An ink tube connector for a printer ink cartridge

Abstract

This utility model belongs to the field of printer technology, specifically relating to an ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle. Installed inside the cap at the top of the ink bottle, it is integrally molded from silicone material and includes an 8-shaped boss and a circular sealing gasket at the bottom. An 8-shaped limiting hole is provided in the center of the cap, into which the 8-shaped boss is inserted. An 8-shaped through groove extending into the center of the circular sealing gasket extends into the 8-shaped boss. An ink outlet tube, stepped in shape, stands upright on one side of the top of the 8-shaped boss and communicates with the 8-shaped through groove. A groove is formed on the top wall of the other side of the 8-shaped boss, corresponding to the outline of the printer's air duct. This utility model can seal the boss with a thin film above the groove when unopened, preventing ink leakage, and facilitates quick insertion and breaking of the air duct during use, improving the ink dispensing speed of the ink bottle and preventing ink leakage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of printer technology, specifically relating to an ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle. Background Technology

[0002] A printer ink bottle is a container used to store ink, typically found in inkjet printers. The ink bottle connects to the printer nozzles via an ink supply tube, supplying ink to the nozzles. To improve ink delivery speed, modern printers have increasingly incorporated an air duct at the top of the ink supply port. This air duct balances the negative pressure within the ink bottle, enabling faster ink dispensing. However, traditional ink bottles usually only have an ink supply tube and cannot effectively utilize the air duct, making it impossible to connect with the printer's air duct. This results in slow ink dispensing. Furthermore, custom-drilled holes can easily cause ink leakage when the ink bottle is inserted upside down into the printer, which is inconvenient for the operator.

[0003] The applicant's previous patent application (application number: 202520545543.5) disclosed a printer ink bottle cap, the core of which is the use of a one-piece molded silicone ink outlet component. This ink outlet component integrates an ink outlet tube and a "straight cut" for air ducting. This design uses the elasticity of silicone to keep the "straight cut" closed under normal conditions to prevent leakage, and opens it to duct air when the printer's air duct is inserted. It has indeed achieved positive results in reducing the number of parts and increasing the ink dispensing speed.

[0004] However, in the practical application and subsequent testing of the original air-guiding scheme based on elastic cuts, we found that this design has some inherent technical defects and application limitations, mainly reflected in long-term reliability and manufacturing processes: First, the sealing mechanism of the "single-slit" is highly dependent on the elastic recovery force of the silicone material itself. During long-term use or storage, the silicone may experience a gradual decrease in elasticity due to fatigue, natural aging, or corrosion from chemical components in the ink. Once the material's elasticity decreases, the cut is difficult to maintain its initial closed state, which can easily lead to slow ink evaporation or even leakage, seriously affecting the product's shelf life and safety. Second, this structure performs poorly in terms of adaptability to vacuuming processes. If the "single-slit" is designed to be non-penetrating to improve initial sealing, a dilemma arises: if the reserved film is too thin, it is prone to bursting during vacuuming due to negative pressure, losing its sealing purpose; if the reserved film is too thick, it will cause excessive resistance to the insertion of the printer's air-guiding tube, making it difficult to insert smoothly. This stringent requirement for cutting precision significantly increases the manufacturing difficulty and quality control costs of silicone parts, making it difficult to achieve stable, mass production.

[0005] Therefore, how to provide a printer ink bottle connector that can improve ink dispensing speed and prevent ink leakage has become a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0006] To address the problems existing in the prior art, this utility model discloses an ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle. This utility model uses an 8-shaped boss with a groove structure that matches the air duct. This not only seals the boss with a thin film above the groove when not in use to prevent ink leakage, but also facilitates quick insertion and breaking of the air duct during use, thus improving the user experience.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention specifically discloses the following solution: An ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle is installed in the cap at the top of the ink bottle. It is integrally molded from silicone material and includes an 8-shaped boss and a circular sealing gasket at the bottom. An 8-shaped limiting hole is provided in the middle of the cap, and the 8-shaped boss is inserted into the 8-shaped limiting hole. An 8-shaped through groove is opened in the middle of the circular sealing gasket, extending into the interior of the 8-shaped boss. An ink outlet tube is erected on one side of the top of the 8-shaped boss. The ink outlet tube is stepped and connected to the 8-shaped through groove. A groove is opened on the top wall of the other side of the top of the 8-shaped boss, corresponding to the outline of the printer's air duct.

[0008] Furthermore, the groove has a trapezoidal cross-section at the figure-eight boss.

[0009] Furthermore, the groove is U-shaped.

[0010] Furthermore, the groove is annular.

[0011] Furthermore, the groove is rectangular, and the corners of the rectangle are rounded.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: 1. This utility model effectively solves the technical contradictions of traditional elastic cuts by precisely designing and forming a groove structure on the top of the figure-eight shaped boss, based on the outline of the printer's air duct. This structure significantly increases the reserved thickness of the cut area without sacrificing sealing reliability, thereby effectively avoiding the risk of the ink bottle bursting due to excessive negative pressure during vacuuming. Simultaneously, because the groove shape highly matches the shape of the printer's air duct, the force during insertion is preferentially concentrated on the pre-formed edge area of ​​the groove, allowing it to break smoothly along a predetermined path. This greatly reduces insertion resistance, achieving easy insertion, and perfectly balances vacuum sealing and ease of use, significantly improving product reliability and user experience. 2. This utility model's stepped ink outlet tube is used for multi-stage sealing or more precise insertion and positioning with the printer's ink supply port. Steps of different diameters can match different depths or sizes of sealing rings on the printer interface, greatly enhancing the product's adaptability and leak-proof capability after connection. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the ink tube connector and the cover body of this utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the present utility model; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a bottom view of the ink tube connector with a U-shaped groove according to this utility model; Figure 5 This is a bottom view of the ink tube connector with an annular groove of this utility model; Figure 6 This is a bottom view of the ink tube connector with a rectangular groove according to this utility model.

[0014] In the diagram, 1—a figure-eight shaped boss; 2—a circular sealing gasket; 3—an ink outlet tube; 4—a groove; and 5—a cover. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0016] Example 1

[0017] like Figure 1-6 As shown, this embodiment discloses an ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle, which is installed inside the cover 5 at the top of the ink bottle. It is integrally molded from silicone material and includes an 8-shaped boss 1 and a circular sealing gasket 2 at the bottom. An 8-shaped limiting hole is provided in the middle of the cover 5, and the 8-shaped boss 1 is inserted into the 8-shaped limiting hole. The circular sealing gasket 2 is confined inside the cover 5. An 8-shaped through groove is opened in the middle of the circular sealing gasket 2, extending all the way into the interior of the 8-shaped boss 1. An ink outlet tube 3 is erected on one side of the top of the 8-shaped boss 1. The ink outlet tube 3 is stepped and is connected to the 8-shaped through groove. A groove 4 is opened on the top wall of the other side of the top of the 8-shaped boss 1, corresponding to the outline of the printer's air duct, so that the top of the boss is left with more than 0.1mm without being cut through.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the groove 4 has a trapezoidal cross-section at the figure-eight boss 1, which facilitates the injection molding and demolding of the ink tube connector.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the groove 4 is U-shaped.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the groove 4 is annular.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the groove 4 is rectangular, and the corners of the rectangle are rounded.

[0022] When using the ink bottle containing this utility model, first open the outer cap of the ink bottle, then invert the ink bottle, and insert the ink outlet tube 3 of the ink tube connector into the ink supply port of the printer. At the same time, the air duct of the printer is inserted into the groove 4 at the top of the figure-eight protrusion 1. The thin film at the top of the groove 4 is torn into an air duct hole by the pushing force of the air duct. The air duct hole fits with the air duct, and while supplying ink, it balances the pressure inside the ink bottle, so that the ink filling process, which originally took several minutes, can be completed in thirty seconds.

[0023] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and does not constitute any limitation on the technical scope of the present utility model. Therefore, any minor modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present utility model shall still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle, installed inside the cap at the top of the ink bottle, characterized in that, Made of silicone material in one piece, it includes an 8-shaped boss and a circular sealing gasket at the bottom. The middle of the cover is provided with an 8-shaped limiting hole, and the 8-shaped boss is inserted into the 8-shaped limiting hole. The middle of the circular sealing gasket has an 8-shaped through groove that extends into the inside of the 8-shaped boss. An ink outlet tube is erected on one side of the top of the 8-shaped boss. The ink outlet tube is stepped and is connected to the 8-shaped through groove. The top wall of the other side of the top of the 8-shaped boss has a groove corresponding to the outline of the air duct of the printer.

2. The ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The groove has a trapezoidal cross-section at the figure-eight boss.

3. The ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The trench is U-shaped.

4. The ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The trench is ring-shaped.

5. The ink tube connector for a printer ink bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The groove is rectangular, with rounded corners.

Images