Liquid supplying mechanism, and liquid ejection apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10399347-B2
Application number	US-201715625960-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2017
Priority date	Jun 29, 2016
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

A liquid supplying mechanism includes: a tank including a liquid storage section configured to store a liquid, and a liquid injection port configured to inject the liquid into the liquid storage section; and a bottle configured to replenish the liquid into the tank. The bottle includes: a bottle section configured to store the liquid; and a protruding section, which protrudes from the bottle section, and is insertable into the liquid injection port so as to inject, into the liquid storage section, the liquid stored in the bottle section. The liquid injection port includes: a protruding section insertion portion into which the protruding section of the bottle is insertable; and a protruding section fixing portion, which is engageable with the protruding section of the bottle, to thereby be capable of fixing the bottle to the tank.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid supplying mechanism, comprising:
a tank configured to store a liquid supplied to a liquid ejection head; and
a bottle configured to replenish the liquid into the tank;
wherein the tank comprises:
a liquid storage section configured to store a liquid; and
a liquid injection port configured to inject the liquid into the liquid storage section from the bottle;

wherein the bottle comprises:
a bottle section configured to store the liquid replenished into the tank; and
a protruding section, which delivers the liquid with being inserted into the liquid injection port of the tank, and the protruding section is directly fixed to the bottle section,

wherein the liquid injection port of the tank comprises:
a protruding section insertion portion into which the protruding section of the bottle is insertable; and
a protruding section fixing portion, which is engageable with the protruding section of the bottle, to thereby be capable of fixing the bottle to the tank,

wherein the protruding section of the bottle comprises:
a first protruding portion having a first outer diameter F 1 and being formed at an end portion of the protruding section;
a second protruding portion having a second outer diameter F 2 smaller than the first outer diameter F 1 ; and
a third protruding portion having a third outer diameter F 3 larger than the first outer diameter F 1 ,

wherein the first protruding portion is formed on the end portion of the protruding section, the third protruding portion is formed at a position adjacent to the bottle section, and the second protruding portion is formed between the first protruding portion and the third protruding portion,
wherein the protruding section insertion portion has an opening diameter T 1 larger than the outer diameter F 1 , and the protruding section fixing portion is formed continuously with the protruding section insertion portion, and has an opening width T 2 that is smaller than the outer diameter T 1 and larger than the outer diameter F 2 , and
wherein the third outer diameter F 3 is larger than the opening widths T 1 and T 2 so as to be configured that the third protruding portion comes into abutment on a peripheral edge of the protruding section insertion portion and the bottle is fixed to the tank with the protruding section fixing portion being sandwiched between the first protruding portion and the third protruding portion.

2. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding section is slidable from a side on the bottle of the protruding section insertion portion to a side on the bottle of the protruding section fixing portion under a state in which the first protruding portion of the protruding section is advanced into the liquid storage section through the protruding section insertion portion having the opening diameter T 1 .

3. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 2 , wherein the protruding section is slidable from the side on the bottle of the protruding section insertion portion to the side on the bottle of the protruding section fixing portion in a direction orthogonal to a direction of inserting the protruding section into the protruding section insertion portion.

4. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 2 , further comprising a guide inclined surface, which is formed on an inside of the tank, and is configured to be brought into abutment on the first protruding portion of the protruding section inserted through the protruding section insertion portion,
wherein the guide inclined surface is inclined so as to extend from the side on the bottle of the protruding section insertion portion to the side on the bottle of the protruding section fixing portion into a deep portion of the liquid storage section.

5. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding section insertion portion and the protruding section fixing portion are open in the same surface of the tank.

6. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 ,
wherein the liquid storage section is arranged in a predetermined in-use posture, and
wherein, under a state in which the liquid storage section is in the predetermined in-use posture, a center point of the protruding section fixing portion is flush with a center point of the protruding section insertion portion in a vertical direction in the predetermined in-use posture.

7. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising a support portion, which is configured to support the bottle comprising the protruding section inserted into the protruding section fixing portion, and is formed so as to protrude to an outer side of the tank from a surface of the tank comprising the protruding section fixing portion.

8. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 ,
wherein the liquid storage section is arranged in a predetermined in-use posture,
wherein a part of the tank has a tapered shape tapered in a vertically upward direction in the predetermined in-used posture, and
wherein the liquid injection port is formed in an inclined surface having the tapered shape.

9. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding section insertion portion of the tank is formed in a gourd-shape or a pear-shape with the protruding section fixing portion and the liquid injection port.

10. A liquid supplying mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding section insertion portion of the tank is formed in a gourd-shape or a pear-shape with the protruding section fixing portion and the liquid injection port.

11. A liquid ejection apparatus, comprising:
a liquid ejection head configured to eject a liquid;
a tank configured to store a liquid supplied to the liquid ejection head; and
a bottle configured to replenish the liquid into the tank;
wherein the tank comprises:
a liquid storage section configured to store the liquid; and
a liquid injection port configured to inject the liquid into the liquid storage section from the bottle,

wherein the bottle comprises:
a bottle section configured to store the liquid replenished into the tank; and
a protruding section, which delivers the liquid with being inserted into the liquid injection port of the tank, and the protruding section is directly fixed to the bottle section,

wherein the liquid injection port of the tank comprises:
a protruding section insertion portion into which the protruding section of the bottle is insertable; and
a protruding section fixing portion, which is engageable with the protruding section of the bottle, to thereby be capable of fixing the bottle to the tank,

wherein the protruding section of the bottle comprises:
a first protruding portion having a first outer diameter F 1 and being formed at an end portion of the protruding section;
a second protruding portion having a second outer diameter F 2 smaller than the first outer diameter F 1 ; and
a third protruding portion having a third outer diameter F 3 larger than the first outer diameter F 1 ,

wherein the first protruding portion is formed on the end portion of the protruding section, the third protruding portion is formed at a position adjacent to the bottle section, and the second protruding portion is formed between the first protruding portion and the third protruding portion,
wherein the liquid storage section comprises a support portion, which is configured to support the bottle comprising the protruding section inserted into the protruding section fixing portion, and is formed so as to protrude to an outer side of the tank from a surface of the tank comprising the protruding section fixing portion,
wherein the protruding secti

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Miyashita Takeho
• Shimamura Ryo
• Shiba Akira
• Yoshii Kazuya
• Ikebe Norihiro
• Yamamuro Tomoki
• Arai Atsushi
• Ohira Masatoshi
• Orihara Tatsuaki
• Okuhara Hirofumi
• Matsushita Kazumasa
• Furuya Misato

Classifications

• B41J2/17523 Primary

  Ink connection · CPC title

• B41J2/17506

  Refilling of the cartridge · CPC title

• B41J2/17553

  Outer structure · CPC title

• B41J2/165

  Prevention {or detection} of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles · CPC title