JP2019199018A - Ink replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To greatly improve operability and prevent human error in an ink replenishing device that replenishes ink to a writing instrument.SOLUTION: An ink replenishing device 1 includes an ink bottle 20 that can be installed from the outside of cases 10A, 10B, a pump 30 that feeds ink in the ink bottle, a discharge nozzle 40 that is connected to the pump and can move up and down, nozzle driving means 50 for driving the discharge nozzle up and down, a writing instrument mounting portion 60 to which a writing instrument can be mounted, a writing instrument sensor 61 capable of detecting th mounted writing instrument, and a control board 70. The control board 70 performs control for inserting the discharge nozzle into the ink tank on the basis of the mounting detection signal from the writing instrument sensor, and then automatically replenishing the ink tank with ink from the discharge nozzle by operating the pump.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink replenishing device for replenishing refilling ink to a writing instrument that consumes ink or a method for replenishing a writing instrument or the like using an ink replenishing device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink replenishing device for manually refilling a refilling ink into a writing instrument that consumes ink has been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4203383

  For example, in the conventional ink replenishing device described in Patent Document 1, the user has to manually operate the operation lever of a pump for replenishing ink to the writing instrument, and the writing instrument is set in a state In addition, it is necessary to visually check the replenishment amount of ink and the ink, and if the user is not careful, there is a possibility that an operation error such as overflow of ink or a malfunction occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and by improving the operability during ink replenishment by automating the replenishment of ink to a writing instrument or the like, or due to human error. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink replenishing device capable of preventing malfunction.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an ink replenishing device for replenishing ink to a writing instrument, wherein a case, an ink bottle that can be installed from the outside of the case, and ink in the ink bottle are liquidated. A pump arranged to feed, a discharge nozzle connected to the pump and arranged to be movable up and down, a nozzle driving means for driving the discharge nozzle up and down, and a writing instrument attachment capable of attaching a writing instrument from the outside of the case , A writing instrument sensor capable of detecting a writing instrument attached to the writing instrument attachment section, and a control board, wherein the control board operates the nozzle driving means based on an attachment detection signal transmitted from the writing instrument sensor Nozzle control means for controlling the insertion of the discharge nozzle into the ink tank of the writing instrument, and the discharge nozzle in the ink tank After being input, and a pump control means for controlling to replenish the ink in the ink bottle by operating the pump to the ink tank via the discharge nozzle, an ink replenishment system.

  The ink replenishing device further includes an ink remaining amount sensor capable of detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank, and the pump control means detects that the writing instrument is attached to the writing instrument mounting portion by the writing instrument sensor. In addition, it is preferable that when the remaining amount of ink detected by the ink remaining amount sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the pump is operated to replenish ink into the ink tank.

  The ink replenishing device includes a bidirectional pump in which each port on the discharge side and the suction side is switched depending on the rotation direction of the motor, and the pump control means is configured to supply ink detected by the ink remaining amount sensor. It is preferable to perform control to reversely rotate the motor when the remaining amount reaches a predetermined amount.

  Further, the ink replenishing device is provided with a valve body that always closes the ink replenishing port by an elastic force of an internal spring at the ink replenishing port of the ink tank. It is preferable that the ink replenishing port is opened by pressing down the valve body against the spring force of the spring while the portion is in contact with the valve body.

  In the ink replenishing device, it is preferable that the ink discharge port of the discharge nozzle is formed on at least a part of the side wall of the front end portion that does not contact the valve body.

  The ink replenishing device further includes a storage amount sensor for measuring a storage amount of the replenishment ink stored in the ink bottle, and the control board is configured to supply the replenishment ink detected by the storage amount sensor. It is preferable to further include an ink bottle ordering unit that automatically orders the ink bottle when the storage amount becomes less than a predetermined amount.

  According to the ink replenishing device of the present invention, the operability at the time of ink replenishment can be greatly improved by automating the replenishment of ink to the writing instrument. As a result, it is possible to prevent malfunctions and the like due to human error.

It is an external appearance perspective view of an ink replenishing device. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of an ink replenishing apparatus (a discharge nozzle is an initial position). It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of an ink replenishment apparatus (a discharge nozzle is a downward movement position). It is a front view which shows the inside of an ink replenishing apparatus typically (discharge nozzle is an initial position). It is a front view which shows the inside of an ink replenishing apparatus typically (discharge nozzle is a downward movement position). It is sectional drawing of an ink tank upper part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the discharge nozzle inserted in the ink tank. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the writing instrument sensor provided in the back of the writing instrument attachment part. It is a flowchart for demonstrating control operation of ink replenishment.

  Hereinafter, an ink replenishing device 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The ink replenishing device 1 is a device for replenishing refilling ink to a writing instrument (for example, a marker pen) that consumes ink. Here, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the ink replenishing device 1. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the internal structure of the ink replenishing device 1 with the lid case 10A removed. 4 and 5 are front views schematically showing the inside of the ink replenishing device 1 in order to explain the components.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink replenishing device 1 includes a lid case 10 </ b> A and a main body case 10 </ b> B formed of hard resin or sheet metal, and the ink bottle 20, the pump 30, the discharge nozzle 40, A nozzle driving means 50, a writing instrument mounting portion 60, a control board 70, and the like are provided.

  The ink bottle 20 is a replaceable bottle storing replenishing ink for the writing instrument 80, and is detachably installed in the bottle housing portion 11 in which a part of the lid case 10A and the main body case 10B is hollow. . In the present embodiment, a socket portion 12 for installing an ink bottle is provided at the lower left portion in the main body case 10 </ b> B, and an ink supply nipple at the lower portion of the ink bottle 20 is inserted into the socket portion 12.

  The socket unit 12 incorporates a bottle installation sensor 13 for detecting the installation state of the ink bottle 20. When the ink bottle 20 is normally installed in the socket part 12, the bottle installation sensor 13 is configured to output a bottle installation signal to the control board 70.

  The socket portion 12 is provided with a storage amount sensor 14 that can measure the amount of ink stored by detecting the weight of the ink bottle 20. The storage amount sensor 14 may be a sensor switch that turns on and off with a certain weight or more as a threshold, but may be a variable sensor that converts the weight of the ink bottle 20 into an analog or digital signal value and outputs the signal to the control board 70. preferable. In this case, the control board 70 can determine the ink storage amount in the ink bottle 20 based on the signal value indicated by the storage amount sensor.

  As another embodiment, the storage amount sensor may be an optical sensor that can optically detect the ink level (liquid level) of the ink bottle 20. In addition, the above-described bottle installation sensor may also be used as a storage amount sensor. In addition, it is preferable that the approximate amount of ink in the ink bottle 20 can be visually confirmed through windows provided in the cases 10A and 10B.

  The pump 30 is preferably a bidirectional liquid feed pump in which the ports on the discharge side and the suction side are switched depending on the rotation direction of the pump motor 31. As such a liquid feed pump, for example, a tubing pump can be employed. In the present embodiment, the first port 32 of the pump 30 and the socket portion 12 in which the ink bottle 20 is installed are connected via the flexible tube 34. Further, the second port 33 of the pump 30 and the discharge nozzle 40 are connected via the flexible tube 35. Here, when the pump motor 31 is rotated in the forward direction, the first port 32 is on the suction (in) side and the second port 33 is on the discharge (out) side. As a result, the ink in the ink bottle 20 is sucked up, and the ink is fed to the discharge nozzle 40. On the other hand, when the pump motor 31 is rotated in the reverse direction, the first port 32 becomes high pressure and the second port 33 becomes low pressure (or negative pressure). Thereby, for example, ink remaining in the discharge nozzle 40 after ink replenishment can be efficiently sucked.

  The discharge nozzle 40 is housed in a hollow and cylindrical capsule 41 and is arranged so as to move up and down together with the capsule 41. More specifically, the capsule 41 is engaged with a guide plate member 42 that guides the capsule 41 to move up and down while maintaining a vertical posture. A rack gear 43 in which gear teeth are arranged in parallel to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the discharge nozzle 40 and the capsule 41 is provided at the tip of the connecting portion 41a extending to the left from the side wall of the capsule 41. The pinion gear 51 of the motor, which is the nozzle driving means 50, meshes with the rack gear 43, and the rotation is converted to the vertical movement of the discharge nozzle 40 via the capsule 41.

  When the discharge nozzle 40 is moved downward by the nozzle driving means 50, the internal discharge nozzle 40 is inserted into the ink replenishing port 810 of the ink tank 81 so that the capsule 41 covers the outside of the ink tank 81 of the writing instrument 80 ( (See FIG. 5).

  The ink replenishing port 810 of the ink tank 81 has a so-called check valve structure that prevents ink leakage and drying. Here, the structure of the ink replenishing port 810 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 6, a valve chamber 811 that is recessed in a concave shape toward the inside of the tank is formed in the upper portion of the ink tank 81. A packing 814 is attached to the opening at the upper end of the valve chamber 811, and a central hole of the packing 814 serves as an ink replenishing port 810. The bottom of the valve chamber 811 has a funnel shape around the bottom hole 811a in order to allow the injected ink to flow down into the tank without delay.

  The valve chamber 811 accommodates a coil spring 812 and a valve body (plunger) 813 in a compressed state. The valve body 813 has a columnar head portion 813a, a conical portion 813b connected to the lower portion of the head portion 813a, and a rod portion 813c extending downward from the lower surface center of the conical portion 813b. The rod portion 813c of the valve body 813 passes through the coil spring 812 installed in the step portion 811b of the valve chamber 811 and is inserted into the bottom hole 811a of the valve chamber 811.

  The elastic force of the coil spring 812 always acts on the lower part of the conical part 813b of the valve body 813. Thereby, the tapered upper surface of the conical portion 813b is pressed against the tapered lower surface of the packing 814, and the ink replenishing port 810 is normally closed by the valve body 813.

  When the discharge nozzle 40 is moved downward, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the discharge nozzle 40 is inserted into the valve chamber 811 of the ink replenishing port 810 and the coil spring 812 is in contact with the head portion 813 a of the valve body 813. The valve body 813 is pushed down against the elastic force. Thereby, the valve of the ink replenishing port 810 is opened. A slit hole-like ink discharge port 40 a is formed at a tip portion of the discharge nozzle 40 at a part of the side wall that does not contact the head portion 813 a of the valve body 813. The ink discharged from the ink discharge port 40 a passes through the bottom hole 811 a from the valve chamber 811 and is replenished into the ink tank 81.

  The writing instrument mounting portion 60 provided in the lower right portion of the main body case 10B is exposed through the mounting recess 10Aa of the lid case 10A so that the writing tool 80 can be mounted from the outside of the case through the mounting recess 10Aa. It is configured (see FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the portion of the cap 82 that covers the pen tip of the writing instrument 80 is detachably attached to the writing instrument attachment portion 60. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a writing instrument sensor 61 capable of detecting the writing instrument 80 attached to the writing instrument attachment section 60 is provided behind the writing instrument attachment section 60. The writing instrument sensor 61 is composed of, for example, a micro switch, and is configured to be turned on when the cap 82 of the writing instrument 80 depresses the contact 61a and the contact 61a rotates a predetermined amount. Such a writing instrument sensor 61 can detect the attachment state of the writing instrument 80 to the writing instrument attachment section 60. When the writing instrument 80 is normally attached to the writing instrument attachment portion 60, an attachment detection signal is output from the writing instrument sensor 61 to the control board 70.

  In addition, the ink replenishing device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a remaining ink sensor 62 that can detect the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 81 of the writing instrument 80. The remaining ink sensor 62 is preferably an optical sensor that can detect the ink inside through the transparent ink tank 81. According to this optical ink remaining amount sensor 62, when the ink remaining amount in the ink tank 81 is less than a predetermined amount, light is transmitted through the ink tank 81, and the light receiving portion of the ink remaining amount sensor 62 transmits the transmitted light. By detecting, an ink empty signal can be output to the control board 70. The ink remaining amount sensor 62 may output an ink full signal when the level of the ink replenished in the ink tank 81 reaches a predetermined value and the light transmitted through the ink tank 81 is interrupted.

  Next, the control operation by the control board 70 will be described. Here, in the various control means described below, an arithmetic processing unit (for example, CPU) provided on the control board 70 executes arithmetic processing according to a program stored in the data storage means (for example, ROM). Thus, a predetermined control function is realized.

  First, the ink bottle monitoring means constantly monitors the installation state of the ink bottle 20 based on the detection signal from the bottle installation sensor 13 by background processing. If the ink bottle monitoring means determines that the ink bottle 20 is not normally installed in the ink replenishing device 1, it outputs a bottle error signal or a warning signal. A guidance signal that prompts the user to install an ink bottle may be output.

  Further, the ink bottle monitoring means constantly monitors the amount of ink stored in the ink bottle 20 based on the signal from the storage amount sensor 14. The ink bottle monitoring means determines that the ink replenishing operation is possible when the ink storage amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, and can output a ready signal. In addition, when the ink storage amount becomes smaller than a predetermined amount, a warning signal may be output to warn that ink will soon be exhausted.

  The ink replenishing device 1 may include an ink bottle ordering unit that automatically orders replacement ink bottles when the amount of ink stored in the ink bottle 20 is less than a predetermined amount. The ink bottle ordering unit may perform an ordering process directly to a predetermined ink supplier, for example, via the Internet, for example. In addition, the order information may be transmitted to a management server operated by, for example, a writing instrument manufacturer on the network, and the management server may perform an ink bottle ordering process with a partner ink supplier based on the information. Further, the management server monitors the state of the ink replenishing device 1 such as the amount of ink stored as needed, and automatically orders ink bottles when it is determined that the amount of ink stored has decreased or until the ink runs out. You may do it.

  As described above, in the ink replenishing device 1, the ink bottle 20 in which a predetermined amount or more of ink is stored is in a ready (prepared) state when various conditions such as the normal installation of the ink bottle 20 are confirmed. Can be automatically replenished. Therefore, the ink replenishment control operation automatically performed by the ink replenishing device 1 will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the writing instrument monitoring means detects whether or not the writing instrument 80 is attached to the writing instrument attachment unit 60 based on the detection signal from the writing instrument sensor 61 (step S1). When it is determined that the writing instrument 80 has been normally attached to the ink replenishing device 1 (step S1: YES), the writing instrument monitoring means determines the ink in the ink tank 81 of the writing instrument 80 based on the detection signal from the remaining ink sensor 62. The remaining amount is detected (step S2). When it is determined that the liquid level in the ink tank 81 is at the same level as that of the remaining ink sensor 62, that is, it is not necessary to replenish ink (step S2: NO), the process ends without replenishing ink.

  When the liquid level of the ink tank 81 is lower than the position of the remaining ink sensor 62, that is, when the remaining amount of ink is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (step S2: YES), the nozzle control means is a motor for the nozzle drive means 50. Is operated to lower the discharge nozzle 40 (step S3). At this time, the discharge nozzle 40 is inserted into the ink tank 81 and the internal valve body 813 is pushed down, whereby the valve of the ink replenishing port 810 is opened.

  The nozzle control means stops the rotation of the motor of the nozzle driving means 50 when the discharge nozzle 40 reaches the specified downward movement position. Then, the pump control means rotates the pump motor 31 in the forward direction to operate the pump 30 and replenishes ink in the ink tank 81 (step S4). The operation of the pump 30 is continued (step S6) until the ink replenishment amount reaches a predetermined amount (full) (step S5: NO).

  When the liquid level in the ink tank 81 reaches the level of the remaining ink sensor 62, that is, the ink replenishment amount reaches a predetermined amount (step S5: YES), the pump control means rotates the pump motor 31 in reverse for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds). The ink of the discharge nozzle 40 is sucked up (step S7). Thereby, sticking of ink remaining in the discharge nozzle 40 and clogging or narrowing of the flow path can be prevented.

  Then, the nozzle control means reversely rotates the motor of the nozzle drive means 50 and raises the discharge nozzle 40 to the initial position (step S8). When the discharge nozzle 40 comes out of the ink tank 81, the ink replenishing port 810 is closed by the valve body 813, and the ink replenishment is completed.

  During the ink replenishment process from the start of the downward movement of the discharge nozzle 40 in step S3 to the return to the initial position (upper position) in step S8, the socket portion 12 is locked so that the ink bottle 20 is not inadvertently removed. It is preferable to do. In addition, after the writing instrument 80 is normally attached in step S2, the ink replenishment process from step S3 may be performed after the user performs an ink replenishment start operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink replenishing apparatus 10A Cover case 10B Main body case 12 Socket part 13 Bottle installation sensor 14 Reservoir sensor 20 Ink bottle 30 Pump 31 Pump motor 40 Discharge nozzle 41 Capsule 43 Rack gear 50 Nozzle drive means 51 Pinion gear 60 Writing instrument attachment part 61 Writing instrument sensor 62 Ink level sensor 70 Control board 80 Writing instrument 81 Ink tank 810 Ink replenishment port 811 Valve chamber 812 Coil spring 813 Valve body 814 Packing 82 Cap

Claims (6)

An ink replenishing device for replenishing ink to a writing instrument,
A case, an ink bottle that can be installed from the outside of the case, a pump that is arranged to feed the ink in the ink bottle, a discharge nozzle that is connected to the pump and arranged to be movable up and down, and the discharge Nozzle driving means for driving the nozzle up and down, a writing instrument mounting portion to which a writing instrument can be attached from the outside of the case, a writing instrument sensor capable of detecting the writing instrument attached to the writing instrument mounting portion, and a control board,
A nozzle control means for controlling the insertion of the discharge nozzle into the ink tank of the writing instrument by operating the nozzle driving means based on an attachment detection signal transmitted from the writing instrument sensor; An ink replenishing device comprising pump control means for controlling the ink tank to be replenished to the ink tank via the discharge nozzle by operating the pump after being inserted into the ink tank. An ink remaining amount sensor capable of detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank;
When the pump control means detects that the writing instrument is attached to the writing instrument mounting portion by the writing instrument sensor, and the remaining amount of ink detected by the remaining ink sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, The ink replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein a control is performed to replenish ink in the ink tank by operating a pump.   The pump is a bidirectional pump in which each port on the discharge side and the suction side is switched according to the rotation direction of the motor, and the pump control means has a remaining amount of ink detected by the remaining ink sensor reaching a predetermined amount. The ink replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein the motor is controlled to rotate reversely when the ink is discharged.   The ink replenishing port of the ink tank is provided with a valve body that always closes the ink replenishing port by the spring force of the internal spring, and the tip of the discharge nozzle contacts the valve body when the discharge nozzle moves down. The ink replenishing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ink replenishing port is configured to open by pressing down the valve body against a resilient force of the spring while being in contact.   The ink replenishing device according to claim 4, wherein an ink discharge port of the discharge nozzle is formed on at least a part of a side wall of a tip portion that does not contact the valve body. A storage amount sensor for measuring a storage amount of the replenishment ink stored in the ink bottle is further provided, and the control board has a storage amount of the replenishment ink detected by the storage amount sensor larger than a predetermined amount. The ink replenishing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an ink bottle ordering unit that automatically orders the ink bottle when the number of ink bottles is reduced.

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