JPH0214152A - Ink cartridge for printer and method of filling ink for supply - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a contact with a human hand or an exposure to a polluted environment by engaging a recess with an opening edge of an ink well and dropping an inner pellet in the well. CONSTITUTION: The cartridge 10 is placed on an ink well 12. In this case, a recess 34 formed at a flange 32 is engaged with an upper edge of the well 12. In this state, when a finger is released form a sidewall 30 of a cup 26, a restriction of a pellet 44 is released, and the pellet 44 is dropped in the well 12 by its own gravity. A protruding curved surface 48 is deformed by pushing its center by a finger to move down the pellet 44 to drop it in the well 12. In the case of dropping the pellet 44, the ink in the well 12 is jumped up, but the ink is prevented from being scattered around by the cartridge 10 placed on the edge of the well 12. Then, a cover 20 is closed to lock an opening of the well 12. The pellet 44 is gradually melted in the well 12 to become the state usable for a printer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink cartridge for filling ink into a printer, and in particular, it simplifies its configuration to reduce manufacturing costs, and It relates to a technique for easily filling ink.

[Prior Art] In recent years, inkjet printers such as the commercially available Model 51480 manufactured by Data Products, Inc., have come into widespread use as printers that operate under computer control. In such printers, ink is fed from an ink fountain to a printer head that imprints a dot pattern onto paper using a predetermined matrix. The ink dots determined by the matrix pattern stick together as the ink flows across the paper, resulting in relatively clear text and graphics. In such an inkjet printer, it is eventually necessary to replenish the ink bottle with liquid ink.

Conventionally, ink pellets (hereinafter abbreviated as pellets) solidified like wax have been provided as refill ink. These pellets are packed one by one in advance and inserted into the ink reservoir of the inkjet printer as needed. The pellets typically have a relatively low melting point of about 150@F (83'C). On the other hand, a heater is disposed near the ink bottle of an inkjet printer, and when the pellet is inserted into the ink bottle, the pellet is heated by the heater to a normal operating temperature, and the pellet is quickly liquefied from a solid state.

Incidentally, external particles or foreign matter may enter the ink bottle. In such a case, the narrow ink flow path of the printer head is blocked, impairing the normal operation of the printer, so contamination of the pellets must be avoided as much as possible. For example, never touch the pellet with bare hands, as oil on your fingertips will impair the operation of the printer head.

Conventionally, cartridges containing pellets have been provided to prevent contamination of the pellets, but in current ink cartridges, the pellets are heated and molten ink is poured into individual molds and then cooled. It is formed into a solidified cylindrical plug-like body. The pellets are removed from the mold and placed in a cartridge. A cap is attached to one end of the cartridge, and by rotating the cap, the cap and the ink fountain are brought into engagement.

Here, the cap is connected to a holding claw attached to the opening on the other end side of the cartridge. This retaining pawl prevents the pellets inside the cartridge from coming out under normal conditions, and is configured to retract in conjunction with the rotation of the cap.

When refilling ink in such a cartridge, when the cartridge is directly inserted into the ink fountain and the cap and ink fountain are engaged, the claw retracts in conjunction with the cap, and the pellets enter the ink fountain. be dropped.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned cartridge has a problem in that the structure is relatively complicated and the manufacturing cost is relatively high.

In other words, the above-mentioned cartridge requires many complicated parts, such as holding claws, in order to satisfactorily perform its functions under the conditions in which it is used, and these parts must be constructed by assembling members molded by injection molding or the like. . Moreover, these parts require high quality in order to maintain the purity of the pellets and prevent contamination by particulates. Furthermore, the assembled cartridge containing pellets must be carefully packaged to prevent quality deterioration during transportation and storage. Furthermore, during transportation and storage, strict temperature control must be performed to prevent the pellets from melting. Even if only a portion of the pellet were to unravel, the pellet would stick to the cartridge and would not be able to fall reliably into the ink fountain. Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional cartridge has a complicated overall structure and is not only expensive to manufacture, but also expensive to store and transport.

[Object of the invention] This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to simplify the structure, reduce manufacturing costs, and reduce troubles during storage and transportation. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge that can also reduce its handling cost.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An ink cartridge of the present invention includes an elastically deformable bottomed cylindrical cup portion including a bottom portion and a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion; A flange part is provided at the open end of the cup part and extends toward the outer circumference of the cup part, and a recessed part surrounding the cup part is provided on the surface of the open end side of the flange part, and pellets are stored inside the cup. The main feature is that

[Function] In the above ink cartridge, the concave portion is fitted into the opening edge of the ink bottle so that the pellets inside can be dropped into the ink bottle, preventing them from being touched by human hands or being exposed to a contaminated environment. Never.

Also. By using the ink cartridge itself as a mold for producing pellets, a high level of cleanliness can be maintained.

[Embodiment J] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. Here, prior to explaining the ink cartridge of the embodiment, some of the printers in which the ink cartridge is used will be explained.

Figure 1 shows the head unit 1 of an inkjet printer.
4, an ink fountain 12 is formed in this head unit 14. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to such a head unit, and can of course be applied to various types of head units. A direct or indirect heating type heater (
(not shown) are arranged. The heater is the ink pot 12
By increasing the temperature of the ink 16, the filled ink 16 is kept in a fluid state. In this case, the temperature of the ink 16 is typically 150°F (83°F).
C) is heated to ~190°F (1059C).

In use of the printer, a small amount of liquid ink is passed through head unit 14 to printer head 18 . Then, it is set in a printer and ink dots are transferred onto paper (not shown) in a matrix pattern of high resolution.

Further, a lid 20 is detachably attached to the opening of the ink bottle 12. The lid 20 is placed over the top end of the ink bottle 12 and rotated to release ink! 12 to close the opening of the ink fountain 12. For example, in this embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 22 protruding toward the outer circumference are formed near the upper edge 24 of the ink bottle 12, and the protrusions 22 are engaged with recesses (not shown) formed on the inner circumference of the M2O. It is composed of

Note that in order to continue using the printer, it is necessary to periodically replenish ink. A typical commercially available inkjet printer of this type is No. SI 480 manufactured by Data Products (Woodland Hills, California).

Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in FIGS. 2 to 1.
This will be explained with reference to Figure 0.

Reference numeral 26 in the figure is a cup (cup portion). cup 26
has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and is designed to store filled ink for replenishment. The cup 26 is made of an elastically deformable material and includes a bottom portion 28 and a cylindrical side wall portion 30 extending substantially straight from the edge of the bottom portion 28.

The side wall portion 30 is preferably formed to be slightly tapered from the opening side toward the bottom portion 28 side. Furthermore, seven flange portions 32 are formed at the open end portions of the side g1 groups 30, and extend toward the outer circumferential side.

7. A shallow annular recess 34 is formed on the upper surface of the 7 flange 32 in close proximity to the opening of the cup 26.
The flat upper surface 36 of the 7 flange 32 is divided along the circular side. Note that a plurality of recesses may be provided spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. Further, although the material of the cartridge IO is arbitrary, a lightweight polyvinyl chloride sheet is preferably used. As for the molding method, it is desirable to integrally heat-form the sheet and employ automatic molding in a single step.

The above cartridge IO can be easily mass-produced. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, if a plurality of (six in this embodiment) cartridges 10 are manufactured as one pack 38 connected to each other, the cost will be low and handling will be convenient. It is. A folding groove 40 is formed in this pack 38 along a portion corresponding to the edge of the seven flange 32 of the cartridge 10. With this configuration, a plurality of cartridges 10 can be purchased as one unit. Also, by separating the cartridge IO from the pack 38, refill ink can be inserted into the ink fountain 12 of the printer.

To explain the configuration of the pack 38 in more detail, each cartridge 10 has a cup 26 and seven lunges 32, which serve as a mold for injecting replenishment ink for the printer. That is, the replenishment ink is heated to a liquid state and is injected directly from the opening of the cartridge 10. Next, the seal cover 42 is attached to the top surface of the cartridge 10, and the opening is quickly closed. The seal cover 42 is made of a sheet lined with paper or metal foil, or a laminate thereof, and is attached with a suitable adhesive so that it can be easily peeled off from the top surface of the cartridge 10. In this way, the replenishment ink is cooled and solidified while being sealed in the cartridge 10 by the seal cover 42, whereby the replenishment ink takes the shape of a roughly cylindrical pellet 44.

Note that, if necessary, the seal cover 42 may be attached after the replenishment ink is cooled and solidified. In any case, in the above cartridge 10, the cartridge 1
0 can be automatically filled with refill ink and sealed, and molded pellets 44 and cartridges 10 can be automatically filled with refill ink.
Also, the seal cover 42 is not touched by the operator's hands or exposed to a harmful contaminated environment.

Also, such a cartridge 10 is light and very compact as a storage container for the pellets 44,
It is very convenient for transportation and storage. Moreover, cartridge 1
Since the 0 opening is sealed, there is no need to worry about exposure to contaminated environments or temperature increases during transportation or storage. In other words, since a suitable adhesive is used for the seal cover 42, even if the pellet 44 completely melts during transportation or storage, there is no risk of replenishment ink leaking. Since the pellet 44 is solidified, there is no problem in its insertion.

Next, a procedure for replenishing the ink bottle 12 of the printer with ink will be described.

First, one cartridge IO is separated from the pack 38. At this time, the seal cover 42 is also separated while still attached to the cartridge 10, so the seal cover 42 is peeled off from the seventh flange 32 of the cartridge 10. This operation can be performed simply and quickly in one operation, since it is sufficient to pinch and pull the edge of the seal cover 42 protruding from the 7-lunge 32 with fingers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, firmly grasp the cartridge 10 between the thumb and forefinger, and
Press it inward. As a result, the side wall portion 30 is elastically deformed inward, and the pellet 44 inside is gripped. Therefore, even if the opening of the cartridge IO is directed downward, the pellets 44 will not fall.

However, normally, the liquid ink solidifies into pellets 4.
Since the pellet 44 contracts slightly when it becomes 4, it is possible that a gap is created between the pellet 44 and the inner wall of the side wall portion 30.

Therefore, as a fall prevention means in such a case, as shown in FIG. A plurality of them may be formed. In any case, when the cartridge 10 is turned upside down above the ink 1112, it is necessary to firmly grasp the cup 26 so that the pellet 44 inside does not fall off.

Note that before proceeding to such an operation, close the lid 20 of the ink fountain 26.
Of course, you have to remove it.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 1θ, the cartridge 10 is placed on the ink fi 12.

At this time, the recess 34 formed in the seventh flange 32 is fitted into the upper edge of the ink bottle 12. In this state, when the finger is removed from the side wall portion 30 of the cup 26, the restraint on the pellet 44 is released and the pellet 44 falls into the ink pot 12 under its own weight.

However, there is a concern that for some reason the pellets 44 will stick to the inner surface of the cartridge 10 and will not fall under their own weight. Therefore, in order to prevent such troubles, the bottom 28 of the cup 26 may be formed into a convex curved surface 48 as shown in FIG. Convex curved surface 4B
is deformed into the state shown by the broken line in the figure by pushing the center part with a finger, thereby allowing the pellet 44 to move downward and fall into the ink fountain 12.

When the pellet 44 falls, the ink in the ink 1112 splashes up, but the cartridge 10 placed on the edge of the ink 1112 prevents the ink from scattering around. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the opening of the ink bottle 12 is closed by closing the lid 20. The pellet 44 gradually melts inside the ink fountain 12 and becomes ready for use in the printer. Note that the empty cup 26 is discarded.

Next, FIGS. 11 to 13 are diagrams showing other embodiments of the present invention.

The cartridge 110 shown in these figures is cup-shaped with an open top, and an elastically deformable cylindrical side wall 130 is formed at the top end. Furthermore, a base portion 131 having a smaller diameter than the side wall portion 130 is formed at the lower end portion of the cartridge 110 . The base 131 is formed into a cup shape and is made of a flexible material so that it can be deformed like a push button. In addition, side wall portion 1
A flange 132 that widens toward the outer circumference is formed on the upper edge of the flange 30, as in the previous embodiment, and a shallow annular recess 134 is formed on the upper surface of the flange 132.

The cartridge 110 configured in this manner is filled with replenishment ink and the opening thereof is closed in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 10. When inserting the pellet 44 into the ink bottle 12 of the printer, grasp the side wall 130 of the cartridge 110 with your fingers,
Sufficient casing pressure is applied to the internal pellets 44 so that they do not fall even if the cartridge 110 is turned upside down. and,
7 recess of flange 132) 34 to edge 2 of ink 1112
4. Next, the finger is removed from the side wall portion 130, and the pellet 44 inside is allowed to fall under its own weight. Here, if for some reason the pellet 44 is
If the base 131 is stuck to the inner surface of the side wall 130, press the base 131 with your finger to move the base 131 relative to the side wall 130.

As a result, the pellet 44 moves downward and the ink fountain 1
Fall to 2.

Therefore, the same effects as described above can be obtained also in this embodiment.

[Effect of the invention] As explained above, this invention mainly has the following effects:
an elastically deformable bottomed cylindrical cup portion comprising a bottom portion and a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion;
A flange part is provided at the open end of the cup part and extends toward the outer circumference of the cup part, a recessed part surrounding the cup part is provided on the surface of the flange part on the open end side, and pellets are stored inside the cup. This not only simplifies the structure and reduces manufacturing costs through mass production, but also reduces troubles during storage and transportation, reducing handling costs. I can do it. In addition, excellent effects such as improving the cleanliness of the pellets and preventing printer troubles can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 1θ are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of the printer head of an inkjet printer, FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a cartridge, and FIG. is a side sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a bag in which a plurality of cartridges are continuously molded, and Fig. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a state in which a sealing member is attached to the bag. , Fig. 6 is a perspective view for explaining how to attach the cartridge to the ink bottle, Fig. 7 is a side view showing the state in which the cartridge is attached to the ink fountain, and Fig. 8 is a method for dropping the pellet in the cartridge. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pellet is dropped into an ink well, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 7 showing a state in which a cartridge is attached to an ink well. , Figures 11 to 13
The figures show other embodiments of the present invention, Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the cartridge, Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of Fig. FIG. 0... Cartridge, 12... A6.
...Cup part, 28...Bottom part, 0...
...Side wall part, 32...Flange part, 4...
...Concave part, 38...Back, O...
Groove, 42... Seal member, 4°°... Pellet, 46... Convex portion, 10... Cup portion, 130... Side wall portion , 32... flange portion, 134... recessed portion. bottle,

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An elastically deformable bottomed cylindrical cup portion consisting of a bottom portion and a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion; What is claimed is: 1. An ink cartridge for a printer, comprising: a flange portion extending toward the outer periphery of the cup portion; and a recessed portion surrounding the cup portion is provided on a surface of the flange portion on the open end side. (2) The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, wherein the cup portion and the flange portion are integrally constructed. (3) The bottom side end of the side wall portion is made smaller in diameter than the opening side end, and the bottom side end is formed by pressing the bottom from the outside at the boundary between the bottom side end and the opening side end. 2. The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, wherein a step is provided so that the ink cartridge can sink into the opening side end. (4) The side wall portion of the cup portion is made of a flexible material that can be easily deformed by finger pressure from the outside to grip the pellets stored inside the cup portion. The ink cartridge for a printer according to item 1. (5) The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, further comprising a removably provided seal member on the surface of the flange portion for closing the opening of the cup portion. (6) The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, wherein the cup portion has a cylindrical shape with a bottom. (7) An ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of convex portions protruding inward are provided on the inner periphery of the cup portion and are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. . (8) It has a bottomed cylindrical cup portion consisting of a bottom portion and a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion, and the bottom side end of the side wall portion is set closer to the opening side end. The diameter is small, and a step is provided at the boundary between the bottom side end and the opening side end so that the bottom side end can sink into the opening side end by pressing the bottom from the outside. An ink cartridge for printers featuring (9) The side wall portion of the cup portion is made of a flexible material that can be easily deformed by finger pressure from the outside to grip the pellets stored inside the cup. Ink cartridges for printers listed in section. (10) A flange portion extending toward the outer circumference of the cup portion is provided at the open end of the cup portion, and a sealing agent for closing the opening of the cup portion is removably provided on the surface of the flange portion. An ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 8. (11) The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 10, wherein a recessed portion surrounding the cup portion is provided on the surface of the flange portion on the open end side. (12) An elastically deformable bottomed cylindrical cup portion formed integrally with a bottom portion and a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the bottom portion; a flange portion extending toward the outer periphery of the cup portion; an annular recess surrounding the cup portion is provided on a surface of the flange portion on the open end side; It is made of a flexible material that can be easily deformed by finger pressure to grip the pellets stored inside the cup part, and the bottom end of the side wall part is made smaller in diameter than the opening end part, and the bottom part A step is provided at the boundary between the side edge and the opening side edge so that the bottom side edge can be depressed into the opening side edge by pressing the bottom from the outside. Ink cartridge for printers. (13) The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 12, characterized in that a sealing member for closing an opening of the cup portion is removably provided on the surface of the flange portion. (14) A cartridge in which a plurality of cartridge parts are integrally constituted, wherein the cartridge part has an elastically deformable bottom and includes a bottom part and a side wall part extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom part. A plurality of cartridge parts are provided, each having a cylindrical cup part, and a flange part provided at an open end of the cup part and expanding toward the outer circumferential side of the cup part, with the edges of the flange parts abutting each other. are separably connected to each other, and store ink pellets inside the cup part, and the pellets can be stored inside the cup part by easily deforming the side wall part of the cup part by applying finger pressure from the outside. An ink cartridge for a printer, characterized in that it is made of a flexible material that can be gripped. (15) The plurality of cartridge parts are integrally configured,
15. The printer ink cartridge according to claim 14, further comprising a separating groove provided at the boundary between the flange portions. (16) The bottom end of the side wall of the cup is made smaller in diameter than the opening end, and the bottom is pressed from the outside at the boundary between the bottom end and the opening end. 15. The printer ink cartridge according to claim 14, wherein a step is provided so that the side end portion can be depressed into the opening side end portion. (17) An ink cartridge mounting structure comprising an ink bottle opened upward and a cartridge placed on the annular opening edge of the ink bottle, wherein the cartridge is attached to the bottom of the ink bottle. An elastically deformable bottomed cylindrical cup portion comprising a side wall portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion, and a flange provided at the open end of the cup portion and extending toward the outer circumferential side of the cup portion. a recessed portion that fits with the opening edge of the ink bottle is provided on the surface of the flange portion on the opening end side, and the side wall portion of the cup portion is easily deformed by finger pressure from the outside. The cup portion is made of a flexible material that can grip the pellets stored inside the cup portion, and the bottom side end of the side wall portion has a smaller diameter than the opening side end, and the bottom side end and the opening side An ink cartridge mounting structure characterized in that a step is provided at a boundary between the end and the bottom so that the bottom end can be depressed into the opening end by pressing the bottom from the outside. (18) The ink cartridge mounting structure for a printer according to claim 17, wherein a lid is detachably attached to the opening of the ink bottle. (19) A replenishment ink filling method for filling a printer's ink bottle opened upward with replenishment ink, the method comprising a bottomed cylindrical cup portion and a flange provided at the opening edge of the cup portion. An ink pellet is stored in a cartridge consisting of a cup part, and then the side wall part of the cup part is gripped, and the side wall part is elastically deformed inward to grip the pellet. A method for filling replenishment ink, which comprises fitting the formed recess into the opening edge of the ink bottle, and then releasing the gripping state to allow pellets inside the cartridge to fall into the ink bottle. (20) using the cartridge in which the bottom end of the side wall has a smaller diameter than the opening end, and a step is provided at the boundary between the bottom end and the opening end; The method for filling replenishment pellets according to claim 19, characterized in that by pressing the bottom from the outside, the bottom end is depressed into the opening end and the pellets are dropped. . (21) The replenishment ink filling method according to claim 19, characterized in that liquid ink is injected into a cartridge, and then the ink is solidified to form pellets. (22) The method for filling replenishment ink according to claim 19, characterized in that a sealing member is attached to the opening of the cartridge to seal in the pellets inside.