Patent Application
20230382120
The present invention relates to a liquid container which supplies a liquid to a liquid ejecting device.
As an aspect of a liquid container which contains a liquid to be supplied to a liquid ejecting device, a so-called ink pack is known (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-153949, for example). The ink pack contains a liquid such as ink to be supplied to an inkjet printer (hereinafter, also referred to simply as a “printer”), which is an aspect of a liquid ejecting device, in a container such as a bag-shaped member having flexibility.
Some of the printers to which the ink pack is attached include a case in which the ink pack is disposed. In the printer as above, a supply path of the ink between the ink pack and the printer and an electrical communication path are established by disposing the ink pack in a case, such as a cassette, and by attaching the ink pack, together with the case, to the printer.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-153949 discloses a constitution of a liquid container including a bag member which accommodates a liquid such as ink and a connecting member connected to the bag member and positioned with respect to the case. Moreover, the connecting member has a handle portion provided in order to improve handling performance when the liquid container is mounted in the case.
However, in the constitution in which the handle and the like are provided on the connecting member, the number of components constituting the connecting member increases, and a size of the connecting member becomes larger. Then, in order to accommodate the liquid container in the case, the size of the bag-shaped member needs to be reduced in accordance with the size increase of the connecting member, and accommodation efficiency of the liquid drops. In addition, since the connecting member is constituted by many molded products such as a rotating shaft, a handle portion and the like, manufacturing costs rise.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and has an object to provide a liquid container with a simple constitution and high liquid accommodation efficiency.
In order to solve the above problems, the liquid container according to the present invention comprises:
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, a description will be given, with reference to the drawings, of embodiments (examples) of the present invention. However, the sizes, materials, shapes, their relative arrangements, or the like of constituents described in the embodiments may be appropriately changed according to the configurations, various conditions, or the like of apparatuses to which the invention is applied. Therefore, the sizes, materials, shapes, their relative arrangements, or the like of the constituents described in the embodiments do not intend to limit the scope of the invention to the following embodiments.
A liquid container according to the present invention can be applied to a printer, a copier, and a facsimile device as a liquid ejecting device. In this embodiment, the liquid container used for the liquid ejecting device of an inkjet recording method using ink as the liquid is explained as an example, but the liquid is not limited to ink in application of the present invention.
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained.
In the following explanation and drawings, an X-direction, a Y-direction, and a Z-direction are defined as follows. The X-direction is a longitudinal direction of the liquid container 1, in which the liquid container 1 and the cassette 2 are inserted into/removed from the liquid ejecting device 100, when the liquid container 1 is attached to/detached from the liquid ejecting device 100. The Y-direction is a width direction of the liquid container 1, and the Z-direction is a thickness direction of the liquid container 1. In this embodiment, the X-direction, the Y-direction, and the Z-direction are orthogonal to one another. In the following explanation, a state where the liquid container 1 is mounted in the liquid ejecting device 100 is called a mounted state. In the mounted state, the liquid container 1 is mounted in the liquid ejecting device 100 with the thickness direction in parallel to a vertical direction.
The liquid container 1 accommodates ink ejected from the recording head of the liquid ejecting device 100. In this embodiment, four pieces of the liquid containers 1 accommodating ink in each of colors cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are accommodated in the cassettes 2, respectively, and mounted in the liquid ejecting device 100. The four cassettes 2 are attached to the liquid ejecting device 100 adjacently in the width direction (Y-direction) of the liquid container 1. Sizes of the four liquid containers 1 of this embodiment are the same, but in application of the present invention, the liquid container 1 for the black ink, for example, may be made larger than the liquid containers 1 for the ink in the other colors. Moreover, the present invention can be also applied to a monochrome printer in which the liquid container for the ink only in one color is mounted or the like.
The bag member 10 has a bag-shaped accommodating portion 10a having flexibility, a supply port 10b provided at an end portion in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating portion 10a, and a handle portion 10c for an operator to grasp. Ink in which a pigment as a sedimentation component is diffused in a solvent is accommodated in the accommodating portion 10a of this embodiment, but in application of the present invention, types of the liquids to be accommodated in the accommodating portion 10a are not limited to that. The accommodating portion 10a shown in
The ink accommodated in the accommodating portion 10a is supplied to the liquid ejecting device 100 through the supply port 10b. The supply port 10b extends in the longitudinal direction (X-direction) of the liquid container 1, that is, an attachment/detachment direction of the liquid container 1 and the cassette 2 with respect to the liquid ejecting device 100, and a supply direction of the ink from the bag member to the liquid ejecting device 100 is in parallel to the attachment/detachment direction.
In the bag member 10, a first end portion 10a1 in which the supply port 10b of the accommodating portion 10a is provided in the longitudinal direction is connected to the adaptor 20. A second end portion 10a2 on a side opposite to the first end portion is not fixed to the adaptor 20. The handle portion 10c extends from the first end portion 10a1 side to the second end portion 10a2 side of the accommodating portion 10a by opposing the accommodating portion 10a. Since the operator can grip the handle portion 10c for the operation when mounting the liquid container 1 on the cassette 2 or removing it from the cassette 2, workability is favorable.
Moreover, the handle portion 10c extends in a direction gradually separated from the accommodating portion 10a as it gets closer to the second end portion 10a2 from the first end portion 10a1 in the longitudinal direction of the liquid container 1. That is, the handle portion 10c is disposed so that one end is fixed to the first end portion 10a1 of the accommodating portion 10a, and a clearance is given with respect to the accommodating portion 10a. By having such a constitution that the handle portion 10c has the clearance with respect to the accommodating portion 10a as above, a hand can be inserted into a space between the handle portion 10c and the accommodating portion 10a, and the handle portion 10c can be gripped easily.
The adaptor 20 has an electric connection portion (not shown) to be electrically connected to the liquid ejecting device 100. When the liquid container 1 is attached together with the cassette 2 to the liquid ejecting device 100, the adaptor 20 is electrically connected to the liquid ejecting device 100, and the ink can be supplied from the bag member 10 to the liquid ejecting device 100.
The lower film 13 as the first sheet-shaped member and the upper film 12 as the second sheet-shaped member constituting the bag member 10 only need to be formed of a material having flexibility and gas-barrier characteristics. The material used for each of the sheet-shaped members includes polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon, polyethylene, and the like, for example. Moreover, the upper film 12 and the lower film 13 may be a film with a laminated structure in which a plurality of films constituted by these materials are laminated. When the laminated structure is adopted, such a constitution is considered that an outer layer is formed of PET or nylon, which is excellent in impact resistance, and an inner layer is formed of polyethylene, which is excellent in ink resistance, for example. In addition, as a layer included in the laminated structure, a layer on which aluminum or the like is vapor-deposited may be included.
The bag member 10 has a spout portion 14 as a supply port member having the supply port 10b bonded between the two sheet-shaped members, that is, the upper film 12 and the lower film 13. That is, the bag member 10 is manufactured such that a welding portion 15 is welded in a state where the spout portion 14 is sandwiched by the upper film 12 and the lower film 13. At this time, the spout portion 14 is sandwiched by the upper film 12 and the lower film 13 so that the provided supply port 10b communicates between the accommodating space and an outside of the bag member 10. Moreover, two spout holes 16 provided in the spout portion 14 and two film holes 17 provided in each of the upper film 12 and the lower film 13 are overlapped and penetrate in a thickness direction of the bag member 10. The bag member 10 is fixed to the adaptor 20 by the spout hole 16 and the film hole 17 provided in the bag member 10. A diameter of the film hole 17 only needs to be formed larger than the diameter of the spout hole 16 and only needs to be in a mode not preventing engagement between the bag member 10 and the adaptor 20. Moreover, the spout portion 14 in this embodiment is formed of a plastic material, but the material of the spout portion 14 is not limited to that.
The ink supply into the accommodating portion 10a formed by the upper film 12 and the lower film 13 is performed after the upper film 12 and the lower film 13 are welded. The supply port 10b of the spout portion 14 has a valve provided so that the ink flows only in a direction of supply from the accommodating portion 10a to the liquid ejecting device 100. Thus, when the ink is to be injected into the accommodating portion 10a, the ink is injected through an injection port (not shown) provided in the spout portion 14, and the injection port is sealed after that.
From the first end portion 10a1 side of the lower film 13, the handle portion 10c extends in the longitudinal direction of the bag member 10, and the handle portion 10c is provided on the lower film 13 integrally. The lower film 13 is a flat sheet of film, and in a state not connected to the adaptor 20, the handle portion 10c extends from the first end portion 10a1 of the accommodating portion 10a in a direction gradually separated from the accommodating portion 10a. The handle portion 10c has an opening having a rectangular shape opened in the thickness direction formed in the rectangular film, and the shape is easily gripped by the operator. The shape of the handle portion 10c is not limited to that and may be a shape with a rounded corner portion or a shape without a hole formed, for example. Moreover, the handle portion 10c in this embodiment is provided on the lower film 13, but it may be so constituted that the handle portion 10c is provided on the upper film 12.
In an adjacent direction of the bag member 10 and the adaptor 20 (longitudinal direction of the liquid container 1), two depressed portions 21a recessed from the end portion on the bag member side to the adaptor side are provided on the upper adaptor 21. The depressed portion 21a of this embodiment has a semicircular shape when viewed from the thickness direction and has a groove shape extending by penetrating in the thickness direction. Moreover, two depressed portions 22a are provided similarly on the lower adaptor 22, too. When the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22 are engaged, the depressed portions 21a and 22a are disposed by overlapping when viewed from the thickness direction, and the depressed portions 21a and 22a are used for positioning of the liquid container 1 with respect to the cassette 2. Moreover, the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22 of this embodiment are formed of a plastic material, but the material is not limited to that.
The bag member 10 is fixed to the adaptor 20 by being sandwiched by the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22. At this time, in a state where the lower film 13 is folded so that the handle portion 10c is opposed to a surface of the upper film 12 forming an outer surface of the accommodating portion 10a, the bag member 10 is sandwiched by the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22. In other words, the handle portion 10c is provided on the lower film 13 by being contiguous with the accommodating portion 10a through a folded portion 10e.
The bag member 10 is fixed to the adaptor 20 by engagement between an engagement hole 10d constituted by the spout hole 16 and the film hole 17 and a protruding portion 22b provided on the lower adaptor 22 and extending in the thickness direction. In a state where the handle portion 10c of the bag member 10 is folded, the protruding portion 22b is inserted through the spout hole 16 and the film hole 17, and the bag member 10 is sandwiched by the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22 so that the liquid container 1 is formed. Moreover, the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22 are connected to each other by engagement between an engaging portion and an engaged portion, not shown. The engaging portion and the engaged portion only need to be a claw portion and a depressed portion in which the claw portion is fitted or the like, for example.
In the adaptor 20, a depressed portion 20a constituted by the depressed portion 21a of the upper adaptor 21 and the depressed portion 22a of the lower adaptor 22 is provided. In the ink supply direction from the liquid container 1 to the liquid ejecting device 100 (longitudinal direction of the liquid container 1), the depressed portion 20a is provided in the end portion on an upstream side of the adaptor 20 and has a groove shape extending in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction.
Moreover, as shown in
As a surface for forming the clearance portion 20b, the adaptor 20 has an upper surface 20b1 and a lower surface 20b2 as opposing surfaces opposing so as to sandwich the folded portion 10e and a region in the vicinity thereof in an opposing direction of the accommodating portion 10a and the handle portion 10c. The upper surface 20b1 is a surface in contact with the region in the vicinity of the folded portion 10e of the handle portion 10c, and the lower surface 20b2 is a surface in contact with the region in the vicinity of the folded portion 10e of the lower film 13. In this embodiment, the lower surface 20b2 extends horizontally, and the upper surface 20b1 is inclined by an inclination angle θ with respect to the lower surface 20b2. And an opposing gap between the upper surface 20b1 and the lower surface 20b2 becomes wider as it goes from the first end portion 10a1 to the second end portion 10a2. The handle portion 10c is urged in a direction brought into contact with the upper surface 20b1 by a force (restoring force of the material constituting the bag member 10) of the folded portion 10e of the bag member 10 to return to straight and thus, it is disposed so as to follow the upper surface 20b1, and a folding-back angle of the handle portion 10c is regulated by the inclination angle θ. By constituting as above, when the bag member 10 is fixed to the adaptor 20, such a posture can be maintained that the handle portion 10c extends so as to gradually separate from the accommodating portion 10a as it goes from the first end portion 10a1 side to the second end portion 10a2 side. Therefore, by disposing the folded portion 10e in the clearance portion 20b, the handle portion 10c is not crushed by the upper adaptor 21 and the lower adaptor 22 but the handle portion 10c is provided so as to have a gap with respect to the accommodating portion 10a. That is, since the handle portion 10c is disposed so as to slightly float in the thickness direction (Z-direction) with respect to the accommodating portion 10a, the operator can insert the hand between the handle portion 10c and the accommodating portion 10a and grip the handle portion 10c easily, which can realize the constitution with excellent handling performance.
As described above, the clearance portion 20b of the adaptor 20 is formed in conformance with the folded portion 10e of the bag member 10. As shown in
Moreover, when the handle portion 10c is excessively long or is excessively separated from the accommodating portion 10a, there is a possibility that the handle portion 10c protrudes from the cassette 2, interferes at attachment of the liquid ejecting device 100, and causes nonconformity. Thus, assuming that a length of the handle portion 10c is L, a height from the lower surface 20b2 of the clearance portion 20b (insertion position of the bag member 10) to an upper end of the upper adaptor 21 is H, and the inclination angle of the clearance portion is θ, θ is preferably smaller than sin−1 (H/L). By constituting them so as to satisfy θ<sin−1 (H/L) as above, the end portion of the handle portion 10c does not protrude from the upper surface of the upper adaptor 21, and the interference of the handle portion 10c when the liquid container 1 is mounted on the cassette 2 and is inserted into/removed from the liquid ejecting device 100 can be avoided.
When the ink in the bag member 10 becomes empty, the cassette 2 is pulled out of the liquid ejecting device 100, and the liquid container 1 is removed from the cassette 2. In the removing work of the liquid container 1, the operator can perform the work while gripping the handle portion 10c extending in the thickness direction, which is favorable in operability. As the new liquid container 1 to be attached to the cassette 2, by disassembling the adaptor 20, only the bag member 10 replaced with the new bag member 10 into which the ink was injected may be used or the new liquid container 1 which was replaced with the whole adaptor 20 may be used.
As described above, by means of the constitution of this embodiment, by forming the handle portion 10c on the bag member 10 so as to be integrated with the accommodating portion 10a, as compared with a case in which the handle portion is provided on the adaptor 20, the liquid container 1 can be manufactured with a simple constitution. That is, since there is no need to manufacture the adaptor 20 of the liquid container 1 by combining a large number of molded products, a manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, since size reduction of the adaptor 20 of the liquid container 1 can be promoted, an increase in a size of the accommodating portion 10a can be expected and thus, improvement of accommodation efficiency of the ink can be promoted.
Subsequently, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be explained. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in a point that the handle portion is constituted by an upper film 32 and a lower film 13. In the following explanation, portions different from the first embodiment will be mainly explained, while the same or similar members as those in the first embodiment are given the same signs, and the explanation will be omitted.
The upper film 32 in this embodiment has the same shape as that of the lower film 13, and a first handle forming portion and a second handle forming portion constituting the handle portion 10c are formed as the upper film 32 and the lower film 13, respectively. That is, the handle portion of this embodiment is constituted by overlapping the two sheet-shaped members and bonding them to each other. By constituting as above, rigidity of the handle portion can be improved as compared with the first embodiment, and handling performance at attachment to/detachment from the cassette 2 can be improved. This embodiment is particularly effective when the rigidity of the handle portion is to be improved in such a case that a material used for the sheet-shaped member is excessively soft, and a gap cannot be provided between the handle portion and the accommodating portion, even if the handle portion is formed of one sheet of film, for example. Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the upper film 32 and the lower film 13 have the same shape, the number of components to be manufactured can be reduced, and ease of manufacture increases.
Subsequently, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be explained. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in a point that it is so constituted that a lower film 43 is folded so that the handle portion is doubled. In the following explanation, portions different from those in the first embodiment will be mainly explained, while the same or similar members as those in the first embodiment are given the same signs, and the explanation will be omitted.
Application of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but various changes can be made. For example, it may be so constituted that the handle portion has threefold or fourfold sheet-shaped members by combining the second embodiment and the third embodiment. Moreover, in the above embodiment, the bag member was manufactured by using a film in which the handle portion and the accommodating portion are integral, but simply if accommodation efficiency of the liquid is to be improved, the handle portion may be bonded to the accommodating portion by means of welding or the like. That is, by providing the handle portion so as to oppose the surface on a side opposite to the contact surface with respect to the cassette of the accommodating portion, the constitution can have excellent handling performance when the liquid container is to be removed from the cassette, while the accommodation efficiency of the liquid is improved, as compared with the case where the handle portion is provided on the adaptor.
Moreover, another variation to which the present invention is applied will be explained by referring to
Alternatively, as shown in
According to the present invention, the liquid container with high liquid accommodation efficiency can be provided with a simple constitution.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-088866, filed on May 31, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-088866 | May 2022 | JP | national |
