JPH11320903A - Ink replenishing tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To replenish a supply ink to a device filled with felt, or the like, by providing a ventilation hole communicating the area above the liquid level of the ink in the space inside the cylinder to at least either a cylinder or a piston as well as by providing a switching member for opening or closing the ventilation hole. SOLUTION: When a ventilation hole 11c is opened by pulling out a plug member 13, the air in the area above the liquid level of an ink 1 inside a cylinder 10 is introduced from the outside via the ventilation hole 11c so as to provide an atmospheric pressure in the inside of the area. Owing to the pressure difference with respect to the inside of a cartridge 2 in a reduced pressure state, the ink 1 in the cylinder 10 is pressed downward so as to be supplied into the ink cartridge 2 in the reduced pressure state via an injecting member 12. Since the inside of the ink cartridge 2 is in the reduced pressure state, a sufficient amount of the supplied ink 1 can permeate quickly to every corner of the inside without being disturbed by air even in the case highly compressed felt 3 exists therein so as to replenish the supply ink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink supply device for supplying ink to an ink cartridge or the like for an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ink jet printers have become widespread.

This type of ink jet printer is equipped with a detachable ink cartridge filled with ink, and supplies ink to the print head from this ink cartridge.

The actual situation is that the ink cartridge is basically disposable when the filled ink is used up.

[0005] However, ink cartridges are quite expensive, and frequent replacement of such expensive ink cartridges imposes an economic burden on the user. In addition, since the act against the recent movement of resource conservation and environmental protection is performed, the user may feel useless guilt.

Particularly, a full-color ink cartridge separates multicolor inks of three colors, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), or more recently, into one ink cartridge. And the amount of ink for each color is small,
Since the consumption amount of each color is inevitably varied, there is a case where the ink needs to be replaced even though the ink consumption amount is still small, and the above feeling is further enhanced.

In addition, the ink cartridge is one in which the stored ink is simply depleted, and the ink cartridge itself can still be used sufficiently.

Therefore, it has been considered to supply ink to an ink cartridge that has been used up and to reuse it.
For example, some of the ink supply tools 9 shown in FIG. 4 are commercially available.

The ink replenishing tool 9 is attached to the lower part of a bellows-like and elastic ink container 91 made of synthetic resin.
The injection member 92 in the form of a needle is inserted into the hole 20 for ink filling at the time of manufacture, which is provided in the upper part of the ink cartridge 2.
In this state, the ink container 91 is pressed with a finger as shown by a white arrow in the figure, and the ink is injected into the ink cartridge 2 in a state where the ink container 91 is inserted into a cartridge (usually closed with a film or the like). .

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION During printing, the amount of ink supplied from an ink cartridge to a print head is adjusted, or free movement of ink (waves, etc.) and ink leakage in the ink cartridge are suppressed. For example, there is an ink cartridge of a type in which a felt 3 impregnated with ink is packed in the ink cartridge 2 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

However, if an attempt is made to replenish the ink cartridge 2 of this type with the ink replenishing tool 9 shown in FIG. 1, especially when the felt 3 is highly compressed, the refilled ink will There is a possibility that a sufficient amount of ink may not be replenished because it cannot be sufficiently penetrated into the felt 3 because it is obstructed by the air in the felt 3 and overflows thereover.

Further, since air remains in the lower portion of the felt 3, that is, in the portion of the ink cartridge 2 closer to the ink outlet 21, ink is not immediately discharged from the outlet 21. At the initial stage when the ink cartridge 2 is mounted again on the ink jet printer and the use is resumed, there is a possibility that a problem may occur that the printing may not be performed correctly due to a lack of ink or the like.

[0013] Insufficiency of running out of ink can be eliminated by repeating the cleaning of the head about two or three times. However, cleaning is mainly performed by discharging a large amount of ink. There is also a problem that the consumption of the head and the ink becomes severe and the life of the head becomes shorter than usual.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel ink replenishing device capable of satisfactorily replenishing replenishing ink to, for example, a felt-filled type ink cartridge.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply device including a cylinder and a piston which is removably inserted into and removed from the cylinder. An ink supply tool that is connected to an ink cartridge through an ink supply hole provided in a cylinder in a state where the ink is filled in the ink cartridge, and supplies ink to the ink cartridge, wherein at least one of the cylinder and the piston is provided. A ventilation hole for connecting a region above the liquid level of the ink in the space inside the cylinder to the outside, and an opening / closing member for opening and closing the ventilation hole.

In the ink supply device of the present invention,
Fill the cylinder with a predetermined amount of ink for replenishment, connect the cylinder to the ink cartridge via the ink replenishing hole, and pull out the piston from the cylinder with the vent hole closed by the opening / closing member. Then, the air in the ink cartridge is sucked, and is housed in a region inside the cylinder, which is separated from the space in the ink cartridge by the ink and is above the liquid level of the ink. As a result, the pressure in the ink cartridge is reduced. .

In this state, when the air hole closed by the opening / closing member is opened, and a region above the ink level in the space in the cylinder is connected to the outside, the pressure inside the ink cartridge is reduced. Due to the difference, the ink in the cylinder is automatically supplied into the ink cartridge.
At this time, if the piston is removed from the cylinder, the ink can be supplied more quickly.

According to the ink replenishing device of the present invention, for example, even if the piston is pushed by hand while the air hole is closed with the opening / closing member, or the piston is automatically advanced by an internal / external pressure difference, Ink can be supplied into the ink cartridge.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a highly-compressed felt is packed in an ink cartridge, the inside of the felt is contained by the above-described reduced pressure.
Since the ink can be replenished in a state where most of the air in the ink cartridge has been removed, a sufficient amount of the ink can be promptly permeated throughout the felt.

According to the ink replenishing device of the present invention, for example, a cylinder is filled with a predetermined amount of replenishing ink and the cylinder is opened and closed while being connected to the ink cartridge via an ink replenishing hole. By opening the ventilation hole closed by the member, the ink in the cylinder can be supplied into the ink cartridge by natural fall.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a sufficient amount of ink is supplied to the ink cartridge by various methods irrespective of the type of ink cartridge so as to prevent ink shortage at the initial stage of resuming use. Good replenishment becomes possible.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an example of the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink supply device 1 of this embodiment has a cylinder 10 made of synthetic resin or the like.
And a piston 11 that can be inserted into and removed from the cylinder 10.
It is formed in the shape of a syringe having:

That is, the cylinder 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the tip thereof can be detachably connected to the injection member 12 made of, for example, a metal pipe.
The diameter is smaller than the main portion, and the small diameter portion is provided with an ink supply hole 10a.

The piston 11 is provided at its tip with a packing 11a made of a flexible material such as rubber, which can slide in the cylinder 10 while maintaining airtightness with the cylinder 10, and has a longitudinal portion. At the other end in the direction, it is formed in a substantially columnar shape having a flange portion 11b serving as a handle when the piston 11 is inserted into and extracted from the cylinder 10.

Of the above, the packing 11 is attached to the piston 11.
From the front end surface of 1a to the rear end surface of the flange portion 11b,
By penetrating the center part in the radial direction, the cylinder 10
A vent hole 11c for connecting a region above the liquid surface of the ink in the inner space to the outside is formed.

The vent hole 11c is configured to be opened and closed to the outside as described above by attaching and detaching a plug 13 as an opening and closing member to the opening on the flange portion 11b side. In other words, the plug 13 is
As shown in the figure, when press-fitting into the opening on the flange 11b side,
When the air hole 11c is closed and the air hole 11c is removed from the opening as shown in FIG. 1, the air hole 11c is opened. The plug 13 is entirely made of, for example, a soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene, rubber, or the like, in order to reliably close the ventilation hole 11c when the plug 13 is pressed into the opening.

The plug 13 is connected to and held by the piston 11 so as not to be lost when the plug 13 is pulled out from the opening of the vent hole 11c, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1, for example. For this purpose, a mooring member 13a may be provided. The mooring member 13a may be formed integrally with the plug 13 using the same material.

The injection member 12 connected to the small-diameter portion at the tip of the cylinder 10 as described above has a packing 12a formed of a flexible material such as rubber in the middle thereof.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the packing 12a is press-fitted into an ink filling hole 20 provided at the upper surface of the ink cartridge 2 at the time of manufacturing, so that the space inside the cylinder 10 and the ink The inside of the cartridge 2 is configured to be connected to the inside of the cartridge 2 through a supply hole 10a and a through hole (not shown) of the injection member 12 while maintaining airtightness at the time of pressure reduction.

In the example shown in the drawing, the injection member 12 is formed to have a length that is inserted into the felt 3 in the ink cartridge 2 and reaches near the bottom of the ink cartridge 2. If the length of the injection member 12 is increased in this manner, the replenishing ink I can be more efficiently replenished to the bottom of the ink cartridge 2, and the use of the ink cartridge 2 can be performed as described above. Can be more reliably prevented from running out of ink or the like at the initial point in time when printing is restarted.

However, the length of the injection member 12 can be set to an appropriate length according to the structure of the ink cartridge 2 or the method of ink supply.

The ink replenishing device 1 of this embodiment having the above-mentioned components.
In order to supply ink to the ink cartridge 2 filled with the high-compression felt 3 as shown in FIG. 2, for example, first, the ink outlet 21 is closed with a seal or the like, and the ink cartridge 2 is The hole 20 for ink filling at the time of manufacture, which is provided on the upper surface, is formed by making a hole in a film (not shown) stuck to close the hole, or the film is peeled off only the hole 20 portion. Exposed by

The main body of the ink cartridge 2 is usually
The upper and lower separate parts are formed by filling the inside with a felt 3 and then welding or the like. If the welding is incomplete, air enters from the interface 22 and the inside of the cartridge 2 is removed. There is a possibility that the pressure cannot be reduced sufficiently. Therefore, if air enters through the interface 22 by, for example, slightly suctioning using the ink replenishing tool 1, the interface 22 may be closed with a seal tape or the like.

Next, an ink replenishing tool 1 in which a predetermined amount of ink I for replenishment is filled in the cylinder 10 is prepared.

A predetermined amount of the ink I may be filled in the cylinder 10 in advance. However, ink may leak during storage of the ink supply tool 1 in an unused state, or the packing at the tip of the piston 11 may be used. In order to prevent the deterioration of 11a, it is preferable to fill the cylinder 10 with a predetermined amount of the ink I each time it is used from a separately prepared ink container (not shown).

In order to fill the cylinder 10 with the predetermined amount of ink I, the tip of the injection member 12 of the ink replenishing tool 1 in which the piston 11 is pushed down to the bottom of the cylinder 10 is connected to the ink container in the same manner as a syringe. The ink may be immersed below the liquid level of the ink inside, then the piston 11 may be pulled out, and the ink may be sucked into the cylinder 10.

In this case, it is needless to say that the ventilation holes 1
It is necessary to press-fit the plug 13 to block 1c.

At the time of ink suction, care should be taken to prevent air from entering the cylinder 10 through the supply hole 10a as much as possible. If there is a little amount of air, there is no problem.
This is because the amount of air that can be sucked from the inside of the ink cartridge 2 is reduced by pulling out 1 from the cylinder 10 and the degree of pressure reduction is reduced.

Further, in order to allow anyone to fill a substantially constant amount of the ink I into the cylinder 10, a marked line is provided on the outer surface of the cylinder 10 as a guideline for a position where the piston 11 is pulled up when ink is sucked. It is preferable to provide it.

Next, the ink replenishing device 1 is connected to the ink cartridge 2 so that airtightness at the time of decompression can be maintained by press-fitting the packing 12a into the hole 20 as described above. 2 and 3 (a), the piston 11 is pulled upward from the cylinder 10 as shown by the white arrow in FIGS.

Then, the air in the cartridge 2 is sucked, passes through the injecting member 12, and then rises as bubbles B in the ink I. It is accommodated in the partitioned area above the liquid level of the ink I (FIG. 3 (b)
). Thus, the pressure in the cartridge 2 is reduced.

In order to make it possible for anyone to suck a substantially constant amount of air, as in the case of the ink,
It is preferable to provide a mark on the outer surface of the cylinder 10 as a guideline for a position at which the piston 11 is pulled up during air suction.

The steps up to this point are performed in a state where the vent hole 11c is closed by press-fitting the plug 13.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), when the plug 13 is pulled out and the vent hole 11c is opened, as shown by the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. Air flows into a region above the liquid level of the ink I in the cylinder 10, and the inside of the region becomes atmospheric pressure, and the pressure difference between the inside of the cartridge 2 and the reduced pressure state causes
The ink I in the cylinder 10 is pressed downward, and is supplied through the injection member 12 into the depressurized ink cartridge 2.

At this time, if the lifted piston 11 is completely removed from the cylinder 10, the replenishment of the ink I is performed more quickly.

Since the refilled ink I is in a reduced pressure state in the ink cartridge 2, a sufficient amount of the refilled ink I is not hindered by air even if the felt 3 is highly compressed. In particular, the ink quickly penetrates into the ink cartridge 2, particularly to the vicinity of the outlet 21 of the ink I.

After a predetermined amount of ink I has been replenished, the ink replenishing tool 1 is removed from the ink cartridge 2, and a separately prepared seal (not shown) is closed so that the hole 20 is closed. 2 may be attached to the upper surface.

As described above, according to the ink replenishing method shown in the figure, the piston 11 of the ink replenishing tool 1 previously filled with the predetermined amount of ink I is pulled up by a predetermined amount.
Just pull out the plug 13 and open the vent 11c,
Alternatively, after removing the plug 13, the piston 1
The ink I can be satisfactorily replenished into the ink cartridge 2 only by removing the ink cartridge 1.

Therefore, by using the ink cartridge 2 replenished with the ink I, it is possible to perform good printing without causing a defect such as running out of ink from the initial stage of resuming the use.

For a weak person such as a woman, it may not be easy to pull up the piston 11 with the vent hole 11c closed by the plug 13 to reduce the pressure inside the ink cartridge 2. is there. Further, for example, when the felt 3 with high compression is not stored, it is not necessary to depressurize the inside of the ink cartridge 2.

Therefore, in these cases, with the ink replenisher 1 filled with a predetermined amount of ink I connected to the ink cartridge 2 as shown in FIG. When you open
The ink I falls naturally and is supplied into the ink cartridge 2.

In this case, the internal pressure of the ink cartridge 2 is reduced with the replenishment of the ink I by, for example, forming a gap without pressing the packing 12a of the injection member 12 into the hole 20 of the ink cartridge 2. By preventing the ink from increasing, the ink can be supplied more smoothly.

As described above, according to the ink replenishing device 1 of this example, a sufficient amount of ink is supplied to the ink cartridge 2 by various methods regardless of its type at the initial stage when the use is resumed. Good replenishment can be achieved so as not to cause defective cutting.

The configuration of the ink replenishing device of the present invention is not limited to the example shown in the above-described drawings.

For example, the ventilation hole may be provided in the cylinder instead of the piston. Also, ventilation holes may be provided in both the piston and the cylinder.

The opening / closing member is not limited to the plug, and a valve or the like may be employed.

In other words, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0059]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
For example, irrespective of the type, a sufficient amount of ink can be satisfactorily replenished to a felt-filled ink cartridge, etc. so as to avoid running out of ink at the initial stage of resuming use. This provides a unique operation and effect that a new ink supply tool that can be provided can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an example of an embodiment of an ink supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state in which the ink supply tool of the above example is connected to an ink cartridge.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are partially cutaway front views each showing an example of a process of replenishing an ink cartridge with the ink replenishing tool using the ink replenishing tool.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of a conventional ink supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink supply tool 10 Cylinder 11 Piston 11c Vent hole 13 Plug (opening / closing member) 2 Ink cartridge I Ink

Claims (3)

[Claims] An ink supply system is provided with a cylinder and a piston which can be inserted into and removed from the cylinder. When a predetermined amount of ink for replenishment is filled in the cylinder, ink is supplied through an ink supply hole provided in the cylinder. An ink replenishing device connected to a cartridge for replenishing the ink cartridge with ink, wherein at least one of the cylinder and the piston connects a region above a liquid surface of the ink in a space in the cylinder to the outside. While providing ventilation holes
An ink replenishing device comprising an opening and closing member for opening and closing the ventilation hole. 2. The ink replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member is a plug that closes the ventilation hole. 3. The ink supply device according to claim 1, wherein an injection member having a length reaching the vicinity of the bottom of the ink cartridge, which is communicated with a supply hole of the cylinder, is detachably connected to the cylinder.