JPH1058707A - Liquid refilling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple liquid refilling device whereby a liquid can be readily refilled into a cartridge that contains ink to be consumed and dose not have a refilling hole for refilling. SOLUTION: A cartridge C is held on a cartridge holding section 2 and a rotation member 4 placed on the position is rotated, then a drilling member 5 is placed on a prescribed position of the cartridge C. After a refilling hole is formed, the rotation member is rotated at 180 degree, and then an injecting member 6 is placed on the refilling hole. After the refilling member 6 is lowered to be inserted into the refilling hole, ink is iniected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid refilling apparatus for refilling a cartridge containing a liquid such as ink with a liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ink jet printers have become widespread. This type of printer is equipped with an ink cartridge filled with ink, and supplies ink to the print head side. In fact, such ink cartridges are disposable.
However, ink cartridges are quite expensive, and frequent replacement of such high-priced ink cartridges has been a great frustration for the user. In particular, in the case of a color ink cartridge, it is necessary to replace the ink cartridge at an early stage because the capacity of each color is small and the colors used are easily biased.

[0003] However, the ink cartridge simply consumes the stored ink, and the main body of the cartridge is still usable.

[0004]

In view of such circumstances, some users have made holes in the main body of the cartridge with a drill or a drill and injected and refilled the ink with a spoid through the holes. And may be reused. However, it is very difficult to perform a drilling operation and an ink injection operation in a state where there is not enough jigs and tools because the cartridge is loosened, the ink is spilled, and the clothes and the surroundings become dirty.

[0005] Such a problem exists not only in ink cartridges but also in various disposable cartridges in which liquid to be consumed is filled and a filling port for refilling is not set. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a simple liquid refilling device that can smoothly perform an operation for liquid refilling.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a liquid refilling device according to the present invention is directed to a cartridge which is filled with liquid to be consumed and has no filling port for refilling. A liquid refilling device for refilling a liquid, the cartridge refilling device being provided in the device body and holding the cartridge, and a filling port formed in the cartridge being provided in the device body and held by the cartridge holding portion. Drill member, and provided on the device body,
Through a filling port processed by the drill member, an injection member for injecting a liquid to be replenished, and an operation member holding portion for holding the drill member and the injection member, the cartridge holding portion and the operation member holding portion The injection member is displaceable relative to each other so that the injection member can be displaced to the position of the filling port processed by the drill member.

In the above configuration, the cartridge is held in the cartridge holding portion, and first, a filling port is formed in a predetermined position of the cartridge by a drill member. Next, the cartridge holding section and the operation member holding section are relatively displaced, and the injection member is relatively displaced to a position corresponding to the filling port. Then, the liquid is filled into the cartridge through the filling port by the injection member.

It is preferable that the cartridge holding section is provided integrally with the apparatus main body, and the operating member holding section is formed of a rotating member rotatably supported by the apparatus main body. In this case, the injection member can be moved to the position where the drill member was located by a simple operation of rotating the rotary member holding the drill member and the injection member. Further, since the drill member and the injection member are moved by the rotation, the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a liquid refilling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid refilling device. With reference to these drawings, the present liquid refilling apparatus has a cartridge holding portion 2 having a concave portion.
, An upper casing 3 that removably covers an upper portion of the lower casing 1, and an upper casing 3
And a drill member 5 and a pouring member 6 arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation center of the rotating member 4. The lower casing 1 and the upper casing 3 constitute an apparatus body 10.

The lower casing 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The cartridge holding unit 2 is opened on the upper surface. Various projections (not shown) corresponding to various cartridges are provided on the inner surface of the cartridge holding portion 2 so that the cartridge holding portion 2 can accommodate and hold cartridges of various sizes and shapes. Is also good. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper casing 3 is detachable from the lower casing 1, and includes a projection 11 and a recess 12 provided on an upper surface of the lower casing 1, and a recess 31 provided on a lower surface of the upper casing 3. And the projection 32 are fitted together. Note that the upper casing 3 may be rotated around a predetermined axis with respect to the lower casing 1 to be opened. In any case, it suffices if the upper surface of the lower casing 1 is opened and the cartridge can be taken in and out of the cartridge holding section 2.

At the center of the upper surface of the upper casing 3, a circular hole 3 is formed.
a is formed, and a step 3b above the circular hole 3a is formed.
The rotatable member 4 is rotatably fitted therein. The rotating member 4 can hold the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 at predetermined positions with respect to the cartridge by the click mechanism 9. That is, a small ball 9a is elastically supported by a compression coil spring 9b in a concave portion formed on the inner peripheral edge of the circular hole 3a, and the small ball 9a is formed at two symmetrical positions on the outer peripheral edge of the rotating member 4. The rotational position of the rotating member 4 is held at a predetermined position by being elastically pushed into the recess 4a.

The rotary member 4 has receiving holes 4b and 4c formed at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of rotation, and the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 are inserted and supported in the receiving holes 4b and 4c. I have. Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG.
The drill member 5 has a cylindrical fixing portion 51 which is fitted into the accommodation hole 4b and is selectively positioned at an upper position or a lower position. Are rotatably and vertically movable.

Referring to FIG. 5, one end of a pair of lateral grooves 51a and 51b
While a substantially U-shaped groove 51d connected by c is formed, a projection that is fitted into the groove 51d is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the accommodation hole 4b, though not shown. While the projection is fitted in the other end of the upper lateral groove 51a, the drill member 5 is positioned and held at the upper position, while the projection is fitted in the other end of the lower lateral groove 51b. The drill member 5 is positioned and held at the lower position.

Referring to FIG. 4, the handwheel 52 is described.
A cylindrical handle portion 52b fixed to the upper end of a shaft 52a penetrating the upper surface 51e of the fixing portion 51;
A disk-shaped guide plate 52c fixed in the middle of 2a;
The spline teeth 5 are fixed to the lower end of the shaft body 52a, and
And a disk-shaped transmission plate 52e formed with 2d.

The connecting cylinder 53 is a bottomed cylinder, and a drill 54 having a predetermined diameter is fixed to the center of the bottom surface 53a so as to be integrally rotatable. A groove 53b is formed on the inner surface of the connecting cylinder 53 so as to be spline-fitted with the spline teeth 52d of the transmission plate 52e. The transmission plate 5
A compression coil spring 55 that urges the handwheel 52 upward is interposed between 2e and the bottom surface 53a of the connecting cylinder 53.

In such a drill member 5, the handwheel 52 is normally pushed up by the action of the compression coil spring 55, and the guide plate 52c is in contact with the upper surface portion 51e of the fixing portion 51 and is connected. Bottom 53a of cylinder 53
Are in contact with the bottom surface 51 f of the fixing portion 51. When the user sets the fixing portion 51 at the lower position, the lower end of the drill 54 comes into contact with the upper surface of the cartridge.
5 is deflected. In this state, when the handwheel 52 is turned, the drill 54 is rotated while being pressed downward by the compression coil spring 55 via the transmission plate 52e, and the filling port is formed. ing.

Next, referring to FIG. 6 which is an enlarged sectional view of the injection member 6, the injection member 6 is
a cylindrical fixing portion 61 fitted and fixed in c.
A handwheel 62 rotatably and immovably held up and down, a small-diameter first tube 63 integrally connected to the handwheel 62, and a fixed portion 61 which is splined to the inner peripheral surface of the fixed portion 61. The first tube 63 is vertically movable and non-rotatably held with respect to the first tube 63.
A second tube 64 screwed to the second tube 64; and a needle-shaped injection tube 65 formed at the lower end of the second tube 64.

A stopper 65a is formed on the outer periphery of the injection pipe 65 in the middle part thereof, and this stopper 65a is for stopping a stopper 66 fitted in the injection pipe 65 below it. After completion of the injection step, the filling handle of the cartridge can be automatically closed by the stopper 66 by further turning down the second tube 64 by turning the handwheel 62. The plug 66 has a cylindrical shape for fitting into the injection tube 65, but is contracted by being fitted into the filling port to close the hole. Depending on the material of the plug 66, the hole may not be completely closed, and this hole may be used as an air hole.

Referring to FIG. 7, a screw hole 6 for connecting to the ink container 7 is provided on the upper surface of the handwheel 62.
2a are formed, and the screw hole 62a and the first tube 63 are formed.
A communication hole 62b communicating the inside is formed. A push rod 62c is formed to project from the bottom surface of the screw hole 62a. Injection port 7 formed at the lower end of ink injection container 7
When the screw on the outer periphery of 1 is screwed into the screw hole 62a, the push rod 62c pushes up the ball stopper 73 urged in the closing direction by the compression coil spring 72 in the inlet 71,
The inlet 71 is opened so that ink can be injected. Since the ball stopper 73 closed and urged in this manner is used, it is possible to reliably prevent ink leakage when the injection port 71 is mounted. Further, by adjusting the fitting position of the screw of the injection port 71 to the screw hole 62a, the ink flow rate can be adjusted. The ink supply from the inlet 71 may be natural fall or pressure feed.

Next, the procedure of the ink refilling operation using the present apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the ink cartridge C is housed in the cartridge holding portion 2 of the lower casing 3 with the upper casing 1 removed. Next, after the upper casing 1 is attached to the upper part of the lower casing 2, the rotating member 4 is rotated and stopped at the click position, and the drill member 5 is positioned above the ink cartridge C as shown in FIG. . Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the drill member 5 is pushed down to the lower position and set, whereby the drill 5 is set.
The lower end of 5 is in contact with the upper surface of the ink cartridge C. Next, the hand turning handle 52 is rotated to fill the charging port C.
After drilling 1, the drill member 5 is pulled up to the upper position and retracted as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG.
When the injection member 6 is rotated by 80 °, the formed filling port C is formed.
So that it is directly above 1. Next, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the handwheel 62 of the injection member 6 is rotated to insert the lower end of the injection tube 65 into the filling port C1. Next, as shown in FIG. 10A, after the injection port 71 on the ink container 7 side is connected to the injection member 6, injection is started. When the injection is completed, the handwheel 6 of the injection member 6
2, the injection pipe 65 is further pushed down to attach the stopper 66 to the filling port C1, and then, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the handwheel 62 is reversed to raise the injection pipe 65 to complete the refilling operation. I do.

In this embodiment, since the cartridge C can be held in the cartridge holding portion 2, it is easy to perform the drilling of the filling port C1C1 and the filling operation through the filling port C1. Further, by simply rotating the rotating member 4, the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 can be accurately displaced to the position corresponding to the filling port C1, and the usability is good. Therefore, even an unskilled person can easily perform the refilling operation. In addition, since the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 are displaced by the rotation of the rotating member 4, no space is required and the apparatus can be downsized. Furthermore, since the number of parts is small and the structure is simple, the manufacturing cost is low.

The drill member 5 is provided with a handwheel 5
2, the operation can be performed very easily. Further, since the drill member 5 can be easily moved between the upper position and the lower position using the groove 51d, the drilling operation is further facilitated. In particular, since the pressing force of the compression coil spring 55 can be applied to the cartridge 55 with the drill 55 in a state where the drill member 5 is located at the lower position, there is no need to press down by hand, and the hole is smoothly formed. Dawn work can be performed. The drilling may be performed electrically using a small motor.

The second tube 64 having the injection tube 65 is formed by rotating the first tube member 63 with the hand-operated handle 62 by using the pair of tube members 63 and 64 which expand and contract the injection member 6 by screw fitting. Can be moved up and down, so that the injection operation can be performed more easily. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the cartridge holding unit 2 is on the fixed side, and the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 are on the movable side. The member 5 and the injection member 6 may be fixed, and the cartridge holding unit 2 may rotate.

The relative displacement between the cartridge holding portion 2 and the holding portions of the drill member 5 and the injection member 6 is preferably by rotation as in the above embodiment, but may be by linear movement. Further, a cover having a positioning hole at a predetermined position may be placed on the upper surface of the lower casing 1 for use. In this case, the positioning hole is located immediately above the position where the filling port of the cartridge is to be machined, and drilling and injection work can be performed through the positioning hole.

In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0026]

According to the present invention, since the cartridge can be held in the cartridge holding portion, drilling of the filling port and injection work through the filling port can be easily performed. Further, the drill member and the injection member can be precisely displaced to the position corresponding to the filling port simply by relatively displacing the cartridge holding portion and the operation member holding portion, which is convenient. Therefore, even an unskilled person can easily perform the refilling operation. Also, since the number of parts is small and the structure is simple, the manufacturing cost is low.

If the operating member holding portion holding the drill member and the injection member is composed of a rotating member rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, the drill member can be rotated by a simple operation of rotating the rotating member. As a result, the injection member can be just moved to the position where it has been located, so that the refilling operation is further facilitated. In addition, since the drill member and the injection member are moved by rotation, the apparatus can be made compact without taking up space.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a liquid refilling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the liquid refilling device.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper casing of the liquid refilling device.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a drill member.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the drill member.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an injection member.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main handle of an ink supply container and a manual handle of an injection member.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are schematic sectional views sequentially showing a liquid refilling step.

9 (a) to 9 (c) are schematic cross-sectional views sequentially showing a liquid refilling step following FIG. 8 (c).

FIGS. 10A and 10C are schematic sectional views sequentially showing a liquid refilling step following FIG. 9C.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower casing 2 Cartridge holding part 3 Upper casing 4 Rotating member (operation member holding part) 5 Drill member 51 Fixed part 52 Handwheel 54 Drill 6 Injection member 61 Fixed part 62 Handwheel 63 First tube 64 Second tube 65 Injection pipe 65a Stopper 66 Stopper C Ink cartridge C1 Filling port

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 14, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic sectional views sequentially showing a liquid refilling step following FIG. 9C.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A liquid refilling device for refilling a liquid in a cartridge filled with a liquid to be consumed and having no filling port for refilling, wherein the liquid refilling device is provided in an apparatus main body. A cartridge holding unit for holding the cartridge; a drill member provided in the apparatus main body, for processing a filling port in the cartridge held in the cartridge holding unit; and a filling port provided for the apparatus main body, processed by the drill member. And an operating member holding portion for holding the drill member and the injecting member. The cartridge holding portion and the operating member holding portion have a filling port machined by the drill member. A liquid refilling device which is relatively displaceable relative to each other so that the injection member can be displaced to a position. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge holding section is provided integrally with the apparatus main body, and the operation member holding section comprises a rotating member rotatably supported on the apparatus main body. Liquid refill device.