JP7483457B2 - Fluid Refill System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid refill system having a liquid tank and a liquid containing bottle that contains the liquid to be refilled into the liquid tank.

Some liquid tanks used in liquid ejection devices such as inkjet recording devices can be refilled with liquid from a separately prepared liquid storage bottle through an inlet for injecting liquid. In such a liquid refilling system, in order to prevent the refilled liquid from leaking out of the liquid tank, it is desirable to refill the liquid with the liquid storage bottle fixed to the inlet of the liquid tank. Patent Document 1 describes a technology for fixing a liquid injection container to a liquid tank by an engagement mechanism provided between a cylindrical wall that defines an injection port formed on the inclined surface of the front surface of the liquid tank and a spout of the liquid injection container. In this technology, the liquid injection container can be fixed to the liquid tank by inserting the spout of the liquid injection container into the inlet of the liquid tank and engaging a claw provided on an arm protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the spout with an annular protrusion provided on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical wall. Then, the liquid injection container can be compressed to refill the liquid tank with the liquid stored inside.

JP 2017-65084 A

However, in the technology described in Patent Literature 1, the user must visually check the amount of liquid being refilled and determine the timing to end the liquid refill operation, and if the timing is incorrect, the liquid may overflow from the inlet of the liquid tank. Also, in the technology described in Patent Literature 1, gas-liquid exchange inside the liquid tank is carried out through a gap between the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical wall and the spout, but such a gap does not sufficiently promote gas-liquid exchange, and there is a possibility that smooth liquid refilling cannot be achieved.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid refill system that can smoothly and reliably refill a liquid with a liquid containing bottle fixed to a liquid tank.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the liquid refilling system of the present invention is a liquid refilling system having a liquid tank and a liquid containing bottle that contains a liquid to be refilled into the liquid tank, the liquid containing bottle has a bottle body and a nozzle having an outlet for pouring out the liquid contained in the bottle body, the liquid tank has a tank body and a cylindrical adapter provided on an inclined surface connecting the upper surface and the side surface of the tank body and having an inner peripheral surface that can be fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, when the nozzle and the adapter are fitted together, a needle having two fluid passages therein is inserted into the slit, and the liquid containing bottle is fixed to the liquid tank. In one aspect, a positioning mechanism is provided between the nozzle and the adapter for positioning the nozzle in the circumferential direction relative to the adapter, and in another aspect, the adapter is supported on the inclined surface with an end surface inclined with respect to the axial direction so that the central axis is parallel to the vertical direction.

According to the present invention, liquid can be smoothly and reliably refilled while the liquid container is fixed to the liquid tank.

1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which liquid is being replenished in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 1A and 1B are cross-sectional and plan views of a liquid replenishment system according to a first embodiment; 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing a liquid refilling operation according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a second embodiment. 13A and 13B are cross-sectional and plan views of a liquid replenishment system according to a third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a sixth embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the liquid replenishment system of the present invention will be described as being used to replenish liquid (ink) to a liquid ejection device (inkjet recording device), but the use of the liquid replenishment system is not limited to this. The liquid to be replenished is also not limited to ink, and may be, for example, a recording liquid, a fixing treatment liquid, a resist, etc.

(First embodiment)
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a side view showing a schematic view of a main part of the inkjet recording apparatus of this embodiment.
The inkjet recording apparatus 1000 (hereinafter also referred to as the “recording apparatus”) has a first feed section 1 , a second feed section 2 , a recording section 3 , and a liquid supply section 4 .
The first feeding section 1 has a feeding roller 10 which separates the recording medium one by one from a stack of the stacked recording media and supplies the recording medium to the second feeding section 2. The second feeding section 2 is provided downstream of the first feeding section 1 in the recording medium conveying direction, and has a conveying roller 11 and a paper discharge roller 12 which convey the recording medium fed from the feeding roller 10. Between the conveying roller 11 and the paper discharge roller 12, a platen 13 is provided which supports the recording medium conveyed by the second feeding section 2 from below. The recording section 3 has a carriage 14 which is provided at a position facing the platen 13 and reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveying direction, and a recording head 15 which is mounted on the carriage 14 and has a plurality of ejection port rows each of which has a plurality of ejection ports. The recording head 15 ejects ink of different colors from each ejection port row by driving energy generating elements provided corresponding to the ejection ports based on recording data, thereby recording a color image on the recording medium supported by the platen 13.

The liquid supply unit 4 has a liquid tank 16 which is a translucent or transparent container, and a flexible supply tube 107 which connects the liquid tank 16 and the recording head 15. In this embodiment, four colors of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are used as the liquid, and four liquid tanks 16a to 16d each containing an ink of each color are provided as the liquid tank 16. The liquid tank 16 has a tank body 160 having an internal storage chamber 100 for storing liquid, and a cap 40 which can be attached to the tank body 160 to seal the storage chamber 100. A supply port 101 connected to the supply tube 107 is provided at the bottom of the tank body 160, and an air communication port 102 which communicates the storage chamber 100 with the atmosphere is provided at the top surface of the tank body 160.
When liquid is ejected from the recording head 15, the negative pressure in the recording head 15 increases, and as a result, the liquid contained in the storage chamber 100 in the liquid tank 16 is supplied to the recording head 15 from the supply port 101 via the supply tube 107. At this time, air in an amount equal to the amount of liquid supplied to the recording head 15 flows into the storage chamber 100 in the liquid tank 16 through the air communication port 102.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state when liquid is being replenished in the printing apparatus shown in FIG.
When the remaining amount detection means (not shown) provided in the liquid tank 16 detects that the remaining amount of liquid in the storage chamber 100 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the display unit 1001 of the recording device 1000 displays a message urging the user to refill the liquid tank 16 with liquid. The user tilts the tank cover 1002 provided on the front of the recording device 1000 forward to open it, removes the cap 40 attached to the liquid tank 16 to be refilled with liquid, and exposes the liquid injection unit 18 (see FIG. 4 ). Then, the user uses the liquid containing bottle 20 containing the liquid to be refilled to refill the liquid tank 16 through the exposed liquid injection unit 18. Note that multiple types of liquid containing bottles 20 (four types in this embodiment) are prepared in advance according to the number of colors of the liquid (ink) to be used. Each liquid containing bottle 20 is displayed with color information of the liquid (ink) contained therein. The user selects from the multiple liquid containing bottles 20 prepared a liquid containing bottle 20 containing the liquid to be replenished based on the display content of the display unit 1001 and the color information displayed in the liquid tank 16.

FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view of the liquid replenishment system of this embodiment, and FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c) are plan views of a liquid containing bottle and a liquid tank, respectively, which constitute the liquid replenishment system of this embodiment.
The liquid replenishment system of this embodiment is comprised of a liquid tank 16 and a liquid containing bottle 20 that contains the liquid to be replenished to the liquid tank 16 .
The liquid tank 16 has a tank body 160 having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a liquid injection section 18 for injecting liquid into the storage chamber 100 in the tank body 160. The liquid injection section 18 has a cylindrical adapter 30 and a needle 32 penetrating the tank body 160 inside the adapter 30. The adapter 30 is provided on an inclined surface 163 formed between an upper surface 161 and a side surface 162 of the tank body 160, and in this embodiment, the adapter 30 is provided so that its central axis is perpendicular to the inclined surface 163. The adapter 30 also has an inner peripheral surface 31 that can be fitted into an outer peripheral surface 27 of a nozzle 23 of a liquid containing bottle 20 described later. The needle 32 has an upper end (one end) located outside the tank body 160 and a lower end (the other end) located inside the tank body 160, and extends from the upper end to the lower end along the central axis of the adapter 30. The needle 32 also has two fluid passages 33 and 34 parallel to each other inside. The two fluid passages 33, 34 include a first fluid passage 33 and a second fluid passage 34 located vertically above the first fluid passage 33, and each of them opens at both ends to communicate the inside and outside of the tank body 160. The two fluid passages 33, 34 are formed such that the opening at the upper end side (one end side) of the first fluid passage 33 is located lower than the opening at the upper end side of the second fluid passage 34, and the flow path cross-sectional area of the first fluid passage 33 is larger than the flow path cross-sectional area of the second fluid passage 34. The two fluid passages 33, 34 are also formed such that the opening at the lower end side (other end side) of the second fluid passage 34 is located higher than the opening at the lower end side of the first fluid passage 33. In this specification, "high" and "low" refer to the height in the direction of gravity in the posture in which the liquid refilling system is used (the posture in FIG. 4(a)). That is, the upper side in FIG. 4(a) is higher and the lower side is lower. Furthermore, the tank body 160 and the adapter 30 may be joined by a joining means such as welding, adhesion, or screws, or may be formed integrally.

The liquid-containing bottle 20 has a cylindrical bottle body 21 that contains the liquid, and a nozzle 23 that is provided at the tip 22 of the bottle body 21 and has an outer peripheral surface 27 that can be fitted to the inner peripheral surface 31 of the adapter 30. The nozzle 23 has an outlet 24 that pours out the liquid contained in the bottle body 21, and the outlet 24 is provided with a slit valve 25 made of an elastic material such as a silicone membrane, which closes the outlet 24 so that it can be opened. The slit valve 25 has multiple (three in this embodiment) slits 26 that intersect with each other, and the multiple slits 26 intersect with each other at equal angles with the center of the slit valve 25 as the intersection point. The slit valve 25 is provided on the tip side of the nozzle 23 of the outlet 24, and specifically, is provided at a position where the upper end of the needle 32 can be inserted when the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30 are fitted together. Therefore, the slit valve 25 is normally closed, and opens when the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30 are fitted together. The liquid containing bottle 20 and the nozzle 23 may be joined by a joining means such as welding, adhesive, or screws, or may be formed as one piece.

5(a) and 5(b) are cross-sectional views showing the liquid refilling operation by the liquid refilling system of this embodiment.
In the liquid refilling operation, first, the user holds the liquid containing bottle 20 and fits the nozzle 23 into the adapter 30 of the liquid tank 16. When the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30 are fitted together, the upper end of the needle 32 is inserted into the slit 26 of the slit valve 25 provided at the spout 24, and the slit valve 25 is opened. At this time, only a small gap is formed between the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5( a ), the liquid containing bottle 20 is fixed to the liquid tank 16 without being held by the user, by fitting the nozzle 23 into the adapter 30 and inserting the needle 32 into the slit 26 of the slit valve 25.

When the liquid containing bottle 20 is fixed to the liquid tank 16, the liquid in the liquid containing bottle 20 flows into the internal space of the nozzle 23 where the two fluid passages 33, 34 open. At this time, the first fluid passage 33, which has an upper end opening located at a lower position than the second fluid passage 34 and has a large flow path cross-sectional area, is selected as the passage through which the liquid flows out of the two fluid passages 33, 34 due to the influence of gravity. In this way, the liquid flows through the first fluid passage 33 and is injected into the storage chamber 100 in the liquid tank 16. Meanwhile, air (gas) in the storage chamber 100 flows into the second fluid passage 34 as the liquid flows through the first fluid passage 33, and the air is sent into the liquid containing bottle 20 through the second fluid passage 34. As a result, gas-liquid exchange is reliably performed between the liquid tank 16 and the liquid containing bottle 20, and smooth liquid replenishment is realized.
The liquid injected from the liquid containing bottle 20 fills the storage chamber 100 in the liquid tank 16, and eventually blocks the opening at the lower end of the second fluid passage 34 through which the gas flows, as shown in Fig. 4(c). This prevents gas-liquid exchange between the liquid tank 16 and the liquid containing bottle 20, and the injection of liquid from the liquid containing bottle 20 to the liquid tank 16 can be automatically terminated without the user having to visually check the amount of liquid being refilled. This prevents the liquid from overflowing from the liquid tank 16. After the injection of the liquid has been completed, the user removes the liquid containing bottle 20, and the liquid refilling operation is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the liquid refilling operation can be performed with the liquid containing bottle 20 fixed to the liquid tank 16, and therefore, the liquid can be prevented from leaking out of the liquid tank 16. In addition, the two fluid passages 33 and 34 provided in the needle 32 sufficiently promote the gas-liquid exchange between the liquid tank 16 and the liquid containing bottle 20, and smooth liquid refilling can be realized. Furthermore, since the liquid injected into the liquid tank 16 blocks the opening on the lower end side of the second fluid passage 34, the above-mentioned gas-liquid exchange is automatically stopped, so that the user does not need to visually check the amount of liquid refilled in order to determine the timing to end the liquid refilling operation. The amount of liquid refilled can be adjusted by adjusting the opening position (height) on the lower end side of the second fluid passage 34 through which the gas flows. Therefore, for example, by making the second fluid passage 34 as short as possible and positioning the opening on the lower end side as high as possible, it is possible to refill the liquid tank 16 with liquid almost to the full capacity.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
As long as the upper end of the needle 32 is located outside the tank body 160 and the lower end is located inside the tank body 160, the needle 32 does not have to extend along the central axis of the adapter 30 over its entire length as in the first embodiment. The needle 32 in this embodiment is bent midway, with the upper end extending along the central axis of the adapter 30 and the lower end extending vertically. With this configuration, it is easier to adjust the opening position (height) of the lower end side of the second fluid passage 34 compared to the first embodiment, and the degree of freedom in design can be increased. Other configurations and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment
FIG. 7(a) is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7(b) and FIG. 7(c) are plan views of a liquid containing bottle and a liquid tank, respectively, which constitute the liquid replenishment system of this embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment, the nozzle 23 of the liquid-containing bottle 20 is provided concentrically with the bottle body 21, but in this embodiment, the nozzle 23 is provided at a position eccentric from the center of the bottle body 21. Accordingly, between the nozzle 23 and the adaptor 30 (of the liquid tank 16), a positioning mechanism 28, 35 for positioning the nozzle 23 in the circumferential direction with respect to the adaptor 30 is provided. The positioning mechanism 28, 35 is composed of a convex portion (first engagement portion) 28 formed on the outer peripheral surface 27 of the nozzle 23 and a concave portion (second engagement portion) 35 formed on the inner peripheral surface 31 of the adaptor 30 and capable of engaging with the convex portion 28 in the circumferential direction. The convex portion 28 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 27 of the nozzle 23 on the side opposite to the eccentric direction of the nozzle 23 with respect to the bottle body 21, and the concave portion 35 is formed at the uppermost portion in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface 31 of the adaptor 30. In addition, the positions of the convex portion and the concave portion may be reversed, i.e., a concave portion may be formed as a first engagement portion on the outer peripheral surface 27 of the nozzle 23, and a convex portion may be formed as a second engagement portion on the inner peripheral surface 31 of the adapter 30.

These positioning mechanisms 28, 35 allow the nozzle 23 to be positioned at a lower position on the bottle body 21 when the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30 are fitted together and the liquid-containing bottle 20 is in a position fixed to the liquid tank 16. As a result, compared to the first embodiment, the ease of using up the liquid can be improved. The other configurations and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a male thread 29 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 27 of the nozzle 23, and a female thread 36 is formed on the inner peripheral surface 31 of the adapter 30, and the male thread 29 of the nozzle 23 and the female thread 36 of the adapter 30 are screwed together to fit the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30. As a result, the liquid containing bottle 20 can be more firmly fixed to the liquid tank 16 compared to the first embodiment. Other configurations and effects of this embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the first fluid passage 33 is formed so that the opening end surface 37 on the lower end side is a horizontal plane. With this configuration, in this embodiment, the liquid near the opening on the lower end side of the first fluid passage 33 is more susceptible to the effect of gravity, and the meniscus of the liquid is more likely to be broken, so that liquid can be replenished more smoothly compared to the first embodiment. The other configurations and effects of this embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

Sixth Embodiment
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid replenishment system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
In the above-mentioned embodiment, the adapter 30 is supported by the inclined surface 163 of the tank body 160 at an end surface perpendicular to the axial direction, so that the central axis of the adapter 30 is perpendicular to the inclined surface 163. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the adapter 30 is supported by the inclined surface 163 at an end surface inclined with respect to the axial direction so that the central axis is parallel to the vertical direction. Accordingly, the needle 32 also extends vertically along the central axis of the adapter 30 from the upper end to the lower end. Note that, like the above-mentioned embodiment, at the upper end side of the needle 32, the opening of the first fluid passage 33 is located lower than the opening of the second fluid passage 34, and at the lower end side of the needle 32, the opening of the second fluid passage 34 is located higher than the opening of the first fluid passage 33. In addition, the tip of the nozzle 23 is also inclined with respect to the axial direction, so that it follows the inclined surface 163 of the tank body 160 when fitted into the adapter 30.
With this configuration, in this embodiment, when the nozzle 23 and the adapter 30 are fitted together, the central axis of the liquid containing bottle 20 is also parallel to the vertical direction, so that the liquid containing bottle 20 can be fixed to the liquid tank 16 more stably than in the first embodiment. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the liquid containing bottle 20 is in a position fixed to the liquid tank 16, the nozzle 23 can be located at the lowest position of the bottle main body 21, which improves the ease of using up the liquid, as in the third embodiment. The other configurations and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

16 Liquid tank 20 Liquid storage bottle 23 Nozzle 25 Slit valve 30 Adapter 32 Needle 33, 34 Fluid passage

Claims (8)

A liquid refill system having a liquid tank and a liquid containing bottle for containing a liquid to be refilled into the liquid tank,
The liquid-containing bottle has a bottle body and a nozzle having a pouring outlet for pouring out the liquid contained in the bottle body,
the liquid tank includes a tank body and a cylindrical adapter provided on an inclined surface connecting an upper surface and a side surface of the tank body and having an inner peripheral surface that can be fitted to an outer peripheral surface of the nozzle;
When the nozzle and the adapter are fitted together, a needle having two fluid passages therein is inserted into a slit, and the liquid containing bottle is fixed to the liquid tank ;
A liquid refill system comprising : a positioning mechanism provided between the nozzle and the adapter for circumferentially positioning the nozzle relative to the adapter . The liquid refill system of claim 1, wherein the two fluid passages include a first fluid passage and a second fluid passage, and the flow cross-sectional area of the first fluid passage is larger than the flow cross-sectional area of the second fluid passage. The liquid refill system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the two fluid passages include a first fluid passage and a second fluid passage, and when the needle is inserted into the slit, the opening of the second fluid passage on the side located inside the tank body is located at a higher position than the opening of the first fluid passage on the side located inside the tank body. A liquid refill system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises a first engagement portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and a second engagement portion formed on an inner peripheral surface of the adapter and capable of engaging with the first engagement portion in a circumferential direction. The bottle body is cylindrical, and the nozzle is provided at a position eccentric to the center of the bottle body.
5. The liquid refill system according to claim 4, wherein the first engagement portion is a convex portion or a concave portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle on the side opposite the eccentricity direction of the nozzle, and the second engagement portion is a concave portion or a convex portion formed at the circumferential uppermost portion of the inner peripheral surface of the adapter. A liquid refill system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the needle is inserted into the slit, one end side located outside the tank body extends along the central axis of the adapter, and the other end side located inside the tank body extends vertically. A liquid refill system having a liquid tank and a liquid containing bottle for containing a liquid to be refilled into the liquid tank,
The liquid-containing bottle has a bottle body and a nozzle having a pouring outlet for pouring out the liquid contained in the bottle body,
the liquid tank includes a tank body and a cylindrical adapter provided on an inclined surface connecting an upper surface and a side surface of the tank body and having an inner peripheral surface that can be fitted to an outer peripheral surface of the nozzle;
When the nozzle and the adapter are fitted together, a needle having two fluid passages therein is inserted into a slit, and the liquid containing bottle is fixed to the liquid tank;
A liquid replenishment system, characterized in that the adapter is supported by an inclined surface at an end surface inclined with respect to an axial direction so that a central axis is parallel to a vertical direction. 8. The liquid refill system of claim 7 , wherein the needle extends along the central axis of the adapter from one end located outside the tank body to the other end located inside the tank body when inserted into the slit.

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