JPH09267484A - Ink cartridge and method for reclamation treatment of ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively discharge residual ink from an ink cartridge in all area of foam by a method wherein in the ink cartridge in which the foam is charged, a recessed ink well is formed to a bottom part of a case. SOLUTION: Foam 12 is charged in the case 11 of an ink cartridge 1 mounted on an ink jet printer or the like. When the case 11 is closed with a cover 13, the foam 12 is compressed with a pressing indenter projected from its inner surface. In this case, an ink well 112 is provided in a bottom part 111 of the case 11, and a conductive hole 132 through which an ink sucking needle 223 passes is opened at a position opposed to the ink well 112 on the cover 13. Then, when residual ink in the recovered cartridge 1 is discharged to be treated for reclamation, the ink cartridge 1 is revolved, and the residual ink is conducted into the ink well 112 by centrifugal force. After piercing that with sucking needles 223, 224, forced suction parts 221, 222 are started to discharge the ink by suction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technical field of an ink cartridge for supplying ink to a recording device such as an ink jet printer and a reproducing process thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink cartridge of this type, which is loaded with a foam for storing ink, can safely store the ink so that it does not deteriorate, and has fine continuous pores for smoothly supplying the ink to a printer or the like. It was widely used to load a foam with a foam, and it was desirable that the ink in the foam be consumed without any residue during use. The residual phenomenon was also difficult to avoid.

By the way, it is very significant from the viewpoint of utilization of limited resources and prevention of environmental pollution that it is possible to recycle the used and recovered ink cartridge without discarding it as it is. Yes,
Various improvements have been made to the recycling process of the used ink cartridge, but at this time, the effective removal of the above-mentioned residual ink from the foam was also a problem.

As one example thereof, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, suction needles SN1 and SN2 for discharging ink are inserted into two places of a foam FO loaded in a foam chamber FR of a used and recovered ink cartridge IC. The inner end of the suction needle SN1 penetrating the air hole VH of the lid LI of the ink cartridge IC is inserted into the foam FO which is remote from the ink supply section IS, and the ink supply section IS The inner end of the suction needle SN2 penetrating the seal SA is inserted into the foam FO adjacent to the ink supply section IS, and both suction needles SN1 and SN2 are operated by forced suction devices PS1 and PS2 such as pumps. Suction needle SN mainly for residual ink in area (A)
1 and the area (B) is sucked and discharged by the suction needle SN2 (prior art).

A known technique is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-
The invention of Japanese Patent No. 60979 (publicly known example) is mentioned.

In the known reproducing apparatus, a centrifugal force is applied to the ink cartridge 2 loaded with the sponge 3 to forcibly discharge the ink.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned prior art, in the conventional one, for example, the one in which a single suction needle SN2 is passed through the ink supply portion to discharge the residual ink, Ink can be discharged only to the region (B), and a region (B) having a high compression rate of the foam FO and a region having a relatively low compression rate when the ink is sucked and discharged through the fine continuous pores. The ink flow path may be cut in the area (C) between (A) and, as a result, it may be difficult to discharge the ink in the areas (B) and (C). According to the conventional technique shown in FIG. 3, since the suction needle SN1 faces the area (A),
The ink in the foam FO is sucked in the directions of arrows (a) and (b) by the two suction needles SN1 and SN2, respectively, and the discharge rate of the residual ink in the entire area of the foam FO is greatly improved. However, in the area (D) remote from both of the suction needles SN1 and SN2, there remains a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently discharge the residual ink.

Further, in the above-mentioned known example, the apparatus is inevitably complicated, and there is still room for improvement in terms of maintenance and inspection.

A first problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a simple ink cartridge having a structure devised so that the residual ink in the foam can be effectively discharged.

A second problem to be solved by the present invention is
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of regenerating an ink cartridge which enables the residual ink to be efficiently discharged from the entire area of the foam from the ink cartridge.

(1) An ink cartridge having a foam, wherein a concave ink reservoir is formed at the bottom of the case.

(2) The ink cartridge according to (1), wherein the ink reservoir is arranged at a remote position from an ink supply section.

(3) The above (1) or (1) in which a through hole through which an ink suction needle can pass is formed in a lid provided continuously to the case.
(2) The ink cartridge described.

(4) The ink cartridge according to (1), (2) or (3), wherein the conductive hole is arranged at a relative position which is aligned with the ink reservoir at the bottom of the case in the height direction of the ink cartridge. .

(5) A method for recycling used ink cartridges, which comprises loading foam in a case,
Centrifugal force is applied to the ink cartridge to transfer the residual ink in the foam toward the bottom so that a part of the ink is stored in the ink reservoir, and at least the ink reservoir and its vicinity by the first suction needle. Of the ink cartridge forcibly discharging the residual ink in the foam.

(6) The method for regenerating an ink cartridge according to the above (5), wherein the ink remaining in the foam in the vicinity of the ink supply portion of the ink cartridge is forcibly discharged by the second suction needle.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 of the present invention is as shown in FIGS.

(1) Ink Cartridge The ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 1 is loaded with an ink holding foam 12 in the case 11, and when the case 11 is closed by the lid 13, the presser 13 protruding from the inner surface thereof is provided.
1 to push the foam 12 down, the bottom 1 of the case 11
The foam 12 is compressed most strongly by the inward projections 141 of the ink supply unit 14 formed in 11, and the filter 15 is transmitted therethrough, and the ink from the foam 12 is drawn out by a printer (not shown) by a printer (not shown). The ink cartridge 1 has a characteristic structure that an ink reservoir 112 projecting outward is provided at a position remote from the ink supply unit 14 at the bottom portion 111 of the case 11, and the lid 13 is provided at the lid 13. Is this ink reservoir 1
A first ink suction needle 22 to be described later is provided at a position facing 12
A through hole 132 for allowing the 3 to pass through is opened.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 142 is a rubber seal for hermetically inserting an ink outlet and a second ink suction needle 224, which will be described later, and 143 is an ink supply unit 14.
3 shows the outwardly projecting portion of the.

(2) Remanufacturing apparatus 200 The remanufacturing apparatus 200 applies a centrifugal force to the used ink cartridge to transfer the ink in the foam 12, and a centrifugal force means 210 for extracting the ink remaining in the foam. Ink suction means 220 is included.

As shown in FIG. 2, the centrifugal force means 210 is provided with a centrifugal disk 213 which is driven to rotate by a rotary drive unit 212 about an axis 211, and the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the centrifugal disk 213. A plurality of possible receiving portions 214 are provided in the circumferential direction at equal intervals, and the shape of the receiving portions 214 is such that the lid 13 of the ink cartridge 1 is on the axial center side of the centrifugal disk 213.
In addition, a rectangular main part 214A is provided so that the ink supply part 14 is located outside and can be loaded in a recumbent shape, followed by a first sub-part 214B for the ink reservoir 12 and a first sub-part 214B for the ink supply part 14. The second sub-portion 214C is formed.

Reference numeral 215 in FIG. 2 indicates the ink supply unit 14.
3 illustrates a rubber cap that prevents ink leakage from the printer.

Next, regarding the ink suction means 220,
As shown in FIG. 1, the first and second forced suction units 221 and 22
2 and the first and second suction needles 223, 2 connected to this
And a first suction needle 22 thereof.
No. 3 is long enough so that the suction end 223A can be deeply inserted into the foam 12 and reach the ink reservoir 112, and the second suction needle 224 is also inserted into the ink supply unit 14 and the filter 15 is thorned. The length was such that the foam 12 was penetrated and penetrated into the foam 12.

(3) Regeneration Treatment Method Next, a method for forcibly discharging the ink remaining in the ink cartridge 1 that has been used and collected to perform the regeneration treatment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, a rubber cap 215 is mounted on the outward protruding portion 143 of the ink supply portion 14 of the ink cartridge 1 so as to prevent ink leakage, and the centrifugal disk 213 of the centrifugal force means 210 is attached. Receiving part 2 provided in
14 main parts 214A and first and second sub parts 214B, 2
Ink cartridge 1 and its ink reservoir 112 on 14C,
The outward projection 143 of the ink supply unit 14 is fitted and loaded (see FIG. 2).

Next, the rotation drive unit 212 is started to start the operation for about 3 minutes.
The centrifuge disk 213 is rotated at a speed of 00R · P · M for about 1 minute.

As a result, the ink remaining in the foam 12 of the ink cartridge 1 is moved in the arrow (c) direction by the centrifugal force and concentrated in the area (E), and a part of the ink is stored in the ink reservoir 112. (See FIG. 1).

At this time, since the rubber cap 215 is attached to the ink supply section 14, there is no risk of ink leakage from the section.

Next, the ink cartridge 1 is taken out from the receiving portion 214 of the centrifugal disk 213, the rubber cap 215 is removed from the outward protruding portion 143 of the ink supply portion 14, and the first suction needle 223 is covered as shown in FIG. 13 is inserted into the case 11 through the through hole 132, and the foam 1
2 into the ink reservoir 1
12 and the second suction needle 2
24 is inserted into the rubber seal 142 of the ink supply unit 14, and the inner end of the rubber seal 142 is penetrated into the foam 12 by pricking the filter 15 (see FIG. 1).

Next, the first and second forced suction units 221 and
When the 222 is started, the ink in the ink reservoir 112 and the residual ink in the area (E1) of the foam 12 are sequentially transferred by the first suction needle 223 in the arrow (d) direction and sucked and discharged. The residual ink in the area (E2) is sucked in the direction of the arrow (e) by the second suction needle 224 and is forcibly discharged, and as a result, the ink remaining on the foam 12 of the ink cartridge 1 is discharged. Can be sucked and discharged smoothly and effectively.

(Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, an ink reservoir 112A, which replaces the ink reservoir 112 in the first embodiment, is formed on the upper surface of a bottom portion 111A in a protruding shape. The functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.
And in common.

(Third Embodiment) In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, instead of the ink reservoirs 112 and 112A in the first or second embodiment, a protrusion is formed on a bottom portion 111B near the ink supply portion 14B. The part 112B is provided, and its function and effect are the same as those of the first or second embodiment.

In addition to the steps described above, the ink cartridge 1 may be regenerated by various steps such as cleaning the foam, refilling with fresh ink, and loading it in a printer for reuse. Needless to say, this point is not a special feature of the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

[0034]

According to the invention described in each of the above-mentioned claims, the following effects can be achieved.

By refilling with fresh ink, the ink remaining on the foam in the ink cartridge can be discharged uniformly over the entire area of the foam,
A high quality recycled ink cartridge can be obtained.

The ink remaining on the foam in the ink cartridge is concentrated in a required area by centrifugal force,
It is possible to provide a method capable of efficiently forcibly discharging.

It is possible to provide a method capable of forcibly discharging the residual ink in the foam at high speed and effectively by the coordinated processing of a plurality of suction needles.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge according to a first embodiment and an explanatory view of an ink suction unit of a reproduction processing apparatus thereof.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of centrifugal force means in the ink cartridge regeneration processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of an ink cartridge according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional ink cartridge reprocessing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink cartridge 11 Case 111, 111A, 111B Bottom 112, 112A Ink reservoir 112B Projection 13 Lid 132 Conduction hole 223, 224 First and second suction needles

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge having a foam, the ink cartridge having a recessed ink reservoir formed at the bottom of a case. 2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink reservoir is provided at a position remote from an ink supply section. 3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the lid connected to the case has a through hole through which an ink suction needle can pass. 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the through hole is arranged at a relative position which is aligned with an ink reservoir at a bottom portion of the case in a height direction of the ink cartridge. 5. A method for reclaiming used ink cartridges, which comprises loading foam in a case, wherein centrifugal force is applied to the ink cartridges to transfer residual ink in the foam toward the bottom. A method for regenerating an ink cartridge comprising a step of storing a part of the ink in an ink reservoir, and a step of forcibly discharging at least the ink reservoir and residual ink in the foam in the vicinity thereof by a first suction needle. 6. The method of regenerating the ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the second suction needle is used to forcibly discharge the ink remaining in the foam in the vicinity of the ink supply portion of the ink cartridge.