Liquid container, refilling method for refilling liquid in liquid container, and ink refilling method

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid container whose interior can be easily cleaned before refilling with liquid. The ink container (10) has: a bag-shaped storage part (2) that stores ink; an ink supply passage (4); an openable and closable partition member (5) that is provided in the storage part (2); and a sealed bag-shaped cleaning port (3) that is connected to the storage part (2) via the partition member. The cleaning port (3) has a cutting starting point (6). In the case of reuse, the cleaning port (3) is cut from the cutting starting point (6) to make an opening (8) (Figure 4), and hands and cleaning tools are placed into the storage part (2) through the opening (8) and the opened partition member (5) for cleaning. After cleaning, the ink is refilled into the storage part (2) from the opening (8) and the partition member (5) is closed, and the opening (8) is heat-welded for reuse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid container for storing liquids such as ink, a refilling method for refilling a used liquid container with liquid, and an ink refilling method, and in particular, to a liquid container that can be easily cleaned when refilling the liquid with liquid after a used liquid container is reused, a refilling method for refilling the liquid container with liquid, and an ink refilling method. Background Art

[0002] The invention of an ink cartridge is disclosed in the following patent document 1. The ink cartridge 1 includes an ink container 10 made of a thermoplastic film material, an ink supply unit 13 provided in communication with the ink container 10, and an outer casing 20 as a box for storing the ink container 10. When the ink cartridge 1 is loaded into an ink cartridge installation mechanism 130 of a printing device 100, the ink supply unit 13 of the ink cartridge 1 is engaged with a retainer 131 of the ink cartridge installation mechanism 130, and the ink in the ink container 10 is supplied to an ink tank in the printing device 100 via the ink supply unit 13 and the retainer 131.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-132204 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] In order to reuse the ink cartridge as described above, when refilling the ink container with ink, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the inside of the ink container before refilling the ink. The reason for this is not only to prevent color mixing when refilling different colors of ink, but also because different ink materials have different formulations depending on the color, generation, and product. Therefore, when different ink components and materials are mixed, the viscosity may change or foreign matter may be generated.

[0008] However, in the conventional ink cartridge as described above, the tubular ink supply portion connected to the printing device side has an inner diameter designed in consideration of the flow rate that can supply the required amount of ink during printing, and when water is supplied from the ink supply portion for cleaning, it cannot be fully cleaned. In addition, it is difficult to clean the ink supply portion with running water, and it is necessary to repeatedly clean until the ink remaining inside the ink container is fully removed, making it difficult to reuse (reuse) the ink cartridge.

[0009] Fig. 91 is a front view of an ink container 50 of a conventional ink cartridge as described above. The ink container 50 is formed into a bag body by overlapping two rectangular thermoplastic films with a supply passage 51 sandwiched therebetween, and fusing the outer periphery of the thermoplastic films to make them integrated with the supply passage 51. Therefore, the ink container 50 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 50a for storing ink and an ink supply passage 51 provided to communicate with the storage portion 50a. In addition, in the figure, the welded portion W of the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film is indicated by light ink color (gray). An ink container 50 of such a structure is usually called a nozzle bag (Japanese: spout bag). In order to refill the ink container 50 of the nozzle bag after use with ink, as described above, a method of refilling the ink from the supply passage 51 after supplying water to the inside of the ink container 50 for cleaning is considered, but in addition to this, a method of refilling the ink from the supply passage 51 is also considered. Fig.10 The method shown.

[0010] like Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , the rear end of the ink container 50 is cut at a position inside the welded portion, a large opening 52 is formed at the rear end of the ink container 50, and the inside is cleaned and the ink is refilled from the opening 52. However, in this method, since the ink container 50 is cut, the ink capacity of the ink container 50 is reduced. In addition, in this method, Fig.11 As shown, during the process of refilling the ink K or when the ink K for refilling has entered the ink container 50, the opening 52 must be directed upward, and the thinner supply passage 51 below must be abutted against the mounting table G to stand upright. Without some support, the ink container 50 with the ink K entered will not be stable. Therefore, after the refilling is completed, it is difficult to stabilize the ink container 50. Fig.11 The opening 52 of the ink container 50 in the unstable state shown is closed and welded and sealed.

[0011] Therefore, the present invention is made in view of the above-described problems when refilling ink into an ink container, and its purpose is to provide a liquid container that can be easily cleaned when the liquid container containing liquid such as ink is reused to refill the liquid, a refilling method for refilling the liquid container with liquid, and a refilling method for ink.

[0012] Solutions for solving problems

[0013] The present invention provides a liquid container, characterized in that the liquid container comprises: a storage portion, which stores liquid; a liquid supply passage, which is arranged in the storage portion; an openable and closable partition component, which is arranged in the storage portion; and a cleaning port, which is arranged in a manner connected to the storage portion via the partition component.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] When the liquid container of the present invention is reused, hands and cleaning utensils can be put into the interior of the storage portion through the cleaning opening and the opened partition member, so that the cleaning operation of the liquid storage portion can be easily performed. In addition, the liquid remaining in the storage portion due to insufficient cleaning is eliminated from mixing with the refilled different type of liquid, and the quality of the liquid stored in the reused liquid container can be stabilized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 FIG. 2 (a) is a top view of an inkjet printing device loaded with an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The sub-figure (b) is the front view of the device. Figure 1 Component (c) is a side view of the device.

[0017] Figure 2 FIG. (a) is a perspective view of the ink cartridge of the embodiment viewed from the upper surface. Figure 2 Part (b) is a three-dimensional image of the ink cartridge observed from the bottom surface.

[0018] Figure 3 The following are a front view and a side view showing an ink storage portion of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a front view showing a step of cutting the cleaning port in the ink cartridge refilling method according to the embodiment.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a front view showing a step of welding the opening 52 of the cleaning port after refilling in the ink cartridge refilling method of the embodiment.

[0021] Figure 6 The present invention is a front view and a side view showing an ink containing portion of an ink cartridge to be refilled in a method of refilling ink according to a modified example of the embodiment.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a front view showing a step of cutting off a part of an ink containing portion to form an opening in an ink refilling method as a modified example of the embodiment.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a front view showing a step of welding an opening after refilling ink in an ink refilling method as a modified example of the embodiment.

[0024] Fig. 9 The figure shows a front view and a side view of an ink storage portion of a conventional ink cartridge.

[0025] Fig.10 This is a front view showing a process of cutting off the ink containing portion in order to refill the ink into the conventional ink cartridge.

[0026] Fig.11 This is a front view showing a step of welding the opening 52 of the cleaning port after refilling in a conventional ink cartridge refilling method.

[0027] Description of Reference Numerals

[0028] 1. Ink cartridge; 2. 50a, 60a, storage portion; 3. Cleaning port; 4. 51, 61, supply passage; 5. Partition component; 6. Cutting starting point; 8. 52, 62, opening; 10. 50, 60, ink container as a liquid container; 100, printing device; K. Ink as a liquid; W, welding portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 (a)~ Figure 1 (c) shows a printing device 100 loaded with the ink cartridge 1 of the first embodiment. The printing device 100 is an inkjet line color printer, which includes a plurality of inkjet heads having a large number of nozzles, and each inkjet head ejects ink of a different color in units of lines, so that a plurality of images are overlapped on a printed medium (paper) conveyed by a conveyor belt to form a full-color image.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown in (b), the printing device 100 is provided with a control unit 110 and a setting operation unit 120 composed of an input device. The control unit 110 uniformly controls the various parts constituting the device to perform printing processing corresponding to the printing job. The input device is composed of operation keys, a display / input panel, etc.

[0031] like Figure 1 (a) and Figure 1 As shown in (c), an ink cartridge installation mechanism 130 for installing an ink cartridge 1 is provided for each inkjet head at the upper portion of the device body 100a in the printing device 100. In the first embodiment, four ink cartridge installation mechanisms 130 are provided corresponding to the number of inkjet heads. The ink cartridge installation mechanism 130 is provided with a holding portion 131, and after the ink cartridge 1 is loaded into the printing device 100, the holding portion 131 is engaged with the engaging portion 30 described later.

[0032] like Figure 1 (b) and Figure 1As shown in (c) of FIG. 1 , an upper surface device 140 is provided to cover the top of the ink cartridge installation mechanism 130, and an image reading device (scanner) and a setting operation unit 120 are arranged on the upper surface device 140. When the ink cartridge 1 is loaded, the lower surface of the upper surface device 140 and the upper surface of the main body 100a of the printing device 100 are connected along the installation and removal direction A (refer to FIG. 1 ) parallel to the horizontal direction. Figure 1 (a) and Figure 1 (c)) Insert ink cartridge 1.

[0033] Figure 2 (a) or Figure 2 (b) shows an ink cartridge 1 according to the first embodiment. The ink cartridge 1 is an elongated casing having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the ink cartridge 1 is installed and removed relative to the printing device 100 in a posture in which the long side direction thereof is parallel to the installation and removal direction A. The ink cartridge 1 comprises: an ink container 10 as a liquid container, which is filled with ink as a liquid; an outer body 20, which is a protective or decorative packaging box for accommodating the ink container 10; and a snap-fit ​​portion 30, which is provided at one end portion in the long side direction of the ink container 10 and the outer body 20, and is snap-fitted with a retaining portion 131 of an ink cartridge installation mechanism 130 of the printing device 100. In addition, as will be described later, a supply passage 4 (see Figure 3 ), the supply passage 4 is provided in the ink container 10 in such a manner as to communicate with the interior of the ink container 10.

[0034] Figure 3 The front view (right figure) and the side view (left figure) of the ink container 10 of the ink cartridge 1 of the first embodiment are shown. As described below, the ink container 10 is a structure that is easy to refill with ink, and the ink cartridge 1 having the ink container 10 is a product that is intended to be reused.

[0035] like Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the ink container 10 has: an ink storage part 2, which stores ink inside; and a cleaning port 3, which is integrally provided in the storage part 2 in a manner of communicating with the storage part 2. The storage part 2 and the cleaning port 3 are a bag body with a rectangular shape as a whole, which is formed by overlapping two rectangular thermoplastic films and welding their outer peripheral edges. The welded portion W of the outer peripheral edge of the thermoplastic film is shown in the figure with light ink color (gray).

[0036] like Figure 3 As shown, on the short side of the storage portion 2 ( Figure 3A supply passage 4 is provided at the center of the ink container 10 (the upper horizontal side in the middle). The supply passage 4 is a tubular member, and the ink from the storage section 2 flows out from the supply passage 4 (in the case of refilling, it flows in). When the storage section 2 and the cleaning port 3 are integrally formed, the supply passage 4 is arranged between two overlapping rectangular thermoplastic films, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are heat-welded, so that the supply passage 4 becomes an integral structure with the ink container 10. In addition, the supply passage 4 has a check valve inside, and is connected to the engaging portion 30 of the ink cartridge 1 (see Figure 2 ) is connected. Therefore, if the ink cartridge 1 is connected to the holding portion 131 (refer to Figure 1 ) is engaged, the interior of the ink container 10 is connected to the ink tank (not shown) of the printing device 100 via the opened check valve, and ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge 1 to the ink tank of the printing device 100.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , an openable and closable partition member 5 is provided inside the storage section 2 and the cleaning port 3 and at the boundary between the storage section 2 and the cleaning port 3. The partition member 5 is arranged so as to separate the two long sides ( Figure 3 One portion of each of the two longitudinal sides) of the storage portion 2 is connected to each other in a direction orthogonal to the long side. That is, the partition member 5 is parallel to the short sides of the outer periphery of the storage portion 2 and the cleaning port 3. The volume of the storage portion 2 separated from the cleaning port 3 by the partition member 5 is set according to the capacity of the ink to be stored. In addition, the cleaning port 3 is not a space for storing ink, but a part related to the cleaning when the ink is refilled to be described later. Therefore, the size of the cleaning port 3 separated from the storage portion 2 by the partition member 5 is not particularly limited, but as described later, it is preferable to set the size of the longitudinal side of the cleaning port 3 according to the number of times the ink container 10 is planned to be reused.

[0038] As the partition component 5, a zipper or a clamp (Japanese: チャック) used as an opening and closing component of a resin bag widely used for various purposes can be used. Such a zipper or clamp is composed of a concave member having a long groove structure and a convex member having a protrusion structure engaged with the long groove structure. By engaging the long groove structure and the protrusion structure with each other at one end in the long side direction and applying pressure from there along the long side direction toward the other end, it can be easily closed, so that the liquid tightness is good. In addition, it can also be easily opened by pulling out the protrusion structure from the long groove structure. In addition, the partition component 5 is not limited to the zipper or clamp mentioned above, as long as it is a component that can be opened and closed that can separate a part of the bag body from other parts in a liquid-tight state.

[0039] like Figure 3As shown in FIG. 1 , three cutting starting points 6 are formed at equal intervals on one long side of the outer periphery of the welded portion W serving as the cleaning port 3. The cutting starting points 6 are triangular notches or cuts formed in the welded portion W. Figure 4 As shown, if the cleaning port 3 is cut from the vertex of the notch of the cutting starting point 6 in parallel with the short side of the outer periphery, that is, in parallel with the long side direction of the partition member 5, the lower end 7 of the cleaning port 3 that has been sealed by welding can be cut off to form an opening 8. Since there are three cutting starting points 6, the operation of cutting the cleaning port 3 in parallel with the short side of the outer periphery can be performed three times. This means that the ink container 10 can be reused three times, that is, the process of cleaning the storage part 2 from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, refilling the ink from the cleaning port 3, and then sealing the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 by re-welding can be performed three times, which will be described in detail later.

[0040] As understood from the above description, the ink container 10 in the ink cartridge 1 of the first embodiment is made longer in advance than the required ink capacity in consideration of cutting. In addition, the required number of cutting starting points 6 (cuts) are formed in advance so that the cutting position can be easily found. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the refilling operation and the welding operation after refilling, the partition member 5 of the clamp structure is set in advance at the optimal size position relative to the required ink capacity. In addition, in the ink container 10 of the first embodiment, the entire circumference of the two overlapping rectangular thermoplastic films is heat-welded to form a circumferential welded portion W, but this is an example, and the bag body can be formed by bending one thermoplastic film and heat-welding only the required portion, or the bag body can be formed by combining three or more thermoplastic films and heat-welding the required portion.

[0041] Next, the steps of refilling and reusing the ink container 10 of the first embodiment described above, i.e., the ink container 10 having a structure that allows easy refilling of ink due to the partition member 5 and the cleaning port 3, are described. The ink container 10 of the ink cartridge 1 after the ink in the storage portion 2 is used up is reused. Therefore, first, the ink cartridge 1 is refilled with ink from the engaging portion 30 (see FIG. 1 ). Figure 2 ) remove the ink container 10, and remove the ink container 10 from the outer casing 20 (see Figure 2 ) is taken out and becomes Figure 3 Status shown.

[0042] choose Figure 3 Among the cutting starting points 6 of the cleaning opening 3 shown, the cutting starting point 6 farthest from the partition member 5 is the cutting starting point 6 closest to the bottom of the storage portion 2. Then, as shown in FIG. Figure 4As shown, the cleaning port 3 is cut from the cutting starting point 6 substantially parallel to the short side of the outer periphery, that is, substantially parallel to the long side direction of the partition member 5, and the lower end of the cleaning port 3 as a sealed structure is removed to form an opening 8.

[0043] After the opening 8 is formed in the cleaning port 3, the partition member 5 is opened and the inside of the storage portion 2 is cleaned. The opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is the same width as the width of the cleaning port 3, and the opening width of the partition member 5 after opening is the same width as the width of the storage portion 2, both of which are the maximum widths that can be achieved in terms of structure. Therefore, the cleaning operation of the inside of the storage portion 2 can be reliably and easily performed through the cleaning port 3.

[0044] Next, the ink is refilled into the interior of the storage section 2, and the refilling can be performed from the supply passage 4 or from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3. When filling from the supply passage 4, the filling is performed after closing the partition member 5. When filling from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, the storage section 2 is arranged so that the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 faces upward, and the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed.

[0045] like Figure 5 As shown, the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is welded to seal the storage portion 2 and the cleaning port 3 from the outside. During the welding operation, since the partition member 5 is closed, the ink is in a state of being sealed in the storage portion 2 by the partition member 5. Therefore, no matter how the posture of the storage portion 2 is set, the ink will not leak to the outside, and the storage portion 2 can be placed in operation with a high degree of freedom. Therefore, for example, if the ink container 10 is placed horizontally (flat) on a plane as a whole with the supply passage 4 facing the horizontal direction, and the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is overlapped and closed, the opening 8 will not be affected by the deformation of the storage portion 2 caused by the ink, and thus remains stable in the closed state. Therefore, the operation of sealing the opening 8 by heat to form the welded portion W can be stably and easily performed, and as a result, the storage portion 2 after refilling can be completely sealed. In addition, since the storage portion 2 is sealed by the partition member 5, even if the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is not opened (refer to Figure 4 ) can be welded and used as a reused product without any problem, but if the cleaning mouth 3 is welded to make it airtight, leakage of ink can be further reliably prevented.

[0046] If the ink container 10 refilled with ink is used as a reference Figure 2 The described structure is housed in the empty outer casing 20 after use, and the supply passage 4 of the ink container 10 is connected to the engaging portion 30 of the outer casing 20 , thereby completing the reused ink cartridge 1 .

[0047] The reused ink cartridge 1 is installed in the printing device 100 (see Figure 1 ) for printing, and when the ink runs out, the ink cartridge 1 can be reused for the second time. Figure 3 The bottom cutting starting point 6 of the three cutting starting points 6 of the cleaning mouth 3 shown in the figure has disappeared, so the second cutting starting point 6 located at the bottom at the second reuse is used, and the same process as the first reuse is performed. The third reuse is the same. In addition, the number of cutting starting points 6 and the planned number of reuses are arbitrary, and can be 1 or 2 times, or 4 times or more.

[0048] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 9 As shown, the second embodiment relates to a method of reusing the ink container 50 or the ink cartridge 1 by providing a partition member 5 similar to the first embodiment with respect to an ink container 50 of a general structure that is not necessarily intended to be reused and refilling the ink.

[0049] Fig. 9 The ink container 50 shown is a container for a conventional ink cartridge, and is a nozzle bag in which two rectangular thermoplastic films are overlapped and a supply passage 51 is sandwiched between them, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are welded to form a welded portion W, which is integrated with the supply passage 51. That is, the ink container 50 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 50a for storing ink and an ink supply passage 51 provided in communication with the storage portion 50a. In order to reuse the ink cartridge, the ink container 50 is refilled with ink after the ink is consumed as follows.

[0050] like Fig.10 As shown, a portion of the storage portion 50a, preferably a portion of the bottom of the storage portion 50a farthest from the supply passage 51 and separated from the welding portion W at the bottom, is cut along a direction perpendicular to the long side of the storage portion 50a, and a strip-shaped cut-off portion 53 is cut off to form an opening 52.

[0051] The inside of the storage part 50a is cleaned by inserting a hand or a washing tool from the opening 52 of the storage part 50a. The opening 52 of the storage part 50a is the same size as the width of the storage part 50a and has a sufficient size, so the cleaning operation inside can be performed reliably and easily.

[0052] A partition member 5 ( Fig.10(not shown in the figure). The partition member 5 is the same as the partition member 5 used in the first embodiment. The ink container 50 is shortened by the amount of the cut-off portion 53, so the volume of the storage portion 50a after reuse is reduced by setting the partition member 5. In addition, the volume of the storage portion 50a after reuse is determined by the setting position of the partition member 5. If the partition member 5 is set as close to the opening 52 as possible, the reduction in volume is less than when it is set at a position farther from the opening 52 (closer to the supply passage 51).

[0053] Refill the ink into the storage portion 50a. As in the first embodiment, refilling can be performed from the supply passage 51 or from the opening 52. When filling from the supply passage 51, filling is performed after closing the partition member 5. When filling from the opening 52, the storage portion 50a is arranged so that the opening 52 faces upward, and the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed.

[0054] The opening 52 of the storage section 50a is welded to make the storage section 50a sealed relative to the outside. During the welding operation, since the partition member 5 is closed, the ink is in a state of being sealed in the storage section 50a by the partition member 5. Therefore, no matter how the posture of the storage section 50a is set, the ink will not leak to the outside, and the storage section 50a has a high degree of freedom in the placement of the operation. Therefore, for example, if the storage section 50a is placed horizontally (flat) on a plane in a manner such that the supply passage 51 is facing the horizontal direction, and the opening 52 is set to overlap and close, the opening 52 will not be affected by the deformation of the storage section 50a caused by the ink, and therefore remains stable in the closed state. Therefore, the operation of welding the opening 52 to close the opening 52 can be stably and easily performed, and as a result, the refilled storage section 50a can be completely sealed. Furthermore, since the storage portion 50a is sealed by the partition member 5, there is no problem in using it as a reused product even if the opening 52 is not welded. However, if the opening 52 is welded and sealed, leakage of ink can be more reliably prevented.

[0055] If the ink container 50 refilled with ink is used as a reference Figure 2 The structure described above is stored in the empty outer casing 20 after use, and the supply passage 51 of the ink container 50 is connected to the engaging portion 30 (see Figure 2 ) is connected, the ink cartridge is reusable.

[0056] According to the above-described method for reusing an ink cartridge or ink container, or the method for refilling an ink container with ink, an ink container 50 that is not planned to be refilled with ink can be converted into a reusable structure and refilled with ink.

[0057] Next, refer to Figure 6 to Figure 8 Modifications of the embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0058] The refilling method of the modified example relates to a method of: Figure 6 The ink container 60 shown in the figure is refilled with ink without providing the partition member 5 as described above, so that the ink container 60 or the ink cartridge 1 can be reused.

[0059] Figure 6 The ink container 60 shown is a nozzle bag in which two rectangular thermoplastic films are overlapped so as to sandwich a supply passage 61 therebetween, and the outer peripheral edges of the thermoplastic films are welded to form a welded portion W, which is integrated with the supply passage 61. That is, the ink container 60 includes a bag-shaped storage portion 60a for storing ink and an ink supply passage 61 provided integrally with the storage portion 60a so as to communicate with the inside of the storage portion 60a. After the ink is consumed, in order to reuse the ink cartridge, the procedure of refilling the ink into the ink container 60 is performed as follows.

[0060] like Figure 7 As shown, a portion of the storage portion 60a is cut off. Preferably, the storage portion 60a is cut off in a direction perpendicular to the long side of the storage portion 60a at a position as close as possible to the welded portion W at the bottom of the storage portion 60a farthest from the supply passage 61 and not intersecting with the welded portion W. As a result, the strip-shaped cut-off portion 63 is cut off to form an opening 62.

[0061] The inside of the storage part 60a is cleaned by inserting a hand or a cleaning tool from the opening 62 of the storage part 60a. The opening 62 of the storage part 60a is the same size as the width of the storage part 60a and has a sufficient size, so the cleaning operation inside can be performed reliably and easily.

[0062] Refill the ink into the storage section 60a. Refilling can be performed from either the supply passage 61 or the opening 62. When filling from the supply passage 61, the sealing process (welding process) of the opening 62 described later is first performed, and then filling is performed. When filling from the opening 62, the storage section 60a is arranged on a stable base or the like with the opening 62 located at the top, and the filling operation is performed while being held by an appropriate jig or the like so that the storage section 60a does not fall over. After the filling is completed, the sealing process (welding process) of the opening 62 is performed.

[0063] In addition, the ink container 60 becomes shorter due to the cut-off portion 63, but since the cut-off is performed at a position close to the welded portion W at the bottom, the reduction in the capacity of the storage portion 60a after reuse is suppressed to a minimum. Originally, the storage portion 60a of the ink container 60 may not be filled with a full volume of ink. In the case where the volume of the storage portion 60a is larger than the ink storage amount and has a surplus, even if the capacity of the storage portion 60a is reduced, the amount of ink that can be stored can be the same as before reuse. Alternatively, in the case where there is a situation where the amount of ink in the storage portion 60a after reuse is reduced than before reuse, the reduction in the volume of the ink container 60 that accompanies reuse of this modified example will not be a problem.

[0064] The opening 62 of the storage part 60a is welded to make the storage part 60a sealed or airtight relative to the outside. In this case, the storage part 60a needs to be arranged so that the opening 62 faces upward. If the ink is injected in a state where the posture of the storage part 60a is stably maintained on a base or the like by using an appropriate jig or the like as described above to prevent the posture of the storage part 60a from becoming unstable, the ink can be refilled without overflowing.

[0065] If the ink container 60 refilled with ink is used as a reference Figure 2 The structure described above is stored in the empty outer casing 20 after use, and the supply passage 61 of the ink container 60 is connected to the engaging portion 30 of the outer casing 20 (see Figure 2 ) is connected, the ink cartridge is reusable.

[0066] According to the ink refilling method for the ink container 60 described above, even if the ink container 60 is a container that is not specially planned to be refilled with ink, the ink container 60 can be easily refilled with ink in a short time with relatively low cost and simple process without going through the process of specially setting up the partition part 5.

[0067] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the outer peripheries of the two overlapping rectangular thermoplastic films constituting the storage portion 2 are sealed by welding to form a bag body, and the opening 8 formed at the bottom of the storage portion 2 is sealed by re-welding as it is reused. In addition, in the above-mentioned modified example, the opening 62 formed in the storage portion 60a is also sealed by re-welding as it is reused. However, the re-sealed portion can be formed by welding as described above, but the re-sealed portion can also be formed by bonding with an adhesive, or can be formed by integration by other means, as long as the inside of the storage portion can be sealed or airtight relative to the outside.

[0068] In the above-described embodiments and variations, the reuse of ink cartridges or ink containers, or the refilling of ink with respect to ink containers, is described, but the objects to be reused are not limited to ink cartridges and ink containers, but may also be boxes and containers of other liquids. In addition, the refilled liquid is not limited to ink, but may also be other liquids. As other liquids, for example, it may be a pretreatment liquid applied to paper before printing, or a protective coating liquid applied to paper with an image printed thereon. Of course, the present invention is not only applicable to liquids involved in printing, but can also be applicable to various liquids and their containers used in all other industries.

[0069] 《Regarding each method of implementation and its effects》

[0070] The first type of liquid container 10 is characterized in that the liquid container 10 comprises: a storage portion 2, which stores liquid; a liquid supply passage 4, which is arranged in the storage portion 2; an openable and closable partition component 5, which is arranged in the storage portion 2; and a cleaning port 3, which is arranged in a manner connected to the storage portion 2 via the partition component 5.

[0071] When the liquid container 10 of the first embodiment is reused, hands and cleaning tools can be inserted into the interior of the storage portion 2 from the cleaning opening 3 and the opened partition member 5, so that the storage portion 2 can be easily cleaned compared to the case of cleaning from the supply passage 4 having a narrow inner diameter. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the storage portion 2 due to insufficient cleaning is not mixed with the refilled different type of liquid, and the quality of the liquid stored in the reused liquid container can be stabilized.

[0072] In addition to the liquid container 10 of the first embodiment, the liquid container 10 of the second embodiment is characterized in that the cleaning port 3 is provided with a cutting starting point 6 for cutting off a part of the sealed cleaning port 3 to form an opening 8 .

[0073] In the case of reusing the liquid container 10 of the second mode, if the sealed cleaning port 3 is cut from the cutting starting point 6 to form the opening 8, and the partition member 5 is opened, the hands and cleaning tools can be placed inside the storage portion 2 through the opening 8 and the partition member 5, so the cleaning operation of the liquid storage portion 2 can be reliably and easily performed. In addition, after the liquid is refilled into the storage portion 2, if the partition member 5 is closed, the liquid will be sealed in the storage portion 2 by the partition member 5. Therefore, no matter how the storage portion 2 is placed, the liquid will not leak to the outside, and the degree of freedom of the placement of the storage portion 2 during the operation becomes high. Therefore, for example, if the storage portion 2 is placed horizontally (flatly) on a plane in a manner that the supply passage 4 faces the horizontal direction, and the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 is overlapped and closed, the closed opening 8 will not be affected by the deformation of the storage portion 2 caused by the liquid, so the state is stable, and the operation of welding the opening 8 to close it can be stably and easily performed, and the storage portion 2 after refilling can be completely sealed.

[0074] Based on the liquid container 10 of the second embodiment, the liquid container 10 of the third embodiment is characterized in that the storage portion 2 is a bag body formed by welding the outer peripheral edge of the thermoplastic film, the partition component 5 is configured in a manner to connect two parts of the outer peripheral edge, the cleaning port 3 is a bag body formed integrally with the storage portion 2, and the cutting starting point 6 is arranged on the outer peripheral edge in a manner that the cleaning port 3 can be cut off along the partition component 5.

[0075] According to the third embodiment of the liquid container 10, the partition member 5 is formed to have a length that connects the two outer peripheral edges of the storage part 2 as a bag body, that is, a size that corresponds to the length of one side of the storage part 2. In addition, the cleaning opening 3 is a bag body that is integrated with the storage part 2. If the cleaning opening 3 is cut from the cutting starting point 6 provided on the outer peripheral edge thereof in a direction parallel to the partition member 5, an opening 8 of a size that corresponds to the length of one side of the storage part 2 can be formed. Therefore, the formed opening 8 and the opened partition member 5 become a sufficient size that corresponds to the length of one side of the storage part 2, and it is easy to put hands and cleaning tools into the storage part 2, so that the cleaning operation of the liquid storage part 2 can be reliably and easily performed.

[0076] The fourth type of refilling method is a refilling method for refilling a liquid container with liquid, the liquid container comprising: a storage portion 2, which stores liquid; a liquid supply passage 4, which is arranged in the storage portion 2; an openable and closable partition member 5, which is arranged in the storage portion 2; and a cleaning port 3, which is sealed in a manner of being connected to the storage portion 2 via the partition member 5, and is characterized in that the refilling method comprises: a process of cutting off the cleaning port 3 to form an opening 8; a process of cleaning the interior of the storage portion 2; a process of refilling the storage portion 2 with liquid; and a process of sealing the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 when the partition member 5 is closed.

[0077] According to the refilling method of the fourth embodiment, a liquid container having a structure that can be refilled with liquid due to the partition member 5 and the cleaning port 3 can be refilled with liquid and sealed. That is, after the cleaning port 3 is cut to form the opening 8, the partition member 5 is opened and the inside of the storage part 2 is cleaned. Since the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3 and the opened partition member 5 are large enough, the cleaning operation of the storage part 2 can be reliably and easily performed. Then, the liquid is refilled from the opening 8 into the inside of the storage part 2. This refilling can be performed from the supply passage 4 or from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3. In the case of filling from the supply passage 4, the filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. In the case of filling from the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed. And, at the end, by welding the opening 8 of the cleaning port 3, a liquid container that is refilled with liquid and sealed can be obtained.

[0078] The refilling method of the fifth mode is a refilling method for refilling liquid with respect to a liquid container 50, wherein the liquid container 50 comprises: a storage portion 50a, which stores liquid; and a liquid supply passage 51, which is provided in the storage portion 50a, and is characterized in that the refilling method comprises: a process of cutting off a part of the storage portion 50a to form an opening 52; a process of cleaning the interior of the storage portion 50a; a process of providing an openable and closable partition component 5 in the interior of the storage portion 50a; a process of refilling the storage portion 50a with liquid; and a process of sealing the opening 52 when the partition component 5 is closed.

[0079] According to the refilling method of the fifth embodiment, a liquid container 50 that is not planned to be refilled with liquid can be transformed into a structure that can be reused, and the liquid can be refilled. First, a part of the storage section 50a is cut off to form an opening 52, and then the inside of the storage section 50a is cleaned. The opening 52 of the storage section 50a can be formed into any size. For example, if the size of the opening 52 is equal to the width of the storage section 50a, it is sufficient to reliably and easily perform the cleaning operation of the storage section 50a. In addition, after a partition member 5 that can be opened and closed is provided inside the storage section 50a, the liquid is refilled from the opening 52 into the inside of the storage section 50a, and the refilling can be performed from both the supply passage 51 and the opening 52. In the case of filling from the supply passage 51, the filling is performed after the partition member 5 is closed. In the case of filling from the opening 52, the partition member 5 is closed after the filling is completed. Furthermore, finally, by welding the opening 52 , it is possible to obtain a liquid container that is refilled with liquid and can be further refilled with liquid.

[0080] The sixth type of refilling method is a refilling method for refilling ink with respect to an ink container 60, wherein the ink container 60 comprises: a storage portion 60a for storing ink for an inkjet printing device; and an ink supply passage 61, which is provided in the storage portion 60a, and is characterized in that the refilling method comprises: a process of cutting off a part of the storage portion 60a to form an opening 62; a process of cleaning the interior of the storage portion 60a; a process of refilling ink into the storage portion 60a; and a process of sealing the opening 62.

[0081] According to the refilling method of the sixth embodiment, even if the ink container 60 is not planned to be refilled with ink, the ink can be refilled without reinstalling the freely openable and closable partition member 5. First, a part of the storage portion 60a is cut off to form an opening 62, and then the inside of the storage portion 60a is cleaned. And, the ink can be refilled into the inside of the storage portion 60a, and the refilling can be performed from the supply passage 61 or from the opening 62. In the case of filling from the supply passage 61, the filling is performed after the opening 62 is sealed. In the case of filling from the opening 62, if a method is taken to prevent the posture of the storage portion 60a from becoming unstable, the ink can be refilled without overflowing, as long as the opening 62 is sealed after the filling is completed. In this way, the ink container 60 refilled with ink can be obtained. In addition, after the reused ink container 60 is used and the ink is consumed again, it can be further reused by the same method.

[0082] In addition, by cutting off a part of the storage section 60a, the capacity of the storage section 60a after reuse is reduced. However, since there is surplus volume in the storage section 60a, the same amount of ink as before reuse can be filled even if the capacity is reduced. In the case where the amount of ink filled is less than before reuse, no particular problem will occur.

Claims

1. A liquid container, characterized in that: The liquid container has: a storage portion for storing liquid; a liquid supply passage, which is provided in the storage portion; an openable and closable partition member disposed in the storage portion; and a cleaning opening, which is arranged in communication with the storage portion via the partition member, The storage part is a bag body formed by welding the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film. The partition member is arranged so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge. The cleaning opening is a bag body formed integrally with the storage portion.

2. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning opening is provided with a cutting starting point for cutting off a part of the sealed cleaning opening to form an opening.

3. The liquid container according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cutting starting point is provided at the outer peripheral edge so as to be able to cut off the cleaning port portion along the partition member.

4. A method for refilling a liquid container with a liquid, the liquid container comprising: a storage portion for storing the liquid; a liquid supply passage provided in the storage portion; an openable and closable partition member provided in the storage portion; and a cleaning port provided in a sealed manner so as to communicate with the storage portion via the partition member, characterized in that: This refill method has: A step of cutting the cleaning opening to form an opening; A step of cleaning the interior of the storage portion; a step of refilling the storage portion with liquid; and a step of sealing the opening of the cleaning port in a state where the partition member is closed, The storage part is a bag body formed by welding the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film. The partition member is arranged so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge. The cleaning opening is a bag body formed integrally with the storage portion.

5. A method for refilling a liquid container with a liquid, the liquid container comprising: a storage portion for storing the liquid; and a liquid supply passage provided in the storage portion, characterized in that: This refill method has: a step of cutting off a portion of the receiving portion to form an opening; A step of cleaning the interior of the storage portion; The step of providing an openable and closable partition member inside the storage portion; a step of refilling the storage portion with liquid; and a step of sealing the opening in a state where the partition member is closed, The liquid container includes a cleaning port that is provided in a sealed manner so as to communicate with the storage portion via the partition member. The storage part is a bag body formed by welding the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film. The partition member is arranged so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge. The cleaning opening is a bag body formed integrally with the storage portion.

6. A method for refilling ink in an ink container, the ink container comprising: a storage portion for storing ink for an inkjet printing device; and an ink supply passage provided in the storage portion, characterized in that: This refill method has: a step of cutting off a portion of the receiving portion to form an opening; A step of cleaning the interior of the storage portion; The step of providing an openable and closable partition member inside the storage portion; a step of refilling the ink into the container; and a step of sealing the opening in a state where the partition member is closed, The ink tank includes a cleaning port portion which is provided in a sealed manner so as to communicate with the storage portion via the partition member. The storage part is a bag body formed by welding the outer periphery of the thermoplastic film. The partition member is arranged so as to connect two portions of the outer peripheral edge. The cleaning opening is a bag body formed integrally with the storage portion.

Images