JPS59216Y2 - recording liquid tank - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a recording liquid tank of an inkjet recording apparatus, and in particular, it facilitates replenishment of recording liquid.

In conventional inkjet recording apparatuses, a cartridge type recording liquid tank is often used because it is easy to replenish the recording liquid, but the cartridge type has a large number of parts and therefore requires more man-hours for assembly.

Further, the cartridge holder has a complicated structure and cannot be made compact, so the Carr I-ridge type tank is generally expensive.

Further, when a needle is used to connect the cartridge to a supply path for supplying recording liquid to a recording head, the needle may be damaged due to vibration or tilting.

However, when a refill type recording liquid tank is used instead of a cartridge type tank, there are problems in that it is difficult to replenish the recording liquid, the area around the tank is contaminated with the recording liquid, and it is difficult to judge when and how much to replenish.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a refillable recording liquid tank that eliminates such conventional drawbacks and allows easy replenishment of recording liquid.

The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the recording liquid tank of the present invention, where 1 is the tank body and 2 is a recording liquid replenisher.

The recording liquid replenishing part 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the tank 1, and includes an outer cylinder 4 having a threaded part 3 carved on its outer periphery, and an annular passage 5 formed between the inner wall of the outer cylinder 4 and the inner wall of the outer cylinder 4. A wedge-shaped semi-cylinder 6 is arranged so that the wedge-shaped semi-cylinder 6 has a flat top, a semi-cylinder 7 with a flat top is arranged opposite to this wedge-shaped semi-cylinder 6, and a semi-cylinder 7 having a flat top is formed between the semi-cylinder 6 and the radial cylinder 7 as shown in FIG. It can be composed of a recording liquid passage 8 and a recording liquid supply port 9.

Other than when replenishing the recording liquid, by screwing the cap 11 to the outer cylinder 4 integrally with the gasket 10, the gasket 10 is pressed by the cap 11 and the outer cylinder 4, and the recording liquid in the tank 1 is sealed. do.

A recording liquid outlet 12 is provided on one side wall near the bottom of the tank 1 for supplying the recording liquid to a recording head (not shown) through a recording liquid supply path (not shown).

In addition, near the bottom of a part of the side wall of the tank 1, for example, the side wall opposite to the side wall to which the outlet 12 is attached, there is a first gradient surface 13, a first slope surface 13 that rises from the bottom with a gentle slope.
It is also possible to provide a parallel surface 14 that is approximately parallel or has a gentle slope with the tangled bottom surface, and a second slope surface 15 that gently rises from the parallel surface 14 and connects to the vertical portion of the side wall.

In this case, check the remaining amount of recording liquid on each surface 13 above.
．． This can be easily done by dividing the distance by 14° and 15°.

Here, the height of the parallel surface 14 from the bottom surface is set to be approximately the same as the height of the recording liquid outlet 12, so that the liquid level is
It is preferable to prompt the user to replenish the amount when the amount falls below 4.

Furthermore, a first slope surface 13, a parallel surface 14, a second gradient surface 1
5 may be colored with different colors to make confirmation of the remaining amount even easier.

Next, the case of replenishing the recording liquid will be explained.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the recording liquid replenishment container 20 is inserted into the recording liquid replenishment part 2 of the tank 1 to replenish the tank 1 with recording liquid. It is a thin-walled container with a bottom shape,
After sealing the recording liquid inside the container 20, a laminated film 21 such as a heat seal is attached to the opening 22 of the container 20.
Press and heat to seal the top surface.

The height of the mouth part 22 of the container 20 is set lower than the height of the outer cylinder 4 in the recording liquid replenishing part 2 from the top surface of the tank.
When the opening 22 of the container 20 is inserted into the annular passage 5 formed between the outer cylinder 4 and the half cylinders 6 and 7, the shoulder 23 of the container 20 comes into contact with the top of the outer cylinder 4, A gap is formed between the top surface of the tank 1 and the top of the mouth 22 of the container 20.

When the opening 22 of the container 20 is inserted into the annular passage 5 of the recording liquid replenishing section 2, the film 21 is first pierced by the wedge-shaped semi-cylindrical cylinder 6.

When the container 20 is pushed further, the torn film 21 is pushed and expanded inward by the semi-cylinders 6 and 7, and the recording liquid flows into the tank 1 from the recording liquid supply port 9.

Here, the diameter of the recording liquid supply port 9 only needs to be large enough to allow the recording liquid to fall under gravity.

When the container 20 is pushed further, the shoulder 23 of the container 20 comes into contact with the upper surface of the outer cylinder 4, and one end of the film 21 comes into contact with the inner wall of the opening 22 and the outer wall of the semi-cylindrical cylinder 7, as shown in FIG. Since the torn film 21 is sandwiched between the two, the torn film 21 does not hang down and does not obstruct the outflow of the recording liquid.

Furthermore, even if the recording liquid leaks into the annular passage 5, since the recording liquid passage 8 is provided between the semicircular cylinders 6 and 7, the leaked recording liquid will flow through this passage 8 and into the tank 1 from the recording liquid supply port 9. Flow into.

Here, the recording liquid capacity of the replenishment container 20 is, for example, the tank 1
The capacity may be approximately 1/2 of the capacity of .

Alternatively, the liquid level of the recording liquid may be the second distribution surface 1 of the tank 1.
The liquid capacity of the replenishment container 20 may be further increased by replenishing the recording liquid when the liquid reaches between the parallel surface 14 and the parallel surface 14.

As explained above, according to the present invention, when refilling a tank with refillable recording liquid, a film such as a heat seal laminated to the opening is thermocompressed to seal the recording liquid. By simply inserting the replenishment container into the recording liquid replenishment unit, which consists of a ring-shaped outer cylinder provided on the top of the tank, a wedge-shaped semi-cylinder provided inside the ring-shaped outer cylinder, and a flat-topped semi-cylinder, the recording liquid can easily be removed from the surrounding area. The recording liquid can be replenished into the tank without leaking.

In addition, by providing a first sloped surface, a parallel surface, and a second sloped surface near the bottom of one side wall of the tank, the position of the liquid level in the tank can be easily confirmed, and the recording liquid replenishment timing and replenishment amount can be determined easily. can be accurately grasped.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of the recording liquid tank of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the tank shown in the first drawing, and FIG. 3 is a view showing the recording liquid in the tank shown in the first drawing. It is an explanatory view of a state of replenishment. 1... Recording liquid tank, 2... Recording liquid replenisher, 3...
・Threaded portion, 4... Outer cylinder, 5... Annular passage, 6...
Wedge-shaped semi-cylinder, 7... Semi-cylinder, 8... Recording liquid passage, 9... Recording liquid supply port, 10... Packing, 11.
...Cap, 12...Recording liquid outlet, 13...First
Gradient surface, 14...Parallel surface, 15...Second gradient surface, 2
0... Replenishment container, 21... Film, 22... Mouth part, 23... Shoulder part.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) A recording liquid tank body that stores recording liquid, a recording liquid supply port formed on the top surface of the recording liquid tank body, an outer cylinder protruding around the recording liquid supply port, and the recording medium inside the outer cylinder. A recording liquid tank characterized by comprising a wedge-shaped semi-cylinder protruding at intervals around a liquid supply port, and a semi-cylinder with a flat top surface. (2) Utility Model Registration Scope of Claim The recording liquid tank according to claim 1 has a lid that covers the outer cylinder except when the recording liquid is refilled, and the lid prevents the recording liquid in the recording liquid tank from leaking. A recording liquid tank characterized in that: