Liquid container and liquid discharge apparatus

Abstract

The utility model relates to printing equipment technical field provides a liquid container and liquid discharge equipment, wherein the liquid container includes container body, and the container body inside is provided with the liquid chamber for storing liquid, wherein, the container body includes: the connecting surface, when the liquid container is installed in the liquid discharge equipment the connecting surface is away from the opening part of assembly cavity, and the connecting surface is provided with the liquid outlet that communicates with the liquid chamber, and the liquid outlet is provided with the open and close valve, the plane and the connecting surface intersect or the parallel external side of place, and the external side has the refill hole, and the refill hole communicates with the liquid chamber to fill the outside liquid to the liquid chamber, the plug part, the plug part is removed and blocks up on the refill hole, and has the handle portion in the external side outside. The utility model can solve the problem that the existing box -shaped liquid container is difficult to recycle and repeatedly uses, and new liquid can be injected into the container, and the liquid container is not damaged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of printing equipment technology, and in particular to a liquid container and a liquid discharge device. Background Technology

[0002] There are printing methods that use liquid ejection to create images on printing media. These liquid ejection printers (hereinafter referred to as liquid ejection devices) have a reciprocating carriage and a print head on the carriage. During each feeding of printing media, the print head prints the printing media line by line as the carriage moves, thereby completing the image formation operation.

[0003] The liquid ejected from the printhead is supplied by a liquid storage container. Existing box-shaped liquid storage containers can be mounted on a carriage or located elsewhere inside the liquid ejection unit, connected to the printhead via an ink tube. Currently, after the liquid inside the liquid storage container is depleted, the manufacturer recycles it. However, this recycling process involves destructive perforation, making the recycled liquid storage container difficult to reuse, causing significant inconvenience to consumers. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a liquid container and a liquid discharge device to solve the problem that existing box-shaped liquid containers are difficult to recycle and reuse. New liquid can be injected into the container without causing damage to the liquid container.

[0005] This utility model provides a liquid container in a first aspect embodiment, including a container body with a liquid chamber for storing liquid inside; wherein the container body includes: a connecting surface, wherein when the liquid container is installed on a liquid discharge device, the connecting surface is away from the opening of the assembly cavity, the connecting surface is provided with a liquid outlet communicating with the liquid chamber, and the liquid outlet is provided with an on / off valve; an external side surface whose plane intersects with or is parallel to the connecting surface, the external side surface having a refill hole communicating with the liquid chamber for filling the liquid chamber with external liquid; and a plug component, the plug component removably sealing the refill hole and having a handle located outside the external side surface.

[0006] According to the first aspect of the present invention, a liquid container can be filled with liquid using a refill hole. In use, the refill hole is sealed with a plug to prevent liquid leakage. This solves the problem in the prior art where box-shaped liquid containers are difficult to replenish or may cause destructive damage during recycling. Furthermore, by placing the plane containing the refill hole and the plane containing the liquid outlet on different planes, the filling process of the refill hole can be prevented from affecting the liquid outflow from the liquid outlet. Especially when the connecting surface is a mating plane that contacts or is relatively close to the liquid discharge device, keeping the refill hole away from the mating plane prevents any potential leakage from the refill hole from contaminating that mating plane.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the refill hole is located on the container body above the highest liquid level that the liquid chamber can be filled with.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the liquid container is installed on the liquid discharge device and the liquid discharge device is in use, and the external side is located above the connecting surface in the height direction.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the container body further includes:

[0010] The first gas communication hole is connected to the liquid chamber;

[0011] A sealing component is used to seal the first gas communication hole.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the first gas communication hole is located on the external side and close to the refill hole.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid container further includes a deformable accommodator disposed within the liquid chamber, and the container body has a second gas communication hole connected to the deformable accommodator.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid container further includes an elastic member disposed between the deformable container and the inner wall of the liquid chamber to provide a compressive force to the main body of the deformable container.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the refill hole is located on the outer side surface at one end away from the connecting surface.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the handle extends from the refill hole in a direction away from the refill hole.

[0017] The present invention provides a liquid discharge device in a second aspect embodiment, comprising a device body and a liquid container as described in the first aspect embodiment, installed within the device body.

[0018] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the following description and will be apparent in part from the description or may be learned by practicing the technical solution of the present invention. The objects and other advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the structures and / or processes particularly pointed out in the description, claims, and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid discharge device provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid container provided in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a liquid container provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 An exploded view of the liquid container provided in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0023] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of point A in the middle.

[0024] Explanation of icon numbers:

[0025] 1 Equipment body, 11 Media tray, 12 Conveying assembly, 13 Paper tray, 21 Feeding roller, 22 Conveying roller, 23 Support frame, 24 Slide carriage, 25 Liquid container;

[0026] 100 Container body, 110 Liquid chamber, 120 Connecting surface, 121 Liquid outlet, 130 On / off valve, 131 On / off channel, 132 Ball valve body, 133 Elastic compression spring, 140 External side, 141 Refill hole, 150 Plug component, 151 Blocking part, 152 Handle, 160 First gas communication hole, 170 Second gas communication hole;

[0027] 200 sealing components;

[0028] 300 Deformable container; 310 Container opening;

[0029] 400 elastic component. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The following detailed description of the embodiments of this utility model, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will provide a thorough understanding of how this utility model uses technical means to solve technical problems and achieve technical effects, enabling its implementation. It should be noted that these specific descriptions are merely intended to facilitate a clearer understanding of this utility model by those skilled in the art, and are not intended to limit its scope. For example, the use of "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this utility model is not intended to limit its application, but merely to indicate the serial numbers of multiple identical or similar devices or mechanisms. Those skilled in the art can readjust these serial numbers for ease of description or during the organization of technical solutions. Furthermore, alternative solutions are described for some mechanisms in different embodiments, and these alternatives can be applied to other identical or similar devices or mechanisms. As long as there is no conflict, the various embodiments and features in each embodiment of this utility model can be combined with each other, and the resulting technical solutions are all within the protection scope of this utility model.

[0031] The technical solution of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0032] First, this utility model provides a liquid discharge device, see reference. Figure 1 The liquid discharge device includes a device body 1 and a media tray 11, a conveying assembly 12, a liquid jetting assembly, a liquid storage assembly, and a paper discharge tray 13 disposed within the device body 1. The media tray 11 is used to hold printing media such as paper, and in this embodiment, it is disposed on the back side of the device body 1. The paper discharge tray 13 is used to place the printed paper and is located on the front side of the device body 1. The conveying assembly 12 is located between the media tray 11 and the paper discharge tray 13, and includes a media transmission path disposed inside the device body 1 and a conveying roller assembly on the media transmission path. The conveying roller assembly consists of at least a paper feed roller 21 and a conveying roller 22. The paper feed roller 21 is used to feed the printing media in the media tray 11 into the media transmission path, and the conveying roller 22 continues to convey the media in the media transmission path forward until it is conveyed onto the paper discharge tray 13. The liquid jetting assembly includes a liquid jetting head, a support frame 23, and a slide 24 slidably mounted on the support frame 23. The liquid jetting head is mounted on the slide 24. When the slide 24 slides on the support frame 23, it moves along a transmission direction perpendicular to the media transmission path. During the movement of the slide 24, the liquid jetting head jets liquid onto the printing media on the media transmission path, thereby achieving imaging of the printing media.

[0033] The liquid storage assembly includes a liquid container 25, which in this embodiment is mounted on a carriage 24. The carriage 24 has an assembly cavity for mounting the liquid container 25. The liquid container 25 stores printing liquid (usually ink) and supplies the liquid to the liquid nozzle. Alternatively, it can be located on the device body 1 at other positions with assembly cavities besides the carriage 24, and supplied to the liquid nozzle via a supply pipe; no further limitations are made here. The liquid container 25 can be configured to be only black, or it can be configured to contain liquid containers 25 for at least three other colors, such as magenta, yellow, and cyan, to meet color printing requirements.

[0034] Continue reading Figures 2 to 5 The liquid container includes a container body 100, inside which a liquid chamber 110 is provided for storing liquid. The outer surface of the container body 100 has a connecting surface 120, and the connecting surface 120 is provided with a liquid outlet 121 that communicates with the liquid chamber 110. The assembly cavity has an opening and a liquid inlet connector located away from the opening. When the liquid container is assembled on the liquid discharge device, it enters the assembly cavity through the opening and the liquid inlet connector is connected to the liquid outlet 121 to achieve assembly, thereby achieving the purpose of liquid flow between the liquid chamber 110 and the pipe connecting the print head. At this time, the connecting surface 120 is in contact with or relatively close to the inner wall of the assembly cavity with the liquid inlet connector.

[0035] The liquid outlet 121 is equipped with an on / off valve 130, which controls the flow of liquid out of the liquid outlet 121. Specifically, when the liquid inlet connector enters the liquid outlet 121, it triggers the valve body inside the on / off valve 130, causing the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 to flow out through the liquid outlet 121 into the liquid inlet connector. For example, in... Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the on / off valve 130 includes an on / off channel 131, a ball valve body 132, and an elastic spring 133 disposed within the on / off channel 131. Under the action of the elastic spring 133, the ball valve body 132 abuts against the inner side of the liquid outlet 121 to prevent liquid from flowing out of the liquid outlet 121. After the liquid inlet connector enters the liquid outlet 121, it pushes the ball valve body 132 away from the liquid outlet 121, thereby allowing the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 to flow out of the liquid outlet 121. When the liquid inlet connector flows out of the liquid outlet 121, the ball valve body 132, under the action of the elastic spring 133, re-blocks the liquid outlet 121, preventing liquid from flowing out. (See also...) Figure 2The opening / closing channel 131 has a limiting block located away from the liquid outlet 121. One end of the elastic spring 133 abuts against the limiting block, and the other end presses against the ball valve body 132 to give the ball valve body 132 a force to move towards the liquid outlet 121. Of course, the opening / closing valve 130 can also be other valve structures in the prior art, all of which are within the scope of this utility model.

[0036] Continue reading Figures 3 to 5 The container body 100 also has an external side 140, the plane of which the external side 140 is located is as follows: Figure 1 The plane P in the middle intersects or is even perpendicular to the plane where the connecting surface 120 is located. Therefore, the external side 140 and the connecting surface 120 are at different positions in the container body 100. The external side 140 has a refill hole 141, which is connected to the liquid chamber 110. External liquid can be filled into the liquid chamber 110 through the refill hole 141, so that liquid can be replenished and reused when the liquid container is recycled. The container body 100 includes a plug 150 that is removably sealed onto the refill hole 141. The plug 150 includes a blocking portion 151 and a handle 152 connected to the blocking portion 151. The blocking portion 151 is adapted to the hole profile of the refill hole 141. A conical head is provided at one end away from the handle 152, which facilitates the blocking portion 151 entering the refill hole 141. After the plug 150 is sealed onto the refill hole 141, the handle 152 is located outside the external side 140, thereby being exposed on the outer surface of the container body 100, so that a gripping component, such as a hand, can grip the handle 152 from the outside of the container body 100 and remove the plug 150 from the refill hole 141. The plug component 150 seals the refill hole 141, preventing liquid from leaking through the refill hole 141 or external gas from entering the liquid chamber 110 through the refill hole 141 during use.

[0037] Therefore, in the liquid container of this utility model embodiment, since the connecting surface 120 and the external side surface 140 are located on different positions of different container bodies 100, the refill hole 141 enables the liquid container to have a refilling function, while the filled and leaked liquid will not come into contact with the connecting surface 120 and cause contamination to the liquid flowing out of the liquid outlet 121, thereby ensuring a stable supply of liquid and ensuring imaging quality.

[0038] In one embodiment of this utility model, the refill hole 141 is located on the container body 100 above the highest liquid level that the liquid chamber 110 can be filled, such as... Figure 2As shown in the figure, in the usage state, the vertical and horizontal orientation of the liquid container is as follows: the external side 140 is located at the top of the liquid container, and the highest liquid level that the internal liquid chamber 110 can hold is lower than the external side 140. Therefore, the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 will not overflow upwards under gravity, thus ensuring the stability of the liquid in the container body 100. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the connecting surface 120 is located at the front end of the container body 100, and the external side 140, located at the top, is located above the connecting surface 120 in the height direction. The liquid outlet 121 is located at the bottom of the connecting surface 120 in the height direction, so that the lowest liquid level in the liquid chamber 110 is adapted to the position of the liquid outlet 121, allowing sufficient liquid to flow out from the liquid outlet 121 and preventing excessive liquid residue in the liquid chamber 110. In this structure, the filling direction of the refill hole 141 is from top to bottom along the height direction into the liquid chamber 110, and the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 flows out from the liquid outlet 121 in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the filling direction. Therefore, when filling the liquid into the refill hole 141, it is not set on the container body 100 opposite to the outflow direction in the liquid outlet 121. When the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 is in a deficient state, the filling liquid directly collides with the inner wall of the liquid chamber 110, thereby avoiding leakage caused by the filling liquid impacting the liquid outlet 121.

[0039] Continue reading Figure 4 and Figure 5 The container body 100 also includes a first gas communication hole 160, which is connected to the liquid chamber 110 to connect the liquid chamber 110 with the external environment. This is adapted to the liquid filling operation of the refill hole 141. Specifically, when liquid is filled into the liquid chamber 110, the gas inside the liquid chamber 110 is discharged through the first gas communication hole 160, thereby releasing the gas pressure inside the liquid chamber 110 and achieving gas-liquid exchange during filling. Simultaneously, the container body 100 is also provided with a sealing member 200, which is used to seal the first gas communication hole 160 to prevent gas from entering the liquid chamber 110 during the use of the liquid container, and also to prevent liquid from leaking from the first gas communication hole 160 to the outside of the container body 100. In this embodiment, the sealing component 200 is a sealing strip that is attached to the outer side 140 of the container body 100 by adhesive to achieve sealing. It can also be a release film or other sealing structure that is fixed to the container body 100 by ultrasonic welding or other methods to seal the first gas communication hole 160.

[0040] The first gas communication port 160 is located on the external side 140 and close to the refill port 141, so that the first gas communication port 160 and the refill port 141 are on the same side of the container body 100, so as to remind the operator to open the first gas communication port 160 at the same time when filling liquid. This structure is combined with, for example, Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the first gas through hole is also located above the highest liquid level to prevent liquid from overflowing from the first gas through hole.

[0041] In another embodiment, see Figure 3 The liquid container also includes a deformable container 300 disposed within the liquid chamber 110. The container body 100 has a second gas communication hole 170 communicating with the deformable container 300. The deformable container 300 is made of deformable materials such as PP plastic. Its internal cavity can expand or contract according to the amount of gas inside. It has a container opening 310, which is sealed to the second gas communication hole 170. At the same time, the deformable material separates the internal cavity from the liquid chamber 110. When the liquid in the liquid chamber 110 decreases, gas enters the deformable container 300 and expands accordingly to fill the reduced liquid portion in the liquid chamber 110, so that the liquid is always kept in a filled state in the liquid chamber 110, ensuring a stable liquid supply.

[0042] The liquid container also includes an elastic member 400, which is disposed within the liquid chamber 110 and located between the deformable container 300 and the inner wall of the liquid chamber 110, thereby providing extrusion pressure to the main body of the deformable container 300. (See reference...) Figure 3 The elastic member 400 abuts against the middle of the deformable container 300, causing it to be squeezed. During the liquid filling process, the elastic member 400 causes the gas in the deformable container 300 to be discharged from the second gas communication hole 170, preventing the expansion of the deformable container 300 from affecting the liquid filling process in the liquid chamber 110, and making the internal liquid more fully filled.

[0043] Referring to the foregoing embodiments, please continue to refer to... Figure 4 The refill hole 141 is located on the outer side 140 at the end away from the connecting surface 120. For example, if the connecting surface 120 is located at the front end of the container body 100, the refill hole is located at the rear end of the outer side 140 and close to the rear side of the container body 100. This is to further prevent the filling process of the refill hole 141 from being far away from the liquid outlet 121 and reduce the mutual influence between the two.

[0044] Additionally, see Figure 2 The shank 152 extends from the refill hole 141 in a direction away from the refill hole 141, for example, in the first direction where the hole axis direction of the refill hole is the first direction. Figure 1 If the direction is X, then the direction in which the handle 152 extends is a second direction intersecting the first direction. This second direction can be any direction on the plane P, thus the handle 152 can be gripped by the gripping member to remove the plug member 150 from the refillable hole. In this embodiment, the handle 152 and the plug member 151 are integrally formed as the plug member 150, both made of deformable materials such as rubber. Under this material, the plug member 151 can ensure an effective seal on the refillable hole 141, while the handle 152 can be gripped and deformed by the gripping member to further pull the plug member 151 out of the refillable hole 141.

[0045] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is merely the preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model in any way. Any person skilled in the art can make many possible changes and simple substitutions to the technical solution of this utility model using the disclosed methods and technical content without departing from the scope of the technical solution of this utility model, and these all fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of this utility model.

Claims

1. A liquid container, applied to a liquid discharge device, the liquid discharge device comprising an assembly cavity for mounting the liquid container, characterized in that, The liquid container includes a container body, and the container body has a liquid chamber for storing liquid inside; The container body includes: The connecting surface, when the liquid container is installed on the liquid discharge device, is located away from the opening of the assembly cavity. The connecting surface is provided with a liquid outlet that communicates with the liquid chamber, and an on / off valve is provided in the liquid outlet. An external side surface whose plane intersects or is parallel to the connecting surface has a refill hole that is connected to the liquid chamber to allow external liquid to fill the liquid chamber. A plug component that removably seals the refill hole and has a handle located outside the external side.

2. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The refill hole is located on the container body above the highest liquid level that the liquid chamber can be filled with.

3. The liquid container according to claim 2, characterized in that, The liquid container is installed on the liquid discharge device and the liquid discharge device is in use, with the external side positioned above the connecting surface in the height direction.

4. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The container body also includes: The first gas communication hole is connected to the liquid chamber; A sealing component is used to seal the first gas communication hole.

5. The liquid container according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first gas communication hole is located on the external side and close to the refill hole.

6. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid container also includes a deformable container disposed within the liquid chamber, and the container body has a second gas communication hole that communicates with the deformable container.

7. The liquid container according to claim 6, characterized in that, The liquid container further includes an elastic member disposed between the deformable container and the inner wall of the liquid chamber to provide a compressive force to the main body of the deformable container.

8. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The refill hole is located on the outer side at the end away from the connection surface.

9. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The handle extends from the refill hole in a direction away from the refill hole.

10. A liquid discharge device, characterized in that, It includes the device body and the liquid container as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, installed within the device body.

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