JP7600533B2 - Liquid storage tank cap, liquid storage tank - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a cap that closes the liquid injection section of a liquid storage tank that stores liquid, and to a liquid storage tank in which the liquid injection section can be closed by the cap.

Conventionally, there is known an inkjet printer that has a liquid storage tank that stores a liquid such as ink, and consumes the liquid stored in the liquid storage tank. This type of liquid storage tank is provided with a liquid injection section that is sealed and closed by a cap. When a user wants to inject ink into the liquid storage tank, the user removes the cap from the liquid injection section and refills the liquid storage tank with ink through the open liquid injection section.

As an example of this type of cap, the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been considered. The cap disclosed in Patent Document 1 comprises a resin member and an elastic member. The resin member has a gripping portion, a main body portion, and a sealing portion. The elastic member is attached to the side of the cylindrical sealing portion of the resin member.

China Utility Model Registration No. 206357825

In the cap disclosed in Patent Document 1, the contact area between the elastic member and the resin member is almost equal or completely equal to the contact area between the inner surface of the liquid injection section and the elastic member. Therefore, when removing the cap from the liquid injection section of the liquid storage tank, the frictional force between the inner surface of the liquid injection section and the elastic member may be equal to or greater than the frictional force between the resin member and the elastic member. In such a case, the elastic member may be pulled toward the liquid injection section and come off the resin member.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a configuration for a cap having a resin member made of a resin material and an elastic member made of a rubber material, which is capable of preventing the elastic member from coming off the resin member when the cap is removed from the liquid injection portion of a liquid storage tank.

The cap of the liquid storage tank according to the present disclosure is a cap that closes the liquid injection section of the liquid storage tank that stores liquid, and is characterized in that it comprises a resin member made of a resin material and an elastic member made of a rubber material, the elastic member is attached to the resin member and directly contacts the inner surface of the liquid injection section, and the area of contact of the elastic member with the resin member is larger than the area of contact of the elastic member with the inner surface of the liquid injection section.

According to the cap of the liquid storage tank of the present disclosure, the area of contact between the elastic member and the resin member is larger than the area of contact between the elastic member and the inner surface of the liquid injection section. Therefore, when removing the cap from the liquid injection section of the liquid storage tank, it is possible to prevent the frictional force between the inner surface of the liquid injection section and the elastic member from being equal to or exceeding the frictional force between the resin member and the elastic member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the elastic member from coming off the resin member when removing the cap from the liquid injection section of the liquid storage tank.

The liquid storage tank according to the present disclosure is a liquid storage tank in which the liquid injection section can be blocked by the cap according to the present disclosure, and is characterized in that it includes a tilt suppression section that suppresses the cap from tilting with respect to the axial direction of the liquid injection section when the cap is removed from the liquid injection section.

The liquid storage tank according to the present disclosure can prevent the cap from tilting with respect to the axial direction of the liquid injection section when the cap is removed from the liquid injection section. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the elastic member from coming off the resin member when the cap is removed from the liquid injection section of the liquid storage tank.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view illustrating a schematic configuration example of a liquid storage tank according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic longitudinal sectional side view showing an example of the configuration of a liquid injection section and its surroundings of a liquid storage tank according to the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view (part 1) illustrating a schematic configuration example of a cap according to the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view (part 2) illustrating a schematic configuration example of a cap according to the present disclosure;

One embodiment of the cap and liquid storage tank of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the embodiment exemplified below, "removing" the cap from the liquid injection section can also be defined as "pulling out" the cap from the liquid injection section. Also, "attaching" the cap to the liquid injection section can also be defined as "pressing" the cap into the liquid injection section.

(Example of liquid storage tank configuration)
Before describing the main parts of this embodiment, a schematic configuration example of a liquid storage tank according to this embodiment will be described. A liquid storage tank 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 is mounted in a liquid consuming device such as an inkjet printer (not shown), and is a tank for storing liquid consumed by the inkjet printer, in this case cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, black ink, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid storage tank 1 has a roughly rectangular tank body 2 that forms its outer shell. Inside the tank body 2 is an ink chamber 3 in which ink is stored. The liquid storage tank 1 also has a liquid injection section 4 that has an opening for injecting ink into the ink chamber 3. An inclined wall 5 is provided at the top of the front part of the tank body 2, and the liquid injection section 4 is provided on this inclined wall 5. The liquid injection section 4 may also be provided on a wall part of the tank body 2 other than the inclined wall 5, such as the top wall or side wall.

The liquid injection section 4 is provided so as to protrude obliquely upward from the outer surface of the inclined wall 5. In addition, in this disclosure, the liquid injection section 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tip 4a of the liquid injection part 4 opens obliquely upward to the outside of the tank body 2. On the other hand, the base end 4b of the liquid injection part 4 opens obliquely downward into the ink chamber 3.

The liquid injection section 4 also protrudes from the inclined wall 5 in a forward and upward direction that is non-orthogonal to the vertical direction and higher than the horizontal direction. The liquid injection section 4 also protrudes from the inclined wall 5 in a direction perpendicular to the outer surface of the inclined wall 5. The liquid injection section 4 configured in this manner opens obliquely upward, that is, facing forward and upward. In other words, the opening center line L of the liquid injection section 4 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction and the front-to-back direction.

The opening center line L of the liquid injection part 4 is a line connecting the center of the tip end 4a of the liquid injection part 4 and the center of the base end 4b of the liquid injection part 4, and also includes its extension line. In this disclosure, the opening center line L of the liquid injection part 4 is parallel to the direction in which the liquid injection part 4 protrudes from the inclined wall 5.

In the liquid storage tank 1 configured as described above, the liquid injection section 4 is sealed and closed by a removable cap 100. The present disclosure is an example configuration of this cap 100 that has been invented and devised. Several embodiments of this cap 100 are described below.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cap 100 is configured by combining a resin member 110 made of a rigid resin material with an elastic member 120 made of a rubber material such as elastomer, rubber, or silicone rubber. The elastic member 120 is a member that is more elastic than the resin member 110.

The resin member 110 integrally comprises a base portion 111, a shaft portion 112, and a grip portion 113. The base portion 111 constitutes the base portion of the resin member 110, and in this case is substantially circular, with a D-cut surface 111a at one end of the circular shape. The D-cut surface 111a is formed by cutting out a portion of the end of the base portion 111, which is generally circular overall, in this case, at two points opposing each other across the axis of the resin member 110, in a straight line.

The shaft portion 112 is provided on the back surface of the base portion 111, that is, on the surface that faces the tank body portion 2 when the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection portion 4. In this case, the shaft portion 112 extends linearly from the center of the back surface of the base portion 111 along the axis of the resin member 110. The shaft portion 112 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The tip of the shaft portion 112 is provided with a tapered portion 112a whose diameter gradually decreases toward the tip side of the shaft portion 112. The tip of the shaft portion 112 is provided with a flat portion 112b located inside the tapered portion 112a. The flat portion 112b is a flat portion that is perpendicular to the axis of the resin member 110. The shaft portion 112 is cylindrical as a whole, and has a columnar space in its center. This space penetrates the base portion 111 and extends into the grip portion 113.

The grip portion 113 is provided on the surface of the base portion 111, that is, on the surface opposite the tank body portion 2 when the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection portion 4. In this case, the grip portion 113 extends linearly from the center of the surface of the base portion 111 along the axis of the resin member 110. The grip portion 113 is formed in a cylindrical shape overall. By pinching the grip portion 113 with the fingers, the user can hold the resin member 110, and therefore the entire cap 100, to perform attachment and detachment operations.

The elastic member 120 is integrally provided with an elastic member main body 121 and a plurality of, in this case, two wing portions 122a, 122b. The elastic member main body 121 is formed in an approximately cylindrical shape and has a hole 121a in its center. The hole 121a does not penetrate the elastic member main body 121 in the axial direction, and the base end side of the elastic member main body 121 is open, but the tip side of the elastic member main body 121 is not open. The shaft 112 of the resin member 110 is inserted into this hole 121a. The tip of the elastic member main body 121 is formed smoothly without any irregularities. In addition, the tip of the elastic member main body 121 is closed, and therefore the shaft 112 inserted into the hole 121a is entirely covered by the elastic member main body 121.

When the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection part 4, the elastic member main body 121 is inserted into the liquid injection part 4 and its outer peripheral surface directly contacts the inner peripheral surface of the liquid injection part 4. Here, the outer side surface of the elastic member main body 121 is formed smoothly without any irregularities. Furthermore, the inner peripheral surface of the liquid injection part 4 with which the side surface of the elastic member main body 121 contacts is also formed smoothly without any irregularities.

The wing portions 122a and 122b protrude in a rectangular shape along the radial direction of the elastic member 120 from the side surface of the base end of the elastic member main body 121. The wing portions 122a and 122b are provided at two locations facing each other across the axis of the elastic member 120.

The resin member 110 further includes a holding portion 114 and a clamping portion 115. Both the holding portion 114 and the clamping portion 115 are provided on the back side of the base portion 111. That is, on the back side of the base portion 111, a plurality of arc-shaped wall portions 116, in this case two, are provided so as to surround the periphery of the base end portion of the shaft portion 112. These wall portions 116 are disposed with a predetermined gap from the base end portion of the shaft portion 112, and a part of the elastic member 120, in this case the base end portion of the elastic member main body portion 121, is fitted into this gap.

The holding portion 114 and the clamping portion 115 are provided separately at both ends of the wall portion 116. That is, the holding portion 114 and the clamping portion 115 are provided separately at two locations facing each other across the axis of the resin member 110. The holding portion 114 includes a plurality of portions extending from one end of the two wall portions 116 along the radial direction of the resin member 110, in this case two wall portions 114a and one beam portion 114b. The two wall portions 114a are spaced apart at a predetermined interval, and the beam portion 114b is provided so as to span between the wall portions 114a.

In the holding portion 114 configured in this manner, one of the wing portions 122a, 122b of the elastic member 120 is fitted between the two wall portions 114a. The beam portion 114b faces the wing portion fitted between the two wall portions 114a so as to be hooked thereon. In this way, the holding portion 114 holds one of the wing portions 122a, 122b of the elastic member 120 by hooking it thereon. Note that the holding portion 114 may be configured to include two or more beam portions 114b.

The clamping portion 115 has multiple, in this case two, wall portions 115a extending from the other ends of the two wall portions 116 along the radial direction of the resin member 110. The two wall portions 115a are spaced apart at a predetermined interval. In addition, multiple protrusions 115b are provided on the inner wall surfaces of the two wall portions 115a.

In the clamping section 115 thus configured, the other of the wing sections 122a, 122b of the elastic member 120 is fitted between the two wall sections 115a. In addition, the side of the wing section fitted between the two wall sections 115a is pressed in by the protrusion section 115b. As a result, the clamping section 115 clamps and holds the other of the wing sections 122a, 122b of the elastic member 120 in a pressed state.

In the cap 100 configured as described above, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 2, the elastic member 120 is attached to the resin member 110 to form the cap 100, and is a component that directly contacts the inner surface of the liquid injection part 4 when the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection part 4. And, according to the cap 100 of this embodiment, the area where the elastic member 120 contacts the resin member 110, i.e., the resin member side contact area S1, is larger than the area where the elastic member 120 contacts the inner circumferential surface of the liquid injection part 4, i.e., the liquid injection part side contact area S2.

That is, according to the cap 100 of this embodiment, the resin member side contact area S1 is the area where the inner circumferential surface of the elastic member main body 121 contacts with the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 112, while the liquid injection part side contact area S2 is the area where the outer circumferential surface of the elastic member main body 121 contacts with the inner circumferential surface of the liquid injection part 4, but the resin member side contact area S1 is larger than the liquid injection part side contact area S2.

The resin member side contact area S1 may further include the area of the portion where the wing portions 122a, 122b contact the base portion 111. The resin member side contact area S1 may further include the area of the portion where the tip of the elastic member main body portion 121 contacts the tip of the shaft portion 112. The resin member side contact area S1 may also include the area of the portion where the resin member 110 contacts the elastic member 120. Even in such a case, the size relationship is established in which the resin member side contact area S1 is larger than the liquid injection portion side contact area S2.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection part 4, in other words, when the shaft part 112 of the resin member 110 is inserted into the liquid injection part 4, the tapered part 112a is located inside the liquid injection part 4, that is, inside the liquid storage tank 1.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the liquid storage tank 1 is provided with a guide wall 200 located forward of the liquid injection section 4. This guide wall 200 is an example of a tilt suppression section, and extends in a forward and upward direction at a position some distance away from the liquid injection section 4, in this case from the front end of the tilted wall 5, generally along the protruding direction of the liquid injection section 4. The guide wall 200 configured in this manner suppresses the cap 100 from tilting with respect to the axial direction of the liquid injection section 4, particularly from tilting forward, when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection section 4.

According to the cap 100 exemplified above, the area S1 where the elastic member 120 contacts the resin member 110 is larger than the area S2 where the elastic member 120 contacts the inner surface of the liquid injection part 4. Therefore, when removing the cap 100 from the liquid injection part 4, it is possible to prevent the frictional force between the inner surface of the liquid injection part 4 and the elastic member 120 from being equal to or exceeding the frictional force between the resin member 110 and the elastic member 120. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the elastic member 120 from coming off the resin member 110 when removing the cap 100 from the liquid injection part 4.

In addition, according to the cap 100, the elastic member 120 includes an elastic member main body 121 that is inserted into the liquid injection section 4, and wing portions 122a, 122b that protrude from the side of the elastic member main body 121. Meanwhile, the resin member 110 includes a holding portion 114 that holds one of the wing portions 122a, 122b by hooking it, and a clamping portion 115 that clamps the other of the wing portions 122a, 122b in a pressed state. With this configuration, the bond between the resin member 110 and the elastic member 120 can be made even stronger, and the elastic member 120 can be further prevented from coming off the resin member 110 when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection section 4.

In addition, since the wing portion is only clamped in the clamping portion 115, there is a concern that the wing portion may come off from the clamping portion 115 when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection portion 4. However, in the holding portion 114, the wing portion is held by being hooked on the beam portion 114b. Therefore, even if the wing portion comes off from the clamping portion 115, the wing portion can be held by being hooked in the holding portion 114, so that the elastic member 120 can be prevented from completely coming off the resin member 110, that is, the elastic member 120 can be prevented from separating from the resin member 110.

In addition, according to the cap 100, the tip of the elastic member 120, more specifically, the tip of the elastic member main body 121 that is inserted into the liquid injection part 4, is formed smoothly. If a recess or groove were to exist at the tip of the elastic member main body 121, there would be a concern that the liquid in the liquid storage tank 1 would adhere to that portion and remain there. According to the cap 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the liquid in the liquid storage tank 1 from adhering to the tip of the elastic member main body 121 and remaining there, and it is possible to prevent the liquid adhering to the tip of the elastic member main body 121 from splashing when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection part 4.

In addition, according to the cap 100, the side portion of the elastic member main body 121 is formed smoothly, and the inner peripheral surface of the liquid injection part 4 with which the side portion of the elastic member main body 121 comes into contact is also formed smoothly. With this configuration, when the cap 100 is attached to the liquid injection part 4, the side portion of the elastic member main body 121 and the inner peripheral surface of the liquid injection part 4 can be made to be in closer contact with each other, and the sealing performance of the elastic member 120 can be improved.

In addition, according to the cap 100, the base portion 111 of the resin member 110 has a D-cut surface 111a. With this configuration, when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection portion 4 and placed on a table or the like, the cap 100 can be prevented from rolling, and the cap 100 can be prevented from being lost or being damaged by falling. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that the cap 100 is accidentally swallowed, it is expected that the D-cut surface 111a will secure an airway. Note that users should take sufficient care to prevent the cap 100 from being accidentally swallowed.

The cap 100 is configured so that the shaft 112 of the resin member 110 is inserted into the elastic member main body 121 of the elastic member 120. With this configuration, the elastic member main body 121 of the elastic member 120 can be pushed open by the shaft 112 of the resin member 110, and when the cap 100 is inserted into the liquid injection part 4, the side surface of the elastic member main body 121 is pressed against the inner surface of the liquid injection part 4, improving the sealing performance. The opening diameter of the hole 121a is preferably slightly shorter than the diameter dimension of the shaft 112. This allows the elastic member main body 121 to be reliably pushed open by the shaft 112, further improving the sealing performance.

Furthermore, with the cap 100, when the shaft portion 112 of the resin member 110 is inserted into the liquid injection portion 4, the tapered portion 112a of the shaft portion 112 is located inside the ink chamber 3 relative to the base end 4b of the liquid injection portion 4. With this configuration, the side surface of the elastic member main body 121 can be brought into contact with the entire inner surface of the liquid injection portion 4, further improving the sealing performance of the cap 100. Furthermore, the elastic member main body 121 can be brought into uniform contact with the entire inner surface of the liquid injection portion 4, and uniform sealing performance can be achieved over the entire area where the inner surface of the liquid injection portion 4 and the side surface of the elastic member main body 121 contact each other. If the tapered portion 112a of the shaft portion 112 is positioned outside the ink chamber 3 relative to the base end 4b of the liquid injection portion 4, the elastic member main body 121 cannot contact the inner circumferential surface of the liquid injection portion 4 at least in the portion corresponding to the tapered portion 112a, and therefore cannot achieve uniform sealing over the entire inner circumferential surface of the liquid injection portion 4.

In addition, according to the cap 100, the grip portion 113 held by the user is formed in a cylindrical shape. With this configuration, it is difficult for the user to rotate the cap 100 in the circumferential direction by holding the grip portion 113, and the user is encouraged to hold the grip portion 113 and pull the cap 100 toward himself/herself. This makes it possible to promote removal of the cap 100 along the axial direction of the liquid injection portion 4, in other words, removal of the cap 100 perpendicular to the liquid injection portion 4, and prevents the elastic member 120 from being unduly deformed when the cap 100 is removed, and thus prevents stress from concentrating on the elastic member 120 and causing the elastic member 120 to come off the resin member 110.

In addition, with the liquid storage tank 1 according to this embodiment, when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection part 4, the guide wall 200 can prevent the cap 100 from tilting with respect to the axial direction of the liquid injection part 4. Therefore, when the cap 100 is removed from the liquid injection part 4 of the liquid storage tank 1, the elastic member 120 can be prevented from coming off the resin member 110.

The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and extensions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the cap 100 can be implemented by appropriately changing the shape and size of each part, as long as the area of contact between the elastic member 120 and the resin member 110 can be made larger than the area of contact between the elastic member 120 and the inner surface of the liquid injection section 4. Furthermore, the resin material constituting the resin member 110 and the rubber material constituting the elastic member 120 can be appropriately selected.

1: Liquid storage tank, 4: Liquid injection section, 100: Cap, 110: Resin member, 120: Elastic member, 111: Base section, 112: Shaft section, 112a: Tapered section, 113: Grip section, 114: Holding section, 115: Clamping section, 121: Elastic member main body section, 122a, 122b: Wing section, 200: Guide wall (tilt suppression section)

Claims (9)

A cap for closing a liquid injection part of a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid,
A resin member made of a resin material;
An elastic member made of a rubber material;
Equipped with
The resin member has a shaft portion,
the elastic member is attached to the resin member and directly contacts an inner surface of the liquid injection portion , and has an elastic member main body portion that is inserted into the liquid injection portion ,
The shaft portion is inserted into the elastic member main body portion,
A cap for a liquid storage tank, characterized in that the area of contact of the elastic member with the resin member includes the area of contact between the inner surface of the elastic member main body and the outer surface of the shaft portion and the area of contact between the tip of the elastic member main body and the tip of the shaft portion, and is larger than the area of contact of the elastic member with the inner surface of the liquid injection portion. The elastic member includes a wing portion protruding from a side surface of the elastic member main body,
The resin member is
A holding portion that holds the wing portion;
a clamping portion that clamps the wing portion in a pressed state;
The cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 1, further comprising: A cap for a liquid storage tank as described in claim 2, characterized in that the tip of the elastic member main body is formed smoothly. The side surface of the elastic member body is formed to be smooth.
4. The cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 2, wherein an inner surface of the liquid injecting portion, which contacts the side surface of the elastic member main body, is also formed smoothly. The resin member has a base portion,
5. The cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the base portion has a shape in which a part of an end portion of a circular shape is cut out in a linear manner. The resin member has a tapered portion at a tip end of the shaft portion,
6. A cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the tapered portion is positioned further inward than the liquid injection portion when the shaft portion is inserted into the liquid injection portion. The resin member has a grip portion that is held by a user,
The cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 1 , wherein the gripping portion is formed in a cylindrical shape. 8. The cap for a liquid storage tank according to claim 1, wherein a tip end of the elastic member main body is closed. A liquid injection unit for injecting liquid;
The cap according to claim 1 , which is capable of closing the liquid injection part ;
A liquid storage tank comprising :
A liquid storage tank comprising a tilt suppression portion that suppresses the cap from tilting with respect to the axial direction of the liquid injection portion when the cap is removed from the liquid injection portion.

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