KR101361417B1 - Ink filling apparatus for ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge ink filling apparatus that can easily fill ink without applying ink to a hand or ink cartridge.
The present invention, in the ink cartridge having a built-in porous member impregnated with ink and provided with an ink supply port, a plurality of connectors provided with a connector so that the ink cartridge is detachably mounted and connected to the ink supply port disposed in the downward direction Of the plurality of ink containers, the main body having a plurality of cartridge holders, a base having a plurality of cartridge holders installed at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of lifting guide paths; A history funnel connected to the lower portion and the connection port to discharge the ink in the ink container to each connection port by the siphon phenomenon, an opening / closing means installed at each of the plurality of history funnels to control the discharge of ink, and the amount of ink filled in the ink container. In order to keep the discharge of ink through the history funnel according to the change of This by comprising an elastic member for elastically lifting the porous member of said ink cartridge is to charge to the suction by the ink discharge port connected to a capillary phenomenon.

Description

Ink filling device of ink cartridge {INK FILLING APPARATUS FOR INK CARTRIDGE}

The present invention relates to an ink filling apparatus for filling ink in an ink cartridge, and more particularly, to an ink filling apparatus for an ink cartridge which can easily fill ink without applying ink to a hand or ink cartridge.

As is well known, an ink cartridge is detachably mounted on the printhead and the carriage of an inkjet printer to print on a paper or to display a graphic.

Since such genuine ink cartridges are generally expensive and burden the user economically with the use of inkjet printers, recently, regenerated ink cartridges that can be refilled with ink are widely used.

As described above, a method of injecting ink into a porous member in an ink cartridge using a syringe is widely used as a conventional technique of filling ink into an ink cartridge. However, such a conventional technique is appropriately applied so that ink is impregnated into the porous member during ink injection. The injection amount should be adjusted while adjusting the injection amount, but when the injection amount is increased a little, the hand or the ink cartridge was inconvenient to wash the hand or the ink cartridge.

On the contrary, Patent Publication No. 2002-0016730 discloses an ink injection device for an ink cartridge as a conventional technology for filling ink. However, since the conventional technology has many components and a pump or a solenoid valve are used, there is no breakdown during use. Not only is it expensive, but it is expensive, so that it is difficult for the individual user to purchase it, resulting in economic burden.

The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object of the present invention is to easily fill the ink without the ink on the hand or ink cartridge, the ink injection is caused by the atmospheric pressure difference according to the water level By adjusting the injection amount, it is possible to easily perform the ink injection operation while the appropriate amount is injected without overflowing the filled ink.

In addition, the present invention provides an ink filling apparatus for an ink cartridge of an ink cartridge which can reduce the number of components and expect cost reduction and improve operation reliability.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink cartridge in which a porous member impregnated with ink is provided and an ink supply port is provided so that the ink cartridge is detachably mounted and connected to an ink supply port disposed downward. A cartridge holder having a connector, a main body having a base and a lifting guide, on which the cartridge holder is installed, an ink container arranged to be lifted along the lifting guide of the main body, an ink container connected to a lower portion of the ink container and a connector A history funnel for discharging the ink into the connector by a siphon phenomenon, an opening and closing means installed in the history funnel to control the discharge of ink, and a constant discharge of ink through the history funn in accordance with a change in the amount of ink filled in the ink container. It includes an elastic member for supporting the bottom of the ink container to maintain the elevating elasticity, the ink A porous member of the cartridge is to charge to the suction by the ink discharge port connected to a capillary phenomenon.

Or, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention, in the ink cartridge having a porous member impregnated with ink and provided with an ink supply port, the ink cartridge is detachably mounted to the ink supply port disposed in the downward direction A plurality of cartridge holders provided with a connector to be connected, a base having a plurality of cartridge holders installed at predetermined intervals, a main body having a plurality of lifting guides, and a plurality of ink containers arranged to be elevated along each of the lifting guides; A history funnel connected to the lower portion and the connection port of the plurality of ink containers, respectively, for discharging ink in the ink container to each connection port by a siphon phenomenon; According to the change of the amount of ink filled in the ink container, the discharge of the ink through the history funnel is kept constant. It includes an elastic member for supporting the bottom of each ink container to elastically lift, the porous member of the ink cartridge is to suck and fill the ink discharged to the connector by the capillary phenomenon.

The cartridge holder of the present invention may include a holder base having a connector and a lower portion of the ink cartridge seated thereon, and a fixing arm for elastically fixing the ink cartridge seated on the holder base.

At this time, the lower surface of the ink cartridge is inserted into the upper surface of the holder base may be formed with a flow preventing groove to prevent the left and right flow.

The fixed arm includes a vertical arm vertically connected to one side of the holder base, and a horizontal arm connected horizontally to the vertical arm to fix the upper surface of the ink cartridge while pressing the upper surface of the ink cartridge. A fixing protrusion may be formed to be fixed while being caught by a locking groove formed on an upper surface, and a support piece may be formed on the vertical arm to maintain a vertical state while supporting one side of the ink cartridge.

The elastic member of the present invention may be made of a coil spring.

According to the present invention implemented by the above means, by connecting the ink supply port of the ink cartridge to the connector of the cartridge holder and filling the ink cartridge by the operation of the operation knob, convenience for filling the ink is improved and There is no ink on the ink cartridge, so it is very useful to fill the ink neatly.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to expect a reduction in manufacturing costs due to the simplification of the parts, and the ink cartridge is easily fixed or separated from the cartridge holder by the fixing arm, thereby improving the convenience of filling.

In addition, according to the present invention, the ink cartridge is inserted into the flow preventing groove of the cartridge holder is prevented from flowing to the left and right to maintain the vertical state by the vertical arm there is an effect that can be filled with ink stably.

1 is a perspective view according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig.
4 is an operation diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional structure diagram according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an assembly structure diagram of the opening and closing means of FIG.
7 is a cross-sectional structural view according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an assembly structure diagram of the opening and closing means of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The ink cartridge filling apparatus of the present invention is connected to the ink cartridge 10 having the porous member 13 and the ink supply port 12 so as to be detachably mounted and connected to the ink supply port 12 disposed in the downward direction. A main body 200 having a plurality of cartridge holders 100 having a 114, a base 210 having a plurality of cartridge holders 100 installed at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of lifting guides 220, respectively Siphon the ink (IK) in the ink container 300 by being connected to the plurality of ink containers 300, lower portions of the plurality of ink containers 300, and the connector 114, which are arranged to be elevated along the guide path 220. Ink filled in the ink filling container 300 and the opening and closing means 500 installed in the plurality of ink collecting funnels 400 and the plurality of ink collecting funnels 400 to discharge the ink IK, respectively. IK) each ink to maintain a constant discharge of the ink (IK) through the history funnel 400 in accordance with the change in the amount It characterized in that it comprises an elastic member 600 for supporting the bottom of the container 300 to elastically lift.

First, FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 illustrate a plurality of cartridge holders 100, ink containers 300, infill fan 400, opening and closing means 500 and elastic members 600 in order to fill a plurality of ink cartridges 10. FIG. Although shown as, it is clearly evident that each component can be configured one by one to fill one ink cartridge 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the ink cartridge 10 is roughly divided into a housing 11 formed of a long rectangular parallelepiped on one side, and a porous member 13 embedded in the housing 11. An ink supply port 12 coupled to a print head (not shown) of an inkjet printer and supplying ink is connected to the lower portion, that is, the bottom of 11, so as to allow fluid flow. Here, the porous member 13 absorbs the ink IK discharged through the connector 114 of the cartridge holder 100 by capillary action, and the ink discharged through the connector 114 as necessary. It can be formed into a foam so as to attract (IK) well. And a fine vent hole (not shown) is formed on the upper side of the housing 11 and the engaging groove (11a) is formed on the upper surface as shown in Figs.

* The cartridge holder 100 is to detachably mount the ink cartridge 10 to fill the ink (IK), such cartridge holder 100 is to be connected to the ink supply port 12 of the ink cartridge (10). Holder base 110 is formed with a connector 114, the fixing arm 120 for elastically fixing the ink cartridge 10 seated on the holder base (110).

The upper surface of the holder base 110 is formed with a flow preventing groove 112, the left and right flow is prevented as the lower portion of the ink cartridge 10 is seated by the fitting coupling, the flow preventing groove 112 is connected to the connector 114 Is formed is coupled to the outer diameter of the ink supply port 12, the center of the connector 114 is a joint pipe 115 is vertically connected.

The fixed arm 120 is vertically connected to one side of the holder base 110 and horizontally connected to the upper end of the vertical arm 122 to elastically press the upper surface of the ink cartridge 10 to be fixed. A horizontal arm 124. In addition, a fixing protrusion 124a is formed near the outer end of the horizontal arm 124 so as to be locked to the locking groove 11a formed on the upper surface of the ink cartridge 10, thereby fixing the ink cartridge 10 connected to the connector 114. ) Is firmly fixed by the horizontal arm 124. In addition, the outer end of the horizontal arm 124 is formed to be inclined upward so that the locking groove 10a of the ink cartridge 10 is smoothly coupled to the fixing protrusion 124a. In addition, the support piece 126 is formed on the inner surface of the vertical arm 122 to support one side of the ink cartridge 10 to maintain the vertical state of the ink cartridge 10.

The main body 200 constitutes the framework of the present invention, and includes a base 210 on which the cartridge holder 100 is installed and a lifting guide path 220 for guiding the lifting of the ink container 300.

The base 210 forms the bottom of the main body 200, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the base plate 212 on which the cartridge holder 100 is installed, and an installation space S below the base plate 212. The bottom plate 214, the base plate 212 and the bottom plate 214, which are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction so as to form a vertical plate 216, the base plate 212 and the bottom plate 214, which are vertically connected to each other. It consists of side plates 218 connecting both ends of the front plate 216. The base plate 212 is formed with a suitable area such that the plurality of cartridge holders 100 are installed at predetermined intervals, and in the installation space S between the base plate 212 and the bottom plate 214, the in-situ funnel 400 and the opening and closing means. 500 is installed, the front plate 216 is provided with a plurality of operating knobs 510 rotatably at predetermined intervals. In addition, a through hole 212a is drilled in the corresponding portion of the base plate 212 on which the cartridge holder 100 is installed so that the fitting pipe 115 is vertically penetrated.

The elevating guide path 220 guides the elevating of the ink container 300, and the elevating guide path 220 is connected to the rear of the base 210 at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction to form a first and second vertical plates. (221) (222) and the plurality of vertical partition plates (223) for partitioning the first and second vertical plates (221, 222) in the width direction. The ink container 300 is disposed on the elevating guide path 220 to ascend or descend.

The ink container 300 is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 3 and is disposed to be lifted on each of the plurality of lifting guide paths 220, and a container inlet (shown in the upper portion of the ink container 300). O) is formed to be opened and closed by the lid 310 after the ink IK is filled. In particular, the ink container 300 is preferably made of a transparent body so that the color of the ink (IK) as it is.

One end of the invert siphon 400 is connected to the lower portion of the ink container 300 and the other end is connected to the connector 114 of the cartridge holder 100 to siphon the ink IK filled in the ink container 300. It is discharged to the connector 114 by the phenomenon. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the infill funnel 400 is fitted into the outer diameter of the end of the fitting boss 320 formed on the bottom surface of the ink container 300, and the other end is fitted into the outer diameter of the end of the fitting pipe 115. Thus, the overall shape is 'U'.

The opening and closing means 500 is installed in the middle of the history funnel 400 to control the discharge of the ink IK, and the opening and closing means 500 is preferably implemented as a stop valve. And the opening and closing means 500 is installed on the back surface of the front plate 216 constituting the base 210 as shown in Figure 3 and the operating knob 510 for controlling the operation of the opening and closing means 500 is The front plate 216 is rotatably installed.

The elastic member 600 is installed in the lower portion of the elevating guide path 220 to elastically support the bottom surface of the ink container 300, the elastic member 600 is implemented as a coil spring as shown in FIG. Although it is preferable, it may be implemented as a foam (foam) of a synthetic resin material having a leaf spring or elastic, if necessary. In order to discharge the ink (IK) in the direction of the connector 114 through the history funnel 400, the level of the ink (IK) filled in the ink container 300 must be higher than the level of the ink (IK) flowing through the connector 114. The elastic member 600 maintains the ink level while raising or lowering the ink container 300 according to a change in the amount of ink IK filled in the ink container 300, thereby maintaining the ink level constant. Enable the release of For example, the elastic member 600 is elastically compressed when the amount of the ink IK filled in the ink container 300 is high, thereby lowering the ink container 300 and when the amount of the ink IK is small, the elastic container 600 is elastically stretched. While raising the 300, the ink (IK) level filled in the ink container 300 is always kept constant.

Looking at the overall charging process of filling the ink cartridge by the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, in a state in which the ink supply port 12 of the ink cartridge 10 faces downward and the locking groove 11a faces upward, the ink supply port 12 is connected to the connector 114 of the cartridge holder 100. After coupling and fluidly connected, the upper portion of the ink cartridge 10 is pushed in the direction of the horizontal arm 124 so that the locking groove 11a is fixed to the fixing protrusion 124a. At this time, one surface of the ink cartridge 10 is fixed. Is supported by the support piece 126 to maintain a vertical state.

Subsequently, when the operating knob 510 is rotated, the ink IK filled in the ink container 300 moves toward the connector 114 by the siphon phenomenon and is discharged toward the ink supply port 12. In this way, the ink IK discharged to the ink supply port 12 is filled with the porous member 13 in the ink cartridge 10 by capillary action to start filling, and when the predetermined time elapses, the porous member 13 is ink. Will be fully charged.

As such, the amount of the ink IK filled in the ink container 300 gradually decreases during the suction and filling of the ink IK from the porous member 13, wherein the elastic member 600 is shown in FIG. As such, the ink level L is kept constant while raising the ink container 300, thereby enabling the movement of the ink IK by the siphon phenomenon.

When the ink IK is completely filled in the porous member 13 through the above-described process, the operation knob 510 is rotated to block the flow of the ink IK flowing through the history incubator 400, whereby the history inability ( Ink IK in 400 stops flowing.

Finally, when the upper portion of the ink cartridge 10 is pushed in the outward direction of the horizontal arm 124, the horizontal groove 124 is elastically bent toward the upper portion and the locking groove 11a is separated from the fixing protrusion 124a. When the ink cartridge 10 is held by the hand and lifted upward, the ink supply port 12 is separated from the connector 114 of the cartridge holder 100.

By the above-described process, several ink cartridges 10 may be simultaneously charged. For example, the plurality of ink cartridges 10 having different colors are fixed to the corresponding cartridge holders 100, and the ink is loaded at the same time by rotating the operation knob 510.

The present invention, the ink cartridge 10 by a simple operation to fix the ink supply port 12 of the ink cartridge 10 to the connector 114 of the cartridge holder 100 and to rotate the operation knob 510. Since the ink (IK) is filled in, the convenience for filling the ink (IK) is improved, and the ink (IK) does not adhere to the hand or the ink cartridge 10, thereby neatly filling the ink (IK).

On the other hand, the opening and closing means 500 is mounted to the opening and closing means 500 on the mounting path of the history funnel 400 for connecting the ink container 300 and the ink cartridge 100, as shown in FIGS. When the ink cartridge 10 is mounted on the cartridge holder 100, the ink cartridge 10 may open and close only when the ink cartridge 10 is opened. The opening and closing means 500 may be reversed by attaching and detaching the ink cartridge 10. The siphon 400 can be opened or blocked while the operation control of the opening and closing means is made.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cartridge holder 100 has a switch 522 formed in the control unit 520 while the control unit 520 is mounted to control the operation of the opening and closing means 500. When exposed to the upper side of the base plate (212) of the ink cartridge 10, the ink cartridge 10 by the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge 10 while pressing or releasing the switch 522 so that opening and closing operation of the supply channel of the history funnel (400) is made. In this case, the blocking bar 524 is formed on the control unit 520 so that the blocking bar 524 is lifted up and down while pressing and pressing the outer diameter of the history funnel 400 to cut off by pressing the switch 522. The bar 524 is preferably pressed so that the supply path is blocked by pressing the history punch 400.

At this time, when the control unit 520 has a restoring force by mounting the spring 526 on the lower side of the control unit 520, the ink supply flow path is automatically opened and closed depending on whether the ink cartridge 10 is mounted. It is possible to start or stop the filling of the ink simply and automatically without the need of opening and closing manually.

The lifting and lowering structure of the opening and closing means 500 is extended to the elastic unit 528 bent at one end of the control unit 520, as shown in Figs. Induces the lifting operation so that a separate elastic element such as a spring is not required, wherein the elastic piece 528 is indented groove 532 in the closing cap 530 is assembled to prevent the control unit 520 from being separated It is preferable to assemble the elastic piece 528 is engaged with the indentation groove 532 to form a random flow. At this time, in forming the elastic piece 528 integrally in the control unit 520, a hinge shaft (not shown) is formed in the bent portion, and the hinge shaft is coupled to the lower end of the base plate 212, It is possible to ensure that the lifting operation is stable.

In addition, the lifting operation of the control unit 520 may have a restoring force by using a torsion spring, or may be modified to a structure having various elastic restoring forces already known.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. You will understand. It is obvious that the technical idea belongs to the invention if the practice of such improvement, change, substitution or addition is included in the scope of the following claims.

10: ink cartridge 12: ink supply port
100: cartridge holder 114: connector
200: main body 220: lifting guide
300: ink container 400: history Efun
500: opening and closing means 600: elastic member
IK: Ink

Claims (9)

In an ink cartridge having a porous member impregnated with ink and provided with an ink supply port,
A cartridge holder 100 having a connector 114 and a base on which the cartridge holder 100 is installed so that the ink cartridge 10 is detachably mounted and connected to an ink supply hole 12 disposed in a lower direction. A main body 200 having a lifting guide path 220 and a lifting guide 220, an ink container 300 disposed to be elevated along the lifting guide path 220 of the main body 200, and a lower portion of the ink container 300. The inlet funnel 400 connected to the connector 114 to discharge the ink in the ink container 300 to the connector 114 by the siphon phenomenon, and the opening and closing means installed at the inlet funnel 400 to control the discharge of ink ( 500) and an elastic member 600 supporting and supporting the bottom of the ink container to elevate elastically to maintain a constant discharge of the ink through the infill according to the change of the amount of ink filled in the ink container 300,
The porous member 13 of the ink cartridge 10 sucks the ink discharged through the connector 114 by capillary action and fills the ink cartridge. In an ink cartridge having a porous member impregnated with ink and provided with an ink supply port,
A plurality of cartridge holder 100, the plurality of cartridge holder 100 is provided with a connector 114 so that the ink cartridge 10 is detachably mounted and connected to the ink supply hole 12 disposed in the downward direction. A main body 200 having a base and a plurality of lifting guide paths 220 are provided at predetermined intervals, a plurality of ink containers 300 are arranged to be elevated along each lifting guide path 220, the plurality of ink It is connected to the lower portion of the container 300 and the connector 114, respectively, the in-siphon which discharges the ink in the ink container 300 to each of the connectors 114 by the siphon phenomenon, the plurality of in-situ funds 400 Opening and closing means 500 for intermitting the discharge of ink, respectively, installed in each of the ink container 300 to support the bottom surface of each ink container to maintain a constant discharge of ink through the infill according to the change in the amount of ink filled in the ink container 300 Elastic member to elevate elastically 600),
The porous member 13 of the ink cartridge 10 sucks the ink discharged through the connector 114 by capillary action and fills the ink cartridge. According to claim 1 or 2, The cartridge holder 100 is provided with a connector 114, the holder base 110, the lower portion of the ink cartridge 10 is seated on the holder base 110 Ink cartridge ink filling apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a fixed arm 120 for elastically fixing the ink cartridge (10). 4. The ink filling apparatus of claim 3, wherein a flow preventing groove (112) is formed on an upper surface of the holder base (110) to prevent the left and right flow of the ink cartridge (10). The upper surface of the ink cartridge 10 according to claim 3, wherein the fixed arm 120 is vertically connected to one side of the holder base 110 and horizontally connected to the vertical arm 122. Ink filling device of an ink cartridge, characterized in that it comprises a horizontal arm (124) for fixing while pressing elastically. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening and closing means 500 is mounted on the mounting path of the infill funnel 400 for connecting the ink container 300 and the cartridge holder 100, the opening and closing means 500 The ink cartridge ink filling apparatus, characterized in that the operation control of the opening and closing means 500 is made by opening and closing the history-funn (400) by the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge (10). According to claim 6, The cartridge holder 100 is equipped with a control unit 520 that is operated up and down for the operation control of the opening and closing means 500, the switch 522 of the control unit 520 is ink The opening and closing operation of the supply flow path of the in-situ funnel 400 to which ink is supplied while pressing or releasing the switch 522 by the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge 10 is exposed upwardly in contact with the lower surface of the cartridge 10. Ink filling apparatus for an ink cartridge, characterized in that the ink supply passage is automatically opened and closed depending on whether the cartridge (10) is mounted. The method of claim 7, wherein the opening and closing means 500 is a blocking bar 524 is formed in the control unit 520, the control unit 520 is to have a restoring force by the spring 526 and the switch 522 and Blocking bar 524, the ink filling device of the ink cartridge, characterized in that the lifting operation up and down. The method of claim 7, wherein the opening and closing means 500 has a blocking bar 524 is formed in the control unit 520, the control unit 520 is formed to extend the bent elastic piece 528 is elastic restoring force The ink filling apparatus of the ink cartridge, characterized in that the switch 522 and the blocking bar 524 is moved up and down.

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