Claims
- 1. An ink tank including an ink containing portion for containing ink, said ink tank comprising:a substantially cylindrical first projected portion having a communicating portion for communicating said ink containing portion with the exterior, and a substantially cylindrical second projected portion having a communicating portion for leading out the ink in said ink containing portion to the exterior, said first and second projected portions being both provided on a surface opposing to a bottom surface of said ink tank, a grip portion provided at a rear end of said ink tank in the direction of insertion thereof, and a vertical surface portion extending upward from said grip portion perpendicularly to the bottom surface of said ink tank in an opposed relation to said first and second projected portions, said second projected portion being provided in an area between said vertical surface portion and said first projected portion, said vertical surface portion having an upper end at a higher level from the bottom surface than end faces of the communicating portions of said first and second projected portions, said second projected portion being positioned at a level lower than a line connecting the upper end of said vertical surface portion and the end face of the communicating portion of said first projected portion.
- 2. An ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a slope is provided between said vertical surface portion and the surface opposing to said bottom surface, and a rib is provided on said slope.
- 3. An ink tank including an ink containing portion for containing ink, said ink tank comprising:a bottom surface provided with three projections for supporting said ink tank through contact with a flat plane when said ink tank is placed on the flat plane, a top surface opposed to said bottom surface and having an ink supply portion for leading out the ink in said ink containing portion to the exterior, a plurality of lateral surfaces adjacent to said bottom surface and said top surface, said plurality of lateral surfaces including one set of opposing surfaces extended in a lengthwise direction of said ink tank, and a grip portion provided on a surface adjacent to each of said top surface, bottom surface and the opposing surfaces of said one set of opposing surfaces, wherein two of said three projections are provided in an opposed relation in areas near the opposing surfaces of said one set of opposing surfaces, said ink supply portion being provided opposing to an area located on or within lines connecting said three projections.
- 4. An ink tank according to claim 3, wherein said bottom surface is inclined to provide a lowest surface thereof near the area including said two projections, and further comprising a supply tube extending from said ink supply portion toward the lowest bottom surface.
- 5. An ink tank according to claim 3, further comprising an atmosphere communicating portion for communicating said ink containing portion with the exterior provided in an area of said top surface opposing to the area locating on or within the lines connecting said three projections.
- 6. An ink tank according to claim 5, wherein said top surface is provided with a first projected portion including said atmosphere communicating portion, a second projected portion including said ink supply portion and being separate from said first projected portion, and a wrong attachment preventing portion for identifying the type of said ink tank,said wrong attachment preventing portion being provided at an end of said ink tank opposed in the lengthwise direction thereof to said grip portion, said atmosphere communicating portion and said ink supply portion being both provided above said wrong attachment preventing portion.
- 7. An ink tank according to claim 5, wherein the remaining one projection on said bottom surface side is provided near a central portion spaced from the opposing surfaces of said plurality of lateral surfaces by an equal distance, and said ink supply port and said atmosphere communicating port are provided in an area of said top surface opposed to the area located on or within lines connecting said three projections and opposed to the center line extending from the remaining one projection provided near the central portion.
- 8. An ink tank according to claim 7, further comprising said remaining one projection provided near the central portion is provided near an end opposite to said grip portion.
- 9. An ink tank according to claim 7, further comprising a rib projecting by a smaller amount than said three projections and provided on said bottom surface in the area located on or within the lines connecting said three projections and on the center line extending from said remaining one projection provided near the central portion.
Priority Claims (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
10-7507 |
Jan 1998 |
JP |
|
10-24368 |
Feb 1998 |
JP |
|
10-68585 |
Mar 1998 |
JP |
|
10-362450 |
Dec 1998 |
JP |
|
10-364761 |
Dec 1998 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/231,252, filed Jan. 15, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,662.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
622234 |
Nov 1994 |
EP |
715959 |
Jun 1996 |
EP |
1-141750 |
Jun 1989 |
JP |
9-76525 |
Mar 1997 |
JP |
9855324 |
Dec 1998 |
WO |