JPH09277550A - Ink replenishing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly perform the filling work of an ink cartridge with replenishing ink without allowing ink to overflow. SOLUTION: An ink replenishing apparatus has function for replenishing an ink cartridge packed with an ink holding porous member 31 with replenishing ink and consists of an ink replenishing hole boring jig 2 having a drill part boring the ink cartridge 3 to form an ink replenishing hole 1 and the cartridge holder 4 housing and holding the ink cartage 3. Further, the cartridge holder 4 has the through-hole 19 into which the drill part 23 is inserted and the drill part 23 forms the ink replenishing hole 1 through the through-hole 19 and the tip thereof is pushed in the porous member 31 through the ink replenishing hole 1 and, after the drill part 23 is pulled out, an ink injection part 32 is formed to the porous member 31.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink replenishing device for replenishing an empty ink cartridge with replenishing ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink cartridge used in an ink jet printer has been replaced with a new ink cartridge when the ink filled therein has been used up. This ink cartridge is provided with an expensive print head assembly that ejects ink according to information from the printer.

For this reason, if an ink cartridge that has been emptied after being used once is replaced with a new ink cartridge, the cost will increase. Therefore, in the related art, an attempt has been made to refill an empty ink cartridge with ink and reuse the ink cartridge.

As one of the methods, for example, the following method is adopted. First, an ink replenishment hole is opened in the ink cartridge that is empty of ink by using a drill or the like. Then, the ink is injected into the cartridge main body from the ink replenishing hole using an ink replenishing container having a thin tubular nozzle and filled with the replenishing ink. After that, when the ink is replenished again, the ink replenishment hole is plugged to close it.

[0005]

However, when ink is replenished in an ink cartridge filled with a porous material such as a sponge for holding ink, the ink cartridge shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the nozzle 104 ′ of the ink replenishing container abuts the porous body 31 ′, but since the area of the surface of the porous body 31 ′ that absorbs ink is small, the porous body 31 ′ is
However, there is a problem that it takes a long time to replenish the ink because the ink absorption speed is slow and the air does not return to the ink replenishing container.

In order to improve the return of air into the ink replenishing container, it is conceivable to provide a notch 104a 'at the tip of the nozzle 104' as shown in FIG. 10 (b). In this case, However, there is a problem that the ink may not be absorbed by the porous body and may collect on the upper surface of the porous body and overflow from the ink replenishment hole.

Further, it is conceivable that the nozzle 104 'is made of metal or the like and pierces the porous body 31' to replenish the ink as shown in FIG. 10 (c). The return of air to the container is bad,
There is a problem that it takes time to replenish ink.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink replenishing device capable of quickly refilling an ink cartridge with replenishing ink without causing the ink to overflow.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink replenishing device for replenishing a replenishing ink to an ink cartridge 3 having an ink holding porous body 31 filled therein. The ink cartridge 3 includes an ink refill hole opening tool 2 having a drill portion 23 for opening the ink refill hole 1 and a cartridge holder 4 for accommodating and holding the ink cartridge 3. The cartridge holder 4 includes the drill portion 23. Through-hole 1 into which is inserted
9, the drill portion 23 opens the ink replenishing hole 1 through the through hole 19 and the tip thereof is pushed into the porous body 31 through the ink replenishing hole 1 so that the drill portion The above object is achieved by providing an ink replenishing device characterized in that the ink receiving portion 32 is formed in the porous body 31 after drawing out 23.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the same as the claim 1.
In the invention described in (1), the ink replenishing hole opening device 2 is
Guide protection cylinder 2 movably mounted on the drill section 23
5, the cartridge holder 4 has a cylindrical mounting portion 18 on the outer surface thereof, and the through hole 19 is formed at the bottom of the mounting portion 18, and the guide protection cylinder 2
5 has an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the mounting portion 18, and is fitted into the mounting portion 18 so that the drill portion 23 and the through hole 19 are aligned with each other. The present invention provides an ink replenishing device characterized by the above.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an ink replenishing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink refilling hole opening tool in the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge and a cartridge holder in the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a three-sided view of the cartridge holder in the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ink replenishing container in the present embodiment, and FIGS. 5 to 9 are perspective views illustrating the method of using the present embodiment.

The ink replenishing device of the present embodiment replenishes the replenishing ink to the ink cartridge 3 in which the porous body 31 for holding ink is filled, and the ink replenishing hole 1 is opened in the ink cartridge 3. Drill part 23
And an ink replenishing hole opening tool 2 having a cartridge holder 4 for accommodating and holding the ink cartridge 3. The cartridge holder 4 includes the drill portion 23.
Has a through hole 19 into which the
The ink replenishing hole 1 is opened through the through hole 19 and the tip of the ink replenishing hole 1 is opened through the ink replenishing hole 1.
1, the ink-injected portion 32 is formed in the porous body 31 after the drill portion 23 is pulled out.

Further, in the ink replenishing device of the present embodiment, the ink replenishing hole opening device 2 has the drill portion 23.
Has a guide protection tube 25 movably attached to
The cartridge holder 4 has a cylindrical mounting portion 18 on its outer surface, and the through hole 19 is provided at the bottom of the mounting portion 18.
Is formed, the guide protection cylinder 25 has an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the mounting portion 18, and is inserted into the mounting portion 18, whereby the drill portion 23 and the through hole 19 are formed. It is designed to align and.

The ink replenishing device of this embodiment will be described in more detail below. The ink cartridge 3 to which ink is replenished by the ink replenishing device of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, as shown in FIG. It is filled with the porous body 31, and the ink replenishment hole 1 is opened in the upper surface 3a thereof. The ink replenishing device of this embodiment is composed of three parts including an ink replenishing container 5 in addition to the ink replenishing hole opening tool 2 and the cartridge holder 4 described above.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink replenishing hole opening device 2 has an end portion of the drill portion 23 embedded in a substantially cylindrical grip portion 24, and is slidable on the drill portion 23. The guide protection cylinder 25 is inserted. The length of the drill portion 23 is such that the porous body 31 is pierced through the ink refill hole 1 after the ink refill hole 1 is opened in the upper surface 3a of the ink cartridge 3 housed in the cartridge holder 4. It is long enough.

The guide protection cylinder 25 has a hole formed at the center thereof having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the drill portion 23, and when the guide protection cylinder 25 is fitted into the drill portion 23, it is easily removed. It is designed to be slidable and slidable. The guide protection tube 25 is separable from the drill part 23 as shown in FIG. 1 (b), but as shown in FIG. 1 (a), it is usually inserted at the tip of the drill part 23. The tip of the drill portion 23 covers the tip so as not to injure a hand or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cartridge holder 4 accommodates and fixes the ink cartridge 3 inside with the upper surface 3a having the ink replenishing hole 1 facing upward. It is formed as a housing having a substantially U-shaped side surface on which a cartridge insertion / removal opening 6 for inserting / removing the ink cartridge 3 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cartridge holder 4 has a bottom plate portion 7, a top plate portion 8 and both side plate portions 9 and 9.
And a back plate portion 10. The bottom plate portion 7 is larger than the top plate portion 8 so that the ink cartridge 3 can be stably held. The bottom plate portion 7 is provided with a pair of height position regulating members 11, 11 which are in contact with the bottom surface 3b of the ink cartridge 3 and regulate the position of the ink cartridge 3 in the height direction.

The height position regulating members 11, 11 are shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is formed on the inner surface of the bottom plate portion 7 as a substantially rectangular plate member extending from the insertion port side to the back plate portion 10. The height position regulating members 11, 1
Reference numerals 1 are provided in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval, and upper end edges 11a and 11a thereof support the bottom surface 3b of the ink cartridge 3. The upper edge 11
Slopes 11b and 11b for smoothly storing the ink cartridge 3 in the cartridge holder 4 are provided on the inlet sides of the a and 11a.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom plate portion 7 has a sponge to prevent ink from leaking from the print head 12 when the ink cartridge 3 is filled with replenishing ink. The absorptive member 13 such as the above is provided. The absorbent member 13 is the print head 1
2, which is a position corresponding to 2, and the position regulating members 11, 1
It is provided in front of 1. Ink cartridge 3
Is stored in the cartridge holder 4,
As shown in FIG. 6, the print head 12 is slightly recessed into the absorbent member 13.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the top plate portion 8 prevents the ink cartridge 3 from coming out of the cartridge holder 4 when the ink cartridge 3 is housed in the cartridge holder 4. A retaining member 14 is provided to prevent this. The slip-out preventing member 14 is formed in a cantilever shape by providing a pair of slits 15 and 15 extending from one side edge of the top plate portion 8 to a central position. The tip of the retaining member 14 is
A protrusion 17 is provided to prevent the ink cartridge 3 from coming out of the cartridge holder 4 by engaging the side wall surface 16a of the cutout portion 16 provided in the ink cartridge 3. .

The retaining prevention projection 17 is provided so as to project inward of the cartridge holder 4, and engages with the side wall surface 16a when the ink cartridge 3 is stored in the cartridge holder 4. The ink cartridge 3 is prevented from coming off from the cartridge holder 4. Further, the height of the retaining prevention projections 17 is set such that the retaining prevention member 14 is elastically displaced upward to some extent during the process of inserting the ink cartridge 3 into the cartridge holder 4. ing.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the top plate portion 8 is provided with the above-described ink replenishing hole opening tool 2 when the ink replenishing hole 1 is opened, and ink is re-installed. The cylindrical mounting portion 18 is provided for mounting the ink replenishing container 5, which will be described later, at the time of filling. The drill portion 2 is provided at the bottom of the inside of the mounting portion 18.
The through hole 19 through which the nozzle 3 and the nozzle 104 are inserted is formed.

The attachment portion 18 is fitted with the guide protection cylinder 25 of the ink refill hole opening tool 2 and the base end portion of the nozzle 104 of the ink replenishment container 5, whereby the drill portion 23 and the nozzle 104 are fitted. Through the through hole 1
9 and hold the ink refill hole opening tool 2 and the ink refill container 5 vertically.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the side plate portions 9 and 9 are notched at both side plate portions so that the ink cartridge 3 can be easily taken in and out of the cartridge holder 4. ing. The side plate portions 9 and 9 are provided with width position regulating members 20 and 21 which are in contact with both side surfaces 3c and 3d of the ink cartridge 3 and regulate the position of the ink cartridge 3 in the width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the width position restricting members 20 and 21 are formed as ribs protruding toward the inside of the ink cartridge 3 in which the ink cartridge 3 is housed. It is projected on the inner surface. The width position restricting members 20 and 21 are provided at a position near the upper end and a position near the lower end of the ink cartridge 3 so as to face each other along the insertion direction from the inlet side to the back plate portion 10 in pairs. ing. In addition, an inclined surface 20 for smoothly storing the ink cartridge 3 in the cartridge holder 4 is provided on the inlet side of the width position restricting members 20 and 21.
a and 21a are provided respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, the back plate portion 10 is in contact with one side surface 3e on the insertion side of the ink cartridge 3 to regulate the insertion position of the ink cartridge 3.

The ink replenishing container 5 is preferably used together with the cartridge holder 4 to replenish the ink in the ink cartridge 3 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink replenishing container 5 has the nozzle 104 formed at the tip thereof, and the notch 104 a is formed at the tip of the nozzle 104.

Next, a procedure for replenishing the ink in the ink cartridge 3 with the ink replenishing device of this embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the ink cartridge 3 is inserted into the cartridge holder 4 with the upper surface 3a facing upward. Then, on the outer surface of the top plate portion 8 of the ink cartridge 3, the drop-out preventing projection 17 provided at the tip of the drop-out preventing member 14 is provided.
Contact.

When the ink cartridge 3 is further inserted into the cartridge holder 4 from this state, the retaining prevention projection 17 and the height position regulating members 11, 11 are inserted.
While the height direction is regulated by and the width direction is regulated by the width position regulating members 20 and 21 provided on the side plate portions 9 and 9, the ink cartridge 3 is
Are inserted inward of the cartridge holder 4.

The one side surface 3e on the insertion side of the ink cartridge 3 is the cartridge holder 4
The ink cartridge 3 is inserted into the cartridge holder 4 until it comes into contact with the back plate 10. Then
The retaining prevention protrusion 17 engages with the side wall surface 16a of the cutout portion 16 provided in the ink cartridge 3. As a result, the ink cartridge 3 is prevented from slipping out of the cartridge holder 4, and the work of opening the ink replenishing hole 1 in the ink cartridge 3 and the work of replenishing ink can be performed in a stable state.

When the ink cartridge 3 is mounted and fixed on the cartridge holder 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide protection cylinder 25 of the ink refill hole opening tool 2 is inserted into the mounting portion 18, The tip of the drill portion 23 and the through hole 19 are aligned. From this state, when the grip portion 24 is rotated while being pushed downward,
The ink replenishment hole 1 is opened at a predetermined position on the upper surface 3a of the ink cartridge 3. The ink refill hole opening tool 2 is pushed into the inside of the ink cartridge 3 as it is, and the drill portion 23 is pierced into the porous body 31 inside the ink cartridge 3 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

The ink injection portion 32 is formed in the portion of the porous body 31 pierced by the drill portion 23. At this time, the guide protection cylinder 25 slides along the drill portion 23 in the mounting portion 18 to guide the drill portion 23. The drill part 23
When the opening of the ink replenishing hole 1 and the formation of the ink receiving portion 32 by the above are completed, the drill portion 23 is pulled out from the ink replenishing hole 1 and the through hole 19 and attached to the drill portion 23 with a tissue paper or the like. After wiping off the ink, the guide protection cylinder 25 is slid back to the tip position of the drill portion 23 and returned. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a hand or the like from being injured by the tip of the drill portion 23.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle 104 of the ink replenishing container 5 is inserted into the mounting portion 18. Since the base end portion of the nozzle 104 has a shape that matches the shape of the inside of the mounting portion 18, the nozzle 10
It is possible to easily insert the tip of the nozzle 4 into the ink replenishing hole 1 opened in the ink cartridge 3. The nozzle 104 is inserted into the ink cartridge 3 from the ink refill hole 1 through the through hole 19.

After that, the injection mechanism 115 formed on the bottom surface of the ink replenishing container 5 is expanded and contracted to inject the replenishing ink into the ink cartridge 3. Since the ink contained in the ink cartridge 3 cannot be visually inspected, it is preferable to use the scale of the ink replenishing container 5 to inject the ink.

At this time, the nozzle 104 is inserted in the ink receiving portion 32 formed by the drill portion 23, as shown in FIG.
The ink ejected from No. 4 is absorbed by the ink receiving part 32. The ink receiving part 32 is a concave part whose surface is roughened by the drill part 23, and since the area for absorbing the ejected ink is widened, the ink can be quickly absorbed, Ink will not be accumulated and overflow on the upper surface of the porous body 31.

Further, even if the tip of the nozzle 104 is buried in the ink receiving portion 32, it is not pressed against the porous body 31 and the cutout portion 104.
Since a is formed, the return of air from the nozzle 104 to the inside of the ink replenishing container 5 is good, and the ink injection work can be performed quickly. The ink leaking from the print head 12 is absorbed by the absorptive member 13 and therefore does not stain the surroundings. After replenishing the ink, the ink replenishing container 5 is removed, and then the ink replenishing hole 1 is sealed by, for example, attaching a seal to the ink replenishing hole 1.

The ink replenishing device of the present embodiment is constructed as described above. According to the ink replenishing device of the present embodiment, as described above, the ink receiving portion 32 is formed by the drill portion 23. , Ink to the porous body 3
1 can be easily absorbed, and the replenishing ink can be quickly replenished in the ink cartridge 3 without causing the ink to overflow.

The ink replenishing device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the ink replenishing container 5 is provided in addition to the ink replenishing hole opening tool 2 and the cartridge holder 4. Although it is composed of three parts including the ink refill hole opening tool 2 and the cartridge holder 4, it may be composed of only two parts. Further, other points can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the ink of the porous body is formed by forming the ink receiving portion in the porous body inside the ink cartridge by the drill portion of the ink refill hole opening tool. It is possible to easily and quickly inject the replenishing ink into the ink cartridge by increasing the absorption area and improving the return of air from the nozzle into which the ink is injected.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the above effects according to the invention described in (1), when the ink replenishing hole opening device is not used, the drill portion can be covered with a guide protection cylinder to prevent injuries to hands, etc. When the opening tool is used, the tip position of the drill part and the position of the through hole can be easily aligned with each other in cooperation with the mounting part of the cartridge holder and the drill part can be held in the upright state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view showing an ink refill hole opening tool in an embodiment of an ink refill device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge and a cartridge holder in an embodiment of the ink replenishing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a three-view drawing of a cartridge holder in one embodiment of the ink replenishing device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an ink replenishing container in an embodiment of the ink replenishing device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a method of using the ink replenishing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing a method of using the ink replenishing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the drill portion and the porous body when the ink replenishing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is used.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a method of using the ink replenishing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the nozzle and the porous body when the ink replenishing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is used.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a relationship between a nozzle and a porous body when injecting ink into a conventional ink cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Refill Hole 2 Ink Refill Hole Opening Tool 23 Drill Section 25 Guide Protective Cylinder 3 Ink Cartridge 12 Print Head 31 Porous Body 32 Ink Injected Portion 4 Cartridge Holder 13 Absorbent Member 14 Fall-out Prevention Member 17 Protrusion Preventing Protrusion 18 Mounting Part 19 Through Hole 5 Ink Replenishing Container

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink replenishing device for replenishing an ink replenishing ink to an ink cartridge 3 in which a porous body 31 for holding ink is filled, the drill having an ink replenishing hole 1 in the ink cartridge 3. It comprises an ink refill hole opening tool 2 having a portion 23 and a cartridge holder 4 for accommodating and holding the ink cartridge 3, the cartridge holder 4 having a through hole 19 into which the drill portion 23 is inserted, and the drill. The portion 23 opens the ink replenishing hole 1 through the through hole 19 and the tip of the portion 23 is pushed into the porous body 31 through the ink replenishing hole 1, and the porous portion 31 is pulled out and then the porous portion is formed. An ink replenishing device, wherein an ink receiving portion 32 is formed on a body 31. 2. The ink refill hole opening device 2 has a guide protection cylinder 25 movably mounted on the drill portion 23, and the cartridge holder 4 has a cylindrical mounting portion on its outer surface. 18 and has the through hole 19 at the bottom of the mounting portion 18.
The guide protection cylinder 25 has an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the mounting portion 18, and is inserted into the mounting portion 18, whereby the drill portion 23 and the through hole 19 are formed. The ink replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein and are aligned with each other.