KR101331443B1 - Ink refill device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, all parts of the device are accommodated in a case and set very compactly, thereby improving aesthetics, greatly improving portability, storage, durability, and mobility, and having various colors of ink in one case side by side. It is possible to simply open and close the container lid when replenishing the ink, and has a structure that promotes ease of operation and use, and is structurally stable, and refills the ink cartridge and refills the ink container. It is to provide an ink refilling device that does not cause confusion of ink colors. To this end, the ink refilling apparatus of the present invention comprises a box-shaped case; An ink container accommodated in one side of the case and having a lid capable of opening and closing; A cylinder having an injection port at the tip and a piston reciprocating within the cylinder, the piston being operable to suck and discharge ink, the cylinder being inserted through the front wall member on one side of the case and inserted into the case to form a rear flange of the cylinder. A syringe fixed to a position in close contact with an outer wall of the front wall member; An ink suction line having one end connected to a bottom surface of the ink container so as to communicate with the inside of the ink container, and the other end connected to an injection port side of the syringe; A first check valve and a three-way valve connected in the middle of the ink suction line to block back flow of ink; A diaphragm member installed to partition the inner space of the case up and down to an upper position of the syringe, the first check valve and the three-way valve; An ink cartridge mount fixedly mounted on an upper surface of the diaphragm member, the ink cartridge mount having a mounting portion for mounting an ink cartridge to be refilled due to depletion of ink; An ink injection line having one end connected to the three-way valve and the other end connected to the ink cartridge mount for supplying and charging ink to the ink cartridge; And a second check valve provided in the middle of the ink injection line to block backflow of ink.

Description

Ink refill device

The present invention relates to an ink refilling device for replenishing ink in an ink cartridge for an inkjet printer, and more particularly, the ink refilling operation of the cartridge and the ink refilling operation of the ink refilling apparatus are made very easy, and in particular, the ink The present invention relates to an ink refilling device which is not only greatly improved in assembling and manufacturability of a refilling device but also in good management, storage, transport, and portability.

In general, an ink cartridge used in an inkjet printer is composed of an ink container in which ink is stored and a head part for ejecting ink, and the ink is ejected from the head part to paper according to a printing command of the printer so that printing is performed.

Since the ink cartridge used in this way is a one-time use, when all the ink filled inside is consumed, the ink cartridge itself has been replaced with a new one. However, recently, in order to recycle resources and prevent environmental pollution, the ink cartridge has been exhausted. There is a trend towards refilling and reusing ink in ink cartridges without disposing of them, and these ink refills are economically advantageous because they are much less expensive than replacing the ink cartridges with new ones, especially protecting the environment and resources. In terms of preventing waste, the utility and importance are increasing.

Refilling the ink for reuse of the cartridge varies depending on the manufacturer and product model of the inkjet printer, and thus the method may vary, but the most commonly used method is using a syringe. That is, after a certain amount of suction is injected into the syringe while the syringe needle is immersed in the ink in the reservoir, the needle is inserted into the hole of the ink cartridge to eject the ink from the syringe and inject the ink.

However, the ink refilling method using a syringe inserts a needle into an ink reservoir, sucks the ink into the syringe, and then inserts the needle into the ink cartridge hole to inject the ink, thereby making the process cumbersome, There was an unclean problem, such as ink dripping or spilling around.

In addition, by using a syringe, there is a risk that air or foreign matter may be introduced together in the ink cartridge in the ink cartridge, and the air introduced may form bubbles in the ink in the ink cartridge, thereby preventing smooth ink injection. The deterioration of the print quality, and the foreign matter introduced to the nozzle, prevents the smooth ejection of the ink by blocking the fine nozzles of the head portion from which the ink is ejected, thereby causing the deterioration of the print quality.

In order to solve such a conventional problem, Patent No. 10-0436621 is not only very easy to refill the ink in the ink cartridge, but also clean work by preventing the ink from falling or flowing during the refilling operation In addition, an ink refilling device capable of preventing air or foreign matter from being injected together in a mixed state of ink has been proposed and in use.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ink refilling apparatus of the above-described registered patent invention includes a container 10 for storing ink, an inlet 20a located inside the container 10, and an outlet port outside the container 10. A tube 20 providing an ink flow passage in which the 20b is located, and is installed in the middle of the ink flow passage of the tube 20 to suck the ink L in the container 10 into the inlet 20a to discharge the outlet 20b. A first check valve 50 installed in an ink flow passage between the pumping means for discharging the gas and the outlet 20b of the tube 20 and the pumping means, and blocking the inflow of external air when ink is sucked by the pumping means; And a second check valve 60 installed in the ink flow passage between the inlet 20a of the tube 20 and the pumping means to block backflow of the ink pumped by the pumping means, and the outlet of the tube 20. Injection water for replenishing the ink (L) in the ink cartridge (C) installed in the (20b) By being configured to include.

This makes it easy to replenish the ink in the ink cartridge, and also allows the ink to work cleanly without dropping or flowing around during the refilling process, and also to inject air or foreign matter into the ink cartridge together with ink. Since it is prevented, it is described to provide a device in which air bubbles or foreign matter do not block the fine nozzles of the ink cartridge and thus prevent ink ejection. With the same disadvantages, there is an urgent need for improvement.

First, the syringe 30, which is a pumping means, protrudes vertically long on the upper portion of the container 10, which is not only very unstable structurally, but also the syringe 30 is easily broken, and occupies a large space, which is inconvenient for storage and movement. This follows,

Second, when the ink L in the container 10 is exhausted, the ink must be replenished. For this purpose, the lid 11 must be removed from the container body, but the piping line 23, 24 are passed through, and the inconvenience of having to disassemble and reassemble after refilling the ink is due to the fixing members 13 and 14 which are assembled to fix the pipe lines 23 and 24. In addition, when the lid 11 is screwed to the container body, the ink refilling process is very cumbersome, as the parts contained in the container 10 are twisted together and twisted together. There is a problem that can stain the body and contaminate the body,

Third, the support case 71 supporting the ink cartridge C is squeezed out of the container 10 together with the injection line 24, and the parts housed inside the ink container are projected to the outside so that the appearance is not good. Discomfort in sex, storage and mobility.

Fourth, when the ink cartridge (C) is mounted on the support case 71, the width of the support case 71 is narrow and extends high, so that the ink cartridge (C) falls well due to structural instability. .

Fifth, when the ink refilling device is not distinguished by the ink color, when refilling the ink container 10, the ink refill is incorrectly refilled, and similarly, when the customer refills the ink cartridge (C) brought in by the customer, There was a problem that could cause confusion.

Korean Patent No. 10-0436621, Name of the Invention: Ink Refilling Device

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is that all parts of the device are accommodated in a case and set very compactly, thereby improving aesthetics and greatly improving portability and storage, durability and mobility. There is provided an ink refill apparatus.

Another object of the present invention can be provided with ink of various colors side by side in one case, ink refill of the structure that can be easily opened and closed only the container lid when replenishing the ink to increase the ease of operation and use To provide a device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ink refilling apparatus which is structurally stable and does not cause confusion of ink colors in ink refilling into an ink cartridge and ink refilling operation into an ink container.

In order to achieve the above object, the ink refilling apparatus of the present invention comprises a box-shaped case; An ink container accommodated in one side of the case and having a lid capable of opening and closing; A cylinder having an injection port at the tip and a piston reciprocating within the cylinder, the piston being operable to suck and discharge ink, the cylinder being inserted through the front wall member on one side of the case and inserted into the case to form a rear flange of the cylinder. A syringe fixed to a position in close contact with an outer wall of the front wall member; An ink suction line having one end connected to a lower portion of the ink container so as to communicate with the inside of the ink container, and the other end connected to an injection port side of the syringe; A first check valve and a three-way valve connected in the middle of the ink suction line; A diaphragm member installed to partition the inner space of the case up and down to an upper position of the syringe, the first check valve and the three-way valve; An ink cartridge mount fixedly mounted on an upper surface of the diaphragm member, the ink cartridge mount having a mounting portion for mounting an ink cartridge to be refilled due to depletion of ink; An ink injection line having one end connected to the three-way valve and the other end connected to the ink cartridge mount for supplying and charging ink to the ink cartridge; And a second check valve provided in the middle of the ink injection line, wherein the first check valve is opened to suck ink from the ink container to the cylinder through the ink suction line when the piston is retracted. In this case, the second check valve shuts off the ink injection line, and when the piston moves forward, the first check valve shuts off the ink suction line so that ink does not flow back to the ink container, and the second check valve Is operated to open the ink injection line so that ink discharged from the cylinder is supplied to the ink cartridge side through the ink injection line via the three-way valve.

According to the present invention, all the components of the apparatus including the ink container, the syringe and the ink cartridge mount are installed in the casing in a plurality.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of ink cartridge mounts or the lids of the ink container arranged side by side have a color corresponding to the ink color to be refilled.

Moreover, according to this invention, the cover which covers the upper opening part of the said box-shaped case is provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to the present invention, all parts of the device are accommodated in a box-shaped case in a two-stage structure, and thus very compact and cleanly set up, thereby providing an ink refilling device with a beautiful appearance and improved portability and storage, durability, and mobility. In addition, it can be equipped with various colors of ink side by side in one case, and only by simply opening and closing the lid of the container without interfering with other parts when refilling the ink container The convenience of operation and use is greatly improved, and the ink color of the ink color when refilling the ink cartridge and replenishing the ink container with the ink cartridge mount or the ink container lid arranged in parallel with each other is the same as the color of the ink. There is no confusion.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink refilling apparatus according to the present invention, and shows a state in which the lid of the upper case is removed.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the invention of FIG. 1, with a lid mounted on the top of the case; FIG.
3 is a view showing the ink refilling device in a plan view with the structure of a plate member on which an ink cartridge mount is mounted, separated from the case in the ink refilling device according to the present invention.
4 shows a prior art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to fully understand the present invention. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the elements in the drawings can be exaggeratedly expressed to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that are determined to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention are omitted.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ink refilling apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail.

The ink refilling apparatus of the present invention, denoted by reference numeral 100 in the drawing, includes a case 110 having a rectangular box shape, and accommodates all the components of the present invention in the space inside the case 110.

The case 110 is preferably formed of a plastic, preferably an opaque plastic material for the convenience of manufacture, the open top of the case 110 of the upper and front wall member 130 as shown in FIG. Removably mounted using a cover 120 having an L-shape to cover about half at the same time (the cover is not shown in FIG. 1 to avoid complexity), and the cover 120 is plastic, preferably inside It may be formed of a transparent plastic material so as to grasp the ink injection situation or parts thereof, and may be mounted to be opened by pivoting backward (opening) by connecting to the case 110 using a hinge. .

The front wall member 130 of one side of the case 110 is fixedly mounted with a syringe 140 having the same structure as that used for collecting blood or injecting drugs in a hospital, and for this purpose, a cylinder of the syringe 140 150 is penetrated through the front wall member 130, and the flange 160 at its rear end is fixed to maintain the horizontal contact with the surface of the front wall member 130, the piston 170 of the syringe 140 ) Is inserted into the cylinder 150 so that the handle portion 180 protrudes in front of the case (110).

In addition, the ink container 210 is detachably mounted in contact with the rear wall member 200 of the case 110, and the ink container 210 is equipped with a lid 220 fastened by a screw type, and inside the container. Ink 230 is received.

One end of the ink suction line 240 is connected to the injection hole 190 protruding from the tip of the cylinder 140 of the syringe 140, and the other end of the ink suction line 240 is the bottom surface of the ink container 210. Or connected to the lower side of the side, the inside of the ink container 210 and the cylinder 150 of the syringe 140 is configured to allow communication with each other through the ink suction line 240.

The first check valve 250 and the three-way valve 260 are installed in the middle of the ink suction line 240, and the first check valve 250 and the three-way valve 260 are installed in the case 110. It is installed to be positioned on the bottom surface 270.

A plurality of support bars 280 are formed on inner wall surfaces of both sidewalls of the case 110, and the plate member 290 is supported by the top surface of the front wall member 130 and the support bars 280. Is installed so as to lie horizontally, by the diaphragm member 290 the inner space of the case 110 is divided into two upper and lower stages.

An ink cartridge mount 320 having a mounting portion 310 formed of a rectangular groove for inserting and mounting an ink cartridge 300 to be refilled on the upper surface of the diaphragm member 290. Is mounted so as to be fixed by the bonding material, and one end of the ink injection line 330 is connected to the ink container and the syringe side of the remaining connection terminals (two of three are connected to the ink container and the syringe side) of the three-way valve 260. And the other end of the ink injection line 330 is connected to the ink cartridge mount 320 to supply and charge the ink 230 to the ink cartridge 300. In the middle of the 330, preferably, the second check valve 340 is provided to be positioned below the diaphragm member 290 so that it cannot be seen from the outside, and is disposed through the ink cartridge mount 320 inside. Being ying An ink discharge port 350 is formed at the final end of the ink injection line 330 to open toward the mounting portion 310, and the ink injection line 330 penetrates the hole formed in the diaphragm member 290 up and down. Excreted by

The second check valve 340 is a one-way valve that allows the flow of ink 230 from the syringe 140 side to the ink cartridge 300 side only, and constitutes the ball and spring to form the ink injection line 330. Although a conventional structure of opening and closing may be used, it is preferable to use a diaphragm valve in terms of stability of operation, and the first check valve 250 may be connected to the ink container 210 through the ink suction line 240. The flow of ink 230 from the syringe 140 side to the syringe 140, but the flow of ink 230 in the opposite direction is formed by a one-way valve, which is a typical means of opening and closing the conduit of such a check valve. As a spring that elastically supports the structure, the structure is well known in the art, and detailed illustration thereof is omitted.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, all components of the apparatus including the ink container 210, the syringe 140, and the ink cartridge mount 320 are included in the case 110 at least 1. Dogs, preferably a plurality, and most preferably, the number of ink colors to be refilled, in the illustrated embodiment, four are arranged side by side, and according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of ink cartridges arranged side by side The stages 320 or the lids 220 of the ink container 210 each have a color that matches the color of the ink 230 to be refilled, e.g. black, yellow, green and red, the primary colors of the ink 230. It is configured to determine the mounting position of the ink cartridge 300 to be refilled by the color by forming the color so as to have one color to match each other, and also of the ink suction line 240 Inner group is denied access only to the ink container 210, the ink container 210, a filter 360 for filtering the foreign matter is selectively mounted.

Hereinafter, a process of refilling the ink 230 with respect to the ink cartridge 300 of the printer device using the ink refill apparatus 100 of the present invention will be described.

Each of the plurality of ink containers 210 is prepared by filling an ink 230 having a specific color in advance. Then, when a customer requests an ink refill of the ink cartridge 300, first, the lid 120 of the case 110 of the ink refill apparatus 100 is opened (the lid 120 of FIG. 2 is opened, and the illustrated state of FIG. 1 is opened. The ink cartridge 300 brought by the customer is pressed into the mounting portion 310 of the ink cartridge mount 320 as shown in FIG.

Next, by holding the handle of the piston 170 of the syringe 140 and retracting it from the cylinder 150 (see the dotted line state of the syringe piston 170 in FIG. 2), the negative pressure according to the increase in the volume inside the cylinder 150 at this time As the first check valve 250 is opened by forming, the ink 230 contained in the ink container 210 is sucked and moved along the open ink suction line 240 to form the three-way valve 260 and the syringe 140. The inlet 190 flows into the cylinder 150 through the inlet 190. At this time, the negative pressure due to the suction of the syringe 140 also acts on the second check valve 340. The check valve 340 is operated to block the ink injection line 330 to block backflow of air or ink from the ink cartridge 300 side to the syringe 140 through the ink injection line 330.

When the amount of ink 230 fills the cylinder 150 to some extent as the piston 170 retreats, the piston 170 is pushed forward toward the inlet 190 of the cylinder 150 to thereby advance the cylinder. 150, the ink 230, which is subjected to the compressive force while the content thereof is reduced, is discharged and pumped to the three-way valve 260 through the injection hole 190. However, at this time, the first check valve 250 which receives the reverse flow pressure of the ink 230 is operated to close the ink suction line 240, and accordingly, the reverse flow to the ink container 210 is reversed to the ink container 210. The second check valve 340 is opened by the pressure of ink pushed along the ink injection line 330 while blocked by the valve 250, and the second check valve 340 is opened. After passing through the ink, the ink is continuously transported along the line through the upper portion of the ink cartridge mount 320, and finally ejected through the ink outlet 350 opened toward the mounting portion 310, and the ink outlet 350 Is connected to communicate with the inside of the mounted ink cartridge 300, so that the ink is filled in the ink cartridge 300, thereby completing the one-time supply of ink by one operation of the syringe 140.

However, since the ink capacity to be refilled in the ink cartridge 300 is determined, in order to fill the space inside the ink cartridge 300, the ink refill may be completed by one injection action according to the capacity of the syringe 140 accordingly. Alternatively, it may be possible to complete the ink refill through several pumping operations of the syringe 140, and the cylinder 150 body when the capacity of the syringe 140 is designed to refill the ink by several syringe 140 operations. By displaying the volume scale on the screen, you can know the amount of pumping and the total number of pumps in advance so that you can quickly refill the optimum amount of ink.When the ink is determined to be full, install the ink cartridge 300 in the ink cartridge. The refilling of the ink is completed by removing it from the stand 320 and delivering it to the customer.

In the above process, the ink is easily inserted into the ink cartridge mount 320 having the same color among the plurality of ink cartridges 300 corresponding to the color of the ink to be refilled by the customer. It is the same as refueling gas stations and heavy oil at gas stations.

When the ink in the ink container 210 is exhausted through repetitive operations of the refilling process, and ink replenishment is required, the lid 220 of the ink container 210 which is fastened by screwing is rotated to open the ink of the corresponding color. Filling the ink container 210 and then touching the lid 220 again to complete the replenishment of the ink, it is possible to replenish the ink without any interference or influence on the peripheral parts.

While the invention has been described in detail to the extent contemplated with reference to the preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible.

Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the following claims, and their equivalents.

100: ink refill device
110: Case
120: cover
130: front wall member
140: syringe
150: Cylinder
160: flange
170: piston
180: handle portion
190: injection hole
200: rear wall member
210: ink container
220: lid
230: ink
240: ink suction line
250: first check valve
260: 3-way valve
270: bottom surface
280 support rod
290: Plate member
300: ink cartridge
310: mounting portion
320: Ink Cartridge Mount
330: ink injection line
340: ink injection line
350 outlet
360 filter (filter)

Claims (4)

A box-shaped case; An ink container accommodated in one side of the case and having a lid capable of opening and closing; A cylinder having an injection port at the tip and a piston reciprocating within the cylinder, the piston being operable to suck and discharge ink, the cylinder being inserted through the front wall member on one side of the case and inserted into the case to form a rear flange of the cylinder. A syringe fixed to a position in close contact with an outer wall of the front wall member; An ink suction line having one end connected to a lower portion of the ink container so as to communicate with the inside of the ink container, and the other end connected to an injection port side of the syringe; A first check valve and a three-way valve connected in the middle of the ink suction line to block back flow of ink; A diaphragm member installed to partition the inner space of the case up and down to an upper position of the syringe, the first check valve and the three-way valve; An ink cartridge mount fixedly mounted on an upper surface of the diaphragm member, the ink cartridge mount having a mounting portion for mounting an ink cartridge to be refilled due to depletion of ink; An ink injection line having one end connected to the three-way valve and the other end connected to the ink cartridge mount for supplying and charging ink to the ink cartridge; And a second check valve provided in the middle of the ink injection line to block back flow of ink. 2. The ink refilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein all components of the apparatus, including the ink container, the syringe, and the ink cartridge mount, are arranged in a plurality in the case. The ink refilling apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plurality of ink cartridge mounts arranged side by side or the lids of the ink container have a color corresponding to the ink color to be refilled. The ink refilling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a lid covering an upper opening of the box-shaped case.

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