JP5493693B2 - Liquid container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container that stores therein a liquid supplied to a liquid consuming apparatus and is detachably mounted on a container mounting portion of the liquid consuming apparatus.

  A typical example of a conventional liquid consuming apparatus is a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid droplets from an ejecting head. A typical example of the liquid ejecting apparatus is an ink jet recording apparatus that includes an ink jet recording head for image recording. There is. As other liquid ejecting apparatuses, for example, an apparatus having a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display, a surface emitting display (FED), etc. ) An apparatus equipped with an ejection head, an apparatus equipped with a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, an apparatus equipped with a sample ejection head as a precision pipette, and the like.

  An ink jet recording apparatus, which is a typical example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, is used for many printing including color printing in recent years because noise during printing is relatively low and small dots can be formed with high density. .

  As a liquid supply method for a liquid consuming device typified by an ink jet recording apparatus, there is a method of supplying a liquid from a liquid container storing the liquid to the liquid consuming device. Furthermore, the liquid supply method using the liquid container is configured to be detachable from the liquid consuming device so that the user can easily replace the liquid container when the liquid in the liquid container is consumed. Generally, a liquid container is configured as a cartridge.

  In general, an ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage mounted with a recording head for ejecting ink droplets and reciprocating along a recording surface of a recording medium. As a method of supplying ink from an ink cartridge to the recording head, There is a system in which an ink cartridge is mounted and ink is supplied to the recording head from an ink cartridge that reciprocates with the recording head. As another method, there is a method in which an ink cartridge is mounted on the case of the apparatus main body and the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head via an ink flow path formed by a flexible tube or the like.

  In any of the above ink supply systems, it is required that the ink cartridge can be easily and securely mounted and fixed at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body. Further, when replacing the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge can be easily and easily removed from the apparatus main body. There is a need for reliable removal.

  Therefore, in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus and ink cartridge, as a mechanism for securely fixing the ink cartridge at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body, for example, after the ink cartridge is inserted into a cartridge holder or the like of the apparatus main body, A mechanism has been employed in which a stop lever or the like is operated and the ink cartridge is pressed and fixed by a lock lever or the like.

International Publication No. 99/59823 Pamphlet

  However, in such a cartridge fixing mechanism, the step of inserting the ink cartridge into the cartridge holder or the like and the step of fixing after the insertion for operating the locking lever or the like are separate and independent steps, and the ink cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body. The operation was complicated. In addition, this conventional cartridge fixing mechanism requires a two-step operation when removing the ink cartridge.

  In addition, a mechanism in which the fixing of the ink cartridge at the time of mounting is achieved at the same time as the insertion step is conceivable. However, even in this case, a step of releasing the fixing is necessary when removing the ink cartridge. The operation is completely different from the subsequent operation of pulling out the ink cartridge. For this reason, the operation of removing the ink cartridge becomes complicated.

  In addition, among conventional ink jet recording apparatuses and ink cartridges, a storage element (IC) for storing information such as ink type and remaining amount is provided in the ink cartridge, and at the apparatus main body side (for example, a cartridge holder), Some devices have a device-side contact connected to the IC-side electrode.

  When an ink cartridge having such an IC is attached to the apparatus main body, it is necessary to securely connect the IC side electrode and the apparatus side contact when the ink cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body. It is necessary to maintain the state reliably. That is, it is necessary to suppress the deviation between the device-side contact and the IC-side electrode within a range where conduction is possible. For example, it is conceivable to increase the allowable range of misalignment with respect to the device side contact by increasing the size of the IC side electrode, but the problem is that the ink cartridge itself becomes larger as the IC side electrode becomes larger. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid container that can be easily and reliably attached to a liquid consuming apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is more than a lever main body, a large-diameter pin mounting portion provided at the tip of the lever main body, and the pin mounting portion provided on the top surface of the pin mounting portion. In a liquid container that is detachably mounted on a container mounting portion of a liquid consuming apparatus having a device-side fixing structure having a small-diameter locking pin, and stores the liquid supplied to the liquid consuming apparatus therein, the liquid In the state where the liquid supply port for delivering the liquid supplied to the consuming device is formed, and the liquid container is mounted on the container mounting portion, the device side fixing structure provided on the container mounting portion cooperates. And a container side fixing structure that removably restricts movement of the liquid container in the pulling direction, and the container side fixing structure is inserted with a locking pin of the device side fixing structure, and the container mounting Said liquid to the part A guide groove for guiding the locking pin when the container is attached / detached, and the guide groove engages with the locking pin in a state where the liquid container is mounted on the container mounting portion. Including a locking portion for restricting movement in the pulling direction, a recess is formed on the surface of the container body, and the guide groove is moved while the locking pin is relatively moving in the guide groove. The peripheral portion of the top surface of the pin mounting portion is provided on the bottom surface of the recess so as to slide along the edge of the guide groove formed by the bottom surface of the recess .

Preferably, the groove depth gradually decreases along the moving direction of the locking pin that moves relative to the inlet portion of the guide groove with the operation of inserting the liquid container into the container mounting portion. An inclined inlet portion inclined surface is formed, and the width of the inclined inlet portion surface is set larger than the groove width in the main portion of the guide groove including the locking portion.

  Preferably, the guide groove includes an inlet side guide portion that guides the locking pin when the liquid container is inserted into the container mounting portion, and the liquid container inserted into the container mounting portion is pulled out. An intermediate guide portion for guiding the locking pin to the locking portion when pushed back in the direction, and the locking portion by pushing the liquid container in the insertion direction when removing the liquid container from the container mounting portion. An exit-side guide portion that guides the locking pin detached from the guide groove to the exit of the guide groove.

Also preferably, the inlet side guide part, so that the guide groove along the direction of movement of the locking pin that relatively moves with the inserting operation of the liquid container into the container mounting portion is deeper An inclined surface for forming a deep groove is provided, and a flat portion is formed in the inlet side guide portion following the deep groove forming slope, and the depth of the groove in the flat portion of the guide groove is: It is set larger than the length of the locking pin .
Preferably, the depth of the groove in the locking portion of the guide groove is set larger than the length of the locking pin.

  Preferably, the depth of the guide groove at the shallowest portion formed by the inlet inclined surface is smaller than the length of the locking pin, and the depth of the deepest portion formed by the deep groove forming inclined surface. The guide groove has a depth greater than the length of the locking pin.

  Preferably, the guide groove has an engaging pin that moves in the direction of the engaging portion when the liquid container is inserted sufficiently deep with respect to the container mounting portion, in front of the engaging portion. A provisional stop side wall portion that temporarily stops, and the locking portion of the guide groove is provided when the liquid container inserted sufficiently deep into the container mounting portion is pushed back in the drawing direction. A final stop side wall portion that stops the engagement pin that is released from the stop side wall and moves to the engagement portion at a predetermined locking position;

  Preferably, the outlet portion of the guide groove is connected to the inlet portion, and the depth of the groove of the outlet portion is shallower than the depth of the groove of the inlet portion at the connection portion. A step for guiding the locking pin when the container is inserted into the container mounting portion is formed in the connection portion.

  Preferably, at least a part of a portion of the guide groove from the inlet portion to the locking portion extends from about 30 ° to about 50 ° with respect to the insertion / extraction direction of the liquid container. Has been.

  Preferably, the guide groove has a rectangular cross section.

  Preferably, the liquid consuming device is an ink jet recording device, and the liquid container is an ink cartridge that is detachably attached to the ink jet recording device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the liquid container which can be mounted | worn easily and reliably with respect to a liquid consumption apparatus can be provided.
Further, according to the present invention, a recess is formed on the surface of the container body, and the guide groove is a top surface of the pin mounting portion during the relative movement of the locking pin in the guide groove. Is provided on the bottom surface of the recess so that the peripheral edge of the guide slides along the edge of the guide groove formed by the bottom surface of the recess . Therefore , in the state where the locking pin is inserted into the guide groove, the amount of protrusion of the container side fixing structure from the liquid container surface can be reduced or made zero. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the container mounting portion. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the locking pin from coming off from the guide groove.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cartridge mounting portion of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the ink cartridge is mounted. It is the figure which showed the ink cartridge by one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a front view. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A and 1B are perspective views illustrating an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a diagram viewed from a direction in which a rear upper surface is obliquely viewed, and FIG. (c) is a view seen from the direction in which the rear surface obliquely below can be seen, and (d) is a view seen from the direction in which the front surface obliquely above can be seen. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the state which removed the cover member from the ink cartridge by one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a top view in the state which accommodated the ink bag, (b) is a front view of (a), (c) is a plan view of a state where an ink bag is not stored, and (d) is a front view of (c). FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the state where the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet recording apparatus so that the inside of the apparatus can be seen. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the state where the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet recording apparatus so that the inside of the apparatus can be seen. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 7 so that the inside of the apparatus can be seen when the ink cartridge is not mounted. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 8 so that the inside of the apparatus can be seen when no ink cartridge is mounted. (A) is a plan view showing the state in which the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet recording apparatus so that the inside of the apparatus can be seen, and (b) is a line bb in (a). FIG. The top view which showed the cartridge mounting part of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. 7 so that the inside of an apparatus could be seen in the state which removed the slider. The perspective view which showed the cartridge mounting part of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. 8 so that the inside of an apparatus could be seen in the state which removed the slider. FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of a rotating lever member of the cartridge mounting portion shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, where (a) is a view seen from obliquely above, and (b) is a view seen from obliquely below. 2A and 2B are enlarged views of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a back surface of a front end portion, and FIG. 2B shows a front surface. It is a figure for demonstrating the depth shape of the guide groove of the ink cartridge by one Embodiment of this invention, and each sectional drawing along the bb line and cc line shown to (a) is (b). And (c), respectively. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the operation of the locking pin in the guide groove when the ink cartridge is attached and detached according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings as an embodiment of a liquid container according to the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment and a cartridge mounting portion 101 of an ink jet recording apparatus 100 to which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted. In this example, six cartridge mounting portions 101 are provided in the ink jet recording apparatus 100, and each cartridge mounting portion 101 is open on the front surface of the ink jet recording apparatus 100. Further, the six cartridge mounting portions 101 are juxtaposed in the same horizontal plane, and the six ink cartridges 1 are juxtaposed side by side.

  2 to 4 are views showing the external shape of the ink cartridge 1. The ink cartridge 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped container body 2, and the front surface of the container body 2 is supplied to the ink jet recording apparatus 100. An ink supply port 3 for sending out the ink to be used is formed.

  In addition, a pressurized fluid introduction port 4 is formed on the front surface of the container body 2 to introduce pressurized fluid for pressurizing the ink inside the container body 2 and sending it out from the ink supply port 3 into the container body 2. Has been.

  Further, a pair of positioning holes 5 a and 5 b into which a pair of positioning protrusions provided in the cartridge mounting portion 101 are inserted are formed on the front surface of the container body 2. Around the pair of positioning holes 5a and 5b, cartridge-side positioning surfaces 24a and 24b that are in contact with the apparatus-side positioning surface of the cartridge mounting portion 101 and perform positioning in the insertion direction of the ink cartridge 1 are formed. The pair of positioning holes 5a and 5b and the pair of cartridge side positioning surfaces 24a and 24b constitute a cartridge side positioning portion.

  Further, an erroneous mounting prevention structure 6 is provided at one corner of the container body 2 including the front surface, that is, at the corner opposite to the cartridge side fixing structure 7 with respect to the ink supply port 3. This incorrect mounting prevention structure 6 is configured so that when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus 100, the ink cartridge 1 of a predetermined ink type is correctly mounted at a predetermined position. A shape other than the ink cartridge is provided so that it cannot be mounted.

  Further, on the back surface (bottom surface) of the container main body 2, a cartridge side fixing structure 7 is provided at a corner adjacent to the front surface of the container main body 2 and opposite to the corner where the erroneous mounting prevention structure 6 is provided. It has been. The cartridge side fixing structure 7 is configured to restrict the movement of the ink cartridge 1 in the pulling direction in a state where the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the container mounting portion 101.

  In the present embodiment, the cartridge side fixing structure 7 is provided on the back surface of the container body 2. However, the formation position of the cartridge side fixing structure 7 is not limited to the back surface of the container body 2. You can also

  Further, on one side surface of the container main body 2 on the side close to the cartridge side fixing structure 7, a circuit board 8 b mounted with an IC (semiconductor storage element) for storing information such as ink type and remaining amount is provided. The surface of the circuit board 8b is electrically connected to the IC, and is provided with an electrode (cartridge side electrode) 8a that comes into contact with the apparatus side contact of the recording apparatus main body to constitute the storage device 8. The storage device 8, together with the cartridge side fixing structure 7, is disposed at a position near the ink supply port 3 in the entire container body 2. In this embodiment, the memory element and the electrode 8 are formed on the circuit board 8b. However, the memory element and the electrode 8a may be formed on the FPC, and both may be arranged at different positions on the container body 2. it can.

  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge 1, and the container main body 2 includes a case main body 2A having an upper surface opened and a lid member 2B for sealing the upper surface opening of the case main body 2A. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the lid member 2 </ b> B is removed from the ink cartridge 1.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, an ink bag 9 having a flexible ink storage portion (shown by a broken line for explanation) filled with ink is stored in the container body 2. The ink bag 9 is provided with a port portion 10 for sending the ink inside the bag 9 to the outside. A lid 12 is attached to the inner end portion of the port portion 10 with a check valve 11 disposed therein. On the other hand, a seal supply lid 15 is attached to an outer end portion of the port portion 10 with a spring seat 14 biased by a spring 13 disposed therein.

  A film 25 is fixed by thermal welding to a welding portion 26 formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the region of the case main body 2 </ b> A containing the ink bag 9. The sealed space is sealed without the pressurized fluid introduced from the pressurized fluid introduction port 4 (pressurized air in the present embodiment) leaking to the outside, and presses the ink containing portion of the ink bag 9 with the pressurized fluid. The ink can be supplied to the outside. Further, the lid member 2B is fixed to the case main body 2A by an engagement protrusion 27 formed on the lid member 2B so as to cover the film 25, and protects the film 25 and prevents unnecessary expansion of the film 25 during pressurization. I am doing.

  7 and 8 show a state in which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 101 of the ink jet recording apparatus 100. The slider mounting member 102 to which the front surface portion of the ink cartridge 1 is connected is connected to the cartridge mounting portion 101. FIG. Is provided. The slider member 102 is provided so as to be slidable in the insertion / extraction direction of the ink cartridge 1, and is urged by a resilient means in a direction (extraction direction Y) opposite to the insertion direction X of the ink cartridge 1.

  9 and 10 show the cartridge mounting portion 101 in a state where the ink cartridge 1 is not mounted. A pair of positioning projections 103a and 103b are provided on the surface of the slider member 102 that faces the front surface of the ink cartridge, and each base portion of each positioning projection 103a and 103b is provided with a shoulder on the apparatus side positioning surface 104a. , 104b are provided. The pair of positioning protrusions 103a and 103b and the pair of device side positioning surfaces 104a and 104b constitute a device side positioning portion.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is connected to the slider member 102, the pair of positioning protrusions 103a and 103b are inserted into the pair of positioning holes 5a and 5b on the front surface of the ink cartridge 1, so that the pair of cartridge-side positioning surfaces 24a and 24b and the pair of apparatus-side positioning surfaces 104a and 104b come into contact with each other.

  Of the pair of positioning holes 5a and 5b, the pair of positioning projections 103a and 103b, the pair of cartridge side positioning surfaces 24a and 24b, and the pair of apparatus side positioning surfaces 104a and 104b, one positioning hole 5a and one positioning projection The portion 103a, the one cartridge side positioning surface 24a, and the one apparatus side positioning surface 104a have a function of positioning the ink cartridge 1 more accurately with respect to the slider member 102. In particular, the positioning of the ink cartridge 1 in the insertion direction is accurately performed by the cartridge side positioning surface 24a and the apparatus side positioning surface 104a.

  As can be seen from FIG. 4B, the positioning hole 5a and the cartridge side positioning surface 24a used for accurate positioning are arranged in the vicinity of the storage device 8 including the electrode 8a. Thus, in the vicinity of the storage device 8, the positioning hole 5a, the cartridge side positioning surface 24a, and the cartridge side fixing structure 7 are arranged.

  Further, the positioning hole 5a and the cartridge side fixing structure 7 are arranged so that the positioning projection 103a inserted into the positioning hole 5a and the cartridge side fixing structure 7 overlap in the thickness direction of the container body 2.

  11A and 11B show a state in which the ink cartridge 1 is accurately positioned with respect to the slider member 102 by the positioning hole 5a, the positioning projection 103a, the cartridge side positioning surface 24a, and the apparatus side positioning surface 103a. Is shown. The locking pin 112 of the device-side fixing structure 107 is inserted and held in the locking portion 18 of the guide groove 16 of the container body 2.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a pressurized fluid port 105 connected to the pressurized fluid inlet 4 of the ink cartridge 1 is provided on the surface of the slider member 102 facing the front surface of the ink cartridge. Yes.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a contact protrusion 114 having a device-side contact 113 connected to the electrode 8 a of the storage device 8 is provided at one end of the front surface of the slider member 102. .

  12 and 13 show a state where the slider member 102 is removed from the cartridge mounting portion 101. FIG. An ink supply needle 106 is fixed inside the cartridge mounting portion 101, and the ink supply needle 106 is inserted into the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 when the ink cartridge 1 is pushed together with the slider member 102.

  In addition, an apparatus side fixing structure 107 that restricts movement of the ink cartridge 1 in the drawing direction in cooperation with the cartridge side fixing structure 7 of the ink cartridge 1 is provided inside the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  The apparatus-side fixing structure 107 includes a rotating lever member 108. The rotating lever member 108 is supported so as to be rotatable about the base end portion thereof, and is rotated in one direction of rotation (see FIG. 12). (Counterclockwise in the middle)

  As shown in FIG. 14, the rotating lever member 108 includes an elongated lever main body 110, a substantially cylindrical pin mounting portion 111 provided at the tip of the lever main body 110, and the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111. And a substantially cylindrical locking pin 112 having a smaller diameter than that of the pin mounting portion 111.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the cartridge side fixing structure 7 includes a guide groove 16 having a rectangular cross section into which the locking pin 112 is inserted. A recess 17 is formed in the corner of the back surface of the cartridge in the vicinity of the positioning hole 5a and the cartridge-side positioning surface 24a used for high-accuracy positioning, and a guide groove 16 is formed in the bottom surface of the recess 17. The bottom surface of the guide groove 16 is perpendicular to the side surface of the container body 2 on which the storage device 8 is disposed.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is attached to or detached from the cartridge mounting portion 101, the locking pin 112 of the rotating lever member 108 of the apparatus side fixing structure 107 is guided by the guide groove 16 of the cartridge side fixing structure 7.

  The guide groove 16 includes a locking portion 18 that restricts the movement of the ink cartridge 1 in the pulling direction when the locking pin 112 is engaged when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  The guide groove 16 includes an inlet side guide portion 19 that guides the locking pin 112 when the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101, and the ink cartridge 1 inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101 in the pulling direction. When the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the cartridge mounting portion 101, the intermediate guide portion 20 that guides the locking pin 112 to the locking portion 18 when being pushed back, and the ink cartridge 1 is pushed in the insertion direction from the locking portion 18. And an exit side guide portion 21 for guiding the detached locking pin 112 to the exit of the guide groove 16.

  A main portion (straight portion) of the inlet side guide portion 19 of the guide groove 16 extends from about 30 ° to about 50 ° with respect to the insertion / extraction direction of the ink cartridge 1. Further, the end portion of the inlet side guide portion 19 is given a curved shape by the protruding wall portion 19d.

  In addition, an inlet inclined surface 22 is formed at the inlet 16 a of the guide groove 16. The inlet portion inclined surface 22 is inclined such that the groove depth gradually decreases along the moving direction of the locking pin 112 that moves relatively with the insertion operation of the ink cartridge 1 into the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  The width of the inlet inclined surface 22 is set to be larger than the groove width in the main portion of the guide groove 16 formed with substantially the same width including the locking portion 18. The width of the inlet inclined surface 22 is set to be larger than the diameter of the pin attachment portion 111 to which the locking pin 112 is attached. On the other hand, the groove width in the main portion of the guide groove 16 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the pin mounting portion 111.

  Further, the inlet-side guide portion 19 between the inlet inclined surface 22 and the locking portion 18 is moved in the moving direction of the locking pin 112 that moves relatively with the insertion operation of the ink cartridge 1 into the cartridge mounting portion 101. A deep groove forming inclined surface 19a that is inclined so that the guide groove 16 becomes deep along is formed. A flat portion 19 b is formed between the deep groove forming inclined surface 19 a and the inlet inclined surface 22. Further, a flat portion 19c is formed following the deep groove forming inclined surface 19a.

  The depth of the shallowest guide groove 16 formed by the inlet inclined surface 22, that is, the groove depth of the flat portion 19 b is smaller than the length of the locking pin 112. Further, the depth of the deepest guide groove 16 formed by the deep groove forming inclined surface 19 a, that is, the groove depth of the flat portion 19 c is larger than the length of the locking pin 112.

  Further, the intermediate guide portion 20 of the guide groove 16 has a locking pin 112 that moves in the direction of the locking portion 18 when the ink cartridge 1 is inserted sufficiently deep into the cartridge mounting portion 101. Including a temporary stop side wall portion 20a that temporarily stops in front of.

  In addition, the locking portion 18 of the guide groove 16 is released from the temporary stop side wall 20a when the ink cartridge 1 inserted sufficiently deep into the cartridge mounting portion 101 is pushed back in the pulling direction, and becomes the locking portion 18. It includes a final stop side wall portion 18a that receives and stops the moving locking pin 112 at a predetermined locking position.

  Further, a curved side wall portion 21a is formed at the start end of the outlet side guide portion 21, and a linear inclined surface 21b is formed following the curved side wall portion 21a, and subsequently, a straight flat portion 21c. Is formed.

  Further, the outlet portion 16b of the guide groove 16 is connected to the inlet portion 16a, so that the guide groove 16 forms a loop as a whole. In the connection portion between the inlet portion 16a and the outlet portion 16b, the depth of the groove of the outlet portion 16b is shallower than the depth of the groove of the inlet portion 16a, thereby forming a step 23 (FIG. 16B) in the connection portion. Has been. The step 23 prevents the locking pin 112 from entering the flat portion 21 </ b> C when the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  Next, the operation of the locking pin 112 in the guide groove 16 when the ink cartridge 1 is attached / detached will be described with reference to FIG. Note that an arrow Z in FIG. 17 indicates a biasing direction of the rotating lever member 108 by the spring member 109.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101 and the ink cartridge 1 is connected to the slider member 102, the ink cartridge 1 is further pushed in the insertion direction X against the biasing force of the slider member 102. The locking pin 112 of the lever member 108 is inserted into the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16 (position A in FIG. 17).

  Since the inlet portion inclined surface 22 is formed in the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16, the locking pin 112 is displaced in a direction opposite to the groove depth direction while sliding on the inlet portion inclined surface 22. . As a result, the turning lever member 108 or the member that supports the turning lever member 108 is elastically deformed, and a force that biases the locking pin 112 toward the bottom surface of the guide groove 16 is generated.

  It should be noted that when the tip of the locking pin 112 first contacts the inlet inclined surface 22, the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 is in a position that is lower than the level of the edge of the guide groove 16. In the process of moving on the inclined surface 22 of the inlet portion, the groove depth changes so that the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 exceeds the level of the edge of the guide groove 16.

  When the locking pin 112 passes through the inclined surface 22 of the entrance portion and rides on the flat portion 19b (position B in FIG. 17), only the locking pin 112 is inserted into the guide groove 16. The pin mounting portion 111 is located outside the guide groove 16. This is because the depth of the guide groove 16 in the flat portion 19 b is set to be smaller than the length of the locking pin 112.

  By providing the inlet inclined surface 22 at the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16 in this way, when the locking pin 112 is inserted into the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16, the locking pin 112 is moved to the front surface of the ink cartridge 1. The locking pin 112 can be smoothly and reliably inserted into the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16.

  Further, since the inclined portion 22 of the inlet portion is formed and the groove depth of the flat portion 19b following the inlet inclined surface 22 is set smaller than the length of the locking pin 112, the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16 as in the present embodiment. Even when the width of the groove is set to be large and the width of the groove that follows is narrowed, the pin mounting portion 111 is not caught between the narrow width portions of the guide groove 16. Then, by setting the width of the inlet portion 16 a of the guide groove 16 to be large, the locking pin 112 can be reliably inserted into the guide groove 16.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is further pushed in the insertion direction X, the locking pin 112 passes through the flat portion 19b and is displaced in the groove depth direction while sliding on the deep groove forming inclined surface 19a (in FIG. 17). Position C).

  When the locking pin 112 reaches the position of the flat portion 19c after passing through the deep groove forming inclined surface 19a (position D in FIG. 17), the peripheral edge portion of the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 is the guide groove 16. Is engaged with and pressed against the edge. This is because the elastic deformation generated in the rotating lever member 108 and the like when the locking pin 112 passes through the inlet inclined surface 22 still remains at this point. Thus, by engaging the peripheral edge portion of the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 with the edge portion of the guide groove 16, the rotating lever member 108 comes into contact with the surface including the edge portion of the guide groove 16 (the bottom surface of the concave portion 17). Thus, the locking pin 112 can be prevented from being detached from the guide groove 16.

  When the locking pin 112 reaches the position of the flat portion 19c (position D in FIG. 17), the tip of the locking pin 112 is in a state of floating from the bottom surface of the guide groove 16. This is because the groove depth in the flat portion 19 c is set to be larger than the length of the locking pin 112.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is further pushed in the insertion direction X and the locking pin 112 passes the position near the tip (position E in FIG. 17) of the protruding wall portion 19d located at the terminal end portion of the inlet side guide portion 19, the spring The locking pin 112 moves in the direction of arrow Z by the biasing force of the member 109. Then, the locking pin 112 collides with the temporary stopping side wall portion 20a and stops (position F in FIG. 17), and at this time, a clicking sound is generated. This click sound allows the user to confirm that the ink cartridge 1 has been inserted sufficiently deep.

  Next, when the pressing of the ink cartridge 1 in the insertion direction X by the user is released, the ink cartridge 1 is slightly pushed back in the drawing direction Y by the urging force of the slider member 102. As a result, the engagement of the locking pin 112 in the temporary stop side wall portion 20 a is released, and the locking pin 112 moves in the direction of arrow Z by the biasing force of the spring member 109. Then, the locking pin 112 collides with the final stop side wall portion 18a and stops at the locking position (position G in FIG. 17). At this time, a click sound is generated. By this click sound, the user can confirm that the ink cartridge 1 is fixed to the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  Here, the depth of the groove in the locking portion 18 of the guide groove 16 is set to be larger than the length of the locking pin 112 in the same manner as the flat portion 19 c of the inlet side guide portion 19. Further, the locking pin 112 is urged toward the bottom surface of the guide groove 16 by elastic deformation of the rotating lever member 108 and the like generated when the locking pin 112 passes through the inlet inclined surface 22. .

  For this reason, the entire length of the locking pin 112 fixed at a predetermined locking position by the locking portion 18 enters the inside of the guide groove 16, and the peripheral edge portion of the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 is the guide groove. It is in the state engaged with 16 edges. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the locking pin 112 (particularly its base) from being creeped by a force applied to the locking pin 112 due to the engagement with the side wall of the guide groove 16. That is, in a state where the locking pin 112 is shallowly hooked with respect to the guide groove 16, the force applied to the base portion of the locking pin 112 is increased by the so-called lever principle. As described above, since the locking pin 112 is hooked in the guide groove 16 over its entire length, creep of the locking pin 112 can be prevented.

  Further, since the locking pin 112 is hooked sufficiently deeply with respect to the guide groove 16, the locking pin 112 is not detached from the guide groove 16. This effect is not limited to the locking portion 18, and even when the locking pin 112 is relatively moving in the guide groove 16, the peripheral edge of the top surface of the pin mounting portion 111 is the edge of the guide groove 16. Demonstrated when sliding part.

  The locking pin 112 is urged toward the one side surface of the ink cartridge 1 by the spring member 109, and the electrode 8 a of the storage device 8 is provided on the one side surface. Therefore, the urging force of the spring member 109 presses the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 in the direction of the device side contact 113 (FIGS. 9 and 10) via the locking pin 112 and the final stop side wall portion 18a. Thus, the connection state between the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 and the device-side contact 113 can be favorably maintained.

  Next, when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the cartridge mounting portion 101, the ink cartridge 1 is slightly pushed in the insertion direction X by the user. Then, the engagement of the locking pin 112 in the final stop side wall 18 a is released, and the locking pin 112 moves in the direction of arrow Z by the biasing force of the spring member 109. Then, the locking pin 112 collides with the curved side wall portion 21a of the outlet side guide portion 21 of the guide groove 16 and temporarily stops (position H in FIG. 17). At this time, a click sound is generated. By this click sound, the user can confirm that the ink cartridge 1 is released from the cartridge mounting portion 101.

  Subsequently, when the user presses the ink cartridge 1 in the insertion direction X and the ink cartridge 1 moves in the drawing direction Y, the locking pin 112 moves along the linearly inclined surface 21 b of the outlet side guide portion 21. Move (position I in FIG. 17). At this time, the tip of the locking pin 112 comes into contact with the inclined surface 21b from the middle of the inclined surface 21b, and the locking pin 112 is displaced in the direction opposite to the groove depth direction. The locking pin 112 that has passed through the inclined surface 21b passes through the flat portion 21c (position J in FIG. 17) and passes through the outlet portion 16b of the guide groove 16.

  Next, a process of connecting the ink cartridge 1 to the ink supply needle 106 and the like when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 101 will be described.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 101, first, the positioning protrusions 103 a and 103 b of the slider member 102 are inserted into the positioning holes 5 a and 5 b of the ink cartridge 1. Further, the pressurized fluid port 105 of the slider member 102 is connected to the pressurized fluid introduction port 4 of the ink cartridge 1. Further, the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 and the device-side contact 113 are connected to conduct both.

  At the time when the electrode 8 a of the storage device 8 and the device-side contact 113 are connected, the ink supply needle 106 has not yet been inserted into the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1. Accordingly, when the wrong ink cartridge 1 is inserted by reading the data from the storage device 8 at this time and determining whether or not the correct ink cartridge 1 has been inserted, the ink supply needle 106 is in error. The ink cartridge 1 can be replaced with the correct ink cartridge 1 before being inserted into the ink supply port 3. This can reliably prevent wrong ink from flowing into the ink flow path of the apparatus main body. Moreover, when the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 inserted by mistake is sealed with a seal or the like, it is possible to avoid unnecessarily breaking the seal or the like.

  After the ink cartridge 1 is connected to the slider member 102, the ink supply needle 106 is further pushed in the insertion direction X against the urging force of the slider member 102, so that the ink supply needle 106 is in the ink supply port of the ink cartridge 1. 3 is inserted.

  Next, a process of separating the ink cartridge 1 from the ink supply needle 106 and the like when the ink cartridge 1 is removed from the cartridge mounting portion 101 will be described.

  By pushing the ink cartridge 1 in the insertion direction X as described above, the fixing of the ink cartridge 1 by the cartridge side fixing structure 7 and the apparatus side fixing structure 107 is released, and the ink cartridge 1 can be moved in the drawing direction Y. Become. The unlocked ink cartridge 1 first moves in the drawing direction Y together with the slider member 102, and the ink supply needle 106 is removed from the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 by this movement.

  When the ink supply needle 106 is removed from the ink supply port 3 in this way, the connection between the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 and the device-side contact 113 is maintained, so that the connection between the device main body and the storage device 8 is maintained. Data can be exchanged. Thus, even after the ink cartridge 1 is released from the fixed state, data can be exchanged between the storage device 8 of the ink cartridge 1 and the apparatus main body, and data reading errors can be prevented.

  When the ink cartridge 1 is further moved in the drawing direction Y, the slider member 102 cannot be moved at a predetermined stop position. By further moving the ink cartridge 1 in the pulling direction Y from here, the pressurized fluid port 105 is separated from the pressurized fluid introduction port 4 of the ink cartridge 1 and the positioning protrusions 5a and 5b of the ink cartridge 1 are positioned. The parts 103a and 103b are removed. Further, the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 and the device side contact 113 are disconnected.

  As described above, the ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment can be easily and reliably mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 101 of the ink jet recording apparatus 100.

  In particular, in the ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment, the width of the inclined surface 22 of the inlet portion formed in the inlet portion 16a of the guide groove 16 can be increased, so that the locking pin 112 can be reliably inserted into the guide groove 16. It can be carried out. The rotating lever member 108 including the locking pin 112 is designed to swing in a direction Z perpendicular to the insertion / extraction directions X and Y of the ink cartridge 1 in terms of its function. There is a possibility that variations will occur in the position when the ink cartridge is not mounted, but such variations can be allowed by making the width of the inclined surface 22 of the inlet portion large.

  Further, in the ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment, the mounting operation can be completed by only one operation (one push operation) of inserting the ink cartridge 1 into the cartridge mounting portion 101, while the cartridge mounting portion When removing the ink cartridge 1 from 101, the fixed state of the ink cartridge 1 can be released by only a simple operation of pushing the ink cartridge 1 slightly. As described above, in this embodiment, the ink cartridge 1 can be attached and detached very easily.

  In the ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment, since the guide groove 16 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 17 formed on the cartridge surface, the cartridge surface in the state where the locking pin 112 is inserted into the guide groove 16. It is possible to reduce or make the protrusion amount of the rotation lever member 108 from zero. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the cartridge mounting portion 101, and as a result, it is possible to make the entire inkjet recording apparatus 100 thinner. In particular, in the case of an apparatus of a type in which a plurality of ink cartridges 1 are arranged in parallel such as the ink jet recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, it is important to reduce the thickness of the entire apparatus. The ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment that can reduce the size is extremely effective.

  Further, according to the ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment, since the storage device 8 including the electrode 8a is disposed in the vicinity of the cartridge side fixing structure 7, the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 is connected to the device side contact 113 of the cartridge mounting portion 101. It can be securely connected.

  In particular, the biasing force of the spring member 109 acts to press the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 toward the device-side contact 113 of the cartridge mounting portion 101 via the locking pin 112 and the final stop side wall portion 18a. The connection of the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 to the device side contact 113 can be ensured.

  Further, by arranging the storage device 8 including the cartridge side fixing structure 7 and the electrode 8a in a position near the ink supply port 3 in the entire container body 2, the connection of the electrode 8a of the storage device 8 to the device side contact 113 is performed. Can be made even more reliable.

  Further, by arranging the storage device 8 including the electrode 8a in the vicinity of the cartridge side fixing structure 7 and the positioning hole 5a used for accurate positioning and the cartridge side positioning surface 24a, the storage device 8 is connected to the device side contact 113. The connection of the electrode 8a can be further ensured.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge, 2 Container body, 2A Case main body, 2B Cover member, 3 Ink supply port, 4 Pressurized fluid introduction port, 5a, 5b Positioning hole, 6 Incorrect mounting prevention structure, 7 Cartridge side fixing structure, 8 Storage device, 8a electrode (cartridge side electrode), 8b circuit board, 9 ink bag, 16 guide groove, 16a inlet part of guide groove, 16b outlet part of guide groove, 17 recess for forming guide groove, 18 locking part of guide groove, 18a Final stop side wall, 19 Guide groove inlet side guide part, 20 Guide groove intermediate guide part, 20a Temporary stop side wall part, 21 Guide groove outlet side guide part, 21a Curved side wall part of outlet side guide part, 21b Straight inclined surface of the outlet side guide portion, 21c Straight flat portion of the outlet side guide portion, 22 Inclined surface of the inlet portion, 23 Step difference at the connection portion between the inlet portion and the outlet portion of the guide groove, 24 24b Cartridge side positioning surface, 100 Inkjet recording device, 101 Cartridge mounting portion, 102 Slider member, 103a, 103b Positioning projection, 104a, 104b Device side positioning surface, 105 Pressurized fluid port, 106 Ink supply needle, 107 device Side fixing structure, 108 Rotating lever member, 109 Spring member, 110 Lever body, 111 Pin mounting part, 112 Locking pin, 113 Device side contact, 114 Projecting part for slider member contact.

Claims (4)

Device side fixing having a lever main body, a large-diameter pin mounting portion provided at the tip of the lever main body, and a locking pin having a smaller diameter than the pin mounting portion provided on the top surface of the pin mounting portion In a liquid container that is detachably mounted on a container mounting portion of a liquid consumption device having a structure and stores liquid supplied to the liquid consumption device inside,
A container body formed with a liquid supply port for delivering the liquid supplied to the liquid consuming device;
In a state where the liquid container is mounted on the container mounting portion, in cooperation with the device-side fixing structure provided on the container mounting portion, a container side that restricts movement of the liquid container in a pulling direction to be releasable A fixing structure,
The container-side fixing structure has a guide groove into which the locking pin of the device-side fixing structure is inserted and guides the locking pin when the liquid container is attached to or detached from the container mounting portion.
The guide groove includes a locking portion that engages with the locking pin in a state in which the liquid container is mounted on the container mounting portion and restricts movement of the liquid container in the drawing direction,
A recess is formed on the surface of the container body,
The guide groove has an edge of the guide groove in which a peripheral edge of the top surface of the pin mounting portion is formed by a bottom surface of the recess during the relative movement of the locking pin in the guide groove. A liquid container, wherein the liquid container is provided on a bottom surface of the recess so as to slide.   The guide groove includes an inlet side guide portion that guides the locking pin when the liquid container is inserted into the container mounting portion, and the liquid container inserted into the container mounting portion is pushed back in the drawing direction. When the liquid container is removed from the container mounting portion, the intermediate guide portion that guides the locking pin to the locking portion at the time, and the engagement released from the locking portion by pushing the liquid container in the insertion direction. The liquid container according to claim 1, further comprising: an outlet side guide portion that guides a stop pin to an outlet of the guide groove. A deep groove forming slope that is inclined so that the guide groove deepens along the moving direction of the locking pin that moves relatively with the insertion operation of the liquid container into the container mounting portion at the inlet side guide portion. Provided,
In the entrance side guide part, a flat part is formed following the deep groove forming slope,
The liquid container according to claim 2, wherein a depth of the groove in the flat portion of the guide groove is set larger than a length of the locking pin.   The depth of the groove | channel in the latching | locking part of the said guide groove is set larger than the length of the said latching pin, The liquid container in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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