The invention relates to the inkjet technical field, in particular to an ink cartridge refilling device for refilling an ink cartridge under negative pressure, an ink cartridge refilling system and a corresponding ink cartridge refilling method.
Inkjet printhead is a necessary component of an inkjet printer, wherein the inkjet printhead is arranged on a carriage of the inkjet printer, which moves back and forth, and ejects ink to a recording medium along with the movement of the carriage, so as to form an image on the recording medium. Ink cartridge is used as an ink storage container and is responsible to supply ink to the printhead. As the ink level of the ink cartridge is limited, a user needs to replace the ink cartridge after the ink in the ink cartridge is out. However, most used ink cartridges are thrown away but cannot be degraded naturally as the ink cartridges contain plastic cements, chips and the like, which would obviously cause resource waste and environmental pollution and increase the printing cost of users. Therefore, the most economical and environment-friendly mode is for the used ink cartridges to be refilled with ink so that the ink cartridges can be subjected to secondary utilization. Therefore, in order to meet the requirement, there are various ink cartridge refilling devices on the market.
The Chinese patent CN200620061311.X discloses a negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device. The refilling device comprises an air suction mechanism and an ink injection mechanism, wherein the air suction mechanism consists of a cylinder and a piston; the cylinder consists of a sealed cavity and a connecting opening which connects the outside and the mentioned sealed cavity; the piston is pneumatically sealed inside the sealed cavity; the ink injection mechanism consists of an ink storage cavity and an ink injection opening which communicates the outside and the ink storage cavity; and the ink storage cavity is communicated with a section of the sealed cavity of the cylinder, which is positioned at the outside of the piston compared with the connecting opening, through a guide tube. The mode for utilizing the above mentioned negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device for ink refilling is as follows: sucking ink into the ink storage cavity of the ink cartridge refilling device in advance, and aligning the connecting opening and the ink injection opening to an air suction hole and an ink injection hole of an ink cartridge respectively, so that the synchronized operation of two steps can be realized, namely air in the ink cartridge is sucked and removed on one hand while ink is refilled into the ink cartridge simultaneously on the other hand.
Obviously, as for an ink cartridge for utilizing a one-way valve to control the ink flowing direction, the above refilling method is comparatively convenient. However, as for an ink cartridge for utilizing a sponge to control the negative pressure in the ink cartridge, the refilling method has the defect that: as a sponge of a cavernous cavity tends to be in a supersaturated state after the ink refilling, the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur if the ink cartridge after the ink refilling is directly taken off, thus the environment is polluted or hands, clothes, etc. of users are dirtied.
The invention provides an ink cartridge refilling device to solve the technical problem in the traditional ink cartridge refilling device that the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur after an ink cartridge is filled with ink.
In order to solve the technical problem, the invention adopts the technical proposal that:
a negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device for refilling ink into an ink cartridge to be refilled, comprising:
an ink container used for storing ink for refilling;
an ink injection channel communicated with the ink container and used for conveying the ink in the ink container to the ink cartridge to be refilled;
an air inlet channel communicated with the ink container and used for replenishing air into the ink container;
an aspirator used for sucking air in the ink cartridge to be refilled; and
a cover component, wherein
the cover component is provided with a first sealing section for sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and a second sealing section for sealing the air inlet channel.
The ink cartridge refilling device also comprises an ink cartridge positioning mechanism for positioning the ink cartridge to be refilled on the ink cartridge refilling device; and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism is connected with the cover component through a rotating shaft.
The first sealing section is closer to the rotating shaft compared with the second sealing section.
The first sealing section is a first elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component, and the second sealing section is a second elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component.
The first sealing section consists of a convex section which is convex from the cover component and an elastic sleeve which is engaged with the convex section.
The second sealing section consists of an extended section which is extended from the cover component and a sealing element which is engaged with the extended section.
The ink cartridge refilling device is also provided with a delay action component to enable the first sealing section to be still in the state of sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled after the air inlet channel is opened by the second sealing section.
The delay action component is an elastic component which is engaged with the first sealing section.
The deformation of the first elastic pad is larger than that of the second elastic pad.
The deformation of the elastic sleeve is larger than that of the sealing element.
The cover component is also provided with extended clamp hooks, and the positioning mechanism is provided with clamping grooves which are engaged with the extended clamp hooks.
The invention also provides an ink cartridge refilling system to solve the problem: and a corresponding ink cartridge refilling method.
A negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling system comprises the ink cartridge to be refilled and the above ink cartridge refilling device.
The ink cartridge to be refilled comprises a cavity for storing ink, a sponge arranged inside the cavity for maintaining the negative pressure in the ink cartridge, an ink outlet for introducing ink in an ink storage cavity to the outside of the ink cartridge, an air inlet for replenishing air into the ink storage cavity and an ink injection opening for injecting ink into the ink storage cavity.
The cavity body consists of the ink storage cavity for receiving the ink and a negative-pressure cavity for receiving the sponge.
The first sealing section is arranged on the cover component, at a position corresponding to the air inlet of the ink cartridge to be refilled.
A through hole is reserved on the cover component, at a position corresponding to the ink injection opening of the ink cartridge to be refilled.
A movable mandrel is arranged at the through hole and used for removing the sealing element for sealing the ink injection opening.
The invention also provides an ink cartridge refilling method to solve the problem:
The refilling method for utilizing the ink cartridge refilling system for ink cartridge refilling comprises the following steps of:
A. sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and the air inlet channel to form a closed space between the ink cartridge to be refilled and the ink cartridge refilling device;
B. sucking air in the ink cartridge to be refilled by the aspirator; and
C. opening the air inlet channel and canceling the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled.
The refilling method also comprises the following step before the step A: opening the ink injection opening of the ink cartridge to be refilled, and assembling a rubber plug into the ink injection opening.
In the step C, the air inlet channel is opened first, and then the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled is canceled.
In the step C, the air inlet channel is opened and simultaneously the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled is canceled.
The refilling method also comprises the following step after the step C is over: taking off the ink cartridge to be refilled from the ink cartridge refilling device, and sealing the air inlet channel again.
By adoption of the technical proposal, as the cover component is provided with the first sealing section for sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and the second sealing section for sealing the air inlet channel, air in a sealed ink cartridge can be sucked to enable ink in the ink container to flow into the sealed ink cartridge during the ink refilling, thus negative pressure is formed in the ink container and the ink is conveyed from the ink container to the ink cartridge under the negative pressure, consequently the refilling of the ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of the air into the ink container may not be carried out at the same time. Therefore, the inside of the ink cartridge refilling device is in the negative pressure state after the ink cartridge is fully refilled and redundant ink in a sponge can be removed when the refilling device is opened, which solves the technical problem in the traditional ink cartridge refilling device that the ink dropping phenomenon can occur after an ink cartridge is filled with ink.
a is an external view of an ink cartridge of the embodiments 1 and 2, and
a is an external view of an ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment 1, and
a is a state diagram 1 of the ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge of the embodiment 1—the state when the ink cartridge is assembled;
b is a state diagram 2 of the ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge of the embodiment 1—the state when the aspirator is inserted;
c is a state diagram 3 of the ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge of the embodiment 1—the sucking step;
d is a state diagram 4 of the ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge of the embodiment 1—the state when the ink refilling is completed;
e is a state diagram 5 of the ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge of the embodiment 1—the state when the refilling device is opened;
f is a schematic diagram indicating the flow of a fluid in the ink cartridge of
Clear and comprehensive description is given to the technical proposal of the embodiments of the invention with the attached drawings of the embodiments of the invention for the purpose of clearer objects, technical proposal and advantages of the embodiments of the invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the invention and not all the embodiments. All the other embodiments achieved by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention on the premise of not making creative work are within the scope of protection of the invention.
The main technical proposal of the invention is as follows: as a cover component is provided with a first sealing section for sealing an ink cartridge and a second sealing section for sealing an air inlet channel, a closed space is formed between an ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge refilling device is utilized to refill the ink cartridge and outside air cannot be replenished into an ink container, thus negative pressure is formed in the ink cartridge after the ink refilling and the outside air can be replenished into the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge refilling device is opened, consequently redundant ink in the ink cartridge can flow into the ink container. Therefore, the ink dropping phenomenon will not occur.
Further description is given to the technical proposal of the invention with the attached drawings and preferred embodiments.
An ink cartridge 1 for an inkjet printer is detachably installed on the inkjet printer and used for supplying ink to an inkjet printhead for the inkjet printer so as to form images or words on a recording medium.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
a is an external view of ink cartridge refilling device 1 of the embodiment, and
As illustrated in
Therefore, it can be seen from the structural description of the first sealing section and the second sealing section that: after the ink cartridge 2 is assembled into the refilling device 1, when the cover component 14 is rotated around the positioning mechanism 15 to fix the ink cartridge 2, the first sealing section can seal the air inlet 23 of the ink cartridge 2 and the second sealing section can seal the air inlet channel 12 of the refilling device 1, so that the outside air cannot flow into the ink cartridge 2 and the ink container 10, thus a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge 2 and the ink container 10 which are isolated from the outside. In addition, the first sealing section and the second sealing section can limit the movement of the ink cartridge 2 on the refilling device 1, namely the ink cartridge 2 cannot move upwards, thus the complete fixation of the ink cartridge 2 inside the ink cartridge refilling device 2 is guaranteed.
As illustrated in
Moreover, in order to guarantee the opening sequence of the first sealing section and the second sealing section, the deformation of the elastic sleeve 142 in the embodiment is preferably larger than that of the sealing element 144, so that the ink cartridge 2 can be still maintained to be sealed by the first sealing section after the air inlet channel 12 is opened by the second sealing section. Similarly, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that when the first sealing section and the second sealing section are respectively the first elastic pad and the second elastic pad set on the cover, the deformation of the first sealing section is also larger than that of the second sealing section, so that the first elastic pad can be still maintained to be in the sealed state after the second elastic pad is opened, namely the thickness of the first sealing section is larger than that of the second sealing section.
As illustrated in
For the user to clearly observe the refilling condition of the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge refilling device 1 is preferably made of transparent materials in the embodiment.
The process of refilling ink into the ink cartridge 2 by adoption of the ink cartridge refilling device 1 is illustrated according to
(1) Placing the ink cartridge refilling device 1 on a plane, opening the ink injection opening 24 of the ink cartridge 2 by utilizing an available opening tool, and assembling a rubber plug 18 into the ink injection opening 24.
(2) Assembling the ink cartridge 2 into the ink cartridge refilling device 1 as illustrated in
(3) Inserting the prepared aspirator 13 into the ink injection opening 24 through the through hole 146 and enabling the aspirator 13 to pass through the rubber plug 18 as illustrated in
(4) Taking off the aspirator 13 when the ink cartridge 2 is filled with ink as illustrated in
(5) Taking off the ink cartridge 2; rotating the cover component 14 to be engaged with the positioning mechanism 15 again; and sealing the air inlet channel 12 again, so that the ink cartridge refilling device 1 is hermetically placed.
The rubber plug 18 assembled into the ink injection opening 24 can be a common elastic seal ring. In the embodiment, the rubber plug 18 is preferably a self-closing seal ring which can be opened or closed according to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the ink cartridge. The self-closing seal ring is in the opened state when the aspirator 13 is inserted and is in the closed state when the aspirator 13 is not inserted.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the “matter balance principle” is followed during the ink refilling, namely the mass of matters flowing out of a container is equivalent to that of matters flowing into the container. For example, the volume of the ink flowing out of the ink storage cavity of the refilling tool mentioned in the background of the invention is equivalent to the volume of air replenished into the ink storage cavity. However, in the technical proposal, it can be seen from the refilling process that the ink container 10 is maintained to be in the closed state during the sucking and air is not replenished into the ink container 10. That is to say, the ink refilling of the ink cartridge 2 enables the pressure in the ink container 10 to be unbalanced and is continued under the condition of unbalanced pressure in the ink container 10, namely the refilling of ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of air into the ink container are not carried out at the same time. The reason for adopting the mode is as follows: in the prior art, the sponge 211 and the cotton core 221 in the ink cartridge 2 tend to be in the supersaturated state after the ink refilling, namely there is redundant ink in the negative-pressure cavity 21, thus the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur when the ink cartridge 2 is taken off at the time; but in the technical proposal, a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge 2 and the ink container 10 during the refilling, so that large negative pressure can be formed in the ink container 10 when air in the ink cartridge 2 is sucked to enable ink in the ink container 10 to flow into the ink cartridge 2 and air is not replenished into the ink container 10 in time. As the ink container 10 is communicated with the ink cartridge 2, there is also negative pressure in the ink cartridge 2 at the time. Therefore, outside air can be replenished into the ink container 10 under the action of the negative pressure when the cover component 14 is opened, and meanwhile the air can be also replenished into the ink cartridge 2. To be specific, as illustrated in
For the purpose of reducing the cost of additional purchase of the opening tool and achieving simpler operation, the “opening” function is added in the embodiment on the basis of the embodiment 1.
As illustrated in
Other structures of the ink cartridge refilling device in the embodiment are similar to those in the embodiment 1 and are not explained in detail here.
The process of refilling the ink cartridge by utilizing the ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment is described as follows:
(1) Placing the ink cartridge refilling device 1 on a plane; assembling the ink cartridge 2 into the ink cartridge refilling device 1, wherein the first engagement section 251, the second engagement section 26, the concave section 28, etc. of the ink cartridge 2 are all engaged with corresponding members on the positioning mechanism 15, the ink outlet 22 is connected with the outlet end 111 of the ink injection channel 11, and herein the mandrel is at the opening position; rotating the cover component 14 clockwise to enable the mandrel 17 to be engaged with the steel ball in the ink injection opening 24; pressing down the cover component 14 forcibly from the free end 148, so that the steel ball in the ink injection opening 24 can be extruded into the ink cartridge 2 by the mandrel 17, thus the ink injection opening 24 is opened; enabling the mandrel 17 to slide to the non-opening position, namely a position deviated from a position corresponding to the ink injection opening 24; and assembling a rubber plug 18 into the ink injection opening 24.
(2) Enabling the cover component 14 and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism 15 to be clamped with each other, so that the convex section 141 and the elastic sleeve 142 of the cover component 14 lean against a cartridge cover of the ink cartridge 2 to seal the air inlet 23 while the air inlet channel 12 is sealed by the extended section 143 and the sealing element 144 of the cover component 14. Herein, a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge 2 and the ink cartridge refilling device 1 which are combined into an ink cartridge refilling system.
(3) Inserting the prepared aspirator 13 into the ink injection opening 24; pulling up the piston 132, so that air in the ink cartridge 2 can flow into the aspirator 13. Herein, the pressure in the ink cartridge 2 becomes low and certain negative pressure is formed in the ink cartridge 2, namely pressure difference is formed between the ink cartridge 2 and the ink container 10. The self-closing slot of the gasket 113 is opened under the action of the pressure difference, and the ink in the ink container 10 flows into the ink cartridge 2 under the action of the pressure difference. Herein, the air inlet channel 12 is maintained to be in the closed state while the ink cartridge 2 is still in the sealed state.
(4) Taking off the aspirator 13 when the ink cartridge 2 is filled with ink, so that the cover component 14 is detached from the positioning mechanism 15; rotating the cover component 14 counterclockwise, so that the ink cartridge refilling device 1 and the ink cartridge 2 are converted to an opened space from the closed space. Therefore, the air inlet channel 12 is opened, and air is replenished into the ink container 10 through the air inlet end 121 and the air outlet end 122; and the sealing of the ink cartridge 2 is canceled, and air is replenished into the ink cartridge 2 through the air inlet 23. Herein, the ink cartridge 2 and the ink container 10 achieve the pressure balance, and the self-closing slot of the gasket 113 is closed.
(5) Taking off the ink cartridge 2; rotating the cover component 14 to be engaged with the positioning mechanism 15 again; and sealing the air inlet channel 12 again, so that the ink cartridge refilling device 1 is hermetically placed.
For the purpose of guaranteeing that the air inlet channel is opened first and then the sealing of the ink cartridge is canceled during the refilling, a delay action component is added in the embodiment on the basis of the embodiments 1 and 2 and used for guaranteeing that the air inlet channel is opened by the second sealing section while the ink cartridge to be refilled is still sealed by the first sealing section.
Preferably, the delay action component is an elastic component which is engaged with the first sealing section. As illustrated in
Other structures of the embodiment are similar to those of the embodiment 1 or 2 and are not explained in detail here.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the ink cartridge can also be an ink cartridge without an ink storage cavity and only with a sponge, namely the refilling device and the refilling method are also applicable to the ink cartridge for refilling.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the extended clamp hook(s) can be one or more than two and the position and the number of the clamping grooves correspond to those of the extended clamp hook(s).
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the cover component can also perform up-and-down parallel movement relative to the ink cartridge positioning mechanism, and herein the cover component and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism can also be connected with each other through the engagement of the extended clamp hooks and the clamping grooves.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the sealing and opening actions of the first sealing section and the second sealing section on the cover component can be performed at the same time, namely the opening of the air inlet channel and the canceling of the sealing of the ink cartridge after the ink refilling can be carried out at the same time. But in the case, more redundant ink in the sponge can flow back to the ink container compared with the embodiment 1 or 2, and the ink dropping phenomenon can also be prevented.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the ink cartridge refilling device can also be made of non-transparent materials. If so, it can be determined that the ink cartridge is filled with ink when there is ink in the aspirator during the ink refilling, and a user only needs to enable redundant ink in the aspirator to be refilled into the ink container again after the ink refilling.
In summary, by adoption of the technical proposal, the ink container and the ink cartridge are driven to be in the pressure unbalance state during the ink refilling and be in the pressure balance state after the ink refilling, namely the refilling of ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of air into the ink container are not performed at the same time, thus redundant ink in the sponge and the cotton core in the ink cartridge can be removed, consequently the ink dropping phenomenon can be prevented.
The embodiments are only used for describing the technical proposal of the invention. It should be noted that various deformations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art on the premise of not deviating from the concept of the invention and are all within the scope of protection of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201010603099.6 | Dec 2010 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CN11/75494 | 6/9/2011 | WO | 00 | 9/19/2012 |