JP6365348B2 - Liquid storage device and liquid consumption device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid storage device used in a liquid consuming device such as an ink jet printer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer (an example of a liquid consuming apparatus) having a large-capacity tank that can be refilled with ink and a recording head that records ink on the recording paper by discharging ink supplied from the tank from a nozzle. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The tank is provided with an ink inlet, and the inlet can be opened and closed by a cap. If the cap is removed, ink can be replenished from the inlet into the tank.

JP 2014-37058 A

  However, if the user removes the cap from the inlet for refilling ink and places the cap around the ink so as not to get dirty with the ink attached to the cap, the user may lose the removed cap.

  Also, if the cap is tightly fitted into the inlet, the user must pull out the cap with a strong force when the user removes the cap to replenish ink. Then, the cap may come off vigorously, and the ink adhering to the cap may scatter due to the momentum, and may adhere to the user's finger or the vicinity of the injection port and become dirty.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a liquid storage device including a cap that can prevent the cap removed from the tank inlet from being lost, and that can achieve both proper closure of the inlet and improvement in operability when the user pulls out. An object is to provide a liquid consuming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid storage device according to the present invention penetrates a liquid storage chamber in which a liquid supplied to a liquid consumption unit is stored, and a wall portion that partitions the liquid storage chamber from the outside. A tank having an inlet for injecting liquid into the formed liquid storage chamber, and a cap that is detachably attached to the inlet and can close the inlet. One of the wall portion to be defined and the portion of the cap to be attached to the inlet is made of an elastic material, and the cap is located in the passage portion of the inlet when attached to the inlet. A first portion for closing the passage portion; a second portion connected to the first portion and positioned outside the tank; and one end connected to the second portion, and the second portion outside the tank is connected to the second portion Area projected in the axial direction of the inlet An elastic arm portion having the other end connected to a location deviated from the outer periphery, and a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the first portion including a region corresponding to the position of the other end of the arm portion, A first protrusion is provided that engages with the tank inner edge of the inlet to prevent the cap from coming off.

  With this configuration, the cap with the first portion removed from the inlet can be held outside the tank by the other end of the arm portion connected to the outside of the tank. Thereby, loss of the cap can be prevented. Further, the first portion of the cap can be appropriately closed by inserting the first portion of the cap into the passage portion in the inlet, and the first protrusion provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the first portion when the inlet is closed. Is engaged with the inner edge of the tank of the inlet, and the state where the inlet is closed against the return force of the arm portion made of an elastic material can be appropriately maintained.

  From another point of view, the liquid storage device according to the present invention is formed through a liquid storage chamber in which the liquid supplied to the liquid consumption unit is stored, and a wall portion that partitions the liquid storage chamber from the outside. A tank having an inlet for injecting liquid into the liquid storage chamber, and a cap that is detachably attached to the inlet and can close the inlet, and defines the inlet One of the wall portion and the portion of the cap attached to the inlet is made of an elastic material, and the cap is located in the passage portion of the inlet when the cap is attached to the inlet. A first portion that closes the portion; a second portion that is connected to the first portion and is located outside the tank; and one end that is connected to the second portion; From the area projected in the axial direction of the entrance A portion of the outer peripheral surface of the first portion including a region corresponding to the position of the other end of the first portion. The frictional engagement force between the inlet and the tank inner edge is greater than that of the other parts except for.

  With this configuration, the cap with the first portion removed from the inlet can be held outside the tank by the other end of the arm portion connected to the outside of the tank. Thereby, loss of the cap can be prevented. Further, the inlet can be appropriately closed by inserting the first portion of the cap into the passage portion in the inlet, and in the state where the inlet is closed, the arm portion other than the arm portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first portion. Since the portion including the region corresponding to the end position has a larger frictional engagement force with the tank inner edge of the inlet than the other portions other than the portion, the injection is performed against the return force of the elastic arm portion. The state where the inlet is closed can be appropriately maintained.

The frictional engagement force between the other part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part and the inner edge of the tank opposes the return force of the arm part such as a part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part and the inner edge of the tank. The frictional engagement force can be set to a small enough frictional engagement force to close the inlet, so that the total frictional engagement force does not become larger than necessary, and the operability when pulling out the cap is suitably maintained. Can do.

  According to the present invention, the cap removed from the inlet of the tank can be retained outside the tank to prevent loss. In addition, when the cap is closed with the cap, the pulling force required when the cap is pulled out by the user is suppressed while keeping the closed state appropriately against the return force of the elastic arm portion, and the cap is pulled out. The operability at the time can be suitably maintained.

1A and 1B are perspective views illustrating an example of an ink jet printer including a tank according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view with a cover closed, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view with a cover open. FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the printer unit. FIG. 3 is a front view of a tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the cover is opened and the inlet of the tank is closed with a cap. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the cover is opened and the cap of the tank inlet is removed. 6 is a side view of the cap according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the cap shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a cap portion showing a state where the injection port shown in FIG. 4 is closed with a cap. FIG. 9 is a drawing showing different embodiments of the cap, (A) is a side view showing the tip portion of the cap according to the second embodiment, and (B) shows the tip portion of the cap according to the third embodiment. It is a side view.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, an ink jet multifunction printer 10 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “multifunction device”) will be described as an example of a liquid consuming device. The multifunction machine 10 in this example has various functions such as a facsimile function and a print function. The concepts of up / down, front / rear, and left / right directions in the document of this specification and the claims are the same as the up / down direction 7, the front / rear direction 8, and the left / right direction 9 shown in the multifunction machine 10 of FIG. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Overall configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the multifunction machine 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The multi-function device 10 has a printer unit 11 that records characters and images on a sheet 12 (see FIG. 2) using an inkjet recording method at the bottom. An opening 13 is provided on the front wall 14 </ b> A of the housing 14 of the printer unit 11 and in the center in the left-right direction 9. An operation panel 17 is provided above the opening 13. The operation panel 17 is provided with an input button 17A and a liquid crystal display 17B.

  In the opening 13, a feeding tray 20 and a discharge tray 21 are provided. The feeding tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the multifunction machine 10 in the front-rear direction 8 by the user. A plurality of stacked sheets 12 are placed in the feed tray 20. A discharge tray 21 is located above the feeding tray 20.

  A tank 100 for storing ink is provided at the front portion of the housing 14 in the right direction. The tank 100 is housed inside the housing 14 and is fixed so that the user cannot easily remove it from the housing 14.

  The front surface of the tank 100 is exposed to the outside of the multi function device 10 through an opening 22 formed in the front wall 14A of the housing 14. The housing 14 is provided with a cover 70 that is rotatable between a closed position that covers the opening 22 (FIG. 1A) and an open position that exposes the opening 22 (FIG. 1B). . The cover 70 has an outer shape corresponding to the opening 22.

  The cover 70 is supported by the housing 14 so that the lower portion can rotate around a rotation shaft 70 </ b> A extending in the left-right direction 9. The cover 70 covers the front part of the tank 100 and forms a part of the front wall 14 </ b> A of the housing 14 in the closed position. The cover 70 exposes the front portion of the tank 100 to the outside of the housing 14 in the open position.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, a window 74 is provided in the central portion of the front surface of the cover 70. The window 74 is capable of transmitting light. For example, the window 74 is configured by fitting a transparent material capable of transmitting visible light into the opening. The window 74 has such a size that the front portion of the tank 100 can be visually recognized in the vertical direction 7.

  Note that the window 74 may be composed of only an opening. In this case, the size of the window 74 will be described later when the front portion of the tank 100 is viewed from the outside when the cover 70 is in the closed position. In addition, it is preferable that the size is such that the remaining amount of ink can be confirmed.

[Printer 11]
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 11 includes a feeding tray 20 in which a plurality of sheets 12 are placed, a feeding unit 15 that feeds the sheets 12 in the feeding tray 20, and a sheet sent from the feeding unit 15. Conveying roller section 54 for sending 12 to recording section (liquid consumption section) 24, recording section 24 for recording characters and images on paper 12, discharge roller section 55 for discharging paper 12 recorded by recording section 24, And a discharge tray 21 that receives the paper 12 discharged from the discharge roller portion 55.

  The feeding unit 15 includes a feeding roller 25, a feeding arm 26, and a shaft 27. The feeding roller 25 is rotatably supported on the leading end side of the feeding arm 26. The feeding roller 25 is rotated so as to transport the paper 12 in the transport direction 16 by a transport motor (not shown). The feeding arm 26 is rotatably supported on a shaft 27 supported by the frame of the printer unit 11. The feeding arm 26 is urged to rotate toward the feeding tray 20 by its own weight or an elastic force by a spring or the like. The feeding unit 15 feeds the paper 12 put in the feeding tray 20 to the transport path 65.

  The conveyance path 65 makes a U-turn from the rear end of the feeding tray 20 to the rear side of the printer unit 11 while extending upward from the lower side, and reaches the discharge tray 21 through the space between the recording unit 24 and the platen 42. It is. The conveyance path 65 includes a path for feeding the paper 12 from the rear end portion of the feed tray 20 to the recording unit 24 through a space formed by the outer guide member 18 and the inner guide member 19 facing each other at a predetermined interval. The conveyance direction 16 of the paper 12 in the conveyance path 65 is indicated by a dashed-dotted arrow. The transport path 65 is provided at the central portion in the left-right direction 9 of the multifunction machine 10.

  The transport roller unit 54 is disposed upstream of the recording unit 24 in the transport direction 16. The conveyance roller unit 54 includes a conveyance roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 that face each other. The conveyance roller 60 is driven by a conveyance motor (not shown). The pinch roller 61 is rotated along with the rotation of the conveyance roller 60. The sheet 12 is nipped between the conveyance roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 and conveyed in the conveyance direction 16.

  The recording unit 24 includes a carriage 23 and a platen 42 that are opposed to each other in the vertical direction 7 with the conveyance path 65 interposed therebetween. The carriage 23 includes a recording head 39. The recording head 39 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 40 on the lower surface. Ink is supplied from the tank 100 to the recording head 39. The recording head 39 ejects ink from the nozzle 40 as fine ink droplets. In the process of moving the carriage 23, the recording head 39 ejects ink droplets toward the paper 12 supported from below by the platen 42. As a result, characters and images are recorded on the paper 12.

  The discharge roller unit 55 is disposed downstream of the recording unit 24 in the transport direction 16. The discharge roller portion 55 includes a discharge roller 62 and a spur 63 that face each other. The discharge roller 62 is driven by a transport motor (not shown). The spur 63 is rotated along with the rotation of the discharge roller 62. The sheet 12 is nipped between the discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 and conveyed in the conveying direction 16. The sheet 12 discharged from the discharge roller unit 55 is discharged to the upper part of the discharge tray 21.

[Tank 100]
As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 3, the tank 100 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The tank 100 has a wall portion that partitions the ink chamber 111 from the outside. The wall portion has a visual recognition wall 101 on the front surface that allows the internal liquid level to be visually recognized and extends upward and downward. In addition, a second side wall 103 that defines a side surface that is connected to the viewing wall 101 and extends in a direction intersecting the viewing wall 101, an upper wall 104 that is connected to the viewing wall 101 and defines the upper surface of the ink chamber 111, and ink And a bottom wall 105 that defines an inner bottom surface of the chamber 111.

  Further, the tank 100 of this embodiment has four ink chambers 111 </ b> B, 111 </ b> M, 111 </ b> C, and 111 </ b> Y arranged in parallel in the left-right direction 9. The four ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y are examples of liquid storage chambers, and the alphabet (B, M, C, Y) at the end indicates the color of the ink. The ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y may be collectively referred to as “ink chamber 111”.

  The ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y are partitioned by the first side wall 102 so as to form spaces for the ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y. The rear surface of the tank 100 is sealed (closed) by welding a film 120 (FIG. 4) to the rear end surfaces of the first side wall 102, the second side wall 103, the upper wall 104, and the bottom wall 105.

  Black ink is stored in the ink chamber 111B, magenta ink is stored in the ink chamber 111M, cyan ink is stored in the ink chamber 111C, and yellow ink is stored in the ink chamber 111Y. Each color ink is an example of a liquid. The number of ink chambers 111 and the color of ink are not limited to the above example. Of the four ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y, the ink chamber 111B is disposed on the rightmost side, and the ink chamber 111Y is disposed on the leftmost side. The ink chamber 111B has a larger volume than the other ink chambers 111M, 111C, and 111Y.

  The corners of the viewing wall 101 and the upper wall 104 are formed in the inclined wall 101B. The inclined wall 101B is provided with inlets 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y for injecting ink into the ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y. The injection ports 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y may be collectively referred to as “injection port 112”.

  The inlet 112 is formed through the inclined wall 101 </ b> B of the tank 100 in the thickness direction, and connects the corresponding ink chamber 111 to the outside of the tank 100. In this embodiment, the injection port 112 has a circular cross section. The inlet 112 of this embodiment is formed in the inclined wall 101B of the tank 100 and faces outward and obliquely upward when fixed to the housing 14. That is, the injection port 112 is opened obliquely in the axial direction L (FIG. 5) inclined with respect to the vertical direction 7 and the front-rear direction 8.

  In this embodiment, an ink replenishment line 110 is provided on the viewing wall 101 of the tank 100. The ink replenishment line 110 is a line that informs the user of the timing for replenishing ink. The ink supplement line 110 may be affixed with an ink supplement line seal on the viewing wall 101 of the tank 100. In addition, an ink supplement line may be provided on the cover 70 of the multifunction machine 10. An ink full line 109 is also provided on the upper part of the viewing wall 101. Further, the display of the ink color or the like may be a color sticker or the like attached to the tank 100 or a display of each ink color on the cover 70.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the inlet 112 of the tank 100 is exposed to the outside of the multifunction machine 10 through the opening 22 by setting the cover 70 to the open position. Removable caps 113B, 113M, 113C, and 113Y are attached to the inlets 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y (FIG. 3), respectively. Note that the caps 113B, 113M, 113C, and 113Y may be collectively referred to as “cap 113”. The cap 113 can be removed from the injection port 112 to open the injection port 112 in a state where the cover 70 supported by the housing 14 is located at the open position, and the ink can enter the ink chamber 111 from the injection port 112. Can be injected.

  Further, the tank 100 of this embodiment is formed of a light-transmitting resin, and the inlet 112 is provided in the inclined wall 101B above the viewing wall 101. Therefore, the user can replenish ink from the upper injection port 112 while visually confirming the liquid level through the visual recognition wall 101. Thereby, an appropriate amount of ink can be easily replenished.

[Cap 113]
4 and 5 are vertical cross sections of the tank portion, showing the cross section of the ink chamber 111B portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the cap 113 attached to the injection port 112 is in close contact with the injection port 112 and closes the injection port 112. Since the caps 113B, 113M, 113C, and 113Y have the same shape, a detailed configuration will be described below as a generic name cap 113.

  The cap 113 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, and a columnar first portion 115 that closes the passage portion 114, and a large-diameter columnar shape that is continuous with the first portion 115 and is located outside the inlet 112. The second portion 116 is included. The second portion 116 is provided with an arm portion 117 having one end connected to an unevenly distributed position that is off the center. The other end of the arm portion 117 is connected (clamped) between the upper portion of the tank 100 and the housing 14. Thus, the cap 113 is fixed between the tank 100 and the housing 14 so that it cannot be easily removed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cap 113 is bent so that the arm portion 117 is convex upward when the inlet 112 is closed by the first portion 115. When the ink is consumed in each ink chamber 111 of the tank 100 in this closed state, the user rotates the cover 70 from the closed position to the open position, and passes through the opening 22 of the housing 14 to the inlet 112 of the tank 100. Access is enabled (state shown in FIG. 4).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the first portion 115 and the second portion 116 of the cap 113 are removed from the inlet 112. The first portion 115 and the second portion 116 removed from the injection port 112 are self-supporting in an upwardly extending state due to the elasticity of the arm portion 117, and a space is formed around the injection port 112. When the inlet 112 is thus opened, ink can be replenished from the inlet 112 into the ink chamber 111B.

  When the ink replenishment is completed, the first portion 115 of the cap 113 is inserted into the injection port 112 to seal the injection port 112 (state shown in FIG. 4). Thereafter, the cover 70 is rotated from the open position to the closed position (state shown in FIG. 1A).

  6 is a side view of the cap 113 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the cap 113 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the cap 113 is formed of an elastic material. As the elastic material forming the cap 113, for example, a material that can be elastically deformed such as rubber or elastomer is used.

  One end 117A of the arm portion 117 is connected to the second portion 116, and the other end 117B is connected to a location outside the region projected from the second portion 116 outside the tank 100 in the axial direction L of the inlet 112. Has been. In the arm portion 117 of this embodiment, one end 117 </ b> A is connected to a position corresponding to the position of the other end 117 </ b> B in the second portion 116. That is, the one end 117 </ b> A is connected to a position that is unevenly distributed from the center position of the second portion 116. The other end 117B of the arm portion 117 is connected to the outside of the tank 100 (FIG. 8). The arm portion 117 may have one end 117A connected to the center position of the second portion 116 and extending from the center position toward the other end 117B. The axial direction L of the injection port 112 is a line passing through the center of the cross section of the injection port 112, and when the cross section of the injection port is a circle, it is a line passing through the center of the circle.

  The arm portion 117 has a predetermined width W in a plan view (FIG. 7) and a predetermined thickness T in a side view (FIG. 6). The predetermined width W and the predetermined thickness T of the arm portion 117 are the length and thickness in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the arm portion 117. The ratio between the dimension of the predetermined width W of the arm portion 117 and the dimension of the predetermined thickness T can be set to, for example, about 4: 1 to 6: 1. The arm portion 117 has a horizontally long rectangular cross section when in use (FIGS. 4 and 5). The arm portion 117 has a flexibility to bend appropriately in accordance with an external load in the vertical direction 7 and does not easily bend in the horizontal direction 9. I am doing so.

  The arm portion 117 described above allows the cap 113 to move to a spatial position away from the injection port 112 when the cap 113 is removed from the injection port 112, and to hold the cap 113 at that spatial position and stand on its own. In order to hold the cap 113 in the space position and to be self-supporting, the arm portion 117 is removed at the moment when the first portion 115 of the cap 113 is removed from the injection port 112. The force of returning from the bent state causes the arm portion 117 to bend due to the weight of the arm portion 117 and the weight of the cap 113 (the total weight including the first portion 115, the second portion 116, the conical portion 140, etc.). It must be greater than the force to be attempted.

  In this embodiment, the first portion 115 has a cylindrical cross section corresponding to the cross sectional shape of the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112. The first portion 115 is formed to have a length corresponding to the length in the axial direction L of the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112. The length of the axial direction L of the first portion 115 (which is the same as the axial direction L of the inlet 112 and is expressed as the same “axial direction L”) is such that the first protrusion 130 described below is provided at the inner edge of the tank. It is a length that can be positioned in the portion 100A. In addition, a conical portion 140 whose diameter decreases toward the tip is provided at the tip of the columnar first portion 115. By providing the conical portion 140 at the tip of the first portion 115, the conical portion 140 serves as a guide portion when the first portion 115 is inserted into the injection port 112. The first portion 115 may have a shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the inlet 112, and may be formed in an elliptical cross section, for example.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115, a portion of the region corresponding to the position of the other end 117B of the arm portion 117 is engaged with the tank inner edge portion 100A of the inlet 112 and the cap 113 (first A first protrusion 130 is provided to prevent the one portion 115) from coming off. That is, on the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115, the first protrusion 130 is within a range symmetrical to the circumferential direction from the center of the predetermined width W of the arm portion 117 in a region corresponding to the direction extending to the other end 117B of the arm portion 117. Is provided. The first protrusion 130 has a predetermined height H1 in a direction orthogonal to the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115. The height of the first protrusion 130 is set to a height at which the first protrusion 130 is slightly compressed while being inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112.

  The “region corresponding to the position of the other end 117 </ b> B” of the first protrusion 130 is a state in which the first portion 115 is viewed from the lower surface (FIG. 7), with the axial direction L of the first portion 115 having a circular cross section as the center. This is a fan-shaped region centered on a virtual line V extending from the axial direction L to the other end 117B through the center of the width W of the arm portion 117 and having a symmetrical angle range θ in the circumferential direction of the first portion 115. The first protrusion 130 of this embodiment is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115 in a range of 90 ° symmetrically from the width center of the arm portion 117 and in a range θ of 180 °. The preferable range θ where the first protrusion 130 is provided is preferably provided in the range of −45 ° to 45 °, for example, from the width center of the arm portion 117 when viewed along the axial direction L.

  Further, the first protrusion 130 is provided in a part including the region corresponding to the position of the other end 117 </ b> B of the arm part 117, so that the first protrusion 130 is first compared with the case where the first protrusion 130 is provided over the entire circumference of the first part 115. The portion 115 can be pulled out from the inlet 112 with good operability. That is, by providing the first protrusion 130 not on the entire circumference of the first portion 115 but on a part of the periphery, the mounting load of the first portion 115 is suppressed, and the operability when the user pulls out is improved.

  Further, in the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115, a region between the first protrusion 130 and the second portion 116 is in contact with the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112 to prevent the outflow of ink. A protrusion 131 is provided. The second protrusion 131 is formed so as to protrude with a semicircular cross section, for example. The second protrusions 131 are provided around the first portion 115. In this embodiment, two second protrusions 131 are provided side by side in the axial direction L of the first portion 115. The height H1 of the second protrusion 131 is the same as the height H1 of the first protrusion 130. By this second protrusion 131, the inlet 112 is closed over the entire circumference, and the ink chamber 111 is sealed.

  In the cap 113 of this embodiment, two grooves 117 </ b> C extending in the extending direction of the arm portion 117 are provided on the lower surface of the arm portion 117. The groove 117C is a shallow groove in the thickness direction. By providing the groove 117C, the arm portion 117 is hardly twisted.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, a grip portion 141 that protrudes in a direction opposite to the first portion 115 is provided at a connection portion between the arm portion 117 and the second portion 116. This gripping part 141 is a part that the user has when the first part 115 is extracted from the injection port 112. This gripping part 141 may not be provided, and in that case, the user can hold the second portion 116 and perform an operation of extracting the cap 113.

  In addition, when the channel | path part 114 which is a wall part which demarcates the injection port 112 is formed with the elastic material, the 1st part 115 of the cap 113 may be formed with hard plastic etc.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cap portion showing a state in which the inlet 112 is closed with the cap 113. As shown in the figure, the closure of the inlet 112 is completed by inserting the first portion 115 of the cap 113 into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112 and bringing the second portion 116 into contact with the outer end of the inlet 112. . In this closed state, the first protrusion 130 provided on the first portion 115 is positioned at the tank inner edge 100A of the inlet 112, and the first protrusion 130 and the tank inner edge 100A are engaged with each other. Become. The lower surface of the second portion 116 is in contact with the tank outer edge 100B of the inlet 112. As a result, the passage portion 114 of the injection port 112 is closed by the second protrusion 131 of the first portion 115.

  In such a closed state, since the arm portion 117 of the cap 113 made of an elastic material is bent so as to protrude upward, the restoring force for returning the arm portion 117 to the upwardly extending state is obtained. As a result, a return force P acts in the direction in which the first portion 115 is removed from the inlet 112. In addition, the return force P is such that the other end 117 </ b> B of the arm portion 117 is connected (sandwiched) to a location outside the region where the second portion 116 is projected in the axial direction L of the inlet 112. Acts obliquely with respect to the axial direction L. More specifically, a larger pulling force acts on the portion (rear portion) corresponding to the position where the arm portion 117 is provided in the first portion 115 than on the opposite portion (front portion). .

  However, as described above, since the first protrusion 130 is provided so as to include a region corresponding to the position where the arm portion 117 is provided, the first protrusion 130 is engaged with the tank inner edge portion 100A. Thus, these frictional engagement forces are increased, and the injection port 112 can be kept closed against the return force P of the arm portion 117. That is, the bent arm portion 117 tries to return to the state where it is extended by the return force P due to elasticity, but the first protrusion 130 engages with the tank inner edge portion 100A and becomes the return force P of the arm portion 117. Since it opposes, the obstruction | occlusion state of the inlet 112 can be hold | maintained.

  On the other hand, when opening the injection port 112, the first protrusion 130 is provided only in a part corresponding to the arm portion 117 in the entire circumference of the first portion 115, so that an operation load is not required. It can be pulled out well. That is, the frictional engagement force between the other part except the part where the first protrusion 130 is formed in the entire circumference of the first part 115 and the tank inner edge part 100A opposes the return force P of the arm part 117. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a small frictional engagement force that keeps the cap 113 and the inlet 112 closed, so that the operability can be improved without unnecessarily increasing the pulling force when the cap 113 is pulled out. It can maintain suitably. Therefore, when the first portion 115 is extracted from the injection port 112, the injection port 112 can be opened without scattering ink. Further, when the first portion 115 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, an excessive operation load is not required.

  Next, another embodiment of the cap 113 will be described. The cap 113 of the second embodiment is different from the cap 113 of the first embodiment in the first protrusion 132. In FIG. 9A, the first portion 115 of the cap 113 is shown enlarged. In the second embodiment, only the first protrusion 132 will be described, but the other configurations are the same as those of the cap 113 of the first embodiment. Omitted.

  The first protrusion 132 of the second embodiment is a band-shaped protrusion having a predetermined dimension R in the axial direction L of the first portion 115 and extending in the circumferential direction of the first portion 115. That is, the first protrusion 132 has a strip shape that extends parallel to the axial direction L of the inlet 112 and extends in the circumferential direction of the first portion 115 when the first portion 115 of the cap 113 is attached to the inlet 112. ing. Therefore, the first protrusion 132 that engages with the tank inner edge portion 100A of the inlet 112 is a surface. The height H1 of the first protrusion 132 is set to the same height H1 as the first protrusion 130 of the first embodiment. The first protrusion 132 is also provided in a range of about 180 ° including the predetermined width W of the arm portion 117.

  According to the first protrusion 132 of the second embodiment, when the first portion 115 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, the first protrusion 132 engages with the tank inner edge portion 100A within a predetermined dimension R. And the state which obstruct | occluded the inlet 112 with the cap 113 can be kept appropriate.

  Further, according to the first protrusion 132 of the second embodiment, since the first portion 115 has the predetermined dimension R in the axial direction L, even in the tank 100 in which the length of the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112 is different, The first protrusion 132 can be engaged with the tank inner edge portion 100A within the range of the predetermined dimension R. Therefore, the passage portion 114 of the injection port 112 can be applied to a tank (liquid storage device) 100 having a different length.

  Further, even with the cap 113 of the second embodiment, the first protrusion 132 is formed on the arm portion 117 in the entire circumference of the first portion 115 when inserted into the inlet 112 and when being removed from the inlet 112. Since it is provided only in a corresponding part, it can be pulled out with good operability without requiring an excessive operation load. Therefore, when the first portion 115 is extracted from the injection port 112, the injection port 112 can be opened without scattering ink. Further, when the first portion 115 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, an excessive operation load is not required.

  The cap 113 of the third embodiment is different from the cap 113 of the first embodiment and the second embodiment in the first protrusion 133. In FIG. 9B, the first portion 115 of the cap 113 is shown enlarged. Regarding the cap 113 of the third embodiment, only the first protrusion 133 will be described, and other configurations are the same as those of the cap 113 of the first embodiment. Is omitted.

  The first protrusion 133 of the third embodiment is a claw-like protrusion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115. That is, the first protrusion 133 extends in the direction of the second portion 116 with an inclined surface that is continuous from the conical portion 140 at the tip of the first portion 115, and the axial direction of the first portion 115 at a predetermined height H 2. It is formed in a claw shape extending to L. The height H1 of the first protrusion 133 is set to a height H2 that is higher than that of the first protrusion 130 of the first embodiment. In the case of this embodiment, since the height H2 of the first protrusion 133 is higher than the height H1 of the second protrusion 131, the operation load at the time of insertion / removal is larger than that in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Become. The first protrusion 133 is also provided in a range of about 180 ° including the predetermined width W of the arm portion 117.

  According to the first projection 133 of the third embodiment, when the first portion 115 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, the claw-shaped first projection 133 engages with the tank inner edge portion 100A, The state where the injection port 112 is closed can be appropriately maintained. In this embodiment, since the 1st protrusion 133 is formed in the shape of a nail | claw, compared with the 1st protrusion 130 of the said 1st Embodiment, and the 1st protrusion 132 of 2nd Embodiment, it becomes an engagement which is hard to come off.

  Also, with the cap 113 of the third embodiment, the first protrusion 133 is provided only in a part corresponding to the arm portion 117 in the entire circumference of the first portion 115, so that an excessive operation load is required. It can be pulled out with good operability. Therefore, when the first portion 115 is extracted from the injection port 112, the injection port 112 can be opened without scattering ink. Further, when the first portion 115 is inserted into the passage portion 114 of the inlet 112, an excessive operation load is not required.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
According to the tank (liquid storage device) 100 according to the present embodiment, the inlet 112 can be appropriately closed by inserting the first portion 115 of the cap 113 into the passage portion 114 in the inlet. Further, when the inlet 112 is closed, the first protrusions 130, 132, and 133 provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the first portion 115 are obtained by engaging the tank inner edge portion 100 </ b> A of the inlet 112. With the frictional engagement force, the state where the injection port 112 is closed against the return force P of the arm portion 117 can be appropriately maintained.

  When the ink (liquid) stored in the ink chamber (liquid storage chamber) 111 decreases and the user pulls out the cap 113 that closes the injection port 112, it can be pulled out without requiring an excessive operation load. Therefore, when the user pulls out the cap 113, the ink (liquid) attached to the first portion 115 of the cap 113 can be prevented from being scattered to the periphery, and the user's finger can be prevented from being soiled.

  Furthermore, according to the multifunction peripheral (liquid consuming apparatus) 10 (FIG. 1) provided with the tank (liquid storage apparatus) 100, when the cap 113 is pulled out to replenish the tank 100 with ink, it is pulled out with good operability. The inlet 112 can be opened without the ink adhering to the cap 113 being scattered on the cover 70 or the surrounding casing 14. Therefore, ink can be replenished efficiently.

[Other embodiment examples]
In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of examples are shown as the first protrusions 130, 132, 133 provided on the first portion 115, but the form of the first protrusions 130, 132, 133 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Absent.

  In the above-described embodiment, ink has been described as an example of a liquid, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, instead of ink, pretreatment liquid discharged onto the recording paper prior to ink at the time of printing, water sprayed in the vicinity of the nozzle 40 of the recording head 39 in order to prevent the nozzle 40 of the recording head 39 from drying, etc. May be a liquid.

  In the above-described embodiment, the arm portion 117 is formed of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or elastomer integrally with the cap 113. However, when the cap 113 is removed from the injection port 112, the cap 113 is formed. It may be configured to be self-supporting and have elasticity, and may be configured by, for example, a metal coil spring.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tank 100 that stores four colors of ink has been described as an example, but the same applies to a tank that stores one liquid or a tank that stores more types of liquid. Can be applied.

10 Inkjet MFP printer 24 Recording unit (liquid consumption unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Tank 100A Tank inner edge part 100B Tank outer edge part 101 View wall 101B Inclined wall 102 1st side wall 103 2nd side wall 104 Top wall 105 Bottom wall 111 Ink chamber (liquid storage chamber)
112 Inlet 113 Cap 114 Passage portion 115 First portion 116 Second portion 117 Arm portion 130 First protrusion 131 Second protrusion 132 First protrusion 133 First protrusion
P Return force
L axis direction
θ range

Claims (9)

A liquid storage chamber in which the liquid supplied to the liquid consumption unit is stored, and an injection port for injecting the liquid into the liquid storage chamber formed through a wall portion that partitions the liquid storage chamber and the outside; A tank having
A cap that is removably attached to the inlet and capable of closing the inlet,
One of the wall portion defining the inlet and the portion of the cap attached to the inlet is made of an elastic material,
The cap is
A first portion that is located in a passage portion of the inlet when the inlet is attached and closes the passage portion;
A second part connected to the first part and located outside the tank;
An elastic arm portion having one end connected to the second portion and the other end connected to a location outside the region projected from the second portion outside the tank in the axial direction of the inlet. ,
A first part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part is engaged with a tank inner edge of the inlet to prevent the cap from coming off at a part including a region corresponding to the position of the other end of the arm part. A protrusion is provided,
Liquid storage device. The one end of the arm portion is connected to a position corresponding to the position of the other end of the second portion;
The liquid storage device according to claim 1. In the outer peripheral surface of the first part, a second protrusion that is in contact with the passage part of the inlet and prevents the outflow of liquid is provided in a region between the first protrusion and the second part. Is provided around the
The liquid storage device according to claim 1 or 2. The arm portion has a predetermined width;
The first protrusion is provided in a range including a region corresponding to the width of the arm portion on the outer peripheral surface of the first portion.
The liquid storage apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3. The first protrusion is a band-shaped protrusion having a predetermined dimension in the axial direction of the first portion and extending in the circumferential direction of the first portion.
The liquid storage apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4. The first protrusion is a claw-shaped protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the first portion.
The liquid storage apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4.   The part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part has a larger frictional engagement force with the inner edge of the tank than the other part except the part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part. The liquid storage apparatus of any one of -6. A liquid consuming unit; and the liquid storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A liquid consuming device comprising the liquid consuming unit and a housing in which at least a part of the liquid storing device is accommodated. A liquid storage chamber in which the liquid supplied to the liquid consumption unit is stored, and an injection port for injecting the liquid into the liquid storage chamber formed through a wall portion that partitions the liquid storage chamber and the outside; A tank having
A cap that is removably attached to the inlet and capable of closing the inlet,
One of the wall portion defining the inlet and the portion of the cap attached to the inlet is made of an elastic material,
The cap is
A first portion that is located in a passage portion of the inlet when the inlet is attached and closes the passage portion;
A second part connected to the first part and located outside the tank;
An elastic arm portion having one end connected to the second portion and the other end connected to a location outside the region projected from the second portion outside the tank in the axial direction of the inlet. ,
A part of the outer peripheral surface of the first part including a region corresponding to the position of the other end of the arm part has a frictional engagement force with the inner edge of the tank of the inlet than the other part except the part. Is configured to be large,
Liquid storage device.

Images