Patent Application
20250042172
The present disclosure relates to a liquid storage bottle which stores liquid therein.
In recent years, there has been a necessity to recycle plastics for the achievement of a sustainable society, such as a decarbonized society/circular society. From the viewpoint of the recycling of plastic materials, there is known a method of forming waste plastic materials into pellets, mixing them with virgin material pellets for molding, and performing molding. International Publication No. WO 2006/062075 discloses a method of mixing flakes produced from used PET bottles with polyester resin pellets and producing a molded article.
Some of liquid tanks provided in a liquid ejection apparatus such as an inkjet printing apparatus comprise an inlet to inject liquid so that liquid can be refilled from a separately-prepared liquid storage bottle through the inlet. For example, a liquid storage bottle shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-164230 comprises a nozzle for injecting liquid into an inlet of a liquid tank and a bottle main body storing liquid.
In a case where a recycled plastic material is used for the bottle main body of the liquid storage bottle, there is a possibility that liquid leaks from the bottle main body or bursts from a nozzle opening at the time of drop/collision.
A liquid storage bottle according to an aspect of this disclosure is a liquid storage bottle comprising a bottle main body, a nozzle configured to supply liquid externally, and a cap configured to cover the nozzle, wherein the bottle main body contains a recycled plastic material or a resin material obtained by mixing recycled plastic materials, and A>1 mm and A/B>1 are satisfied, where A is a thickness of a bottom surface center of the bottle main body and B is an average thickness of a bottom surface edge of the bottle main body.
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 disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the matters disclosed herein and not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are necessarily essential for solving a problem of this disclosure. The same constituent element is denoted by the same reference number. As the use of a liquid storage bottle, the refilling of liquid (ink) into a liquid ejection apparatus (inkjet printing apparatus) is described herein as an example. However, the use of the liquid storage bottle is not limited to this.
First, prior to the description of a specific configuration of an embodiment, it will be explained that, in a case where a recycled plastic material is used for a bottle main body of a liquid storage bottle, there is a possibility that liquid leaks from the bottle main body or bursts from a nozzle opening at the time of drop/collision.
In general, the use of a recycled plastic material for molding has a problem that a molding failure is caused by contaminants contained in the recycled plastic material and the impact absorbency of a molded article at the time of drop/collision is impaired. The influence is large especially in a case where the recycled plastic material is used for a liquid storage bottle for refilling an inkjet printing apparatus (liquid ejection apparatus) with ink.
First, the former molding failure will be described. The recycled plastic material is reused after passing through a cleaning process after collection. However, although depending on the cleaning method and the status at the time of collection, there is a possibility that contaminants are not completely removed and a very small amount of contaminant is included in the recycled plastic material. In a case where such a recycled plastic material is used for direct blow molding, which is one of common bottle manufacturing methods, and the molding of a bottle main body is repeated multiple times, the frequency of a molding failure in the center of a bottom surface of a bottle main body increases.
A bottom of a parison including the recycled plastic material is pinched between tips of pinch-off portions of blow molds used in direct blow molding multiple times in response to the closing of the molds. Thus, contaminants are likely to accumulate in portions of the blow molds corresponding to the tips of the pinch-off portions. In a case where contaminants accumulate above a certain level, molding is carried out with the contaminants at the tips of the pinch-off portions transferred to a bottom of a parison. Since the bottom of the parison forms a center of a bottom surface of a molded bottle, the contaminants may cause formation of a very small hole near the bottom surface center. In a case where the very small hole establishes communication between the inside and outside of the bottle, ink may leak with time and make the periphery dirty or adhere to a user's finger or the like. In particular, a liquid storage bottle storing ink refills the liquid ejection apparatus with ink at irregular intervals. Accordingly, since a user who thinks that the last refilling was performed without any problems cannot predict an ink leakage, there is a possibility of unpredicted contamination. Further, even in a case where the very small hole does not establish communication, an impact or the like may cause the hole to establish communication and liquid may leak. This is the end of the example of the molding failure.
Next, the latter impact absorbency impairment will be described. The recycled plastic material is made from materials that have been deteriorated to no small extent by a thermal history during molding, a stress, heat, light, and solvent during use, and the like. In view of the circumstances, it is known that the recycled plastic material is different in physical property from a virgin material. For example, the recycled plastic material tends to be low in impact absorbency, which is the ability of molecular chains in the material to warp and relieve force in a case where an impact is applied. This tendency can be confirmed by the Charpy impact test; a molding material including the recycled plastic material exhibits impact strength lower than that of a virgin material. Such impairment of the impact absorbency is caused because the original molecular chains have been broken by the aforementioned deterioration and the impact absorbing effect of the molecular chains has decreased.
As a result, in a case where the liquid storage bottle drops and comes into collision, there is a possibility that the impact is not absorbed by the bottle main body and liquid inside the bottle bursts from the nozzle, adheres to the periphery, and adheres to a user during use.
A description will be given of an example of reducing the possibility that liquid leaks from the bottle main body or bursts from the nozzle opening at the time of drop/collision in a case where the recycled plastic material is used for the bottle main body of the liquid storage bottle.
Liquid is stored in the liquid tank 12 and supplied to the liquid ejection head 14 through a liquid flow path 17. In the present embodiment, inks of four colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are used as liquid and four liquid tanks 12a to 12d storing the respective color inks are provided as the liquid tank 12. Each of the four liquid tanks 12a to 12d is arranged in the front portion of the liquid ejection apparatus 1 inside the housing 11.
A bottle welding portion 21a is formed at the top of the bottle main body 21 and a nozzle welding portion 22c is formed at the bottom of the nozzle 22. The nozzle 22 is fixed to the bottle main body 21 by welding an inner peripheral surface or bottom surface of the nozzle welding portion 22c to the bottle welding portion 21a. The middle of the nozzle 22 has a nozzle thread portion 22b having a male thread on its outer peripheral surface and the bottom of the cap 23 has a cap thread portion 23a having a female thread on its inner peripheral surface. The cap 23 is mounted on the nozzle 22 by screwing the male thread of the nozzle thread portion 22b into the female thread of the cap thread portion 23a.
In the present embodiment, the material for the parison 4 is virgin resin pellets mixed with pellets made from a recycled plastic material. The material is melted and kneaded at high temperature and extruded into the molds 3. The recycled plastic material used here occupies 5 wt % or more of the whole of the parison 4.
The recycled plastic material described in the present embodiment is used as a broad meaning including both a post-consumer material (PCR material) and a pre-consumer material. The post-consumer material (PCR material) is a material obtained by collecting and reusing plastic products distributed to the market. For example, the PCR material is a plastic prepared from cleaned and crushed waste products. The PCR material may be a thermoplastic prepared by a processor other than the first processor from industrial plastic wastes. The pre-consumer material is a material obtained by collecting and reusing plastic wastes produced during a manufacturing process before distribution to the market. For example, the pre-consumer material is a thermoplastic prepared from, after processing such as molding and extrusion in a processor's factory, offcuts resulting from reprocessing in the same factory or rejected molded articles. In the present embodiment, the recycled plastic material may be the PCR material, the pre-consumer material, or a mixture thereof.
In the present embodiment, a recycled plastic material can be used after determination whether the recycled plastic material is suitable for use based on a size of contaminants. For example, a thin sample plate is molded and, in a case where a size of contaminants on the surface of the plate is less than a predetermined value, the material is determined to be a recycled plastic material suitable for use. This predetermined value relates to a thickness of the bottom surface of the bottle main body 21, as will be described later. In the present embodiment, the predetermined value is assumed to be 1 mm2. The parison 4 used here is obtained by mixing pellets made from such recycled plastics with virgin resin pellets.
As a resin material for use, a resin material common in blow molding is used together with the virgin material and the recycled plastic material. For example, any of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS) may be used. However, the resin material is not limited to this; a resin material other than the above may be used and a plurality of materials may be used. That is, the recycled plastic material can use one of PP, PE, PET, PVC, and PS or a mixture of two or more of them.
Here, a thickness of the bottle bottom surface center is denoted by A1 and thicknesses of the bottle bottom surface edge are denoted by B11 to B14. B11 to B14 are set so that B11 is at 12 o'clock position on the circumference of the bottle bottom surface in
The thickness A1 of the bottle bottom surface center is defined as an average thickness in a circular area concentric with the bottle bottom surface and having a diameter one-fifth the bottle diameter. The thickness A1 is a thickness in the Z direction. Each of the thicknesses B11 to B14 of the bottle bottom surface edge is a thickness of the most curved part of a corner portion formed by the bottle bottom surface edge and the lower part of the side surface. In other words, each of the thicknesses B11 to B14 of the bottle bottom surface edge is a thickness of the most curved part of a corner portion of a cross section along the Z axis and the axis of the bottle diameter direction (YZ cross section, XZ cross section). Each of the thicknesses B11 to B14 is a thickness of the corresponding cross section in the curvature radius direction. Further, each of the thicknesses B11 to B14 of the bottle bottom surface edge is an average value in an area described below on the circumference of the bottle bottom surface edge. B11 is described as an example. As shown by a dashed frame in
As a concrete example of the values, it is assumed that A1 is greater than 1 mm and also greater than the average value of B11 to B14. As described above, in the recycled plastic material used in the present embodiment, an allowable contaminant size in the sample plate is defined as 1 mm2. Thus, a contaminant thickness is assumed to be 1 mm and A1 is set at a value greater than 1 mm in relation to the allowable contaminant size.
Of B11 to B14, B11 and B13 along the Y axis are thicknesses smaller than B12 and B14 along the X axis. According to this configuration, the bottle main body 21 becomes easy to warp locally at the time of drop/collision and thus the impact absorbency can be improved. Incidentally, a drop/collision surface may be any surface of the liquid storage bottle 2. Irrespective of which surface is a collision surface, the bottle main body 21 is easy to warp locally at the time of drop/collision.
Direct blow molding is an example of a manufacturing method which enables such a thickness difference. In direct blow molding, the parison bottom portion 41 is pinched between the pinch-off portions 31 in the Y direction. In a case where blowing is performed in this state, the amount of extension to wall surfaces of the molds in the Y direction is greater than that in the X direction. More specifically, through the blowing, the bottle bottom surface is formed by being expanded concentrically from the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31. On the assumption that L1 is a distance between the center of the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31 and a mold wall surface in the Y direction (B11, B13) and L2 is a distance between an end of the area 21d and a mold wall surface in the X direction (B12, B14), L1 is greater than L2. Thus, the amount of expansion in the Y direction is greater than that in the X direction. As a result, the thicknesses of the bottom surface edge positioned in the Y direction are reduced. In this manner, the thicknesses B11 and B13 of the edge of the bottle bottom surface in the first axis can be less than the thicknesses B12 and B14 of the edge in the second axis. The first axis is an axis in parallel with the direction of pinching between the pinch-off portions 31 and the second axis is an axis intersecting with (substantially orthogonal to) the first axis. Incidentally, from the viewpoint of the strength, it is preferable that the minimum thicknesses B11 and B13 be equal to or greater than 0.1 times of A1. It is also preferable that the thickness A1 of the bottle bottom surface center be greater than the minimum thicknesses B11 and B13 of the bottle bottom surface edge. That is, it is preferable that the thickness of the bottom surface of the bottle main body satisfy 1<A/Bmin<10, where A is the thickness of the bottom surface center of the bottle main body and Bmin is the minimum thickness of the bottom surface edge.
Next, a description will be given of a method of making the thickness A1 of the bottle bottom surface center greater than the average value of B11 to B14. As described above, through the blowing, the bottle bottom surface is formed by being expanded concentrically from the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31. At this time, the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31, namely the bottle bottom surface center area, is greater in thickness than the expanded edge area. Since the center and edge of the bottle bottom surface are different in expansion rate at the time of swelling the parison 4 by direct blowing, the center has a greater thickness. Accordingly, the center of the bottle bottom surface can be greater in thickness than the edge by, for example, using molds 3 which locate the edge more distant. Alternatively, by shaping the pinch-off portions 31 to perform pinching so that the center of the bottle bottom surface protrudes higher, the amount of the parison 4 can be large in the center and the center of the bottle bottom surface can be greater in thickness than the edge.
For instance, the recycled plastic material used in the present embodiment is described as having only one record of collection. More specifically, the PCR material collected for the first time after being manufactured as a new product is described as an example of the recycled plastic material in use. However, the number of records of collection is not limited to one; a recycled plastic material having multiple records of collection may also be used. In this case, the possibility of increase in content of contaminant and impairment in impact absorbency is enlarged with increase in number of records of collection. It is therefore preferable to change an allowable thickness according to the number of records of collection. Here, in a case where n is the number of records of collection, the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center is AHn, the average value of the thicknesses of the bottom surface edge is BHn_ave, and the minimum value of the bottom surface edge is BHn_min. At this time, AHn is greater than r1{circumflex over ( )}(n−1) mm and AHn/BHn_ave is greater than r2{circumflex over ( )}(n−1). Further, it is preferable to change the thickness according to the number of records of collection so that AHn/BHn_min is in a range less than 10×r2{circumflex over ( )}(n−1). Here, r1 and r2 are constants determined by the materials for the recycled plastic material, the content of contaminant, and the usage rates of the recycled materials. It is preferable that r1 and r2 each have a value from 1.01 to 2.00.
For example, on the assumption that r1 and r2 are each 1.25, in a case where the number of records of collection is two, AH2 is greater than 1.25 mm, BH2_ave is less than 0.8 times of AH2, and BH2_min is greater than 0.08 times of AH2. In a case where the number of records of collection is three, AH3 is greater than 1.56 mm, BH3_ave is less than 0.64 times of AH3, and BH3_min is greater than 0.06 times of AH3.
Further, although the recycled plastic materials described above as examples have the same number of records of collection such as one, two, or three, the recycled plastic materials having different numbers of records of collection may be used together. The materials having different numbers of records of collection may be treated as follows. It is assumed that a recycled plastic material having n1 records of collection and a recycled plastic material having n2 records of collection are mixed in rates of x1 and x2 (satisfying x1+x2=1). In this case, the number of records of collection n can be replaced with x1×n1+x2×n2. It is only required that the replaced value satisfy the above relationship. For example, in a case where materials whose numbers of records of collection are 1 and 2 are mixed in equal parts, the number of records of collection can be treated as 1.5 (=0.5×1+0.5×2). Similarly, even in a case where three or more materials are used together, it is only necessary to calculate the number of records of collection n=x1×n1+x2×n2+ . . . +xm×nm on the assumption that materials having n1, n2, . . . , nm records of collection are mixed in rates x1, x2, . . . , xm (the sum total is 1).
As described above, the present embodiment can reduce the possibility of a leakage of liquid from the bottle main body bottom surface and a burst of liquid from the nozzle opening at the time of drop/impact, which are caused by contaminants in the recycled plastic material. For example, in the present embodiment, the bottle main body bottom surface center has the large thickness A of 1 mm or more. Accordingly, even in a case where contaminants adhere to the bottle main body bottom surface center at the time of molding, the possibility of formation of a hole that establishes communication between inside and outside can be reduced.
Since the liquid storage bottle of the present embodiment can reduce the possibility of a leakage of liquid from the bottle main body bottom surface and a burst of liquid from the nozzle opening at the time of drop/impact even in the case of using the recycled plastic material, the use of the recycled plastic material for the liquid storage bottle can be facilitated. The use of the recycled plastic material for the liquid storage bottle can reduce the amount of virgin material for use and therefore has the potential to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society, such as a decarbonized society/circular society. That is, the technologies described in this specification have the potential to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society, such as a decarbonized society/circular society.
Further, since A/B>1 (the thickness B of the bottle main body bottom surface edge is less than the thickness A of the bottle main body bottom surface center), the bottle becomes easy to deform starting from the bottom surface edge at the time of drop/collision and the impact absorbency is thereby increased.
As described above, the liquid storage bottle with the reduced possibility of a leakage of liquid from the bottle main body 21 and a burst of liquid from the nozzle opening (inlet 22a) at the time of drop/collision can be provided.
In the first embodiment, an example of the bottle main body 21 having the bottom surface in the circular shape has been described. In the present embodiment, an example of the bottle main body 21 having the bottom surface in a substantially square shape will be described.
In the example of
The thickness A2 of the bottle bottom surface center is defined as an average thickness in a circular area concentric with the bottle bottom surface and having a diameter which is one-fifth the interval between two opposing surfaces of the surfaces forming the bottle side surface. Each of the thicknesses B21 to B28 of the bottle bottom surface edge is a thickness of the most curved part of a corner portion formed by the bottle bottom surface edge and the lower part of the side surface (a corner portion of a cross section along the Z axis and the axis of the bottle diameter direction). Each of the thicknesses B21 to B28 of the bottle bottom surface edge is an average value in an area described below on the ridge line formed by the bottle bottom surface and the bottle side surface. B21 is described as an example. An area used for averaging processing for calculating B21 is a square area. The center of the square is at a point of intersection of a straight line extending from the center of the bottle bottom surface in the positive Y axis direction and the ridge line formed by the bottle side surface and the bottle bottom surface. The length of one side of the square is one-fifth the interval between two opposing surfaces of the surfaces forming the bottle side surface. Further, two opposing sides of the four sides of the square are arranged in parallel with the straight line extending from the center of the bottle bottom surface in the positive Y axis direction. For B22 to B28, square areas are similarly defined so that their centers are points of intersections of the straight line extending from the center of the bottle bottom surface in the positive Y axis direction and the ridge line formed by the bottle side surface and the bottle bottom surface in a case where the straight line is turned clockwise every 45° around the bottle bottom surface center. The other features are the same as those for B21 Incidentally, the above definition of the thicknesses is merely an example and the thicknesses are not limited to this example. The length of one side of the square may be changed or each thickness may be defined as a thickness in a rectangular area. Further, the shape is not limited to a rectangle and may be defined as a circle.
It is assumed that the thickness A2 of the bottle bottom surface center is greater than 1 mm and also greater than the average value of the thicknesses B21 to B28 of the bottle bottom surface edge. Further, a difference in thickness is set for B21 to B28 on the same grounds as in the first embodiment. More specifically, the thicknesses B22, B24, B26, and B28 near the corners of the bottom surface are set at the smallest value. Next, the rest of the thicknesses are set so that B23 and B27 are greater than B21 and B25. As described in the first embodiment, an example of a manufacturing method which enables such thicknesses is direct blow molding. As described in the first embodiment, by direct blow molding, the thickness is set so that it decreases with distance from the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31. In this case, from the viewpoint of strength, it is preferable that the minimum thicknesses B22, B24, B26, and B28 be equal to or greater than 0.1 times of the thickness A2 of the bottle bottom surface center.
Although the present embodiment describes an example of the bottle main body 21 having the bottom surface of the square shape, the shape of the bottom surface of the bottle main body 21 is not limited to this and may be a rectangular shape or any other polygonal shape. In this case, the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center only has to be greater than 1 mm and greater than the average value of the thicknesses of the bottle bottom surface edge. Incidentally, as described above, a difference in thickness can be provided for the thickness of the bottle bottom surface edge according to the distance from the area 21d pinched between the pinch-off portions 31.
In the first and second embodiments, the relationship between the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center and the thickness of the bottle bottom surface edge has been described. In the present embodiment, a relationship between the thickness of the bottle side surface in the center in the height direction and the thickness of the bottle bottom surface edge will be described. The bottle bottom surface may have any shape, but the shape is described here as a circular shape like the first embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the thickness B31 of the bottle bottom surface edge is set so that it is 0.2 to 1.0 times of the thickness C31 of the bottle side surface in the center in the height direction. That is, the side surface of the bottle main body is configured to satisfy 1<C/Bmin<5, where Bmin is the minimum thickness of the bottom surface edge and C is the thickness of the side surface of the bottle main body in the center in the height direction positioned above the bottom surface edge in the height direction. It is preferable that the thickness B31 of the bottle bottom surface edge be 0.4 to 1.0 times of the thickness C31 of the bottle side surface in the center in the height direction. Such a range of thickness makes the bottle side surface easy to deform starting from the bottle bottom surface edge 21e at the time of drop/collision. Accordingly, the bottle main body 21 is more likely to absorb the impact of collision. Further, since the thickness C31 of the bottle side surface in the center in the height direction is greater than the thickness B31 of the bottle bottom surface edge, the bottle can have sufficient strength to resist buckling deformation under a load in the vertical direction of the bottle.
Thicknesses were measured in bottle side surface centers C11 and C13 in addition to the bottle bottom surface center A1 and the bottle bottom surface edges B11 to B14 shown in
Leakage and drop/collision evaluations were carried out with a predetermined amount of liquid stored in the liquid storage bottle 2 using each bottle main body 21. In the leakage evaluation, the bottle was preserved in a high-temperature environment for a certain period and, if even a small amount of liquid oozed from the center of the bottom surface of the bottle after the preservation, the bottle was ranked NG (no good). In the drop/collision evaluation, the bottle was dropped from a height of 160 cm to come into collision, the cap was then opened, and if even a small amount of inside liquid adhered to the periphery of the nozzle tip, the bottle was ranked NG.
In Examples 1 to 4, the results of the leakage and drop/collision evaluations were both OK. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1 with the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center A1 of 1 mm or less and A/Bave of 1 or less, the results of the leakage and drop/collision evaluations were both NG. Further, in Comparative Example 2 with the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center A1 greater than 1 mm and A/Bave of 1 or less, the leakage evaluation result was OK and the drop/collision evaluation result was NG. Further, in Comparative Example 3 with the thickness of the bottle bottom surface center A1 of 1 mm or less and A/Bave greater than 1, the leakage evaluation result was NG and the drop/collision evaluation result was OK.
In the first to third embodiments, the configuration of the bottle main body 21 has been described mainly focusing on its thickness. The following description will explain a configuration example of the nozzle 22, which is a liquid supply unit in the liquid storage bottle 2.
In a case where liquid is supplied from the liquid storage bottle 2 to the liquid tank 12, the inlet 122 of the liquid tank 12 is inserted into the opening of the nozzle 22 of the liquid storage bottle 2. The nozzle 22 of the liquid storage bottle 2 has a recessed portion to engage with a protruding portion provided in the liquid ejection apparatus 1 and the position of the liquid storage bottle 2 is determined with the insertion of the inlet 122 into the opening of the nozzle 22. Liquid inside the liquid storage bottle 2 is supplied to a chamber of the tank main body 121 through the inlet 122 by a water head difference.
The liquid storage bottle 2 has two sealable places (hereinafter referred to as sealing units).
The first sealing unit will be described with reference to
Further, as the method of mounting the cap 23 on the nozzle 22, a place for engagement other than the sealing unit may be provided instead of screwing. For example, an outer fitting lid may be configured so that the cap 23 fits onto the outer surface of the nozzle 22, or an inner fitting lid may be configured so that the cap 23 fits onto the inner surface of the nozzle 22.
The second sealing unit will be described with reference to
By the above liquid stop valve structure, the valve 25 is biased against the opening of the seal 24 by the spring 26. Thus, even in a case where the cap 23 is removed from the nozzle 22, the inside of the liquid storage bottle 2 can be kept sealed. In a case where liquid is supplied from the liquid storage bottle 2 to the liquid tank 12, the valve 25 is opened by inserting the inlet 122 into the nozzle 22 through the opening of the seal 24. As described above, liquid inside the liquid storage bottle 2 is supplied to the chamber of the tank main body 121 through the inlet 122 by a water head difference.
In this example, the two sealing units are configured to be opened at the same time temporarily in a case where the cap 23 is opened by being removed from the nozzle 22 and the cap 23 is closed by being mounted on the nozzle. The inside of the liquid storage bottle 2 can thus communicate with the atmosphere and an internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2 can be equal to the ambient pressure. This will be described below in detail.
First, while the cap 23 is closed, the first sealing unit is sealed as shown in
By the configuration described above, in a case where the cap 23 is opened, the first sealing unit and the second sealing unit are temporarily opened at the same time. Thus, the inside of the liquid storage bottle 2 can communicate with the atmosphere and the internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2 can be equal to the ambient pressure. As a result, in a case where the cap 23 is opened to refill the tank main body 121 with liquid from the liquid storage bottle 2, a spurt of liquid caused by a rise in internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2 can be suppressed. Further, liquid can be suppressed from flooding from the tank main body 121. Further, since the second sealing unit maintains the sealed state of the inside of the liquid storage bottle 2 even in a case where the cap 23 is opened, a leakage of liquid can be suppressed even in a case where the liquid storage bottle 2 is inverted.
The nozzle 22 comprises an inlet 122c which injects liquid and a nozzle seal portion 122d formed by a ring-shaped rib provided along the circumference of the inlet 122c. The inlet 122c is provided with a slit valve 124 which opens and closes according to the internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2. The slit valve 124 comprises a valve element 124a made of a flexible material and three slits 124b formed in the valve element 124a to intersect with one another and can seal the inlet 122c in a closed state. In the valve element 124a, six divided pieces 124c are formed by the three slits 124b. Incidentally, the number of slits 124b is not limited to this and may be two or four or more. In this case, on the assumption that the number of slits 124b is n, it is preferable that the slits 124b be formed to be 2n-fold rotationally symmetric with respect to the center of the circular valve element 124a as illustrated. This enables the divided pieces 124c to be equally opened and the liquid inside the liquid storage bottle 2 to be smoothly injected.
A bottom surface (a surface facing the inlet 122c) of the cap 23 is provided with a cap seal portion 123b formed by a ring-shaped rib and a projection 123c projecting toward the slit valve 124. The cap seal portion 123b functions as a sealing means which seals the inlet 122c together with the nozzle seal portion 122d by fitting into the nozzle seal portion 122d in a case where the cap 23 is mounted on the nozzle 22. While the inlet 122c is sealed with the cap seal portion 123b and the nozzle seal portion 122d, the tip of the projection 123c faces the valve element 124a of the slit valve 124 at a position laterally distant from an intersection point 124d of the slits 124b. The lateral direction corresponds to a radial direction of the nozzle 22. According to this configuration of the projection 123c, in a case where the internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2 is higher than the ambient pressure at the time of opening of the cap 23 as will be described later, the internal pressure can be released. The projection 123c is provided integrally with the cap 23 in this example but may be provided separately from the cap 23.
On the other hand,
According to the above configuration, even in the case of a rise in internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2, the projection 123c contacts the slit valve 124 at the time of opening/closing of the cap 23, which allows the internal pressure to escape to the outside. Incidentally, the length of the projection 123c is not particularly limited and can be set at an optimal length according to the amount of actual deformation of the valve element 124a caused by a rise in internal pressure of the liquid storage bottle 2. For example, in a case where the amount of deformation of the valve element 124a is relatively small, the tip of the projection 123c may contact the valve element 124a to the extent that the valve element 124a is not deformed while the inlet 122c is sealed with the cap seal portion 123b and the nozzle seal portion 122d.
Incidentally, for just bringing the projection 123c into contact with the swollen valve element 124a, a configuration shown in
The nozzle portion 110 has a substantially-cylindrical shape. The nozzle portion 110 has an outer peripheral surface 112 having a circular cross section. An outer peripheral surface 113 which is a part of the outer peripheral surface 112 has a tapered shape and is sloped so that a diameter of an outer circle decreases in the first orientation 134 from the bottom wall 111. This shape enables smooth operation in a case where the nozzle portion 110 is inserted into the tank from a distal end distant from the bottle main body 21. However, the diameter of the outer circle of the nozzle portion 110 may be the same from the bottom wall 111 to the tip and the outer peripheral surface may extend in the vertical direction. Further, the shape may be a shape other than the cylinder such as a quadrangular prism.
The nozzle portion 110 comprises a flow path 90 for flow of ink or gas. The flow path 90 penetrates the nozzle 22 in the first orientation 134. The flow path 90 extends in the first orientation 134 but is not limited to this and may be curved. The shape of a cross section of the flow path 90 may be a circle or a shape other than a circle. While the nozzle 22 is mounted on the bottle main body 21, one end of the flow path 90 communicates with the bottle main body 21 through an opening 93. The other end of the flow path communicates with the outside of the nozzle 22 through an opening 94 at a distal end of the nozzle. The opening 93 has a circular shape. However, the opening 93 may have a shape other than a circle. Further, the opening 93 may be formed at any position at a proximal end portion of the nozzle portion 110 and the position is not limited to a proximal surface 114. The opening 94 is formed in a distal surface 115 forming an end of the nozzle portion 110 in the first orientation 134. The opening 94 has a circular shape. However, the opening 94 may have a shape other than a circle.
As shown in
The distal end portion of the nozzle portion 110 is a portion of the nozzle portion 110 formed by, for example, the distal surface 115 and the outer peripheral surface 112. The nozzle portion 110 has a recessed portion 116 on its outer peripheral surface 112. The recessed portion 116 is defined by the distal surface 115 and an inner peripheral surface 118 (one surface of a side surface) of an annular rib 117 protruding in the first orientation 134 from an outer edge of the distal surface 115. That is, the distal surface 115 is recessed from a distal end of the nozzle portion 110 (a distal end of the annular rib 117). The inner peripheral surface 118 extends from the distal surface 115 to the outer edge of the distal surface 115 in the first orientation 134. That is, the inner peripheral surface 118 extends in the first orientation 134 while sloping to enlarge the diameter of the recessed portion 116. However, the inner peripheral surface 118 may extend in the first orientation 134 without sloping. Further, the nozzle portion 110 does not have to comprise the recessed portion 116. In other words, the distal end portion of the nozzle portion 110 does not have to be recessed.
In the examples described in the above embodiments, the serial type liquid ejection apparatus which ejects liquid from the liquid ejection head according to the reciprocal movement of the carriage has been described as an example of the liquid ejection apparatus for which the liquid storage bottle is used. However, the use is not limited to this and the liquid storage bottle may be used for a so-called full line type liquid ejection apparatus comprising a liquid ejection head in which ejection openings are formed in a width direction of a print medium.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure 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 Applications No. 2023-127495, filed Aug. 4, 2023 and No. 2024-070338, filed Apr. 24, 2024, which are hereby incorporated by reference wherein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-127495 | Aug 2023 | JP | national |
| 2024-070338 | Apr 2024 | JP | national |
