JP2022150779A - Ink filling device and ink filling method - Google Patents

Abstract

To refill an ink container 1, which supplies ink K from a supply path 3 having a valve part 6 biased in a close direction, with ink without operation for pushing the valve part from an outside.SOLUTION: A storage container 2 is housed in a filling chamber 11, a replenishing container 13 is connected to a supply path 3, and a pressure of an inside of the filling chamber 11 is made negative with respect to an external so as to fill the ink container 1, which has the storage container 2, the supply path 3, and a valve part 6, with ink. As the valve part 6 is pulled inward by the negative pressure and the supply path 3 is opened without carrying out operation for mechanically pushing the biased valve part 6 inward, the ink K flows in the storage container 2 from the replenishing container 13 and filling of the ink K can be carried out easily.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an ink filling device for refilling ink into an ink cartridge having a valve portion biased in a closing direction. It relates to an ink filling device that can be filled.

Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention of an ink cartridge suitable for a high-productivity inkjet printer. Like the ink cartridge of the present invention, ink cartridges used in inkjet printers generally have a large ink capacity and often have low ink viscosity. Structured thermoplastic film containers have been used. An ink container having such a structure is generally known as a "spout bag".

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the structure near the supply path 101 of the ink container 100 having such a structure. Manufacture of such an ink container 100 generally involves filling ink into a bag-like storage container 102 made of a thermoplastic film, disposing the supply path 101 in the opening of the storage container 102 , and connecting the opening of the storage container 102 to the supply path. 101 is joined by heat welding so as to be integrated, and the ink is sealed in the storage container 102. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in the ink container 100 having the structure described above, a valve portion 103 that can be freely opened and closed is generally provided inside the supply path 101 . As shown in FIG. 6A, the valve portion 103 is biased in the closing direction by biasing means 104, and closes the supply path 101 when the ink cartridge is not mounted. As shown in (b), when it is attached to the ink jet printer, it is pushed inward by a mechanism (not shown) on the printer side to open the supply path 101 .

JP 2017-132204 A

In recent years, various industrial products have been recycled from the viewpoint of environmental conservation and resource conservation, and consumption has increased due to the spread of printing devices (printers) for home and business use. There is an increasing social demand for reusing the ink container of the ink cartridge that is used. For example, when reusing the ink cartridge described above, after the ink in the ink cartridge is consumed, the empty ink container is taken out from the outer packaging, and the same ink is refilled into the ink container. , the ink container is housed in the exterior body to return to the original form of the ink cartridge so that it can be used by being remounted in the printing apparatus.

However, when the ink cartridge is to be reused and refilled with ink, since the bag-shaped storage container 102 and the ink supply path 101 are already welded together, it is not possible to open the opening of the storage container 102 and refill the ink. Moreover, since the supply path 101 is provided with the valve portion 103 biased in the closing direction, the ink cannot be refilled from the outside of the supply path 101 .

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, a method of pushing the valve portion 103 from the outside of the supply path 101 with a rod-shaped member 110 or the like to open the ink path and filling the ink from the supply path 101 while maintaining this state. is also conceivable. However, this work is very complicated, and there is a problem that the refilling work requires skill and a long time. Since the ink storage container 102 is made of thermoplastic film, it is flexible and has no rigidity. Even if the storage container 102 is allowed to stand on its own once, if buckling or the like occurs in the storage container 102 during filling, it becomes even more difficult to perform the refilling operation described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the prior art and its problems. To enable ink to be easily filled in a device without performing a complicated operation of pushing in a valve portion from the outside.

The ink filling device of the present invention is
a flexible storage container in which ink is stored;
an ink supply path provided in the storage container;
a valve portion that is biased to close the supply path;
An ink filling device for filling an ink container with ink,
a filling chamber having an airtight structure for accommodating the storage container therein so that the storage container communicates with the outside through the supply path;
suction means for sucking the inside of the filling chamber;
It is characterized by comprising

According to the ink filling device of the present invention,
If the filling chamber is made to have a negative pressure by the suction means, the valve portion is drawn inward by the negative pressure and the supply passage is opened without the operation of pushing the biased valve portion inward. can be easily filled with ink by flowing into the storage container from the outside. That is, even if the valve portion is not physically pushed in from the outside, the valve portion can be opened by the negative pressure and the ink can be filled.

1A and 1B are a front view and a side view of an ink container to be filled with ink by an ink filling device according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before starting filling by the ink filling device of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fixing portion of an ink container provided in the ink filling device of the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the ink filling device of the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state during the start of filling by the ink filling device of the embodiment; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of a supply channel, etc., in a conventional ink container, and how the supply channel is closed and opened by a valve portion; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional technique for refilling a conventional ink container with ink;

A mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.
A configuration of an ink filling device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a front view and a side view of an ink container 1 to which the ink filling method using the ink filling device of the embodiment is applied. This ink container 1 is called an ink cartridge when it is housed in a box-shaped exterior body (not shown). state. That is, the ink container 1 shown in FIG. 1 is hardly filled with ink.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink container 1 includes a bag-like storage container 2 made of a thermoplastic film, and a substantially cylindrical shape that is provided at an opening of the storage container 2 and serves as an ink flow path that communicates the inside and outside of the storage container 2. has a supply path 3 of The part that was the opening of the bag-like storage container 2 and the supply path 3 are heat-sealed and integrated in an airtight state. is outside the container 2 . Therefore, the inside of the storage container 2 can communicate with the outside through the supply path 3 .

As shown in the partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. It has a valve portion 6 that closes the flow path 4 by coming into contact with the seat portion 5 and an urging means 7 that urges the valve portion 6 in the closing direction to bring it into contact with the seat portion 5 .

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ink filling device 10 for refilling an empty ink container 1 with ink. The ink filling device 10 includes a box-shaped filling chamber 11 having an airtight structure. Inside the filling chamber 11, an empty ink container 1 is accommodated in a state of being suspended by a fixing portion 12, which will be described later. A replenishment container 13 containing ink K for refilling is connected to the outer end of the supply path 3 projecting upward from the upper surface of the filling chamber 11 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, above the filling chamber 11, there is provided a fixing portion having a function of sandwiching the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 and holding the storage container 2 in a suspended state within the filling chamber 11. 12 are provided. As shown in enlarged detail in FIG. 3, the fixing portion 12 is provided above the filling chamber 11 and has a pair of lid portions 14, 14 connected by hinges (not shown) that can be opened and closed in the horizontal direction as a main body. there is The pair of lids 14, 14 may simply be of a separable structure instead of being hinged. As shown in FIG. 3( c ), each dividing surface of the pair of lids 14 , 14 is provided with a semi-cylindrical holding hole 15 that sandwiches the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 . Each lid portion 14 is provided with a sealing member 16 (such as a packing) having an integral structure on the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole 15 and a portion of the dividing surface of the lid portion 14 that is continuous with the inner peripheral surface.

As described above, the ink filling device 10 of the embodiment includes the fixing portion 12 that holds the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 stored in the filling chamber 11 and suspends the storage container 2 in the filling chamber 11. there is Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the storage container 2 is placed in the filling chamber 11 with the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 fitted into the holding hole 15 of the fixing portion 12, and as shown in FIG. 3(b). By closing the pair of lids 14, 14 and sandwiching the supply path 3 as shown in FIG. state. The space between the lid portion 14 of the fixed portion 12 and the upper end portion of the filling chamber 11 is kept airtight. Since the flexible storage container 2 does not have rigidity, it cannot stand on its own, and if it is filled with ink while standing on the bottom of the filling chamber 11, it may buckle and cannot be refilled. However, in the suspended state as in the embodiment, even the flexible storage container 2 without rigidity can maintain an upright posture in the filling chamber 11. Ink refilling according to embodiments may be facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 2, the filling chamber 11 is connected to a pump 20 as a suction means for sucking the air inside the filling chamber 11 . Further, the filling chamber 11 is provided with a pressure sensor 21 as a pressure measuring section for measuring the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the ink filling device 10 of the embodiment has a CPU 30 as a control section. A pressure sensor 21 is connected to the CPU 30, and a measured value of the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 detected by the pressure sensor 21 is input. A pump driving circuit 31 for driving the pump 20 is connected to the CPU 30. The pump 20 is arbitrarily driven via the pump driving circuit 31, and the air in the filling chamber 11 is sucked to obtain an arbitrary negative pressure. can be set to A setting input unit 32 is also connected to the CPU 30 . The setting input unit 32 is a setting input unit for setting and inputting various setting values, data, etc. necessary for operating the ink filling device 10 as necessary. It also serves as an ink specifying means for specifying the type (or physical properties) of the ink to be filled so that a negative pressure suitable for the physical properties (such as viscosity) of the ink is generated in the filling chamber 11 . The CPU 30 also has a storage unit (not shown), and this storage unit stores programs and data necessary for controlling the ink filling device 10 . It stores control data necessary to generate negative pressure in the filling chamber 11 . This control data is data indicating the relationship between the physical properties of the ink and the pressure (negative pressure) inside the filling chamber 11 necessary for the ink to flow into the storage container 2 from the supply path 3. , the pump 20 is controlled via the pump driving circuit 31 based on the physical property values of the ink stored in the storage container 2, the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 detected by the pressure sensor 21, and the control data. can generate the necessary negative pressure.

The operation of the ink filling device 10 of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the empty ink container 1 is being refilled with ink by the ink filling device 10. As shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the empty ink container 1 is suspended by the fixing portion 12 and stored in the filling chamber 11, as described above. A replenishment container 13 containing ink K for refilling is connected to the outer end of the supply passage 3 protruding from the upper surface of the filling chamber 11. As shown in the enlarged view, the valve portion 6 is not attached. The channel 4 is blocked by being pressed against the seat portion 5 by the biasing force of the biasing means 7 . Therefore, the ink K in the replenishment container 13 reaches from the outer end of the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 to the outside of the valve portion 6, but does not enter the storage container 2. As shown in FIG.

In the state shown in FIG. 2, the user operates the setting input unit 32 to input a filling start command. Upon receiving the start signal from the setting input unit 32 , the CPU 30 starts driving the pump 20 via the pump driving circuit 31 . The air inside the filling chamber 11 is gradually discharged, and the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 decreases. The pressure inside the filling chamber 11 is lower than the pressure inside the storage container 2 and the pressure inside the replenishment container 13 (atmospheric pressure). pressure.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5, when the negative pressure inside the filling chamber 11 with respect to the inside of the storage container 2 and the inside of the replenishment container 13 exceeds a certain value, the valve portion 6 exerts an urging force of the urging means 7. It drops against it and the channel 4 is opened. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the ink K in the replenishment container 13 flows into the storage container 2 through the supply path 3, and the storage container 2 is filled with the ink K and expands. In this filling process, since the storage container 2 is suspended from the fixed part 12 , even a flexible storage container 2 without rigidity can maintain an upright posture in the filling chamber 11 . Therefore, the inflow of the ink K is smooth.

In the ink K filling process, if the physical properties such as the type and viscosity of the ink K to be filled in the storage container 2 are input in advance from the setting input unit 32 , the CPU 30 can detect the filling value obtained from the pressure sensor 21 . The negative pressure in the filling chamber 11 is adjusted based on the pressure value in the chamber 11 and the control data in the storage unit (data indicating the relationship between the physical properties of the ink and the negative pressure in the filling chamber 11 required for filling). Since the ink K can be set to an optimum level for sucking the ink K into the storage container 2, the ink K can be preferably filled in the shortest time. Physical properties such as the type and viscosity of the ink K may be input from the setting input unit 32, but if the necessary information is stored in the tag attached to the storage container 2, the ink filling device A reader may be provided on the side of 10 to read the necessary control information from the tag.

Depending on the physical properties of the ink, cavitation, a phenomenon in which bubbles are generated and disappear in a short period of time due to a pressure difference in the flow of ink, may occur during filling. Cavitation may cause breakage and deterioration of the storage container 2 and the like, and may generate vibration and noise. Specifically, cavitation is likely to occur in ink containing a large amount of water (aqueous ink) or ink containing a large amount of a specific component such as a volatile solvent. In the embodiment, the control data used when the CPU 30 causes the pump 20 to generate a negative pressure in the filling chamber 11 includes viscosity data as data indicating physical properties of the ink. Data on the content of moisture, volatile solvents, etc. related to the generation of Specifically, the operation of the pump 20 is weakened and the negative pressure generated in the filling chamber 11 is weakened for the ink containing more components that tend to cause such cavitation. By controlling the generation of the negative pressure using such control data, it is possible to prevent problems such as damage to the storage container 2 due to cavitation during ink filling.

The storage container 2 refilled with the ink K as described above can be stored in a box-shaped exterior body and returned to the form of an ink cartridge, and can be reused by being installed in a printing apparatus.

As described above, according to the filling method using the ink filling device 10 of the embodiment, the supply path 3 of the storage container 2 is fixed, and the storage container 2 is fixed by the mechanism of the fixing portion 12 that is in close contact with the supply path 3. can be stored in the filling chamber 11 by hanging vertically. After the filling chamber 11 is sealed, the pump 20 is operated to make the surrounding environment of the storage container 2 negative pressure, the valve portion 6 of the supply channel 3 is moved in the opening direction, the channel 4 is opened, and the ink is discharged. K is smoothly sucked into the storage container 2 by the negative pressure, and the empty storage container 2 can be quickly refilled with the ink K.

In the embodiment described above, the storage container 2 is suspended in the filling chamber 11, but it may be placed on the bottom of the horizontal filling chamber 11. FIG. Further, in the case of such a horizontal installation, and also in the above-described embodiment, if necessary, the replenishment container 13 may be pressurized manually or mechanically to promote the flow of the ink K into the storage container 2. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, one container 2 is filled with the ink K from one replenishment container 13 , but the filling chamber may be enlarged to accommodate a plurality of containers 2 . In this case, on the upper surface of this filling chamber, a plurality of fixed portions 12 having an airtight structure that can be individually opened and closed are provided in an appropriate arrangement, and the supply paths 3 of the storage containers 2 are arranged in the same manner as in the embodiment. They are fixed in an airtight state by the respective fixing parts 12, and are stored side by side in the storage container 2 so as to be hung. Also, in this case, one large-sized replenishment container having a large ink storage capacity is prepared, and an ink supply pipe led from the replenishment container is branched into a plurality of branch pipes to form a plurality of storage containers stored in the filling chamber. Each branch is connected to a plurality of outer ends projecting from 2 out of the filling chamber. With such a structure, a plurality of storage containers 2 can be refilled with ink at the same time, which is efficient.

The apparatus and method of the embodiment and its modifications described above are suitable for refilling the storage container 2 of the ink cartridge with the ink K that has run out of ink. However, the apparatus and method described above can also be used to fill new containers 2 with ink K in order to manufacture new ink cartridges.

<<Regarding each aspect of the embodiment and its effect>>
The ink filling device 10 of the first aspect includes:
a flexible storage container 2 in which ink K is stored;
a supply path 3 for the ink K provided in the storage container 2;
a valve portion 6 that is biased to close the supply passage 3;
An ink filling device 10 for filling an ink container 1 with ink K,
a filling chamber 11 having an airtight structure for accommodating the storage container 2 therein so that the storage container 2 communicates with the outside through the supply path 3;
a suction means (pump 20) for sucking the inside of the filling chamber 11;
It is characterized by comprising

According to the ink filling device 10 of the first aspect,
If the filling chamber 11 is made to have a negative pressure by the suction means (pump 20), the valve portion 6 is pulled inward by the negative pressure without the operation of pushing the biased valve portion 6 inward, and the supply path is closed. 3 is opened, the ink K flows into the storage container 2 from the outside, and the ink K can be easily filled. That is, even if the valve portion 6 is not physically pushed in from the outside, the valve portion 6 can be opened by the negative pressure and the ink K can be filled.

The ink filling device 10 of the second aspect is the ink filling device 10 of the first aspect,
a pressure measuring unit (pressure sensor 21) that measures the pressure inside the filling chamber 11;
control data indicating the relationship between the physical property values of the ink K and the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 necessary for the ink K to flow into the storage container 2 from the supply path 3; 2, the pressure inside the filling chamber 11 detected by the pressure measuring unit (pressure sensor 21), and the control data to control the suction means (pump 20). (CPU 30);
It is characterized by comprising

According to the ink filling device 10 of the second aspect,
The suction means ( Since the pump 20) can be controlled, the ink K can be suitably filled in the shortest time.

The ink filling device 10 of the third aspect is the ink filling device 10 of the second aspect,
It is characterized by comprising ink specifying means (setting input unit 32) for specifying the ink K to be filled in the storage container 2 attached to the ink filling device 10 from among a plurality of the inks K.

According to the ink filling device 10 of the third aspect,
The specific ink K to be filled in the storage container 2 attached to the ink filling device 10 is simply specified by the ink specifying means (setting input unit 32) from a plurality of inks K, and the specific ink K is filled. can be suitably performed in the shortest time. The ink specifying means (setting input unit 32) may be an input means provided in the ink filling device 10 for the user to input the type of ink K, etc., or the type of ink K to be filled in the ink cartridge. A combination of a tag, which is an electronic element written and attached to the container 2 or the like, and reading means provided in the ink filling device 10 for reading the information of the tag may be used.

The ink filling method of the fourth aspect includes:
a flexible storage container 2 in which ink K is stored;
a supply path 3 for the ink K provided in the storage container 2;
a valve portion 6 that is biased to close the supply passage 3;
An ink filling method for filling ink into an ink container 1 comprising
By making the outside of the storage container 2 negative pressure with respect to the inside of the storage container 2 , the valve portion 6 is opened to allow the supply of electricity from the outside of the storage container 2 to the storage container 2 through the supply path 3 . It is characterized by filling the inside with ink K.

According to the ink filling method of the fourth aspect,
If the environment outside the storage container 2 is made to have a negative pressure with respect to the inside of the storage container 2, the valve portion 6 does not have to perform a complicated operation of mechanically pushing the biased valve portion 6 inward. is pulled inward by the negative pressure to open the supply path 3, the ink K flows into the storage container 2 from the outside, and the ink K can be filled smoothly and easily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Ink container 2... Storage container 3... Supply path 6... Valve part 10... Ink filling device 11... Filling chamber 12... Fixed part 13... Replenishment container 20... Pump as suction means 21... Pressure sensor as pressure measurement part 30 … CPU as a control unit
32 . . . Setting input section as ink specifying means

Claims (4)

a flexible storage container in which ink is stored;
an ink supply path provided in the storage container;
a valve portion that is biased to close the supply path;
An ink filling device for filling an ink container with ink,
a filling chamber having an airtight structure for accommodating the storage container therein so that the storage container communicates with the outside through the supply path;
suction means for sucking the inside of the filling chamber;
An ink filling device comprising: a pressure measuring unit that measures the pressure inside the filling chamber;
control data indicating the relationship between the physical properties of the ink and the pressure inside the filling chamber required for the ink to flow into the storage container from the supply channel; and the ink stored in the storage container. a control unit that controls the suction means based on the physical property value of, the pressure inside the filling chamber detected by the pressure measurement unit, and the control data;
2. The ink filling device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The ink filling device according to claim 2, further comprising ink designation means for designating the ink to be filled in the storage container attached to the ink filling device from among a plurality of the inks. a flexible storage container in which ink is stored;
an ink supply path provided in the storage container;
a valve portion that is biased to close the supply path;
An ink filling method for filling an ink container with ink,
By making the outside of the storage container negative pressure with respect to the inside of the storage container, the valve portion is opened to fill the inside of the storage container with ink from the outside of the storage container through the supply path. An ink filling method characterized by:

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