 53c.
  • a compression spring 55 is fitted to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53. Thereafter, one end of the compression spring 55 is brought into contact with a rear surface of the circular protruding portion 53c while the other end of the compression spring 55 is brought into contact with a front surface of a flange portion 56c of a bearing member 56 fixedly supported between the inside of the second circular recess portion 51i of the socket body 51 and the front surface 60a of the ink storage container 60. Then, the small-diameter shaft portion 53d is fitted to a shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • the inside plug 53 can be thus moved forward by biasing force from the ink storage container 60 side and seal an ink passage to the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51.
  • the pin 53e fixedly attached to the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the small-diameter shaft portion 53d in the longitudinal direction thereof is engaged with one of the knock cam sections 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • knock cam sections 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56 are also part of the inside plug lock/unlock portion L/UnL.
  • three knock cam sections 56b are repeatedly and continuously formed at intervals of, for example, 120° along a circumference of the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • description is given of one of the three knock cam sections 56b.
  • a first vertical cam groove 56b1 which is open on an insertion side of the inside plug 53 to allow the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 to be positioned at an unlock position UnL-P and which extends downward to have a groove shape between left and right portions; a rightward-downward-inclined cam groove 56b2 which is continuously connected to lower ends of the left and right portions of the first vertical cam groove 56b1 and which is inclined rightward and downward; and a second vertical cam groove 56b3 which is continuously connected to lower ends of left and right portions of the rightward-downward-inclined cam groove 56b2 and which extends downward, the grooves being arranged in the order of description.
  • a first leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b4 which is continuously connected to a lower left end of the second vertical cam groove 56b3 and which is inclined leftward and upward; a horizontal cam 56b5 which is continuously connected to an upper end of the first leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b4 and which extends horizontally to the left; a vertical cam 56b6 which is continuously connected to a left end of the horizontal cam 56b5 and which extends downward; and a second leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b7 which is continuously connected to a lower end of the vertical cam 56b6 and which is inclined leftward and upward, the cams being arranged in the order of description.
  • a region defined by the horizontal cam 56b5 and the vertical cam 56b6 is a lock position L-P where the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 is locked and held. Moreover, a left end of the second leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b7 is continuously connected to a lower right end of the adjacent second vertical cam groove 56b3.
  • a saw tooth cam 56b8 is formed on a lower side, which is the ink storage container 60 side, to face lower ends of left and right portions of the second vertical cam groove 56b3, the first leftward-upward inclined cam 56b4, the horizontal cam 56b5, the lower end of the vertical cam 56b6, and the second leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b7 with a gap provided therebetween.
  • a region of the gap described above is formed in a groove shape.
  • the saw tooth cam 56b8 restricts a position to which the pin 53e moves downward from the lock position L-P in the unlocking of the inside plug 53 locked at the lock position L-P.
  • the inside plug 53 is moved toward the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 by the biasing force of the compression spring 55.
  • a container supporting cylinder body 61 attached to the front surface 60a of the ink storage container 60 is fitted to a rear end outer peripheral portion of the socket body 51 via an O-ring 62 and a distal end side of the container supporting cylinder body 61 is engaged with the outer periphery tapered claw portion 51c of the socket body 51, ink leakage is also prevented between the socket body 51 and the ink storage container 60.
  • Figs. 6(a) to 6(d) show an operation sequence of fitting the socket portion in the ink cartridge to the joint portion in the printing machine.
  • Figs. 7(a) to 7(d) show an operation sequence of pulling the joint portion in the printing machine out from the socket portion in the ink cartridge.
  • the joint body drive mechanism 11 which moves the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 in the front-rear directions and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 which moves the insertion shaft 32 in the front-rear directions are each pulse-driven by a not-illustrated pulse motor with an initial position being a reference.
  • the numbers of pulses from the initial positions respectively of the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 are counted by a not-illustrated counter in the controller 19 to control movement positions of the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32.
  • the amounts of movement per pulse of the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 are both set to the same value.
  • the controller 19 controls the respective pulse motors (not illustrated) of the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 in such a way that the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 can be set to a first linear movement mode in which the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32 are linearly moved together in the front-rear directions and a second linear movement mode in which only the insertion shaft 32 is linearly moved in the joint body 31 in the front-rear directions.
  • Fig. 6(a) shows an initial state just after the ink cartridge 40 is connected to the holder 21 fixedly disposed in the cartridge attachment mechanism 20 and before the joint portion 30 supported by the holder 21 to be movable in the front-rear directions is fitted to the socket portion 50.
  • a state where the joint portion 30 is fitted to the socket portion 50 refers to a state where the cap 37 attached to the first outer periphery cylinder portion 31a of the joint body 31 advances into the distal end annular recess portion 51af of the socket body 51 and the O-ring 36 provided in the joint body 31 is in sliding contact with the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f formed on an inner peripheral distal end side of the socket body 51.
  • the state of Fig. 6 (a) is thus the initial state before the fitting because the O-ring 36 is spaced away from the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f.
  • the IC tag receiver 13 provided in the printing machine 10 receives the color information of the ink IK from the IC tag 42 attached to the outer case 41 of the ink cartridge 40 and the controller 19 provided in the printing machine 10 determines whether the color information of the ink IK matches the holder 21 to which the ink cartridge 40 of the color corresponding to the color information is attached. Accordingly, an error of ink color can be detected beforehand.
  • joint portion 30 of the printing machine 10 and the socket portion 50 of the ink cartridge 40 face each other with a small gap provided therebetween.
  • the joint body drive mechanism 11 configured to move the joint body 31 toward the socket body 51 is stopped at the initial position and set to a standby state.
  • the ink leakage preventing member 34, the O-ring holding member 35, and the O-ring 36 are pressed toward the cap 37 by the biasing force of the compression spring 33.
  • the insertion shaft 32 fitted into the insertion shaft hole 31f of the joint body 31 is located at the pressing position where the distal end sharp portion 32a protrudes to the position of the O-ring 36 inside the cap 37 to press the inside plug 53 toward the rear of the socket body 51, and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 is stopped at the initial position corresponding to the pressing position of the insertion shaft 32 and set to the standby state.
  • the inside plug 53 to which the O-ring 54 is fitted is moved toward the ink supply port 51e on the front side by the biasing force of the compression spring 55 and plugs the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51.
  • Fig. 6(b) shows a state just before the insertion shaft 32 located at the pressing position in the joint body 31 pushes the inside plug 53 in the socket body 51 rearward.
  • the respective pulse motors (not illustrated) of the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 are simultaneously rotated in a forward direction from the initial positions to move forward the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32 together toward the socket portion 50. Then, the cap 37 attached to the distal end portion of the joint body 31 advances into the distal end annular recess portion 51af formed on the distal end side of the socket body 51.
  • the ink supply port 51e side of the socket body 51 moves into the cap 37, the O-ring 36, and the O-ring holding member 35 in the joint body 31 in this order. Accordingly, the three protrusions 34c ( Fig. 4A ) formed in the ink leakage preventing member 34 are brought into contact with the outer surface of the socket body 51 forming the ink supply port 51e, by the biasing force of the compression spring 33 in the joint body 31.
  • the distal end sharp portion 32a of the insertion shaft 32 located at the pressing position in the joint body 31 advances from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 and comes into contact with the conical hole 53a1 formed in the first cylinder portion 53a of the inside plug 53 moved to a front side of the first circular recess portion 51g.
  • the inside plug 53 is not moved rearward yet.
  • the ink IK in the socket body 51 is sealed by the inside plug 53 and the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 is still located at the unlock position UnL-P in the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • Fig. 6(c) shows a state where the insertion shaft 32 located at the pressing position in the joint body 31 pushes the inside plug 53 in the socket body 51 rearward against the biasing force of the compression spring 55.
  • the respective pulse motors (not illustrated) of the joint body drive mechanism 11 and the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 are continuously rotated in the forward direction from the state of Fig. 6(b) to further move the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32 together toward the socket portion 50. Then, the cap 37 attached to the distal end portion of the joint body 31 is moved deep into the distal end annular recess portion 51af formed on the distal end side of the socket body 51.
  • the outer surface of the socket body 51 forming the ink supply port 51e pushes the three protrusions 34c ( Fig. 4A ) formed in the ink leakage preventing member 34 in the joint body 31 rearward.
  • the compression spring 33 in the joint body 31 is thereby compressed.
  • the distal end sharp portion 32a of the insertion shaft 32 located at the pressing position in the joint body 31 presses the conical hole 53a1 of the inside plug 53 housed in the socket body 51, against the biasing force the compression spring 55, and pushes the inside plug 53 to the rear side which is the opposite side to the ink supply port 51e.
  • the inside plug 53 is thus moved to an inside plug pressed position set in the socket body 51.
  • the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 is moved along the first vertical cam groove 56b1, the rightward-downward-inclined cam groove 56b2, the second vertical cam groove 56b3, and the first leftward-upward inclined cam 56b4 in the knock cam section 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56 which is shown in Fig. 5B , to be locked at the lock position L-P defined by the horizontal cam 56b5 and the vertical cam 56b6.
  • the inside plug 53 having moved to the inside plug pressed position set in the socket body 51 is thus held at the lock position L-P in the knock cam section 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • an inside plug lock portion (L) described below locks the inside plug 53 while pressing the inside plug 53.
  • the ink flow-out passage 51j is formed in the first circular recess portion 51g, the tapered recess portion 51h, and the second circular recess portion 51i of the socket body 51.
  • Fig. 6(d) shows a state where the insertion shaft 32 retreats from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 with the inside plug 53 being locked in the socket body 51.
  • the retreat position of the insertion shaft 32 is a position of the ink leakage preventing member 34 which is rearward of the O-ring 36 inside the cap 37 in the joint body 31.
  • the inside plug lock portion (L) maintains the inside plug 53 in the lock state while keeping the ink supply port 51e fully open. It is noted that keeping the ink supply port 51e fully open means a state where the insertion shaft 32 does not exist within an opening of the ink supply port 51e and ug 53 at the position where the ink
  • the insertion shaft 32 does not hinder the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 from supplying the ink IK on the socket portion 50 side to the joint portion 30 side. Hence, a large amount of ink IK in the socket body 51 can flow into the joint body 31 from the ink supply port 51e.
  • the ink IK having flowed into the joint body 31 is supplied to the printing machine 10 through the ink flow-in passage 31g formed in the joint body 31.
  • the state shown in Fig. 7(a) is a state where the insertion shaft 32 having retreated to the retreat position in the joint body 31 outside the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 is moved again toward the ink supply port 51e and the inside plug 53 locked in the socket body 51 is thereby pressed again.
  • the joint body drive mechanism 11 is not operated and the cap 37 attached to the distal end of the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 is left to be disposed deep in the distal end annular recess portion 51af of the socket body 51.
  • the inside plug 53 in the socket body 51 is disposed at the inside plug pressed position set in the socket body 51 and the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 is locked at the lock position L-P in the knock cam section 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • the pulse motor (not illustrated) of the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 is rotated again in the forward direction in the state where the insertion shaft 32 is disposed at the retreat position outside the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 as shown in Fig. 6(d) , the insertion shaft 32 is moved again toward the ink supply port 51e to the pressing position in the joint body 31.
  • the inside plug 53 to which the O-ring 54 is fitted is moved forward in the socket body 51 by the biasing force of the compression spring 55 and plugs the ink supply port 51e, thereby sealing the ink flow-out passage 51j.
  • the pin 53e fixedly attached to the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 is moved downward to the saw tooth cam 56b8 in the knock cam section 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56 shown in Fig. 5B , and is then moved upward while rotating along the saw tooth cam 56b8. Thereafter, the pin 53e is moved upward via the leftward-upward-inclined cam 56b7 to the adjacent second vertical cam groove 56b3, to the adjacent rightward-downward-inclined cam groove 56b2, and to the adjacent first vertical cam groove 56b1, and is disposed at the unlock position UnL-P in the adjacent first vertical cam groove 56b1.
  • the state shown in Fig. 7(d) is a state where the fitting between the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 is released.
  • the pulse motor (not illustrated) of the joint body drive mechanism 11 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the cap 37 attached to the distal end of the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 is pulled out from the distal end annular recess portion 51af of the socket body 51.
  • the insertion shaft 32 of the joint portion 30 also returns first to the initial state shown in Fig. 6(a) by being moved by the insertion shaft drive mechanism 12 to the initial position (pressing position) in the joint body 31.
  • the capacity in the joint body 31 gradually increases in transition from the state of Fig. 7(b) to the state of Fig. 7(c) and then to the state of Fig. 7(d) . Since the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32 are formed as separate bodies in the embodiment, the joint body 31 and the insertion shaft 32 can be independently pulled out from the socket body 51 side after the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 is completely sealed by the inside plug 53. The ink IK in the socket body 51 thus does not leak from the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51.
  • the joint body and the insertion shaft are integrally formed. Accordingly, the inside plug in the socket body is gradually moved in such a direction that the ink supply port is sealed, along with the movement of pulling an integral body of the joint body and the insertion shaft out from the socket body. Hence, there is such a risk that the ink on the socket body side may leak due to a negative pressure generated by the gradual increase of the capacity in the joint body before the ink supply port is completely sealed by the inside plug. However, as described above, in the embodiment, there is no risk of leakage of the ink IK on the socket body 51 side.
  • the ink IK near the ink supply port 51e of the socket body 51 is transferred to the joint body 31 by the retreat of the insertion shaft 32 from the ink supply port 51e. Accordingly, the amount of ink which may drip between the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 can be suppressed to the minimum. Hence, it is possible to suppress the dripping of the ink IK from the ink supply port 51e which occurs when the fitting between the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 is released.
  • the ink cartridge 40 can be thus carried at ease after being detached from the printing machine 10.
  • the present invention not limited to the example described above.
  • the ink cartridge 40 and the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism M/DeM may be configured such that the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30 is fixedly installed in the holder 21 in the printing machine 10 and the socket body 51 of the socket portion 50 of the ink cartridge 40 is manually attached to and detached from the fixedly-installed joint body 31.
  • the inside plug lock/unlock portion L/UnL forming the main portion of the embodiment is formed of: the pin 53e fixedly attached to the intermediate portion of the small-diameter shaft portion 53d of the inside plug 53 moved by being pressed by the insertion shaft 32; and the knock cam sections 56b formed on the inner surface of the shaft hole 56a of the bearing member 56.
  • the present invention is not limited to the example described above and the inside plug lock/unlock portion L/UnL may employ any structural form as long as the inside plug 53 moved by being pressed by the insertion shaft 32 can be locked and unlocked.
  • the inside plug can be locked and unlocked in the following configuration.
  • the inside plug is provided to be capable of being linearly moved along a key groove formed in a shaft hole of the bearing member by using a guide key fixedly attached to a lower end side of the small-diameter shaft portion, and the pin is fixedly attached to the intermediate portion of the small-diameter shaft portion of the inside plug.
  • a rotating cam body is provided between the bearing member and the compression spring biasing the inside plug, and the knock cam section is formed on an inner surface of a shaft hole of the rotating cam body to engage with the pin described above.
  • the ink cartridge 40 includes: the ink storage container 60 configured to store ink; the socket portion 50 provided at one end of the ink storage container 60 and configured to be fitted to and detached from the joint portion 30 of the printing machine 10; the ink supply port 51e provided in the socket portion 50; the inside plug 53 configured to seal the ink passage to the ink supply port 51e by using the biasing force coming from the direction of the ink storage container 60; and the inside plug lock portion L configured to lock the inside plug 53 at the position where the inside plug 53 is pressed by the insertion shaft 32, and maintain the locked state of the inside plug 53 independently of the retreating of the insertion shaft 32 to the retreat position after the locking of the inside plug 53.
  • the insertion shaft 32 is capable of advancing and retreating between the pressing position and the retreat position.
  • the pressing position is the position where the insertion shaft 32 presses the inside plug 53 against the biasing force and thereby unseals the ink passage when the socket portion 50 and the joint portion 30 are fitted to each other.
  • the retreat position is the position where the insertion shaft 32 retreats to outside of the ink supply port 51e.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to release the locked state of the inside plug 53 upon the inside plug 53 in the locked state being pressed again.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug 53 by moving the insertion shaft 32 to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug 53, and then by moving the insertion shaft 32 toward the retreat position.
  • the socket portion 50 is configured to be fitted to and detached from the joint portion 30 of the printing machine 10 having the insertion shaft 32 and the slide-contact member 36 in the distal end recess portion 31e of the joint body 31 of the joint portion 30.
  • the ink storage container 60 is attached to the rear end side of the socket portion 50.
  • the ink supply port 51e is formed in the side of the socket portion 50 corresponding to the distal end recess portion 31e.
  • the socket portion 50 includes the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f formed in the outer periphery of the ink supply port 51e and is configured to be fitted to the joint portion 30 by entering the distal end recess portion 31e and slidingly contacting the slide-contact member 36.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to lock the inside plug 53 while pressing the inside plug 53 at the position where the inside plug 53 is pressed by the insertion shaft 32, and maintain the locked state of the inside plug 53 while keeping the ink supply port 51e fully open independently of the retreating of the insertion shaft 32 to the retreat position after the locking of the inside plug 53.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to release the locked state of the inside plug 53 upon the inside plug 53 in the locked state being pressed again.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug 53 by moving the insertion shaft 32 to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug 53, and then by moving the insertion shaft 32 toward the retreat position, and, after the ink passage is sealed, the insertion shaft 32 is retreated to the retreat position and then the fitting of the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 is released.
  • the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism includes: the joint portion 30 provided in the printing machine 10; and the socket portion 50 provided on the distal end side of the ink cartridge 40.
  • the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 are configured such that the socket portion 50 is detachably fitted to the joint portion 30 and ink in the ink storage container 60 attached to the rear end side of the socket portion 50 is supplied to the printing machine (10) from the socket portion 50 via the joint portion 30.
  • the joint portion 30 includes: the joint body 31 provided to face the socket portion 50; and the insertion shaft 32 capable of advancing and retreating between the pressing position of pressing the socket portion 50 by protruding forward in the joint body 31 and the retreat position retreating to the position rearward of the pressing position.
  • the socket portion 50 includes: the socket body 51 including the ink supply port 51e on the side of the socket body 51 facing the joint body 31; the inside plug 53 housed in the socket body 51 to seal the ink passage to the ink supply port 51e by using the biasing force coming from the direction of the ink storage container 60 and configured to unseal the ink passage by staying at the position where the inside plug 53 is pressed by the insertion shaft 32 at the pressing position against the biasing force when the socket portion 50 is fitted to the joint body 31; and the inside plug lock portion L configured to lock the inside plug 53 at the position where the inside plug 53 is pressed by the insertion shaft 32, and maintain the locked state of the inside plug 53 independently of the retreating of the insertion shaft 32 to the retreat position outside the ink supply port 51e after the locking of the inside plug 53.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to release the locked state of the inside plug 53 upon the inside plug 53 in the locked state being pressed again.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug 53 by moving the insertion shaft 32 to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug 53, and then by moving the insertion shaft 32 in the direction toward the retreat position.
  • the joint body 31 includes the distal end recess portion 31e formed to face the socket member 50.
  • the joint portion 30 includes the slide-contact member 36 provided in the distal end recess portion 31e.
  • the ink supply port 51e is formed in the side of the socket portion 50 corresponding to the distal end recess portion 31e.
  • the socket portion 50 includes the inner periphery cylinder portion 51f formed in the outer periphery of the ink supply port 51e and is configured to be fitted to the joint portion 30 by entering the distal end recess portion 31e and slidingly contacting the slide-contact member 36.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to lock the inside plug 53 while pressing the inside plug 53 at the position where the inside plug 53 is pressed by the insertion shaft 32, and maintain the locked state of the inside plug 53 while keeping the ink supply port 51e fully open independently of the retreating of the insertion shaft 32 to the retreat position after the locking of the inside plug 53.
  • the inside plug lock portion L is configured to release the locked state of the inside plug 53 upon the inside plug 53 in the locked state being pressed again.
  • the ink passage is sealed with the inside plug 53 by moving the insertion shaft 32 to the pressing position to unlock the inside plug 53, and then by moving the insertion shaft 32 toward the retreat position, and, after the ink passage is sealed, the insertion shaft 32 is retreated to the retreat position and then the fitting of the joint portion 30 and the socket portion 50 is released.

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EP15150439.6A 2014-01-09 2015-01-08 Tintenpatrone und Montage-/Demontagemechanismus dafür Not-in-force EP2894035B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US14/151,431 US9067424B1 (en) 2014-01-09 2014-01-09 Ink cartridge and mount/demount mechanism for the same
JP2014002093A JP5513695B1 (ja) 2014-01-09 2014-01-09 インクカートリッジ及びインクカートリッジ着脱機構

Publications (3)

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EP2894035A2 true EP2894035A2 (de) 2015-07-15
EP2894035A3 EP2894035A3 (de) 2017-01-25
EP2894035B1 EP2894035B1 (de) 2017-12-13

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3199357A3 (de) * 2016-01-29 2017-09-13 Riso Kagaku Corporation Tintenpatrone, verfahren zur etikettdiskriminierung darin, verfahren zur reproduktion der tintenpatrone

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2010069806A (ja) 2008-09-19 2010-04-02 Riso Kagaku Corp インクカートリッジの着脱機構

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4942163B2 (ja) * 2006-08-03 2012-05-30 キヤノン株式会社 インク収納容器
JP2008200966A (ja) * 2007-02-20 2008-09-04 Sii Printek Inc インクジェット式記録装置用カプラおよびインクジェット式記録装置
JP5127600B2 (ja) * 2008-07-03 2013-01-23 理想科学工業株式会社 接続機構及びこれを備えたインク供給装置
JP2010083111A (ja) * 2008-10-02 2010-04-15 Riso Kagaku Corp インクカートリッジの着脱機構及び着脱制御方法

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2010069806A (ja) 2008-09-19 2010-04-02 Riso Kagaku Corp インクカートリッジの着脱機構

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3199357A3 (de) * 2016-01-29 2017-09-13 Riso Kagaku Corporation Tintenpatrone, verfahren zur etikettdiskriminierung darin, verfahren zur reproduktion der tintenpatrone
US10399350B2 (en) 2016-01-29 2019-09-03 Riso Kagaku Corporation Ink cartridge, method for tag discrimination in same, method for reproducing ink cartridge

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EP2894035A3 (de) 2017-01-25

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