JP2011056830A - Liquid container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correctly attach an ink cartridge to an ink cartridge attachment so as to prevent ink from leaking. <P>SOLUTION: A positioning needle insertion hole 23, ink feeding needle insertion holes 24-27, and a turn stopping needle insertion hole 28 are arranged on a straight line from one upper side in the width direction on a rear end surface 22 of a cartridge case 21 of the ink cartridge 20. A waste ink collecting needle insertion hole 29 is formed at a position nearest to the positioning needle insertion hole 23 compared with other holes, and an atmosphere releasing needle insertion hole 30 is formed at a position nearest to the turn stopping needle insertion hole 28 compared with other holes, on the other side in the width direction. A waste ink collecting needle 89 and each of ink feeding needles 84-87 can be inserted without centers deviated into the waste ink collecting needle insertion hole 29 and each of ink feeding needle insertion holes 24-27. Ink leakage, particularly, ink leakage from the waste ink collecting needle insertion hole 29 can be surely prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container used as an ink cartridge or the like for an inkjet printer, and more particularly, a supply liquid storage unit that stores a supply liquid supplied to the inkjet printer or the like, and a recovery liquid that stores a recovery liquid discharged from the inkjet printer or the like. The present invention relates to a liquid container provided with a storage unit.

  As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, as ink cartridges for an ink jet printer, a storage portion for an ink bag storing ink liquid for supply in a cartridge case, and waste ink liquid discharged from the ink jet printer There is known a structure including a waste ink collecting unit in which a waste ink absorbing material for collecting the waste ink is stored. Also, as described in Patent Documents 3 and 4, an ink cartridge in which a waste ink bag is housed in a cartridge case is known instead of a waste ink absorber.

  Generally, when an ink cartridge is mounted on an ink cartridge mounting portion of an ink jet printer, an ink supply path forming member and a waste ink collection path forming member arranged on the ink cartridge mounting portion side are formed in an ink supply hole formed in the cartridge case. The ink is inserted into the waste ink recovery hole, and the ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge and the waste ink can be recovered from the ink jet printer. For example, the ink supply needle and the waste ink collection needle disposed on the ink cartridge mounting portion side respectively expand the ink supply needle insertion hole and the waste ink collection needle insertion hole formed in the cartridge case to expand the ink bag. The ink is inserted into the waste ink collecting section, and the ink can be supplied and the waste ink can be collected.

Japanese Patent No. 3533897 JP 2001-353882 A JP 2002-307705 A JP 2002-307720 A

  Here, if the ink cartridge is not correctly mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion, the ink supply needle (ink supply path forming member) and the waste ink recovery needle (waste ink recovery path forming member) are connected to the ink supply hole on the ink cartridge side, There is a risk of ink leakage due to being inserted in a biased state with respect to the waste ink collection hole.

  For example, when a mounting shift occurs in which the ink cartridge is mounted with a shift from a position where the ink cartridge should be mounted, the waste ink recovery hole is also shifted from the center of the waste ink recovery needle. When the misalignment occurs, the waste ink collection needle comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the annular seal rubber disposed in the waste ink collection hole, and the waste ink is likely to leak from between these. In particular, when waste ink is sent out from the ink jet printer side by pump pressure, waste ink tends to leak if a misalignment occurs between the waste ink collection hole and the waste ink collection needle. Therefore, it is necessary to mount the ink cartridge at an accurate position.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to propose a liquid container such as an ink cartridge that can be mounted so as to be accurately positioned.

In order to solve the above problems, the liquid container of the present invention is:
A container body;
A liquid supply hole formed in the container body;
A liquid recovery hole formed in the container body;
A container positioning engagement portion formed on the container body,
The liquid supply hole and the liquid recovery hole have the same opening direction.
The container positioning engaging portion is a convex portion protruding in the hole opening direction, or a concave portion opening in the hole opening direction,
When viewed from a direction along the opening direction of the hole, the liquid recovery hole is disposed closer to the container positioning engagement portion than the liquid supply hole.

  The liquid container of the present invention includes a liquid supply path forming member and a liquid recovery path forming member that can be inserted into the liquid supply hole and the liquid recovery hole, respectively, and a mounting side positioning portion that can be engaged with the container side positioning engaging portion. Are used by being mounted on a liquid container mounting portion. The mounting position of the liquid container is defined by the mounting side positioning portion engaging the container side positioning engaging portion. Since the liquid recovery hole is formed at a position close to the positioning portion of the liquid container, the liquid recovery hole is also accurately positioned without causing misalignment with respect to the liquid recovery path forming member. A liquid recovery path forming member is inserted into the. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem that a misalignment occurs between them and the recovered liquid leaks out of the liquid container from the liquid recovery hole. In particular, when the recovered liquid is sent from the liquid recovery path forming member to the liquid recovery hole due to the pump pressure, the liquid recovery hole and the liquid recovery hole rather than the liquid leakage due to the misalignment between the liquid supply hole and the liquid supply path forming member. Since the amount of liquid leakage caused by misalignment with the liquid recovery path forming member increases, it is desirable to prioritize prevention of misalignment between the liquid recovery hole and the liquid recovery path forming member.

  In the liquid container of the present invention, even when an atmosphere opening is formed in the container main body, in order to give priority to prevention of misalignment between the liquid recovery hole and the liquid recovery path forming member, the liquid container is provided along the hole opening direction. When viewed from the above direction, it is desirable that the liquid recovery hole is located closer to the container-side positioning engaging portion than the atmosphere opening port.

  The liquid container of the present invention has a second container positioning engagement portion formed on the container body, and the second container positioning engagement portion protrudes in the hole opening direction. Or the recess opening in the hole opening direction, and when viewed from the direction along the hole opening direction, the second container positioning engagement portion includes the liquid supply hole, the liquid recovery Compared to the hole and the air opening, the container is positioned farthest from the container positioning engagement portion.

  When the liquid container is positioned at one place by the mounting side positioning portion that engages with the container positioning engagement portion, the liquid container is loose with the container positioning engagement portion as the center, and is separated from the positioning portion. There is a possibility that a large positional deviation occurs in the portion of the liquid container at the position. In order to prevent such misalignment, it is desirable to form positioning portions at two locations. In the liquid container of the present invention, in addition to the container positioning engagement portion, a second container positioning engagement portion is formed, and the second container positioning engagement portion is formed as a liquid supply hole, a liquid recovery hole, It is arranged at a position farthest from the container positioning engagement portion compared to the atmosphere opening. In this way, the liquid container is positioned at the two most distant positions in the container, so that each part of the liquid container can be accurately positioned.

  In the liquid container according to the present invention, when viewed from the direction along the hole opening direction, the atmosphere opening port has the second container positioning engagement portion as compared with the liquid recovery hole and the liquid supply hole. It is characterized by being arranged at a position closest to. This configuration is, for example, an atmosphere opening hole whose atmosphere opening port is sealed by a valve, and the atmosphere opening such as an atmosphere opening needle that can be inserted into the atmosphere opening hole to open the valve on the mounting side of the liquid container. In the case where the members are arranged, it is desirable because the misalignment between them can be suppressed.

  In the liquid container according to the present invention, a plurality of the liquid supply holes are formed in the container main body, and when viewed from the direction along the hole opening direction, the container positioning engagement portions, The liquid supply holes and the second container positioning engagement portions are arranged on the same straight line in this order.

  A liquid supply path forming member that corresponds to each liquid supply hole without misalignment by arranging the liquid supply hole on a straight line connecting the container positioning engagement portion and the second container positioning engagement portion. Can be positioned. Thereby, the liquid leakage from each liquid supply hole can be prevented reliably.

  Liquid containers such as ink cartridges used in ink jet printers generally have a flat, rectangular parallelepiped shape, the inside is divided into two in the thickness direction, and one is a supply liquid storage portion in which an ink bag is stored, In many cases, the other is a recovered liquid storage portion for storing recovered waste ink. In the liquid container of the present invention used in such a case, the container body is formed with a rectangular flat hole array surface in which the direction of the straight line is the long side direction. The container positioning engagement portion, the liquid supply hole, and the second container positioning engagement portion are formed on one side in the side direction (supply liquid storage portion side), and the hole arrangement surface It is desirable that the liquid recovery hole and the atmosphere opening port are formed on the other side in the short side direction (the side of the recovery liquid storage unit).

  Further, in a liquid container such as an ink cartridge used for an ink jet printer, a plurality of ink bags containing a plurality of different ink liquids are stored. In the liquid container of the present invention used in such a case, the supply liquid storage portion stores a plurality of supply liquid storage bags that can communicate with each of the liquid supply holes, and the liquid recovery hole and the atmosphere opening port. May be configured to communicate with the recovered liquid storage unit.

  Furthermore, in a liquid container such as an ink cartridge used in an ink jet printer, after positioning the ink cartridge on the mounting portion on the ink jet printer side, an ink supply hole that is a liquid supply hole and a waste ink recovery hole that is a liquid recovery hole, Ink supply needles that are liquid supply path forming members and waste ink recovery needles that are liquid recovery path forming members are respectively inserted. Therefore, when a projection such as a positioning needle is used as the container positioning engagement portion and the second container positioning engagement portion, the engagement portion longer than the liquid supply path forming member and the liquid recovery path forming member protrudes from the container body. The handling becomes generally inconvenient. Therefore, it is desirable that the container positioning engagement portion and the second container positioning engagement portion be in the form of a recess (groove) or a hole.

  Next, the liquid container of the present invention is suitable for use as an ink cartridge that supplies ink to an ink jet printer and collects waste ink discharged from the ink jet printer.

  In the description of the present specification and claims, the ink supply needle, the waste ink collection needle, the air release needle, the positioning needle, and the anti-rotation needle have a needle shape with a sharp tip in a general sense. It is not intended to be limited, but is used in a broad sense including those with a flat tip.

  In the liquid container of the present invention, in the container body, the liquid recovery hole is disposed at a position closest to the container positioning engagement portion as compared with the other holes. When the position of the liquid container is defined by the container positioning engagement portion, the liquid recovery hole is also positioned with respect to the liquid recovery path forming member disposed on the side where the liquid container is mounted without misalignment. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the recovery liquid from leaking due to the misalignment between them.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating an example of an inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the inkjet printer of FIG. (A) And (b) is the front side perspective view and back side perspective view of an ink cartridge. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the waste ink storage part of an ink cartridge. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the part by the side of the rear end of an ink cartridge mounting part. It is a perspective view of a locking mechanism, a top view, and a partial side view of a container side engaging projection. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement relationship of holes on the rear end surface of the ink cartridge.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet printer using an ink cartridge as an embodiment of a liquid container of the present invention as an ink supply source will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of inkjet printer)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer. The ink jet printer 1 performs color printing on a long recording paper fed out from roll paper using a plurality of types of color inks, and includes a printer case 2 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. An opening 3 for mounting a roll paper is formed in the front central portion. An opening / closing lid 5 having a recording paper discharge guide 4 attached to the upper end is attached to the opening 3 so as to be openable and closable. A recording paper discharge port 6 is formed between the recording paper discharge guide 4 and the upper edge portion of the opening 3 of the printer case 2. When the lock (not shown) is released and a finger is placed on the recording paper discharge guide 4 and pulled toward the front, the opening / closing lid 5 can be opened from the closed position shown in the drawing to the open position that falls forward about the lower end.

  A power switch 7a, a paper feed switch 7b, a plurality of operation state display lamps 7c, and the like are arranged on the right side of the opening / closing lid 5 on the front surface of the printer case 2. A mounting port 8a of an ink cartridge mounting portion 8 having a vertically long rectangular cross section extending in the front-rear direction of the printer is opened on the left side portion of the opening / closing lid 5 on the front surface of the printer case 2. An ink cartridge 20 is provided in the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. Is installed.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the printer mechanism unit 10 covered with the printer case 2 in the inkjet printer 1. A roll paper storage unit 11 is formed in the central portion of the printer mechanism unit 10, and when the opening / closing lid 5 is opened, the roll paper storage unit 11 opens forward, and the roll paper can be replaced. A platen 12 is stretched over the roll paper storage unit 11 in the printer width direction, and a carriage 14 on which an inkjet head 13 is mounted is disposed on the platen 12. The carriage 14 can reciprocate in the printer width direction along a carriage guide shaft 15 that extends across the platen 12 in the printer width direction.

  The carriage 14 is equipped with ink pumps for each color ink, for example, ink pumps 16a to 16d for storing inks of four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, respectively. One ends of the flexible ink tubes 17a to 17d are connected to each other. The other ends of the flexible ink tubes 17a to 17d are connected to four ink supply paths (not shown) extending in the vertical direction, which are arranged at the rear end portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. . Each of the ink supply paths communicates with the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion 8.

  A head maintenance unit 19 is disposed at a position off the right side of the platen 12, and the inkjet head 13 mounted on the carriage 14 performs printing at the home position shown in FIG. 2 facing the head maintenance unit 19. Maintenance operations such as an ink droplet ejection operation not related to the ink droplets and an ink suction operation from each ink nozzle are performed. The waste ink liquid discharged from the inkjet head 13 is collected from the head maintenance unit 19 to the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the ink cartridge mounting unit 8 via a waste ink liquid recovery path (not shown). The head maintenance unit 19 is provided with a pump for sending waste ink liquid toward the ink cartridge 20, for example, a tube pump.

(Overall configuration of ink cartridge)
3A is a rear perspective view of the ink cartridge 20 as viewed from the rear side in the mounting direction with respect to the cartridge mounting portion 8, and FIG. 3B is a front view of the ink cartridge 20 in the mounting direction. It is a front perspective view in the case. The ink cartridge 20 as a whole includes a cartridge case 21 (container body) having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the mounting direction with respect to the cartridge mounting portion 8. Inside the cartridge case 21, as will be described later (see FIG. 4), an ink storage portion 45 (supply liquid storage portion) is formed on one side in the width direction orthogonal to the mounting direction, and waste ink is formed on the other side. A storage section 46 (collected liquid storage section) is formed, and the ink storage section 45 stores a plurality of ink bags, in this example, four types of ink bags 54 to 57 of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. .

  A front end surface 22 (hole arrangement surface) in the mounting direction of the cartridge case 21 has a rectangular shape, and a plurality of holes are formed therein. In this example, on one side in the width direction (short side direction) of the front end surface 22, the positioning needle insertion hole 23 that functions as a container positioning engagement portion in order from the upper side corresponds to the accommodated ink bag. In this example, four ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 that function as four liquid supply holes and a detent needle insertion hole 28 that functions as a second container positioning engagement portion are formed. On the other side in the width direction (short side direction), a waste ink recovery needle insertion hole 29 that functions as a liquid recovery hole is formed at the upper end portion thereof, and functions as an air release port at the lower end portion thereof. An air release needle insertion hole 30 is formed. The arrangement relationship of these holes will be described later.

  A rectangular protruding surface 32 that protrudes upward with a substantially half width is formed on the rear side of the upper end surface 31 of the cartridge case 21 in the mounting direction. A rectangular label 34 on which ink cartridge information is printed is affixed to the side surface 33 of the cartridge case 21 from the protruding surface 32. A recess 35 is formed at the front end in the mounting direction on the upper end surface 31 of the cartridge case 21, and an IC chip 36 in which ink cartridge information is written is attached to the flat bottom surface of the recess 35. .

  On the other hand, a rectangular concave portion 37 that is depressed in the width direction is formed at the front end corner portion of the cartridge case 21 on the lower side of the side surface 33, and the ink cartridge 20 is mounted on the lower end side of the rectangular concave portion 37. A wedge-shaped engagement projection 38 for locking in position projects laterally.

(Ink cartridge internal structure)
Next, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the internal structure of the ink cartridge 20. Referring to this figure, the cartridge case 21 of the ink cartridge 20 includes a case body 40 and a cover plate 41 and a cover plate 42 attached to the case body 40 from both sides. The case main body 40 includes a rectangular partition plate portion 43 and a rectangular outer peripheral frame plate portion 44 that is integrally formed so as to surround the outer peripheral edge of the partition plate portion 43. An ink storage portion 45 is defined by the partition plate portion 43 and the outer peripheral frame plate portion 44 of the case body 40 and the one cover plate 41, and a waste ink storage portion 46 is formed on the other cover plate 42 side. Has been. A label 41 a is attached to the outer side surface of the cover plate 41, and a label 42 a is also attached to the outer side surface of the cover plate 42.

  The ink storage unit 45 stores four types of ink bags 54 to 57 in which cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks are stored. The ink supply ports 54 a to 57 a of the ink bags 54 to 57 are fixed coaxially to the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 formed on the front end surface 22 of the outer peripheral frame plate portion 44. Each of the ink supply ports 54a to 57 has the same configuration and is defined by an annular seal rubber, and a normally closed valve mechanism is disposed behind the seal rubber. The ink supply port 57a will be described. The ink supply port 57a includes an annular seal rubber 57b, a cylindrical frame 57c that holds the seal rubber 57b, and a disc-shaped valve body that is disposed on the rear side of the seal rubber 57b. 57d and a spring member 57e that presses the valve element 57d against the rear end face of the seal rubber 57b, and the ink supply port 57a is normally sealed. A cap 57f is attached to the cylindrical frame 57c so that the rubber seal 57b does not come off from the cylindrical frame 57c.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the inner surface of the lid plate 42. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the waste ink storage portion 46 on the cover plate 42 side is formed between the inner surface of the cover plate 42 and the high-rigidity film 47 affixed thereto. ing. The waste ink storage section 46 includes a waste ink recovery path 61 formed between the two lateral ribs 62a extending in the ink cartridge mounting direction and a film 47 at an upper portion thereof, and this waste ink recovery path. A lower side of 61 is a waste ink collection chamber 62, and an upper side of the waste ink collection path 61 is an air release chamber 63.

  The front end 61 a on the front end side in the ink cartridge mounting direction in the waste ink collection path 61 communicates with the waste ink collection port 65. The waste ink collection port 65 is coaxially connected to a waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 formed on the front end surface 22 of the cartridge case 21. The waste ink collection port 65 is pressed by an annular seal rubber 65a that is pushed by a later-described waste ink collection needle 89 (see FIG. 6), and a waste ink collection needle 89 that is inserted into the seal rubber 65a. And a normally closed valve mechanism 65b for switching the port 65 to an open state. The front end 61 b of the waste ink collection path 61 communicates with the waste ink collection chamber 62 on the rear end side of the cartridge case 21 in the ink cartridge mounting direction. The waste ink collection chamber 62 is partitioned into three compartments up and down by a horizontal rib 62a having a predetermined height extending in the ink cartridge mounting direction formed on the flat inner surface of the cover plate 42. These compartments are divided into ink compartments. They communicate with each other at the front and rear ends in the cartridge mounting direction.

  The upper atmosphere release chamber 63 includes a plurality of first partition chamber groups 63a that are partitioned by a plurality of ribs formed on the inner surface of the lid plate 42 at the rear portion of the ink cartridge mounting direction. Of these first partition chamber groups 63 a, the partition chamber 63 a 1 located on the most upstream side in the air discharge direction communicates with the waste ink recovery chamber 62. In each first compartment, the position of the communication hole with the compartment adjacent to the upstream side and the position of the communication hole with the compartment adjacent to the downstream are orthogonal to the ink cartridge mounting direction. It is offset in the vertical direction so that waste ink can be prevented or suppressed from flowing into the downstream compartment on the air release side.

  A plurality of second compartment groups 63b are arranged on the front side in the ink cartridge mounting direction of the compartment 63a2 located on the most downstream side in the first compartment group 63a. The partition chamber 63b1 located on the most upstream side in the second partition chamber group 63b communicates with the partition chamber 63a2. Each compartment of the second compartment group 63b communicates with the downstream compartment through a communication groove 63c formed on the opposite surface of the lid plate. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication groove 63 c is sealed by attaching a film 67. The most downstream compartment 63b2 in the second compartment group 63b communicates with an air release path 63d formed along the upper edge of the cover plate 42 and extending in the ink cartridge mounting direction. The rear end of the atmosphere release path 63d communicates with the atmosphere release path 63e extending downward along the rear side edge of the lid plate 42.

  The middle part of the atmosphere opening path 63e is bifurcated, one communicates with a liquid reservoir space 63f that extends downward, and the other lower end of the atmosphere extends along the lower edge of the lid plate 42 in the ink cartridge mounting direction. It communicates with the open path 63g. The front end of the atmosphere release path 63g communicates with the atmosphere release port 66.

  The air release port 66 is an air release needle insertion hole 30 in this example, and includes an annular seal rubber 66a and an air release needle 90 (see FIG. 6) that is an air release member inserted into the seal rubber 66a. ) And a normally-closed valve mechanism 66b that switches the air release needle insertion hole 30 to an open state.

(Configuration of ink cartridge mounting part)
FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views showing the rear end portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 of the inkjet printer 1. As shown in the drawing, a plurality of insertion needles protrude from the rear end surface 81 of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 in parallel with the direction in which the ink cartridge 20 is attached and detached toward the front of the printer. In this example, a positioning needle 83, four ink supply needles 84 to 87, and a rotation prevention needle 88 are arranged on one side in the width direction of the rear end surface 81 in order from the upper side. On the other side in the width direction, a waste ink collecting needle 89 is disposed at the upper end portion thereof, and an air release needle 90 is disposed at the lower end portion thereof.

  A slide plate 92 is disposed on the bottom surface 91 of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 and is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the printer, which is the direction along the ink cartridge mounting direction. A tension coil spring 93 extending in the ink cartridge mounting direction is bridged between the slide plate 92 and the portion on the printer main body side. When the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 8, the ink cartridge 20 is engaged with the slide plate 92, and the slide plate 92 is pushed together with the ink cartridge 20 toward the back side of the printer (ink cartridge mounting direction). It has become. When the slide plate 92 is pushed rearward from the position shown in FIG. 4, the tension coil spring 93 extends, and the spring force in the direction pushing the slide plate 92 in the direction opposite to the ink cartridge mounting direction (front of the printer) It acts on the slide plate 92.

  7A to 7C are a partial perspective view, a partial side view, and a portion of the engagement protrusion 38 on the ink cartridge side showing the lock mechanism disposed on the rear end side portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. It is a partial side view shown. Referring also to FIG. 7, when the ink cartridge 20 on the slide plate 92 is pushed in, the lock protrudes laterally from the rectangular recess 37 at the lower corner of the front end of the ink cartridge 20 in the mounting direction. On the inclined upper surface 38a of the engagement protrusion 38, the engagement roller 94 of the lock mechanism disposed on the side of the rear end portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 rides. The engaging roller 94 is attached to the front end of the rotating plate 95, and the rotating plate 95 is urged downward by a tension coil spring 96 about a rear end support shaft 97 extending in the printer width direction.

  The ink cartridge 20 is pushed in by the pushing force of the ink cartridge 20 while the engaging roller 94 is gradually pushed up against the spring force by the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging protrusion 38. When the ink cartridge 20 is completely pushed, the engaging roller 94 gets over the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging protrusion 38 and falls to the front side of the front vertical surface 38b. As a result, the ink cartridge 20 is locked in the mounted state (see FIGS. 6B and 7A).

  The rotating plate 95 is connected to a drive mechanism, for example, an expansion / contraction rod 98a of an electromagnetic solenoid 98. When the electromagnetic solenoid 98 is excited, the expansion / contraction rod 98 is pulled upward, and the engagement roller 94 is moved to the front side of the engagement protrusion 38. It moves away from the vertical surface 38b. As a result, the slide plate 92 is pushed forward by the spring force of the tension coil spring 93, and the ink cartridge 20 riding on the slide plate 92 is also pushed forward together. Thereby, the ink cartridge 20 can be removed forward from the mounting opening 8a of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. The electromagnetic solenoid 98 is excited when ink in the ink cartridge 20 runs out, for example. As a result, the lock of the ink cartridge 20 is released, and the ink cartridge 20 is pushed out to the front of the printer by a predetermined amount so that it can be taken out.

  When the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 8, as shown in FIG. 6A, first, the positioning needle 83 and the non-rotating needle 88 are positioned on the rear end surface 22 of the ink cartridge 20, respectively. It is inserted into the needle insertion hole 23 and the non-rotating needle insertion hole 28. The ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 while being positioned by these. Thereafter, the ink supply needles 84 to 87, the waste ink collection needle 89, and the atmosphere release needle 90 are inserted into the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30, respectively. It will be.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the ink cartridge 20 is completely inserted and locked in the mounting position, the ink supply needles 84 to 87, the waste ink collection needle 89, and the air release needle 90 respectively supply ink. The normally closed valve mechanism that seals the needle insertion holes 34 to 37, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the air release needle insertion hole 30 opens, and the ink supply needles 84 to An ink supply path for supplying each color ink to the ink jet head 13 side through 87 is formed. At the same time, a waste ink recovery path is formed from the head maintenance unit 19 side to the waste ink recovery chamber 62 of the ink cartridge 20 via the waste ink recovery needle 89. Further, the waste ink collection chamber 62 of the ink cartridge 20 is opened to the atmosphere by the atmosphere release needle 90.

(Relationship between ink cartridge holes)
Next, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the holes 23 to 30 formed in the front end surface 22 of the ink cartridge 20. As described above, the holes 23 to 30 are formed in the flat rear end surface 22 which is the same surface, and the hole opening directions are the same direction. That is, when the ink cartridge 20 is mounted in the ink cartridge mounting portion 8, the holes 23 to 30 face the back of the printer (ink cartridge insertion direction). In this example, the holes 23 to 30 are arranged on the flat front end surface 22, but the holes 23 to 30 can be arranged on different surfaces, and the holes may face the same direction. That's fine.

  When viewed along the hole opening direction of these holes 23 to 30, in other words, when viewed along the ink cartridge insertion direction, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 is connected to the air release needle insertion hole 30 and the ink supply. Compared to the positions of the needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the needle insertion holes 23 are arranged so as to be closest to the positioning needle insertion holes 23. That is, the distance L2 (29) between the hole centers is the narrowest.

  Further, the rotation stopper needle insertion hole 28 is located farthest from the positioning needle insertion hole 23 as compared to the positions of the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the air release needle insertion hole 30. It is arranged to become. That is, the hole center distance L1 (28) is the widest.

  Further, the air release needle insertion hole 30 is disposed so as to be closest to the rotation stop needle insertion hole 28 as compared with the positions of the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 and the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27. Yes.

  In this example, the positioning needle insertion hole 23, the four ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, and the anti-rotation needle insertion hole 28 are formed on one side in the width direction of the rear end surface 22 that is vertically elongated in the cartridge case 21. These are arranged on the same straight line L in this order from the upper side. In addition, on the same straight line L, a positioning needle insertion hole 23 and a rotation prevention needle insertion hole 28 are arranged at positions that are vertically symmetric, and the upper two ink supply needle insertion holes 24 are also at positions that are also vertically symmetric. 25 and two lower ink supply needle insertion holes 26, 27 are arranged.

  As described above, in the ink cartridge 20 of this example, the mounting position with respect to the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 is defined by the positioning needle 83 being inserted into the positioning needle insertion hole 23. Since the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 is formed at a position closest to the positioning portion by these, the positional accuracy is L2 / L1, and the position of the rotation prevention needle insertion hole 28 or the rotation prevention needle 88 inserted. It becomes smaller than the variation of the position of. Therefore, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 is accurately positioned without causing misalignment with respect to the waste ink collection needle 89, and the waste ink collection needle 89 is inserted into the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29. That is, the waste ink collection needle 89 is inserted in a biased state with respect to the seal rubber 65a of the waste ink collection port 65 that is coaxially connected to the waste ink needle insertion hole 29, and the sealing performance between them is lowered. There is nothing to do. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the problem that the misalignment occurs between them and the waste ink leaks outside from between the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 and the seal rubber 65a.

  Further, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 is disposed at a position closer to the positioning needle insertion hole 23 than the four ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27. Waste ink is sent from the waste ink collection needle 89 to the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 by pump pressure from a tube pump or the like mounted on the head maintenance unit 19. For this reason, the liquid leakage caused by the misalignment between the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 and the ink supply needles 84 to 87 is caused by the misalignment between the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 and the waste ink collection needle 89. Since liquid leakage has a larger leakage amount, priority is given to prevention of misalignment between the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 and the waste ink collection needle 89.

  On the other hand, in this example, the rotation prevention needle insertion hole 28 is farthest from the positioning needle insertion hole 23 as compared with the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the air release needle insertion hole 30. Placed in position. If only one upper end of the vertically elongated ink cartridge 20 is positioned, there is a risk that the lower part of the ink cartridge 20 may rattle from side to side with this as the center. Can not do. In this example, such a displacement can be reliably prevented by the engagement between the rotation stop needle insertion hole 28 and the rotation stop needle 88 arranged on the lower end side. In addition, since the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30 is disposed near the rotation stop needle insertion hole 28, the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30 can be positioned with respect to the atmosphere release needle 90 with high accuracy.

  Further, four ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 are formed on a straight line L passing between the positioning needle insertion hole 23 and the rotation prevention needle insertion hole 28. The upper and lower positioning needle insertion holes 23 and the anti-rotation needle insertion holes 28 reliably position the four ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 therebetween, so that the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 and the ink are inserted. Misalignment between the supply needles 84 to 87 can also be reliably prevented, and ink leakage is prevented.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, an example in which the atmosphere opening hole 30 in which the normally closed valve mechanism 66b that is normally closed is mounted is used as the atmosphere opening port 66 has been described. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which an atmosphere opening port is provided at the end of a narrow atmosphere communication path without arranging a valve. However, if a normally closed valve mechanism 66b is provided, leakage from the atmosphere opening port is surely prevented. can do.

  In the above embodiment, the positioning of the cartridge case 20 includes the positioning needle insertion hole 23 and the non-rotating needle insertion hole 28 on the cartridge case 21 side. A rotation prevention needle can be attached, and a positioning needle insertion hole and a rotation prevention needle insertion hole can be provided on the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 side.

  In a liquid container such as an ink cartridge used in an ink jet printer, after positioning the ink cartridge on the mounting portion on the ink jet printer side, an ink supply needle and a waste ink collection are respectively inserted into the ink supply needle insertion hole and the waste ink collection needle insertion hole. The needle is inserted. Therefore, if a positioning needle is provided on the liquid container side, a positioning needle longer than the ink supply needle and the waste ink collection needle protrudes from the container body, and handling is generally inconvenient. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a positioning hole on the container body side.

  In the above embodiment, the positioning needle insertion hole 23 and the rotation stopper needle insertion hole 28, and the positioning needle and rotation stopper needle are used for positioning the ink cartridge 20. As a positioning mechanism, instead of using the needle and its insertion hole, a convex part having a shape other than the needle and a concave part (a depression, groove, hole) that can be engaged with the convex part can be used. For example, the detent needle insertion hole can be a groove having a lower end surface opened.

  In the above embodiment, each hole is arranged on the flat front end surface 22 of the ink cartridge 20 orthogonal to the insertion direction, but each hole is formed on a different surface or curved surface with a step in the insertion direction. It is also possible. In any case, it is only necessary that the opening direction of each hole faces the insertion direction.

  In the above embodiment, the ink cartridge 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the ink cartridge 20 may have a shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped.

  In the above embodiment, the ink cartridge 20 includes the ink storage unit and the waste ink storage unit. However, the present invention can be applied to a liquid container including only the ink storage unit or only the waste ink storage unit. Is possible.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the liquid container of the present invention is applied to an ink cartridge using an ink supply source of an ink jet printer has been described. However, the liquid container of the present invention is not limited to this, but a color filter such as a liquid crystal display. For discharging liquids such as color material discharge heads used in the manufacture of electrodes, electrode material discharge heads used for electrode formation for organic EL displays, FEDs (surface display), bioorganic discharge heads used for biochip manufacturing, etc. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid container used in a liquid discharge device using a head, a sample discharge device as a precision pipette, and the like.

  In addition, the concept of liquid includes gel-like, highly viscous, and those mixed with a solvent containing solid matter. As ink, various inks such as water-based ink, oil-based ink, dye ink, and pigment ink are included. Is included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Printer case, 3 Opening part, 4 Recording paper discharge guide, 5 Opening / closing lid, 6 Recording paper discharge port, 7a Power switch, 7b Paper feed switch, 7c Operation status display lamp, 8 Ink cartridge mounting part, 8a Installation port, 10 printer mechanism, 11 roll paper storage, 12 platen, 13 inkjet head, 14 carriage, 15 carriage guide shaft, 16a-16d ink pump, 17a-17d ink tube, 19 head maintenance unit, 20 ink cartridge, 21 Cartridge case, 22 Front end surface, 23 Positioning needle insertion hole, 24-27 Ink supply needle insertion hole, 28 Non-rotating needle insertion hole, 29 Waste ink collection needle insertion hole, 30 Air release needle insertion hole, 31 Upper end Surface, 32 Projection surface, 33 Side surface, 34 Label, 35 Recess, 36 IC chip, 37 Rectangular recess, 38 Engagement protrusion, 38a Inclined upper surface, 38b Front vertical surface, 40 Case body, 41, 42 Cover plate, 43 Partition Plate part, 44 Peripheral frame plate part, 45 Ink storage part, 46 Waste ink storage part, 47 Film, 54-57 Ink bag, 54a-57a Ink supply port, 61 Waste ink collection path, 61a Front end, 61b Rear end, 62 Waste ink collection chamber, 62a horizontal rib, 63 atmosphere release chamber, 63a first compartment group, 63a1, 63a2 compartment, 63b second compartment group, 63b1, 63b2 compartment, 63c communication groove, 63d atmosphere release path, 63e Air release path, 63f Liquid reservoir space, 63g Air release path, 65 Waste ink recovery port, 65a Seal rubber, 65b Normally closed valve 66, atmospheric release port, 66a seal rubber, 66b normally closed valve mechanism, 67 film, 81 rear end face, 83 positioning needle, 84 to 87 ink supply needle, 88 non-rotating needle, 89 waste ink collection needle, 90 atmospheric release needle, 91 bottom surface, 92 slide plate, 93 tension coil spring, 94 engaging roller, 95 rotating plate, 96 tension coil spring, 97 rear end support shaft, 98 electromagnetic solenoid, 98a telescopic rod, L2 (29) distance between hole centers, L1 (28) Distance between hole centers, L straight line

Claims (9)

A container body;
A liquid supply hole formed in the container body;
A liquid recovery hole formed in the container body;
A container positioning engagement portion formed on the container body,
The liquid supply hole and the liquid recovery hole have the same opening direction.
The container positioning engaging portion is a convex portion protruding in the hole opening direction, or a concave portion opening in the hole opening direction,
When viewed from a direction along the opening direction of the hole, the liquid recovery hole is disposed closer to the container positioning engagement portion than the liquid supply hole. . Having an air opening formed in the container body;
The liquid recovery hole is located at a position closer to the container positioning engagement portion than the atmosphere opening port when viewed from a direction along the hole opening direction. Liquid container. A second container positioning engagement portion formed on the container body;
The second container positioning engaging portion is a convex portion protruding in the hole opening direction, or a concave portion opening in the hole opening direction,
When viewed from the direction along the opening direction of the hole, the second container positioning engagement portion is more in contact with the container positioning mechanism than the liquid supply hole, the liquid recovery hole, and the atmosphere opening port. The liquid container according to claim 2, wherein the liquid container is disposed at a position farthest from the joint.   When viewed from the direction along the hole opening direction, the atmosphere opening port is disposed at a position closest to the second container positioning engagement portion as compared with the liquid recovery hole and the liquid supply hole. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein the liquid container is a liquid container. A plurality of the liquid supply holes are formed in the container body,
When viewed from the direction along the hole opening direction, the container positioning engagement portion, the plurality of liquid supply holes, and the second container positioning engagement portion are arranged on the same straight line in this order. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein the liquid container is a liquid container. The container body is formed with a rectangular flat hole array surface in which the direction of the straight line is the long side direction,
The container positioning engagement portion, the liquid supply hole, and the second container positioning engagement portion are formed on one side in the short side direction of the hole arrangement surface,
6. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein the liquid recovery hole and the atmosphere opening port are formed on the other side in the short side direction of the hole arrangement surface. Inside the container body, a supply liquid storage part is formed on one side in the short side direction of the hole array surface, and a recovery liquid storage part is formed on the other side,
The supply liquid storage portion stores the same number of supply liquid storage bags as the liquid supply holes,
The liquid recovery hole and the atmosphere opening hole can communicate with the recovery liquid storage unit,
The liquid container according to claim 6, wherein each of the liquid supply holes can communicate with each of the corresponding supply liquid storage bags.   8. The container positioning engagement portion and the second container positioning engagement portion are holes that open in the hole opening direction, respectively. The liquid container according to item. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid container is used as an ink cartridge that supplies ink to an ink jet printer and collects waste ink discharged from the ink jet printer.

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