JP2002307702A - Ink filler for ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink filler which can fill an ink cartridge, principally used in an ink jet printer, with ink readily and surely without staining a hand while preventing leakage of ink during the filling work. SOLUTION: The ink filler comprises a container body 1 provided with an injection nozzle 3 at the lower end and an air chamber 4 at the upper end, and a cover 2 applied movably up and down with respect to the air chamber 4 side in the container body 1. When the cover 2 is descending, a through hole 43 made through the air chamber 4 communicates with a through hole 23 made through the cover with the air chamber 4 being compressed thus introducing outer air into the air chamber 4. When the cover 2 is ascending, communicating state of both through holes 43 and 23 is released.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a replenisher used for replenishing an ink cartridge depleted of ink only with ink in order to reuse an ink cartridge mainly used in an ink jet printer. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink-jet printer uses an ink cartridge of a single color or a plurality of colors. While the price of printers has been reduced and their use has spread rapidly, ink cartridges are usually once-disposable, which cannot be reused, which increases running costs and is not preferable in terms of resource conservation. Absent. Therefore, conventionally, by replenishing the ink cartridge which has been depleted with only the ink, the ink cartridge has been repeatedly used continuously without replacement.

[0003] The conventional ink replenisher is a utility model registration No. 3
Generally, a container made of a soft resin and provided with an injection nozzle made of a thin steel tube as disclosed in JP-A-060919 is used. In this type of ink replenisher, ink is injected into the ink cartridge by breaking the film closing the through hole on the upper surface of the ink cartridge, inserting an injection nozzle therein, and pressing the container. Then, an appropriate amount is replenished while absorbing and holding the ink in a sponge provided in the ink cartridge, then the injection nozzle is pulled out, and the opening of the film is sealed with a seal or the like, whereby the ink replenishment operation is completed.

[0004]

As described above, the operation of refilling the ink in the ink cartridge is extremely simple. However, when the injection nozzle is inserted into the ink cartridge or when the injection nozzle is pulled out, the ink is replenished. There was a disadvantage that spills often occurred. In particular, the ink refilling work is a young woman because the ink that has risen in the through hole on the top of the ink cartridge immediately before the end of the ink injection is easily spilled when the injection nozzle is pulled out, and as a result, the hands and desks are often soiled. And so on.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main problem is that ink can be easily and reliably replenished to an ink cartridge, and there is no ink leakage at the time of replenishment, and hands and the like become dirty. There is no need to provide an ink refill.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an ink replenisher for an ink cartridge according to the present invention comprises a container body having an injection nozzle at a lower end and an air chamber connected to an upper end. A lid covered so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the air chamber side of the container body, and when the lid is lowered, the air chamber is compressed and a through hole formed in the air chamber and the lid are formed. The air holes are communicated with the through-holes, and the outside air is introduced into the air chamber, and the communication between the two through-holes is released when the lid is raised.

Therefore, when the lid is lowered with the injection nozzle inserted into the ink cartridge, outside air is introduced into the air chamber through the two communicating holes.
The ink contained in the container body is naturally injected.
Subsequently, when the lid is raised to the original position after the injection of an appropriate amount, the inflow of outside air into the air chamber is shut off, and the injection of the ink is stopped. On the other hand, the air chamber which was in a compressed state at the time of the lowering of the lid restores the original state while expanding as the lid rises, but at this time, the inside of the container body is depressurized from the outside air, and the air from the injection nozzle is reduced Since the ink acts to suck the ink, the surplus ink which is raised on the upper surface of the through hole of the ink cartridge by the surface tension is sucked back into the container body.

Here, as the air chamber connected to the upper end of the container body, a chamber formed in a thin bellows shape using a synthetic resin such as polyethylene is preferably used.

Further, the lid covered on the air chamber side can be formed so that a screw groove formed on the inner surface is screwed to a screw groove formed on the container body. By rotating, the lid is vertically moved.

[0010] The lid may be engaged with the engagement groove and the engagement protrusion without screwing the lid to the container body. That is, while providing a substantially money-shaped engagement groove in the lid, an engagement protrusion is provided in the container body, and the engagement between the lid and the container body is performed by inserting the engagement protrusion into the engagement groove. By rotating the lowered lid, the communication width between the air chamber through hole and the lid through hole is made variable as the container body engaging projection moves in the left and right direction in the lid engaging groove. This has the advantage that the amount of outside air introduced into the air chamber can be adjusted.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of an ink replenisher for an ink cartridge according to the present invention (hereinafter abbreviated as “ink replenisher”), FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line XX ′ in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged end view of the vicinity of a lid in FIG.
As shown in these figures, the ink replenisher according to the present invention includes a container body 1 having an injection nozzle 3 at a lower end and an air chamber 4 connected to an upper end, and an air chamber 4 in the container body 1.
And a lid 2 covered on the side.

The container body 1 containing the refill ink is
It is suitably molded from a synthetic resin such as polyethylene. The container body 1 of this example is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an injection nozzle 3 formed by inserting and connecting a nozzle tube 31 made of a steel thin tube to a resin cap 32 is screwed on a lower end side thereof. As a whole, it is formed in a shape like a syringe.

An air chamber 4 is connected to the upper end of the container body 1. The air chamber 4 of the present embodiment is formed in a thin bellows shape by a synthetic resin such as polyethylene, and the peripheral portion of the base 41 formed in a flange shape outward from the lower opening is formed by the container body 1.
Is welded and fixed to the edge of the upper end opening. The air chamber 4 is further covered with a lid 2.

A screw portion 21 is engraved on the lower inner peripheral surface of the lid 2, and a screw portion 11 is engraved on the upper outer peripheral surface of the container body 1 corresponding to the screw portion 21. . Both screw parts 11, 2 in this example
Reference numeral 1 denotes a three-threaded screw. When the lid 2 is rotated by 180 degrees, the lid is lowered by about 2 mm toward the flange 12 of the container body 1.

A concave portion 42 is provided in the upper center of the air chamber 4, and a convex portion 22 projecting downward from the inside of the lid 2 is inserted into the concave portion 42. Depressed portion of air chamber 4
A small-diameter through hole 43 is formed in the side wall surface of the cover 42, and a through hole 23 from the top surface of the cover 2 to the side wall of the protrusion 22 is formed in the protrusion 22 of the cover 2. Since the air chamber 4 concave portion 42 and the lid 2 convex portion 22 both formed in a taper shape are always in close contact with each other due to the stretching force of the air chamber 4 formed in a bellows shape,
When the lid 2 is lifted, the through-hole 43 in the side wall surface of the concave portion 42
It is closed by the projection 22.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the ink replenisher of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, a substantially C-shaped slide groove 24 is provided in the lid 2, and a stopper 44 protruding from the upper end of the air chamber 4 is engaged with the slide groove 24. Therefore, the lid 2 screwed to the container body 1
Means that the stopper 44 makes a half turn in the range in which the stopper 44 slides in the slide groove 24.

In FIG. 4, when the cover 1 is rotated half a clockwise direction, the cover 2 is lowered. FIG. 5 is an enlarged end view taken along line XX ′ in FIG. 1 showing a state where the lid 2 is lowered. The through-hole formed in the lid 2 by the half rotation of the lid 2
23 communicates with a through-hole 43 formed in the air chamber 4, and outside air is introduced into the air chamber 4. By introducing outside air, the container body 1
The ink contained therein flows into the ink cartridge from the injection port 33 via the nozzle tube 31 of the injection nozzle 3.

The operation of refilling the ink cartridge with the ink is performed by a scale marked on the side of the container body 1 (see FIG. 1).
However, if the ink is replenished in an appropriate amount or more, the ink swells in the through hole on the upper surface of the ink cartridge into which the ink has been injected. If the nozzle tube 31 is pulled out while the ink is in a raised state, there is a disadvantage that the raised ink pops or drops on a desk or the like where work is performed, and even when an appropriate amount of ink is replenished. In addition, excess ink often drops from the tip of the nozzle tube 31 pulled out of the ink cartridge. In the ink replenisher according to the present invention, such an inconvenience is improved by collecting excess ink in the container body 1.

That is, as soon as the ink replenishment operation is completed and the lid 2 in the lowered state is started to rotate counterclockwise, the through hole 43 in the air chamber 4 is closed by the lid 2 convex portion 22 soon. When the lid 2 is subsequently rotated, the lid 2 is raised and returned. Since the air chamber 4 which was in a compressed state at the time of ink injection is extended and returned with the upward return of the lid 2,
The pressure in the air chamber 4 and the inside of the container body 1 communicating therewith is reduced, and ink is sucked from the inlet 33. However, since the excess ink is collected in the container main body 1, even when the nozzle tube 31 is pulled out from the ink cartridge, it is possible to prevent the ink from dripping from the tip of the nozzle tube 31 and contaminate the hands, desks and the like. It is.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing another example of the ink replenisher according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along line YY 'in FIG. 6, and FIG. FIG.
As with the ink replenisher of the previous example, the ink replenisher of this example also has a container body 1 having an injection nozzle 3 at the lower end and an air chamber 4 connected to the upper end, and the air chamber 4 side of the container main body 1. And a lid 2 covered with a cover.

Compared with the ink replenisher of the previous example, the structure of mounting the lid 2 on the container body 1 is different in the ink replenisher of the present example. In other words, substantially groove-shaped engaging grooves 25 are formed on the side wall surface of the lid 2 at two symmetrical positions in the direction perpendicular to the axis, and the side wall surface of the container body 1 is formed so as to correspond to the engaging grooves 25. Engagement projections 13 are provided at two locations. Accordingly, when the lid 2 is pressed from above, the engagement protrusion 13 rides over the gate claw 251 at the lower end of the engagement groove 25 and is inserted into the engagement groove 25, and as a result, the engagement between the lid 2 and the container body 1 Is achieved.

As with the ink replenisher of the previous example, the air chamber 4 concave portion 42 and the lid 2 convex portion 22 both formed in a tapered shape are always in contact with the expansion force of the air chamber 4 formed in a bellows shape. Because of the close contact, the through-hole 43 formed on the back side of the concave portion 42 of the air chamber 4 in FIG. 6 is closed by the outer wall surface of the convex portion 22 of the lid 2. Therefore, when the lid 2 pressed and lowered from above is rotated clockwise in the left-right direction,
The engagement protrusion 13 is inserted into a horizontal portion of the engagement groove 25. Further, when the lid 2 is rotated clockwise in the left-right direction, the through-hole 43 in the air chamber 4 and the center
Gradually communicates with the open through-hole 23 on the side wall surface.
Therefore, in the ink replenisher of this embodiment, the engaging projection 13 on the container body 1 moves in the left-right direction, and finally reaches the extreme end of the substantially groove-shaped engaging groove 25 so that the two through holes 23 and 43 are completely connected. Until this, the communication width between the through hole 43 of the air chamber 4 and the through hole 23 of the lid 2 can be adjusted. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the two through holes 23 and 43 are completely connected.

The communication width between the through-hole 43 of the air chamber 4 and the through-hole 23 of the cover 2 affects the amount of outside air introduced into the air chamber 4 and thus the amount of ink injected from the injection nozzle 3. Therefore, when performing the ink refilling operation to the ink cartridge using the ink replenisher of the present embodiment, by performing the rotation operation of the lid 2 conscious of the position of the engagement protrusion 13 in the engagement groove 25, The rate at which the ink is replenished to the ink cartridge can be adjusted.

Also in the ink replenisher of this embodiment, when the operation of refilling the ink in the ink cartridge is completed, the lid 2 is rotated and returned, so that the through-hole 43 of the air chamber 4 and the lid 2 are closed.
The communication with the through hole 23 is released, and the through hole 43 of the air chamber 4 is closed by the convex portion 22 of the lid 2. Further, the lid 2 is raised and returned to the original position. When the lid 2 is lifted and returned, the compressed air chamber 4 at the time of ink injection is expanded and returned. Therefore, the air chamber 4 and the container body 1 communicating therewith are restored.
The inside is decompressed, and ink is sucked from the injection port 33. Since the excess ink is collected in the container body 1 in this manner, even when the nozzle tube 31 is pulled out from the ink cartridge,
It is possible to prevent the ink or the like from dropping from the tip of the nozzle tube 31 and contaminating a hand or a desk.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state where the ink replenisher is used by using a stand, FIG. 11 is a plan view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. The ink replenisher according to the present invention can be more easily used by using a stand S as shown. In the stand S of this example, a support pillar S2 is fitted to a base member composed of a base S1 placed on a desk or the like and an arm S3 disposed substantially horizontally with respect to the base S1. Arm S
The ink cartridge I is sandwiched between the base of the arm S3 and the base S1 by pressing the rear end of the arm 3 downward.

In the ink replenisher of this embodiment, a hooking projection 14 is provided upright from the side of the container body 1. Therefore, while the nozzle tube 31 of the ink refiller is inserted into the ink cartridge I, the latching projection 14 is inserted into the latching hole S21 formed on the upper surface of the support column S2 of the stand S. Is fixed.

Since the ink cartridge I is partitioned into blocks for each ink color such as black, cyan, yellow, magenta, etc., an ink replenisher filled with ink corresponding to the color of each partition is used. In the stand S of this example, a total of five hook holes S21 are formed. The positions of the holes are set so as to correspond to the positions of the respective sections in the corresponding ink cartridge I. After the ink replenisher is installed on the stand S, the ink replenishment operation is performed as described above.

[0028]

According to the ink replenisher of the present invention, ink can be injected into the ink cartridge only by rotating the lid, so that the ink replenishment operation is simple and reliable. Then, after an appropriate amount of ink has been replenished, excess ink is automatically absorbed by the container body, so that there is no ink leakage or the like at the time of ink replenishment work and hands and the like are not stained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of an ink replenisher according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line X-X 'in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view of the vicinity of a lid in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line XX ′ in FIG. 1 with the lid lowered.
It is a line expansion end view.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing another example of the ink replenisher according to the present invention.

7 is a vertical sectional view taken along line Y-Y 'in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of a lid in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the lid corresponding to FIG. 8, showing a state where the through-hole of the air chamber and the through-hole of the lid are completely communicated.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state where the ink replenisher according to the present invention is used using a stand.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a rear view of FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body 2 Lid 3 Injection nozzle 4 Air chamber 13 Engagement protrusion 23 Through hole 25 Engagement groove 43 Through hole S Stand I Ink cartridge

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container body having an injection nozzle at a lower end and an air chamber connected to an upper end thereof, and a lid covered so as to be vertically movable with respect to the air chamber side of the container body. When the body descends, the air chamber is compressed while the through-hole formed in the air chamber communicates with the through-hole formed in the lid, and outside air is introduced into the air chamber. An ink replenisher for an ink cartridge formed so as to release the communication state of the through hole. 2. The ink replenisher for an ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the air chamber is formed in a bellows shape. 3. The ink refill for an ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the lid is screwed to the container body, and is formed so as to move up and down by rotating the lid in the left-right direction. vessel. 4. The lid is engaged with the container body by inserting an engagement projection provided on the container body into a substantially hook-shaped engagement groove provided on the lid body, and the lowered lid is engaged. The communication width between the air chamber through-hole and the lid body through-hole is variable as the container body engaging protrusion moves in the groove in the left-right direction, so that the amount of outside air introduced into the air chamber can be adjusted. The ink replenisher for an ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: