JP2018024193A - Ink replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An ink replenishing device capable of replenishing ink into an ink tank of a marking tool or the like simply and in a short period of time without causing overflow due to excessive ink injection. Kind Code: A1 An ink replenishing device for replenishing ink stored in a replenishing ink tank 1 to an ink tank 21 built in a marking tool 20, wherein the replenishing ink tank 1 is positioned above the marking tool 20. In addition, the replenishment ink tank 1 and the ink tank 21 of the marking tool are connected by an ink distribution pipe 2, and the ink in the replenishment ink tank 1 is sucked into the intermediate portion of the ink distribution pipe 2. A pump mechanism 4 is provided for replenishing the ink tank 21 and sucking up the overflowed ink when the replenishment amount of ink exceeds a set amount. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink replenishing apparatus capable of performing an ink replenishing operation in an ink tank such as a marking tool in a simple and short time and without causing overflow due to excessive ink injection.

  For example, in the case of writing instruments, stamps, stamps, etc., and using direct liquid ink, the ink tank was replenished with ink when ink was used up and continued to be used. As a structure for replenishing ink into an empty ink tank, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, the tail plug of a writing instrument is removed, and ink is injected into the ink tank inside the main body with a dropper or the like. Are known.

  However, in the case of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to consider the removal of the tail plug, contamination due to the ink remaining from the adhering ink and the ink injected from the dropper, and the problem that the ink cannot be replenished immediately on the spot, There was a problem that there was a risk of overfilling and overflowing.

Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 2, a replenishment ink tank is provided as an ink replenishing device that can be replenished immediately on the spot and prevents overflowing due to dirt on the hand or excessive ink injection. In addition, there has been proposed an apparatus provided with a suction path and an ink supply path for sucking the inside of an ink tank of a writing instrument, and a switching mechanism for selectively communicating either of the suction path and the ink supply path.
However, the ink replenishing device described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that the operation is troublesome because it is necessary to switch the suction path and the ink supply path each time with the switching mechanism with respect to the communication path. In addition, there are problems that the apparatus has a complicated structure and the manufacturing cost is high, and that maintenance work is complicated and difficult.

JP 2004-148559 A JP 2008-1327779 A

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can replenish ink in an ink tank such as a marking tool in a simple and short time. Also, when ink is replenished, excessive ink is injected. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink replenishing device that can reliably prevent overflow and can replenish ink according to various tank capacities.

The ink replenishing device of the present invention made to solve the above problems is an ink replenishing device for replenishing ink stored in a replenishing ink tank to an ink tank built in a marking tool,
The replenishment ink tank is located above the marking tool, and the replenishment ink tank and the ink tank of the marking tool are connected by an ink distribution pipe,
The middle part of this ink distribution pipe is equipped with a pump mechanism that sucks the ink in the replenishing ink tank and replenishes the ink tank, while sucking out the overflowed ink when the ink replenishing amount exceeds the set amount. This is the invention according to claim 1.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the pump mechanism is preferably a piston type pump, and this is the invention according to claim 2.

  According to another preferred embodiment, the ink tank of the marking tool is provided with a reservoir for storing overflowed ink, and the tip of the ink distribution pipe is immersed in the ink in the reservoir. It is preferable that it is set at a possible position, and this is the invention according to claim 3.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the replenishment ink tank is located above the marking tool, and the replenishment ink tank and the ink tank of the marking tool are connected by an ink distribution pipe. In the middle part, the ink in the replenishment ink tank is sucked and replenished to the ink tank, and when the ink replenishment amount exceeds the set amount, it is equipped with a pump mechanism that sucks up the overflowed ink. Ink can be easily refilled into the ink tank. Even if the ink replenishment amount exceeds the set amount, the overflowed ink is automatically sucked into the pump mechanism, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the ink from leaking.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2, since the pump mechanism is a piston type pump, the apparatus can have a simple structure, and the ink supply operation to the marking tool and the overflowed ink can be performed by one pump. Two operations of returning can be performed.

  In the invention according to claim 3, a reservoir for storing overflowed ink is provided in the upper portion of the ink tank of the marking tool, and the tip of the ink distribution pipe can be immersed in the ink in the reservoir. Since it is set at the position, the overflowed ink can be automatically returned to the replenishing ink tank, and the set amount of ink can always be replenished regardless of the capacity of the ink tank of the marking tool. .

It is a device schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which supplies the ink in a pump mechanism to an ink tank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which sucks the ink of a replenishment ink tank into a pump mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the ink in an ink tank overflowed in the storage part, when the ink in a pump mechanism was supplied to the ink tank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which sucks up the overflowed ink to the replenishment ink tank.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an apparatus schematic diagram showing an example of an ink replenishing apparatus for replenishing ink to a marking tool incorporating a replenishing ink tank. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a replenishing ink tank for storing replenishing ink, and 20 denotes a marking tool incorporating an ink tank 21.
The marking tool as used in the present invention means a direct liquid type pen with a built-in ink tank, such as a whiteboard pen and various marker pens, and various other stamps and stamps with a built-in ink tank. It is a concept that also includes In the illustrated example, the marking tool 20 is a whiteboard pen.

  The replenishment ink tank 1 is located above the marking tool 20, and the replenishment ink tank 1 and the ink tank 21 of the marking tool are connected by an ink distribution pipe 2. A pump mechanism 4 is provided at an intermediate portion of the ink supply path 2. The pump mechanism 4 is connected by a branch pipe 3 that branches from the ink distribution pipe 2.

  The pump mechanism 4 comprises an electric piston pump, and is configured such that the piston 5 slides left and right by a motor (not shown). The pump mechanism 4 sucks ink from the replenishment ink tank 1 and replenishes it to the ink tank 21 of the marking tool 20. When the ink replenishment amount exceeds a set amount, the pump mechanism 4 sucks up the overflowed ink and refills the ink tank 1. It works to return. The pump mechanism 4 may be a manual type or a tubing pump.

  The ink replenishing device configured as described above is attached to a corner of a whiteboard (not shown) and used for replenishing ink for a whiteboard pen. The whiteboard pen is held vertically with the ink tank 21 open, and the tip of the ink distribution pipe 2 is inserted into the opening 22. In this state, a motor (not shown) of the pump mechanism 4 is operated to operate the piston 5 to automatically replenish ink. Note that the opening 22 is an open system during ink replenishment.

The ink replenishment process will be described below.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, the piston 5 is moved to the right side to push out the ink in the pump mechanism 4. The extruded ink passes through the branch pipe 3 and the ink distribution pipe 2 and is replenished into the ink tank 21 of the marking tool 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the piston 5 is moved to the left side, and ink is sucked into the piston 5 from the replenishment ink tank 1. At this time, the tip of the ink distribution pipe 2 is inserted so as to be positioned in the storage part 23 of the marking tool 20, but no ink is stored in the storage part 23. For this reason, air is sucked from the tip of the ink distribution pipe 2, and this air appears as foam in the replenishment ink tank 1.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when the piston 5 is moved to the right again, the ink in the pump mechanism 4 is pushed out by the applied pressure, passes through the branch pipe 3 and the ink distribution pipe 2, and the ink tank of the marking tool 20. 21 is replenished. Thereafter, when the ink is sufficiently replenished in the ink tank 21 of the marking tool 20, the ink overflows from the ink tank 21 and is stored in the storage portion 23 provided in the upper part. At this time, the tip of the ink distribution pipe 2 is immersed in the overflowed ink.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the piston 5 is moved to the left again, the ink that has overflowed in the above process and is stored in the storage portion 23 is sucked into the pump mechanism 4 by the decompression force. Thereafter, when the liquid level of the overflowing ink falls below the tip of the ink distribution pipe 2, air is sucked from the tip and no more ink is sucked up.
As a result, the ink overflowing into the storage unit 23 is automatically sucked into the pump mechanism 4 and does not leak out. In addition, since the ink storage amount in the storage unit 23 can be always constant, the ink replenishment amount can always be set to whatever amount the ink tank 21 has. The amount of ink determined to be overflow can be arbitrarily determined at the position of the tip of the ink suction path 3.

  After ink replenishment, stop the pump mechanism, remove the marking tool, and install a core material (not shown) in the opening to create a whiteboard pen that is fully filled with ink. It will be used again.

Thus, in the ink replenishing device of the present invention, the replenishing ink tank is located above the marking tool, and the replenishing ink tank and the ink tank of the marking tool are connected by the ink distribution pipe. The middle part of the ink distribution pipe has a pump mechanism that sucks ink from the replenishment ink tank and replenishes the ink tank, while sucking out the overflowed ink when the ink replenishment amount exceeds the set amount. Therefore, the ink can be reliably replenished to the ink tank only by setting the marking tool to a predetermined position and operating the pump. Moreover, even if the ink replenishment amount exceeds the set amount, the overflowed ink is automatically returned to the replenishment ink tank, so that it is possible to prevent the ink from leaking out, and it is always stored in the tank regardless of the capacity of the ink tank. There is also an advantage that a corresponding set amount of ink can be replenished.
Needless to say, the ink replenishing device of the present invention can be applied not only to whiteboard pens but also to various pens, seals, stamps, and the like that incorporate other ink tanks.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Replenishment ink tank 2 Ink distribution pipe 3 Branch pipe 4 Pump mechanism 5 Piston 20 Marking tool 21 Ink tank 22 Opening part 23 Storage part

Claims (3)

An ink replenishing device for replenishing ink stored in a replenishing ink tank into an ink tank built in a marking tool,
The replenishment ink tank is located above the marking tool, and the replenishment ink tank and the ink tank of the marking tool are connected by an ink distribution pipe,
The middle part of this ink distribution pipe is equipped with a pump mechanism that sucks the ink in the replenishing ink tank and replenishes the ink tank, while sucking out the overflowed ink when the ink replenishing amount exceeds the set amount. An ink replenishing device.   The ink replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the pump mechanism is a piston type pump.   The upper part of the ink tank of the marking tool is provided with a reservoir for storing overflowed ink, and the tip of the ink distribution pipe is set at a position where the ink can be immersed in the ink in the reservoir. The ink replenishing device according to 2.