JP2011201045A - Ink tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink tank which does not cause ink leakage from an ink supply port and an air communication port to the outside during storage, physical distribution and mounting without causing failure of ink supply.SOLUTION: A projection connected to one end of a sealing member closing the air communication port and the in supply port is provided with the ink tank. The air communication port is arranged in the vicinity of the projection and the ink supply port is closed by the other end of the sealing member which is not connected to the projection.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink tank used in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink or the like to a recording medium.

  In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, a so-called serial scan method in which an image or a character is formed on a recording medium by ejecting ink as a recording head mounted on a carriage that reciprocates across the recording medium moves across the recording medium. Is common. Ink tanks are used to supply ink to the recording head, but various types of ink tanks have been devised in consideration of the size of the recording apparatus and recording medium, continuous recording time, and the like. In a small inkjet recording apparatus, what is called an on-carriage type, which is a system in which an ink tank is mounted on a carriage, is generally used, and such an ink tank generates negative pressure by containing ink in a sponge. The format to be used is adopted. When a negative pressure is generated in the ink tank by including ink in the sponge, the ink tank is generally provided with an air communication port communicating with the air in addition to the ink supply port. As described above, there are concerns that ink leakage may occur during storage and distribution of the ink tank due to a plurality of portions in the ink tank communicating with the atmosphere.

  Therefore, in the ink tank disclosed in Patent Document 1, the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port of the ink tank are closed with the same sealing member, so that ink does not leak during storage and distribution, and the sealing member It discloses a configuration in which the air communication port is opened first from the supply port. Further, a configuration in which a part of the seal member is integrated with the packaging member is also disclosed.

  In the replaceable ink tank, when the ink tank is connected to the recording head, the ink is held close to the ink supply port in a state of being included in the sponge so that the ink is easily supplied to the recording head side. Ink is sparse on the atmosphere communication port side. Conventionally, in such an ink cartridge, the ink supply port may be opened first depending on how the user opens the seal member by peeling it off. In this way, when the ink supply port side is opened prior to the air communication port side, if the internal pressure is higher than the atmospheric pressure due to changes in temperature or pressure, ink is scattered from the ink supply port, and the user's clothes And may make your hands dirty. Such a problem is the same even in the case where a gas such as air is sealed in the ink cartridge main body together with the ink, and there is a possibility that the ink is scattered from the ink supply port due to the expansion pressure of the gas. . Therefore, it is important to follow the opening procedure in such an ink tank.

  A conventional ink tank configuration is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, and the configuration will be described in detail. 14 is an external perspective view of the ink tank, and FIG. 15 is a side sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The ink tank 1 constitutes a container for storing ink by combining the lid member 2 and the box member 3. The ink tank 1 has an ink supply port 6 for supplying recording ink in connection with the recording head, and an air communication port 7. The ink tank 1 also includes a negative pressure generating member 8 that absorbs and holds recording ink. The ink tank 1 includes an ink storage portion 13 that is partitioned by a partition wall 4 and communicates through a gap 5 between the bottom surface and the recording ink. ing. Before storage in the ink jet recording apparatus and during distribution, in order to prevent ink leakage from the ink supply port 6 and the air communication port 7 to the outside and to prevent ink evaporation, the ink supply port 6 and the air communication are connected. It is closed by attaching a seal member 10 to the mouth 7.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-025640

  However, such a conventional ink tank has the following problems. The problem differs depending on whether the material of the seal member 10 that closes the ink supply port 6 and the atmosphere communication port 7 is flexible or rigid. Hereinafter, problems in each case will be described.

(Flexible seal member)
FIG. 16 shows a mounting failure when the flexible sealing member is not peeled off. In the case of a flexible seal member, it is possible to open the ink supply port 6 after the seal member 10 is peeled off from the atmosphere communication port 7 side, which is a normal opening procedure, and the atmosphere communication port 7 is opened. Therefore, ink leakage and scattering can be prevented. However, as shown in FIG. 16, it is possible to mount the seal member 10 on the ink jet recording apparatus in a state where the seal member 10 is not completely peeled off or not peeled off. As a result, a problem occurs in the ink supply, resulting in a recording defect.

(Rigid seal member)
FIG. 17 shows a mounting failure in a state where the rigid seal member is not peeled off, and FIGS. 18A and 18B are views showing a process of peeling the rigid seal member. . In the case of a rigid seal member, it cannot be mounted on the recording head due to interference of the seal member. Therefore, there is no problem as in the case of using a flexible sealing member. However, due to the rigidity of the seal member, the atmosphere communication port 7 and the ink supply port 6 are opened almost simultaneously from the state before opening of FIG. 18A to the state of initial opening of FIG. 18B. It is possible to end up. If the air communication port 7 and the ink supply port 6 are opened almost simultaneously, there is a risk that ink leaks or ink is scattered.

  As described above, in the conventional configuration, it is difficult to achieve both the recording failure due to the unsealed mounting of the sealing member and the opening procedure of the sealing member.

  Patent Document 1 also discloses a configuration in which an ink tank is packaged in a package, and this method is effective for the above-described problem. However, in recent ink tanks, the packaging member itself may not be used, and new means are required.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank that does not cause a problem in ink supply and that does not leak ink from the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port to the outside during storage, distribution, and mounting.

  Therefore, an ink tank according to the present invention includes a storage container that stores ink and a negative pressure generating member that absorbs and holds the ink, an ink supply port that extracts the ink from the storage container, the interior of the storage container, and the atmosphere. In an ink tank that includes an air communication port that communicates and a seal member that closes the air communication port and the ink supply port, and is attached to the attachment portion of the recording apparatus, when the ink tank is attached to the attachment portion, A separable projecting portion is provided on a surface facing and close to the mounting portion, the projecting portion is connected to one end of the seal member, and is separated by the seal member. The atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port are sequentially opened.

  The ink tank of the present invention includes a storage container that stores ink and a negative pressure generating member that absorbs and holds the ink, an ink supply port that draws out the ink from the storage container, and a seal member that blocks the ink supply port. And an air communication port capable of communicating the inside of the storage container with the atmosphere, and in an ink tank that is used by being attached to the attachment portion of the recording apparatus, the ink tank is close to the attachment portion when attached to the attachment portion Then, a separable protrusion is provided on the opposing surface, the protrusion is connected to one end of the seal member, and by separating the protrusion, the atmosphere communication port is opened, and then the The ink supply port is opened.

  According to the present invention, when the ink tank is attached to the attachment portion of the recording apparatus, the separable protruding portion protrudes from the surface facing the attachment portion in the vicinity. Then, the protruding portion is connected to one end of the seal member, and by separating the protruding portion, the atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port that are blocked by the seal member are sequentially opened.

  Accordingly, it is possible to realize an ink tank that does not cause a problem in ink supply and that does not leak ink from the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port to the outside during storage, distribution, and mounting.

1 is an external perspective view of an ink tank according to a first embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing of the AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a region B in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a view showing a seal member on the ink supply port side. It is an external appearance perspective view of the ink tank of 2nd Embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing of the AA in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the area | region C in FIG. FIG. 8 is a view of the ink tank as viewed from above. It is an external appearance perspective view of the ink tank concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the side surface cross section in FIG. (A) is an enlarged view of the region D in FIG. 10, (b) is an enlarged view of the region D in which the projecting portion is separated and the atmosphere communication port is formed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where an unopened ink tank is attached to a recording apparatus. (A)-(d) is the figure which showed the opening procedure of the sealing member. It is an external appearance perspective view of the ink tank of the conventional structure. It is side surface sectional drawing of the AA in FIG. It is the figure which showed the mounting | wearing malfunction of the state which does not peel a flexible sealing member. It is the figure which showed the mounting | wearing malfunction of the state which does not peel a rigid sealing member. (A), (b) is the figure which showed the process in which a rigid sealing member is peeled.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are views showing an ink tank according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the ink tank. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a region B in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a seal member on the ink supply port side.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the ink tank 1 constitutes a storage container for storing ink by combining a lid member 2 and a box member 3. The ink tank 1 is a recording unit that is partitioned by a storage unit 14 that stores a negative pressure generating member 8 that absorbs and holds recording ink, a storage unit 14 and a partition wall 4, and communicates with a gap 5 between the storage unit 14 and the bottom surface. And an ink storage portion 13 for storing ink. Furthermore, the ink tank 1 can be taken into the ink tank by a plate-like protruding portion 2a that protrudes from the outer wall of the container and is separable, an ink supply port 6 that is connected to the recording head and draws ink to the recording apparatus, and the atmosphere. And an atmospheric communication port 7. At the base of the protrusion 2a and the outer wall, a notch 11 is provided by cutting out more than half of the plate thickness of the protrusion 2a. It is combined with the seal member 10 on the opposite surface provided. The ink supply port 6 and the air communication port 7 are used to prevent ink leakage from the ink supply port 6 and the air communication port 7 and to prevent ink evaporation during storage and physical distribution before mounting in the recording apparatus. Are sealed with a seal member 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the opposite end portion of the seal member 10 that is coupled to the protruding portion 2 a closes the shape of the end portion according to the shape of the opening. In this way, by matching the shape of the opening that closes the shape of the end of the seal member 10, the end of the seal member 10 on the opening side is not pinched. By not pinching the end of the opening side seal member 10, the seal member 10 is prevented from being peeled off from the opening side.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state where the unopened ink tank 1 is attached to the recording apparatus, and FIGS. 13A to 13D are diagrams illustrating a procedure for opening the seal member 10 in the ink tank 1. . 13A shows an initial state of the ink tank 1 that has not been opened, FIG. 13B shows a state in which the protruding portion 2a is separated, and FIG. 13C shows a portion of the seal member 10 by pulling the protruding portion 2a. Is shown, and the atmosphere communication port 7 is opened. FIG. 13D shows a state where the seal member 10 is all peeled off and the ink supply port 6 is opened.

  In the ink tank 1 of the present embodiment, the protruding portion 2a protrudes at a position facing and close to the ink tank mounting portion of the recording apparatus. At the time of attachment, first, after separating the protruding portion 2a, the seal member 10 is pulled, and the seal member 10 is peeled off to perform opening. That is, in the case of unopened, the protruding portion 2a remains in the ink tank 1, and the protruding portion 2a interferes with the ink tank mounting portion 20 of the recording apparatus as shown in FIG. Can not. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ink tank from being unopened. Further, even if a thin and flexible material is used as the sealing member 10, it is not attached in an unopened state. Further, since the atmosphere communication port 7 is provided in the vicinity of the protruding portion 2a, it is opened immediately after the separation of the protruding portion 2a, and the ink supply port 6 is opened thereafter. In this way, it becomes possible to follow the opening procedure of sequentially opening the air communication port 7 and the ink supply port 6 blocked by the seal member 10, and the ink tank can be stored, distributed, and opened. Leakage and ink splattering can be prevented, and user clothes and hands can be prevented from getting dirty.

  In this way, the ink tank is provided with a protrusion connected to one end of the seal member that closes the atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port, and the atmosphere communication port is provided in the vicinity of the protrusion. The other end portion that is not connected to the protruding portion is closed. As a result, there is no problem in ink supply, and an ink tank that does not leak ink from the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port to the outside during storage, distribution and mounting can be realized.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  5, 6, 7 and 8 are views showing the ink tank according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the ink tank, and FIG. 6 is a side sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of region C in FIG. FIG. 8 is a view of the ink tank 1 as viewed from above. In the first embodiment, the protrusion 2a and the atmosphere communication port 7 are separately configured. However, in the ink tank of the present embodiment, a part of the atmosphere communication port 7 is in the protrusion 2a. It is configured.

  In the ink tank of this embodiment, the protruding portion 2a and a part of the atmosphere communication port 7 capable of communicating with the atmosphere are integrated. That is, a space communicating with the storage portion 14 is provided inside the protruding portion 2a, and the atmosphere communication port 7 is opened when the protruding portion 2a is separated. Since the atmosphere communication port 7 is opened together with the separation of the protruding portion 2a, it is possible to observe the opening procedure more reliably than the configuration of the first embodiment. In addition, since the air communication port 7 is first opened together with the separation of the projecting portion 2a, it is possible to maximize the difference in opening time with the ink supply port 6, so that the difference between the ink tank internal pressure and the external air pressure can be further increased. Can be opened in a lost state.

  In this way, the ink tank is provided with a protrusion connected to one end of the seal member, and the protrusion is configured so that the air communication port is opened together with the separation, and the ink supply port is the protrusion of the seal member. It is closed by the other end not connected to. As a result, there is no problem in ink supply, and an ink tank that does not leak ink from the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port to the outside during storage, distribution and mounting can be realized.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  9, 10 and 11 (a) and 11 (b) are views showing an ink tank according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 9 is an external perspective view of the ink tank, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a side cross-section in FIG. FIG. 11A is an enlarged view of a region D in FIG. FIG. 11B is an enlarged view of a region D where the projecting portion 2a is separated and the atmosphere communication port 7 is formed. Similarly to the second embodiment, the present embodiment is configured such that the atmosphere communication port 7 is opened by separating the protruding portion 2a.

  In the case of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to simplify the configuration that can obtain the same effect as that of the second embodiment.

  In this way, the ink tank is provided with a protrusion connected to one end of the seal member, and the protrusion is configured so that the air communication port is opened together with the separation, and the ink supply port is the protrusion of the seal member. It is closed by the other end not connected to. As a result, there is no problem in ink supply, and an ink tank that does not leak ink from the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port to the outside during storage, distribution and mounting can be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink tank 2 Cover member 3 Scale member 6 Ink supply port 7 Atmospheric communication port 8 Negative pressure generating member 10 Seal member 11 Notch

Claims (4)

A storage container that stores ink and a negative pressure generating member that absorbs and holds the ink; an ink supply port that extracts the ink from the storage container; an atmosphere communication port that communicates the inside of the storage container with the atmosphere; In an ink tank that includes an air communication port and a seal member that closes the ink supply port, and is used by being attached to a mounting portion of a recording apparatus.
When attached to the attachment portion, a separable protrusion protrudes from the surface facing the attachment portion in the vicinity.
The protrusion is connected to one end of the seal member;
The ink tank, wherein the air communication port and the ink supply port, which are blocked by the seal member, are sequentially opened by separating the protruding portion.   The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port are opened in the order of the atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port.   The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion includes a notch at a projecting base portion. A storage container that stores ink and a negative pressure generating member that absorbs and holds the ink; an ink supply port that draws the ink from the storage container; a seal member that closes the ink supply port; the interior of the storage container and the atmosphere In an ink tank that is used by being attached to an attachment portion of a recording apparatus,
When attached to the attachment portion, a separable protrusion protrudes from the surface facing the attachment portion in the vicinity.
The protrusion is connected to one end of the seal member;
By separating the protrusion, the atmosphere communication port is opened, and then the ink supply port is opened.

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