Liquid recovery system and liquid recovery container

Abstract

To provide a liquid recovery system which may recover a liquid remaining in a liquid storage container properly and easily, and to provide the liquid recovery container.SOLUTION: A liquid recovery system 10 includes a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80. The liquid storage container 18 includes a positioning part 73A and a discharge port part 73. The liquid recovery container 80 has a recovery port part 85 and a positioned part 86. The recovery port part 85 may be connected to the discharge port part 73. The positioned part 86 may guide the positioning part 73A. The liquid storage container 18 is set at a position, where the discharge port part 73 and the recovery port part 85 may be connected, relative to the liquid recovery container 80 by the positioning part 73A being guided by the positioned part 86. The discharge port part 73 and the recovery port part 85 are connected at the set position, thereby causing the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 to be recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 through connection between the discharge port part 73 and the recovery port part 85.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid recovery system including a liquid container that supplies liquid to a liquid ejection part, and a liquid recovery container that recovers liquid remaining in the liquid container, and the liquid recovery container. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses, as an example of a liquid ejection device, an inkjet printing device that includes a liquid ejection unit that ejects liquid such as ink onto a medium such as paper. This type of liquid ejection device includes a liquid storage container that stores the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection unit. Known liquid storage containers include replaceable cartridge types and liquid refill tank types. Examples of cartridge types include ink cartridges. Examples of liquid refill tank types include ink tanks and other liquid storage containers that have an inlet that allows the user to refill the liquid.

[0003] When a liquid ejection device is discarded, the cartridge is often collected for recycling. Even if the liquid ejection device is discarded together with the cartridge, there is little risk of liquid leaking from the cartridge because the cartridge does not have an injection port.

[0004] In contrast, in the case of a tank-type liquid storage container, the liquid storage container is fixed to the housing or carriage, so liquid ejection devices are often discarded with liquid such as ink remaining in the liquid storage container. However, if the liquid ejection device is tilted during disposal, there is a possibility that the liquid in the liquid storage container will leak from the inlet with a loose or detached cap. The leaked liquid may not be treated and may cause environmental pollution. Therefore, when discarding a liquid ejection device equipped with a tank-type liquid storage container, it is preferable for the user to collect the liquid in the liquid storage container before discarding the liquid ejection device. Furthermore, if the tank-type liquid storage container is temporarily removed from the liquid ejection device and the liquid ejection device is discarded, problems such as liquid leakage can occur when discarding the removed liquid storage container. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-69717 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the conventional liquid refill type (tank type) liquid storage container, the configuration does not take into consideration the discharge or recovery of the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container when the liquid ejection device is disposed of.

[0007] Therefore, for example, in order to drain or recover the liquid in a liquid storage container, it is necessary to disconnect the supply port of the liquid storage container from a supply flow path such as a tube and drain the liquid from the supply port, or to drain the liquid from an inlet port for refilling the liquid. Because these supply ports and inlet ports are not designed to allow for liquid drainage, there is a possibility that the liquid may overflow during the recovery process, or that ink or other liquid may adhere to and stain fingers. Therefore, there is a demand for a liquid ejection device that makes it easy to drain or recover the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container when disposing of the liquid ejection device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A liquid recovery system that solves the above problem is a liquid recovery system that includes a liquid storage container and a liquid recovery container, wherein the liquid storage container is used in a liquid ejection device that has a liquid ejection section that ejects liquid while being fixed to an attachment target of the liquid ejection device so that liquid can be supplied to the liquid ejection section, and has a fixing section that can be fixed to the attachment target, a positioning section that can be positioned on the attachment target, and an outlet section that can discharge liquid, and the liquid recovery container has a recovery port section that can be connected to the outlet section of the liquid storage container, and a positioned section that can guide the positioning section of the liquid storage container, and when the liquid storage container is removed from the attachment target, the positioning section is guided by the positioned section to be positioned at a position relative to the liquid recovery container where the outlet section and the recovery port section can be connected, and the outlet section and the recovery port section are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container into the liquid recovery container through the connection between the outlet section and the recovery port section.

[0009] A liquid recovery container that solves the above problem is the liquid recovery container in the above liquid recovery system, and has a recovery port portion that can be connected to the discharge port portion of the liquid storage container, and a positioned portion that can guide the positioning portion of the liquid storage container, and the positioned portion guides the positioning portion to position the liquid storage container at a position where the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion can be connected relative to the liquid recovery container, and the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container through the connection between the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a liquid ejection device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the liquid ejection device when refilling the liquid container with liquid. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing the internal configuration of the liquid ejection device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid container and a liquid discharge portion. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid container and a liquid discharge portion when the liquid container is being refilled with liquid. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing how the liquid storage container is removed from the storage unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing the liquid collection container of the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing the liquid recovery system of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing the internal configuration of a liquid ejection device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view showing a liquid discharge unit on which a liquid container is mounted. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid collection container according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a positioning portion of a liquid storage container and a portion to be positioned of a liquid recovery container. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing a liquid recovery system in a modified example. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing a liquid recovery system in a modified example different from that of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (First embodiment) A liquid recovery system according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The liquid recovery system recovers liquid remaining in a liquid storage container that constitutes a liquid ejection device. The liquid ejection device of this embodiment ejects liquid such as ink onto a medium such as paper, thereby printing characters, images, etc. on the medium.

[0012] <Configuration of liquid ejection device 11> First, the liquid ejection device 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid ejection device 11 is, for example, an inkjet printer that ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid.

[0013] In FIG. 1, the liquid ejection device 11 is placed on a horizontal plane, with the direction of gravity being the vertical direction Z, and two mutually intersecting (e.g., perpendicular) directions along the horizontal plane being the width direction X and the transport direction Y. That is, the width direction X, transport direction Y, and vertical direction Z intersect (preferably perpendicular) with each other. The transport direction Y is the direction in which the medium M is transported at a printing position opposite the liquid ejection unit 23, which will be described later. Furthermore, one end of the liquid ejection device 11 in the transport direction Y is referred to as the front side, and the other end opposite to that end is referred to as the rear side, and one end in the width direction X as viewed from the front side is sometimes referred to as the right side, and the other end as the left side.

[0014] The liquid ejection device 11 may be a multifunction device. The liquid ejection device 11, which is also a multifunction device, may include a device main body 12 and an image reading device 13 on top of the device main body 12. The liquid ejection device 11 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole.

[0015] The liquid ejection device 11 includes a liquid storage container 18 that stores liquid, and a liquid ejection unit 23 that ejects the liquid. The liquid ejection device 11 prints characters or images on the medium M by having the liquid ejection unit 23 eject liquid, such as ink, supplied from the liquid storage container 18 toward the medium M. The liquid ejection device 11 of this embodiment is, for example, a serial printer in which the liquid ejection unit 23 prints while moving in the width direction X. Note that the liquid ejection device 11 may also be a line printer. A line printer prints by having the liquid ejection unit 23, which extends in the width direction X over a length longer than the width dimension of the medium M, eject liquid, such as ink, toward the medium M, which is transported at a constant speed.

[0016] The liquid ejection device 11 of this embodiment is a so-called off-carriage type in which the liquid storage container 18 is fixed at a position separate from the liquid ejection unit 23 within the device body 12. The liquid storage container 18 and the liquid ejection unit 23 are connected via a supply flow path 24. The liquid ejection unit 23 ejects the liquid supplied from the liquid storage container 18 via the supply flow path 24. The supply flow path 24 is, for example, a tube.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid ejection device 11 includes a housing 20. The housing 20 houses a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid ejection unit 23. The housing 20 is composed of, for example, a housing main body and a lid. The housing main body is in the shape of a bottomed box with an opening that opens upward. The lid covers the opening of the housing main body. In the liquid ejection device 11, which is a multifunction device, the bottom of the image reading device 13 also serves as the lid. The housing 20 includes, for example, a metal frame structure and an exterior member made of synthetic resin. The exterior member covers the frame structure from the outside.

[0018] An operation panel 17 is provided on the front surface of the liquid ejection device 11. The operation panel 17 has an operation unit 15 and a display unit 16. The operation unit 15 includes buttons for performing various operations. The display unit 16 displays various information such as menus and the operating status of the liquid ejection device 11.

[0019] A storage section 19 is provided on the right side of the operation panel 17 of the liquid ejection device 11. The storage section 19 stores at least one liquid storage container 18. The storage section 19 of this embodiment stores multiple (five in this embodiment) liquid storage containers 18. The storage section 19 forms part of the housing 20. In other words, the housing 20 includes the storage section 19 that stores multiple liquid storage containers 18. The liquid storage container 18 is a liquid tank that can be refilled with liquid such as ink. The liquid storage container 18 is, for example, an ink tank.

[0020] The storage unit 19 includes a storage unit main body 19A that is generally box-shaped and opens upward, and a cover 32. The cover 32 covers the opening of the storage unit main body 19A that opens upward in an openable manner. The storage unit main body 19A has at least one viewing window 21 (five in this embodiment) at the front. In other words, the housing 20 has a viewing window 21 that opens at the front of the storage unit 19. The user can visually check the amount of liquid in the liquid storage container 18 through the viewing window 21.

[0021] The container body 19A may be configured to include a door 19B and a pair of left and right side plates 19C, 19D. The door 19B may form the front of the container body 19A. The viewing windows 21 may open at positions on the door 19B corresponding to the liquid containers 18. The door 19B may be configured to allow the front of the container body 19A to be detachable.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the storage section 19 contains a plurality of liquid storage containers 18. The plurality of liquid storage containers 18 are arranged in a line in the width direction X within the storage section 19. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of liquid storage containers 18 are five in total, including one liquid storage container 18A and four liquid storage containers 18B. The liquid storage container 18A has a larger capacity than the liquid storage container 18B. The liquid storage container 18A contains, for example, black ink. The four liquid storage containers 18B each contain, for example, inks of different colors. The plurality of liquid storage containers 18 contain, for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, or other ink. The ink may be pigment ink or dye ink. Furthermore, the liquid used for printing is not limited to ink, and may be a coating liquid or the like.

[0023] The two types of liquid storage containers 18A, 18B have the same basic configuration except for different widths due to different capacities. Therefore, when there is no need to distinguish between the two types of liquid storage containers 18A, 18B, they will simply be referred to as "liquid storage containers 18."

[0024] The liquid ejection unit 23 includes an ejection head 25 and a carriage 26. The carriage 26 holds the ejection head 25 and is capable of moving back and forth along the width direction X (scanning direction). The liquid ejection unit 23 prints on the medium M by ejecting liquid from the ejection head 25 while moving in the width direction X.

[0025] The liquid ejection device 11 includes a scanning mechanism 27 in a housing 20 that moves (scans) the liquid ejection unit 23. The scanning mechanism 27 includes a guide shaft 28 that guides the carriage 26 so that it can move in the width direction X, a carriage motor 29 that serves as a drive source, a pair of pulleys 30, and an endless timing belt 31 wound around the pair of pulleys 30. One of the pair of pulleys 30 is fixed to the output shaft of the carriage motor 29. When the carriage motor 29 is driven in the forward direction, the liquid ejection unit 23 moves forward in the +X direction, and when the carriage motor 29 is driven in the reverse direction, the liquid ejection unit 23 moves backward in the -X direction.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading device 13 is configured to be openable and closable relative to the device main body 12 via a pivot mechanism 13A such as a hinge. The image reading device 13 functions as a lid. The image reading device 13 can be opened and closed between a closed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open position shown in FIG. 2. When the image reading device 13 is positioned in the open position, the cover 32 can be opened and closed. When the cover 32 is opened, the cap lever 33 attached to the liquid container 18 (see FIG. 1) can be opened and closed. When the liquid container 18 is replenished with liquid such as ink, the image reading device 13, cover 32, and cap lever 33 are positioned in the open position as shown in FIG. 2. The liquid bottle 34 is in an upside-down position with its supply port facing downward, and the supply port is connected to the inlet of the liquid container 18. The cover 32 may be configured to be able to be opened and closed independently even when the image reading device 13 is closed.

[0027] <Internal configuration of liquid ejection device 11> Next, the internal configuration of the liquid ejection device 11 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the ejection head 25 has a nozzle forming surface 25A in which nozzles 25N open. In the example shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of nozzles 25N open in the nozzle forming surface 25A. The ejection head 25 is configured to be able to eject liquid from the plurality of nozzles 25N. For example, a plurality of nozzles 25N may be provided for each type (e.g., color) of liquid to be ejected.

[0028] The liquid ejection device 11 includes a maintenance device 35 that performs maintenance on the ejection head 25, and a liquid supply device 36 that supplies liquid from a liquid storage container 18 to the ejection head 25. The maintenance device 35 includes a cap 37 that can be raised and lowered relative to the ejection head 25, which is in a standby position, and a discharge tube 38 connected to the cap 37. The cap 37 is configured to be movable between a retracted position shown in FIG. 3, where it is spaced apart from the ejection head 25, and a capping position (not shown), where it comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface 25A of the ejection head 25. The cap 37 is capable of receiving liquid that is ejected or discharged from the nozzles 25N for maintenance.

[0029] When the cap 37 is in the capping position, it forms a closed space between itself and the nozzle forming surface 25A, which communicates with the nozzles 25N. The maintenance device 35 is equipped with a suction pump 39 located midway along the discharge tube 38. The maintenance device 35 drives the suction pump 39 while the ejection head 25 is capped, thereby reducing the pressure in the closed space surrounded by the cap 37 and the nozzle forming surface 25A. This reduction in pressure causes foreign matter such as air bubbles to be sucked and discharged together with the liquid from the nozzles 25N of the ejection head 25. The liquid discharged from the nozzles 25N by this cleaning is collected in the waste liquid storage unit 40 via the cap 37 and the discharge tube 38.

[0030] As shown in Figure 3, a plurality of liquid supply devices 36 are provided corresponding to a plurality of liquid storage containers 18. Only one liquid supply device 36 is shown in Figure 3. Since the plurality of liquid supply devices 36 basically have the same configuration, the configuration of one liquid supply device 36 will be described below.

[0031] 3, the liquid supply device 36 includes a liquid storage container 18 and a supply flow path 24 that supplies the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 to the ejection head 25. The supply flow path 24 may be, for example, a flexible tube. However, the supply flow path 24 may include a member other than a tube as long as the carriage 26 can move within its movement range. A portion of the supply flow path 24 may be a tubular member made of a hard resin material, or a flow path member formed by attaching a film to a flow path forming member with a groove formed therein.

[0032] If the liquid storage container 18 is referred to as the first liquid storage container 18, then a second liquid storage container 60 different from the first liquid storage container 18 is mounted on the carriage 26. The first liquid storage container 18 is a main tank, and the second liquid storage container 60 is a sub-tank. The amount of liquid that the second liquid storage container 60 can store is less than the amount of liquid that the first liquid storage container 18 can store. The second liquid storage container 60 temporarily stores on the carriage 26 the liquid that is supplied from the first liquid storage container 18 through the supply flow path 24. The second liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the carriage 26 by engagement via a fixing portion 61.

[0033] An upstream end (one end) of the supply flow path 24 is connected to the first liquid storage container 18. A downstream end (the other end) of the supply flow path 24 is connected to the second liquid storage container 60. The second liquid storage container 60 is connected to the upstream end of a flow path 41 of the carriage 26. A downstream end of the flow path 41 is connected to the ejection head 25. The liquid in the first liquid storage container 18 is supplied to the ejection head 25 through the supply flow path 24, the second liquid storage container 60, and the flow path 41. Note that, hereinafter, the first liquid storage container 18 will also be simply referred to as the "liquid storage container 18" unless it is particularly distinguished from the second liquid storage container 60.

[0034] The liquid storage container 18 includes a container body 50. The container body 50 is configured as a case made of synthetic resin. This case may be made of transparent or translucent resin. Alternatively, the container body 50 may be configured such that a film is adhered to one surface of a storage case having a storage chamber recess recessed into one surface, thereby forming a liquid storage chamber 55 surrounded by the film and the storage chamber recess. The storage case may be made of transparent or translucent resin. A viewing surface 22 on the front surface of the liquid storage container 18 is exposed through the viewing window 21. A user can view the liquid level in the liquid storage chamber 55 from outside through the viewing surface 22. In other words, the user can view the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid storage container 18.

[0035] The liquid storage container 18 is used in a state where it is fixed to an attachment target of the liquid ejection device 11. The liquid storage container 18 is capable of supplying liquid to the liquid ejection unit 23 while fixed to the attachment target. In this embodiment, the attachment target is the housing 20. The attachment target is, in particular, the bottom 20A of the housing 20. The liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the bottom 20A of the housing 20 via a fastening portion 42. The fastening portion 42 is a fixing structure that fixes the liquid storage container 18 by fastening with a screw. In other words, the liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the bottom 20A of the housing 20 with a screw. The fastening portion 42 may fix multiple liquid storage containers 18 individually to the housing 20, or may fix multiple liquid storage containers 18 collectively to the housing 20. The specific configuration of the fastening portion 42 will be described later.

[0036] The liquid storage container 18 is fixed at a predetermined position relative to the housing 20. The positioning of the liquid storage container 18 is performed by a position restricting unit 43. The position restricting unit 43 restricts the position of the liquid storage container 18 relative to the bottom 20A of the housing 20, thereby positioning the liquid storage container 18 at a predetermined position. The predetermined position is a position where the liquid storage container 18 is fixed within the storage unit 19, and is also a position where the fastening unit 42 can fasten the screw.

[0037] 3, the liquid storage container 18 includes a liquid storage section 51, a supply port section 52, and an injection port section 53. The liquid storage section 51 is configured to be able to store liquid. The injection port section 53 is a section where liquid is injected into the liquid storage section 51. The supply port section 52 is a section where liquid is supplied to the liquid ejection section 23. One upstream end of the supply flow path 24 is connected to the supply port section 52.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the ejection head 25 is positioned above the liquid level LP in the liquid storage container 18 in the vertical direction Z. More specifically, the opening of the nozzle 25N is positioned above the liquid level LP when the liquid storage container 18 is at its maximum height. Therefore, the liquid in the nozzle 25N receives a negative pressure as back pressure. This prevents the liquid from dripping from the nozzle 25N and forms a meniscus in the liquid in the nozzle 25N. The liquid in the liquid storage container 18 is supplied to the ejection head 25 so as to make up for the amount of liquid consumed by the nozzle 25N due to the head difference between the liquid level and the meniscus in the nozzle 25N.

[0039] 3, the liquid ejection device 11 includes a control unit 200 that controls the operation of the entire device. The control unit 200 controls a carriage motor 29 that reciprocates the carriage 26, a transport unit (not shown) that transports the medium M, the ejection operation of the ejection head 25, and the cleaning operation of the maintenance device 35.

[0040] <Configuration of Liquid Storage Container 18> Next, the configuration of liquid storage container 18 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Note that although the two types of liquid storage containers 18A and 18B have different width dimensions due to differences in capacity, they have the same basic configuration. Therefore, hereinafter, unless there is a need to distinguish between the two types, they will be described as liquid storage container 18.

[0041] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the liquid storage container 18 includes a container body 50. The container body 50 has a liquid storage portion 51 and a protruding portion 56. The protruding portion 56 is a portion that protrudes upward from the liquid storage portion 51. The liquid storage portion 51 has a liquid storage chamber 55 in which the liquid IL is stored. The liquid storage chamber 55 may be divided into a plurality of compartments that communicate with each other by a plurality of ribs (not shown). This prevents the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 55 from shaking when the liquid ejection device 11 is transported, for example. This prevents air (air bubbles) from being mixed into the liquid due to foaming caused by shaking, etc.

[0042] The container body 50 has a supply port 52, an injection port 53, and an atmosphere-communicating port 54. These may be tubular and protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the container body 50. The supply port 52, the injection port 53, and the atmosphere-communicating port 54 are in communication with a liquid storage chamber 55. The injection port 53 and the atmosphere-communicating port 54 are located, for example, above the highest position of the liquid level LP. The supply port 52 is in communication with the liquid storage chamber 55 at a position where the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 55 can be supplied all the way to the end.

[0043] Inlet portion 53 is used to inject a liquid such as ink into liquid storage chamber 55. Inlet portion 53 and liquid storage chamber 55 are connected via a liquid flow path 57 and an air flow path 58. Both liquid flow path 57 and air flow path 58 extend along the vertical direction Z. The lower ends of both liquid flow path 57 and air flow path 58 are located at the highest position of the liquid level LP shown in FIG.

[0044] The atmosphere communication portion 54 connects the air area above the liquid level LP in the liquid storage chamber 55 to the atmosphere. The container body 50 has a partition wall portion 51C that separates the liquid storage chamber 51 from the protruding portion 56. The communication path that connects the liquid storage chamber 55 to the atmosphere communication portion 54 includes a serpentine pore in part. This makes it difficult for the water in the liquid IL stored in the liquid storage chamber 55 to evaporate.

[0045] The liquid storage container 18 has a flow path forming wall 51D extending downward from the partition wall 51C. The flow path forming wall 51D divides the liquid storage chamber 55 into an area where the liquid is stored and a flow path area that guides the liquid to the supply port 52. The height of the liquid level LP in the area where the liquid is stored changes as the liquid IL is consumed and replenished. Even if the height of the liquid level LP changes, the flow path area remains filled with the liquid IL.

[0046] 4, the height position of the opening of nozzle 25N is located above the highest position of the liquid level LP. The liquid IL in the liquid storage chamber 55 is supplied to the ejection head 25 by a head pressure (head difference) based on the difference in height between the liquid level LP and the meniscus of the liquid in nozzle 25N. Note that a configuration may also be provided with a pump that sends the liquid IL in the liquid storage chamber 55 to the ejection head 25.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 4, the liquid storage container 18 has a fixing portion 71, a positioning portion 72, and an outlet portion 73. The outlet portion 73 may be provided at a position on the outer circumferential surface of the liquid storage container 18 where the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 55 can be discharged using head pressure. The outlet portion 73 may also be provided on the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage container 18. The outlet portion 73 is provided at a position that does not interfere with the fixing portion 71 and the positioning portion 72. The outlet portion 73 may also be provided at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 5.

[0048] When the liquid container 18 of this embodiment is used in the liquid ejection device 11, it is positioned and fixed to the housing 20 to which it is attached. The housing 20 has a fixed portion 76 and a positioned portion 77 at a portion corresponding to the fixing destination of the liquid container 18. The liquid container 18 is fastened to the housing 20 by the fixing portion 71, the fixed portion 76, and the screw 44. The fastening portion 42 is made up of the screw 44, the fixing portion 71, and the fixed portion 76. The liquid container 18 is positioned at a predetermined position where it is fixed to the housing 20 by engagement between the positioning portion 72 and the positioned portion 77. The position restricting portion 43 is made up of the positioning portion 72 and the positioned portion 77.

[0049] The fixing portion 71 is configured to be able to fix the liquid storage container 18 to the housing 20, which is the mounting target. The fixing portion 71 constitutes part of the fastening portion 42 that fixes the liquid storage container 18 to the housing 20. The fixing portion 71 extends downward from the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage container 18. The fixing portion 71 may be, for example, a rib having a screw insertion hole through which the shank of the screw 44 can be inserted.

[0050] The fixed portion 76 extends upward from, for example, the bottom 20A of the housing 20. The fixed portion 76 may be, for example, a rib having a threaded hole into which the shank of the screw 44 is threaded. The shank of the screw 44 inserted into the screw insertion hole of the fixing portion 71 is threaded into the threaded hole of the fixed portion 76, whereby the liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the housing 20, to which it is attached.

[0051] The structure for fixing the liquid container 18 to the housing 20 is not limited to the fastening portion 42 formed by fastening the screw 44, but may be a locking structure. This locking structure is configured such that the fixing portion 71 is the locking portion and the fixed portion 76 is the locked portion. The liquid container 18 may be fixed to the housing 20, which is the attachment target, by locking. Furthermore, the liquid container 18 may be fixed to the storage portion 19 constituting the housing 20, which is the attachment target, or to the front or side portion of the housing 20, by fastening or locking with the fixing portion 71 and the fixed portion 76 constituting the fastening structure or locking structure. Furthermore, the fixed portion 76 may be part of a resin member constituting the exterior of the housing 20, or part of a metal frame constituting the skeleton of the housing 20.

[0052] The positioning portion 72 is configured to be able to position the liquid storage container 18 with respect to the housing 20 to which it is attached. The housing 20 is formed with a positioned portion 77 that can position the liquid storage container 18 at a predetermined position where it is to be fixed to the housing 20. The positioned portion 77 is formed at a position corresponding to the positioning portion 72 on the bottom portion 20A of the housing 20. The positioning portion 72 extends downward from the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage container 18. The positioning portion 72 may be, for example, a rib that is L-shaped when viewed from the side in FIG. 4.

[0053] The positioned portion 77 extends upward from, for example, the bottom portion 20A of the housing 20. The positioned portion 77 may be, for example, an L-shaped rib. When the positioning portion 72 and the positioned portion 77 engage with each other, the position of the liquid storage container 18 relative to the housing 20, to which it is attached, is restricted to a predetermined position.

[0054] The outlet portion 73 shown in Figure 4 is capable of discharging liquid. The outlet portion 73 is used to recover the liquid IL remaining in the liquid storage container 18. In other words, the outlet portion 73 is a portion that discharges the liquid IL remaining in the liquid storage container 18 to the outside when the liquid ejection device 11 is disposed of, for example. The outlet portion 73 is disposed on the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage portion 51. The outlet portion 73 may also be disposed on the lower part of the side surface 51B of the liquid storage portion 51. In short, the outlet portion 73 should be located in a position where it can discharge the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 by hydraulic head pressure.

[0055] The discharge port 73 in this embodiment is provided separately from the supply port 52 and is dedicated to recovery. Therefore, the discharge port 73 is disposed in a position suitable for recovering the liquid IL, regardless of the position of the supply port 52. The bottom surface 51A is one of the positions suitable for discharging the liquid by utilizing head pressure. Note that if the liquid storage container 18 is tilted, the supply port 52 can also serve as the discharge port. However, normally, when the liquid storage container 18 is tilted, there is a possibility that the liquid may leak from other ports, such as the injection port 53 or the atmosphere communication port 54.

[0056] If the liquid storage container 18 is configured to recover liquid in the same position as when it is used in the liquid ejection device 11, there is no need to worry about liquid leaking from the opening or the like. Therefore, the outlet 73 may be provided in the bottom surface 51A or the lower part of the side surface 51B so that liquid can be discharged using hydraulic head pressure even when the liquid storage container 18 is in the same position as when it is attached to the liquid ejection device 11 during liquid recovery. The outlet 73 may be formed, for example, in a tubular shape that protrudes downward from the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage container 18. A sealing member 74 such as a cap that seals the outlet may be removably attached to the outlet 73.

[0057] On the other hand, if the liquid storage container 18 is the first liquid storage container 18, a second liquid storage container 60 different from the first liquid storage container 18 is mounted on the carriage 26. The second liquid storage container 60 temporarily stores the liquid IL that is supplied from the first liquid storage container 18 to the ejection head 25. The second liquid storage container 60 includes a fixing portion 61, a liquid storage portion 62, a supply port portion 63, and a supply destination port portion 64. The supply flow path 24 has an upstream end connected to the supply port portion 62, and the downstream end is connected to the supply destination port portion 64. The liquid IL in the first liquid storage container 18 is supplied to the second liquid storage container 60 through the supply flow path 24.

[0058] The liquid storage section 62 stores the liquid supplied from the first liquid storage container 18. The supply port 63 is connected to a connecting port 25B provided on the carriage 26. The connecting port 25B communicates with a liquid chamber (not shown) in the ejection head 25 through a flow path 41 (see FIG. 3). The nozzle 25N communicates with this liquid chamber. The liquid in the liquid storage section 62 is supplied to the ejection head 25 via the connection between the supply port 63 and the connecting port 25B. The ejection head 25 ejects the liquid supplied from the liquid storage section 62 from the nozzle 25N.

[0059] The second liquid container 60 is fixed to the carriage 26 in the state shown in FIG. 4 when mounted on the carriage 26 by engagement between a fixing portion 61 and a fixed portion 26A. The second liquid container 60 has the fixing portion 61. The fixing portion 61 is, for example, a snap fit and has a locking protrusion 61A. When the carriage 26 is in the state shown in FIG. 4 when the second liquid container 60 is mounted, the carriage 26 has the fixed portion 26A at a position corresponding to the fixing portion 61. The fixed portion 26A is, for example, a locking recess into which the locking protrusion 61A can be locked.

[0060] <About refilling liquid> As shown in FIG. 5, when liquid is poured into the liquid storage container 18, the liquid bottle 34 is held upside down and the supply unit 34A is connected to the injection port 53. At this time, the interior of the liquid bottle 34 is in communication with the liquid storage chamber 55 through both the liquid flow path 57 and the air flow path 58. The liquid in the liquid bottle 34 is poured into the liquid storage container 18 through the liquid flow path 57, while the air in the liquid storage chamber 55 is introduced into the liquid bottle 34 through the air flow path 58. This gas-liquid exchange allows the liquid to be continuously poured from the liquid bottle 34 into the liquid storage chamber 55. When the liquid level LP reaches the lower end opening of the air flow path 58, the gas-liquid exchange stops. As a result, the pouring of liquid from the liquid bottle 34 into the liquid storage chamber 55 stops.

[0061] <Regarding removal of the liquid storage container 18> Next, an example of a method for removing the liquid storage container 18 from the housing 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the storage section 19 may have a door 19B at its front. The door 19B is configured to be detachable from a pair of side plates 19C, 19D fixed to the bottom 20A of the housing 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the door 19B may be detachable from the side plates 19C, 19D by sliding along rails 46. The door 19B is configured to be movable between a covering position that covers the front sides of the multiple liquid storage containers 18 with respect to the housing 20 and an open position that opens the front sides. The door 19B has a viewing window 21.

[0062] By sliding or removing the door 19B a predetermined amount, the fastening portion 42 is exposed from the housing 20. In other words, when the door 19B is in the open position, the screw 44 of the fastening portion 42 is exposed. The user can release the fastening of the liquid container 18 by the fastening portion 42. The user uses a tool such as a screwdriver to loosen the screw 44 and release the fastening of the fastening portion 42. After the fastening is released, the liquid container 18 is in a positioned state in which its forward and upward movement is restricted by the position restricting portion 43. In other words, the engagement between the positioning portion 72 and the positioned portion 77 restricts the liquid container 18 from moving forward and upward. After removing the screw 44, the user can further move the liquid container 18 slightly toward the back and then upward, releasing the position restriction. In other words, the engagement between the positioning portion 72 and the positioned portion 77 disengages. After releasing the position restriction, the user can remove the liquid container 18 from the housing 20.

[0063] The connection between the supply flow path 24 and the liquid storage container 18 may or may not be detached. In the detachable configuration, a valve may be provided at the upstream end of the supply flow path 24. The valve is closed in a disconnected state where the upstream end of the supply flow path 24 is not connected to the supply port 52. On the other hand, the valve opens when the upstream end of the supply flow path 24 is connected to the supply port 52. The valve switches between open and closed depending on whether the supply port 52 is connected to the supply flow path 24. When the supply flow path 24 is disconnected from the liquid storage container 18, the valve provided at the upstream end closes. This prevents liquid from leaking from the connection port at the upstream end of the disconnected supply flow path 24.

[0064] <Configuration of Liquid Recovery System 10 and Liquid Recovery Container 80> Next, the configurations of the liquid recovery system 10 and the liquid recovery container 80 will be described with reference to Figures 7, 8, etc. In the drawings relating to the liquid recovery system 10 below, the direction corresponding to the width direction X when the liquid storage container 18 is disposed in the liquid ejection device 11 is shown as direction A, and the depth direction of the liquid storage container 18 is shown as direction B. Figure 7 shows a side cross section of the liquid recovery container 80 taken along a plane intersecting with direction A. Figure 8 shows a side cross section of the liquid recovery system 10 taken along a plane intersecting with direction A in a state during liquid recovery.

[0065] 8, 10 and 11 includes a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80. The liquid discharge device 11 shown in Figures 1 to 3 and the liquid recovery container 80 make up the liquid discharge system.

[0066] The first embodiment is directed to an off-carriage type liquid ejection device 11. In the off-carriage type liquid ejection device 11, a liquid storage container 18 is fixed to a housing 20. The liquid recovery system 10 is used to recover liquid such as ink remaining in the liquid storage container 18 into a liquid recovery container 80 when a user disposes of the liquid ejection device 11, for example.

[0067] The user sets the liquid storage container 18 removed from the housing 20 in the liquid collection container 80. When setting the liquid storage container 18, the user connects the outlet 73 of the liquid storage container 18 to the recovery port 85 of the liquid collection container 80. When setting the liquid storage container 18, the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 are hidden by the liquid storage container 18 and are difficult to see. Therefore, the liquid recovery system 10 of this embodiment has a function for positioning the liquid storage container 18 with respect to the liquid collection container 80. Furthermore, if the connection between the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 loosens or comes off during liquid collection, there is a possibility of liquid leakage. For example, if the user or the like accidentally impacts the liquid recovery system 10 or accidentally tips it over during liquid collection, the connection between the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 will loosen or come off. Therefore, the liquid recovery system 10 has a fixing function for fixing the liquid storage container 18 and the liquid collection container 80 so that the connection can be maintained. This fixing function may be a locking function that locks the liquid storage container 18 and the liquid recovery container 80 together so that they can be maintained in a connected state.

[0068] A user obtains a liquid collection container 80 when collecting liquid from the liquid storage container 18. For example, the liquid collection container 80 may be included in the package when purchasing the liquid ejection device 11. Alternatively, when the user disposes of the liquid ejection device 11, the user may obtain the liquid collection container 80 from a manufacturer or retailer, with or without payment. Furthermore, the liquid collection container 80 may be housed in a recess provided in the housing 20 of the liquid ejection device 11. The opening of this recess may be covered with a cover. When disposing of the liquid ejection device 11, the user may remove the cover and take out the liquid collection container 80 from the recess for use.

[0069] Next, three embodiments of the liquid recovery system 10 will be described. FIG. 8 shows a first embodiment, FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment, and FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment. The first embodiment is an example in which the discharge port portion 73 also serves as the positioning portion 73A. The second and third embodiments are examples in which a positioning portion 79 dedicated to recovery is provided separate from the discharge port portion 73. The first and second embodiments are also examples in which a valve is built into the discharge port portion 73. The third embodiment is an example in which the discharge port portion 73 does not have a built-in valve, but the discharge port is sealed with a film. Below, the first embodiment will be described first, and then the second and third embodiments will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0070] <First Example> First, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. The liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 8 comprises a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80 (see also Figure 7). The liquid recovery container 80 recovers liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18.

[0071] The liquid collection container 80 includes a collection storage portion 81 and a guide portion 82. The collection storage portion 81 has a collection chamber 83 therein. The collection chamber 83 is configured to be able to store the liquid IL collected from the liquid storage container 18. The guide portion 82 extends upward from the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the collection storage portion 81. A storage recess 82A is formed by the space surrounded by the upper surface of the collection storage portion 81 and the guide portion 82. The upper portion of the collection storage portion 81 forms the bottom portion 81A of the storage recess 82A. The storage recess 82A is a recess that stores the liquid storage container 18 that will be set in the liquid collection container 80. During the process of storing the liquid storage container 18 in the storage recess 82A, the side surface of the liquid storage container 18 is guided by the guide portion 82. The liquid storage container 18 is set in the storage recess 82A while being guided by the guide portion 82.

[0072] 8, the liquid storage chamber 55 of the liquid storage container 18 is positioned above the recovery chamber 83 of the liquid recovery container 80. In other words, in the set state, the liquid IL remaining in the liquid storage container 18 is located above the recovery chamber 83 of the liquid recovery container 80. The liquid storage chamber 55 and the recovery chamber 83 are positioned such that the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 55 can be discharged into the recovery chamber 83 by head pressure.

[0073] 8, when the positioning portion 72 of the liquid storage container 18 is the first positioning portion 72, the liquid storage container 18 has a second positioning portion 73A that is different from the first positioning portion 72. In other words, the second positioning portion 73A is a positioning portion that is provided separately from the first positioning portion 72 and is dedicated to collection.

[0074] As described above, the first positioning portion 72 positions the liquid storage container 18 relative to the housing 20, which is the attachment target. The first positioning portion 72 engages with a positioned portion 77 (see FIG. 4) protruding from the bottom 20A of the housing 20, thereby positioning the liquid storage container 18 relative to the housing 20, which is the attachment target.

[0075] In contrast, the second positioning portion 73A is used to position the liquid storage container 18 with respect to the liquid collection container 80. The first embodiment is an example in which the discharge port portion 73 also serves as the second positioning portion 73A. The second positioning portion 73A is formed by the outer periphery of the tubular discharge port portion 73. The second positioning portion 73A may be cylindrical, for example.

[0076] 7 and 8, the liquid collection container 80 has a collection port portion 85 and a positioned portion 86. The collection port portion 85 is a portion that connects to the discharge port portion 73 on the liquid storage container 18 side. The positioned portion 86 is a portion that guides the second positioning portion 73A on the liquid storage container 18 side.

[0077] The upper part of the recovery storage section 81 forms the bottom 81A of the storage recess 82A. The recovery port section 85 and the positioned section 86 protrude upward from the bottom 81A. Note that an atmosphere communication section 88 may also protrude upward from the bottom 81A. The recovery port section 85 and the atmosphere communication section 88 are in communication with the recovery chamber 83. The atmosphere communication section 88 is formed at a position and protruding height that does not interfere with the liquid storage container 18 in the set state shown in FIG. 8 .

[0078] The recovery port 85 is configured to be connectable to the discharge port 73 of the liquid storage container 18. The recovery port 85 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge port 73 in the set state shown in Fig. 8. In the example shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the recovery port 85 is a needle portion that can be inserted into the tubular discharge port 73.

[0079] 8, the discharge port portion 73 incorporates a valve element 78 that is biased by a spring (not shown) toward the discharge port side. The valve element 78 abuts against a valve seat (not shown) due to the biasing force of the spring, thereby closing the flow path of the discharge port portion 73. On the other hand, when the valve element 78 is pushed inward against the biasing force of the spring, it moves away from the valve seat, thereby opening the flow path of the discharge port portion 73.

[0080] When the recovery port 85 is connected to the discharge port 73, the needle portion of the recovery port 85 is inserted into the discharge port 73 and pushes the valve body 78 inward against the biasing force, thereby opening the flow path of the discharge port 73. The needle portion has a flow path inside and a communication hole at its tip.

[0081] The discharge port 73 is in a closed state before being connected to the recovery port 85, and opens when connected to the recovery port 85. The needle portion of the recovery port 85 is press-fitted into an opening of a sealing member such as a packing on the discharge port 73 side. Therefore, the connection between the needle portion of the recovery port 85 and the discharge port 73 is maintained in a liquid-tight state. The liquid in the discharge port 73 flows into the needle portion through the communication hole of the needle portion and is then discharged into the recovery chamber 83. In this way, the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 is recovered into the recovery chamber 83 of the liquid recovery container 80 through the connection between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85.

[0082] As shown in Fig. 8, the positioned portion 86 is configured to be able to guide the positioning portion 73A of the liquid storage container 18. As described above, the positioned portion 86 in the first embodiment is configured to be able to guide the second positioning portion 73A that is dedicated to recovery and different from the first positioning portion 72. The positioned portion 86 is provided at a position corresponding to the second positioning portion 73A in the set state shown in Fig. 8. In the first example in which the discharge port portion 73 also serves as the second positioning portion 73A, the recovery port portion 85 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge port portion 73.

[0083] The positioned portion 86 may be cylindrical and have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the second positioning portion 73A. The cylindrical positioned portion 86 may have a tapered guide surface near the opening at its upper end, with the inner diameter decreasing toward the bottom. The positioned portion 86 guides the second positioning portion 73A, thereby positioning the liquid storage container 18 at a position relative to the liquid collection container 80, as shown in FIG. 8, where the discharge port 73 can be connected to the collection port 85. Note that the tubular second positioning portion 73A and the cylindrical positioned portion 86 shown in FIG. 8 may have an anti-rotation function that prevents them from rotating about their axes when they are engaged. This anti-rotation function may be constituted by a convex portion and a concave portion that are provided on the inner circumferential surface of the positioned portion 86 and the outer circumferential surface of the second positioning portion 73A, respectively, so as to be able to mesh with each other.

[0084] When recovering the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18, the liquid storage container 18 is removed from the housing 20, to which it is attached in the liquid ejection device 11. The liquid storage container 18 is then set in the liquid collection container 80. The user inserts the liquid storage container 18 into the storage recess 82A of the liquid collection container 80 with the outlet portion 73 facing downward. The liquid storage container 18 is inserted in the vertical direction Z while its side is guided by the inner wall surface of the guide portion 82. Then, the second positioning portion 73A is guided by the positioned portion 86, so that the liquid storage container 18 is positioned in the liquid collection container 80 at a position where the outlet portion 73 and the collection port portion 85 can be connected. The outlet portion 73 and the collection port portion 85 are connected at the positioned position.

[0085] When the fixing portion 71 is defined as the first fixing portion 71, the liquid storage container 18 has a second fixing portion 59 that is different from the first fixing portion 71. The first fixing portion 71 is a portion (e.g., a rib) that fixes the liquid storage container 18 to the housing 20 to which it is attached. In order to fix the liquid storage container 18 to the liquid collection container 80, the liquid storage container 18 has a second fixing portion 59 that is dedicated to collection, separate from the first fixing portion 71 for fastening. The second fixing portion 59 is a fixing portion for locking. The second fixing portion 59 is, for example, a locking recess that is provided in the liquid storage container 18 at a position where it will lock to the liquid collection container 80.

[0086] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the liquid collection container 80 has a fixed portion 87. The fixed portion 87 is configured to be able to engage with the second fixed portion 59. In the set state shown in Figure 8, the fixed portion 87 is provided at a position where it can engage with the second fixed portion 59. In the example shown in Figures 7 and 8, the fixed portion 87 is a snap fit provided on the upper part of the guide portion 82. The snap fit fixed portion 87 has a locking protrusion 87A and an operating lever portion 87B. In the set state shown in Figure 8, the operating lever portion 87B of the fixed portion 87 provided on the upper part of the guide portion 82 is in a position where it can be operated by the user. Therefore, in the set state, the user can operate the operating lever portion 87B.

[0087] The second fixing portion 59 is, for example, a locking recess that can be locked with a snap-fit ​​locking protrusion 87A. The liquid storage container 18 is fixed in a connected state to the liquid collection container 80 by the locking of the second fixing portion 59 and the fixed portion 87.

[0088] In the set state shown in FIG. 8 , the second fixing portion 59 of the liquid storage container 18 is locked to the fixed portion 87, thereby fixing the liquid storage container 18 to the liquid collection container 80 so that the connected state between the discharge outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 can be maintained. In the example shown in FIG. 8 , the locking protrusion 87A of the fixed portion 87, which is a snap fit, is locked to the second fixing portion 59, which is a locking recess. In this way, the liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the liquid collection container 80 so that the connected state between the discharge outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 can be maintained by locking the second fixing portion 59 to the fixed portion 87. The liquid in the liquid storage container 18, whose discharge outlet 73 and recovery port 85 have been connected by positioning, is recovered into the liquid collection container 80 through the connection between the discharge outlet 73 and the recovery port 85. A viewing window 82B may be provided in the guide portion 82 of the liquid collection container 80 at a location corresponding to the viewing surface 22 of the set liquid storage container 18. The user may be able to visually check the liquid level in the liquid storage container 18 through the viewing window 82B.

[0089] 7 and 8, the liquid recovery container 80 may have a liquid holding member 84 capable of holding liquid within the recovery chamber 83. The liquid holding member 84 is sealed within the recovery chamber 83. The liquid holding member 84 may be a liquid absorbing member capable of holding liquid by absorbing it. The liquid holding member 84 may be, for example, a nonwoven fabric or a porous material such as a sponge or foam material. The liquid holding member 84 may be capable of holding an amount of liquid equivalent to the maximum volume of liquid that can be contained in the liquid storage container 18. The liquid recovery container 80 is configured so that the liquid inside is held by the liquid holding member 84, and therefore the liquid will not leak even if the liquid recovery container 80 is tilted.

[0090] The liquid recovery container 80 may accommodate one or more liquid storage containers 18 at a time. If one liquid storage container 18 is installed, the liquid inside the liquid storage container 18 is recovered one by one. If multiple liquid storage containers 18 are installed, the liquid inside multiple liquid storage containers 18 may be recovered at once. In the latter case, the liquid recovery container 80 shown in Figures 7, 8, etc. may be provided with recovery port portions 85 and positioned portions 86 in direction A in numbers equal to the number that can be installed at one time. Furthermore, the interior of the liquid recovery container 80 may be formed with multiple recovery chambers 83 corresponding to the individual liquid storage containers 18, or one recovery chamber 83 common to multiple liquid storage containers 18 may be formed. The recovery chamber 83 of the liquid recovery container 80 may have a volume that is large enough to recover all of the liquid even if the liquid storage container 18 is full.

[0091] <Second Example> Next, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 9. The liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 9 comprises a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80. The liquid recovery container 80 recovers liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18 when the liquid ejection device 11 is disposed of, for example. The basic configuration of the liquid recovery system 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment. The following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0092] 9, the liquid collection container 80 has a collection port portion 85 and a positioned portion 86. The collection port portion 85 is configured to be connectable to the discharge port portion 73 of the liquid storage container 18. The positioned portion 86 is configured to be able to guide the positioning portion 79 of the liquid storage container 18.

[0093] The liquid storage container 18 has a second positioning portion 79 dedicated to recovery, which is different from the first positioning portion 72. In the first embodiment, the discharge port 73 also serves as the second positioning portion 73A. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the second positioning portion 79 is a positioning portion dedicated to recovery that is provided separately from the discharge port 73. The second positioning portion 79 may be, for example, a rib extending downward from the bottom surface 51A of the liquid storage container 18. The rib may be cylindrical or plate-shaped.

[0094] 9, the positioned portion 86 is provided at a position corresponding to the second positioning portion 79 of the liquid storage container 18. The positioned portion 86 is engageable with the second positioning portion 79. The second positioning portion 79 is guided by the positioned portion 86, so that the liquid storage container 18 is positioned at a position where the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected to the liquid recovery container 80. The discharge port 73 is located at the end of the bottom surface 51A on the supply port 52 side in direction B. The configurations of the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85, and the configurations of the second fixing portion 59 and the fixed portion 87 are basically the same as in the first embodiment.

[0095] <Third Example> Next, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 pertaining to a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 10. The liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 10 comprises a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80. The liquid recovery container 80 has a recovery port 85 and a positioned portion 86. The recovery port 85 is configured to be connectable to the discharge port 73 of the liquid storage container 18. The discharge port 73 is tubular. A film 73B is attached to the discharge port of the discharge port 73 to seal the discharge port.

[0096] The recovery port 85 is a needle similar to that in the first embodiment. The needle of the recovery port 85 breaks the film 73B and is inserted into the discharge port 73, thereby connecting the discharge port 73 to the recovery port 85. Liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 through the needle of the recovery port 85 inserted into the discharge port 73. The configurations of the second positioning portion 79 and the positioned portion 86, and the configurations of the second fixing portion 59 and the fixed portion 87 are basically the same as in the second embodiment.

[0097] <Operation of the First Embodiment> Next, the operation of the liquid recovery system 10 and liquid recovery container 80 of the first embodiment will be described. When disposing of the liquid ejection device 11, the user obtains the liquid recovery container 80. The liquid recovery container 80 may be one that was packed together with the liquid ejection device 11 when it was purchased, or may be one that the user orders from a manufacturer or retailer, or may be one that is removed from the recess by removing the cover of the housing 20 of the liquid ejection device 11.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 2 , the user opens the image reader 13 and the cover 32 of the liquid ejection device 11. Furthermore, the user opens the door 19B of the storage unit 19 and loosens the exposed screws of the fastening unit 42 to release the fastening. The user then removes the liquid storage container 18 from the housing 20 by sequentially displacing the liquid storage container 18 rearward and upward to release the restriction imposed by the position restriction unit 43. Note that the liquid storage container 18 may be disconnected from the supply flow path 24 as needed, for example, if there is a limit to the length by which the supply flow path 24 can be pulled out. If a valve is provided at the end of the supply flow path 24, the valve closes, preventing liquid from leaking from the end of the supply flow path 24. This minimizes contamination of the inside of the housing 20 or the user's fingers with liquid such as ink.

[0099] Next, the liquid storage container 18 is set in the storage recess 82A of the liquid collection container 80. The liquid storage container 18 is first guided by the guide portion 82. Next, the positioning portion 73A is guided by the positioned portion 86, and the liquid storage container 18 is positioned in the liquid collection container 80 at a position where the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected. Then, at the positioned position, the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 are connected. At this time, the valve body 78 is pressed by the needle portion of the recovery port 85, and the valve body 78 in the discharge port 73 moves from the closed position to the open position against the biasing force. In other words, the flow path of the discharge port 73 is opened. Furthermore, when the liquid storage container 18 is pushed into the liquid collection container 80 and set, the second fixing portion 59 locks with the fixed portion 87. In other words, the snap-fit ​​locking protrusion 87A locks with the locking recess. As a result, the liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 80 so that the connected state between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be maintained.

[0100] In this connected state, the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 moves to the liquid recovery container 80 due to hydraulic head pressure. An amount of air corresponding to the volume of liquid that has flowed from the liquid storage container 18 into the liquid recovery container 80 is exhausted through the atmosphere communication portion 88. This allows liquid to continuously move from the liquid storage container 18 into the liquid recovery container 80. All of the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 80. The liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 80 by an engagement so that the connected state can be maintained. Therefore, the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 can be recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 in a stable state. For example, the biasing force of the valve body 78 of the discharge port 73 prevents the connection from loosening or coming off. This prevents inconveniences such as delays in liquid recovery or liquid leakage from the connection due to poor connection between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 (e.g., poor valve opening) during liquid recovery. Furthermore, even if the user accidentally impacts liquid recovery system 10 or causes liquid recovery system 10 to tip over, the connection is retained so that leakage of liquid from the connection point can be avoided in most cases. Even if a small amount of liquid leaks from the connection point, the liquid will remain within storage recess 82A. This prevents the liquid from staining the floor or desk on which liquid recovery system 10 is placed.

[0101] The user may confirm completion of liquid recovery by visually checking the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid storage container 18 through a viewing window 82B provided in the liquid recovery container 80 at a position corresponding to the viewing surface 22. When the liquid recovery container 80 has finished collecting liquid, the user removes the liquid storage container 18 from the liquid recovery container 80. After operating the operating lever portion 87B of the fixed portion 87 to release the lock, the user removes the liquid storage container 90 from the storage recess 82A of the liquid recovery container 80. This releases the connection between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85. At this time, the needle portion of the recovery port 85 is removed from the discharge port 73, and the valve body 78 moves from the open position to the closed position due to the biasing force. This closes the flow path of the discharge port 73 in a liquid-tight state.

[0102] The liquid recovered in the liquid recovery container 80 is absorbed by the liquid holding member 84. In other words, the liquid in the liquid recovery container 80 is held in the liquid holding member 84. Even if the liquid recovery container 80 is tilted, there is almost no risk of liquid leaking. For example, the user may dispose of the liquid ejection device 11 after assembling the empty liquid storage container 18 to the housing 20, or may dispose of the device separately without assembling it. The liquid recovery container 80 may be configured so that the recovery port 85 is sealed with a cap member (not shown).

[0103] Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1-1) The liquid recovery system 10 comprises a liquid storage container 18 and a liquid recovery container 80. The liquid storage container 18 is used in a state fixed to an attachment target of the liquid ejection device 11. The liquid storage container 18 comprises a fixing portion 71 that can be fixed to the attachment target, a positioning portion 72 that can be positioned on the attachment target, and a discharge port portion 73 that can discharge liquid. The liquid recovery container 80 has a recovery port portion 85 and a positioned portion 86. The recovery port portion 85 is connectable to the discharge port portion 73 of the liquid storage container 18. The positioned portion 86 is capable of guiding the positioning portions 73A, 79 of the liquid storage container 18. When the liquid storage container 18 has been removed from its attachment target, the positioning portion 73A or 79 is guided by the positioned portion 86, thereby positioning the liquid storage container 18 at a position relative to the liquid recovery container 80 where the discharge port portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 can be connected. By connecting the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 at the positioned position, the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 through the connection between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85.

[0104] With this configuration, the liquid storage container 18 can be positioned relative to the liquid collection container 80 so that the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected. For example, when setting the liquid storage container 18 in the liquid collection container 80, the positions of the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 may be obscured by a portion of the liquid storage container 18 or a portion of the liquid collection container 80, making them difficult to see. Even in such cases, since the liquid storage container 18 is positioned relative to the liquid collection container 80, the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 can be easily connected. This simplifies the connection operation for the user to set the liquid storage container 18 in the liquid collection container 80. Furthermore, since the outlet 73 and the recovery port 85 are connected at positions appropriate for collection, for example, the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 can be appropriately collected. For example, when collecting liquid using the inlet 53 or the like, the user needs to tilt the liquid storage container 18 held in their hand to pour the liquid out of the inlet 53 or the like, but this cumbersome task is no longer necessary. Furthermore, while the recovery operation of pouring out the liquid can easily result in spilling the liquid or getting the liquid on one's fingers, such concerns are eliminated if the liquid storage container 90 and the liquid recovery container 80 are connected. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18 can be recovered appropriately and easily.

[0105] (1-2) The liquid storage container 18 has a first positioning portion 72 as a positioning portion that is positioned relative to an attachment target, and a second positioning portion 73A that is different from the first positioning portion 72. The liquid storage container 18 is positioned relative to the liquid collection container 80 at a position where the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected by guiding the second positioning portion 73A into the positioned portion 86. With this configuration, positioning can be performed using the second positioning portion 73A that is dedicated to collection, making it even easier to position the liquid storage container 18 relative to the liquid collection container 80. In other words, positioning is easier than positioning using the first positioning portion 72.

[0106] (1-3) The liquid storage container 18 has a second fixing portion 59 that is different from the first fixing portion 71 as a fixing portion. The liquid recovery container 80 has a fixed portion 87 that can be fixed to the second fixing portion 59. The fixed portion 87 is configured to be able to engage with the second fixing portion 59. The liquid storage container 18 is positioned at a position where the discharge outlet portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 can be connected to the liquid recovery container 80 by guiding the positioning portion 73A into the positioned portion 86. The discharge outlet portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 are connected at the positioned position. The liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 80 by the engagement between the second fixing portion 59 and the fixed portion 87 so that the connected state of the discharge outlet portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 can be maintained. With this configuration, regardless of the position or fixing structure of the first fixing portion 71, fixing that can maintain the state in which the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 of the liquid storage container 18 are connected to the liquid collection container 80 can be achieved by easy locking. For example, even if the fixing structure using the first fixing portion 71 to the housing 20 is fastening using screws 44 or the like, fixing of the liquid storage container 18 to the liquid collection container 80 can be achieved by locking. In other words, when collecting liquid, no fastening work using screws or the like is required. Therefore, appropriate and easy fixing of the liquid storage container 18 to the liquid collection container 80 can be achieved.

[0107] (1-4) The liquid storage container 18 has a fixing portion 71 that can be fixed to the housing 20 as an attachment target, a supply port 52 that supplies liquid to the liquid discharger 23, and a discharge port 73. The liquid storage container 18 is positioned at a position relative to the liquid collection container 80 where the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected by guiding the positioning portion 73A to the positioned portion 86. The discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 are connected at the positioned position. The second fixing portion 59 is engaged with the fixed portion 87, so that the liquid storage container 18 is fixed to the liquid collection container 80 so that the connected state of the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be maintained. With this configuration, the liquid storage container 18 can be easily fixed to the liquid collection container 80 by engaging with the second fixing portion 59, regardless of the position or fixing structure of the first fixing portion 71. For example, even if the first fixing portion 71 is fixed to the housing 20 using a screw 44 or the like, the liquid storage container 18 can be properly and easily fixed to the liquid collection container 80 by engaging the second fixing portion 59.

[0108] (1-5) The liquid recovery container 80 and the liquid recovery container 100 have the configuration described in (1-1) above. Therefore, the liquid storage container 18 can be positioned in the liquid recovery container 80 at a position where the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be connected. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18 can be appropriately and easily recovered.

[0109] (Second embodiment) Next, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 of a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 11 to 16. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the liquid discharger 11, to which the liquid storage container 90 constituting the liquid recovery system 10 is fixed, is attached to a carriage 26. In other words, the liquid discharger 11 of the second embodiment is an on-carriage type.

[0110] <Configuration of liquid ejection device 11> First, the configuration of an on-carriage type liquid ejection device 11 will be described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. As shown in Figure 11, in the on-carriage type liquid ejection device 11, a liquid storage container 90 is mounted on a carriage 26. The carriage 26 has a storage recess 26B that can store the liquid storage container 90. The liquid storage container 90 is stored in the storage recess 26B of the carriage 26.

[0111] The liquid storage container 90 includes a liquid storage portion 91. The liquid storage portion 91 has a supply port portion 92, an injection port portion 93, and an atmosphere communication portion 94. The liquid storage portion 91 has a liquid storage chamber 96 therein. The supply port portion 92, the injection port portion 93, and the atmosphere communication portion 94 are in communication with the liquid storage chamber 96.

[0112] The inlet 93 is sealed by an openable and closable cap lever 97. The inlet 93 is in communication with the liquid storage chamber 96 via the liquid flow path 57 and the air flow path 58. The user refills the liquid from the liquid bottle 34 (see FIG. 2 ) into the liquid storage container 90 by connecting the liquid bottle 34 to the inlet 93. The refilled liquid is stored in the liquid storage chamber 96.

[0113] The supply port 92 discharges the liquid to be supplied to the ejection head 25. The carriage 26 has a supply receiving port 26D at the bottom of the accommodation recess 26B, to which the supply port 92 can be connected. When the supply port 92 is connected to the supply receiving port 26D, the liquid storage chamber 96 in the liquid storage container 90 communicates with a flow path 26E formed in the carriage 26 via the supply port 92. The liquid in the liquid storage container 90 is supplied to the ejection head 25 through the flow path 26E.

[0114] The liquid storage container 90 is positioned relative to the carriage 26 by engagement between the supply port portion 92 and the supply destination port portion 26D. The liquid storage container 90 has a fixing portion 95 that fixes the liquid storage container 90 while it is mounted on the carriage 26. The liquid storage container 90 has the fixing portion 95, for example, on the upper side of the liquid storage portion 91. The fixing portion 95 may be, for example, a snap fit. The carriage 26 has a fixed portion 26C that can be engaged with the fixing portion 95, which is made of a snap fit. The fixed portion 26C may be an engaging recess.

[0115] 12, a plurality of liquid storage containers 90 are mounted on the carriage 26. The carriage 26 has a plurality of storage recesses 26B that can individually accommodate the liquid storage containers 90. The plurality of liquid storage containers 90 are accommodated in the plurality of storage recesses 26B. The plurality of liquid storage containers 90 are individually fastened to the carriage 26 by a plurality of fixing portions 95 provided at the end opposite the inlet portion 93 in the Y direction.

[0116] The cap lever 97 has a cap portion 97A and a lever portion 97B. A base end of the lever portion 97B is rotatably supported by a shaft portion 97C that is installed on the upper surface of the liquid storage container 90. The cap lever 97 can be opened and closed between a sealing position where the injection port 93 is sealed and an opening position where the injection port 93 is opened.

[0117] Liquid of each color supplied from the plurality of liquid storage containers 18 is ejected from the ejection head 25. The carriage 26 moves back and forth in the scanning direction X as a timing belt 31 wound around a pulley 30 rotates forward and backward as a carriage motor 29 is driven forward and backward. As the carriage 26 moves in the scanning direction X, the ejection head 25 ejects liquid of each color, thereby performing printing.

[0118] <Configuration of Liquid Recovery System 10> Next, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 in a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 16. Two examples of liquid recovery system 10 will be described below. Figures 13 to 15 show a liquid recovery system 10 of a fourth embodiment, and Figure 16 shows a liquid recovery system 10 of a fifth embodiment. The liquid recovery system 10 of the fourth embodiment is an example in which a fixing portion 95 of the liquid storage container 90 is used to fix the liquid storage container 90 to the liquid recovery container 100. The liquid recovery system 10 of the fifth embodiment is an example in which a second fixing portion 91A, which is different from the fixing portion 95 of the liquid storage container 90, is used to fix the liquid storage container 90 to the liquid recovery container 100.

[0119] <Fourth Example> First, a liquid recovery system 10 of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 15. The liquid recovery system 10 recovers liquid remaining in a liquid storage container 90 mounted on a carriage 26 into a liquid recovery container 100.

[0120] The basic configuration of the liquid recovery system 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Note that, in the following, detailed explanations of the configurations common to the first embodiment will be omitted. The liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 14 comprises a liquid storage container 90 and a liquid recovery container 100. The liquid storage container 90 is used in a state fixed to a carriage 26, which is an example of an object to which the liquid ejection device 11 is attached. The liquid storage container 90 comprises a fixing portion 95 that can be fixed to the carriage 26, a positioning portion 98 that can be positioned on the carriage 26, and a supply port portion 92 that can discharge liquid. The supply port portion 92 also serves as a discharge port portion that discharges liquid when recovering it. The positioning portion 98 is formed by an uneven shape on the outer periphery of the supply port portion 92. In other words, the outer periphery of the supply port portion 92 also serves as the positioning portion 98.

[0121] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 , the liquid collection container 100 has a collection storage section 101 and a guide section 102. The collection storage section 101 has a collection chamber 103 therein. The collection chamber 103 is configured to be able to store the liquid IL collected from the liquid storage container 90. The guide section 102 extends upward from the periphery of the upper surface of the collection storage section 101. A storage recess 102A is formed by the space surrounded by the upper surface of the collection storage section 101 and the guide section 102. The upper part of the collection storage section 101 forms the bottom 101A of the storage recess 102A. The liquid collection container 100 is stored in the storage recess 102A when the liquid storage container 90 is set. During the process of storing the liquid storage container 90 in the storage recess 102A, the side surface of the liquid storage container 90 is guided by the guide section 102.

[0122] The liquid collection container 100 has a collection port 105 and a positioned portion 106. The collection port 105 and an atmosphere communication portion 107 protrude upward from the bottom 101A of the storage recess 102A. The collection port 105 and the atmosphere communication portion 107 communicate with the collection chamber 103. The positioned portion 106 is provided at a position corresponding to the supply port 92 of the liquid storage container 90 in the set state shown in FIG.

[0123] The recovery port 105 is configured to be connectable to the supply port 92 of the liquid storage container 90. In the set state shown in FIG. 14 , the recovery port 85 is disposed at a position corresponding to the supply port 92 on the liquid storage container 90 side. In the example shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 , the recovery port 105 is a needle that can be inserted into the tubular supply port 92. When the needle of the recovery port 105 is inserted into the supply port 92, the needle pushes the valve body 99 inside the supply port 92 against its biasing force, thereby opening the flow path of the supply port 92. The needle of the recovery port 105 has basically the same configuration as the needle of the discharge port 73 in the first embodiment. The needle of the recovery port 105 has a flow path 105A therein, as shown in FIG. 13 . The supply port 92 shown in FIG. 14 is in a closed state before being connected to the recovery port 105, and opens when connected to the recovery port 105.

[0124] 14, the positioned portion 106 guides the positioning portion 98, thereby positioning the liquid storage container 90 relative to the liquid recovery container 100 at a position where the supply port 92, which also serves as a discharge port, can be connected to the recovery port 105. The liquid storage container 90 has the supply port 92 protruding downward from the bottom surface thereof, and a positioning portion 98 formed on the outer periphery of the supply port 92. The positioned portion 106 is recessed into the bottom 101A. The recessed positioned portion 106 can accommodate the supply port 92 protruding downward from the bottom surface of the liquid storage container 90 and the positioning portion 98 on its outer periphery. The detailed configurations of the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 will be described later.

[0125] <About the positioning function> Next, the positioning function of liquid recovery system 10 will be described with reference to Figure 15 and other figures. Figure 15 shows a cross section of the connection portion between supply port 92 and recovery port 105 in liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 14, taken in a direction intersecting the connection direction. As shown in Figure 15, a plurality of positioning portions 98 protrude outward from the outer circumferential surface of supply port 92. In the example shown in Figure 15, the positioning portions 98 made up of a plurality of convex portions protrude, for example, in a cross shape in the plan cross section shown in Figure 15, from the outer circumferential surface of supply port 92. Meanwhile, positioned portion 106 is configured to be able to guide positioning portion 98 of liquid storage container 90. Positioned portion 106 has a plurality of concave portions 106A at positions corresponding to the positioning portions 98, which can engage with positioning portions 98 made up of convex portions across gaps.

[0126] 15, when supply port 92 and recovery port 105 are connected, the needle of recovery port 105 is inserted into communication hole 92A of tubular supply port 92. Communication hole 105B opens at the tip of the needle of recovery port 105. Communication hole 105B communicates with flow path 105A (see FIG. 13) inside the needle.

[0127] The liquid storage container 90 removed from the carriage 26 is set in the liquid recovery container 100. At this time, the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106, so that the liquid storage container 90 is positioned in a position where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be connected to the liquid recovery container 100. In other words, the positioning portion 98, which is made of a convex portion, engages with the concave portion 106A, so that the liquid storage container 90 is positioned in a position where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be connected to the liquid recovery container 80. At this positioned position, the supply port 92 is connected to the recovery port 105.

[0128] 14, the liquid collection container 100 has a fixed portion 102B that can be fixed to the fixing portion 95 of the liquid storage container 90. If the fixing portion 95 is a snap fit, it has a locking protrusion 95A and an operating lever portion 95B. The fixed portion 102B may be a locking recess that is provided in a position that can lock with the locking protrusion 95A when the liquid storage container 90 is set. In this way, the liquid collection system 10 of the fourth embodiment locks the liquid storage container 90 to the liquid collection container 100 by locking, using the fixing portion 95 that is used to lock the liquid storage container 90 to the carriage 26.

[0129] When the supply port 92 is connected to the recovery port 105, the locking protrusion 95A of the fixing part 95 is locked into the locking recess of the fixed part 102B. In this way, the liquid storage container 90 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 100 by the locking of the fixing part 95 and the fixed part 102B, so that the connected state of the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be maintained. Then, the liquid in the liquid storage container 90 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 100 through the connection between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105.

[0130] The liquid storage container 90 may have a viewing surface 91B on the front right side in Figure 14 that allows the amount of liquid in the liquid storage chamber 96 to be visually confirmed. A viewing window 102C may be provided in the guide portion 102 of the liquid collection container 100 at a position corresponding to the viewing surface 91B of the set liquid storage container 90. The user may be able to visually confirm the amount of liquid in the liquid storage container 90 through the viewing window 102C.

[0131] <Fifth Example> Next, a liquid recovery system 10 of a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 16. The liquid recovery system 10 shown in Figure 16 comprises a liquid storage container 90 and a liquid recovery container 100.

[0132] When the fixing portion 95 of the liquid storage container 90 is defined as a first fixing portion 95, the liquid storage container 90 has a second fixing portion 91A that is different from the first fixing portion 95. The liquid recovery container 100 has a fixed portion 108 that is configured to be able to engage with the second fixing portion 91A. The fixed portion 108 is, for example, a snap fit. The fixed portion 108 has a locking protrusion 108A and an operating lever portion 108B. The fixed portion 108 may be provided on the guide portion 102, for example. The second fixing portion 91A may be a locking recess that can be engaged with the locking protrusion 108A of the fixed portion 108. In this way, the liquid recovery system 10 may be configured to not use the first fixing portion 95 used for engagement with the carriage 26, but to include a second fixing portion 91A and fixed portion 108 that are dedicated to recovery.

[0133] The liquid storage container 90 is positioned in a position where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be connected to the liquid collection container 100 by guiding the positioning portion 98 to the positioned portion 106. The supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are connected at the positioned position. The liquid storage container 90 is fixed to the liquid collection container 100 by the engagement between the second fixing portion 91A and the fixed portion 108 so that the connected state between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be maintained.

[0134] <Operation of the Second Embodiment> In the liquid recovery system 10 of the second embodiment, when the on-carriage type liquid ejection device 11 is disposed of, the liquid storage container 90 containing remaining liquid is removed from the carriage 26 and set above the liquid recovery container 100. The liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 90 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 using hydraulic head pressure. When using hydraulic head pressure, for example, the liquid storage container 90 is set so as to be placed on top of the liquid recovery container 80. At this time, the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are hidden by the liquid storage container 90 and are difficult for the user to see. However, the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106, so the liquid storage container 90 can be positioned appropriately relative to the liquid recovery container 80. As a result, the user can relatively easily set the liquid storage container 90 in a state where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are connected to the liquid recovery container 100.

[0135] Furthermore, when the positioned liquid storage container 90 is pushed into the liquid recovery container 100 and set, the fixing portion 95 or the second fixing portion 91A engages with the fixed portions 102B, 108. For example, the snap-fit ​​locking protrusions 95A, 108A are locked in the locking recesses. This allows the liquid storage container 90 to be fixed to the liquid recovery container 100 in a manner that maintains the connection between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105. This allows the liquid in the liquid storage container 90 to be recovered into the liquid recovery container 80 in a stable state. For example, the biasing force of the valve body 99 of the supply port 92 prevents the connection from loosening or coming off. This prevents problems such as delays in liquid recovery due to poor connection between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 during liquid recovery, or liquid leakage from the connection. Furthermore, even if the user accidentally impacts the liquid recovery system 10 or causes the liquid recovery system 10 to fall over, the connected state is retained and locked, so in most cases leakage of liquid from the connection point can be avoided.

[0136] Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (2-1) The liquid recovery system 10 comprises a liquid storage container 90 and a liquid recovery container 100. The liquid storage container 90 is used in a state fixed to a carriage 26, which is an example of an object to which the liquid ejection device 11 is attached. The liquid storage container 90 comprises a fixing portion 95 that can be fixed to the carriage 26, a positioning portion 98 that can be positioned on the carriage 26, and a supply port portion 92 that also serves as a discharge port portion through which liquid can be discharged. The liquid recovery container 100 has a recovery port portion 105 and a positioned portion 106. The recovery port portion 105 is connectable to the supply port portion 92 of the liquid storage container 90. The positioned portion 106 is capable of guiding the positioning portion 98 of the liquid storage container 90. When the liquid storage container 90 is removed from the carriage 26, the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106, and the liquid storage container 90 is positioned in a position relative to the liquid recovery container 100 where the supply port portion 92 and the recovery port portion 105 can be connected. By connecting the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 at the positioned position, the liquid in the liquid storage container 90 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 100 through the connection between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105.

[0137] With this configuration, the liquid storage container 90 can be positioned relative to the liquid collection container 100 at a position where the supply port 92, which also serves as a discharge port, and the recovery port 105 can be connected. For example, when setting the liquid storage container 90 in the liquid collection container 100, the positions of the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 may be obscured or difficult to see because they are hidden by a part of the liquid storage container 90 or a part of the liquid collection container 100. Even in such cases, since the liquid storage container 90 is positioned relative to the liquid collection container 100, the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be easily connected. This simplifies the connection operation for the user to set the liquid storage container 90 in the liquid collection container 100. Furthermore, for example, since the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are connected at positions appropriate for collection, the liquid in the liquid storage container 90 can be appropriately collected. For example, in the past, when collecting liquid from the supply port 92, the supply port 92 would close if the liquid storage container 90 was removed from the carriage 26 to which it was attached. For this reason, it is necessary to recover the liquid from another opening, such as the inlet 93. In this case, the user would have to tilt the liquid storage container 90 held in his / her hand to pour the liquid from the inlet 93, but this troublesome task is no longer necessary. Furthermore, the recovery task of pouring the liquid can easily result in spilling the liquid or getting the user's fingers dirty, but if the liquid storage container 90 and the liquid recovery container 100 are connected, this problem is eliminated. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 90 can be recovered appropriately and easily.

[0138] (2-2) The fixing portion 95 is fixed by engagement with the fixing target portion 26C to which it is attached. The liquid recovery container 100 further has a fixing target portion 102B that can be engaged with the fixing portion 95. The liquid storage container 90 is positioned to a position in the liquid recovery container 100 where the supply port portion 92, which also serves as a discharge port, can be connected to the recovery port portion 105 by guiding the positioning portion 98 into the positioned portion 106. At this positioned position, the supply port portion 92 and the recovery port portion 105 are connected. The liquid storage container 90 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 100 by engagement between the fixing portion 95 and the fixing target portion 102B so that the connected state of the supply port portion 92 and the recovery port portion 105 can be maintained. This configuration makes it possible to position the liquid storage container 90 relative to the liquid recovery container 100 so that the discharge port portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 can be connected, and to fix the connected state of the discharge port portion 73 and the recovery port portion 85 after positioning. That is, it is possible to easily position the liquid storage container 90 relative to the liquid recovery container 100 and maintain the connected state. Therefore, it is possible to easily position the liquid storage container 18 relative to the liquid recovery container 100 and to stably recover liquid from the liquid storage container 18 to the liquid recovery container 80 after connection.

[0139] (2-3) The liquid storage container 18 has a fixing portion 95 and a supply port 92. The fixing portion 95 can be detachably engaged with the carriage 26, which is the object to which the liquid storage container 18 is attached. The supply port 92 can supply liquid to the liquid discharge portion 23. The positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106. As a result, the liquid storage container 90 is positioned in a position relative to the liquid recovery container 100 where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be connected. At this positioned position, the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are connected. By engaging the fixing portion 95 with the fixed portion 102B, the liquid storage container 90 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 100 so that the connected state of the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be maintained. With this configuration, the liquid storage container 90, which has been released from the engagement and removed from the carriage 26, can be positioned relative to the liquid recovery container 100, and the connected state of the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be maintained. Therefore, the liquid storage container 90 can be easily positioned and fixed to the liquid recovery container 100.

[0140] (2-4) In the fifth embodiment, the liquid storage container 90 has a second fixing portion 91A that is different from the first fixing portion 95 as a fixing portion. The liquid recovery container 100 has a fixed portion 108 that can be engaged with the second fixing portion 91A. By engaging the second fixing portion 91A with the fixed portion 108, the liquid storage container 90 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 100 in a state where the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 are connected. With this configuration, the liquid storage container 90 can be easily positioned and fixed to the liquid recovery container 100.

[0141] (2-5) The liquid collection container 100 has the configuration described in (2-1) above. Therefore, the liquid storage container 90 can be positioned at a position where the supply port 92 (discharge port) and the collection port 105 can be connected to the liquid collection container 100. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 90 can be collected appropriately and easily.

[0142] (Third embodiment) Next, the configuration of a liquid recovery system 10 of a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 17. The basic configuration of the liquid ejection device 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Note that with respect to the liquid storage container 60 and the liquid recovery container 110, components common to the first and second embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0143] The liquid ejection device 11 is an off-carriage type similar to that of the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the liquid storage container 60 mounted on the carriage 26 is removed from the carriage 26 and set in a liquid recovery container 110.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 17, the liquid recovery system 10 comprises a liquid storage container 60 and a liquid recovery container 110. 17, the liquid ejection device 11 includes a carriage that moves the liquid ejection unit , and a housing 20. The housing 20 houses the liquid storage containers 18 and 60, the liquid ejection unit , and the carriage .

[0145] The liquid storage containers 18, 60 include a first liquid storage container 18 fixed to the housing 20 as an attachment target, and a second liquid storage container 60 fixed to the carriage 26 as an attachment target.

[0146] The second liquid storage container 60 is connected to the first liquid storage container 18 via the supply flow path 24. The liquid in the first liquid storage container 18 is supplied to the second liquid storage container 60 via the supply flow path 24. The second liquid storage container 60 has a fixing portion 61 that can be engaged with the carriage 26, and a supply port portion 63 that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection portion 23. The supply port portion 63 also serves as a discharge port portion. The fixing portion 61 is made of, for example, a snap fit. The fixing portion 61 made of a snap fit is engaged with a fixed portion 26A (see FIG. 4) provided on the carriage 26, whereby the second liquid storage container 60 is fixed in a state where it is mounted on the carriage 26.

[0147] The user releases the engagement between the fixing part 61 and the carriage 26, and removes the second liquid storage container 60 from the carriage 26. The second liquid storage container 60 is removed from the opening on the upper side of the housing 20 with the supply flow path 24 still connected. The second liquid storage container 60 is set in the liquid recovery container 110 while still connected to the supply flow path 24 through which the liquid supplied from the first liquid storage container 18 moves.

[0148] The second liquid storage container 60 has a fixing portion 61, a positioning portion 98 (see FIG. 15), and a supply port portion 63. The fixing portion 61 used for locking to the carriage 26 is also used for fixing to the liquid collection container 110. The fixing portion 61 is, for example, a snap fit, and has a locking protrusion 61A.

[0149] The positioning portion 98 is omitted in Fig. 17, but has the same configuration as that shown in Fig. 15 in the second embodiment. The positioning portion 98 is configured to be able to position the liquid storage container 60 with respect to the carriage 26. The positioning portion 98 may be a plurality of protrusions formed on the outer periphery of the supply port portion 63.

[0150] The supply port 63 also functions as a discharge port, and is capable of discharging the liquid. The supply port 52 serves as a discharge port that discharges the liquid into the liquid recovery container 110. As shown in FIG. 17, the liquid recovery container 110 has a recovery port portion 115 and a positioned portion 106 (see FIG. 15). The liquid recovery container 110 has a recovery storage portion 111 and a guide portion 112. The recovery storage portion 111 has a recovery chamber 113 therein. A liquid holding member 114 may be stored in the recovery chamber 113. A storage recess 112A is formed by the space surrounded by the upper surface of the recovery storage portion 111 and the guide portion 112. The upper portion of the recovery storage portion 111 forms a bottom portion 111A of the storage recess 112A. The recovery port portion 105 and the atmosphere communication portion 117 protrude from the bottom portion 111A. The recovery port portion 105 and the atmosphere communication portion 117 are in communication with the recovery chamber 113. The recovery port 105 has a connecting portion 116 having the same configuration as the connecting port 25B (see FIG. 4) to which the supply port 63 of the carriage 26 is connected.

[0151] The recovery port 115 is configured to be connectable to the supply port 63 (discharge port) of the liquid storage container 60. The recovery port 115 is provided at a position corresponding to the supply port 63 in the set state shown in FIG. 17 where the liquid storage container 18 is set in the liquid collection container 80. The recovery port 115 has the aforementioned connecting portion 116 which has a circular recess to which the tubular supply port 63 can be connected. The recovery port 105 may have a needle portion (not shown) protruding from the bottom surface of the recess of the connecting portion 116.

[0152] The positioned portion 106 is omitted in FIG. 17, but may have the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 15 in the second embodiment. The positioned portion 106 is capable of guiding the positioning portion 98. The positioned portion 106 may be formed on the inner periphery of the recess of the connecting portion 116. The positioning portion 98 is made up of a plurality of protrusions provided on the outer periphery of the supply port portion 63. The positioned portion 106 has a plurality of recesses 106A (see FIG. 15) that can mesh with the positioning portion 98 made up of a plurality of protrusions.

[0153] When the second liquid storage container 60 is set in the liquid recovery container 110, the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106, and the second liquid storage container 60 is positioned in the liquid recovery container 110 at a position where the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 can be connected. At the positioned position, the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 are connected. The second liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 110 by the engagement between the fixing portion 61 and the fixed portion 112B, so that the connected state of the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 can be maintained. Liquid in the second liquid storage container 60 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 110 through the connection between the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115. Furthermore, the second liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 110 in a state where it is connected to the first liquid storage container 18 through the supply flow path 24. The liquid in the first liquid storage container 18 is collected into the liquid collection container 110 through the second liquid storage container 60 and the supply flow path 24 .

[0154] Therefore, according to the third embodiment, the following actions and effects can be obtained. (3-1) The liquid recovery system 10 comprises a liquid storage container 60 and a liquid recovery container 110. The liquid recovery container 110 has a recovery port 115 and a positioned portion 106. The recovery port 115 is connectable to a supply port 63 (discharge port) of the liquid storage container 60. The positioned portion 106 is capable of guiding a positioning portion 98 of the liquid storage container 60. When the liquid storage container 60 is removed from the carriage 26 to which it is to be attached, the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106, and the liquid storage container 60 is positioned to a position in the liquid recovery container 110 where the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 can be connected. When the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 are connected at the positioned position, the liquid in the liquid storage container 60 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 110 through the connection between the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115. According to this configuration, the liquid storage container 60 can be positioned relative to the liquid collection container 110 at a position where the supply port 63 (discharge port) and the collection port 115 can be connected.

[0155] (3-2) The liquid ejection device 11 includes a carriage 26 that moves the liquid ejection unit 23, and a housing 20 that houses liquid storage containers 18, 60, the liquid ejection unit 23, and the carriage 26. The liquid storage containers 18, 60 include a first liquid storage container 18 that is fixed to the housing 20 as an attachment target, and a second liquid storage container 60 that is fixed to the carriage 26 as an attachment target. The second liquid storage container 60 is connected to a supply flow path 24 through which liquid supplied from the first liquid storage container 18 moves. The second liquid storage container 60 has a fixing portion 61 that can be engaged with the carriage 26, and a supply port 63 that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection unit 23. The supply port 63 also serves as a discharge port. The liquid collection container 110 has a fixed portion 112B that can be fixed to the fixing portion 61 of the second liquid storage container 60. The second liquid storage container 60 removed from the carriage 26 is positioned at a position where the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 can be connected to the liquid recovery container 110, as the positioning portion 98 is guided by the positioned portion 106. The supply port 63 is connected to the recovery port 115 at the positioned position. The second liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 110 so that the connected state of the supply port 63 and the recovery port 115 can be maintained by the engagement between the fixing portion 61 and the fixed portion 112B. With this configuration, when the second liquid storage container 60 removed from the carriage 26 is connected to the liquid recovery container 110 to recover liquid, it is possible to position the second liquid storage container 60 with respect to the liquid recovery container 110 and maintain the connected state. Moreover, because the connected state is maintained by the engagement, fixing is easier than fastening using screws or the like.

[0156] (3-3) The second liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the liquid recovery container 110 in a state in which it is connected to the first liquid storage container 18 through the supply flow path 24. The liquid in the first liquid storage container 18 is recovered into the liquid recovery container 110 through the second liquid storage container 60 and the supply flow path 24. With this configuration, the liquid in the first liquid storage container 18 can be recovered into the liquid recovery container 110 through the second liquid storage container 60 and the supply flow path 24 without releasing the fixation of the first liquid storage container 18.

[0157] (3-4) The liquid collection container 110 has the configuration described in (3-1) above. Therefore, the liquid storage container 60 can be positioned in the liquid collection container 110 at a position where the supply port 63 (discharge port) and the collection port 115 can be connected. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container 18 can be collected appropriately and easily.

[0158] <Example of change> The above embodiment can be modified as shown in the following modified examples. Furthermore, the above embodiment and the modified examples shown below can be appropriately combined to form further modified examples, or the modified examples shown below can be appropriately combined to form further modified examples.

[0159] While the liquid recovery system 10 of the first embodiment has both a positioning function and a fixing function, it may also have only a positioning function. For example, as shown in Figure 18, the system may have a positioning portion 73A and a positioned portion 86, but may not have a second fixing portion and a fixed portion. For example, there is no problem as long as the liquid storage container 18 is supported by the guide portion 82, or the connection between the discharge port 73 and the recovery port 85 can be maintained by the weight of the liquid storage container 18.

[0160] While the liquid recovery system 10 of the second embodiment has both a positioning function and a fixing function, it may also have only a positioning function. For example, as shown in Figure 19, the system may have a positioning portion 98 and a positioned portion 106, but may not have a fixing portion and a fixed portion. For example, there is no problem as long as the liquid storage container 90 is supported by the guide portion 102, or the connection between the supply port 92 and the recovery port 105 can be maintained by the weight of the liquid storage container 90.

[0161] In the first embodiment, the liquid storage container 18 may be configured so that it can be set in the liquid recovery container 80 at an angle, and the supply port 52 may be used as the discharge port. If there is no risk of liquid leaking from other ports such as the inlet 53 or the atmosphere communication port 54 even when the liquid storage container 18 is tilted, the supply port 52 may be configured to double as the discharge port in this way. Note that if the supply port 52 of the liquid storage container 18 is configured to be provided on the lower part of the side surface 51B or the bottom surface 51A, the supply port 52 may double as the discharge port. In this case, the supply port 52 may be provided with a valve similar to the discharge port 73 shown in FIG. 4.

[0162] The anti-rotation function provided by the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 is sufficient if one of the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 is a convex portion and the other is a concave portion. For example, the positioning portion 98 may be a concave portion and the positioned portion 106 may be a convex portion. Furthermore, the number of convex portions and concave portions may be a number other than four, and may be one, two, three, five or more. In short, it is sufficient if the anti-rotation function is realized.

[0163] The anti-rotation function provided by the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 is not limited to the engagement of a convex portion and a concave portion. For example, the anti-rotation function may be achieved by forming the outer and inner peripheral surfaces of the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 into a polygonal cylindrical shape, such as a triangular cylindrical shape, a square cylindrical shape, or a hexagonal cylindrical shape.

[0164] The anti-rotation function provided by the positioning portion 98 and the positioned portion 106 may not be necessary. The outer peripheral surface of the supply port portion 92, 63 and the inner peripheral surface of the recovery port portion 105, 115 may both be cylindrical and smooth, and one may be positioned by inserting it into the other.

[0165] The inner circumferential surface of the positioned portion 86, 106 may have a tapered guide surface in part that can guide the discharge port portion 73 or the supply port portion 92, 63. The tapered guide surface may have a surface shape that narrows toward the depth, for example.

[0166] In each of the above embodiments, positioning may be performed using the guide portion 82, 102, 112. That is, the side surface of the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60 and the guide portion 82, 102, 112 may serve as the positioning portion and the portion to be positioned. Furthermore, a protrusion portion and a recess portion that can be slidably guided may be formed on the side surface of the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60 and the inner surface of the guide portion 82, 102, 112. In these cases, the positioning portion 73A, 79, 98 and the portion to be positioned 86, 106 may be eliminated. In this way, it is not essential that a positioning portion and a portion to be positioned are provided on both surfaces that face each other when the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60 and the liquid collection container 80, 100, 110 are connected.

[0167] In each embodiment, the liquid collection container 80, 100, 110 may be configured without the guide portion 82, 102, 112. In this case, the liquid collection container 80, 100, 110 may have the fixed portion 87, 108 in the collection storage portion 81, 101, 111. In this case, the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60 may have the second fixing portion 59, 91A at a position where it can be engaged with the fixed portion 87, 108. Also, a recess may be provided in the upper part of the collection storage portion 81, 101, 111 to receive liquid that leaks from the connection between the discharge outlet 73 or supply outlet 63, 92 and the collection outlet 85, 105, 115. In this case, even if the storage recess 82A, 102A, 112A is eliminated, it is possible to prevent the floor or desk from being stained with liquid even if liquid leaks from the connection.

[0168] In the third embodiment, the liquid storage container 60 may have a second fixing portion different from the first fixing portion 61 as a fixing portion. The liquid collection container 110 may have a fixed portion that can be engaged with the second fixing portion. In other words, the liquid storage container 60 may have a second fixing portion that is dedicated to collection. By engaging the second fixing portion with the fixed portion, the liquid storage container 60 is fixed to the liquid collection container 110 in a state where the supply port 63 (discharge port) and the recovery port 115 are connected. This configuration makes it possible to easily position and fix the liquid storage container 60 to the liquid collection container 110. For example, regardless of the position of the fixing portion 61 that is suitable for fixing to the carriage 26, the second fixing portion can be provided at a position suitable for fixing to the liquid collection container 110. In this case, the liquid storage container 60 can be appropriately fixed to the liquid collection container 110 at a position suitable for fixing.

[0169] In the third embodiment, both the first liquid storage container 18 and the second liquid storage container 60 may be set in a liquid collection container to collect liquid. In this case, the liquid collection system 10 may be provided with two types of liquid collection containers: a liquid collection container for the first liquid storage container 18 and a liquid collection container for the second liquid storage container 60. Alternatively, a common liquid collection container may be used that can be set with both the first liquid storage container 18 and the second liquid storage container 60. In this case, the liquid collection container only needs to have at least a positioning function, out of a positioning function and a fixing function, for both the first liquid storage container 18 and the second liquid storage container 60.

[0170] In the first embodiment, the fixing portion 71 used for fixing to the housing 20 may also serve as a fixing portion that is fixed to a fixed portion on the liquid collection container 80 side. Furthermore, the positioning portion 72 used for positioning to the housing 20 may also serve as a positioning portion that is guided by a positioned portion on the liquid collection container 80 side.

[0171] In the first embodiment, the relationship between the snap fit and the locking recess may be reversed between the second fixing portion 59 and the fixed portion 87. That is, the second fixing portion 59 may be a snap fit, and the fixed portion 87 may be a locking recess.

[0172] In the second embodiment, the relationship between the snap fit and the locking recess of the fixing portion 95 and the fixing portion 102B may be reversed. That is, the fixing portion 95 may be a locking recess, and the fixing portion 102B may be a snap fit. In this case, the carriage 26 is provided with a snap fit that can be locked with the fixing portion 95.

[0173] The fixing portion and the fixed portion are not limited to a combination of a snap fit and a locking recess. For example, a fixing mechanism that switches between fixing and releasing with each push may be used. In this case, the user may press a push button or the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60.

[0174] In each of the above-described embodiments, the liquid recovery container 80 may be equipped with a remaining amount sensor that detects the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid storage container 18. When the remaining amount sensor detects that all the liquid in the liquid storage container 18 has been recovered, information that recovery is complete may be notified by lighting or flashing an indicator light, sounding a buzzer, or making a sound. This notification may be made using an indicator light, buzzer, speaker, etc. of the liquid ejection device 11.

[0175] The liquid recovery containers 80, 100, 110 may have a removable sealing member attached to the recovery port portions 85, 105, 115. The sealing member may be a cap member. The sealing member may be attached by fitting or screwing. The sealing member can further prevent leakage of liquid from the liquid recovery containers 80, 100, 110.

[0176] In the first embodiment, when the door 19B is made to be a pivotable type, the pivot axis of the door 19B may be the lower end, right end, left end, or upper end of the door 19B. Furthermore, the door 19B may be detachably fixed to the housing 20 via a snap fit (not shown).

[0177] In the first embodiment, the method for removing the liquid container 18 from the housing 20 can be changed as appropriate. The liquid container 18 may be removed from the side of the housing 20, from an opening in the bottom of the housing 20, or from the back of the housing 20. An openable cover may be provided at the removal opening.

[0178] A guide may be provided to remove the liquid storage container 18 from the housing 20. The guide may be a rail. The liquid storage containers 18 may be removed individually along the rail, or multiple containers may be removed at once. The liquid storage containers 18 may also be removed electrically. The power source for the electric power may be a dedicated motor, or a transport motor or the like may be used.

[0179] The position of the discharge port 73 or supply port 92, 63 in the liquid storage container 18, 90, 60 and the position of the recovery port 85, 105, 115 in the liquid recovery container 80, 100, 110 may be changed as appropriate as long as the liquid can be recovered by head pressure.

[0180] In the first embodiment, the valve capable of opening and closing the flow path of the outlet port 73 may be a manual opening and closing valve that is manually operated to open and close, or may be an electrically operated opening and closing valve that has a manual opening and closing function. In each of the above embodiments, the liquid ejection device 11 may be configured to include only one liquid storage container 18 instead of multiple liquid storage containers 18. The liquid ejection device 11 may also be a printer dedicated to monochrome printing, in which one liquid storage container 18 contains, for example, black ink as liquid.

[0181] The liquid holding members 84, 104, 114 are not limited to nonwoven fabrics or porous materials, and may be made of superabsorbent polymers (SAP). In the liquid ejection device 11, the position where the liquid storage container 18 is arranged is not limited to the front right side of the housing 20. For example, it may be the front left side of the housing 20. The position where the liquid storage container 18 is arranged may also be on the side of the housing 20 or the rear side of the housing 20. Also, in the above embodiment, the position where the liquid storage container 18 is arranged is such that part of the housing 20 protrudes outward (for example, the front side), but it may also be arranged in a position where the housing 20 does not protrude outward. Furthermore, multiple liquid storage containers 18 may be arranged separately on the left and right sides of the front part of the housing 20.

[0182] The liquid ejection device 11 is not limited to an inkjet printer that prints on paper, but may also be a textile printing device. The medium M onto which the liquid ejection device 11 ejects liquid is not limited to paper or fabric, but may also be a synthetic resin film, a laminated medium including a synthetic resin layer and a metal layer, or a metal foil.

[0183] The liquid ejection device 11 may be a liquid ejection device that ejects liquids other than ink. The state of the liquid ejected as minute droplets from the liquid ejection device includes granular, teardrop-like, and string-like tails. The liquid referred to here may be any material that can be ejected from the liquid ejection device. For example, the liquid may be any state in which a substance is in a liquid phase, including fluids such as high or low viscosity liquids, sols, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, and liquid metals (metal melts). The liquid includes not only liquids as a single state of matter, but also particles of functional materials made of solids such as pigments and metal particles dissolved, dispersed, or mixed in a solvent. Representative examples of liquids include inks and liquid crystals, as described in the above embodiments. Here, ink includes various liquid compositions such as general water-based inks and oil-based inks, as well as gel inks and hot-melt inks. Specific examples of liquid ejection devices include devices that eject liquids containing dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode materials and color materials used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, electroluminescent (EL) displays, surface-emitting displays, and color filters. The liquid ejection device may also be a device that ejects bioorganic materials used in biochip manufacturing, a device used as a precision pipette to eject sample liquids, a textile printing device, or a microdispenser. The liquid ejection device may also be a device that ejects lubricating oil with pinpoint accuracy onto precision machinery such as watches and cameras, or a device that ejects transparent resin liquids such as ultraviolet-curing resins onto substrates to form microscopic hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication devices. The liquid ejection device may also be a device that ejects etching liquids such as acids or alkalis to etch substrates. Such liquid ejection devices may employ a liquid recovery system that recovers liquid remaining in a liquid storage container that stores the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection unit into a liquid recovery container.

[0184] The technical concepts and effects that can be understood from the above-described embodiment and modified examples will be described below. (A) A liquid recovery system comprising a liquid storage container and a liquid recovery container, wherein the liquid storage container is used in a liquid ejection device having a liquid ejection section that ejects liquid while being fixed to an attachment target of the liquid ejection device so as to be able to supply liquid to the liquid ejection section, and has a fixing section that can be fixed to the attachment target, a positioning section that can be positioned on the attachment target, and an outlet section that can discharge liquid, and the liquid recovery container has a recovery port section that can be connected to the outlet section of the liquid storage container, and a positioned section that can guide the positioning section of the liquid storage container, and when the liquid storage container is removed from the attachment target, the positioning section is guided by the positioned section to be positioned at a position relative to the liquid recovery container where the outlet section and the recovery port section can be connected, and the outlet section and the recovery port section are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container into the liquid recovery container through the connection between the outlet section and the recovery port section.

[0185] With this configuration, liquid remaining in the liquid storage container can be recovered into the liquid recovery container. At this time, the liquid storage container can be easily positioned relative to the liquid recovery container at a position where the discharge outlet and recovery port can be connected. For example, the user can easily perform the connecting operation of setting the liquid storage container into the liquid recovery container. Furthermore, for example, since the discharge outlet and recovery port are connected in positions suitable for recovery that are different from the inlet, etc., the liquid in the liquid storage container can be properly recovered. For example, when recovering liquid using the inlet, etc., the user needs to tilt the liquid storage container held in their hand to pour the liquid out of the inlet, etc., but this cumbersome task is no longer necessary. Therefore, the liquid remaining in the liquid storage container can be properly and easily recovered.

[0186] (B) In the liquid recovery system described in (A) above, the fixing portion is fixed to the mounting object by engagement, the liquid recovery container further has a fixed portion that can be engaged with the fixing portion, the positioning portion is guided to the positioned portion, and the liquid storage container is positioned at a position where the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion can be connected to the liquid recovery container, and the connection state between the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion can be maintained by engagement between the fixing portion and the fixed portion at the positioned position.

[0187] With this configuration, the liquid storage container can be positioned relative to the liquid recovery container so that the discharge port and the recovery port can be connected, and the connected state between the liquid storage container and the liquid recovery container after positioning can be fixedly maintained. In other words, the liquid storage container can be easily positioned relative to the liquid recovery container, and the connected state between the liquid storage container and the liquid recovery container after positioning can be fixedly maintained. Therefore, it is possible to easily position the liquid storage container relative to the liquid recovery container, and to stably recover liquid from the liquid storage container to the liquid recovery container after connection.

[0188] (C) In the liquid recovery system described in (A) above, the liquid storage container may have a first positioning part as the positioning part that is positioned to the attachment target, and a second positioning part different from the first positioning part, and the second positioning part may be guided by the positioned part to position the liquid collection container at a position where the discharge port part and the recovery port part can be connected to the liquid collection container. With this configuration, positioning can be performed using the second positioning part that is dedicated to recovery, making it easier to position the liquid storage container with respect to the liquid collection container. In other words, positioning is easier than positioning using the first positioning part.

[0189] (D) In ​​the liquid recovery system described in (A) above, the liquid storage container has a second fixing part different from the first fixing part as the fixing part, the liquid recovery container has a fixed part that can be fixed to the second fixing part, the fixed part is configured to be able to engage with the second fixing part, the liquid storage container is positioned at a position where the discharge outlet part and the recovery port part can be connected to the liquid recovery container by guiding the positioning part to the positioned part, the discharge outlet part and the recovery port part are connected at the positioned position, and the liquid storage container may be fixed so that the connection state between the discharge outlet part and the recovery port part can be maintained by engaging the second fixing part with the fixed part.

[0190] According to this configuration, regardless of the position or fixing structure of the first fixing part, the liquid storage container can be fixed to the liquid collection container in a state in which the discharge port and the recovery port are connected, by an easy-to-fix locking mechanism. A first fixing part suitable for fixing to a housing is not necessarily suitable for fixing to the liquid collection container. For example, even if the fixing structure using the first fixing part to the attachment object is fastened using screws or the like, the liquid storage container can be fixed to the liquid collection container simply by locking. Furthermore, even if the fixing structure is the same, when using the first fixing part, it is necessary to manufacture the liquid collection container so that the fixed part can be positioned to match the first fixing part. Moreover, this position is not necessarily suitable for fixing to the liquid collection container. However, by using a second fixing part separate from the first fixing part, the liquid storage container can be fixed to the liquid collection container at an appropriate position or with an appropriate fixing structure (locking structure). Therefore, appropriate and easy fixing of the liquid storage container to the liquid collection container can be achieved.

[0191] (E) In the liquid recovery system described in (D) above, the liquid ejection device includes a housing that houses the liquid ejection unit and the liquid storage container, and the liquid storage container has the fixing unit that can be fixed to the housing as the attachment target, a supply port unit that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection unit, and the discharge port unit, and the liquid storage container is positioned at a position where the discharge port unit and the recovery port unit can be connected to the liquid recovery container by the positioning unit being guided by the positioned unit, and the discharge port unit and the recovery port unit are connected at the positioned position, and the second fixing unit is engaged with the fixed unit to fix the liquid recovery container so that the connection state between the discharge port unit and the recovery port unit can be maintained.

[0192] According to this configuration, regardless of the position or fixing structure of the first fixing portion that fixes the liquid storage container to the housing, the liquid storage container can be easily fixed by locking so that the connected state can be maintained at a positioned relative to the liquid collection container. For example, even if the fixation to the housing using the first fixing portion is fastened with a screw or the like, the liquid storage container can be easily fixed to the liquid collection container by locking. Therefore, it is possible to achieve appropriate and easy fixation of the liquid storage container to the liquid collection container.

[0193] (F) In the liquid recovery system described in (A) above, the liquid ejection device may include a carriage that moves the liquid ejection unit, and a housing that accommodates the liquid storage container, the liquid ejection unit, and the carriage, wherein the liquid storage container has the fixing part that can be detachably engaged with the carriage as the attachment target, and a supply port that can supply liquid to the liquid ejection unit, the liquid recovery container has a fixed part that can be fixed to the fixing part, the liquid storage container is positioned at a position on the liquid recovery container where the supply port and the recovery port can be connected by guiding the positioning part to the positioned part, the supply port is connected to the recovery port at the positioned position, and the fixed part is fixed to the liquid recovery container so that the connected state of the supply port and the recovery port can be maintained by engaging the fixing part with the fixed part. With this configuration, the liquid storage container that has been released from engagement with the carriage and removed can be positioned relative to the liquid recovery container, and then locked in a state where the discharge port and the recovery port are connected. Therefore, the liquid storage container can be easily positioned and fixed to the liquid recovery container.

[0194] (G) In the liquid recovery system described in (A) above, the liquid ejection device comprises a carriage that moves the liquid ejection unit, and a housing that houses the liquid storage container, the liquid ejection unit, and the carriage, the liquid storage container including a first liquid storage container fixed to the housing as the attachment target, and a second liquid storage container fixed to the carriage as the attachment target, the second liquid storage container being connected to a supply flow path through which liquid supplied from the first liquid storage container moves, and having the fixing part that can be engaged with the carriage, and a supply port that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection unit. a portion, wherein the supply port portion also serves as the discharge port portion, the liquid recovery container has a fixed portion that can be fixed to the fixing portion of the second liquid storage container, the second liquid storage container removed from the carriage is positioned at a position where the supply port portion and the recovery port portion can be connected to the liquid recovery container by guiding the positioning portion to the positioned portion, the supply port portion is connected to the recovery port portion at the positioned position, and the second liquid storage container is fixed so that the connection state between the supply port portion and the recovery port portion can be maintained by engagement between the fixing portion and the fixed portion.

[0195] With this configuration, when connecting the second liquid storage container removed from the carriage to the liquid collection container, it is possible to position the discharge port and the collection port at a position where they can be connected, and to maintain that connection. Moreover, because the connection is maintained by locking, it is easier to fix than when using screws or the like.

[0196] (H) In the liquid recovery system described in (G) above, the second liquid storage container may be fixed to the liquid recovery container while being connected to the first liquid storage container through the supply flow path, and the liquid in the first liquid storage container may be recovered into the liquid recovery container through the second liquid storage container and the supply flow path. With this configuration, the liquid in the first liquid storage container can be recovered into the liquid recovery container through the second liquid storage container and the supply flow path without releasing the first liquid storage container from its fixed position.

[0197] (I) The liquid recovery container is the liquid recovery container in the liquid recovery system described in any one of (A) to (H) above, and includes a recovery port connectable to the discharge port of the liquid storage container and a positioned portion capable of guiding the positioning portion of the liquid storage container, and the positioned portion guides the positioning portion to position the liquid storage container at a position relative to the liquid recovery container where the discharge port and the recovery port are connectable, and the discharge port and the recovery port are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container through the connection between the discharge port and the recovery port. With this configuration, the liquid storage container can be positioned at a position relative to the liquid recovery container where the discharge port and the recovery port are connectable. Therefore, liquid remaining in the liquid storage container can be appropriately and easily recovered. [Explanation of symbols]

[0198] 10...liquid recovery system, 11...liquid ejection device, 12...device main body, 13...image reading device, 13A...rotation mechanism, 15...operation unit, 16...display unit, 17...operation panel, 18...first liquid storage container (liquid storage container), 18A...liquid storage container, 18B...liquid storage container, 19...storage unit, 19A...storage unit main body, 19B...door body, 19C...side plate, 19D...side plate, 20...casing, 20A...bottom, 21...viewing window, 22...viewing surface, 23...liquid ejection unit, 24...supply flow path, 25...ejection head, 25A...nozzle forming surface, 25B...connecting port portion, 25N...nozzle, 26...carriage, 26A...fixed portion , 26B...accommodation recess, 26C...fixed portion, 26D...supply port portion, 26E...flow path, 27...scanning mechanism, 28...guide shaft, 29...carriage motor, 30...pulley, 31...timing belt, 32...cover, 33...cap lever, 34...liquid bottle, 34A...supply portion, 35...maintenance device, 36...liquid supply device, 37...cap, 38...discharge tube, 39...suction pump, 40...waste liquid storage portion, 41...flow path, 42...fastening portion, 43...position control portion, 44...screw, 46...rail, 50...container body, 51...liquid storage portion, 51A...bottom, 51B...side, 51C...partition portion, 51D...flow path forming wall, 52...supply port portion, 53...inlet portion, 54...atmosphere communicating portion, 55...liquid storage chamber, 56...protruding portion, 57...liquid flow path, 58...air flow path, 59...second fixing portion, 60...second liquid storage container (liquid storage container), 61...first fixing portion (fixing portion), 61A...locking protrusion, 62...liquid storage portion, 63...supply port portion, 64...supply port portion, 71...first fixing portion (fixing portion), 72...first positioning portion (positioning portion), 73...discharge port portion, 73A...second positioning portion (positioning portion), 73B...film, 74...sealing member, 76...fixed portion, 77...positioned portion, 78...valve body, 79... Second positioning portion (positioning portion), 80...liquid collection container, 81...collection storage portion, 81A...bottom portion, 82...guide portion, 82A...storage recess, 82B...viewing window, 83...collection chamber, 84...liquid holding member, 85...recovery port portion, 86...positioned portion, 87...fixed portion, 87A...locking protrusion, 87B...operating lever portion, 88...atmosphere communicating portion, 90...liquid storage container, 91...liquid storage portion, 91A...second fixing portion, 91B...visual surface, 92...supply port portion, 92A...communication hole, 93...inlet portion, 94...atmosphere communicating portion, 95...first fixing portion (fixing portion), 95A...locking protrusion, 95B...operating lever portion, 96...liquid storage chamber,97...cap lever, 97A...cap portion, 97B...lever portion, 97C...shaft portion, 98...positioning portion, 99...valve body, 100...liquid recovery container, 101...recovery storage portion, 101A...bottom portion, 102...guide portion, 102A...storage recess, 102B...fixed portion, 102C...viewing window, 103...recovery chamber, 104...liquid holding member, 105...recovery port portion, 105A...flow path, 105B...communicating hole, 106...positioned portion, 106A...recess, 107...atmosphere Communication portion, 108...fixed portion, 108A...locking protrusion, 108B...operating lever portion, 110...liquid recovery container, 111...recovery storage portion, 111A...bottom portion, 112...guide portion, 112A...storage recess, 112B...fixed portion, 113...recovery chamber, 114...liquid holding member, 115...recovery port portion, 116...connecting portion, 117...atmosphere communication portion, 200...control portion, M...medium, IL...liquid, LP...liquid surface, X...width direction (scanning direction), Y...transport direction, Z...vertical direction.

Claims

1. A liquid recovery system comprising a liquid storage container and a liquid recovery container, The liquid storage container is In a liquid ejection device having a liquid ejection section that ejects liquid, the liquid ejection device is used in a state where it is fixed to an attachment object of the liquid ejection device so that liquid can be supplied to the liquid ejection section, a fixing portion that can be fixed to the attachment object; a positioning portion that can be positioned on the attachment object; a discharge port portion capable of discharging the liquid, The liquid collection container is a recovery port portion connectable to the discharge port portion of the liquid storage container; a positioned portion that can guide the positioning portion of the liquid storage container, the liquid storage container that has been removed by releasing the fixation by the fixing portion from the attachment target is positioned at a position where the discharge outlet portion and the recovery outlet portion can be connected to the liquid recovery container by the positioning portion being guided by the positioned portion; A liquid recovery system characterized in that the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container into the liquid recovery container through the connection between the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion.

2. 2. The liquid recovery system according to claim 1, The fixing portion is fixed to the attachment object by engagement, The liquid collection container is The fixing portion further includes a fixed portion that can be locked with the fixing portion, The liquid storage container is the positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion, thereby positioning the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion in a position where they can be connected to the liquid recovery container; The discharge port portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, a liquid recovery system in which the liquid recovery container is fixed so as to maintain a connected state between the discharge port and the recovery port by engagement between the fixing portion and the fixed portion;

3. 2. The liquid recovery system according to claim 1, The liquid storage container is a first positioning portion as the positioning portion that is positioned on the attachment object; a second positioning portion different from the first positioning portion, A liquid recovery system, characterized in that the second positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion, thereby being positioned at a position where the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion can be connected to the liquid recovery container.

4. 2. The liquid recovery system according to claim 1, the liquid container has a second fixing portion different from the first fixing portion as the fixing portion, the liquid collection container has a fixed portion that can be fixed to the second fixing portion, the fixed portion is configured to be able to be locked with the second fixing portion, The liquid storage container is the positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion, thereby positioning the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion in a position where they can be connected to the liquid recovery container; The discharge port portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, a second fixing portion and a fixing target portion, the second fixing portion and the second fixing portion being fixed to the liquid recovery container so as to maintain a connected state between the discharge port portion and the recovery port portion;

5. 5. The liquid recovery system according to claim 4, the liquid ejection device includes a housing that houses the liquid ejection unit and the liquid storage container; the liquid container has the fixing portion that can be fixed to the housing as the attachment target, a supply port portion that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection portion, and the discharge port portion; The liquid storage container is A liquid recovery system characterized in that the positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion to be positioned at a position where the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion can be connected to the liquid recovery container, the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, and the second fixing portion is engaged with the fixed portion to be fixed so that the connection state between the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion can be maintained relative to the liquid recovery container.

6. 2. The liquid recovery system according to claim 1, the liquid ejection device includes a carriage that moves the liquid ejection unit, and a housing that houses the liquid container, the liquid ejection unit, and the carriage; the liquid container has the fixing portion that can be detachably engaged with the carriage as the attachment object, and a supply port portion that can supply liquid to the liquid discharge portion, the liquid collection container has a fixed portion that can be fixed to the fixing portion, The liquid storage container is the positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion, thereby positioning the supply port portion and the recovery port portion in a position where they can be connected to the liquid recovery container; The supply port is connected to the recovery port at the positioned position, a liquid recovery system in which the supply port and the recovery port are fixed to the liquid recovery container so as to be able to maintain a connected state between them by engaging the fixing portion and the fixed portion;

7. 2. The liquid recovery system according to claim 1, the liquid ejection device includes a carriage that moves the liquid ejection unit, and a housing that houses the liquid container, the liquid ejection unit, and the carriage; The liquid storage container is a first liquid container fixed to the housing as the attachment target; a second liquid container fixed to the carriage as the attachment target; Including, the second liquid storage container is connected to a supply flow path through which liquid supplied from the first liquid storage container flows, and has the fixed portion capable of being engaged with the carriage, and a supply port portion that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection portion, The supply port portion also serves as the discharge port portion, the liquid collection container has a fixed portion that can be fixed to the fixing portion of the second liquid storage container, The second liquid container removed from the carriage is the positioning portion is guided by the positioned portion, thereby positioning the supply port portion and the recovery port portion in a position where they can be connected to the liquid recovery container; The supply port is connected to the recovery port at the positioned position, a liquid recovery system in which the supply port and the recovery port are fixed to the liquid recovery container so as to be able to maintain a connected state by engaging the fixing portion and the fixed portion;

8. 8. The liquid recovery system according to claim 7, the second liquid storage container is fixed to the liquid collection container in a state in which the second liquid storage container is connected to the first liquid storage container through the supply flow path; A liquid recovery system, wherein liquid in the first liquid storage container is recovered into the liquid recovery container through the second liquid storage container and the supply flow path.

9. The liquid recovery container in the liquid recovery system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a recovery port portion connectable to the discharge port portion of the liquid storage container; a positioned portion that can guide the positioning portion of the liquid storage container, the positioned portion guides the positioning portion to position the liquid storage container at a position relative to the liquid collection container where the discharge port portion and the collection port portion can be connected; A liquid recovery container characterized in that the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion are connected at the positioned position, thereby recovering the liquid in the liquid storage container through the connection between the discharge outlet portion and the recovery port portion.

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