Patent Application
20220396089
The present invention relates to a liquid replenishing container, a liquid replenishing system, and a liquid storage container.
When recording liquid (ink) is replenished to a liquid storage container using a liquid replenishing container, the replenished recording liquid may splash on the liquid surface in the liquid storage container, and contaminate the surroundings.
An ink replenishing auxiliary device according to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-161743 includes a connecting portion that is connectable with an ink inlet member having a passage in the axis direction in the liquid tight state, and an ink inflow portion to allow ink to flow into the connecting portion. The ink replenishing auxiliary device replenishes ink via these components whereby contamination, due to splashing from the ink liquid surface, is controlled.
In the case of the configuration including a component to replenish ink, when a component is connected to the ink replenishing auxiliary device or when a component is disconnected from the ink replenishing auxiliary device, ink adhered to the component may splash and contaminate the surroundings. An increase in a number of components also leads to an increase in cost.
The present invention provides a liquid replenishing container controlling the contamination caused by the recording liquid when the recording liquid is replenished to the liquid storage container.
A liquid replenishing container according to the present invention is configured to replenish recording liquid to a liquid storage container having a receiving portion of the recording liquid, and includes a holding portion that holds recording liquid to be replenished to the liquid storage container; and an injecting portion that has an opening to discharge the recording liquid in the holding portion, and that is inserted into the receiving portion of the liquid storage container, wherein the opening opens so as to face an inner wall of the receiving portion.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Dimensions, materials, shapes and relative positions of the components described in the embodiments, however, should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration and various conditions when the present invention is applied, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the following embodiments.
The liquid replenishing system is a system to replenish liquid (recording liquid) from a liquid replenishing container to a liquid storage container. The liquid replenishing container is a container to replenish the recording liquid to the liquid storage container. A plurality of liquid storage containers are installed in a liquid discharging device, which discharges the liquid (recording liquid) for recording, using a recording head. The liquid replenishing container and the liquid storage container according to Embodiment 1 control the contamination caused by the recording liquid when the recording liquid is replenished. The contamination caused by the recording liquid in a comparative example will be described first with reference to
In
Control of the splashing in a liquid replenishing system 100 when the recording liquid is replenished will be described with reference to
The liquid storage container 101 according to Embodiment 1 includes a receiving portion 102 to which recording liquid is injected, and a storage portion 105 in which the recording liquid, injected via the receiving portion 102, is stored. The receiving portion 102 includes a receiving port 103 to which an injecting portion 202 of the liquid replenishing container 201 is inserted. The recording liquid is injected to the receiving portion 102 via an opening of the injecting portion 202. On an inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102, there is a region which faces the opening of the injecting portion 202. The recording liquid is replenished to the storage portion 105 via the region facing the opening of the injecting portion 202.
The liquid replenishing container 201 includes the injecting portion 202 to discharge the recording liquid in the horizontal direction, and a holding portion 203 which holds the recording liquid to be replenished to the liquid storage container 101.
The injecting portion 202 has an opening to discharge the recording liquid in the holding portion 203. The opening opens so as to face the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102. The injecting portion 202 is inserted into the receiving portion 102 via the receiving port 103 of the liquid storage container 101.
When the recording liquid is injected in a state where the opening of the injecting portion 202 faces the inner wall 104 of the liquid storage container 101, the recording liquid discharged from the injecting portion 202 contacts with the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102 at point A. The recording liquid that contacts at point A drips while decelerating onto point B (a corner formed in the inner wall 104) (B1).
The decelerated recording liquid drips from point B and contacts with the liquid surface 106 at point C (C1). The recording liquid is dripped from point B, which is lower than the injecting portion 202, to the liquid surface 106, at a slower speed compared with the case of directly dripping from the injecting portion 202. Therefore the splashing of the recording liquid, discharged from the opening of the injecting portion 202 toward the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102, is controlled. Further, the state that the recording liquid, discharged toward the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102, splashes out of the receiving port 103, is controlled.
In a case where the recording liquid to be replenished easily foams, the foaming of the recording liquid is controlled by the reduction of the speed of the dripping of the recording liquid along the inner wall 104, since air trapped in the liquid surface 106 decreases. By controlling the foaming, contamination of the surroundings caused by an overflow of the foamed recording liquid from the receiving port 103 is suppressed. Further, the wait for defoaming of the foamed recording liquid during replenishing the recording liquid can be decreased.
The hook shape, the sloped and butted shape, and the double-sided notch shape are examples where a side face of the tip facing the inner wall of the receiving portion 102 of the liquid storage container 101 is open, when the injecting portion 202 is inserted into the receiving portion 102. In the injecting portion 202, the tip side is configured to have a bottomed cylindrical shape, a passage of the recording liquid extending in the inserting direction is included, and an opening is formed at a part of a cylindrical portion of the injecting portion 202.
The hook shape is a shape where an approximately hemispherical bottom portion is disposed on the tip side of the injecting portion 202, and a notch (opening) is formed on the side face on the tip side. The sloped and butted shape is a shape where a notch (opening) of the injecting portion 202 is formed such that the width in the circumferential direction increases in the direction toward the tip of the injecting portion 202. In the case of the sloped and butted shape of which the bottom portion is flat, the direction of discharging the recording liquid is more easily determined than the case of the hook shape.
The double-sided notch shape is a shape where a notch (opening) is formed on each side of the injecting portion 202 as a pair, in a direction orthogonal to the inserting direction. The openings are not limited to being disposed on each side face facing each other, but may be disposed at three or more locations, or a plurality of openings may be formed on one side.
In the case of forming a notch (opening) at the tip of the injecting portion 202, such as the cases of the hook shape, the sloped and butted shape and the double-sided notch shape, there is no protruded portion at the tip, hence capping of the injecting portion 202 is easy. Further, in the case of forming an opening at the tip of the injecting portion 202, the receiving portion 102 can be smoothly installed since the tip does not interfere with the receiving port 103 very much.
The L-curved shape is a shape where the tip of the injecting portion 202 is curved in an L shape. The injecting portion 202 has a curved tip which is curved and protruded from the end of the inserting direction of the injecting portion 202, toward the inner wall of the receiving portion 102. The opening of the injecting portion 202 is opened in the direction where the curved tip protrudes. The tip of the injecting portion 202 is not limited to the L shape illustrated in
The L shape is a shape where the tip of the injecting portion 202 is L-shaped. The injecting portion 202 has a tip which protrudes in a direction toward the inner wall of the receiving portion 102, that is, in a direction intersecting with the inserting direction of the injecting portion 202. The opening of the injecting portion 202 is opened at the tip in the direction where the tip protrudes. The shape of the tip is not limited to the L shape, but may be a shape curved at a predetermined angle in accordance with the shape of the receiving portion 102 of the liquid storage container 101.
In the case where the tip shape of the injecting portion 202 is the hook shape, the sloped and butted shape or the double-sided notch shape, the opening area can be wider than the case of the L-curved shape or the L shape. In the case of the hook shape, the sloped and butted shape or the double-sided notch shape is used for the injecting portion 202, the recording liquid is charged at a slower speed than the case where the L-curved shape or the L shape is used for the injecting portion 202, if the pressure to replenish the recording liquid is the same. By reducing the speed of the recording liquid, a further splashing control effect can be expected.
In the case of discharging the recording liquid at a reduced speed, it is preferable to locate the opening of the injecting portion 202 of the liquid replenishing container 201 close to the inner wall 104 of the liquid storage container 101, so that the recording liquid can contact with the inner wall 104.
Especially in the case where the tip shape of the injecting portion 202 is the double-sided notch shape, the recording liquid is replenished at a slower speed than the case of the hook shape or the sloped and butted shape. In this case, it is preferable that the injecting portion 202 is disposed such that the opening is located even closer to the inner wall 104 of the liquid storage container 101.
On the other hand, in the case where the tip shape of the injecting portion 202 is the L-curved shape or the L shape, the opening area is narrower than the case of the hook shape or the sloped and butted shape, and the flow of the recording liquid is faster and linear. Therefore compared with the case where the tip shape is the hook shape or the sloped and butted shape, the opening of the injecting portion 202 can be more distant from the inner wall 104.
In Embodiment 2, the shape of the receiving portion 102 is changed, whereby the speed of the recording liquid is reduced, and the splashing of the recording liquid is further controlled compared with Embodiment 1.
The configurations of a liquid storage container 101 and a liquid replenishing container 201 according to Embodiment 2 are the same as Embodiment 1, but the shape of a receiving portion 102 of the liquid storage container 101 is different from the example illustrated in
When the recording liquid to be replenished is discharged from the opening of the injecting portion 202, the recording liquid contacts with the inner wall 104a at point A, which is a position facing the opening, and propagates to point B along the inclined surface of the inner wall 104a. Since the inner wall 104a is inclined, the recording liquid drips to point C on the liquid surface 106 from point B, which is distant from the receiving port 103. Therefore the state that the recording liquid contact point C on the liquid surface 106 splashes out from the receiving port 103 can be controlled.
The receiving portion 102b includes a first wall face, which faces the injecting portion 202, on the side of the inner wall 104b closer to the receiving port 103. The receiving portion 102b also includes a second wall face (bottom face of the depressed portion), which is more distant from the injecting portion 202 than the first wall face, and faces the opening, on the side of the inner wall 104b more distant from the receiving port 103 than the first wall face. The receiving portion 102b has a protrusion on the outer face at a position corresponding to the second wall face.
The receiving portion 102b has an inclined surface, just like the receiving portion 102a illustrated in
The depressed portion is formed on the inner wall 104b, hence even if the recording liquid contacts with the inner wall 104b at point A and splashes toward the receiving port 103 side, the state that the recording liquid splashes out of the receiving port 103 can be controlled because of the step difference D on the receiving port 103 side.
On the inner wall 104b, the receiving portion 102b includes a protruded portion (step difference B) protruding out to a region facing the opening, on the side more distant from the receiving portion 102b than the region facing the opening. By the step difference B, the speed of the recording liquid dripping onto the liquid surface 106 is further reduced, hence the splashing of the recording liquid dripping on the liquid surface 106 at point C can be controlled.
In the example in
The receiving portion 102c includes a first wall face, which faces the injecting portion 202, on the side of the inner wall 104c closer to the receiving port 103. The receiving portion 102c also includes a second wall face (region including point A), which is more distant from the injecting portion 202 than the first wall face, and faces the opening, on the side of the inner wall 104c more distant from the receiving port 103 than the first wall face.
The receiving portion 102c has the step difference D on the receiving port 103 side, hence the recording liquid contacting with the inner wall 104c drips onto point C on the liquid surface 106 from point B which is distant from the receiving port 103. Thereby the state that the recording liquid contacting with the liquid surface 106 at point C splashes out of the receiving port 103 can be controlled. Further, even if the recording liquid contacting with the inner wall 104c at point A splashes toward the receiving port 103, the state that the recording liquid splashes out of the receiving port 103 can be controlled because of the step difference D.
On the inner wall 104d on which the step difference D and the step difference D′ are formed, a region facing the injecting portion 202 on the side closer to the receiving port 103 corresponds to “the first wall face”. A surface facing the opening, which is more distant from the injecting portion 202 than the first wall face, on the side of the inner wall 104d more distant from the receiving port 103 than the first wall face, corresponds to “the second wall face”.
In the case where the tip of the injecting portion 202 is the double-sided notch shape, the step difference D and the step difference D′ may be formed in accordance with the direction of the opening of the injecting portion 202. By using the injecting portion 202 having the double-sided notch shape, the area of the opening from which the recording liquid is discharged becomes wide. Hence, the speed of the recording liquid is reduced even more, and splashing of the recording liquid is controlled.
In a case where the tip of the injecting portion 202 has an opening in one direction, as in the case of the hook shape, the injecting portion 202 may be inserted into the receiving port 103 such that the opening is directed to either the step difference D or the step difference D′. By aligning the opening of the injecting portion 202 with either the step difference D or the step difference D′, splashing of the recording liquid is controlled.
The injecting portion 202 is inserted downward diagonally with respect to the vertical direction, hence when the recording liquid is replenished, the liquid replenishing container 201 can be inserted into the receiving port 103 without in a vertical state, so that the opening does not face the horizontal direction. In the example in
On the inner wall 104f on which the depressed portion is formed, a region facing the injecting portion 202 on the side closer to the receiving port 103 corresponds to “the first wall face”. A region facing the opening, which is more distant from the injecting portion 202 than the first wall face, on the side of the inner wall 104f more distant from the receiving port 103 than the first wall face, corresponds to “the second wall face”.
Just like
Furthermore, the receiving portion 102f includes the inclined surface on the inner wall 104f of the receiving portion 102f, and the depressed portion is formed on the inner wall 104f, hence the receiving portion 102f can implement a same effect as the receiving portion 102b of
In Embodiment 3, the position, at which the depressed portion or the step difference is formed in the receiving portion 102 of the liquid storage container 101 in Embodiment 2, is limited.
When the depressed portion exemplified in
In the liquid storage container 101 according to Embodiment 3, the depressed portion or the step difference in the receiving portion 102 are formed at a position 107b (top surface side of the liquid storage container 101) or a position 107c (front side), on the side where another liquid storage container is not disposed, as illustrated in
Out of the depressed portion and the step difference formed on the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102, a region facing the opening of the injecting portion 202 corresponds to “the second wall face”. On the inner wall 104 on which the depressed portion is formed, the step difference protruding to the region facing the opening, on the side more distant from the receiving port 103 than the region facing the opening, corresponds to “the protruded portion”.
The liquid storage container 101 has a protrusion on the outer surface of the receiving portion 102, at a position corresponding to the second wall face. In a case where the liquid replenishing system 100 includes a plurality of liquid storing containers, the plurality of liquid storage containers are disposed adjacent to each other, such that each receiving portion 102 faces the same direction.
In Embodiment 4, the liquid storage container 101 and the liquid replenishing container 201 have an engaged portion and an engaging portion respectively to adjust positions with each other when the receiving portion 102 is inserted into the injecting portion 202.
In the case of replenishing the recording liquid to the liquid storage container 101, the splashing of the recording liquid can be controlled if the inner wall 104 of the liquid storage container 101 faces the opening of the injecting portion 202 of the liquid replenishing container 201. Especially in the case where the depressed portion or the step difference is formed on the inner wall 104 of the receiving portion 102, it is preferable that the injecting portion 202 is inserted in a direction where the opening faces the depressed portion or the step difference, as described in Embodiment 2.
In the examples indicated in
The shapes of the engaging portion 501 of the liquid replenishing container 201 and the engaged portion 503 of the liquid storage container 101 are not limited to the shapes exemplified in
The cross-sectional shapes of the engaging portion 501 and the engaged portion 503 may be triangular or square or the like, for example, as long as the relative positions of the liquid replenishing container 201 and the liquid storage container 101 can be determined thereby.
In the liquid replenishing system 100 having a plurality of liquid storage containers 101, the engaged portion 503 may have a shape, which is engageable with the engaging portion 501 of a corresponding liquid replenishing container 201 but is not engageable with the engaging portions of the liquid replenishing containers corresponding to the other liquid storage containers.
Among the liquid storage containers 101 included in the liquid discharging device, if the shapes of the engaged portions 503 of the adjacent liquid storage containers 101 are different, the chances that a different type of recording liquid is replenished to each liquid storage container 101 in error can be reduced. Further, if the shapes of the engaged portions 503 of a plurality of liquid storage containers 101 included in the liquid discharging device are different from one another, then the state that a different type of recording liquid is replenished to each liquid storage container 101 in error can be prevented.
According to the present disclosure, the contamination caused by recording liquid when the recording liquid is replenished to the liquid storage container can be controlled.
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. 2021-098816, filed on Jun. 14, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-098816 | Jun 2021 | JP | national |
