CN113085382B

CN113085382B - Ink box

Info

Publication number: CN113085382B
Application number: CN202110532387.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐长江; 黄喜龙; 毕庆功
Original assignee: Topjet Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Topjet Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-17
Filing date: 2021-05-17
Publication date: 2023-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-17
Also published as: CN113085382A

Abstract

The invention relates to an ink box which can be detachably installed in an ink-jet printer provided with a light emitting piece and a light receiving piece, wherein the ink box comprises a shell, a surface cover and a detection assembly, the shell and the surface cover are mutually combined, the detection assembly is arranged in the detection assembly, an open cavity for containing ink is formed in a frame body in the shell, the surface cover covers the cavity, and the detection assembly is used for detecting the ink allowance in the cavity; the detection assembly comprises a first part, a second part, a first magnetic piece and a second magnetic piece, wherein the first part and the second part are respectively positioned outside and inside the frame body, and the first part and the second part are not in contact; according to the ink amount in the cavity, under the action of the magnetic force between the first magnetic piece and the second magnetic piece, along the up-down direction, the first part can move between the shading position for shading the light emitted by the light emitting piece and the non-shading position for not shading the light emitted by the light emitting piece, the side plate of the frame body does not need to be provided with a hole for allowing the first part and the second part to pass through, the ink cannot leak from the side plate of the frame body, and the sealing requirement of the ink box is reduced.

Description

Ink cartridge

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of inkjet imaging, and more particularly, to an ink cartridge detachably mountable in an inkjet printer.

Background

The ink box is a consumable for supplying ink to the ink-jet printer, and before the ink is consumed, the ink-jet printer needs to output prompt information to an end user to ensure that the end user can replace a new ink box in time.

European patent EP3112164 describes an ink cartridge 30 comprising an ink detecting portion 60, wherein the ink cartridge 30 can be installed in an ink jet printer having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, the ink detecting portion 60 is provided with a light entering portion 62 and a movable light shielding element 68, the light shielding element 68 is located between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, when the ink cartridge cavity 36 is filled with ink, the light shielding element 68 can shield light emitted from the light emitting element, and the light receiving element can not receive light, and at this time, the ink jet printer considers that the ink cartridge 30 is full of ink; as the ink in the chamber 36 is consumed, the position of the light shielding member 68 in the chamber 36 changes until the light shielding member does not shield the light, and the light receiving member can receive the light, at this time, the ink jet printer considers that the ink in the ink cartridge 30 is about to be consumed, and needs to prompt the end user to replace the ink cartridge.

As shown in fig. 6 of EP3112164, the space for accommodating the light shielding member 68 is formed by the light entrance part 62, which is communicated with the cavity 36, so that the top surface of the housing forming the cavity 36 cannot be integrated, and the light entrance part 62 is made of a light-transmitting material, and a notch capable of being combined with the light entrance part 62 is provided on the top surface of the housing, and the light entrance part 62 is required to be installed toward the housing during the assembly of the ink cartridge 30, so that the problem of sealing between the light entrance part 62 and the housing is also required to be considered, and ink leakage from the gap therebetween is prevented.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides an ink box, wherein the ink box can be normally used for reducing the sealing requirement of the ink box and preventing ink leakage under the condition of detecting the ink allowance, and the specific scheme is as follows:

the ink box is detachably installed in the ink-jet printer provided with the light emitting piece and the light receiving piece and comprises a shell, a surface cover and a detection assembly, wherein the shell and the surface cover are combined with each other, the detection assembly is arranged in the detection box, the frame body in the shell forms an open cavity for containing ink, the surface cover covers the open cavity, the detection assembly is used for being matched with the light emitting piece and the light receiving piece to detect the ink allowance in the cavity, and the light receiving piece is used for receiving light rays emitted by the light emitting piece; the detection assembly comprises a first part and a second part which are respectively positioned outside and inside the frame body, and a first magnetic part and a second magnetic part which are respectively positioned in the first part and the second part, wherein the first part and the second part are not in contact; the first portion is movable between a light shielding position where it shields light emitted from the light emitting member and a non-light shielding position where it is not able to shield light emitted from the light emitting member, by a magnetic force between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member, according to an amount of ink in the chamber.

Preferably, the frame is integrally formed.

The first part comprises a shading piece and a first magnetic piece mounting part which are mutually connected, the first magnetic piece is fixedly mounted in the first magnetic piece mounting part, and the shading piece does not allow light to pass through.

The casing still includes the spacing frame that is located the framework top, sets up the first limiting plate in spacing frame and sets up the first stopper on first limiting plate, and the face lid is including the cover portion that is used for covering the cavity and set up the second limiting plate at cover portion upper surface, and the piece of shading is by the centre gripping between first limiting plate and second limiting plate, and first stopper is used for restricting the scope of the piece upward movement that shades.

Further, the first portion further includes a projection connected to the light-shielding member, and the projection abuts against the first restriction plate and the second restriction plate in the front-rear direction when the ink cartridge is assembled.

When the first part is at the shading position, the lower part of the shading piece is separated from the upper surface of the upper side plate of the frame body, and when the first part is at the non-shading position, the lower part of the shading piece is abutted against the upper surface of the upper side plate of the frame body.

The second part is arranged to move along the up-and-down direction, and when the first part is positioned at the shading position, the position of the second magnetic part is higher than that of the first part when the first part is positioned at the non-shading position.

The cavity is further internally provided with a plurality of spacing protrusions for guiding the second part and limiting the moving range of the second part.

Alternatively, the second portion may be configured to rotate around the rotation axis, and the second magnetic member may be located at a higher position when the first portion is located at the light shielding position than when the first portion is located at the non-light shielding position.

As described above, the first portion and the second portion of the detection assembly are respectively disposed outside and inside the frame body, and are not in contact with each other, but are interacted by magnetic force through the first magnetic member disposed in the first portion and the second magnetic member disposed in the second portion, and the side plate of the frame body does not need to be provided with a hole for allowing the first portion and the second portion to pass through, so that ink does not leak from the side plate of the frame body, and the sealing requirement of the ink cartridge is reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a part of the ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating relative positions of components of the detection assembly when the ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention is filled with ink.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating relative positions of components of the detection assembly when ink in the ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention is consumed.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing relative positions of respective parts of the detection unit when the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention is filled with ink.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the components of the detecting unit when the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention is used up.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to the present invention. To make the description below clearer, the ink cartridge is first defined as follows: the mounting direction of the ink cartridge 1 is defined as the front and the removal direction as the rear, with respect to the angle of the ink cartridge when it is normally used in an ink jet printer, and the ink cartridge 1 has the same upper, lower, left and right directions as the observer when viewed from the rear to the front.

Ink horn 1 includes casing 3 and face lid 2 that combine each other and is located the chip mounting portion 4 in casing 3 the place ahead, and a part of casing 3 forms the open cavity 33 that holds the ink, and face lid 2 covers this cavity 33 (as shown in fig. 2), and is further, ink horn 1 still includes the detection subassembly 5 that sets up wherein, detection subassembly 5 is used for with the cooperation of the light emitting part and the light receiving part in the inkjet printer in order to detect the ink surplus in the cavity, the relative setting of light emitting part and light receiving part, when ink horn 1 was installed to the preset position of inkjet printer, light emitting part and light receiving part were located the left and right sides of ink horn 1 respectively.

Example one

The shell 3 comprises a frame 31 forming a cavity 33, the frame 31 is provided with a front side plate 3c facing forwards, a rear side plate 3d facing backwards, an upper side plate 3a facing upwards and a lower side plate 3b facing downwards, the front side plate 3c, the rear side plate 3d, the upper side plate 3a, the lower side plate 3b and a shell bottom plate jointly enclose to form an open cavity 33, and the cavity 33 can be sealed by a sealing film or a face cover 2 directly; the ink outlet portion 32 extends forward from the front side plate 3c for supplying ink in the chamber 33 to the inkjet printer.

The detection assembly 5 comprises a first part 51 and a second part 52 which are separately arranged, wherein the first part 51 is positioned outside the cavity 33, the second part 52 is positioned inside the cavity 33, whenever the first part 51 is positioned outside the cavity 33, the second part 52 is positioned inside the cavity 33, and the first part 51 and the second part 52 interact with each other through magnetic force, so that each side plate of the frame 31 can be kept complete without forming a hole for the detection assembly 5 to pass through on the side plate, thereby improving the sealing performance of the ink cartridge 1, correspondingly, the frame 31 can be integrally formed, and the production efficiency can be improved.

The first part 51 and the second part 52 are movably arranged, a first magnetic part 53 is installed in the first part 51, a second magnetic part 54 is installed in the second part 52, the opposite side of the first magnetic part 53 and the second magnetic part 54 is opposite in polarity, that is, a magnetic force capable of penetrating through the side plate of the frame body is formed between the first magnetic part 53 and the second magnetic part 54. In general, the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54 are permanent magnets, alternatively, the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54 may also be electromagnets, or one of the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54 is a permanent magnet and the other is an electromagnet, and from the viewpoint of installation, it is preferable that both the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54 are selected to be permanent magnets.

As shown in the figure, the first portion 51 includes a light shielding member 511 and a first magnetic member mounting portion 512 which are connected to each other, the first magnetic member 53 is fixedly mounted in the first magnetic member mounting portion 512, the light shielding member 511 may be made of an opaque material, or the surface of a light transmissive material may be coated with an opaque material, or the surface of a light transmissive material may be blackened by a black paint, so that light cannot pass through the light shielding member 511.

The second part 52 includes a base 521, a guide rod 522 connected to the base 521, and a second magnetic member mounting portion 523 connected to the guide rod 522, so that the guide rod 522 is located between the base 521 and the second magnetic member mounting portion 523, optionally, the guide rod 522 may be omitted, in which case the base 521 is directly connected to the second magnetic member mounting portion 523, the base 521 may also serve as a guide for guiding the second part 52, and the second magnetic member 54 is fixedly mounted in the second magnetic member mounting portion 523, preferably, the base 521 is made of a material having a density less than that of ink, and when the cavity 33 is filled with ink, the second part 52 floats up and is soaked in the ink.

As shown in fig. 2, the housing 3 further includes a limiting frame 35 located above the frame 31, a first limiting plate 36 disposed in the limiting frame 35, and a first limiting block 37 disposed on the first limiting plate 36, the cover 2 includes a covering portion 21 for covering the cavity 33, and a second limiting plate 23 disposed on the upper surface 22 of the covering portion 21, the light-shielding member 511 is clamped between the first limiting plate 36 and the second limiting plate 23 to ensure that the light-shielding member 511 can move in the up-down direction, and at the same time, the first limiting block 37 is used for limiting the range of upward movement of the light-shielding member 511, the light-shielding member 511 has an upper portion 511a and a lower portion 511b opposite to each other in the up-down direction, and the first limiting block 37 is used for abutting against the upper portion 511 a.

Further, the first portion 51 further includes a projection 513 connected to the light-shielding member 511, the projection 513 is a bar extending in the up-down direction from the surface of the light-shielding member 511, when the ink cartridge 1 is assembled, the projection 513 abuts against the first stopper plate 36 or the second stopper plate 23 in the front-back direction, and the light-shielding member 511 is positioned in the front-back direction. Alternatively, the structure for guiding and restricting the light-shielding member 511 may also be a structure in which a guide protrusion and a guide groove are engaged, for example, a guide groove is provided on the housing 3 and a guide protrusion is provided on the light-shielding member 511, or a guide protrusion is provided on the housing 3 and a guide groove is provided on the light-shielding member 511. Similarly, the cavity 33 is also provided with a guide mechanism for guiding the guide rod 522/base 521, and conventionally, a guide groove is provided in the cavity 33, but the guide groove provided in the cavity 33 will not facilitate the free flow of ink in the cavity, for this reason, the cavity 33 in the present invention is provided with a plurality of spacing protrusions 55 as shown in the figure, and the plurality of spacing protrusions 55 are distributed along the front-back direction and the up-down direction, and can simultaneously guide and limit the moving range of the second portion 52, as described in detail below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the relative positions of the components of the detection assembly when the ink cartridge according to one embodiment of the present invention is filled with ink;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of relative positions of components of the detection assembly when ink in the ink cartridge is consumed according to an embodiment of the invention.

When the ink is injected into the cavity 33, the second portion 52 moves upward by the buoyancy of the ink until the protrusion 55 abuts against the top surface 5211 of the base 521, the upward movement of the second portion 52 is restricted, the guide rod 522 is clamped by the protrusions 55 distributed in the front-rear direction, and the first portion 51 moves upward in the up-down direction by the repulsive force generated between the second magnetic member 54 and the first magnetic member 53 until the upper portion 511a of the light shielding member 511 abuts against the first stopper 37, at which time the light shielding member 511 is positioned on the traveling path of the light emitted from the light emitting member, that is, the light receiving member will not receive the light emitted from the light emitting member.

During the upward movement of the second part 52, the first part 51 and the second part 52 are always kept out of contact and are respectively positioned outside and inside the cavity 33, and the upper side plate 3a between the two is kept intact without opening a hole for allowing the first part 51 or the second part 52 to move, so that the frame 31 forming the cavity 33 has better integrity, and the leakage of ink from the side plates is prevented; as shown in the figure, the projection 55 for abutting against the base top surface 5211 may not necessarily be provided, and the limitation of the range of upward movement of the second portion 52 is achieved by the abutment of the second magnetic mounting portion 523 against the upper side plate 3 a.

As the ink in the chamber 33 is consumed, the buoyancy of the ink applied to the first portion 51 becomes smaller and smaller, the second portion 52 starts to move downward gradually under the combined action of the gravity of the second portion 52 itself and the repulsive force between the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54, the light blocking member 511 moves gradually from a position capable of blocking the light traveling path emitted from the light emitting member to a position incapable of blocking the light traveling path, and when the ink in the chamber 33 is consumed or is about to be consumed, the lower portion 511b of the first portion 51 abuts against the upper surface 34 of the upper side plate 3a, and the base 521 or the second magnetic member mounting portion 523 of the second portion 52 abuts against the protrusion 55 to be restrained. The light emitted from the light emitting element is no longer blocked by the light blocking element 511, and at this time, the light receiving element can receive the light emitted from the light emitting element.

During the downward movement of the second part 52, the first part 51 and the second part 52 are still not in contact with each other and are located outside and inside the cavity 33, respectively, and the upper side plate 3a between the two is kept intact without opening a hole for allowing the first part 51 or the second part 52 to move, so that the frame 31 has better integrity and the leakage of ink from the side plates is prevented.

Example two

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the relative positions of the components of the detecting unit when the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention is filled with ink;

In this embodiment, the detection assembly 5 still includes the first portion 51 and the second portion 56 respectively located outside and inside the cavity 33, and the frame 31 for forming the cavity 33 is integrally formed, so that it is not necessary to provide the frame 31 with a hole for allowing the first portion 51 or the second portion 52 to move, the integrity of the frame 31 is ensured, and the leakage of ink from the side plates is prevented.

The second part 56 is rotatable about a rotation axis, and includes a floating portion 561, a support portion 562, and a rotation portion 563, the floating portion 561 and the support portion 562 are respectively connected to the rotation portion 563, and the second magnetic member 54 is supported by the support portion 562 and is changeable in position in the chamber 33 in accordance with the rotation of the second part 56. Preferably, the second portion 56 may further provide a second magnetic member mounting portion 564 for mounting the second magnetic member 54, so that the second magnetic member 54 can be stably mounted while reducing the difficulty of mounting the second magnetic member 54, the second magnetic member mounting portion 564 being provided at the distal end of the supporting portion 562.

When the chamber 33 is filled with ink, the second portion 56 rotates around the rotating portion 563 due to buoyancy of the ink, and at the same time, the supporting portion 562 drives the second magnetic member mounting portion 564 to rotate around the rotating portion 563, as shown in fig. 5, in a state where the chamber 33 is filled with the ink, the floating portion 561 rotates to a highest point in the up-down direction due to buoyancy of the ink, accordingly, the supporting portion 562 also reaches the highest point in the up-down direction, the second magnetic member 54 is opposite to the first magnetic member 53 with the upper side plate 3a interposed therebetween, and under a repulsive force therebetween, the first portion 51 moves up in the up-down direction, and by abutting the upper portion 511a of the light shielding member 511 against the first stopper 37, a tendency of the first portion 51 to move up is restricted, and at this time, light emitted from the light emitting member in the inkjet printer is shielded by the light shielding member 511, and the light receiving member cannot receive the light.

As the ink in the chamber 33 is consumed, the buoyancy applied to the float 561 is gradually reduced, the second portion 56 rotates in the opposite direction around the rotation axis under the combined action of the self-gravity of the second portion 56 and the first and second

magnetic members

53 and 54, the second magnetic member 54 and the first magnetic member 53 are gradually no longer opposed to each other, and they are deviated in the vertical direction, the first portion 51 moves downward under the self-gravity, and finally reaches the position shown in fig. 6, at this time, the lower portion 511b of the light shielding member 511 abuts against the upper surface 34 of the upper side plate 3a, and the second magnetic member 54 rotates with the second portion 56 to a position not opposed to the first magnetic member 53 in the vertical direction. Compared with the position where the first portion 51 is located at the upper position abutted by the first stopper 37, the position where the second magnetic member 54 is located is, when the first portion 51 reaches the lower position abutted by the upper surface 34 of the upper side plate 3a, the second magnetic member 54 is farther away from the upper side plate 3a, specifically, the second magnetic member 54 is closer to the inside of the cavity 33, the light shielding member 511 no longer shields the light emitted by the light emitting member, and the light receiving member can receive the light.

In the above embodiment, the first portion 51 is configured to be movable in the up-down direction, the second portion 52 is configured to be movable in the up-down direction, or rotate around the rotation axis in the cavity 33, when the cavity 33 is filled with ink, or the cavity 33 contains a first predetermined amount of ink, the buoyancy generated by the first predetermined amount of ink can force the second portion 52 to move upward, in the up-down direction, the second magnetic member 54 located in the second portion 52 is located at the highest point in the cavity 33 that the second magnetic member 54 can reach, the repulsive force generated between the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54 can force the first portion 51 to reach the highest point in the up-down direction, the light emitted from the light emitting member is blocked by the light blocking member 511, and the light receiving member cannot receive the light. When the ink in the cavity 33 is consumed, or the amount of the ink in the cavity 33 is a second predetermined amount, the buoyancy generated by the second predetermined amount cannot force the second portion 52 to move upward, and the second magnetic member 54 in the second portion 52 is located at the lowest point in the cavity 33 where the second magnetic member 54 can reach, and the first portion 511 descends to a position where the light emitted by the light emitting member cannot be shielded, and the light receiving member can receive the light, regardless of the existence of the repulsive force between the first magnetic member 53 and the second magnetic member 54.

As can be seen from this, as for the first magnetic member 53, when the light shielding member 511 is in the light shielding position where it can shield the light emitted from the light emitting member, the first magnetic member 53 is located in the first position, and when the light shielding member 511 is in the non-light shielding position where it cannot shield the light emitted from the light emitting member, the first magnetic member 53 is located in the second position, the first position being located above the second position in the up-down direction, or, the first position and the second position having a height difference therebetween. Similarly, for the second portion 52, in the light shielding position, the second magnetic member 54 is located at the third position, in the light non-shielding position, the second magnetic member 54 is located at the fourth position, and the third position is located above the fourth position in the up-down direction, or there is a height difference between the third position and the fourth position.

The position of each component in the detection assembly 5 relative to the housing 3 can be changed along with the change of the ink amount in the cavity 33, the first part 51 and the second part 52 of the detection assembly 5 are respectively positioned outside and inside the cavity 33/the frame body 31, the movement between the first part 51 and the second part 52 is realized through the interaction of the first magnetic piece 53 respectively arranged in the first part 51 and the second magnetic piece 54 respectively arranged in the second part 52, holes allowing the first part 51 and the second part 52 to move are not required to be arranged in the frame body 31 forming the cavity 33, the frame body 31 is more complete, the ink leakage from the frame body 31 is avoided, and the whole sealing performance of the ink box is improved.

Claims

1. The ink box is detachably installed in the ink-jet printer provided with the light emitting piece and the light receiving piece and comprises a shell, a surface cover and a detection assembly, wherein the shell and the surface cover are combined with each other, the detection assembly is arranged in the detection box, the frame body in the shell forms an open cavity for containing ink, the surface cover covers the open cavity, the detection assembly is used for being matched with the light emitting piece and the light receiving piece to detect the ink allowance in the cavity, and the light receiving piece is used for receiving light rays emitted by the light emitting piece;

the detection assembly comprises a first part and a second part which are respectively positioned outside and inside the frame body, and a first magnetic part and a second magnetic part which are respectively positioned in the first part and the second part, wherein the first part and the second part are not in contact;

the first part comprises a shading piece and a first magnetic piece mounting part which are mutually connected, the first magnetic piece is fixedly mounted in the first magnetic piece mounting part, and the shading piece does not allow light to pass through;

the first portion is movable between a light-shielding position for shielding light emitted from the light-emitting member and a non-light-shielding position for not shielding the light emitted from the light-emitting member, under the action of a magnetic force between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member, according to the amount of ink in the chamber; the first part is located above the frame, and the light shielding member moves along the up-and-down direction along with the change of the ink amount.

2. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame is integrally formed.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the housing further includes a limit frame located above the frame body, a first limit plate provided in the limit frame, and a first limit block provided on the first limit plate, the face cover includes a covering portion for covering the chamber and a second limit plate provided on an upper surface of the covering portion, the light-shielding member is held between the first limit plate and the second limit plate, and the first limit block is configured to limit a range of upward movement of the light-shielding member.

4. The ink cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the first portion further includes a projection connected to the light shielding member, the projection abutting the first stopper plate and the second stopper plate in the front-rear direction when the ink cartridge is assembled.

5. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the first portion is in the light shielding position, the lower portion of the light shielding member is spaced apart from the upper surface of the upper side plate of the frame, and when the first portion is in the non-light shielding position, the lower portion of the light shielding member abuts the upper surface of the upper side plate of the frame.

6. The ink cartridge as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second part is provided so as to be movable in an up-and-down direction, and the second magnetic member is located at a higher position when the first part is located at the light shielding position than when the first part is located at the non-light shielding position.

7. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of spacing protrusions are further provided inside the cavity for guiding the second portion and limiting a movable range thereof.

8. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are opposed to each other in the up-down direction in the light shielding position and the light non-shielding position.

9. The ink cartridge as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second part is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and the second magnetic member is located at a higher position when the first part is in the light shielding position than when the first part is in the non-light shielding position.