container

Abstract

To provide a container in which a recording material flowing out of a supply port hardly adheres to a cover.SOLUTION: An ink cartridge 30 includes: a container body 31 which has a supply port 48; and a cover 32 which is mounted in the container body 31. The container body 31 has a front wall 40 and a rear wall 41. A storage chamber 46 is positioned between the front wall 40 and the rear wall 41. The cover 32 has an opening 71 facing backward and covers a part of an external surface of the front wall 40. A supply port 47 is positioned below a lower end of the opening 71 of the cover 32 and is positioned at a front end of an ink flow passage 48 extending in a longitudinal direction 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a container that stores a liquid recording material and can be attached to an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] An ink cartridge 30 that can be attached to a printer is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the ink cartridge 30, a cover is located in front of the direction of attachment to the printer. The ink supply unit 34 is exposed to the outside through a through hole 97 formed in the cover.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Ink flowing out from the ink supply unit 34 may adhere to the cover. The ink adhering to the cover may stain the inside of the printer or the recording paper.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a container in which the recording material flowing out from the supply port hardly adheres to the cover.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] (1) The present invention relates to a container having a storage chamber for storing a liquid recording material and which can be attached to an image forming apparatus. The container comprises a container body having a supply port facing forward, and a cover attached to the container body. The container body has a front wall extending in the vertical direction and a rear wall that is paired with the front wall in the front-rear direction intersecting the vertical direction. The storage chamber is located between the front wall and the rear wall. The cover has an opening facing rear and covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the front wall. The supply port is located below the lower end of the opening in the cover and is located at the front end of a liquid supply passage extending in the front-rear direction.

[0007] The cover protects the front of the container body. Furthermore, since the supply port is located below the lower edge of the cover's opening, it prevents recording material from flowing out of the supply port from adhering to the cover. Additionally, any recording material adhering to the container body below the cover is easily wiped away.

[0008] (2) The container body may be translucent so that the liquid level of the recording material stored in the storage chamber can be seen from the outside.

[0009] The liquid level of the recording material stored in the storage chamber can be observed from outside the container body.

[0010] (3) The front of the cover may be located in front of the supply port.

[0011] The cover prevents external components from coming into contact with the supply port.

[0012] (4) The cover may be attached to the container body so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0013] (5) The container body may further include a first side wall connecting the front wall and the rear wall, a second side wall paired with the first side wall in the left-right direction intersecting the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, an upper wall connecting the front wall and the rear wall, and a lower wall paired with the upper wall in the up-down direction.

[0014] (6) The container body has an atmospheric vent that connects the storage chamber to the outside, and the opening of the atmospheric vent on the outer surface of the container body may face forward.

[0015] In a container orientation where the supply port faces downward in the direction of gravity, the difference in position between the supply port and the opening of the atmospheric vent in the direction of gravity is relatively small, so the liquid pressure at the supply port is also relatively small. As a result, in the above orientation, the liquid stored in the storage chamber is less likely to leak out from the supply port.

[0016] (7) The container body has an atmospheric vent passage that connects the storage chamber to the outside, and the opening of the atmospheric vent passage on the outer surface of the container body may face upward. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, recording material that flows out from the supply port is less likely to adhere to the cover. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the printer 10. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge 30. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge 30. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the modified ink cartridge 30. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are merely examples of how the present invention is concretized, and the embodiments can be modified as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0020] Hereinafter, the ink cartridge 30 is inserted into and removed from the cartridge mounting portion 110 in the horizontal direction (a direction orthogonal to the gravitational direction). Therefore, the description will be made on the premise that the front-rear direction 8 and the left-right direction 9 are horizontal directions, but the front-rear direction 8 does not necessarily have to be a horizontal direction. Also, the vertical direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction 8 is defined as the up-down direction 7. The direction orthogonal to the up-down direction 7 and the front-rear direction 8 is defined as the left-right direction 9. Note that the state in which the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110 and used is a state in which the ink cartridge 30 is inserted to the mounting position of the cartridge mounting portion 110. The mounting position is a position where the ink needle 102 provided in the cartridge mounting portion 110 is inserted into the ink supply portion 34 provided in the ink cartridge 30 and connected to each other. Also, hereinafter, the posture of the ink cartridge 30 in the state in which the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110 and used is referred to as the use posture.

[0021] Also, in the following description, the front refers to the direction in which the ink cartridge 30 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 110 in the front-rear direction 8, and the rear refers to the direction in which the ink cartridge 30 is removed from the cartridge mounting portion 110 in the front-rear direction 8. "Facing the front" includes facing a direction including a front component, and "facing the rear" includes facing a direction including a rear component. Also, "facing downward" includes facing a direction including a downward component, and "facing upward" includes facing a direction including an upward component. For example, "the front surface faces the front" means that the front surface may face the front or may face a direction inclined with respect to the front.

[0022] [Overview of Printer 10] As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 is an image forming apparatus that records an image by discharging ink droplets onto paper based on an inkjet recording method, for example, an inkjet printer. The printer 10 includes a cartridge mounting portion 110. An ink cartridge 30 (an example of a container) is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110. An opening 112 is formed on one side of the cartridge mounting portion 110. The ink cartridge 30 is inserted forward into the cartridge mounting portion 110 through the opening 112, or withdrawn backward from the cartridge mounting portion 110 through the opening 112. In FIG. 1, a state where the mounting of the ink cartridge 30 to the cartridge mounting portion 110 is completed is shown. That is, in FIG. 1, the ink cartridge 30 is in a mounted state. The posture of the ink cartridge 30 in this state is the use posture.

[0023] The ink cartridge 30 stores a liquid, for example, ink (an example of a recording material) that can be used in the printer 10. In a state where the mounting of the ink cartridge 30 to the cartridge mounting portion 110 is completed, the ink cartridge 30 and the recording head 21 are connected via an ink tube 20. The recording head 21 discharges the ink supplied from the ink cartridge 30 from a plurality of nozzles 29. Specifically, a head control board provided in the recording head 21 selectively applies a drive voltage to a plurality of piezo elements 29A provided corresponding to the plurality of nozzles 29. Thereby, ink is selectively discharged from the nozzles 29. That is, the recording head 21 consumes the ink stored in the ink cartridge 30 mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110.

[0024] The printer 10 includes a paper feed tray 15, a paper feed roller 23, a transport roller pair 25, a platen 26, an output roller pair 27, and an output tray 16. The paper feed roller 23 feeds the paper on the paper feed tray 15 toward the transport path 24. The paper fed toward the transport path 24 eventually reaches the transport roller pair 25. The transport roller pair 25 transports the paper that has reached the transport roller pair 25 toward the platen 26. The recording head 21 selectively ejects ink onto the paper as it passes over the platen 26. This records an image on the paper. The paper that has passed over the platen 26 reaches the output roller pair 27. The output roller pair 27 ejects the paper that has reached the output roller pair 27 to the output tray 16 located at the downstream end of the transport path 24.

[0025] [Cartridge mounting section 110] As shown in Figure 1, the cartridge mounting section 110 comprises a cartridge case 101 and an ink needle 102. An ink cartridge 30 can be housed in the cartridge mounting section 110.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, the cartridge case 101 is box-shaped and forms the housing of the cartridge mounting section 110. The opening 112 may be exposed to the user interface surface of the printer 10, which is the surface that the user faces when using the printer 10.

[0027] The ink needle 102 is a hollow tube and is located at the bottom of the end surface 103 of the cartridge case 101. On the end surface 103 of the cartridge case 101, the ink needle 102 is positioned to correspond to the supply port 47 of the ink cartridge 30 installed in the cartridge mounting section 110. The ink needle 102 protrudes from the end surface 103 of the cartridge case 101 along the front-rear direction 8, and its tip opens towards the rear. The tip of the ink needle 102 may be flat or pointed.

[0028] [Ink Cartridge 30] The ink cartridge 30 is a container in which liquid ink is stored. As shown in Figure 2, the ink cartridge 30 has a container body 31 and a cover 32.

[0029] As shown in Figure 2, the container body 31 has a thin, flat cube shape in which the left-right dimension 9 is smaller than the up-down dimension 7 and the front-back dimension 8.

[0030] The container body 31 has a front wall 40, a rear wall 41 that is paired with the front wall 40 in the front-rear direction 8, a left wall 42 (an example of a first side wall) that connects the front wall 40 and the rear wall 41, a right wall 43 (an example of a second side wall) that is paired with the left wall 42 in the left-right direction 9, an upper wall 44 that connects the front wall 40 and the rear wall 41, and a lower wall 45 that is paired with the upper wall 44 in the up-down direction 7. The outer surface of the front wall 40 faces forward. The outer surface of the rear wall 41 faces backward. The outer surface of the left wall 42 faces left. The outer surface of the right wall 43 faces right. The outer surface of the upper wall 44 faces upward. The outer surface of the lower wall 45 faces downward.

[0031] The front wall 40, rear wall 41, left wall 42, right wall 43, upper wall 44, and lower wall 45 partition the storage chamber 46 in the internal space of the container body 31. The storage chamber 46 is located between the front wall 40 and the rear wall 41. The front wall 40, rear wall 41, left wall 42, right wall 43, upper wall 44, and lower wall 45 are translucent enough that the liquid level of the ink stored in the storage chamber 46 can be seen from the outside. The container body 31 is, for example, a molded product of synthetic resin.

[0032] Below the front wall 40, there is an opening for ink to flow out, called a supply port 47. In this embodiment, the supply port 47 is open to the outside, but the supply port 47 may be opened and closed by a valve or the like. The supply port 47 faces forward.

[0033] As shown in Figure 3, an ink channel 48 (liquid supply channel) extends from the supply port 47 along the front-to-back direction 8 inside the container body 31. The ink channel 48 connects the supply port 47 to the vicinity of the lower end of the storage chamber 46. The front end of the ink channel 48 is the supply port 47. The ink stored in the storage chamber 46 flows out to the outside from the supply port 47 through the ink channel 48.

[0034] An atmospheric vent 49 is formed in the upper wall 44, connecting the area near the upper end of the storage chamber 46 to the outside. Air can flow between the outside and the storage chamber 46 through the atmospheric vent 49. The atmospheric vent 49 causes the gas layer in the storage chamber 46 to be at the atmospheric pressure of the outside. The opening of the atmospheric vent 49 on the outer surface of the upper wall 44 faces upward. The atmospheric vent 49 may be blocked by a valve or a semipermeable membrane.

[0035] As shown in Figure 2, a projection 50 is located near the front end of the right wall 43, projecting to the right from the outer surface of the right wall 43. Although not shown in the figure, a similar projection 50 is located near the front end of the left wall 42, projecting to the left from the outer surface of the left wall 42.

[0036] The cover 32 is a cubic shape smaller than the container body 31 and has a box shape with an opening 71 facing backward. The cover 32 is attached to the container body 31 so as to cover the portion of the front wall 40 of the container body 31 that is above the supply port 47.

[0037] The cover 32 comprises a box-shaped cover body 72 having a rearward-facing opening 71, and extension pieces 73L and 73R extending rearward from the rear end of the left wall 75 and the rear end of the right wall 76 that define the opening 71 in the cover body 72, respectively.

[0038] The cover body 72 has a front wall 74, a left wall 75 extending rearward from the left end of the front wall 74, a right wall 76 paired with the left wall 75 in the left-right direction 9, an upper wall 77 extending rearward from the upper end of the front wall 74, and a lower wall 78 paired with the upper wall 77 in the up-down direction 7. The outer surface of the front wall 74 faces forward. The outer surface of the left wall 75 faces left. The outer surface of the right wall 76 faces right. The outer surface of the upper wall 77 faces upward. The outer surface of the lower wall 78 faces downward. The front wall 74, left wall 75, right wall 76, upper wall 77, and lower wall 78 partition the internal space of the cover body 72.

[0039] The dimensions of the cover body 72 along the vertical direction 7 are smaller than the dimensions of the container body 31 along the vertical direction 7. The dimensions of the cover body 72 along the front-to-back direction 8 are smaller than the dimensions of the container body 31 along the front-to-back direction 8. The dimensions of the cover body 72 along the left-to-right direction 9 are slightly larger than the dimensions of the container body 31 along the left-to-right direction 9.

[0040] An extension piece 73R extends rearward from the rear end of the right wall 76. The extension piece 73R is flat. Near the center of the extension piece 73R in the vertical direction 7, there is a through hole 79 that penetrates the extension piece 73R in the left-right direction 9. A projection piece 50 is inserted into the through hole 79. The through hole 79 is a rectangle larger than the outer shape of the projection piece 50. The dimension of the through hole 79 along the vertical direction 7 is larger than the dimension along the front-back direction 8. The dimension of the through hole 79 along the vertical direction 7 is sufficiently larger than the dimension of the projection piece 50 along the vertical direction 7. Therefore, the projection piece 50 is movable in the vertical direction 7 when inserted into the through hole 79. Although not shown in the figure, a similar through hole 79 is also located in the left wall 75.

[0041] The left wall 75 and the right wall 76 are paired in the left-right direction 9. The container body 31 is inserted between the left wall 75 and the right wall 76. The cover 32 is attached to the container body 31 by inserting the projection 50 located on the left wall 75 of the container body 31 into the through hole 79 of the extension piece 73L, and the projection 50 located on the right wall 76 into the through hole 79 of the extension piece 73R. When the cover 32 is attached to the container body 31, it is movable in the vertical direction 7 relative to the container body 31 only to the extent that the projection 50 can move vertically 7 through the through hole 79.

[0042] When the cover 32 is attached to the container body 31, the cover 32 covers the upper portion of the front wall 40 of the container body 31. The outer surface (an example of the front) of the front wall 74 of the cover 32 is located in front of the supply port 47. The supply port 47 is located below the lower end of the opening 71 of the cover 32.

[0043] [Effects of the Embodiment] According to the embodiment described above, the front of the container body 31 is protected by the cover 32. Furthermore, since the supply port 47 is located below the lower end of the opening 71 of the cover 32, ink flowing out from the supply port 47 is prevented from adhering to the cover 32. In addition, ink that adheres to the container body 31 below the cover 32 is easily wiped off.

[0044] Furthermore, since the left wall 42 and the right wall 43 of the container body 31 are translucent, the liquid level of the ink stored in the storage chamber 46 can be seen from outside the container body 31.

[0045] Furthermore, since the outer surface of the front wall 74 of the cover 32 is located in front of the supply port 47, the cover 32 can prevent external components from coming into contact with the supply port 47.

[0046] [Differentiation] In the embodiment described above, the atmospheric vent 49 is formed in the upper wall 44, but as shown in Figure 4, the atmospheric vent 49 may be formed in the front wall 40. In this case, the opening of the atmospheric vent 49 on the outer surface of the front wall 40 faces forward. Furthermore, the opening of the atmospheric vent 49 is covered by the cover 32.

[0047] In the orientation of the ink cartridge 30 where the supply port 47 faces downward in the direction of gravity, in other words, in the orientation where the outer surface of the front wall 40 of the container body 31 faces downward in the direction of gravity, the difference in position between the supply port 47 and the opening of the atmospheric vent 49 in the direction of gravity is smaller than when the opening of the atmospheric vent 49 is located on the upper wall 44, as in the previously described embodiment. Therefore, the ink pressure at the supply port 47 is also smaller than in the previously described embodiment. As a result, in the above orientation, the ink stored in the storage chamber 46 is less likely to leak out from the supply port 47. Consequently, the outer surface of the container body 31 is less likely to be soiled with ink.

[0048] Alternatively, although the supply port 47 is located on the front wall 40 of the container body 31, a supply section may be provided that protrudes forward from the front wall 40, and an ink flow path 48 may be formed inside the supply section, with the supply port 47 located at the tip of the supply section.

[0049] Furthermore, the external shape of the container body 31 and the cover 32 are not limited to a cubic or box shape. For example, the container body 31 may have protrusions that can be operated by the user, or it may be provided with a detection unit for detecting the ink in the storage chamber 46. Similarly, the cover 32 may also be provided with protrusions or the like.

[0050] In the embodiment described above, the cover 32 is attached to the container body 31 by inserting the protruding piece 50 of the container body into the through hole 79 of the cover 32. However, other structures may be used to attach the cover 32 to the container body 31.

[0051] In the embodiment described above, ink is stored in the container body 31, but the container body 31 may also store other recording materials besides ink, such as a pre-treatment liquid that is dispensed onto paper or the like before the ink during printing. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0052] 10. Printer (image forming apparatus) 30... Ink cartridge (container) 31. Container body 40...Front wall 41...back wall 42...Left wall (first side wall) 43...Right wall (second side wall) 44..Upper wall 45... Lower wall 46...Storage chamber 47... Supply port 48. Ink channel (liquid channel)

Claims

1. A container having a storage chamber for storing liquid recording material, and which can be attached to an image forming apparatus, A container body having a supply port facing forward, The container comprises a cover attached to the above container body, The container body described above is A front wall extending in the vertical direction, It has a rear wall that is paired with the front wall in the front-to-back direction intersecting the above-mentioned vertical direction, The above storage chamber is located between the front wall and the rear wall. The above cover has an opening facing rear and covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the front wall. The above-mentioned supply port is located at the front end of the liquid supply path that extends in the front-to-back direction, below the lower end of the cover, when the container is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

2. The container body described above is the container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid level of the recording material stored in the storage chamber is translucent so that it can be seen from the outside.

3. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front surface of the cover is located in front of the supply port.

4. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover is attached to the container body so as to be movable in the vertical direction, with its lower end positioned above the supply port.

5. The container body described above is A first side wall connecting the front wall and the rear wall, A second side wall that is paired with the first side wall in the left-right direction intersecting the above front-rear direction and the above up-down direction, An upper wall connecting the above front wall and the above rear wall, The container according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a lower wall that is paired with the upper wall in the vertical direction described above.

6. The container body described above has an atmospheric vent that connects the storage chamber to the outside. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening on the outer surface of the container body of the above-mentioned atmospheric vent is facing forward.

7. The container body described above has an atmospheric vent that connects the storage chamber to the outside. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening on the outer surface of the container body of the above-mentioned atmospheric vent is facing upward.

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