LIQUID CONTAINER AND LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS

Abstract

To provide a technique that can suppress the possibility that liquid on a plug member is adhered to a human hand without scattering liquid from a liquid storage container.SOLUTION: A liquid storage container described in the disclosure comprises: a container main body which comprises a liquid storage chamber and a supply port through which liquid is supplied to the storage chamber; a plug member configured to be attachable to and detachable from the container main body for sealing the supply port, and comprise a main body part positioned closer to outside than the storage chamber and the supply port with the plug member mounted on the container main body and a plug part that is inserted into the supply port. The plug part has a press-fit portion that is press-fitted to the supply port and a tip portion exposed to the storage chamber. An axis line of the plug part is orthogonal to an opening surface of the supply port. A tip surface of the tip portion inclines with respect to a surface orthogonal to the axis line, and a portion positioned at a lower side in a vertical direction of the tip surface inclines to protrude in a direction of the axis line of the plug member compared with a portion positioned at an upper side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid storage container capable of storing liquid and a liquid ejection device including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, liquid ejection devices generally include a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid, and a liquid storage container that stores the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection head. The liquid in the liquid storage container is supplied to the liquid ejection head via a tube or a liquid flow path.

[0003] Unlike the above-mentioned liquid ejection device that supplies liquid from a liquid storage container to a liquid ejection head via a tube or a liquid flow path, Patent Document 1 discloses a liquid ejection device that injects liquid into a liquid ejection head from an injection port provided in a large-capacity liquid storage container. The liquid storage container disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an injection port for injecting liquid and a plug member for preventing leakage of liquid from the injection port. The plug member is detachable from the injection port, and when injecting liquid, the plug member is removed from the injection port, and otherwise, the plug member is attached to the injection port to prevent the liquid from leaking to the outside. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-20497 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When liquid is poured into a liquid storage container, the liquid may adhere to the periphery of the injection port of the liquid storage container. If a plug member is attached to the injection port with liquid adhering to the periphery of the injection port, the plug member may be contaminated by the liquid adhering to the periphery of the injection port. In addition, when the liquid ejection device is moved with liquid stored in the liquid storage container, the liquid inside the liquid storage container may adhere to the plug member due to the liquid's shaking.

[0006] The plug member is press-fitted into the inlet of the liquid container, and when the plug member is removed, a force is applied to the plug member against the frictional force acting on the press-fitted portion of the plug member. Therefore, the liquid adhering to the plug member may be scattered to the outside due to the impact when the plug member is removed from the inlet. In addition, the liquid adhering to the plug member may adhere to the user's hands after opening the plug.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a liquid storage container equipped with a stopper member that can reduce the risk of liquid splashing or staining hands when opening the stopper member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The liquid storage container according to the technology disclosed herein is A container body including a storage chamber for storing a liquid and a supply port for supplying the liquid to the storage chamber; a plug member configured to be detachably attached to the container body and sealing the supply port, the plug member including: a main body portion located outside the storage chamber and the supply port in the container body when the plug member is attached to the container body; and a plug portion located inside the storage chamber and the supply port; Equipped for supplying liquid to a liquid ejection head In the liquid storage container, the plug portion has a press-fit portion that is press-fitted into the supply port in the attached state, and a tip portion that is exposed in the storage chamber on a tip side of the press-fit portion, In the attached state, the axis of the plug portion is perpendicular to the opening surface of the supply port, The liquid storage container includes a tip surface of the tip portion, which, in the attached state, is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the plug portion, and which is inclined so that the side of the inclined surface located vertically downward protrudes more in the direction of the axis than the side located upward.

[0009] In addition, the liquid ejection device according to the technology disclosed herein is A liquid ejection head that ejects liquid; The liquid storage container, The liquid ejection device includes a liquid ejection device comprising: Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the technology disclosed herein, it is possible to provide a liquid storage container and a liquid ejection device equipped with the same that can reduce the possibility of liquid splashing from the liquid storage container and the possibility of liquid in the stopper member coming into contact with human hands. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mechanism of the liquid ejection device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a liquid ejection device in which liquid is replenished in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a liquid storage container of the liquid ejection device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug member of a comparative example. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the plug member according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a plug member according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug member according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug member according to a third embodiment. [Figure 10]10 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug member according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug member according to a modified example. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another plug member according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Below, a preferred embodiment of the technology disclosed herein will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described below should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration and various conditions of the device to which the invention is applied. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the following description. Well-known or publicly known technologies in the technical field can be applied to configurations and processes that are not particularly shown or described. Also, duplicated descriptions may be omitted.

[0013] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a mechanism of a liquid ejection device 200 to which this embodiment can be applied, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection device 200 taken along line AA in Fig. 1. For ease of explanation, Fig. 2 shows the sizes of the various components changed or omitted.

[0014] The liquid ejection device 200 includes a feed section 1, a transport section 2, an ejection section 3, a supply section 4, and a display section 5. The feed section 1 separates the printing media one by one from a stack of sheet-like printing media using a feed roller 10 and supplies the printing media to the transport section 2. The transport section 2 is provided downstream of the feed section 1 in the transport direction. A platen 13 that holds the print medium is provided between the transport rollers 11 and the paper discharge rollers 12. The transport section 2 transports the print medium fed from the feed rollers 10 using the transport rollers 11, the paper discharge rollers 12, etc.

[0015] The ejection unit 3 ejects liquid onto the print medium by a liquid ejection head 15 mounted on a carriage 14. The print medium transported by the transport unit 2 is supported vertically from below by a platen 13. An image based on image information is formed by ejecting liquid from the liquid ejection head 15 located vertically above. The liquid storage container 16 is capable of storing liquid within the container, and the supply unit 4 is configured to be able to supply liquid from a storage chamber (reservoir) 100 of the container body 111 to the liquid ejection head 15 via a flow path 101 and a flexible supply tube 17.

[0016] In this embodiment, the liquid is ink, and more specifically, four supply tubes 17 through which ink of each color (black, magenta, cyan, and yellow) flows extend from a liquid storage container 16 and are connected to the liquid ejection head 15 in a bundled state.

[0017] When the liquid supplied to the liquid ejection head 15 is ejected from the ejection port of the liquid ejection head 15, the same amount of liquid as the ejected liquid is supplied from the liquid storage container 16 to the liquid ejection head 15. Then, in the liquid storage container 16, an amount of air equal to the amount of liquid supplied to the liquid ejection head 15 flows in from the atmosphere communication port 102 provided vertically above the container body 111. The display unit 5 is used to notify the user of the state of the device during operation and to display when the user selects an operation.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a liquid ejection device 200 in which liquid is refilled from a liquid refill container 201. As shown in the figure, in the liquid ejection device 200 of this embodiment, when supplying liquid, a user opens the container cover 7, and liquid is supplied from the liquid refill container 201 to the inside of the storage chamber 100 through a supply port 106 provided in the liquid storage container 16. A plug member 105 that is detachably configured to the container body 111 and seals the supply port 106 is attached to the supply port 106, and when refilling liquid using the liquid refill container 201, a user removes the plug member 105 of the supply port 106. Note that the liquid storage container 16 is not limited to a configuration in which it is incorporated inside the device body of the liquid ejection device 200 as in this embodiment. As long as liquid can be supplied from the storage container 16 to the liquid ejection head 15, the liquid storage container 16 may be configured to be provided outside the liquid ejection device 200 body.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a liquid storage container 16 of a liquid ejection device 200. The liquid storage container 16 in this embodiment is composed of a container body 111 having a storage chamber 100 and a supply port 106, and a plug member 105. The container body 111 is molded from a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The container body 111 has a front wall 1010, a right wall 1020, a left wall 1030, an upper wall 1040, and a lower wall 1050. The front wall 1010 is composed of a standing wall 1010A extending generally in the vertical direction from the lower wall 1050, and an inclined wall 1010B (an example of an outer wall) connected to the upper end of the standing wall 1010A and inclined with respect to the vertical direction and the front-rear direction. The inclined wall 1010B is inclined backward with respect to the standing wall 1010A, and a liquid supply port 106 is formed in the inclined wall 1010B.

[0020] On the other hand, the rear surface of the container body 111 is open. Then, the film 1060 is welded to the rear ends of the right wall 1020, the left wall 1030, the color partition walls 1021, 1022, 1023, the upper wall 1040, and the lower wall 1050, thereby sealing the container body 111 and forming a rear wall, which is the rear surface. In other words, the film 1060 forms the rear wall of the container body 111. With the above-mentioned configuration, the storage chamber 100 for storing liquid is formed.

[0021] Further, the upper surface of the plug member 105 and the inclined wall 1010B are marked with markings 1070A and 1070B, respectively. The markings 1070A and 1070B serve as indicators for aligning the orientation of the plug member 105 when the user plugs the supply port provided on the inclined wall 1010B with the plug member 105. Any marking can be used instead of or in addition to the markings 1070A and 1070B as long as it can be used when the user aligns the orientation of the plug member 105. For example, the color of a part of the plug member 105 may be changed, a sticker may be attached, or a pair of recesses and protrusions that fit together may be provided on a part of the plug member 105 and a part of the supply port 106.

[0022] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a cross section of plug member 905 of a comparative example, and Fig. 6A is a diagram showing a cross section of plug member 105 of this embodiment. Fig. 6A is a cross section of plug member 105 taken along line V-V' in Fig. 4, and Fig. 5 shows a cross section of plug member 905 corresponding to the cross section of Fig. 6A. Below, Figs. 6B, 6C, and 8A to 12 also show cross sections of plug members corresponding to the cross section of Fig. 6A.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, the plug member 905 includes a main body 905C that is located outside the storage chamber 100 and the supply port 106 when attached to the supply port 106, and a plug portion 905D that is inserted into the supply port 106 to close the supply port 106. The plug member 905 is attached by being elastically deformed so as to sandwich the supply port 106 from above and below. The main body 905C of the plug member 905 includes a cover portion 905B that covers the opening surface of the supply port 106, and a protruding portion 905A that protrudes from the cover portion. The protruding portion 905A is also a grip portion that a user grips when removing the plug member 905 from the supply port 106. The user pulls the protruding portion 905A in the direction of the arrow 909 to open the plug member 905 so as to pull it out of the supply port 106. In the following description, the protruding portion is also referred to as a "grip portion."

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5, the knob portion 905A is formed so as to protrude from the upper surface 904 of the cover portion 905B along the opening surface of the supply port 106 when the plug member 905 is attached to the supply port 106.

[0025] In the plug member 905 of the comparative example, when the back surface 907 is a surface that is approximately horizontal to the opening surface of the supply port 106, if the ink 108 adheres to the back surface 907, the ink 108 is likely to drip when the user pulls out the plug member 905 from the supply port 106. Therefore, there is a concern that the dripping ink 108 may adhere to the user's fingers or the like.

[0026] Therefore, in the cross section shown in Fig. 6A, the plug member 105 in this embodiment has a configuration in which the back surface 107 is inclined from one inner peripheral surface of the supply port 106 toward the other inner peripheral surface. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the plug member 105 in a state in which the supply port 106 is plugged by the plug member 105 as shown in Fig. 6A. As shown in Figs. 6A and 7, the knob portion 105A protrudes from the upper surface 104. Note that the knob portion 105A "protrudes" refers to a state in which the knob portion 105A protrudes from the upper surface 104 to an extent that the user can pinch the knob portion 105A or apply force to the knob portion 105A.

[0027] Axis 105CP of plug member 105 is a straight line passing through the center of plug portion 105D described below when viewed from the opening surface of supply port 106. As shown in Fig. 6A, supply port 106 is formed by outer opening 106D opening to the outside of container body 111, inner opening 106E opening to storage chamber 100, and inner circumferential surface 106C connecting outer opening 106D and inner opening 106E. Note that the opening surface that becomes outer opening 106D and the opening surface that becomes inner opening 106E of supply port 106 correspond to the opening surface of the supply port that is perpendicular to axis 105CP.

[0028] 6A and 7, the plug member 105 will be further described. When the plug member 105 is attached to the container body 111 so as to seal the supply port 106, the plug member 105 has a knob portion located outside the storage chamber 100 and the supply port 106 of the container body 111. The plug member 105 includes a main body 105A including a plug portion 105A and a cover portion 105B. The cover portion 105B abuts against an edge of an outer opening 106D of the supply port 106. The plug member 105 also includes a plug portion 105D inserted into the supply port 106. As shown in FIG. 7, the plug portion 105D is a member having a substantially cylindrical shape. The plug portion 105D has a press-fit portion 105E press-fitted into the supply port 106, and a tip portion 105F exposed to the storage chamber 100 on the tip side of the press-fit portion 105E.

[0029] In a state where plug member 105 is attached to container body 111, press-fit portion 105E refers to a portion of the outer circumferential surface of plug portion 105D that corresponds to a first region that is press-fitted into inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106. In addition, in a state where plug member 105 is attached to container body 111, tip portion 105F refers to a portion of the outer circumferential surface of plug portion 105D that corresponds to a second region that is exposed to storage chamber 100 on the tip side of the first region.

[0030] In the cross section of Fig. 6A, the lowest point 107A in the direction of gravity of the inclination of back surface 107 as the tip surface of plug member 105 is located on the same side as the lowest point 106A in the direction of gravity of inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 when viewed from axis 105CP. In addition, the highest point 107B in the direction of gravity of the inclination of back surface 107 is located on the same side as point 106B corresponding to lowest point 106A in the direction of gravity of inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 when viewed from axis 105CP. In the following description, the lowest point in the direction of gravity of the inclination of back surface 107 when plug member 105 is viewed in the cross section shown in Fig. 6A is also referred to as the "lowest point of back surface" and the highest point in the direction of gravity of the inclination of back surface 107 is also referred to as the "highest point of back surface".

[0031] Back surface 107 of plug member 105 is a surface inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to axis 105CP of plug portion 105D. Back surface 107 is inclined so that the side located vertically downward when plug member 105 is attached to container body 111 (lowest point of the back surface) protrudes in the direction of axis 105CP more than the side located upward (highest point of the back surface).

[0032] The cross section shown in FIG. 6A is a cross section along the vertical direction including the axis 105CP of the plug portion 105D in the attached state. In this cross section, a first virtual line 107D is set that connects the tangent point of the back surface 107A, which is the lowest end point of the back surface 107, which is the tip surface, and the lowest point 106A in the direction of gravity, which is the lowest end point of the inner opening 106E at the tip portion 105F. In addition, a vertical virtual line 107C is set that extends upward in the vertical direction from the lowest point 107A of the back surface. Then, the angle between the first virtual line 107D and the vertical virtual line 107C is set as A. In addition, a second virtual line 107E is set that connects the lowest point 107A of the back surface 107 and the highest point 107B in the direction of gravity, which is the highest end point of the back surface 107. Then, the angle between the second virtual line 107E and the vertical virtual line 107C is set as B. At this time, the inclined shape of rear surface 107 is provided so that (angle A) ≧ (angle B). In addition, rear surface lowest point 107A is provided so as to be located lower in the direction of gravity than lowest point 106A of inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 in the direction of gravity.

[0033] In addition, when plug member 105 is attached to container body 111, the lower side of back surface 107 (the side of back surface lowest point 107A) is located closer to storage chamber 100 than inner opening 106E of supply port 106. In addition, the upper side of back surface 107 (the side of back surface highest point 107B) is located closer to inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 than inner opening 106E of supply port 106.

[0034] Because the back surface 107 has such an inclined shape, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inner opening 106E is located lower than the outer opening 106D, so that the ink 108 adhering to the back surface 107 tends to collect at the lowest point 107A of the back surface, which is on the gravity direction side of the inclined surface.

[0035] 6B and 6C are diagrams sequentially showing the process of opening plug member 105 from the state of FIG. 6A. When the user pulls knob portion 105A in the direction of arrow 109 from the state of FIG. 6A, plug member 105 begins to be pulled out. At this time, plug member 105 supplies the side of plug portion 105D. The ink 108 moves in the direction of arrow 109 while rubbing against inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106. Furthermore, due to the surface tension between inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 and ink 108 collected at lowest point 107A on the back surface, ink 108 gradually adheres to inner circumferential surface 106C of supply port 106 while plug member 105 is pulled out (FIG. 6B).

[0036] Then, when plug member 105 is completely pulled out from supply port 106, the amount of ink 108 adhering to back surface 107 is reduced (FIG. 6C) compared to the closed state (FIG. 6A). As a result, plug member 105 can reduce ink scattering and ink dripping when a user removes plug member 105 from supply port 106.

[0037] The inclination of back surface 107 may be parallel to the opening surface of supply port 106. However, as shown in Fig. 6A, it is preferable that back surface 107 is inclined from the opening surface of supply port 106. By providing back surface 107 with such an inclination, when ink 108 adheres to back surface 107, ink 108 falls in the direction of gravity and is likely to gather at back surface lowest point 107A.

[0038] In addition, it is preferable that the inclination of the back surface 107 is formed so that (angle A) ≧ (angle B). As a result, the force of gravity against the surface tension acts more easily on the ink 108 attached to the surface (back surface 107) from the back surface highest point 107B to the back surface lowest point 107A (angle B side) than on the ink 108 attached to the surface on the angle A side (side surface of the plug member 105). Therefore, the ink 108 tends to be relatively biased toward the surface on the angle A side with the straight line 107C passing through the back surface lowest point 107A in the vertical direction as the boundary line. As a result, when the plug member 105 is pulled out, the ink 108 attached to the back surface 107 can be transferred to the supply port 106 more efficiently, and the amount of ink attached to the back surface 107 can be reduced.

[0039] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description will be omitted. In this embodiment, in the cross section shown in FIG. 8A, a concave liquid wiping portion 110 is formed in at least a region located vertically downward on the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 on the back surface lowest point 107A side of the back surface 107 of the plug member 205 according to this embodiment. The liquid wiping portion 110 is formed on the same side as the back surface lowest point 107A when viewed from the axis 105CP of the plug member 205. In FIG. 8A, the liquid wiping portion 110 is formed at two locations on the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106, but the position at which the liquid wiping portion 110 is formed may be one or more. As described below, when the plug member 205 is attached to or detached from the container body 111, the liquid wiping portion 110 slides against the area of ​​the tip portion 105E of the plug portion 105D in the attached state that is located on the side of the storage chamber 100 rather than the supply port 106 to wipe off the liquid.

[0040] The liquid wiping part 110 can be formed by cutting the inner peripheral surface of the supply port 106 after molding the container body 111. Alternatively, for example, the container body 111 can be molded as two divided parts when viewed from above the supply port 106 in the vertical direction, and the liquid wiping part 110 can be formed by joining the respective parts by secondary molding.

[0041] In addition, as long as the liquid adhering to the tip 105E of the plug 105D can be wiped off, the range in which the liquid wiping part 110 is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 can be appropriately determined. Therefore, the liquid wiping part 110 may be formed on the entire periphery of the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106.

[0042] 8B and 8C are diagrams sequentially showing the process of pulling out the plug member 205 from the supply port 106 from the state of FIG. 8A, similarly to FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C. When the knob portion 105A is pulled in the direction of the arrow 109, the plug member 205 starts to be pulled out. At this time, the plug member 205 moves in the direction of the arrow 109 while rubbing the side surface of the plug portion 105D against the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 and the liquid wiping unit 110 formed on the inner circumferential surface. Since the plug member 205 is elastically deformed and attached to the supply port 106, the part of the side surface of the plug member 205 located at the liquid wiping unit 110 deforms toward the liquid wiping unit 110 in the process of pulling out the plug member 205. Therefore, the ink 108 adhering to the plug member 205 is wiped off by the liquid wiping unit 110. As a result, the amount of ink 108 adhering to the back surface 107 of the plug member 205 is reduced more than in the first embodiment (FIG. 8C).

[0043] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first and second embodiments, and detailed description will be omitted. In this embodiment, in the cross section shown in FIG. 9A, a convex liquid wiping portion 210 is formed instead of the liquid wiping portion 110 in the second embodiment. The liquid wiping portion 210 is formed on the same side as the lowest point 107A of the back surface as viewed from the axis 105CP of the plug member 205. In FIG. 9A, the liquid wiping portion 210 is formed at two locations on the plug member 305, but the position at which the liquid wiping portion 210 is formed may be one or more.

[0044] 9B and 9C are diagrams sequentially showing the process of pulling out the plug member 305 from the supply port 106 from the state of FIG. 9A, similar to FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C. When the user pulls the knob portion 105A in the direction of the arrow 109 in the state of FIG. 9A, the plug member 305 starts to be pulled out. At this time, the plug member 305 moves in the direction of the arrow 109 while rubbing the side surface of the plug portion 105D against the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 and the liquid wiping portion 210 formed on the inner circumferential surface. Since the plug member 305 is elastically deformed and attached to the supply port 106, the portion of the side surface of the plug member 305 located at the liquid wiping portion 210 deforms toward the liquid wiping portion 210 in the process of pulling out the plug member 305. Therefore, the ink 108 attached to the plug member 305 is wiped off by the liquid wiping portion 210. As a result, the amount of ink 108 adhering to the rear surface 107 of the plug member 305 is reduced compared to the first embodiment (FIG. 9C).

[0045] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, in the cross section shown in FIG. 10A, the plug member 405 has a knob portion 405A. The knob portion 405A is formed so as to protrude from the cover portion 405B of the plug member 405 in a direction parallel to the upper surface 404. In addition, in the cross section of FIG. 10A, on the opposite side of the knob portion 405A with respect to the cover portion center line 405CP of the plug member 405, a support portion 405E capable of connecting the cover portion 405B to a member other than the plug member 105 is formed. By connecting the support portion 405E to a member other than the plug member 105, it is possible to prevent the plug member 105 from falling off from the container body 111 and the liquid discharge device 200. For example, a wire connecting the support portion 405E to the container body 111 can be cited as a member connected to the support portion 405E. As long as it is possible to prevent the plug member 105 from falling off, various modes may be adopted for connecting the support portion 405E to another member.

[0046] 10B and 10C, like FIGS. 6B and 6C, are figures sequentially showing the process of pulling out plug member 405 from supply port 106 from the state of FIG. 10A. When the user pulls knob portion 405A in the direction of arrow 409 in the figure (rotation direction) from the state of FIG. 10A, plug member 405 begins to be pulled out. At this time, plug member 405 moves in the direction of arrow 409 while rubbing the side surface of plug portion 405D against the inner circumferential surface of supply port 106 and liquid wiping portion 110 formed on the inner circumferential surface (FIG. 10B). Because plug member 405 is attached to supply port 106 by elastic deformation, In the process of pulling out plug member 405, the portion of the side surface of plug member 405 that is located on liquid wiping unit 110 deforms towards liquid wiping unit 110. Therefore, when plug member 405 is pulled out in the direction of arrow 409, ink 108 adhering to plug member 405 is wiped off by liquid wiping unit 110. As a result, the amount of ink 108 adhering to back surface 107 of plug member 405 is reduced compared to the first embodiment (FIG. 10C).

[0047] As described above, according to the liquid ejection device of each embodiment, it is possible to provide a liquid storage container and a liquid ejection device equipped with the same that can reduce the possibility of liquid splashing or liquid getting on human hands when opening the stopper member of the liquid storage container.

[0048] The above is a description of the embodiment of the technology disclosed herein, but the description of the above embodiment is merely an example for explaining the technology disclosed herein, and the technology disclosed herein can be implemented by appropriately modifying or combining the above without departing from the spirit of the invention. Below, a description is given of modified examples of the above embodiment.

[0049] (Variation 1) The liquid wiping units 110 and 210 in the above embodiments are not limited to the shapes described above, and may have any shape that allows the liquid wiping unit to deform and rub against the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 as the plug member is pulled out of the supply port 106. For example, the liquid wiping unit 110 may be R-shaped like the liquid wiping unit 310 shown in Fig. 11 or the liquid wiping unit 410 in Fig. 12. The shape of the liquid wiping unit may be appropriately selected based on the materials constituting the plug member and the wall of the supply port, their hardness, etc.

[0050] Comparing the shapes of the liquid wiping portion of each of the above embodiments and this modified example, when the liquid wiping portion is in a concave shape as in the second and fourth embodiments, the frictional force between the plug member and the inner circumferential surface of the supply port is smaller than when the liquid wiping portion is in a convex shape. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the plug member's openability, it is preferable that the liquid wiping portion is in a concave shape. On the other hand, when the liquid wiping portion is in a convex shape, the frictional force between the plug member and the inner circumferential surface of the supply port is larger than when the liquid wiping portion is in a concave shape, but the effect of rubbing off more ink is obtained accordingly. In addition, regarding whether the liquid wiping portion is in an R-shape or an angular shape, it can be said that an R-shape is more preferable when the plug member's openability is emphasized, and an angular shape is more preferable when the amount of ink scraped off is emphasized.

[0051] In this modified example, by providing an incline on the back surface 107 of the plug members 505, 605, the adhered ink 108 is likely to gather at a specific location (for example, the lowest point 107A of the back surface). A larger amount of the collected ink 108 is wiped off by the liquid wiping parts 310, 410 formed on the inner circumferential surface of the supply port 106 compared to a case in which no liquid wiping part is formed. This makes it possible to provide a liquid storage container and a liquid ejection device including the container that are capable of reducing the possibility of liquid splashing or liquid sticking to hands when opening the plug member of the liquid storage container. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100 storage chamber, 105 plug member, 105A main body portion, 105D plug portion, 105E press-fit portion, 105F tip portion, 106 supply port, 107 tip surface, 111 container body

Claims

1. A container body including a storage chamber for storing a liquid and a supply port for supplying the liquid to the storage chamber; a plug member configured to be detachably attached to the container body and sealing the supply port, the plug member including: a main body portion located outside the storage chamber and the supply port in the container body when the plug member is attached to the container body; and a plug portion located inside the storage chamber and the supply port; A liquid storage container for supplying liquid to a liquid ejection head, comprising: the plug portion has a press-fit portion that is press-fitted into the supply port in the attached state, and a tip portion that is exposed in the storage chamber on a tip side of the press-fit portion, In the attached state, the axis of the plug portion is perpendicular to the opening surface of the supply port, A liquid storage container characterized in that, in the installed state, the tip surface of the tip portion is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the stopper portion, and the side of the inclined surface that is located vertically downward is inclined so as to protrude more in the direction of the axis than the side that is located upward.

2. the plug portion has a generally cylindrical shape, and an outer circumferential surface thereof includes a first region that is press-fitted into the supply port and a second region that is exposed to the storage chamber on a tip side of the first region, the press-fit portion is the first region, The liquid storage container according to claim 1 , wherein the tip portion includes the second region and the tip surface.

3. The supply port is an outer opening that opens to the outside of the container body; An inner opening that opens into the storage chamber; an inner circumferential surface connecting the outer opening and the inner opening; It is formed by 3. A liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein the inner opening is located below the outer opening.

4. 4. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein in the attached state, a lowest point of the inclined surface in the direction of gravity is located lower in the direction of gravity than a lowest point of the inner circumferential surface of the supply port in the direction of gravity.

5. In a cross section along a vertical direction including the axis of the plug portion in the attached state, The angle between a first imaginary line connecting the lowest end point of the tip surface and the tangent point of the lowest end point of the inner opening at the tip portion and a vertical imaginary line extending vertically upward from the lowest end point of the tip surface is defined as A, When the angle formed by a second virtual line connecting the lowermost end point of the tip surface and the uppermost end point of the tip surface and the vertical virtual line is B, A ≧ B 5. The liquid storage container according to claim 3, wherein:

6. A liquid storage container as described in any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that when the plug member is attached or detached to the container body, the supply port has a liquid wiping portion that slides against an area at the tip of the plug portion in the attached state that is located on the side of the storage chamber relative to the supply port to wipe off the liquid.

7. 7. The liquid storage container according to claim 6, wherein the liquid wiping portion is a concave or convex portion provided in at least a region of the inner circumferential surface that defines the supply port that is positioned vertically downward.

8. The main body of the plug member is a cover portion that abuts against an edge portion of the outer opening of the supply port; a support portion that connects the cover portion to a member other than the plug member; a protrusion protruding from the cover on the outer side of the container body; Including, The support portion is provided on an upper side in a vertical direction relative to the cover portion, The protruding portion is provided on a lower side in a vertical direction with respect to the covering portion.

8. The liquid storage container according to claim 3, wherein the liquid storage container is a container for storing liquid.

9. A liquid storage container described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the storage chamber stores ink as the liquid.

10. the liquid ejection head for ejecting liquid; A liquid storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, A liquid ejection device comprising:

11. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a device body in which the liquid storage container is incorporated.

12. The liquid ejection device according to claim 11, wherein the plug member can be removed from the supply port and liquid can be supplied from the supply port to the storage chamber when the liquid storage container is incorporated inside the device body.

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