JP2006007579A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an ink from coming out due to an increase or the like in the internal pressure of an ink storage section. <P>SOLUTION: The ink cartridge 1 has a pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 to increase the internal pressure of the ink storage section 2a by introducing outside air pressure when the internal pressure becomes lower than the outside air pressure. The pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 has a first valve body 72 having a slit-shape opening and closing section 72a attached to a valve mount opening 12 and to open and close the valve mount opening 12, the pressure regulating chamber 74 communicating with the ink storage section through an opening 73 and communicating with outside air through the first valve body 72 and the valve mount opening 12, when the internal pressure of the ink storage section 2a exceeds a set value, and a second valve body 75 to make the ink storage section 2a communicate with the pressure regulating chamber 74 by opening the opening 73 and covering the slit-shape opening and closing section 72a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used in an ink jet recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer that performs recording by directly ejecting ink from an ejection nozzle provided in a recording head onto a recording medium such as recording paper.

  An ink jet recording apparatus typified by a printer performs recording by supplying ink to a recording head provided with a large number of ejection nozzles mounted on a carriage and ejecting the ink directly onto a recording medium such as recording paper. . The ink is supplied to the recording head by an ink storage container (hereinafter referred to as an ink cartridge) generally called a cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the recording head. As the ink cartridge, a hard type and a soft type are known.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the hard type ink cartridge 101 is composed of a main body portion 102 and a lid portion that are formed of a relatively hard synthetic resin such as acrylic butylene styrene (ABS) resin or polycarbonate (PC) resin. 103. A supply needle insertion port 104 for supplying ink to the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus is formed on the bottom surface of the main body 102. In addition, an ink inlet 105 for filling ink is formed in the lid 103.

  A projection 106 is formed on the bottom surface of the lid 103, the projection 106 is press-fitted into the opening 107 of the main body 102, the opening 107 is closed with the lid 103, and its peripheral portion is covered. The body portion 102 is sealed with a lid portion 103 by welding with an ultrasonic welding machine. Then, after ink is injected from the ink injection port 105, the ink injection port 105 is sealed with a sealing body 108.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 18, the soft type ink cartridge 201 is formed by providing a substantially cylindrical ink injection port 203 on an upper portion of a bag body 202 made of a soft material such as vinyl filling ink. ing. After injecting ink from the ink injection port 203, a stopper 204 formed of an elastic material such as rubber is pressed into the ink injection port 203 and a cap 205 is attached to the outer periphery of the ink injection port 203. It has become. The ink injection port 203 also serves as a supply needle insertion port. When supplying ink to the carriage of the inkjet recording apparatus, the ink injection port 203 is inserted into the bag via the hole 206 provided at the top of the cap 205 and the stopper 204. A carriage ink supply needle is inserted into the body 202.

  By the way, the hard type ink cartridge 101 is formed of a relatively hard synthetic resin such as ABS resin or PC resin and has a fixed shape, so that it is convenient to handle and can be easily attached to and detached from the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus. On the other hand, when the lid portion 103 is welded to the main body portion 102 with an ultrasonic welding machine, resin wear powder is inevitably generated, and a part of the wear powder falls off into the main body portion 102, and the ink is removed. If foreign matter such as resin wear powder is mixed in the nozzle, so-called clogging may occur in the nozzle of the ink jet recording apparatus, and smooth printing may not be possible. Such a concern can be solved by ultrasonically welding the main body 102 and the lid 103 and then injecting ink after cleaning the inside. However, there is a disadvantage that the productivity is low and the cost is high. is there.

  On the other hand, the soft type ink cartridge 201 uses a bag body 202 formed of a soft material such as vinyl that is filled with ink, and has substantially the same configuration as a conventional infusion pack or the like used for medical purposes. In addition, there is an advantage that foreign matters can be prevented from being mixed, but on the other hand, it is difficult to handle due to its flexible structure, and it is difficult to attach to and remove from the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus.

Therefore, in order to solve the drawbacks of the hard type ink cartridge 101 and the soft type ink cartridge 201, an inner container and an outer container are provided, and the inner container is formed of a flexible bag container. Ink cartridges have been developed. (For example, Patent Document 1)
The ink cartridge has at least an inner container and an outer container, and the inner container is a flexible bag container having at least an impregnating filler, a valve mounting port, and a discharge port facing the filler. The outer container has a connecting portion for connecting the discharge port of the inner container to the liquid supply target, and has openings on at least two surfaces, the inner container contains the liquid, and is contained in the outer container. It is characterized by being.

According to the above configuration, even if the inner container of the ink cartridge is a flexible bag container, the outer container that houses the ink container can move together with the carriage of the ink-jet printer and the like, so that it does not interfere with others. In addition to satisfying requirements such as the shape of the connection part for connecting the discharge port in a stable state when attaching to and detaching from the carriage, etc., the liquid contained in the inner container is connected from the discharge port to the connection part of the outer container Through this, it is possible to replenish while oozing from the filler.
JP-A-11-240169 (paragraph 0009, paragraph 0010, etc.)

Incidentally, the ink cartridge disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
(1) Since the inner container is composed of a flexible bag container, the shape of the bag container changes when the ink flows inside, which is difficult to hold and is inconvenient to handle. For example, when the inner container is inserted into the outer container, it is easier to insert the inner container having the same shape as the inner container storage portion of the outer container. Further, it is difficult to position and fix the inside of the outer container so that the bag container containing the liquid called ink does not swing.
(2) After using the liquid (ink) in the bag container, it is possible to refill the liquid (ink) by inserting a siridine needle into the bag container from the opening of the outer container. Must be closed with a special adhesive tape.
(3) Since the double structure of the outer container and the bag container as the inner container is used, the amount of synthetic resin to be used is increased, the material cost is increased, and the weight is increased. In addition, the manufacturing process of the bag container in which the filling material is stored facing the discharge port inside the bag container becomes complicated, and the cost increases.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the ink cartridge 301 includes an inner container 302 that stores ink and an outer container 303 that stores the inner container 302. The inner container 302 is formed by blow molding of a synthetic resin, an ink injection port 304 is provided on the upper surface side, and a cylindrical ink discharge port 306 closed with an elastic stopper 305 is provided on the bottom surface side. The outer container 303 is formed into a sleeve shape by injection molding of synthetic resin, the inner container 302 is stored in the inner container storage portion 307 of the outer container 303, and the cylindrical ink discharge provided in the inner container 302 is stored. A cap 310 is attached to the cylindrical ink discharge port 306 by causing the outlet 306 to protrude outward from a hole 309 provided in the bottom surface 308 of the outer container 303. Are also being developed that was. The top surface of the cap 310 is provided with a hole 311 for exposing a part of the elastic plug 305. Further, the ink injection port 304 is closed with a plug 312 and a cap 313. Further, a pressure adjusting valve mechanism 314 for adjusting the pressure in the ink storage portion 302a (see FIG. 22) of the inner container 302 is provided at the end of the upper surface side of the inner container 302 opposite to the ink injection port 304. Is provided.

  The pressure regulating valve mechanism 314 is formed by attaching a valve body 316 and a cap 317 to the valve attachment port 315. A hole 318 is provided on the top surface of the cap 317.

  As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the valve body 316 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic and has a slit portion 319 on the bottom surface. The valve body 316 is in a state where the slit portion 319 is closed when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 302a of the inner container 302 is a set value.

  When the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 302a of the inner container 302 exceeds a set value, as shown in FIG. 23, the bottom surface of the valve body 316 is bent toward the valve attachment port 315 and the slit portion 319 is opened. Thus, the pressure in the ink containing portion 302a is released into the outside air. Further, when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 302a of the inner container 302 becomes equal to or lower than a set value, the bottom surface of the valve body 316 is bent toward the ink containing portion 302a and the slit portion 319 is opened as shown in FIG. In this state, outside air is introduced into the ink containing portion 302a.

  By the way, the valve body 316 has a problem that when the pressure in the ink containing portion 302a is released into the outside air, the ink in the ink containing portion 302a is also scattered outside. Solving this problem has been a problem of this type of ink cartridge.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge provided with a pressure adjusting valve mechanism that can solve the above-described problems and prevent ink scattering.

  The present invention provides an ink cartridge having a pressure adjustment valve mechanism that releases the internal pressure into the outside air when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion becomes higher than the external pressure, and the pressure adjustment valve mechanism is provided in the valve mounting opening. A first valve body having a slit-like opening / closing portion that opens and closes the valve mounting port, and communicates with the ink storage portion through the opening portion and communicates with the outside air through the first valve body. When the internal pressure of the pressure adjustment chamber and the ink storage portion exceeds a set value, the communication port is opened to connect the ink storage portion and the pressure adjustment chamber, and the slit shape of the first valve body And a second valve body that covers the opening / closing portion. The pressure adjusting chamber is provided inside the ink containing portion. The pressure adjusting chamber is constituted by a rib formed by deep drawing a part of the ink containing portion. The first valve body and the second valve body were integrally formed. The second valve element is pressed against the rib for forming the pressure adjusting chamber by its own elasticity to close the communication port. The second valve body was formed larger than the slit-shaped opening / closing portion of the first valve body.

  In an ink cartridge having a pressure adjustment valve mechanism for releasing the internal pressure into the outside air when the external air pressure is lower than the internal pressure of the ink storage portion by a predetermined value or more, the pressure adjustment valve mechanism is connected to the valve mounting port. A valve body accommodating space provided at an end portion on the outside air side, an outer periphery of the valve attachment port, and provided between one end side of the valve body accommodating space and the ink containing portion. A slit-like communication groove that communicates with one end side of the ink storage portion and the ink storage portion, and an end portion on the outside air side of the valve body storage space portion that is stored in the valve body storage space portion and the outside air pressure becomes a set value or less When the outside pressure exceeds a set value, the valve body accommodating space is moved to the end of the valve accommodating space on the ink accommodating portion side, and the ink is passed through the slit-like communication groove. And a valve body for communicating outside air with the accommodating portion. The valve body was formed in a spherical shape. A valve body accommodating space of the pressure regulating valve mechanism is formed in an inner plug, and the inner plug is mounted in the valve mounting port.

  The pressure regulating valve mechanism communicates with the first valve body provided at the valve mounting opening and having a slit-shaped opening / closing portion that opens and closes the valve mounting opening, through the opening to the ink containing portion. A pressure adjusting chamber that communicates with the outside through the first valve body and the valve mounting port; and the communication port that opens when the internal pressure of the ink reservoir exceeds a set value. And a second valve body that communicates with the pressure adjustment chamber and covers the slit-shaped opening / closing portion of the first valve body, so that when the internal pressure of the ink storage portion exceeds a set value, The second valve body is opened by pressure, and the internal pressure of the ink container and a part of the ink are introduced into the pressure adjustment chamber from the communication port, and the pressure introduced into the pressure adjustment chamber is Discharged into the outside air through the slit-like opening and closing part of the valve body However, at this time, the slit-like opening / closing portion of the first valve body is covered with the second valve body, so that the ink in the ink containing portion is transferred to the first valve body. It is prevented from being discharged directly from the slit-like opening / closing part of the valve body. In particular, since the pressure adjusting chamber is provided inside the ink containing portion, it is not necessary to change the outer shape of the ink cartridge. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the shape of the ink cartridge storage portion of the printer.

  The pressure adjusting chamber can be easily and easily formed by the pressure adjusting chamber forming rib formed by deep drawing a part of the ink containing portion. Further, since the first valve body and the second valve body are integrally formed, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the first valve body and the second valve body are formed independently and separately. Can measure. Since the second valve body is pressed against the rib for forming the pressure adjustment chamber by its own elasticity to close the communication port, the second valve body is configured to close the rib for forming the pressure adjustment chamber. No spring material is required to press against. Since the second valve element is formed larger than the slit-shaped opening / closing part of the first valve element, the opening / closing part can be reliably covered.

  The pressure adjusting valve mechanism includes a valve body accommodating space provided at an end on the outside air side of the valve mounting port, an outer periphery of the valve mounting port and one end side of the valve body housing space, and the ink storage. And a slit-shaped communication groove that is provided between the one end side of the valve body housing space and the ink housing portion, and is housed in the valve body housing space and the external air pressure becomes a set value or less. The valve mounting space is moved to the end on the outside air side to close the valve mounting port, and when the outside air pressure exceeds a set value, the valve body housing space is moved to the end on the ink containing portion side. And the valve body that communicates the ink storage portion with the outside air through the slit-shaped communication groove, so that the valve body is used when the external air pressure drops below a set value during air transportation of the ink cartridge. Closes the valve mounting port to prevent ink from splashing outside. . Since the valve body is formed in a spherical shape, the valve mounting port can be reliably closed even when the valve body rotates in the valve body accommodating space. Since the valve body accommodating space of the pressure regulating valve mechanism is formed in the inner plug, and the inner plug is attached to the valve attachment port, the valve element accommodation space is directly inserted into the valve attachment port of the ink cartridge. Compared with the case where it forms, the dimensional accuracy etc. of a valve body accommodation space part can be improved, and it can suppress that a valve body accommodation space part deform | transforms.

  1 to 7 show a first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of a state before the inner container is accommodated in the outer container, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the state after the inner container is accommodated in the outer container, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inverted state, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the second valve body is closed, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the state in which the second valve body is open, and FIG. 7 is an ink discharge port. It is sectional drawing of a part.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the ink cartridge 1 includes an inner container 2 that stores ink and an outer container 3 that stores the inner container 2.

  The inner container 2 is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape by blow molding of synthetic resin, and an ink injection port 11 is integrally formed at one end portion on the upper surface side, and at the other end portion on the upper surface side, A valve attachment port 12 to which a first valve body 72 and a second valve body 73 constituting a pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 described below is integrally formed is formed integrally, and an ink discharge port 13 is formed at the center on the bottom side. It is integrally formed. The bottom surface 14 of the inner container 2 is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined downward toward the ink discharge port 13 so that the ink in the inner container 2 can be discharged from the ink discharge port 13 without being left behind. It has become.

  The ink injection port 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a male screw 15 is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface. The ink injection port 11 is sealed by screwing the first cap 17 after press-fitting the stopper 16.

  When the internal pressure of the inner container 2 becomes higher than the external atmospheric pressure, the pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 releases the internal pressure into the outside air and lowers the internal pressure of the inner container 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pressure adjusting valve mechanism 71 is attached to the valve mounting port 12 and has a first valve body 72 having a slit-shaped opening / closing portion 72 a that opens and closes the valve mounting port 12. The pressure adjusting chamber 74 communicating with the ink containing portion 2a via the communication port 73 and communicating with the outside air via the first valve body 72, and the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 2a exceeds a set value. Then, the communication port 73 is opened to allow the ink storage portion 2a and the pressure adjustment chamber 74 to communicate with each other, and the second valve body 75 that covers the first valve body 72 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first valve body 72 includes a cylindrical portion 72b and a flat rectangular tube portion 72c provided continuously to the cylindrical portion 72b, and a distal end surface of the rectangular tube portion 72c. It is formed by providing the slit-like opening / closing part 72a in 72d. The first valve body 72 is formed of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic, and is mounted in the valve mounting port 12.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the inner container 2 is provided with the pressure adjusting chamber 74 inside an ink storage portion 2a. The pressure adjusting chamber 74 is formed by providing an inclined rib 76 from one end surface of the inner container 2 toward the upper surface. The inclined rib 76 is formed by deep-drawing the inner container 2 from one side or from both sides.

  The pressure adjusting chamber 74 communicates with the ink containing portion 2 a through the communication port 73. The communication port 73 is formed by molding the upper end portion of the inclined rib 76 away from the upper surface of the inner container 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second valve body 75 opens and closes the communication port 73. As shown in FIG. 4, the second valve body 75 has a predetermined inclination with respect to the distal end surface 72d from one end portion of the distal end surface 72d provided with the slit-like opening / closing portion 72a of the first valve body 72. The protrusions are integrally formed at an angle θ1.

  The inclination angle θ1 of the second valve body 75 is formed to be larger than the inclination angle θ2 (see FIG. 5) of the inclined rib 75, and the inclined rib is formed by its own elasticity. The communication port 73 is closed by being pressed against 76. As shown in FIG. 4, the width W <b> 1 of the second valve body 75 is formed larger than the width W <b> 2 of the slit-shaped opening / closing portion 72 a of the first valve body 72.

  The valve body attaching port 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is adapted to press-fit and attach the cylindrical portion 72b of the first valve body 72 formed integrally with the second valve body 75. As shown in FIG. 5, the second cap 19 is attached to the valve body attachment port 12 after the first valve body 72 is pressure-inserted. A hole (air hole) 20 is provided on the top surface of the second cap 19.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink discharge port 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a male screw 21 is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion. After the ink discharge port 13 is closed with a plug 22 made of elastic rubber or plastic, a third cap 23 is screwed. A cutout portion 24 is formed on the top surface of the third cap 23 to expose the plug 22 having elasticity. The inner container 2 is formed by blow molding a synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP).

  The outer container 3 is formed in a flat sleeve shape into which the inner container 2 is inserted, and a hole portion for projecting the ink discharge port 13 of the stored inner container 2 to the outside at the bottom 32 of the inner container storage part 31. 33 is provided. The outer container 3 is provided with a viewing window portion 35 penetrating into the inner container storage portion 31 on the long side wall 34.

  The outer container 3 includes a storage guide portion 37 for a cartridge storage portion of a printer (not shown) on the side wall 36 on the short side. The outer container 3 includes a positioning pin 38 for positioning at the bottom of the inner container storage portion 31 when the printer is stored in the cartridge storage portion. The positioning pin 38 has a detection function for discriminating the type of ink.

  Next, an example and operation of the ink cartridge 1 assembling method will be described. First, when the first valve body 72 is inserted into the valve body attachment port 12 of the inner container 2, the second valve body 75 provided at the distal end portion of the first valve body 72 becomes the inclined rib 76. The communication port 73 is closed by being pressed.

  Next, an elastic plug 22 is press-fitted into the ink discharge port 13 to close the ink discharge port 13. Next, ink is injected into the inner container 2 from the ink injection port 11.

  When ink is injected and the pressure in the inner container 2 rises and exceeds a set value, the second valve body 75 is pressed by the pressure, and the communication port 73 is opened to open the inner container 2. The pressure is discharged into the pressure adjusting chamber 74. When the pressure adjustment chamber 74 cannot completely absorb the pressure increase in the inner container 2 due to the ink injection, the first valve body 72 acts to release the pressure to the outside from the slit-shaped opening 72a. The

  When the ink has been injected, the stopper 16 is press-fitted into the ink inlet 11 and then the first cap 17 is screwed. Then, the inner container 2 is inserted into the inner container storage portion 31 of the outer container 3.

  When the inner container 2 is inserted into the inner container storage portion 31 of the outer container 3, the cylindrical ink discharge port 13 provided on the lower surface of the inner container 2 protrudes from the hole 33 provided on the bottom surface 32 of the outer container 3. To do. Accordingly, when the third cap 23 is screwed and tightened to the cylindrical ink discharge port 13, the end surface 39 of the third cap 23 and the bottom surface 14 of the inner container 2 are formed as shown in FIG. The bottom surface 32 of the outer container 3 is sandwiched between them, and the inner container 2 and the outer container 3 are integrally coupled to prevent the inner container 2 from coming out of the outer container 3. In addition, when the pressure in the inner container 2 suddenly increases for some reason while the ink cartridge 1 is in use, or the external air pressure rapidly decreases, the second valve body 75 is pressed by the pressure. Then, the communication port 73 is opened and the pressure in the inner container 2 is discharged into the pressure adjusting chamber 74. The second valve body 75 pressed by the pressure is as shown in FIG. Then, the slit-shaped opening 72a of the first valve body 72 is covered and concealed to prevent the ink from scattering from the opening 72a.

  8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the pressure regulating valve mechanism 71. FIG. In this embodiment, the pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 includes a valve body accommodating space portion 82 having a diameter larger than that of the outside air communication hole 81 provided at the upper end of the communication hole 81 on the inner periphery of the valve mounting port 12, and the valve body. When the internal pressure of the ink storage portion 2a exceeds the set value or the external pressure becomes equal to or lower than the set value and is stored in the storage space portion 82, the upper end of the valve body storage space portion 82 is It moves to close the hole 20 of the cap 19, and when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 2a is lower than the set value or when the external pressure exceeds the set value, the lower end side of the valve body containing space portion 82 ( It moves to the end of the communication hole 81 side, closes the communication hole 81, and communicates the inside and the outside of the ink containing portion 2a via a slit-like communication groove 83 provided on the outer periphery of the communication hole 81. And a valve body 84 to be made.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is transported by air, there is a possibility that the external air pressure decreases and ink is ejected. In such a case, the valve body 84 floats in the valve body housing space 82 and moves to the upper end side of the valve body housing space 82 to close the hole 20 of the cap 19. The valve body 84 is formed in a spherical shape by a material having a small specific gravity such as foamed resin. The material and weight of the valve body 84 are determined in consideration of the fact that the external air pressure drops from 1.0 atm to, for example, 0.7 to 0.8 atm when the ink cartridge 1 is transported by air.

  The pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 of the second embodiment is configured as described above, and when the external air pressure drops to, for example, 0.7 to 0.8 atm or less during air transportation of the ink cartridge 1, the valve body 83 moves to the upper end side of the valve body accommodating space portion 82 and closes the hole portion 20 of the cap 19 to prevent ink from being sucked out of the hole portion 20 and scattered outside. Further, when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion 2a becomes lower than a set value or when the external air pressure exceeds the set value for some reason, the ink containing portion moves to the lower end portion of the valve body containing space portion 82. Although the communication hole 81 is closed, the inside and the outside of the ink containing portion 2a are communicated with each other through a slit-shaped communication groove 83 provided on the outer periphery of the communication hole 81, and the outside air is communicated with the outside through the slit-shaped communication groove 83. Is introduced into the ink container 2a to balance the pressure in the ink container 2a and the external pressure. The shape of the valve body 84 is not limited to a spherical shape, but a shape in which two cones are combined as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, or two cones as shown in FIG. It may be a combined shape or other shapes. Further, a rib for guiding the movement of the valve element 84 may be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the valve element accommodating space 82. Since other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, which is the basic configuration, redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 14 shows a third embodiment in which an inner plug 91 is mounted in the valve mounting opening 12 and a valve body accommodating space 82 of the pressure regulating valve mechanism 71 is provided in the inner plug 91. When the valve body housing space 82 is formed directly in the valve body mounting port 12, it is difficult to form the valve body housing space 81 with high accuracy and is easily deformed. Therefore, in this embodiment, a cylindrical inner plug 91 is formed separately from the valve body attachment port 12, and a valve body accommodating space 82 is provided in the inner plug 91. Accordingly, the valve body accommodating space 82 can be formed with higher accuracy and deformation can be suppressed. Further, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, by compressing with the packing 92 sandwiched between the inner plug 91 and the third cap 19, it is possible to reliably prevent pressure leakage and ink leakage. Since other configurations are substantially the same as the configurations of the first and second embodiments, which are the basic configurations, redundant description is omitted. In the above embodiment, the case where one ink discharge port 13 is provided in the inner container 2 is shown, but a plurality of ink discharge ports 13 may be provided.

The perspective view of the state before accommodating the inner side container of a 1st Example in an outer side container. The perspective view of the state after accommodating the inner side container of a 1st Example in an outer side container. The perspective view of the state turned over. The perspective view of the state which turned the valve body upside down and was seen. Sectional drawing which shows the effect | action of a valve body. Sectional drawing which shows the effect | action of a valve body. Sectional drawing of a 3rd cap part. Sectional drawing of a 2nd Example. Sectional drawing of a 2nd Example. Sectional drawing of the modification of a 2nd Example. Sectional drawing of the modification of a 2nd Example. The perspective view of a valve body. The perspective view of a valve body. Sectional drawing of a 3rd Example. A is a cross-sectional view before compressing the packing with the cap, and B is a cross-sectional view of the state in which the packing is compressed with the cap. The perspective view of a prior art example. The perspective view of a prior art example. The perspective view of another prior art example. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge that is currently being developed. The perspective view assembled and seen from the back side. The perspective view of a valve body. Sectional drawing which shows an effect | action. Sectional drawing which shows an effect | action. Sectional drawing which shows an effect | action.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink cartridge, 2 ... Inner container, 2a ... Ink storage part, 3 ... Outer container, 11 ... Ink injection port, 12 ... Valve body attachment port, 13 ... Cylindrical ink discharge port, 23 ... Third cap, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 71 ... Pressure adjustment valve mechanism, 72 ... 1st on-off valve, 72a ... Slit-like opening-closing part, 73 ... Communication port, 74 ... Pressure adjustment chamber, 75 ... 1st on-off valve, 76 ... Inclined rib, 81 ... Valve body housing space, 82... Slit-shaped communication groove, 83... Valve body, 91.

Claims (9)

In an ink cartridge provided with a pressure adjustment valve mechanism for releasing the internal pressure into the outside air when the internal pressure of the ink containing portion becomes higher than the external pressure.
The pressure regulating valve mechanism is provided in the valve mounting port and communicates with the first valve body having a slit-shaped opening / closing portion that opens and closes the valve mounting port, and the ink storage portion through the opening. A pressure adjustment chamber that communicates with the outside air via the first valve body, and the communication port is opened to communicate the ink storage portion and the pressure adjustment chamber when the internal pressure of the ink storage portion exceeds a set value. And a second valve body that covers the slit-like opening / closing portion of the first valve body. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjustment chamber is provided inside the ink storage portion. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjusting chamber is configured by a rib formed by deep drawing a part of the ink storage portion. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second valve body is formed integrally with the first valve body. The ink cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the second valve body is pressed against the rib for forming the pressure adjusting chamber by its own elasticity to close the communication port. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second valve body is formed larger than a slit-shaped opening / closing portion of the first valve body. In an ink cartridge comprising a pressure adjustment valve mechanism that descends when the external air pressure is lower than the internal pressure of the ink storage unit by a predetermined value or more and releases the internal pressure of the ink storage unit into the outside air.
The pressure regulating valve mechanism includes a valve body accommodating space provided at an end on the outside air side of the valve mounting port, an outer periphery of the valve mounting port and one end side of the valve body housing space, and the ink storing portion. A slit-like communication groove provided between the one end side of the valve body housing space and the ink housing section, and the valve when the outside air pressure falls below a set value when housed in the valve body housing space. The valve mounting port is closed by moving to the outside end of the body housing space, and when the outside air pressure exceeds a set value, the valve housing space is moved to the end of the valve housing space on the ink housing side. An ink cartridge comprising: a valve body that communicates the ink storage portion with outside air through a slit-like communication groove. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is formed in a spherical shape. 8. The ink cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the valve body accommodating space of the pressure regulating valve mechanism is formed in an inner plug attached in the valve attachment port.

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