Liquid container

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a liquid container. The liquid container mounted on a liquid discharging apparatus includes a case, a bag, and a spout. The bag is removably accommodated in the case. The spout is connected to the bag. The rigidity of the case is higher than the rigidity of the bag. In a posture assumed by the liquid container when the liquid container is mounted on the liquid discharging apparatus, the bag and the spout each have a dimension in a direction of gravity, and the dimension of the spout is less than or equal to half of the dimension of the bag.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a liquid container. BACKGROUND

[0002] Some liquid discharging apparatuses, such as inkjet printers, include a removable liquid container that stores a liquid, such as ink. The liquid container mounted on such a liquid discharging apparatus supplies the liquid to a liquid discharging head. Japanese Patent No. 4380712 describes a replaceable ink cartridge that functions as a liquid container. This ink cartridge that contains ink supplies the ink to an inkjet head when mounted on an inkjet printer.

[0003] A liquid container similar to that described in Japanese Patent No. 4380712 generally mainly includes a plastic molded portion. Such a liquid container is generally discarded when the liquid contained in the container is used up.

[0004] An ink cartridge that has supplied all of the ink contained therein to an inkjet printer is replaced with a new ink cartridge. The used ink cartridge can be recycled and reused or can be discarded without being recycled.

[0005] Since it has recently been pointed out that plastic waste has an effect on marine life, the amount of plastic waste needs to be minimized. A liquid container that contains a liquid, such as ink, needs to have a certain degree of rigidity to prevent the liquid from leaking or to enable the liquid container to be easily mounted on a liquid discharging apparatus. A reduction in the amount of plastic used to form the liquid container tends to reduce the rigidity of the liquid container. SUMMARY

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a liquid container mounted on a liquid discharging apparatus includes a housing, a bag removably contained in the housing, and a spout connected to the bag, wherein the housing has a rigidity higher than a rigidity of the bag, and wherein, in an attitude assumed by the liquid container when the liquid container is mounted on the liquid discharging apparatus, the bag and the spout each have a dimension in a direction of gravity, and the dimension of the spout is less than or equal to half of the dimension of the bag.

[0007] Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a liquid container.

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic view of a liquid discharging apparatus.

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic view of a bag of a liquid container, showing an exemplary configuration of the bag.

[0011] Figure 4 is a schematic view of a housing of a liquid container.

[0012] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a schematic view showing a housing of a liquid container and a bag.

[0013] Figure 6 is a schematic view showing a liquid container mounted on a mounting portion.

[0014] Figure 7A and Figure 7B is a schematic view showing a housing of a liquid container and a spout.

[0015] Figure 8 is a schematic view showing a liquid container mounted on a mounting portion.

[0016] Figure 9 is a schematic view showing a mounting portion and a liquid container.

[0017] Figure 10 is a schematic view showing a liquid container mounted on a mounting portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary liquid container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The liquid container 2 mainly includes a housing 6 and a bag 5. As Figure 1 shown, the housing 6 accommodates the bag 5 and can be covered by a lid 7. The bag 5 mainly includes a liquid storage portion 3 that accommodates a liquid. A spout 4 having a joint 13 is attached and connected to the liquid storage portion 3 of the bag 5.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic view showing a liquid container 2 and a liquid discharging apparatus 1 on which the liquid container 2 is mounted. The liquid discharging apparatus 1 includes a mounting portion 11 on which the liquid container 2 is mounted. The liquid container 2 is inserted into the mounting portion 11 so that the liquid container 2 is mounted on the mounting portion 11. After the mounting, the liquid container 2 supplies a liquid to a liquid discharging head (not shown) of the liquid discharging apparatus through the joint 13. The mounting portion 11 is divided into separate compartments that can receive the liquid container 2 respectively. Each of the liquid containers 2 can be removed from the mounting portion 11 when the liquid container 2 contains little or no liquid as the liquid is consumed.

[0021] As described above, the liquid container 2 is configured so that the case 6 accommodates the bag 5. The reason why the liquid container 2 has this configuration will now be described. The bag 5 is formed of a film. Examples of the film include a metal film and a plastic film. If the bag is formed of a plastic film, the plastic film used for the bag can be very thin, which means that a very small amount of plastic is used. In other words, such a bag can contribute to reduction in the use or waste of plastic. However, it is difficult to stably mount the bag 5, which contains ink, on the liquid discharging apparatus 1 because the bag has low rigidity and is flexible. Therefore, the case 6 having high rigidity is used, and the bag 5 is accommodated in the case 6. The thickness of the film of the bag 5 is preferably 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. The thickness of the case 6 is preferably 0.5 mm or more, more preferably 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

[0022] More specifically, the bag 5 is removable from the case 6. The spout 4 is attached to the bag 5. The spout 4 is fitted and attached to the receiving portion of the case 6. The case 6 is covered with the lid 7, and then mounted on the liquid discharging apparatus 1.

[0023] To remove the bag 5, the above-described process is reversed: the case 6 is pulled out of the liquid discharging apparatus 1, the lid 7 is removed, and the bag 5 is removed from the case 6. When the bag 5 is empty, a new bag to contain liquid is prepared and placed in the case 6 from which the empty bag has been removed. Thereafter, the case 6 is covered with the lid 7 as described above, as necessary.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the case 6 having high rigidity and made of, for example, plastic is used. The case 6 continues to be used, while the bag 5 in the case is replaceable.

[0025] Although the case 6 is made of plastic, the case 6 is substantially continuously used, and thus can contribute to reduction in plastic waste. If the bag 5 is made of plastic, the amount of plastic used can be small. Replacement of such a part with a new part does not cause a significant increase in plastic waste. Furthermore, the case 6 having sufficient rigidity enables the liquid container to be stably mounted on or removed from the liquid discharging apparatus 1.

[0026] The configuration of the liquid container 2 will now be described in more detail. The spout 4 is attached to the bag 5. The spout 4 is made of a resin material such as polypropylene or polyethylene, and is connected or welded to the liquid storage portion 3 of the bag 5 by welding from a heat welding process. The spout 4 can also have a size as small as possible in terms of reduction in the use of plastic. As used herein, the Z direction refers to the direction of gravity (height) of the posture assumed by the liquid container 2 when the liquid container 2 is mounted on the liquid discharging apparatus, and the Y direction refers to a direction orthogonal to the Z direction. In Figure 1In the present embodiment, the Y direction is the direction of insertion of the liquid container into the liquid discharging device, and corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the liquid container. As used herein, the X direction refers to a direction orthogonal to the Y direction and the Z direction, and corresponds to the lateral or width direction of the liquid container.

[0027] The spout 4 has a dimension in the Z direction that is less than or equal to half the size of the bag. The spout 4 can have as small a dimension as possible in the Y direction. The spout 4 has a dimension in the Y direction that is less than or equal to half the size of the bag.

[0028] At a lower height in the direction of gravity, the spout 4 can increase the ease of liquid discharge from the bag 5. Specifically, the spout 4 can be positioned such that the middle of the spout 4 in the Z direction is at a height lower than A / 2 in the direction of gravity, where A denotes the size of the bag 5 in the Z direction.

[0029] The liquid storage portion 3 constitutes a majority of the bag 5. The liquid storage portion 3 formed of a film can be considered as a bag. The liquid storage portion 3 is made of, for example, a metal film, a plastic film, or a combination of these films. The liquid storage portion 3 can have gas barrier properties or light shielding properties to protect the liquid contained therein. The liquid storage portion 3 can be formed of a single film or a stack of films. Examples of the metal film include an aluminum film. If the liquid storage portion 3 is heat-welded to the spout 4, the portion of the liquid storage portion 3 that is heat-welded can be made of a resin. For example, the liquid storage portion 3 can include an outer film made of aluminum and an inner film made of a resin. The inner film can be heat-welded to the spout 4. The liquid storage portion 3 can be shaped like a three-sided sealed bag formed by welding a peripheral portion of a film, or can be shaped like a standing bag having a depth. The film forming the liquid storage portion 3 can be transparent or translucent, so that the color of the liquid contained in the liquid storage portion or the remaining amount of the liquid can be visually observed.

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic view of the liquid storage portion 3 of the bag 5 is shown, showing an exemplary configuration thereof. Figure 3 The bag 5 is a bag including a welded portion 12 extending around the periphery of the liquid storage portion 3. The welded portion 12 has an upper edge that slopes downward in the direction of gravity from a side away from the spout 4 toward the spout 4 at a lower portion in the direction of gravity. This configuration allows the contained liquid to be easily guided to the spout 4, thereby improving the efficiency of use of the liquid.

[0031] The housing 6 will now be described. The housing 6 is made of a material having high rigidity. The housing 6 needs to be made of a material having higher rigidity than the material used for the bag 5. The housing 6, which is repeatedly used as described above, can be made of plastic (e.g., polypropylene or polyethylene), or can be made of metal or carbon resin. The housing 6 having high rigidity facilitates mounting of the liquid container on the liquid discharging device 1. Figure 10This is a schematic enlarged view of a portion 11 of the liquid dispensing device, showing a liquid container mounted on the device. The mounting portion 11 has a supply port 14 to which a connector 13 of a nozzle 4 is attached. If the liquid container consists only of a bag, it is difficult to attach the connector 13 to the supply port 14 with sufficient force due to the container's low rigidity. Therefore, liquid may not be successfully dispensed. For this purpose, a housing 6 with high rigidity and load-bearing capacity facilitates the mounting of the liquid container, allowing the connector 13 of the nozzle 4 of the bag attached to the housing 6 to be easily attached to the supply port 14.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, after the bag is inserted and placed in the housing 6, the insertion opening of the housing 6 containing the bag can be covered by the lid 7. The housing 6, when covered by the lid 7, can have a box shape with six sides. The housing 6 can have any other shape. For example, the insertion opening (through which the bag is inserted) can remain open. The housing 6 can have a box shape with five sides and no lid for the insertion opening. Figure 4 As shown, the housing 6 can have a frame shape with four faces (or two open faces). Figure 4 Two frame-shaped housings are shown, in which different bags are placed. When each bag is placed in its corresponding frame-shaped housing, the opposite sides of the bag are exposed through corresponding openings in the housing. Furthermore, housing 6 can be as follows... Figure 5A and Figure 5B It is shaped as shown. The housing 6 may have an opening at a relatively high height along the direction of gravity, through which the bag is inserted into the housing.

[0033] When multiple liquid containers are installed on a liquid discharge device, the shells of the liquid containers can have different shapes. Not all shells need to be made differently from each other. At least two shells are made differently from each other. In this case, the mounting section 11 can include structures for each liquid container in each area holding the liquid containers. Figure 6 The mounting portion 11, including ribs 8, is shown. The ribs 8 for the four liquid containers are different in shape (configuration mode). The housing 6 has grooves 15 corresponding to the ribs 8. In this configuration, when the liquid containers are installed in the correct position, the ribs 8 fit into the grooves 15, thus the liquid containers are successfully installed. If the liquid containers are installed in the incorrect position, the ribs 8 will not fit into the grooves 15, thus preventing incorrect installation. Figure 7A and Figure 7B The relationship between nozzle 4 and housing 6 is shown. Figure 7A The shape of the shell 6, especially the shape of the groove 15, is different from that of the other shells. Figure 7B The shape within. Corresponding to Figure 7A The structure of the nozzle 4 in the casing 6 is also different.Figure 7B the structure of the spout 4 and the structure of the housing 6. As long as the structure of the spout 4 matches the structure of the housing 6, the spout and the bag can be attached to the housing 6, thereby preventing improper matching between the spout and the housing. Figure 7A Figure 7B The correspondence between the structure of the spout 4 and the structure of the housing 6 is shown. As long as the structure of the spout 4 matches the structure of the housing 6, the spout and the bag can be attached to the housing 6, thereby preventing improper matching between the spout and the housing.

[0034] If different shaped housings are used for the liquid containers, as shown in Figure 8 the housing 6 can have different shaped recesses 15 in the lower portion, and the mounting portion 11 can include ribs 8 corresponding to the respective recesses.

[0035] Considering the productivity of the housings, the same shaped housings can be used for the liquid containers mounted on the liquid discharging apparatus. In this case, each spout of the liquid containers can include an improper mounting prevention mechanism. If the housings are slightly different from each other due to manufacturing errors, the housings can be considered to have the same shape. Figure 9 The shape of the mounting portion 11 and the liquid container 2 is shown. The spout 4 of each liquid container 2 includes a protrusion 10. The housings 6 of the liquid containers 2 have the same shape, while the protrusions 10 of the liquid containers 2 are different from each other. In Figure 9 the protrusions of the spouts differ in number and size. The mounting portion 11 has recesses 16 around the supply ports 14. If the liquid container is mounted at the correct position, for example, if the liquid container containing cyan ink is mounted on the mounting section for cyan, the protrusion 10 can be fitted in the recess 16, so that the liquid container can be successfully mounted. If the liquid container is mounted at an incorrect position, for example, if the liquid container containing magenta ink is mounted on the mounting section for cyan, the protrusion cannot be fitted in the recess, so that the liquid container will not be mounted.

[0036] The fitting between the protrusion and the recess, the arrangement of the protrusion and the recess (for example, where the protrusion is arranged and where the recess is arranged) is not limited to the above-described example. The protrusion and the recess can be appropriately arranged so as to be suitable for, for example, the shape of the liquid discharging apparatus 1, the liquid container 2, or the spout 4.

[0037] In any configuration, the fitting between the mounting portion and the liquid container is intended to prevent the liquid in the liquid container mounted at an incorrect position from accidentally entering the liquid discharging apparatus. To avoid such an accident, the liquid container 2 can be prevented from being inserted into the mounting portion 11 before the engagement portion 13 of the liquid container 2 comes into contact with the supply port 14 of the mounting portion 11. Thus, as shown in Figure 10 for the fitting between the liquid discharging apparatus 1 and the spout 4, the spout 4 can protrude further in the insertion direction or Y direction than the engagement portion 13.

[0038] ​If the liquid discharging device 1 is activated to discharge liquid in the case where the liquid container 2 is partially installed on the installation portion 11, air can enter the passage in the liquid discharging device. Thereafter, the liquid discharging device can not accurately discharge liquid. In order to recover the liquid discharging device from such a state, for example, a large amount of liquid can be discharged to remove the air in the passage. Disadvantageously, a large amount of liquid can be wasted. In order to determine whether the housing 6 is completely installed on the liquid discharging device 1, a plate can be included in the housing 6 or the spout 4 and effectively used. When the liquid container 2 is completely installed on the installation portion 11 of the liquid discharging device 1, the plate included in the spout 4 is able to be in electrical communication with, for example, an electrode on the liquid discharging device 1. As long as the liquid discharging device 1 is allowed to discharge liquid upon determining electrical communication, the above-described disadvantage can be addressed.

[0039] In order to install the liquid container on the liquid discharging device, in the example shown in Figure 2 and Figure 6 , the liquid container is inserted into the liquid discharging device in the Y direction as shown in Figure 1 , Figure 5A and Figure 5B . To this end, displacement of the spout 4 in the Y direction with respect to the housing 6 can be minimized in the liquid container. Accordingly, the bag 5 can be inserted into the housing 6 in the X direction or the Z direction. For example, Figure 5A and Figure 5B show a configuration in which the bag 5 is inserted into the housing 6 in the Z direction. Further, the bag 5 can be fixed in the Y direction when placed in the housing 6.

[0040] As described above, the spout 4 can be positioned at a lower height in the direction of gravity. The spout 4 can be positioned at the bottom of the bag 5 located at a lower position in the direction of gravity. In this case, the liquid container is inserted into the liquid discharging device in the Z direction. Accordingly, displacement of the spout 4 in the Z direction with respect to the housing 6 can be minimized. For example, the bag 5 can be inserted into the housing 6 in the X direction or in the Y direction. Further, the bag 5 can be fixed in the Z direction when placed in the housing 6.

[0041] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be given the broadest interpretation to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A plurality of liquid containers for installation on a liquid discharge device, each of the plurality of liquid containers comprising: case; A bag that can be detached from and attached to a housing, and is contained within the housing; and Nozzle, the nozzle being connected to the bag, The shell has higher stiffness than the bag. In the posture of the liquid container when it is installed on the liquid discharge device, the bag and the nozzle each have dimensions in the direction of gravity, and the size of the nozzle is less than or equal to half the size of the bag. Wherein, at least two of the plurality of liquid containers have shells with different shapes, and The plurality of nozzles of the plurality of liquid containers have different shapes corresponding to the structure included in the mounting portion of the liquid discharge device, and the plurality of liquid containers are mounted on the mounting portion when the shape of the plurality of nozzles matches the structure of the mounting portion.

2. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The bag includes a metal membrane.

3. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 2, wherein, The metal film is aluminum.

4. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The nozzle is welded to the bag using a thermal welding process.

5. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The housing is made of plastic.

6. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The housing includes a lid that covers the opening of the housing containing the bag, and has a box shape with six sides.

7. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The housing has a frame shape with four sides, and the opposite sides of the bag housed in the housing are exposed through openings in the housing.

8. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The nozzle is positioned such that the center of the nozzle in the direction of gravity is located at a height below A / 2 in the direction of gravity, where A represents the size of the bag in the direction of gravity in the posture of the liquid container when the liquid container is mounted on the liquid discharge device.

9. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The housings of the plurality of liquid containers have different shapes corresponding to the structures included in the mounting portion of the liquid discharge device, and the plurality of liquid containers are mounted on the mounting portion when the shapes of the plurality of housings match the structure of the mounting portion.

10. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The shells of the plurality of liquid containers have the same shape, and the nozzles of at least two of the plurality of liquid containers have different shapes.

11. The plurality of liquid containers according to claim 1, wherein, The bag can be inserted into the shell along the direction of gravity or in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction and the direction of gravity.

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