JPH0631110B2 - Fluid supply device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying a fluid such as a liquid, a viscous substance, or a granular material, and in particular, a cylinder type fluid container having a movable bottom plate, The present invention relates to a fluid supply device capable of automatically detecting exhaustion of fluid in the container.

2. Description of the Related Art As one of storage containers for storing and storing viscous substances such as printing ink or fluids such as powder and granular materials, a cylindrical body having an outlet at one end, and an axial direction thereof in the cylindrical body. And a piston type movable bottom plate movably provided in
A so-called loose-cylinder type fluid storage container is conventionally known in which the movable bottom plate is configured to cooperate with the cylindrical body on one side thereof to define a fluid storage chamber. The body container is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-59-37162 and JP-A-59-37163.

In the cylinder type fluid container as described above, the movable bottom plate is taken out of the cylindrical body as the fluid filled in the fluid storage chamber is sucked out by the suction means such as a suction pump. There is an advantage that the fluid in the container can be taken out with high reliability and without generating a large amount of residual uninjectable portion as compared with the flexible tube type.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the cylinder type fluid container as described above, the movable bottom plate moves in the axial direction of the tubular body in accordance with the decrease of the remaining amount of the fluid accompanying the removal of the fluid. Although it moves, the outer shape of the container does not change like that of the flexible tube type. Therefore, in the cylinder type fluid storage container, the remaining amount as proposed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-154359. It is impossible to detect the remaining amount in a contact manner by using a detection device so that the contact is pressed against the container and the limit switch is opened and closed by the movement of the contact due to the change in the outer shape of the container.

Therefore, as a residual quantity detecting device for a cylinder type fluid container, a substance such as magnetic powder is attached to a movable bottom plate, and a non-contact switch such as a limit switch arranged close to the outer peripheral surface of the container is used to move the movable bottom plate. A remaining amount detecting device for detecting a moving position in a non-contact manner to detect a remaining amount is disclosed in JP-A-59-59.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 37163.

The non-contact type residual amount detecting device as described above achieves the purpose for the time being, but since a substance such as magnetic powder must be attached to the movable bottom plate, it is generally used as a disposable consumable item for a fluid container. The unit price is high, it is not economical, and the reliability of remaining amount detection is inferior to the contact type.

The present invention has a structure in which a simple contact type displacement detection device is combined with a fluid storage container of a type in which a piston type movable bottom plate is fitted in a tubular body, and the fluid in the container has been exhausted completely. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid supply device that is configured to reliably detect the.

Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, the above-described object is to integrally connect with a tubular body forming a main part of a container to one end of the tubular body and to provide an outlet at the other end. A bellows member having the same, and a fluid storage chamber that is provided in the tubular body so that only the tubular body can move in the axial direction thereof and cooperates with the tubular body and the bellows member on one side. A movable bottom plate of a piston type that is fixed, and as the fluid filled in the fluid storage chamber is sucked out from the outlet, the movable bottom plate directs the tubular body to a joint portion with the bellows member. And the bellows member substantially maintains its expanded state during that time, and the fluid is further sucked from the outlet after the movable bottom plate has finished moving in the tubular body to the joint with the bellows member. Of the fluid container in which the bellows member shrinks when This is achieved by a fluid supply device including a combination with a displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement generated in the tubular body due to contraction.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the bellows member exists inside the movable bottom plate while the movable bottom plate is moving in the axial direction in the cylindrical body as the remaining amount of the fluid in the fluid storage chamber decreases. Although the fluid is kept stretched by the fluid, when the movable bottom plate moves to the connecting end of the bellows member in the tubular body, the movable bottom plate cannot move anymore, and the fluid in the bellows member is taken out next. The bellows member contracts in the axial direction as it is further taken out, so that the fluid container is arranged such that its outlet is connected to the suction port of the suction pump and cannot move toward the suction pump. Then, as the bellows member contracts, the entire tubular body moves to the suction pump side, and by this movement, for example, the limit switch is opened and closed. The remaining amount detection will be performed by a contact method.

Example Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3 show one embodiment of the fluid supply device according to the present invention. In these drawings, reference numeral 1 generally indicates a fluid container, and the fluid container 1 has a container body 2 and a movable bottom plate 10.

The container body 2 is entirely made of synthetic resin, and integrally has a tubular body 3 forming a main part and a bellows member 4 provided to be connected to one end of the tubular body 3. The bellows member 4 is expandable and contractable in the axial direction of the tubular body 3, has an annular head portion 5 at its tip, and an outlet 6 is provided in the annular head portion. The outer diameter of the mountain portion of the bellows member 4 is smaller than the outer diameter of the tubular body 3,
An annular shoulder portion 7 is formed at a connecting portion between the bellows member 4 and the bellows member 4.

The movable bottom plate 10 is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the tubular body 3 and
Has a piston portion 11 that is movable in the axial direction and a protrusion portion 12 that is formed on one side of the piston portion so as to project into the bellows member 4, and the cylindrical body 3 is provided on one side.
And, the fluid storage chamber 8 is defined in cooperation with the bellows member 4. The piston portion 11 of the movable bottom plate 10 is restricted from moving in the axial direction toward the open end side of the cylindrical body 3 in the drawing by a stopper claw 13 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3 so as to project. The axial movement of the body 3 toward the right end of the bellows member connection end in the figure is restricted by the annular shoulder portion 7, so that only the inside of the tubular body 3 can be moved in the axial direction. Movable bottom plate 10
The projection 12 has an axial length substantially equal to the axial length of the bellows member 4 in the maximum contracted state, and its tip end surface can come into contact with the inner end surface of the annular head 5. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the fluid storage chamber 8 is filled with a predetermined maximum amount of fluid such as printing ink, the movable bottom plate 10 is at the maximum left end position in contact with the stopper claw 13. The bellows member 4 is in a state of being stretched by the fluid filled therein. The fluid storage container 1 is placed on the container mounting table 20 and the suction pump pipe 22 of the suction pump 21 is inserted into the extraction port 6 so that the suction pump 21 causes the fluid storage chamber to flow from the extraction port 6. The fluid in 8 is sucked out and taken out. This fluid reservoir 8
The movable bottom plate 10 corresponds to the container body 2 according to the removal of the fluid inside.
The inside is moved to the side of the connecting end of the bellows member, that is, to the right in the figure. When the movable bottom plate 10 moves in the tubular body 3 to the vicinity of the bellows member connection end, the protrusion 12 of the movable bottom plate 10 enters the bellows member 4, and the movable bottom plate 10 is shown in FIG. As described above, the piston portion 11 has an annular shoulder portion 7
When the movable bottom plate 10 is moved to a position where it abuts the inner surface of the
Is prevented from moving in the axial direction with respect to the tubular body 3, so that the fluid in the fluid storage chamber 8, that is, the fluid in the bellows member 4 is taken out from the outlet 6 thereafter. The bellows member 4 contracts in the axial direction. The fluid storage container 1 has a suction pump 21 at the front end surface of the annular head 5.
The cylindrical body 3 of the fluid container 1 is abutted against the suction pump 21 and is prevented from moving toward the suction pump 21, so that the suction pump 21 moves on the container mounting table 20 as the bellows member 4 contracts.
Side, that is, to the right in the figure. When the bellows member 4 contracts to the maximum, as shown in FIG. 3, the protruding portion 12 of the movable bottom plate 10 abuts on the inner end surface of the annular head portion 5, and at this time, the fluid inside the fluid storage chamber 8 That is, substantially all of the above are taken out from the take-out port 6.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, if the limit switch 23 is fixedly arranged so that the actuating piece 24 is pressed by the annular shoulder portion 7 when the bellows member 4 is in the maximum contracted state, the bellows may be provided. When the member 4 is in the maximum contraction state and the remaining amount of the fluid in the fluid storage chamber 8 becomes substantially zero, the operating piece 24 of the limit switch 23 moves on the container mounting table 20 as the bellows member 4 contracts. By being pressed by the annular shoulder portion 7 of the tubular body 3 that moves in the axial direction, opening and closing of the limit switch 23 ensures that the remaining amount of the fluid in the fluid storage container 1 is detected in a contact manner. Become.

It should be noted that the movable bottom plate 10 is configured so that the above-described operation is performed reliably.
It is sufficient that the contraction strength of the bellows member 4 is set according to the movement resistance of the movable bottom plate 10 so that the bellows member 4 does not contract until is moved to the connection end of the tubular body 3.

4 and 5 show another embodiment of the fluid supply device according to the present invention. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the parts corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In this embodiment, the operating piece 24 of the limit switch 23 is provided so as to engage with the open end of the tubular body 3,
The limit switch 23 is opened and closed by the movement of the tubular body 3 accompanying the contraction of the bellows member 4 when the bellows member 4 is in the maximum contracted state, as in the above-described embodiment.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the same operation and effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in this case, the limit switch 23 is the container mounting table 2
It is determined whether or not the fluid storage container 1 is placed on 0, and the remaining amount detection and the presence / absence detection are performed by one limit switch 23.

The movement detection of the cylindrical body 3 for detecting the remaining amount of the container is most surely performed by the contact type using the limit switch, but this may be performed by the photoelectric type or other non-contact type. It is a thing.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 are longitudinal sectional views showing one embodiment of the fluid supply apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of the fluid supply apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 ... Fluid storage container, 2 ... Container body, 3 ... Cylindrical body, 4 ... Bellows member, 5 ... Annular head, 6 ... Exit,
7 ... Annular shoulder, 8 ... Fluid storage chamber, 10 ... Movable bottom plate, 11 ... Piston part, 12 ... Projection part, 13 ... Stopper claw, 20 ... Container mounting table, 21 ... Suction pump,
22 ... Suction pump tube, 23 ... Limit switch, 2
4 ... Actuating piece

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tubular body forming a main part of a container, a bellows member having one end connected to one end of the tubular body and having an outlet at the other end, and only the tubular body in the tubular body. A piston type movable bottom plate which is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction and which cooperates with the tubular body and the bellows member to define a fluid storage chamber on one side, and the fluid As the fluid filled in the storage chamber is sucked out from the outlet, the movable bottom plate moves toward the joint with the bellows member in the tubular body, while the bellows member is substantially in its expanded state. And a fluid storage container in which the bellows member contracts when the fluid is further sucked from the outlet after the movable bottom plate has finished moving in the tubular body to the joint with the bellows member, Displacement for detecting displacement generated in the tubular body due to contraction of the bellows member Fluid supply apparatus comprising a combination of means out.