JP5564973B2 - Recording agent container, image forming apparatus, and refill jig for recording agent container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording agent storage container, an image forming apparatus, and a refill jig for a recording agent storage container.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a composite machine of these, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus of a liquid discharge recording system using a recording head that discharges ink droplets, and an electrophotographic system An image forming apparatus that forms an image is known.

  For example, an image forming apparatus of a liquid discharge recording system means a sheet on which ink droplets are transported from a recording head (not limited to paper, including OHP, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids). The recording medium is also called a recording medium or recording medium, recording paper, recording paper, etc.) to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). Serial type image forming device that forms an image by ejecting droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type that forms images by ejecting droplets without the recording head moving There is a line type image forming apparatus using a head.

  In the present application, the “image forming apparatus” of the liquid ejection type means an apparatus that ejects liquid droplets onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. "Image formation" is not only the application of images with meanings such as characters and figures to the medium, but also the addition of images with no meaning such as patterns to the medium (simply applying droplets to the medium) It also means landing, that is, a liquid ejection device. “Ink” is not limited to ink, but is used as a general term for all liquids capable of image formation, such as recording liquid, fixing processing liquid, and liquid. DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, resins and the like are also included. Hereinafter, an example in which the recording agent is ink will be mainly described.

  In such an image forming apparatus, for example, a sub tank (also referred to as a buffer tank or a head tank) that supplies ink to the recording head is mounted on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and a main ink cartridge (main tank, An ink tank (also referred to as an ink tank) is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus main body”), and ink is replenished and supplied to the sub tank from the ink cartridge on the apparatus main body side. Are known.

  As an ink cartridge, for example, an ink storage bag in which a holding member having an ink supply port portion and an ink filling port portion is fixed to the bag body by fusion or the like is stored in a divided cartridge housing, and the holding member is stored in the cartridge housing. What was hold | maintained with the holding means of the body is known (patent document 1). In addition, in an ink tank having an ink path for deriving ink to the outside, an ink path blocking valve disposed in the ink path of the ink tank and a magnetic attraction force for blocking the ink path blocking valve are used. There is also known one in which an urging force expressing means is arranged (Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-284094 A JP 2006-069055 A

  By the way, in particular, liquid discharge type image forming apparatuses (hereinafter also referred to as “inkjet recording apparatuses”) are used for high-speed mass printing such as commercial printing apparatuses, and are supplied from an ink cartridge per unit time. The amount of ink supply that must be increased.

  In this case, as described in Patent Document 1, in the configuration in which the hollow needle (hollow nozzle member) is pierced through the supply port of the ink cartridge and the ink is supplied, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the hollow nozzle member. As a result, when the ink cartridge is attached to and detached from the apparatus body several times and the hollow nozzle member is inserted into and removed from the supply port several times, an insufficiently sealed area occurs in the supply port, and the ink is replaced when the ink cartridge is replaced. May leak.

  In addition, if a small amount of ink remains in the ink cartridge and is removed from the apparatus main body, for example, if the use of the ink cartridge is interrupted, the ink leaks if the ink cartridge is tilted when it is carried. There is also a fear.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to prevent or reduce leakage of a recording agent.

In order to solve the above problems, a recording agent storage container according to the present invention comprises:
A recording agent storage container that stores an image forming recording agent and is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body,
A recording agent storage portion for storing the recording agent;
A recording agent supply port through which the recording agent intake member on the image forming apparatus main body side is inserted;
A supply flow path through the recording agent container and the recording agent supply port;
Opening and closing means for opening and closing the supply flow path,
The opening / closing means is opened / closed by a magnetic force generated by a magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side, and is removed from the image forming apparatus main body while the recording agent intake member is in the recording agent supply port. Close
The recording agent supply port is magnetically connected to a protective member that protects the periphery of the inlet of the recording agent intake member on the image forming apparatus main body side, and is removed from the image forming apparatus main body when removed from the image forming apparatus main body. The connection state is maintained until the intake port of the intake member is detached from the recording agent supply port portion and stored in the protective member.

  Here, the supply flow path may be formed of a deformable member, and the opening / closing means may have a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other across the deformable supply flow path.

  In this case, it can be set as the structure provided with the means to regulate the moving direction of a pair of said magnetic body or magnet.

  Further, the magnetic force of the pair of magnetic bodies or magnets may be weaker than the magnetic force of the magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side.

  The supply channel is formed of a deformable member, and the opening / closing means has a pair of magnets facing each other with the deformable supply channel interposed therebetween, and the pair of magnets and the image forming apparatus main body The magnet can be the same component.

  Further, an elastic member is provided in the recording agent supply port, and at least a part of the opening / closing means and the elastic member face each other in the opening / closing direction.

  In this case, it can be set as the structure by which the part facing the said elastic member of the said opening / closing means is formed with the elastic member.

  Further, an elastic member is provided in the recording agent supply port, and a liquid absorbing member is provided on the front side in the recording agent supply direction with respect to the elastic member.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A recording agent storage unit for storing the image forming recording agent;
A recording agent supply port,
A magnetic body or magnet provided at the tip of the recording agent supply port,
Opening / closing means having a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other across a deformable supply flow path between the recording agent supply port and the recording agent storage portion,
An image forming apparatus in which a recording agent storage container is detachably mounted,
A recording agent intake member that is penetrated by the recording agent supply port and takes in the recording agent;
Protecting the periphery of the recording agent intake member, and when the recording agent intake member passes through the recording agent supply port portion, is coupled to the recording agent supply port portion by a magnetic force so as to be movable forward and backward. A protective member;
A biasing means for biasing the protective member in a direction opposite to the tip direction of the recording agent intake member;
When the recording agent intake member passes through the recording agent supply port, the opening / closing means of the recording agent storage container is disposed on the front side closer to the recording agent supply port than the recording agent intake member And a magnet that opens and closes with a magnetic force.

  Here, when the recording agent storage container is mounted, the recording agent intake member is engaged with the recording agent storage container before the recording agent intake member comes into contact with the supply port of the recording agent storage container. A positioning member for positioning the recording agent supply port portion can be provided.

  In this case, the positioning member may be provided with a magnet that opens and closes the opening / closing means.

The refilling jig of the recording agent storage container according to the present invention,
A recording agent storage unit for storing the image forming recording agent;
A recording agent supply port,
A magnetic body or magnet provided at the tip of the recording agent supply port,
Opening / closing means having a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other across a deformable supply flow path between the recording agent supply port and the recording agent storage portion,
A refilling jig for refilling the recording agent into a recording agent storage container comprising:
A recording agent injection means having a hollow nozzle member inserted into the recording agent supply port of the recording agent storage container;
When the hollow nozzle member is inserted into the recording agent supply port, the opening / closing means of the recording agent container is disposed on the front side closer to the recording agent supply port than the hollow nozzle member. And a member having a magnet that is opened and closed by a magnetic force.

According to the recording agent storage container according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent or reduce leakage of the recording material from the recording material accommodating container and an image forming apparatus main body of detaching the serial Rokuzai container from the image forming apparatus main body .

According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent or reduce leakage of the recording material from the recording material accommodating container and an image forming apparatus main body of detaching the serial Rokuzai container from the image forming apparatus main body.

According to refill jig recording agent storage container according to the present invention, it can be easily refilled with the recording agent on the recording agent storage container having an opening and closing means which is opened and closed by a magnetic force.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a first embodiment of an ink cartridge as a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an external appearance of a main part of a connecting portion between the ink cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a connecting portion between the ink cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining an operation when the ink cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining an operation when the ink cartridge is removed from the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining details of a state change between the ink cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining the relationship between the magnetic force of the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the magnetic force of the magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side. FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a main part for explaining a second embodiment of an ink cartridge as a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining a third embodiment of an ink cartridge as a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining ink remaining in the ink cartridge of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a connecting portion between an ink cartridge and a main body of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of a recording agent container according to the present invention. (A) is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part in a state where a supply flow path part is opened for explaining the ink cartridge, and (b) is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part in a state where the supply flow path part is shielded. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining an operation when the ink cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining an operation when the ink cartridge is removed from the image forming apparatus main body. It is principal part typical cross-section explanatory drawing following FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of a main part for explaining the relationship between the magnetic force of the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the magnetic force of the magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part for explaining a fifth embodiment of an ink cartridge as a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part for explaining an ink cartridge as a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention including a recording agent storage container according to the present invention. It is side explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the mechanism part of the apparatus. Similarly it is principal part plane explanatory drawing. It is a principal part schematic explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of 1st Embodiment of the refill jig | tool which concerns on this invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a main part for explaining the relationship between the magnetic force of the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the magnetic force of the magnet on the refilling jig side. It is a principal part schematic explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of 2nd Embodiment of the refill jig | tool which concerns on this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of a recording agent storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a principal part of an ink cartridge as the recording agent storage container. Similarly, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a principal part of a connecting portion between the ink cartridge and the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a connecting portion between a cartridge and an image forming apparatus main body.

  An ink cartridge 1 that is a recording agent storage container includes an ink bag 2 that is a recording agent storage portion that stores ink that is an image forming recording agent, and a hollow nozzle on the image forming apparatus main body (apparatus main body) side in the ink bag 2. Deformable formed by a part of the ink bag 2 that forms a supply channel between the supply port 3 and the ink bag 2 and a supply port 3 that is a recording agent supply port into which the member is inserted A supply flow path section 4 and an opening / closing means 5 for opening and closing the supply flow path of the supply flow path section 4 are provided, and these are housed in a cartridge case 10.

  The ink bag 2 is formed of a flexible film member. In this case, a film member made of one kind of resin composition or a film member having a layer structure made of plural kinds of resin compositions may be used. Moreover, the structure which has a metal thin film layer in the surface or an intermediate | middle layer may be sufficient. A good resin composition is an olefin resin composition, and a polyethylene film is particularly good because of its wettability with ink. Moreover, as a metal thin film layer, what suppresses the moisture permeability of a film or gives the rigidity of a film is preferable, for example, an aluminum thin film is especially preferable.

  The supply port portion 3 is fitted with an elastic member 11 at the distal end portion, and a cap member 12 made of a magnetic material covering the outer peripheral surface and the distal end surface of the elastic member 11 is attached. The cap member 12 has an opening through which the hollow nozzle member on the apparatus main body side is inserted.

  The opening / closing means 5 has a pair of magnetic bodies 13 and 13 that are opposed to each other with the deformable supply channel section 4 interposed therebetween. The cartridge case 10 is provided with a convex portion 10 a as a restricting means that fits into the concave portion 13 a formed in the magnetic body 13 in order to restrict the moving direction of the magnetic body 13.

  Note that the cap member 12 and the magnetic body 13 are formed of a material such as ferrite, Ni-iron, or an alloy, for example.

  On the other hand, on the image forming apparatus main body side, a hollow nozzle member 101 that is inserted into the supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 and is an intake member that takes in ink is fixedly arranged. A protective member 102 that protects the periphery of the hollow needle hole 101a that is an intake port of the hollow nozzle member 101 is attached. In the protective member 102, an elastic member 103 such as silicon rubber is included in a portion in direct contact with the hollow nozzle member 101.

  The protective member 102 is mounted in the protective member guide 104 so as to be able to advance and retreat. A magnet 105 for magnetically coupling to the cap member 12 of the supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 is attached to the front surface of the protective member 102. It has been. Further, the protection member 102 is urged in a direction opposite to the distal end direction of the hollow nozzle member 101 by an elastic member 106 such as a spring as urging means.

  Further, a positioning member 110 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the protective member guide 104, and the opening / closing means 5 of the ink cartridge 1 is configured on the inner peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the positioning member 110 on the front side of the hollow nozzle member 101. A magnet 111 having a magnetic force stronger than the magnetic force between the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning member 110 engages with a positioning recess 21 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cartridge case 10 of the ink cartridge 1. At this time, the positioning member 110 engages with the concave portion 21 of the cartridge case 10 before the hollow nozzle member 101 abuts on the supply port 3 when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the apparatus main body. Is positioned with respect to the supply port 3.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 4 for the operation when the ink cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the positioning member 110 is first fitted (engaged) with the positioning recess 21 of the cartridge case 10 immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 to the image forming apparatus main body side. . When the ink cartridge 1 is further inserted, the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 on the front surface of the protection member 102 come into contact with each other and are magnetically coupled, and then the protection member 102 is pushed into the inside of the apparatus body and protected by the elastic member 103. The formed hollow nozzle member 101 protrudes and pierces the elastic member 11 of the supply port 3. In this state, the magnet 111 of the positioning member 110 does not reach the position for attracting the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5, so that the supply flow path portion 4 is still blocked by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13. Yes.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the ink cartridge 1 is further inserted, the magnet 111 of the positioning member 110 reaches a position to attract the magnetic bodies 13, 13 of the opening / closing means 5. Is attracted to the magnet 111, the supply path 4 is opened and the ink passes. At the beginning of ink passing through the flow path in the supply flow path section 5, the hollow nozzle member 101 may be either in the middle of the elastic member 11 or through the elastic member 11.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 to the image forming apparatus main body is completed, the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 move to the maximum movable range, and the hollow nozzle member The hollow needle hole 101a 101 is in a state of penetrating the elastic member 11 of the supply port portion 3, and can stably supply ink to the apparatus main body.

Next, an operation when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the image forming apparatus main body side will be described.
First, from the state in which the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 4C is completely attached to the image forming apparatus main body, as shown in FIG. 5A, the ink cartridge 1 starts to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body side. Immediately after that, the state is the same as described with reference to FIG. At this time, the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is at least in the elastic member 11 of the supply port 3 until the supply flow path portion 4 is in a state of blocking ink (closed state). .

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the ink cartridge 1 is further removed, the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 on the front end surface of the protection member 102 are magnetically coupled. The protective member 102 starts to move integrally. The spring force of the elastic member 106, the cap member 12, and the protective member 102 are moved so that the hollow needle hole 101 a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is integrated into the elastic member 103 or moves until it penetrates. The magnitude of the magnetic force attracted by the magnet 105 at the portion A in the figure is adjusted. By doing in this way, it can prevent that ink leaks from the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 of the apparatus main body side.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the ink cartridge 1 is completely removed from the image forming apparatus main body side, the biasing force of the spring of the elastic member 106 attracts the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 of the protection member 102. In order to overcome the magnetic force, the protection member 102 is pulled back to a predetermined position, and the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is completely sealed by the elastic member 103.

Details of the operation when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the image forming apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the image forming apparatus main body, the hollow nozzle member 101 is in a state in which the hollow needle hole 101a penetrates the elastic member 103. Ink leakage from the hollow needle hole 101a is sealed at the portion B (line contact seal). At this time, even if there is a positive pressure (positive pressure) in the supply system on the apparatus main body side ahead of the hollow nozzle member 101, the elastic member 103 is in pressure contact with the inside, so that the seal can be efficiently performed. Has been.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the ink cartridge 1 is completely removed from the image forming apparatus main body side, the hollow needle hole 101 a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is returned to the elastic member 103. In the drawing, ink leakage from the hollow needle hole 101a is sealed at a portion C (surface contact seal). In this state, since the sealing performance is further improved, ink leakage is surely prevented.

  As described above, here, the state change is “line contact seal” → “surface contact seal”, but the state change may also be “surface contact seal” → “surface contact seal”. What is important is that the ink cartridge 1 and the protective member 102 move integrally until the hollow needle hole 101a is accommodated in or penetrates the elastic member 103, so that at least the hollow needle hole 101a is elastic member. In other words, the cap member 12 and the protective member 102 are separated from each other before being accommodated in the ink jet 103, and ink does not leak from the hollow needle hole 101a.

  Next, the relationship between the magnetic force between the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 and the magnetic force by the magnet 111 on the image forming apparatus main body side will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 7 shows the details of FIGS. 3A and 3B, and FIG. 7A shows the state immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge to the image forming apparatus main body side is started. Similarly, (b) shows a state during the mounting.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, during the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 on the image forming apparatus main body side, the force attracted by the pair of magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is the magnetic force A, and as shown in FIG. When the force attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 and the magnet 111 is the magnetic force B, the relationship of magnetic force A <magnetic force B, that is, the magnetic force A attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is the magnetic bodies 13 and 13. And the magnetic force B attracted by the magnet 111 is smaller (weaker). By doing in this way, the supply flow path part 4 can be opened and closed reliably.

  Next, a second embodiment of the recording agent storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 8A shows a state immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge on the image forming apparatus main body side, and FIG. 8B shows a state in the middle of the mounting.

  Here, a pair of magnets 15, 15 are provided as the opening / closing member 5, and gap forming members 16, 16 made of a nonmagnetic material are provided on the opposite sides of these magnets 15, 15. In this case, a magnet 112 made of the same components as the pair of magnets 15 and 15 of the opening / closing member 5 is also provided on the image forming apparatus main body side.

  Thus, the effective magnetic force acting between the pair of magnets 15 and 15 is increased by making the gap between the pair of magnets 15 and 15 larger than the gap between the magnet 15 and the magnet 112 on the image forming apparatus main body side. The magnitude (magnetic force C1) can be made smaller than the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between the magnets 15 and 15 and the magnet 112 (magnetic force C2).

  In this way, the same parts can be used as the magnets constituting the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the opening / closing means on the image forming apparatus main body side. The road can be opened and closed.

  Next, a third embodiment of the recording agent container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part of the ink cartridge serving as the recording agent storage container when the supply flow path is open, and FIG. 9B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part when the supply flow path is shut off. It is explanatory drawing.

  Here, as in the first embodiment, the rear end portion (end portion in the direction opposite to the ink supply direction) 11 a fitted in the front end portion of the supply port portion 3 of the ink cartridge is connected to the opening / closing means 5. On the other hand, a portion facing the rear end portion 11a of the elastic member 11 on the front end side (front side in the ink supply direction) of the magnetic body 13 of the opening / closing means 5 is a tapered portion. 13a. Thereby, the elastic member 11 of the supply port part 3 and the magnetic body 13 of the opening / closing means 5 face each other in the opening / closing direction.

  With this configuration, when the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 are closed and the supply flow path portion 4 is closed, ink remains in the supply port portion 3 as shown in FIG. 9B. In particular, when the ink cartridge attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus is removed and stored, ink leakage from the trace of the hollow needle 101 formed on the elastic member 3 can be prevented.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when the elastic member 11 is provided on the distal end side of the supply port portion 3 as in the first embodiment, the supply flow is caused by the rectangular magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5. When the passage portion 4 is closed, a space 500 in which ink remains between the supply flow passage portion 4 and the elastic member 11 is generated. When the ink cartridge attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus is removed, the elastic member 11 is restored by the hollow needle 101 being removed and closes the portion through which the hollow needle 101 is inserted, but the elastic member 11 is not sufficiently restored. When the ink cartridge is stored in this state, there is a risk that ink remaining in the space 600 may leak from the piercing hole 601.

  Therefore, by configuring as in the present embodiment, the space 600 in which the ink remains is eliminated, so that ink leakage does not occur even when the ink cartridge once mounted is removed from the apparatus main body and stored.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the recording agent container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a connecting portion between the ink cartridge as the recording agent storage container and the main body of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 12A is a schematic diagram of a main part of the ink cartridge when the supply flow path is open. Sectional explanatory drawing, (b) is a schematic sectional explanatory view of the main part in the same way, with the supply channel cut off.
Here, in the said 4th Embodiment, the elastic member 13A is integrally provided in the magnetic body 13 by the side of the opening-and-closing means 5 in the part facing the rear-end part 11a of the elastic member 11 of the supply port part 3. As shown in FIG. The elastic member 13A of the opening / closing means 5 is in a position to open the supply path portion 4 together with the magnetic body 13 as shown in FIG. 11 when the supply path portion 4 is open, and when the supply path portion 4 is closed, as shown in FIG. As shown, the elastic member 11 is deformed following the rear end portion 11a.

  By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent ink from remaining following the shape of the rear end portion 11a of the elastic member 11 of the supply port portion 3 when the opening / closing means 5 is closed.

Next, an operation when the ink cartridge according to the fourth embodiment is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the ink cartridge 1 and the image forming apparatus main body are separated from each other immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 on the image forming apparatus main body side as shown in FIG. First, the positioning member 110 is fitted (engaged) with the positioning recess 21 of the cartridge case 10. When the ink cartridge 1 is further inserted, the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 on the front surface of the protection member 102 come into contact with each other and are magnetically coupled, and then the protection member 102 is pushed into the inside of the apparatus body and protected by the elastic member 103. The formed hollow nozzle member 101 protrudes and pierces the elastic member 11 of the supply port 3. In this state, the magnet 111 of the positioning member 110 does not reach the position for attracting the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5, so that the supply flow path portion 4 is still blocked by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13. Yes.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the ink cartridge 1 is further inserted, the magnet 111 of the positioning member 110 reaches a position for attracting the magnetic bodies 13, 13 of the opening / closing means 5. Is attracted to the magnet 111, the supply path 4 is opened and the ink passes. At the beginning of ink passing through the flow path in the supply flow path section 5, the hollow nozzle member 101 may be either in the middle of the elastic member 11 or through the elastic member 11.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 13C, when the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 to the image forming apparatus main body is completed, the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 move to the maximum movable range, and the hollow nozzle member The hollow needle hole 101a 101 is in a state of penetrating the elastic member 11 of the supply port portion 3, and can stably supply ink to the apparatus main body.

Next, the operation when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the image forming apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 14B, the ink cartridge 1 starts to be removed from the image forming apparatus main body side after the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. Immediately after that, the state is the same as described with reference to FIG. At this time, the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is at least in the elastic member 11 of the supply port 3 until the supply flow path portion 4 is in a state of blocking ink (closed state). .

  As shown in FIG. 14C, when the ink cartridge 1 is further removed, the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 on the front end surface of the protection member 102 are magnetically coupled. The protective member 102 starts to move integrally. Here, the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 move away from the position where the magnetic force from the magnet 111 of the positioning member 110 is received and move in the direction indicated by the arrow, and are attracted via the supply path portion 4. The path portion 4 is blocked by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13. Since the magnetic members 13 and 13 are attracted to each other, the elastic member 13 </ b> A presses along the outer periphery of the rear end portion 11 a of the elastic member 11 of the supply port portion 3, so that the gap between the supply path portion 4 and the supply port portion 3 is pressed. Ink does not remain on the surface.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 15A, the ink cartridge 1 is further removed. At this time, the urging force of the spring of the elastic member 106, the cap member 12, and the protective member are moved so that the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 fits in the elastic member 103 or moves through the hollow member. The magnitude of the magnetic force with which the magnet 105 of 102 is attracted at the portion A in the figure is adjusted. By doing in this way, it can prevent that ink leaks from the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 of the apparatus main body side.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 15B, when the ink cartridge 1 is completely removed from the image forming apparatus main body side, the biasing force of the spring of the elastic member 106 attracts the cap member 12 and the magnet 105 of the protection member 102. In order to overcome the magnetic force, the protection member 102 is pulled back to a predetermined position, and the hollow needle hole 101a of the hollow nozzle member 101 is completely sealed by the elastic member 103.

  Next, the relationship between the magnetic force between the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 and the magnetic force by the magnet 111 on the image forming apparatus main body side will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 16 shows the details of FIGS. 13B and 13C described above, and FIG. 16A shows a state immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge on the image forming apparatus main body side is started. Similarly, (b) shows a state during the mounting.

  As shown in FIG. 16A, in the middle of mounting the ink cartridge 1 on the image forming apparatus main body side, the force attracted by the pair of magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is the magnetic force A, and as shown in FIG. When the force attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 and the magnet 111 is the magnetic force B, the relationship of magnetic force A <magnetic force B, that is, the magnetic force A attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is the magnetic bodies 13 and 13. And the magnetic force B attracted by the magnet 111 is smaller (weaker). By doing in this way, the supply flow path part 4 can be opened and closed reliably.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the recording agent storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 17A shows a state immediately after the mounting of the ink cartridge to the image forming apparatus main body side, and FIG. 17B shows a state in the middle of the mounting.

  Here, in the said 4th Embodiment, a pair of magnets 15 and 15 are provided as the opening-and-closing member 5, and the gap formation members 16 and 16 which consist of a nonmagnetic body are provided in the side which these magnets 15 and 15 oppose. In this case, a magnet 112 made of the same components as the pair of magnets 15 and 15 of the opening / closing member 5 is also provided on the image forming apparatus main body side.

  Thus, the effective magnetic force acting between the pair of magnets 15 and 15 is increased by making the gap between the pair of magnets 15 and 15 larger than the gap between the magnet 15 and the magnet 112 on the image forming apparatus main body side. The magnitude (magnetic force C1) can be made smaller than the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between the magnets 15 and 15 and the magnet 112 (magnetic force C2).

  In this way, the same parts can be used as the magnets constituting the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the opening / closing means on the image forming apparatus main body side. The road can be opened and closed.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the recording agent container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part of an ink cartridge as the recording agent storage container.
Here, in the configuration of the supply port portion 3 of the first embodiment, an absorbing member 18 such as a porous body that absorbs ink is provided on the front side of the elastic member 11 in the ink supply direction. As a result, even if ink remains in the space 600 and ink leaks from the piercing hole 601 of the elastic member 11, it is absorbed and held by the absorbing member 18 and is prevented from leaking to the outside of the ink cartridge.

Next, an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention using the recording agent storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 20 is a side explanatory view showing an outline of a mechanism part of the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
This image forming apparatus is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, and also serves as an apparatus main body 201, a paper feed cassette 202 that can be pulled out to a predetermined paper supply position while being attached to the apparatus main body 201, and a lid member of the paper feed cassette 202. A paper discharge tray 203 that is swingably mounted on the apparatus main body 201 and that can open and close above the paper feed cassette 202 is provided. The paper feed cassette 202 stocks paper to be fed into the apparatus main body 1, and the paper discharge tray 203 stocks paper on which an image is recorded (formed). Further, a cartridge loading unit 204 for loading an ink cartridge which is a recording agent storage container according to the present invention is provided on one end side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 201. The upper surface of the cartridge loading unit 204 has an operation button, The operation / display unit 205 is provided with a display or the like.

  In the apparatus main body 201, the carriage 233 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by main and slave guide rods 231 and 232 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 201A and 201B. It moves and scans in the direction of the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) via the timing belt.

  The carriage 233 has recording heads 234a and 234b (which are composed of liquid ejection heads according to the present invention for ejecting ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). When not distinguished, it is referred to as “recording head 234”). A nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles is arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and is mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward.

  Each of the recording heads 234 has two nozzle rows. One nozzle row of the recording head 234a has black (K) droplets, the other nozzle row has cyan (C) droplets, and the recording head 234b has one nozzle row. One nozzle row ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets.

  The carriage 233 is equipped with head tanks 235a and 235b (referred to as “head tank 235” when not distinguished) for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle rows of the recording head 234. The sub tank 235 is supplied with ink of each color from an ink cartridge 210 (illustrated in the first embodiment) which is a recording agent container for each color according to the present invention via a supply tube 236 for each color.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the paper 242 loaded on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 241 of the paper feeding cassette 202, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the paper 242 one by one from the paper stacking unit 241. A separation pad 244 made of a material having a large coefficient of friction is provided opposite to the sheet roller 243 and the sheet feeding roller 243, and the separation pad 244 is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 243 side.

  In order to feed the sheet 242 fed from the sheet feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 234, a guide member 245 for guiding the sheet 242, a counter roller 246, a conveyance guide member 247, and a tip pressure roller. And a conveying belt 251 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 242 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 234.

  The conveyor belt 251 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyor roller 252 and the tension roller 253 so as to circulate in the belt conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). In addition, a charging roller 256 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 251 is provided. The charging roller 256 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 251 and to rotate following the rotation of the conveyor belt 251. The transport belt 251 rotates in the belt transport direction when the transport roller 252 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 242 recorded by the recording head 234, a separation claw 261 for separating the paper 242 from the transport belt 251, a paper discharge roller 262, and a paper discharge roller 263 are provided. A paper discharge tray 203 is provided below the paper discharge roller 262.

  A double-sided unit 271 is detachably attached to the back surface of the apparatus main body 201. The duplex unit 271 takes in the paper 242 returned by the reverse rotation of the transport belt 251, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 246 and the transport belt 251. The upper surface of the duplex unit 271 is a manual feed tray 272.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 that is a head maintenance / recovery device according to the present invention includes a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 234 in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 233 in the scanning direction. Is arranged. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 includes caps 282a and 282b for capping each nozzle surface of the recording head 234 (referred to as “cap 282” when not distinguished) and a wiper that is a blade member for wiping the nozzle surface. A blade 283 and a blank discharge receptacle 284 for receiving droplets when performing blank discharge for discharging droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid are provided.

  In addition, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 233, the liquid that receives liquid droplets when performing idle ejection that ejects liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. An ink recovery unit (empty discharge receiver) 288 that is a recovery container is disposed, and the ink recovery unit 288 includes an opening 289 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 234 and the like.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 242 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feeding cassette 202, and the sheet 242 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 245, and includes the transport belt 251 and the counter. The roller 246 is sandwiched between the rollers 246, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 237 and pressed against the conveying belt 251 by the tip pressure roller 249. The conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °, and the charged conveying belt 251 is moved. The sheet 242 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveying belt 251.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 234 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 233, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 242 to record one line, and after the paper 242 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 242 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 242 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 203.

  Since this image forming apparatus is detachably mounted with the recording agent container according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce or prevent recording agent leakage when the recording agent container is attached or detached.

Next, a first embodiment of a refilling jig for a recording agent storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to a schematic explanatory view of the relevant part in FIG. Here, FIG. 22 shows a state when the ink is refilled in the ink cartridge.
First, the configuration on the ink cartridge 1 side which is a recording agent container is the same as that of the first embodiment of the recording agent container according to the present invention. On the other hand, the refilling jig 400 includes a syringe 401 that is a recording agent injection unit having a hollow nozzle member 403 formed with a hollow needle hole 403 a inserted through the supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1, and a hollow nozzle member 403. And an opening / closing control member 402 having a magnet 405 that opens and closes the opening / closing means 5 of the ink cartridge 1 with a magnetic force.

  With this configuration, the opening / closing control member 402 of the refill jig 400 is inserted into the positioning recess 21 of the ink cartridge 1 in the same manner as when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. As a result, the hollow nozzle member 403 is inserted into the supply port portion 3 and the pair of magnetic bodies or magnets 13 of the opening / closing means 5 are separated from each other by the magnetic force of the magnet 405 of the opening / closing control member 402. Since the path portion 4 is opened, the ink can be refilled into the ink cartridge 1 by the syringe 401.

  In this way, the ink cartridge having the opening / closing means for opening and closing the supply flow path by magnetic force can be refilled by a simple operation.

  Here, the relationship between the magnetic force between the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 of the opening / closing means 5 and the magnetic force by the magnet 405 on the refilling jig side will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 23 shows details when the ink cartridge is refilled with ink, FIG. 23A shows the state immediately after the start of refilling the ink cartridge using the refill jig, and FIG. Each state during refilling is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the force attracted by the pair of magnetic bodies 13 and 13 on the ink cartridge 1 side is defined as a magnetic force D. As shown in FIG. 13B, the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 and the magnet 405 are combined. When the attractive force is the magnetic force E, the relationship of magnetic force D <magnetic force E, that is, the magnetic force D attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 is greater than the magnetic force E attracted by the magnetic bodies 13 and 13 and the magnet 405. Is also small (weak). By doing in this way, the supply flow path part 4 can be opened and closed reliably.

  Next, a second embodiment of the refilling jig according to the present invention will be described with reference to a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 24 shows details when the ink cartridge is refilled with ink, FIG. 24A shows the state immediately after the start of refilling the ink cartridge using the refill jig, and FIG. Each state during refilling is shown.

  Here, a pair of magnets 15, 15 are provided as the opening / closing member 5, and gap forming members 16, 16 made of a nonmagnetic material are provided on the opposite sides of these magnets 15, 15. In this case, a magnet 406 made of the same components as the pair of magnets 15 and 15 of the opening / closing member 5 is also provided on the refill jig 400 side.

  Thereby, the effective magnetic force which acts between a pair of magnets 15 and 15 by making the gap between a pair of magnets 15 and 15 larger than the gap of the magnet 15 and the magnet 406 of the refill jig | tool 400 side. (Magnetic force C1) can be made smaller than the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between the magnets 15 and 15 and the magnet 406 (magnetic force C2).

  In this way, the same part can be used as the magnet constituting the opening / closing means on the ink cartridge side and the opening / closing means on the refilling jig side, and the opening / closing means can be surely reduced while reducing costs due to the use of the same parts. Opening and closing can be performed, and refilling can be performed with a simple operation.

  In each of the above embodiments, the recording agent is described as an example of ink. However, as described above, the same applies to the case where the developer and toner used in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus are used as the recording agent. Can be applied to.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge 2 Ink bag 3 Supply port part 4 Supply flow path 5 Opening / closing means 10 Cartridge case 11 Elastic member 12 Cap member 13 Magnetic body or magnet 15 Magnet 16 Gap formation member 18 Absorption member 101 Hollow nozzle member 102 Protection member 103 Elastic member DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 104 Protection member guide 105 Magnet 106 Elastic member 110 Positioning member 111,112 Magnet 201 Apparatus main body 202 Paper feed cassette 203 Paper discharge tray 204 Cartridge loading part 210 Ink cartridge 233 Carriage 234 Recording head 400 Refill jig 401 Syringe 402 Opening / closing control member 411, 412 magnet

Claims (12)

A recording agent storage container that stores an image forming recording agent and is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body,
A recording agent storage portion for storing the recording agent;
A recording agent supply port through which the recording agent intake member on the image forming apparatus main body side is inserted;
A supply flow path through the recording agent container and the recording agent supply port;
Opening and closing means for opening and closing the supply flow path,
The opening / closing means is opened / closed by a magnetic force generated by a magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side, and is removed from the image forming apparatus main body while the intake of the recording agent intake member is in the recording agent supply opening. Close the supply channel,
The recording agent supply port is magnetically coupled to a protective member that protects the periphery of the recording agent intake member on the image forming apparatus main body side, and when removed from the image forming apparatus main body, the recording agent intake member The connected state of the recording agent container is maintained until the intake port is removed from the recording agent supply port portion and stored in the protective member.   2. The recording agent according to claim 1, wherein the supply flow path is formed of a deformable member, and the opening / closing means includes a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other with the deformable supply flow path interposed therebetween. Containment container.   The recording agent storage container according to claim 2, further comprising means for regulating a moving direction of the pair of magnetic bodies or magnets.   The recording agent container according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the magnetic force of the pair of magnetic bodies or magnets is weaker than the magnetic force of the magnet on the image forming apparatus main body side. The supply channel is formed of a deformable member,
The opening / closing means has a pair of magnets facing each other across the deformable supply channel,
A gap forming member made of a non-magnetic material that forms a gap between the pair of magnets is provided on a side where the pair of magnets are opposed to each other.
The recording agent storage container according to claim 1, wherein the pair of magnets and the magnet outside the image forming apparatus main body are the same part.   6. The recording material supply port is provided with an elastic member, and the opening / closing means and the elastic member are at least partially opposed in the opening / closing direction. Recording agent container.   The recording agent container according to claim 6, wherein a portion of the opening / closing means facing the elastic member is formed of an elastic member. Wherein the elastic member provided in the recording material supply port portion is recorded according to any one of claims 1, characterized in that the liquid absorbing member is provided in the recording material feeding direction front side than the elastic member 5 Agent container. A recording agent storage unit for storing the image forming recording agent;
A recording agent supply port,
A magnetic body or magnet provided at the tip of the recording agent supply port,
Opening / closing means having a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other across a deformable supply flow path between the recording agent supply port and the recording agent storage portion,
An image forming apparatus in which a recording agent storage container is detachably mounted,
A recording agent intake member that is penetrated by the recording agent supply port and takes in the recording agent;
Protecting the periphery of the recording agent intake member, and when the recording agent intake member passes through the recording agent supply port portion, is coupled to the recording agent supply port portion by a magnetic force so as to be movable forward and backward. A protective member;
A biasing means for biasing the protective member in a direction opposite to the tip direction of the recording agent intake member;
When the recording agent intake member passes through the recording agent supply port, the opening / closing means of the recording agent storage container is disposed on the front side closer to the recording agent supply port than the recording agent intake member An image forming apparatus comprising: a magnet that opens and closes with a magnetic force.   When the recording agent storage container is mounted, the recording agent intake member engages with the recording agent storage container before coming into contact with the supply port of the recording agent storage container, and the recording of the recording agent intake member The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a positioning member for positioning with respect to the agent supply port.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the positioning member is provided with a magnet for opening and closing the opening / closing means. A recording agent storage unit for storing the image forming recording agent;
A recording agent supply port,
A magnetic body or magnet provided at the tip of the recording agent supply port,
Opening / closing means having a pair of magnetic bodies or magnets facing each other across a deformable supply flow path between the recording agent supply port and the recording agent storage portion,
A refilling jig for refilling the recording agent into a recording agent storage container comprising:
A recording agent injection means having a hollow nozzle member inserted into the recording agent supply port of the recording agent storage container;
When the hollow nozzle member is inserted into the recording agent supply port, the opening / closing means of the recording agent container is disposed on the front side closer to the recording agent supply port than the hollow nozzle member. And a member having a magnet that can be opened and closed by a magnetic force.

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