The present disclosure relates to a liquid storage container configured to store liquid.
Among liquid tanks used in liquid ejecting apparatuses such as inkjet printing apparatuses, there is a liquid tank that can be replenished with liquid. For example, by using a liquid storage container including a discharge port for pouring the liquid, the liquid tank can be replenished with the liquid through the discharge port (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-144240 (hereinafter, referred to as Document 1)).
Document 1 describes a configuration in which a male thread is provided over the entire periphery of a liquid storage container main body and a cover member, provided with a female thread that can be screwed to the male thread, is attached and fixed to the liquid storage container main body to provide sealing and prevent the liquid from flowing out from the liquid storage container main body.
However, in the case where the male thread portion is provided over the entire periphery of the liquid storage container main body as in the configuration described in Document 1, there is a possibility that, if an impact acts on the cover member due to dropping or the like, the liquid leaks from the liquid storage container main body due to breakage of the cover member or deformation of a liquid sealing portion.
A liquid storage container according one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a discharge port member including a discharge port through which liquid stored in a storage portion is discharged and a coupling portion in which a male thread portion is arranged on the outside; and a cover portion including a female thread portion on the inside and configured to be attachable to the discharge port member, the female thread portion configured to be screwed to the male thread portion, in which the male thread portion is discontinuous in the coupling portion.
Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Embodiments are described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same configurations in the description are denoted by the same reference numerals. Moreover, the arrangement of constituent elements relative to one another, the shapes of the constituent elements, and the like that are described in the embodiments are merely examples.
The liquid is stored in the liquid tanks 12 and is supplied to the print head 14 via a liquid distribution passage 17 to be ejected from the print head 14. In the embodiment, inks of four colors (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are used as the liquid, and four liquid tanks 12a to 12d for the respective colors that store the inks of the respective colors are provided as the liquid tanks 12. In the following description, in the case where the individual liquid tanks, distinguished from one another, are referred, alphabets are added at the ends, for example, liquid tanks 12a to 12d. In the case where any one of the liquid tanks is referred to, the liquid tank is referred to as the liquid tank 12. The liquid tanks 12a to 12d for the respective colors are arranged in a front face portion of the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 inside the case 11.
As an example of a method of attaching the cap 23 to the nozzle 22, there is a method of screwing the cap 23 to the nozzle 22. Specifically, as illustrated in
Recess portions 223 are formed at least partially in the portions where the male thread portions 221 are discontinuous. As illustrated in
Configuring the male thread portions 221 of the nozzle 22 to be discontinuous as described above can suppress leakage of the liquid from the main body of the liquid storage container 2 in the case where an impact acts on to the cap 23, which is the cover portion, due to dropping or the like. Note that, although the example in which the recess portions 223 are provided at two locations to be rotationally symmetric by 180° is described in the example of
The above is the description of the male thread portions 221 of the nozzle 22. Next, the internal structure of the nozzle 22 is described with reference to
In the case where the liquid is supplied from the liquid storage container 2 to the liquid tank 12, the communication flow passage 122 is inserted into the nozzle 22 through the opening of the seal 24, thereby opening the valve 25. Then, in the case where the nozzle 22 of the liquid storage container 2 is provided with the recess portions 223a configured to engage with the protruding portions 19 in the socket 18 of the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 as described above, alignment of the liquid storage container 2 can be achieved with the socket 18. Then, the liquid in the liquid storage container 2 is supplied to the storage chamber of the liquid tank main body 121 via the communication flow passage 122 by means of hydraulic head difference. Note that, as illustrated in
As described above, in the embodiment, the male thread portions 221 of the nozzle 22 are discontinuous. Since the male thread portions 221 of the nozzle 22 are not provided over the entire periphery, it is possible to suppress propagation of impact between the nozzle 22 and the cap 23, which is the cover portion, in the case where an impact acts on the cap 23 due to dropping or the like. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress leakage of the liquid from the sealing portion between the cap 23 and the nozzle 22 and suppress breakage of the cap 23. Moreover, since the stiffness of the nozzle 22 is reduced by the formation of the recess portions 223 (or the recess portions 223a) in the nozzle 22, the impact to the cap 23 can be further suppressed.
Various examples are described below. Note that the following examples are merely for exemplifying purposes, and the present disclosure is not limited to these examples.
In the nozzle 22 of Example 2 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 3 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 4 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 5 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 6 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 7 illustrated in
In the nozzle 22 of Example 8 illustrated in
The nozzle 22 of Comparative Example 1 illustrated in
<Evaluation of Drop Resistance>
Ink of 200 ml was poured into the liquid storage container 2 fabricated in each of Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Example 1, and drop resistance from height of 180 cm was evaluated. The evaluation was made based on the criteria described below. Evaluation results are described in Table 1 as “drop resistance”.
The “E1” to “E8” in Table 1 correspond to above Example 1 to Example 8, respectively. The shapes “a” to “i” in Table 1 correspond to the nozzles in
A: No leakage of the ink from the sealing portion of the cap was found.
B: A small leakage of the ink from the sealing portion of the cap was found.
C: The ink leaked to the outside of the bottle, or breakage of the cap was found.
In Examples 1 to 8, neither the leakage of the ink to the outside of the bottle nor the breakage of the cap was found. Comparison among Examples 1 to 4 indicates that the drop resistance further improves in the case where the width of the recess portions in the nozzle is 1 mm or more. Moreover, comparison among Examples 5 to 8 indicates that the drop resistance further improves in the case where the proportion of the recess portions to the circle formed along the base of the male thread is 70% or less. Meanwhile, Comparative Example 1 had the configuration in which the male thread portion was not discontinuous and no recess portions were provided, and the drop resistance did not improve in Comparative Example 1.
Although the example in which the liquid storage container is used to replenish the liquid tank of the liquid ejecting apparatus with the liquid is described in the above embodiment, the liquid storage container may be a container used to replenish a liquid tank of any apparatus with liquid. Moreover, although the example in which the ink is used as the liquid stored in the liquid storage container is described, the liquid storage container may store any kind of liquid.
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 Application No. 2020-122278, filed Jul. 16, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference wherein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-122278 | Jul 2020 | JP | national |
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