JP2006248202A - Liquid storage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid storage excellent in handleability, wherein its sealing film is not peeled off owing to a wrong operation, nor liquid leakage is generated owing to a breakage due to an impact of falling or the like. <P>SOLUTION: In an ink cartridge 1 of the present invention, a storage main body 3 to be mounted to a carriage of an inkjet printer comprises: a sealed ink storage 5 for storing ink; an air communicating hole 9 for communicating the ink storage 5 with the air; and a communicating hole sealing film 13 which seals the air communicating hole 9 and releases its sealing by being broken by a sealing releasing protrusion arranged on a carriage side, when the cartridge is mounted to the carriage. A communicating hole cover 21 for partially covering the outer surface of the film 13 so that a sealing releasing action by the sealing releasing protrusion is not hindered, is mounted to the storage main body 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air release type liquid container suitable as an ink cartridge mounted on, for example, an ink jet printer.

  As an ink cartridge (liquid container) to be mounted on an inkjet printer, an ink storage chamber (liquid storage chamber) for storing ink in a container body mounted on the printer, and a print head on the printer side communicating with the ink storage chamber Ink supply holes (liquid supply holes) that can supply ink to the (liquid ejecting section), an air opening hole that introduces air into the ink storage section as the ink in the ink storage chamber is consumed, and a product before use In order to prevent ink from leaking from the air opening holes due to vibrations applied during shipping operations and the like, various types of structures including an open hole sealing film for sealing the air opening holes have been proposed.

The conventional open hole sealing film of this type of ink cartridge is a product that is attached with a cautionary note, etc., so that the user releases the air open hole seal by peeling it with fingers during use. was there. However, if the user forgets to peel off the open hole sealing film, the ink cannot be supplied normally, which causes a printing defect and the like.
Therefore, in order to reduce the burden on the user and prevent the occurrence of inconvenience due to forgetting to peel off the open hole sealing film, the mounting position of the open hole sealing film on the cartridge is reviewed, and the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage of the printer. An ink cartridge has been proposed in which an open hole sealing film is automatically pierced by a sealing release protrusion provided on the carriage side when mounted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The ink cartridge may have an ink injection hole for communicating the ink storage chamber with the outside of the container body, and the ink injection hole may be sealed by applying an injection hole sealing film after filling the ink. is there.

JP 2002-36580 A

Ink cartridges configured such that the open-hole sealing film is pierced by the sealing release protrusion provided on the carriage side when mounted on the carriage, usually, the entire outer surface of the sealing film is exposed, and the user accidentally inadvertently removes it. There was a risk of ink leakage due to peeling off with fingers.
In addition, since the entire outer surface of the open-hole sealing film is exposed, when other items or the like strongly collide with the part to which the open-hole sealing film is applied due to dropping or the like at the time of carrying out the product, etc. There was a possibility that the sealing film was torn and an ink leakage accident was caused.

  In addition, in an ink cartridge having a configuration in which the ink injection hole is sealed by sticking the injection hole sealing film, the injection hole sealing film sealing the ink injection hole does not need to be peeled off during use (rather than being peeled off). However, since the film is the same as or similar to the open hole sealing film that seals the open air hole, the user may accidentally peel it off, resulting in an ink leakage accident. There was a fear.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid container excellent in handleability, in which a sealing film is not peeled off by an erroneous operation or is not torn due to a collision such as dropping to cause liquid leakage.

  The liquid container according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems includes a sealed liquid storage chamber that stores liquid in a container main body mounted on the device, and a liquid on the device side that communicates with the liquid storage chamber. A liquid supply hole capable of supplying a liquid to the ejection unit, an air release hole for communicating the liquid storage chamber to the atmosphere and introducing external air into the liquid storage chamber, and sealing the air release hole and to the device An open hole sealing film that is pierced by a seal release protrusion provided on the device side when mounted, and releases the seal of the atmosphere open hole, and the liquid container includes the seal release protrusion An open hole cover that partially covers the outer surface of the open hole sealing film so as not to hinder the sealing release operation of the open hole sealing film is mounted on the container body.

According to the liquid container having such a configuration, the open hole sealing film for sealing the air open hole is covered with the open hole cover, and the open hole cover is the finger of the open hole seal film. Inhibition of the peeling operation due to, and prevention of other objects from colliding with the open hole sealing film when dropped or the like.
Therefore, the open hole sealing film is not peeled off by an erroneous operation, or is not torn due to a collision such as dropping, and liquid leakage does not occur, and excellent handleability can be obtained.

  Further, in the liquid container according to the present invention, the container body may be attached to an opening edge portion of the open hole cover located around a portion of the open hole sealing film that is torn through by the sealing release protrusion. It is preferable that a taper surface that guides the device-side seal release protrusion toward the open hole sealing film when mounting is formed.

  According to the liquid container having such a configuration, when the liquid container is attached to the device, even if the position where the seal release protrusion on the device side hits slightly shifts due to the inclination of the posture of the liquid container to be inserted, etc. Since the taper surface guides the sealing release protrusion toward the opening hole sealing film, the sealing release protrusion is prevented from being damaged due to interference with the opening hole cover, and the sealing release protrusion is securely opened to the opening hole. The sealing film can be broken through. Therefore, the mounting property to the device is improved.

  In the liquid container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the open hole cover is formed integrally with a side cover attached to a side surface of the container body.

  According to the liquid container having such a configuration, the open hole cover added as a new configuration does not increase the number of components, and can suppress an increase in cost due to an assembly process or an increase in components.

  In addition, the liquid container according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems includes a sealed liquid storage chamber that stores liquid in a container main body mounted on the device, and the device side that communicates with the liquid storage chamber. A liquid supply hole capable of supplying liquid to the liquid ejecting section, an air opening hole for communicating the liquid storage chamber to the atmosphere and introducing external air into the liquid storage chamber, and filling the liquid in the liquid storage chamber A liquid container comprising: a liquid injection hole that communicates the liquid storage chamber to the outside; and an injection hole sealing film that seals the liquid injection hole after filling the liquid storage chamber. An injection hole cover that covers the outer surface of the hole sealing film is mounted on the container body.

According to the liquid container having such a configuration, the injection hole sealing film for sealing the liquid injection hole is covered with the injection hole cover, and the injection hole cover is a finger of the injection hole sealing film. Inhibition of the peeling operation by, and prevention of collision of other containers with the injection hole sealing film during dropping or the like.
For this reason, the injection hole sealing film is not peeled off by an erroneous operation, or it is not broken by a collision such as dropping, and liquid leakage does not occur, and excellent handleability can be obtained.

  In the liquid container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the injection hole cover is formed integrally with a side cover attached to a side surface of the container body.

  According to the liquid container having such a configuration, the injection hole cover added as a new configuration does not increase the number of components, and can suppress an increase in cost due to an assembly process or an increase in components.

  According to the liquid container according to the present invention, the top of the sealing film (open hole sealing film, injection hole sealing film) is covered with the cover (open hole cover, injection hole cover). It becomes difficult to peel off the stop film, and at the same time, it can prevent the sealing film from colliding with other objects even when it is dropped. Therefore, a liquid container excellent in handleability can be provided.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a liquid container according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 schematically show an embodiment of a liquid container according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is viewed from obliquely below an embodiment of the liquid container according to the present invention. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid container shown in FIG. 1 with the film cover removed, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

  The liquid container according to the present embodiment is an ink cartridge 1 that is mounted on a cartridge mounting portion on a carriage on which a print head that is a liquid ejecting portion is mounted in an ink jet printer.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ink cartridge 1 has an ink storage chamber (liquid storage chamber) 5 having a sealed structure for storing ink in a container main body 3 mounted on a device (a cartridge mounting portion of a printer). An ink supply hole (liquid supply hole) 7 that communicates with the ink storage chamber 5 and can supply ink to the print head on the apparatus side and the ink storage chamber 5 to the atmosphere are formed on the lower surface of the container body 3. An atmosphere opening hole 9 for introducing external air into the ink storage chamber 5 as the ink in the ink storage chamber 5 is communicated, and the ink storage chamber 5 to the outside so that the ink can be filled in the ink storage chamber 5 An ink injection hole (liquid injection hole) 11 that is communicated is provided. That is, the ink cartridge 1 is an air cartridge that is open to the atmosphere.

  The container body 3 has a main case member 3a in which a groove serving as an ink flow path and a recess serving as an ink storage chamber 5 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin such as propylene (PP). The storage chamber film 3b is hermetically fused to the side surface of the ink storage chamber 5 to form the ink storage chamber 5 having the required ink flow path and sealed structure. The storage chamber film 3b is a resin film made of a material that can be thermally welded to the main case member 3a, and the outside is covered with a side cover 25 for protection. The side cover 25 is fixed to the main case member 3a of the container body 3 by welding, screwing, engagement by a locking projection or the like.

  The ink supply hole 7 is disposed on the lower surface of the container main body 3, and an ink supply needle formed on a carriage to which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted is inserted, and the ink stored in the ink storage chamber 5 is printed by the ink jet printer. Supply to the head.

An air opening hole 9 and an ink injection hole 11 are disposed on the lower surface of the container body 3, and an open hole sealing film 13 for sealing the air opening hole 9 is attached to the opening portion of the air opening hole 9. An injection hole sealing film 15 is attached to the opening of the ink injection hole 11 to seal the ink injection hole 11 after ink is filled into the ink storage chamber 5. The open hole sealing film 13 and the injection hole sealing film 15 are resin films made of a material that can be thermally welded to the main case member 3a, similarly to the housing chamber film 3b.
The open hole sealing film 13 is broken by a needle-like seal release protrusion provided on the device side when mounted on the device, and thereby the sealing of the air opening hole 9 is released.

Further, in the ink cartridge 1 of the present embodiment, the opening that partially covers the outer surface of the opening hole sealing film 13 so as not to hinder the sealing releasing operation of the opening hole sealing film 13 by the carriage-side sealing release protrusion. The hole cover 21, the injection hole cover 22 that covers the outer surface of the injection hole sealing film 15, and the height of the ink supply hole 7 are set so that the tip protrudes outward from the tip surface of the ink supply hole 7. A supply hole guide rib 23 arranged on the outside is provided, and the open hole cover 21, the injection hole cover 22, and the supply hole guide rib 23 are formed integrally with the side cover 25, and the whole is a film cover 26. It is configured as.
The supply hole guide rib 23 functions as a guide when the container body 3 is attached to the device.

  The injection hole cover 22 covers substantially the entire area of the outer surface of the injection hole sealing film 15. On the other hand, the open hole cover 21 has a notch 21a that allows the sealing release protrusion on the carriage side to be inserted, and the open hole sealing film 13 excluding a circular region having a predetermined radius centered on the air open hole 9. It covers the peripheral edge of.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the container body 3 is attached to the device at the opening edge of the notch 21a located around the portion to be pierced by the sealing release protrusion of the open hole sealing film 13, the device A tapered surface 21 b is provided to guide the side seal release protrusion toward the open hole sealing film 13.

  In the ink cartridge 1 described above, the outer surface of the open hole sealing film 13 that seals the air open hole 9 is partially covered by the open hole cover 21. Therefore, the open hole cover 21 suppresses the peeling operation with the fingers of the open hole sealing film 13 and prevents other objects from colliding with the open hole sealing film 13 when dropped. Therefore, the open hole sealing film 13 is not peeled off by an erroneous operation, or it is not torn due to a collision such as dropping, and ink leakage does not occur, and excellent handleability can be obtained.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1, when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion on the carriage, the position where the carriage-side seal release protrusion hits is slightly shifted due to the inclination of the posture of the ink cartridge 1 to be inserted. In addition, the tapered surface 21 b formed at the opening edge of the notch 21 a of the open hole cover 21 guides the seal release protrusion onto the open hole sealing film 13. Therefore, it is possible to avoid breakage of the seal release protrusion due to interference with the open hole cover 21, and to reliably break through the open hole sealing film 13 to the seal release protrusion.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1, since the open hole cover 21 is formed integrally with the side cover 25 fixed to the side surface of the container body 3, the open hole cover 21 added as a new configuration increases the number of components. The increase in cost due to the assembly process and the increase in parts can be suppressed.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1 of the present embodiment, the injection hole sealing film 15 that seals the ink injection hole 11 has its outer surface covered with the injection hole cover 22, and the injection hole cover 22 is sealed with the injection hole sealing. It prevents the peeling operation by the fingers of the stop film 15 and prevents other objects from colliding with the injection hole sealing film 15 when dropped. Therefore, the injection hole sealing film 15 is not peeled off by an erroneous operation, or is not torn due to a collision such as dropping, and liquid leakage does not occur, and excellent handleability can be obtained.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1, since the injection hole cover 22 is formed integrally with the side cover 25 fixed to the side surface of the container body 3, the injection hole cover 22 added as a new configuration increases the number of components. The increase in cost due to the assembly process and the increase in parts can be suppressed.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1 of the present embodiment, the air opening hole 9 and the ink injection hole 11 are disposed adjacent to each other in the same side surface (lower surface) of the main case member 3a, and the opening hole sealing film 13 and The sticking position of the injection hole sealing film 15 is adjacent. Therefore, the open hole cover 21 and the injection hole cover 22 can be provided as an integrated part, which contributes to prevention of an increase in the number of parts. Moreover, the open hole sealing film 13 and the injection hole sealing film 15 may be integrated into a single sealing film.

  The use of the liquid container according to the present invention is not limited to the ink cartridge shown in the above embodiment. For example, the liquid container according to the present invention is suitable for supplying a liquid to a liquid ejecting head of a liquid ejecting apparatus. Examples of the liquid ejecting apparatus include a liquid ejecting head (printing head) of an ink jet recording apparatus, a colorant ejecting head of a color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting). Electrode material (conductive paste) ejecting heads for forming electrodes such as displays), bio-organic matter ejecting heads for biochip manufacturing apparatuses for producing biochips, and sample ejecting heads using precision pipettes.

It is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a liquid container according to the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the state which removed the film cover of the liquid container shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Ink cartridge (liquid container)
3 Container body 3a Main case member 3b Storage chamber film 5 Ink storage chamber (liquid storage chamber)
7 Ink supply hole (liquid supply hole)
9 Air opening hole 11 Ink injection hole (liquid injection hole)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Open hole sealing film 15 Injection hole sealing film 21 Open hole cover 21a Notch 21b Tapered surface 22 Injection hole cover 23 Supply hole guide rib 25 Side cover 26 Film cover

Claims (5)

A sealed liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid in a container body mounted on the device, a liquid supply hole communicating with the liquid storage chamber and capable of supplying a liquid to a liquid ejecting unit on the device side, and the liquid storage chamber Are opened to the atmosphere by introducing external air into the liquid storage chamber, and the atmosphere release hole is sealed and is pierced by a sealing release protrusion provided on the device side when mounted on the device. A liquid container including an open hole sealing film for releasing the sealing of the air open hole,
An open hole cover that partially covers the outer surface of the open hole sealing film is attached to the container body so as not to hinder the seal release operation of the open hole sealing film by the seal release protrusion. Characteristic liquid container. The liquid container according to claim 1,
On the opening edge of the open hole cover located around the part to be pierced by the seal release protrusion of the open hole sealing film, when the container body is attached to the device, the device side seal release protrusion The liquid container is characterized in that a tapered surface for guiding the liquid toward the open-hole sealing film is formed. The liquid container according to claim 1 or 2,
The open hole cover is formed integrally with a side cover attached to a side surface of the container main body. A sealed liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid in a container body mounted on the device, a liquid supply hole communicating with the liquid storage chamber and capable of supplying a liquid to a liquid ejecting unit on the device side, and the liquid storage chamber An atmosphere opening hole for introducing external air into the liquid storage chamber by communicating with the atmosphere, a liquid injection hole for connecting the liquid storage chamber to the outside so that the liquid can be filled in the liquid storage chamber, and the liquid storage A liquid container comprising an injection hole sealing film for sealing the liquid injection hole after filling the chamber with liquid,
An injection hole cover that covers an outer surface of the injection hole sealing film is attached to the container body. The liquid container according to claim 4,
The liquid container, wherein the injection hole cover is formed integrally with a side cover attached to a side surface of the container body.

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