JP2014195981A - Liquid cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid cartridge suppressed in leakage of liquid in a liquid retaining chamber to the outer part of the liquid cartridge.SOLUTION: An ink cartridge 10 includes: a case 114 having a liquid retaining chamber 110 having a first opening 130 and retaining ink, and a waste liquid storing chamber 112 for storing waste ink; and a first lid member 116 joined to the peripheral part of the first opening 130 at the case 114 so as to block the first opening 130. The peripheral part includes a first joint surface 132a and a second joint surface 132b which comprise joint surfaces doubly formed in a direction toward the outside from the inside of the liquid retaining chamber 110. The first lid member 116 is joined to the first joint surface 132a and the second joint surface 132b. Between the first joint surface 132a and the second joint surface 132b, a liquid introducing opening 138a as an opening of a communicating passage 138 communicating to the waste liquid storing chamber 112, is formed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid cartridge including a liquid storage chamber and a waste liquid storage chamber.

  Patent Document 1 describes an ink cartridge including an ink chamber for storing ink and a waste ink chamber for storing waste ink. In this ink cartridge, the ink chamber and the waste ink chamber are separated by a partition, and the respective openings of the ink chamber and the waste ink chamber are closed by a lid member. The lid member is bonded to each of the end face of the side wall of the ink chamber, the end face of the side wall of the waste ink chamber, and the end face of the partition wall. Leakage is suppressed.

JP 2000-141694 A

  When the internal pressure of the ink chamber increases or the ink cartridge receives an impact during transportation or the like, the bonded state of the bonded surface may be destroyed. In this case, in the ink cartridge, the ink in the ink chamber may leak to the outside of the ink cartridge from the joint surface where the joint state is broken.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a liquid cartridge that can prevent the liquid in the liquid storage chamber from leaking outside the liquid cartridge.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a liquid cartridge according to the present invention is a liquid cartridge that is detachably mounted on a cartridge mounting portion provided in a liquid discharge apparatus having a liquid discharge head, and has a first opening. A case having a liquid storage chamber for storing a liquid and a waste liquid storage chamber for storing a waste liquid, and a first joined to a peripheral portion of the first opening in the case so as to close the first opening. A lid member, and the peripheral portion has a first joint surface and a second joint surface which are double joint surfaces in a direction from the inside to the outside of the liquid storage chamber, and the first lid The member is bonded to the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface, and is an opening of a communication path communicating with the waste liquid storage chamber between the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface. Liquid inlet is shaped It is.

  When the bonding state of the first bonding surface is broken, the liquid in the liquid storage chamber leaks out of the liquid storage chamber from the first bonding surface where the bonding state is broken, and flows into the waste liquid storage chamber through the communication path. Therefore, even if the joining state of the first joining surface is destroyed, the liquid in the liquid storage chamber is difficult to leak out of the liquid cartridge.

  According to the present invention, with the above configuration, it is possible to suppress the liquid in the liquid storage chamber from leaking outside the liquid cartridge.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the inkjet printer in which the ink cartridge which concerns on 1st Embodiment is used. It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of an inkjet printer. FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a head portion of an ink discharge head. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an ink cartridge according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views illustrating the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VA-VA in FIG. 4 (vertical cross-sectional view), and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VB-VB in FIG. FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the joining surface where the joining state was destroyed. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ink cartridge which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (B) is a cross-sectional view. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ink cartridge which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (B) is a cross-sectional view. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ink cartridge which concerns on 4th Embodiment, (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (B) is a cross-sectional view. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the ink cartridge which concerns on 5th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the “liquid cartridge” according to the present invention is applied to an ink cartridge of an ink jet printer, and ink is used as the “liquid”.

[Configuration of inkjet printer]
As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 12 includes a housing 13, a transport mechanism 14 for transporting a sheet P as a recording medium to a predetermined recording area Q provided inside the housing 13, and a recording area. Ink discharge heads 16a to 16d for discharging ink onto the paper P in Q, ink supply mechanisms 18a to 18d for supplying ink to the ink discharge heads 16a to 16d, and each ink discharge head 16a for maintenance. Maintenance mechanisms 22a to 22d for discharging ink from the respective ejection openings 20 (FIG. 3) of 16 to 16d, and a control unit 24 for executing various processes. In FIG. 1, the direction in which the paper P is conveyed with respect to the recording area Q is defined as “first direction” (main scanning direction), and the direction orthogonal to the first direction in plan view is defined as “second direction” Scanning direction).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 14 is housed in the paper storage unit 26 provided inside the housing 13, the paper discharge unit 28 provided on the upper surface of the housing 13, and the paper storage unit 26. A conveyance path 30 that is a path through which the paper P passes through the recording area Q and is conveyed to the paper discharge unit 28, and a conveyance force applying unit 32 that applies a conveyance force to the paper P are provided. The transport path 30 has four platens 34 corresponding to the ink ejection heads 16a to 16d. As shown in FIG. 2, each platen 34 includes two plate-like door members 36a and 36b, And a platen opening / closing device 38. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance force applying unit 32 includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 40 a to 40 i, a pickup roller 42, and at least one conveyance motor 44 for driving them. The platen opening / closing device 38 (FIG. 2) and the conveying motor 44 (FIG. 1) are electrically connected to the control unit 24 (FIG. 1).

  In the ink jet printer 12 shown in FIG. 1, four ink discharge heads 16a to 16d are arranged in the first direction so as to correspond to inks of magenta, cyan, yellow and black, and each ink discharge head. Ink supply mechanisms 18a to 18d and maintenance mechanisms 22a to 22d are provided for 16a to 16d. Hereinafter, the configurations of the ink discharge head 16a, the ink supply mechanism 18a, and the maintenance mechanism 22a corresponding to magenta ink will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink discharge head 16 a has a rectangular parallelepiped head holder 48 formed extending in the second direction (FIG. 1), and extends in the second direction (FIG. 1) on the lower surface of the head holder 48. And a head portion 50 provided. Inside the head holder 48, a reservoir 48a for temporarily storing ink is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the head unit 50 includes a flow path unit 52 and an actuator unit 54 bonded to the upper surface thereof. The flow path unit 52 is a laminated body composed of a plurality of metal plates, and a plurality of ejection ports 20 for ejecting ink are formed in the plate 56 constituting the lowermost layer. The lower surface of the plate 56 is a discharge surface 58 provided with a plurality of discharge ports 20. Inside the flow path unit 52, a manifold 60 and a plurality of ink flow paths 66 extending from the manifold 60 through the aperture 62 and the pressure chamber 64 to the discharge port 20 are formed. An ink supply port (not shown) communicating with the reservoir 48a (FIG. 2) is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the actuator unit 54 has a plurality of drive units 68. Each drive unit 68 includes a piezoelectric layer 68a corresponding to the pressure chamber 64, and a pair of electrodes 68b and 68c arranged so as to sandwich the piezoelectric layer 68a. The electrodes 68b and 68c of the ink discharge head 16a are electrically connected to the control unit 24 (FIG. 4) via a flexible wiring board (not shown). When a driving voltage is applied between the electrodes 68b and 68c of the ink discharge head 16a, the wall portion of the pressure chamber 64 is displaced and the volume of the pressure chamber 64 changes, and discharge energy is given to the ink inside the pressure chamber 64. Is done. Ink is ejected from the ejection port 20 by this ejection energy.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply mechanism 18a includes a sub tank 70 for storing ink to be supplied to the ink discharge head 16a, the ink cartridge 10, and a cartridge mounting portion 74 on which the ink cartridge 10 is detachably mounted. And. The ink cartridge 10 has a liquid storage chamber 110 for storing ink and a waste liquid storage chamber 112 for storing waste ink. The configuration of the ink cartridge 10 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply mechanism 18a is a flow path connecting the sub tank 70 and the ink discharge head 16a, and a first liquid flow path 76 for supplying ink from the sub tank 70 to the ink discharge head 16a. A flow path connecting the ink discharge head 16 a and the sub tank 70, a second liquid flow path 78 for transferring ink from the ink discharge head 16 a to the sub tank 70, and a liquid storage chamber 110 of the ink cartridge 10. A flow path connecting the sub tank 70 and a third liquid flow path 80 for transferring ink from the liquid storage chamber 110 to the sub tank 70 are provided. The first liquid channel 76 is provided with a first pump 82, and the second liquid channel 78 is provided with a first on-off valve 84. The third liquid channel 80 is provided with a second pump 86. Further, an air communication path 88 for communicating the internal space of the sub tank 70 with the atmosphere is provided in the upper part of the sub tank 70. The first pump 82, the second pump 86, and the first on-off valve 84 are electrically connected to the control unit 24 (FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance mechanism 22 a includes a cap unit 90 that covers the ejection surface 58 of the ink ejection head 16 a, a cap lifting device 92 that lifts and lowers the cap unit 90, and a waste liquid storage chamber 112 of the ink cartridge 10. It is a flow path for connecting the cap section 90, a waste liquid flow path 94 for transferring ink from the cap section 90 to the waste liquid storage chamber 112, and a flow path for supplying air to the inside of the cap section 90. An air supply path 96 is provided. The waste liquid flow path 94 is provided with a third pump 98, and the air supply path 96 is provided with a second on-off valve 100. The cap lifting device 92, the third pump 98, and the second on-off valve 100 are electrically connected to the control unit 24 (FIG. 1).

  The control unit 24 shown in FIG. 1 has a CPU, a non-volatile memory that rewrites a control program executed by the CPU and various data, and a RAM that temporarily stores data when the control program is executed. ing. Various processes such as a printing process, a circulation purge process, an ink supply process, and a maintenance process are executed by executing a control program on the CPU. Below, each process is demonstrated easily, referring FIG.

  In the “printing process”, the control unit 24 (FIG. 1) controls the transport mechanism 14 to transport the paper P to the recording area Q, and controls the ink discharge heads 16a to 16d (FIG. 1) to display images. The ink for forming is ejected from the ejection port 20 (FIG. 3). In the “circulation purge process”, the control unit 24 (FIG. 1) controls the first on-off valve 84 to open the second liquid flow path 78 and drives the first pump 82. Then, the ink stored in the sub tank 70 is returned to the sub tank 70 via the first liquid channel 76, the reservoir 48a, and the second liquid channel 78, and the bubbles accumulated in the reservoir 48a together with the ink are sub tank 70. And is discharged from the atmosphere communication path 88 into the atmosphere. In the “ink replenishment process”, the control unit 24 (FIG. 1) drives the second pump 86 to replenish the sub tank 70 with the ink stored in the liquid storage chamber 110 of the ink cartridge 10. In the “maintenance process”, the control unit 24 (FIG. 1) first operates the cap lifting device 92 so as to raise the cap unit 90, and brings the peripheral portion of the cap unit 90 into contact with the ejection surface 58. Subsequently, the second on-off valve 100 is controlled so as to close the air supply path 96 and the third pump 98 is driven to apply a negative pressure to the inside of the cap portion 90, so that the inside of the ink discharge head 16 a The ink is discharged from the ejection port 20 (FIG. 3) into the cap portion 90. Thereafter, by controlling the second on-off valve 100 so as to open the air supply path 96, the waste ink accumulated in the cap portion 90 is sent into the waste liquid storage chamber 112 of the ink cartridge 10.

[Configuration of ink cartridge]
As shown in FIG. 2, the ink cartridge 10 is detachably mounted on a cartridge mounting portion 74 provided in the ink jet printer 12 having the ink discharge head 16a. As shown in FIG. 110, 110 having a waste liquid storage chamber 112, a lid member 116 that is a “first lid member”, an absorbent material 118, an ink delivery path 120, an atmosphere communication path 122, and a waste ink delivery path 124. It has.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the case 114 has a rectangular parallelepiped first casing 126 whose internal space serves as the liquid storage chamber 110, and a rectangular parallelepiped second casing that accommodates the first casing 126 in the internal space. 128. Both the first casing 126 and the second casing 128 of the present embodiment are made of synthetic resin. The first casing 126 includes a first base plate 126a that is square in a plan view, and a rectangular cylindrical first peripheral wall 126b that is formed to extend vertically upward from the peripheral edge of the first base plate 126a. ing. The space surrounded by the first bottom plate portion 126a and the first peripheral wall portion 126b is the liquid storage chamber 110, and the liquid storage chamber 110 in which the opening at the top of the first peripheral wall portion 126b is the “first opening”. The opening 130 is. Moreover, the upper end surface of the 1st surrounding wall part 126b becomes the 1st joining surface 132a to which the cover member 116 is joined. Thus, in the present embodiment, the liquid storage chamber 110, the opening 130, and the first joint surface 132a are formed in the first housing 126.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, a connection hole 134a to which one end of the ink delivery path 120 is connected is formed in the lower portion of the first peripheral wall portion 126b, and in the upper portion of the first peripheral wall portion 126b. A connection hole 136a to which one end of the atmosphere communication path 122 is connected is formed. The connection hole 134a is an ink outlet. The connection hole 134a and the connection hole 136a are arranged side by side in the vertical direction at the center portion in the width direction of one side surface of the first peripheral wall portion 126b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second casing 128 includes a rectangular second bottom plate portion 128a in a plan view, and a rectangular tube-shaped second bottom portion that is formed to extend vertically upward from the peripheral portion of the second bottom plate portion 128a. And a peripheral wall portion 128b. The vertical length and the horizontal length of the second bottom plate portion 128a are longer than the vertical length and the horizontal length of the first bottom plate portion 126a, and the vertical length of the second peripheral wall portion 128b is It is longer than the vertical length of the first peripheral wall 126b. The first casing 126 is disposed in the upper portion of the internal space of the second casing 128 and is fixed to the second casing 128 via a fixing member (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, in the state where the first housing 126 is fixed to the second housing 128, the second bottom plate portion 128a of the second housing 128 and the first housing 126 A first space 112a is formed between the first bottom plate portion 126a. Further, an annular second space 112b is formed between the second peripheral wall portion 128b of the second housing 128 and the first peripheral wall portion 126b of the first housing 126 in plan view. Of the first space 112a and the second space 112b, a region in which waste ink is stored is a waste liquid storage chamber 112. That is, the waste liquid storage chamber 112 is configured between the first casing 126 and the second casing 128. A region of the second space 112b located above the waste liquid storage chamber 112 is a communication path 138 communicating with the waste liquid storage chamber 112, and the upper end surface of the second peripheral wall portion 128b is joined to the lid member 116. This is the second joint surface 132b. A liquid inlet 138a that is an opening of the communication path 138 is formed between the first bonding surface 132a and the second bonding surface 132b.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, a connection hole 134b to which the other end of the ink delivery path 120 is connected is formed in a portion of the second peripheral wall portion 128b that faces the connection hole 134a of the first housing 126. ing. A connection hole 136b to which the other end of the atmosphere communication path 122 is connected is formed in a portion of the second peripheral wall portion 128b that faces the connection hole 136a of the first housing 126. Further, a through hole 140 into which the waste ink feeding path 124 is inserted is formed in the lower portion of the second peripheral wall portion 128b. The through hole 140 is an entrance for waste ink. The connection hole 134b, the connection hole 136b, and the through hole 140 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction at the center in the width direction of one side surface of the second peripheral wall portion 128b. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the first joint surface 132a of the first housing 126 and the second joint surface 132b of the second housing 128 are in the same virtual plane extending in the horizontal direction. It is formed so that it may be located in.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the lid member 116 is a sheet-like or film-like thin-walled member, and is a quadrangle (see FIG. 5) having the same shape as the plan view of the outer peripheral edge of the second joint surface 132b. 4). And with respect to the 1st joint surface 132a and the 2nd joint surface 132b which comprise the peripheral part of the opening (1st opening) 130 in case 114 so that the cover member 116 may block the opening (1st opening) 130, Liquid-tight joining is performed by welding and adhesion. The lid member 116 of the present embodiment is formed of synthetic resin in order to firmly bond to the first bonding surface 132a and the second bonding surface 132b made of synthetic resin. In order to increase the bonding strength, it is desirable to bond by welding. The first joint surface 132 a and the second joint surface 132 b are joint surfaces that are doubled in the direction from the inside to the outside of the liquid storage chamber 110. Therefore, in a state where the lid member 116 is bonded to each of the first bonding surface 132a and the second bonding surface 132b, the ink stored in the liquid storage chamber 110 leaks to the outside of the case 114 at these bonding surfaces. Double suppression is possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the absorbent material 118 is a member for absorbing the waste ink sent from the waste ink feed path 124 to the waste liquid storage chamber 112, and a foam material (for example, Polyurethane foam) and the like. In the present embodiment, the longitudinal length and the lateral length of the absorbent material 118 are shorter than the longitudinal length and the lateral length of the upper surface of the second bottom plate portion 128a. However, the vertical length of the first space 112a in the waste liquid storage chamber 112 is shorter. And this absorber 118 is accommodated in the 1st space 112a. When assembling the ink cartridge 10, the absorber 118 is inserted into the first space 112 a from the upper opening of the second housing 128, and then the first housing 126 is inserted from the upper opening of the second housing 128. The lid member 116 is inserted into the second housing 128, and then the lid member 116 is joined to each of the first joining surface 132a and the second joining surface 132b by welding or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the ink delivery path 120 is a liquid flow path for delivering the ink in the liquid storage chamber 110 to the outside of the case 114, and the atmosphere communication path 122 is in the liquid storage chamber 110. It is the air flow path for making the space of this communicate with atmosphere. The waste ink feeding path 124 is a liquid flow path for feeding waste ink from the outside of the case 114 to the space in the waste liquid storage chamber 112. The atmosphere communication path 122 may be provided with a check valve for suppressing ink leakage. Further, the atmosphere communication path 122 may have a so-called labyrinth structure that allows air to gradually pass through without passing ink.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the ink cartridge 10 is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 74, the ink delivery path 120 is connected to the third liquid flow path 80, and the waste ink delivery path 124 is connected to the waste liquid flow path 94. The In the “ink replenishment process”, when a negative pressure is applied to the space in the liquid storage chamber 110 by the second pump 86, the ink in the liquid storage chamber 110 is sucked at a negative pressure and sent out from the ink delivery path 120. The air is taken into the space in the liquid storage chamber 110 from the atmosphere communication path 122. Therefore, the space in the liquid storage chamber 110 can be prevented from becoming negative pressure, and the ink in the liquid storage chamber 110 can be easily supplied to the sub tank 70. In the “maintenance process”, when waste ink is fed into the space in the waste liquid storage chamber 112 by the third pump 98, the waste ink is absorbed and held by the absorbent material 118. Therefore, the waste ink is difficult to leak out of the case 114.

  When the ink cartridge 10 (FIG. 4) is transported or the like, the pressure in the space in the liquid storage chamber 110 becomes high or the ink cartridge 10 receives an impact, so that the first joint surface 132a and the second joint The joining state of the surface 132b may be destroyed. As shown in FIG. 6, when the joining state of the joining surfaces 132 a and 132 b is broken, a gap S is generated between the case 114 and the lid member 116 in the broken portion, and the liquid storage chamber 110 is formed from the gap S. The ink inside may leak to the outside of the liquid storage chamber 110. However, this ink flows into the waste liquid storage chamber 112 through the liquid inlet 138a and the communication path 138 and is absorbed by the absorbent 118 disposed there, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. It is hard to leak.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, ink leakage can be prevented at the first joint surface 132 a and the second joint surface 132 b which are double joint surfaces, so that the ink in the liquid storage chamber 110 is transferred to the case 114. Hard to leak outside. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, in the present embodiment, the first joint surface 132a provided in the first housing 126 and the second joint surface 132b provided in the second housing 128 are: Since the lid member 116 is joined in the same virtual plane, the lid member 116 connects the opening 130 of the first housing 126 and the upper opening (including the liquid inlet 138 a) of the second housing 128. It can be easily closed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made to the above-described embodiments as long as they are described in the claims. Is possible.

  In the ink cartridge 150 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the bottom plate portion 152a of the first housing 152 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, the lower surface of the liquid storage chamber 154 is formed by the bottom plate portion 152a inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The outlet 156 of the ink stored in the liquid storage chamber 154 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the peripheral wall portion 152b in the inclination direction of the bottom plate portion 152a, and at least a part of the waste liquid storage chamber 158 is provided in the bottom plate portion 152a. It is provided below. According to the second embodiment, the ink in the liquid storage chamber 154 can be collected at the outlet 156 by the bottom plate portion 152a, and the ink can be used without waste until the end. Moreover, since the waste liquid storage chamber 158 is provided below the inclined bottom plate portion 152a, the case can be prevented from being enlarged.

  In the ink cartridge 160 according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, an inlet 164 for introducing the waste ink from the outside of the ink cartridge 160 to the waste liquid storage chamber 162 is provided in the waste liquid storage chamber 162. A sensor 168 for detecting waste ink is provided in a portion farthest from the inlet 164 or in the vicinity thereof. In addition, a plate-shaped ink guide 174 for guiding the ink leaking from the liquid storage chamber 170 and introduced from the liquid introduction port 172 to the sensor 168 is provided on the upper portion of the waste liquid storage chamber 162. Further, the liquid storage chamber 170 is provided with a first air communication path 176 for communicating the space in the liquid storage chamber 170 to the atmosphere. The waste liquid storage chamber 162 has a space in the waste liquid storage chamber 162. A second atmospheric communication path 178 for communicating with the atmosphere is provided. According to the third embodiment, the ink leaking from the liquid storage chamber 170 can be detected by the sensor 168. Since the sensor 168 is provided at a portion farthest from the inlet 164 or in the vicinity thereof, the waste ink introduced from the inlet 164 into the waste liquid storage chamber 162 is not immediately detected, but leaks from the liquid storage chamber 170 and is discharged as waste liquid. It is easy to detect ink flowing into the storage chamber 162. Further, the first atmosphere communication passage 176 can suppress the liquid storage chamber 170 from becoming a negative pressure, and the second atmosphere communication passage 178 can suppress an increase in the pressure of the waste liquid storage chamber 162. The ink guide 174 may be configured in a bowl shape or a tubular shape. Further, the first atmospheric communication path 176 and the second atmospheric communication path 178 may have a so-called labyrinth structure in which air is gradually passed without passing ink.

  In the ink cartridge 180 according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the waste liquid storage chamber 182 has an opening (second opening) 184. The first opening 188 of the liquid storage chamber 186 and the second opening 184 of the waste liquid storage chamber 182 are respectively provided on two surfaces located on opposite sides of the case 190, and the first opening 188 is the first lid member. The second opening 184 is closed by the second lid member 194 while being closed by the line 192. According to the fourth embodiment, it is easy to put the absorbent 196 into the waste liquid storage chamber 182 from the second opening 184. Moreover, since the 1st housing | casing 198 and the 2nd housing | casing 200 can be integrally shape | molded by injection molding etc., it can manufacture at low cost.

  In the ink cartridge 210 according to the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the case 212 includes a first portion 216 whose internal space is the liquid storage chamber 214, and a second portion 220 whose internal space is the waste liquid storage chamber 218. have. A first opening 222 of the liquid storage chamber 214 is formed at an end portion of the first peripheral wall portion 216a constituting the first portion 216, and an end portion of the second peripheral wall portion 220a constituting the second portion 220 is formed at the end portion of the first peripheral wall portion 216a. The third opening 224 of the waste liquid storage chamber 218 is formed side by side with the first opening 222. In addition, a first joint surface 226a and a second joint surface 226b are formed in a double ring shape on the end surface of the first peripheral wall portion 216a constituting the peripheral portion of the first opening 222. The lid member (first lid member) 228 is joined to the first joint surface 226a and the second joint surface 226b, and is joined to the end surface of the second peripheral wall portion 220a so as to close the third opening 224. . An annular groove 230 is formed between the first joint surface 226 a and the second joint surface 226 b, and the bottom of the groove 230 communicates with the waste liquid storage chamber 218 via the communication path 232. . According to the fifth embodiment, the first joint surface 226a and the second joint surface, which are double joint surfaces, are formed simply by forming the annular groove 230 on the end surface of the first peripheral wall portion 216a constituting the first portion 216. 226b can be formed easily. Further, since the first opening 222 and the third opening 224 can be formed side by side on the side surface of the case 212, the joining area between the case 212 and the lid member 228 can be reduced, and ink leakage can be suppressed.

  The “liquid cartridge” of the present invention may be used in apparatuses other than printers such as facsimile machines and copiers. In addition, as the “liquid”, a processing liquid for pre-processing or post-processing the surface of the paper P may be used instead of ink. When a liquid other than ink is used, “ink” in each of the above embodiments is read as “liquid”.

10 Ink cartridge (liquid cartridge)
110 Liquid storage chamber 112 Waste liquid storage chamber 114 Case 116 First lid member 130 First opening 132a First joint surface 132b Second joint surface 138 Communication path 138a Liquid inlet

Claims (10)

A liquid cartridge that is detachably mounted on a cartridge mounting portion provided in a liquid discharge apparatus having a liquid discharge head,
A case having a first opening and a liquid storage chamber for storing liquid; and a waste liquid storage chamber for storing waste liquid;
A first lid member joined to a peripheral portion of the first opening in the case so as to close the first opening;
The peripheral portion has a first joint surface and a second joint surface that are double joint surfaces in the direction from the inside to the outside of the liquid storage chamber,
The first lid member is bonded to the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface,
A liquid cartridge, wherein a liquid introduction port which is an opening of a communication path communicating with the waste liquid storage chamber is formed between the first joint surface and the second joint surface.   The liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the waste liquid storage chamber is provided with an absorbent for absorbing the waste liquid.   The liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first lid member is welded to a peripheral portion of the first opening in the case. The case has a first housing whose internal space serves as the liquid storage chamber, and a second housing that houses the first housing in the internal space,
The first opening and the first joint surface are formed in the first housing,
The second joint surface is formed on the second housing,
The waste liquid storage chamber is configured between the first casing and the second casing,
4. The liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface are bonded to the first lid member in the same virtual plane. 5. The liquid storage chamber is provided with a first atmospheric communication passage for communicating the space in the liquid storage chamber with the atmosphere.
5. The liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the waste liquid storage chamber is provided with a second air communication path for communicating the space in the waste liquid storage chamber with the atmosphere. 6. The liquid storage chamber has an outlet for the liquid stored therein,
The lower surface of the liquid storage chamber is formed of a bottom plate portion that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane,
The outlet is provided in the vicinity of the lower end portion in the inclination direction of the bottom plate portion,
The liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the waste liquid storage chamber is provided below the bottom plate portion. The waste liquid storage chamber has a second opening,
The first opening and the second opening are respectively provided on two surfaces located on opposite sides of the case,
The liquid cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the second opening is closed by a second lid member. The waste liquid storage chamber is provided with an inlet for introducing the waste liquid from the outside of the liquid cartridge,
The liquid cartridge according to claim 2, wherein a sensor for detecting waste liquid is provided in a portion of the absorbent material farthest from the inlet or in the vicinity thereof.   The liquid cartridge according to claim 8, further comprising a liquid guide for guiding the liquid introduced from the liquid introduction port to the sensor. The case has a first part whose internal space serves as the liquid storage chamber, and a second part whose internal space serves as the waste liquid storage chamber,
The first opening of the liquid storage chamber is formed at an end of a first peripheral wall portion constituting the first portion;
A third opening of the waste liquid storage chamber is formed alongside the first opening at an end of a second peripheral wall portion constituting the second portion;
The first joint surface and the second joint surface are formed in a double ring shape on an end surface of the first peripheral wall portion located in the peripheral portion of the first opening,
The first lid member is bonded to the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface, and is formed on an end surface of the second peripheral wall portion positioned at the periphery of the third opening so as to close the third opening. The liquid cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid cartridge is joined.

Images