JP7463208B2 - Liquid recovery device and liquid recovery and filling system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid recovery device and a liquid recovery and filling system.

As an example of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, an inkjet printer that is so-called off-carriage type (also called tube type) is known. In an off-carriage type inkjet printer, a recording head equipped with a sub-tank is mounted on a carriage as a basic structure, and a liquid tank is stationarily disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side. The recording head (sub-tank) and the liquid tank are connected by a tube, and ink is supplied through the tube. In general, an image forming apparatus is installed and used in a predetermined place. However, after starting to use, it may be necessary to move the installation location (hereinafter, such a movement is called a secondary movement) due to a layout change or a move. In an off-carriage type inkjet printer, if a secondary movement is performed with a large amount of liquid filled in the liquid tank, liquid may leak from the liquid tank itself or from a connection point of a tube that supplies liquid to the recording head. In order to reliably prevent liquid leakage, it is desirable to move the liquid tank with the liquid tank empty.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-313829 discloses a method for recovering liquid in a sub-tank located below the main tank in the direction of gravity. Specifically, a liquid recovery tube is connected to a liquid recovery container located below the sub-tank in the direction of gravity, and the liquid in the sub-tank is recovered into the liquid recovery container by the head difference.

JP 2007-313829 A

However, in the technology described in JP 2007-313829 A, if the connection between the liquid recovery tube and the liquid recovery container is incomplete, it may be possible that the liquid in the subtank cannot be sufficiently recovered. In that case, liquid will remain in the subtank, making it difficult to completely prevent liquid leakage during secondary movement.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a liquid recovery device and a liquid recovery and filling system that can more reliably prevent leakage of liquid when recovering liquid, minimize the amount of liquid remaining in the subtank, and enable safe secondary movement.

The liquid recovery device of the present invention is connected to a liquid container having a storage section for storing liquid and a flow path member capable of filling the storage section with liquid, and recovers liquid stored in the storage section. The liquid recovery device comprises a bottle body having an elastic restoring force and first and second openings communicating with the outside, a recovery joint section connected to the bottle body via the first opening and having a first connecting section connected to the flow path member, the recovery joint section having an internal flow path extending between the first opening and the first connecting section, the internal flow path having a throttle section and a space formed between the first opening and the throttle section, and a first valve body movably installed in the space in the flow direction of the liquid, the opening area of which is larger than the opening area of the first opening and the opening area of the throttle section.

The present invention provides a liquid recovery device and a liquid recovery and filling system that can more reliably prevent liquid leakage when recovering liquid.

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a front view showing a schematic external appearance of the image forming apparatus when a front cover and a tank cover are opened; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a liquid supply system of the image forming apparatus. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid filling bottle for filling a main tank with liquid; 2 is a schematic diagram showing the top surface of a liquid filling bottle for filling the main tank with liquid; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a liquid filling bottle is attached to the main tank and liquid is filled into the main tank. FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a schematic cross section of the liquid collection bottle according to the first embodiment. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the liquid recovery bottle is attached to the main tank and liquid is recovered. FIG. 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a state in which liquid is recovered from the main tank by squeezing the side surface of the liquid recovery bottle. 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a state in which the liquid recovery bottle, the side of which has been crushed, returns to its original size and recovers liquid. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a schematic cross section of a liquid collection bottle according to a second embodiment. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the liquid recovery bottle is attached to the main tank and liquid is recovered. FIG. 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a state in which liquid is recovered from the main tank by squeezing the side surface of the liquid recovery bottle. 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a state in which the liquid recovery bottle, the side of which has been crushed, returns to its original size and recovers liquid. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of a liquid bottle to which a liquid filling joint part is attached and a liquid recovery joint part. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of a liquid bottle to which a liquid recovery joint portion is attached, a liquid filling joint portion, and a stopper. FIG.

The liquid recovery device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each of the embodiments described below, a specific configuration of a liquid recovery device used in an inkjet recording device equipped with a recording head that ejects ink, which is an example of a liquid, will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The liquid recovery device of the present invention can be applied to devices such as printers, copiers, facsimiles with communication systems, and word processors with printer units, as well as industrial recording devices that are combined with various processing devices. The liquid recovery device of the present invention can also be used in applications such as biochip manufacturing devices and electronic circuit printing.

The embodiment described below is one embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and therefore includes various technically preferable limitations. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and other specific methods described in this specification as long as they are in line with the technical concept of the present invention. In the following description, components having the same functions are given the same numbers in the drawings, and descriptions of overlapping parts are omitted.

(Inkjet recording device)
Before describing a liquid recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention, an inkjet recording apparatus using the liquid recovery device will be briefly described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic front view of the exterior of an inkjet recording apparatus 100, as viewed from the paper discharge section 110 side. Figure 2 is a schematic front view of the exterior of the inkjet recording apparatus 100, as viewed from the paper discharge section 110 side, when a front cover 140 and an ink tank cover 131 are opened from the inkjet recording apparatus 100 of Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet recording device 100 includes at least a main tank 132 (storage section), a main tank cover 131, a front cover 140, and a paper discharge section 110. The main tank 132 is a liquid container that stores ink to be filled into a cartridge 200 (FIG. 3) described later. When forming an image using the inkjet recording device 100, the main tank cover 131 is usually in a closed state as shown in FIG. 1. The front cover 140 on the front side of the inkjet recording device 100 constitutes a part of the housing of the inkjet recording device 100. The front cover 140 is closed in normal use and is opened when some abnormality occurs in the inkjet recording device 100 (such as replacement of an ink cartridge or paper jam). The paper discharge section 110 provided at the bottom of the front side of the inkjet recording device 100 discharges paper on which an image has been formed to the outside of the inkjet recording device 100. In the case of FIG. 1, the paper on which an image has been formed is discharged in a direction that protrudes from FIG. 1. In this explanation, paper is used as an example of a recording medium, but recording media are not limited to paper.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet recording device 100 at least includes a carriage 121 that scans back and forth in the main scanning direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) to form an image on a recording medium, and an ink cartridge 200 that is attached to the carriage 121 and supplies ink to a recording head 211 (FIG. 3). The ink used by the ink cartridge 200 to form an image is filled in a main tank 132 provided on the left side of the main body of the inkjet recording device 100 (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2). The main tank 132 and the ink cartridge 200 are connected by a tube 150.

2, the front cover 140 is pulled forward as shown by the arrow to open it, and the main tank cover 131 is rotated counterclockwise as shown by the arrow to open it. In FIG. 2, the carriage 121 is equipped with a black ink cartridge 201 and a color ink cartridge 202 consisting of three colors, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Note that FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the color ink cartridge 202 is composed of one ink cartridge, but the color ink cartridge 202 may be composed of different cartridges for cyan, magenta, and yellow. In the case of the inkjet recording device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 200 scans back and forth in the left and right directions in FIG. 2, and ink is ejected from the recording head 211 (FIG. 3) to form an image on a recording medium, such as paper, and the recording medium is ejected from the paper ejection section 110. The method of supplying ink to the recording head 211 and the method of filling the main tank 132 with ink will be described later.

Next, each part constituting the inkjet recording device 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows the state of the ink supply system when the inkjet recording device 100 is on standby and not forming an image. Note that FIG. 3 describes the case where ink is supplied from the main tank 132 to the black ink cartridge 201, but the same applies to the case where ink is supplied from the main tank 132 to the color ink cartridge 202. Below, these will be collectively referred to as ink cartridges 200.

(ink cartridge)
The ink cartridge 200 is attached to a recording head 211 that ejects ink. An absorber 212 that absorbs ink is provided inside the ink cartridge 200. The absorber 212 holds ink supplied from the main tank 132 and generates negative pressure against the recording head 211. This is to prevent ink from leaking from the recording head 211 before the ink cartridge 200 is attached to the recording head 211. A lid member 213 is provided on the top surface of the ink cartridge 200, and the lid member 213 and a tank case 214 are welded together to define the boundary between the inside and outside of the ink cartridge 200.

The cover member 213 is provided with an ink inlet 215. The ink inlet 215 is connected to a joint member 160 provided on one end of the tube 150. The ink inlet 215 extends in a cylindrical shape from a position a predetermined length below the position where it is connected to the joint member 160. When an image is formed by the inkjet recording device 100 and the ink in the recording head 211 is consumed, ink is filled into the ink cartridge 200 from the main tank 132 via the tube 150 and the joint member 160 with the ink inlet 215 and the joint member 160 connected.

(Main tank)
A liquid outlet 133 is provided at the bottom end of the main tank 132, which has an internal space that can be filled with ink, and serves as a communication part between the main tank 132 and the outside. The liquid outlet 133 is connected to a tube 150, and the ink filled in the main tank 132 is sent from the liquid outlet 133 to the tube 150. An air communication port 134 is provided at the right end of the upper surface of the main tank 132, which takes in air from the atmosphere by the amount of ink that has decreased in the main tank 132. In addition, an ink filling pipe 170 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main tank 132. The ink filling pipe 170 is an example of a flow path member in which two flow paths, an air flow path 171 and a liquid flow path 172, are formed. The liquid flow path 172 is formed by extending from the upper surface of the main tank 132 to the vicinity of the bottom surface. The air flow path 171 is formed by extending from the upper surface of the main tank 132 to the vicinity above the main tank 132. The ink filling pipe 170 is connected to an ink bottle 500 (FIG. 4) described later, thereby filling the main tank 132 with ink from the ink bottle 500. A method of filling the main tank 132 with ink from the ink bottle 500 will be described later. The air flow path 171 and the liquid flow path 172 are sealed with rubber stoppers 136 during image formation by the inkjet recording apparatus 100 and while the inkjet recording apparatus 100 is waiting for image formation.

(tube)
The tube 150 forms an ink path from the main tank 132 to the ink cartridge 200. One end of the tube 150 is connected to the main tank 132, and the other end is connected to a joint member 160. Since the tube 150 is required to have air barrier properties and water vapor barrier properties, a styrene-based elastomer is used as the material for the tube 150 in this embodiment.

(Method of supplying ink to ink cartridge)
Next, a method of supplying ink to an ink cartridge will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the liquid level of the ink in the main tank 132 is located below the bottom surface of the recording head 211 in the direction of gravity. At the right end of the top surface of the main tank 132, an air communication port 134 is provided for taking in air from the atmosphere, so that atmospheric pressure is applied inside the main tank 132. In contrast, a negative pressure is generated in the ink in the tube 150 due to a head difference corresponding to the height indicated by the two-way arrow H in Fig. 3. Therefore, a balance is achieved between the force of the ink in the tube 150 toward the main tank 132 and the capillary force of the absorber 212, so that the ink does not leak out of the recording head 211.

When an image is formed by the inkjet recording device 100 and ink is ejected from the recording head 211, the amount of ink in the ink cartridge 200 decreases by an amount equivalent to the amount of ink ejected. When the amount of ink in the ink cartridge 200 decreases, the negative pressure applied inside the ink cartridge 200 increases further. This causes the balance between the negative pressure and the capillary force of the absorber 212 to be lost. To maintain this balance, ink equivalent to the amount of ink that has decreased inside the ink cartridge 200 is supplied (replenished) into the ink cartridge 200 from the ink inlet 215, and the negative pressure inside the ink cartridge 200 is alleviated. By repeating this operation, ink is supplied to the ink cartridge 200.

(How to fill the main tank with ink)
Next, a method of filling the main tank 132 with ink will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink bottle 500 is composed of a bottle container 510, a joint rubber 520 which is an example of a sealing member, and a cap 530. When filling the main tank 132 with ink, the cap 530 is removed from the ink bottle 500, the ink bottle 500 is turned upside down, and the joint rubber 520 is connected to the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132 so that the joint rubber 520 faces downward in the direction of gravity. As shown in FIG. 5, an asterisk-shaped slit (cut) 521 is formed in the joint rubber 520 of the bottle container 510, and the ink filling pipe 170 can be inserted into it. Since the slit 521 is formed extremely thin, a meniscus force acts, and the ink in the ink bottle 500 does not easily leak downward (to the main tank 132 side) through the slit 521.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132 and the bottle container 510 are connected by inserting the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132 into the slit 521 of the joint rubber 520 of the bottle container 510 so as to push open the slit 521. In this connected state, the gap between the ink filling pipe 170 and the joint rubber 520 is small, so the meniscus force also acts on this gap, and ink does not leak from the bottle container 510 to the outside of the main tank 132. In this way, when the ink bottle 500 is turned upside down, or when the bottle container 510 and the ink filling pipe 170 are connected, ink does not leak from the ink bottle 500. The asterisk shape shown in FIG. 5 is preferable as the shape of the slit 521 formed in the joint rubber 520, but any shape may be used as long as the above-mentioned meniscus force acts and ink does not leak from the ink bottle 500.

When the bottle container 510 and the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132 are connected, air in the main tank 132 flows into the ink bottle 500 through the air flow path 171, as shown by arrow 173 in Fig. 6. Then, ink in the ink bottle 500 equivalent to the amount of air that has flowed from the main tank 132 into the ink bottle 500 flows into the main tank 132 from the lower opening 176 through the liquid flow path 172, as shown by arrow 174. Ink is filled into the main tank 132 by this gas-liquid exchange supply, in which gas and liquid are exchanged via the ink filling pipe 170.
When the ink level in the main tank 132 reaches the position of the lower opening 175 of the air flow path 171, the lower opening 175 of the air flow path 171 becomes covered with ink. This prevents air from moving from the main tank 132 to the ink bottle 500, and refilling of the main tank 132 with ink from the ink bottle 500 stops. This completes the refilling of the main tank 132 with a specified amount of ink without the user being aware of it.

First Embodiment
Next, an ink recovery bottle, which is an example of the liquid recovery device of the first embodiment, will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an ink recovery bottle 600.

(ink collection bottle)
As shown in FIG. 7, the ink recovery bottle 600 is composed of a cylindrical ink container 610 and a cap 660. The ink container 610 has a body 611, a bottom 613, an upper surface 614, and a joint unit 615. A joint opening 612 and a fourth opening 651 are formed in the joint unit 615. The joint opening 612 is a portion into which the ink filling pipe 170 is inserted. The joint unit 615 is a connecting portion that connects the ink recovery bottle 600 and the ink filling pipe 170. A rubber O-ring 620 is provided in the joint opening 612. The O-ring 620 is disposed in the joint opening 612 with an inclination with respect to the horizontal direction. In the case of FIG. 7, the right side of the O-ring 620 is inclined downward in an oblique direction. As a result, when the ink recovery bottle 600 and the main tank 132 are connected, it is possible to close only the air flow path 171 out of the air flow path 171 and the liquid flow path 172 provided in the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132. This will be described later.
The above-mentioned arrangement of the O-ring is effective when the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 of the ink filling pipe 170 and the upper opening 178 of the liquid flow path 172 are located at the same position in the height direction. For example, when the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 of the ink filling pipe 170 and the upper opening 178 of the liquid flow path 172 are located at different positions in the height direction, the O-ring 620 may be arranged in any position as long as it is arranged at a position where it can close the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 so as to enable ink recovery. Furthermore, when the structure of the ink filling pipe 170 is different from that of this embodiment, a sealing member may be separately arranged at a position where it can close the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 so as to enable ink recovery, in addition to the sealing O-ring that prevents ink leakage from the connecting portion.

A fourth opening 651 is provided below the O-ring 620 of the joint unit part 615. A first opening 652 is provided on the upper surface part 614. An internal flow path extending between the first opening 652 and the joint unit part 615 is formed. In the internal flow path, there is a throttle part 617 and a space 618 formed between the first opening 652 and the throttle part 617. These points will be described later. A first valve body 641 that closes the first opening 652 is provided on the bottom part of the joint unit part 615. The first valve body 641 is made of plastic having a specific gravity greater than that of ink and has an extremely thin disk shape. The first valve body 641 is provided so as to be movable in the flow direction of the ink, as will be described later. The area of the first valve body 641 is made larger than the opening area of the first opening 652 and the opening area of the throttle part 617 described above. For example, the diameter of the disk of the first valve body 641 is made larger than the diameter of the fourth opening 651 and the diameter of the first opening 652, so that the first valve body 641 does not enter the joint opening 612 or the ink container 610. A second opening 653 is provided at the center of the bottom 613, and the inside of the bottle communicates with the outside of the bottle through the second opening 653. The second opening 653 can be closed using a plug 630. The cap 660 covers the entire joint unit part 615, and can be attached and detached to the joint unit part 615 by cutting a screw on the inside of the cap 660. As described later, after the ink is collected from the main tank 132, the joint opening 612 can be sealed using the cap 660.

Here, a method for manufacturing the ink recovery bottle 600 will be briefly described. First, the first valve body 641 having a diameter that closes the first opening 652 is placed on the first opening 652 of the ink container 610. Then, the joint unit part 615 is placed and bonded to the ink container 610 so that the center of the joint unit part 615 coincides with the center of the upper surface part 614 of the ink container 610. Finally, the O-ring 620 is inserted into the joint opening 612. An O-ring support part (not shown) that supports the O-ring 620 is formed in advance in the joint opening 612. The O-ring support part is formed so that the O-ring 620 is placed on the joint opening 612 with an inclination that the right side is diagonally downward with respect to the horizontal direction.

The ink recovery bottle 600 recovers and stores the ink stored in the main tank 132 in the ink container 610. The ink container 610 is a molded part made of resin, and has elastic restoring force. The ink container 610 has a rigidity sufficient to be crushed when the user applies pressure with their hand (hereinafter referred to as "squeezing"). The ink container 610 also has a wall thickness sufficient to obtain a restoring force that returns it to its original shape after squeezing.

(Ink recovery method)
Next, a method of recovering ink using an ink recovery bottle 600, which is an example of a liquid recovery device of this embodiment, will be described with reference to Fig. 8 to Fig. 10. Fig. 8 shows a state in which the ink recovery bottle 600 is attached to the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132, Fig. 9 shows a state in which the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 600 has been squeezed in the state shown in Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 shows a state in which the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 600 has returned to its original shape by stopping the squeeze in the state shown in Fig. 9.

First, remove the cap 660 of the ink recovery bottle 600. Next, remove the plug 630. Then, turn the ink recovery bottle 600 upside down with respect to the position shown in FIG. 7, face the joint opening 612 downward in the direction of gravity, and align the joint opening 612 with the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132. Position the joint unit part 615 of the ink recovery bottle 600 so that it surrounds the outer periphery of the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132, and press the ink recovery bottle 600 downward in the direction of gravity. Attach the ink recovery bottle 600 to the main tank 132 while sliding the outer periphery of the ink filling pipe 170 and the O-ring 620.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the upper end of the ink filling pipe 170 reaches a position in front of the fourth opening 651, a stopper (not shown) is activated, and the attachment of the ink recovery bottle 600 and the main tank 132 is completed. As described above, the O-ring 620 is arranged in the joint opening 612 in a state in which it is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction (in the case of FIG. 8, the right side is inclined diagonally downward). That is, the O-ring 620 is arranged in a state inclined with respect to the central axis of the internal flow path described above. Therefore, the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 is blocked by the left end of the O-ring 620. In contrast, the upper opening 178 of the liquid flow path 172 is not blocked by the right end of the O-ring 620 and is open. In this embodiment, the O-ring 620 is given as an example of a member that blocks the upper opening 177 of the air flow path 171 and opens the upper opening 178 of the liquid flow path 172, but any member having a similar function may be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the user squeezes the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 600 with a finger F. When the user squeezes both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 610 with a finger F, both sides of the ink container 610 are crushed, and the internal volume of the ink container 610 is reduced. At this time, gravity and pressure caused by the reduction in the internal volume of the ink container 610 are applied to the first valve body 641, causing the first valve body 641 to close the fourth opening 651. Therefore, the only escape route for the air in the ink recovery bottle 600 due to the reduction in the internal volume after squeezing is the second opening 653. Therefore, the air in the ink recovery bottle 600 due to the reduction in the internal volume after squeezing is released to the outside from the second opening 653.

10, when the user closes the second opening 653 with a finger F and releases the squeezed finger F from both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 610, both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 610 return to their original shape. The method of closing the second opening 653 is not limited to the finger F, and a lid-like member may be attached for the ink. The reason that both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 610 return to their original shape is that, as described above, the ink container 610 has a restoring force that returns to its original shape after being squeezed. The main tank 132 is provided with an air communication port 134 that takes in air from the atmosphere, so that atmospheric pressure is applied inside the main tank 132. On the other hand, since the second opening 653 is closed by the user's finger F (or a lid, etc.), the pressure applied inside the ink container 610 is lower (negative pressure) than the atmospheric pressure applied inside the main tank 132. Therefore, a pressure difference occurs between the inside of the ink container 610 and the main tank 132, and a force is applied to the first valve body 641 to slightly raise it upward in the direction of gravity, as shown by the dotted arrow. That is, the first valve body 641 moves in the ink flow direction through a space 618 formed between the first opening 652 and the throttle portion 617 of the internal flow path extending between the first opening 652 and the joint unit portion 615. As the first valve body 641 rises, a gap is formed between the first valve body 641 and the fourth opening 651. The ink in the main tank 132 is sucked into the joint opening 612 that communicates with the upper opening 178 through the liquid flow path 172 and the upper opening 178 of the ink filling pipe 170. The ink sucked into the joint opening 612 flows into the ink container 610 through the gap formed between the first valve body 641 and the fourth opening 651.

By repeating the above-described operations of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the ink filled in the main tank 132 can be almost emptied. After the operation of recovering ink from the main tank 132 is completed, the second opening 653 is blocked with the plug 630, the ink recovery bottle 600 is removed from the ink filling pipe 170, and the joint opening 612 is sealed with the cap 660, thereby completing the ink recovery using the ink recovery bottle 600. Even after this ink recovery, there is a possibility that some ink remains at the bottom of the main tank 132. By performing a suction recovery operation on the recording head 211 side to suck out the ink remaining at the bottom of the main tank 132 and the ink remaining in the ink supply path such as the tube 150 shown in FIG. 3, the ink in the main tank 132 can be preferably completely emptied.

By carrying out the ink recovery described above, according to this embodiment, the ink in the main tank 132 is brought close to an empty state, so that ink leakage during secondary movement can be reliably suppressed. In addition, in this embodiment, as described in FIG. 6, the ink recovery bottle 600 is attached to the main tank 132 in a manner substantially similar to the manner in which the ink bottle 500 is attached to the main tank 132 when filling the main tank 132 with ink. In this embodiment, the ink in the main tank 132 is recovered simply by squeezing the ink container 610 with a finger F. Therefore, no complicated operations are required. In addition, there is an extremely low possibility that the user's finger F, the main tank 132, and the area around the ink recovery bottle 600 will be soiled with ink, so the work can be carried out safely and securely.

Second Embodiment
Next, an ink recovery bottle, which is an example of a liquid recovery device according to the second embodiment, will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an ink recovery bottle 670.

(ink collection bottle)
The ink recovery bottle 670 in this embodiment is structurally different from the ink recovery bottle 600 (FIG. 7) in the first embodiment in the following respects. That is, a second valve body 642 for closing the second opening 653 and a bottom unit part 616 extending downward in the direction of gravity from the bottom part 613, then bending at a right angle to the direction of gravity, and extending toward the center of the second opening 653 are provided on the bottom part 613 of the ink container 640. In this manner, a valve body accommodating part 621 is formed by forming a space 619 that is provided around the second opening 653 of the bottom part 613 of the ink container 640 and accommodates the second valve body 642 together with the ink container 640. A third opening 654 communicating with the space 619 is provided in the valve body accommodating part 621, and the second valve body 642 is movable in a direction connecting the second opening 653 and the third opening 654. The second valve body 642 is made of plastic having a higher specific gravity than ink, and has an extremely thin disk shape. The area of the second valve body 642 is made larger than the opening area of the second opening 653 and the opening area of the third opening 654. For example, the diameter of the disk of the second valve body 642 is made larger than the diameter of the second opening 653 and the diameter of the third opening 654, so that the second valve body 642 does not jump out into the ink container 640 or outside the third opening 654. Other than this, the structure is the same as that of the ink recovery bottle 600 of the first embodiment, so detailed description will be omitted.

Here, a method for producing the ink recovery bottle 670 will be briefly described. The method for producing the ink container 640 and the joint unit part 615 is the same as that for the ink recovery bottle 600 of the first embodiment (Figure 7), so only the differences will be described. A second valve body 642 having a diameter that closes the second opening 653 is placed under the second opening 653 of the ink container 640. Then, the bottom unit part 616 is placed and bonded to the ink container 640 so that the center of the bottom unit part 616 coincides with the center of the bottom 613 of the ink container 640.

(Ink recovery method)
Next, a method of recovering ink using an ink recovery bottle 670, which is an example of the liquid recovery device of this embodiment, will be described with reference to Fig. 12 to Fig. 14. Fig. 12 shows a state in which the ink recovery bottle 670 is attached to the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132, Fig. 13 shows a state in which the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 670 has been squeezed in the state shown in Fig. 12, and Fig. 14 shows a state in which the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 670 has returned to its original size by stopping the squeeze in the state shown in Fig. 13.

The method for attaching the ink recovery bottle 670 to the main tank 132 is as described in the first embodiment above. Also, since Figure 12 is similar to the case of Figure 8 described in the first embodiment above, a detailed description will be omitted.

13, the user squeezes the body 611 of the ink recovery bottle 670 with a finger F. When the user squeezes both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 640 with the finger F, both sides of the ink container 640 are crushed, and the internal volume of the ink container 640 is reduced. At this time, the first valve body 641 is subjected to gravity and pressure caused by the reduction in the internal volume of the ink container 640, causing the first valve body 641 to close the fourth opening 651. Therefore, the escape route for the air in the ink recovery bottle 670 caused by the reduction in the internal volume after squeezing is the second opening 653, the outer peripheral portion of the second valve body 642 formed by the lifting of the second valve body 642 that had been blocking the second opening 653 by its own weight, and the third opening 654. Therefore, the air inside the ink recovery bottle 670 that is released as the internal volume decreases after squeezing is released to the outside through the second opening 653 of the ink recovery bottle 670, the outer periphery of the second valve body 642, and the third opening 654.

In the first embodiment described above, as described with reference to FIG. 10, the second opening 653 is blocked by the user's finger F, and the ink flows into the ink container 610 using the negative pressure generated inside the ink container 610. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, when the user releases the squeezed finger F from both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 640, both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 640 return to their original shape. The reason why both sides of the body 611 of the ink container 640 return to their original shape is that the ink container 640 has a restoring force to return to its original shape after being squeezed, as described above. The main tank 132 is provided with an air communication port 134 that takes in air from the atmosphere, so atmospheric pressure is applied inside the main tank 132. In contrast, the second opening 653 is blocked by the weight of the second valve body 642 and a pressure (negative pressure) lower than the atmospheric pressure applied inside the ink container 640. A pressure difference occurs between the inside of the ink container 640 and the main tank 132, and a force is applied to the first valve body 641 to slightly raise it upward in the direction of gravity, as shown by the dotted arrow. As the first valve body 641 rises, a gap is formed between the first valve body 641 and the fourth opening 651. The ink in the main tank 132 passes through the liquid flow path 172 and the upper opening 178 of the ink filling pipe 170 and is sucked into the joint opening 612 that communicates with the upper opening 178. The ink sucked into the joint opening 612 flows into the ink container 610 through the gap formed between the first valve body 641 and the fourth opening 651.

By repeating the operations shown in Figures 13 and 14 described above, the ink filled in the main tank 132 can be almost emptied. After the operation of recovering ink from the main tank 132 is completed, the third opening 654 is blocked with a plug (not shown), the ink recovery bottle 670 is removed from the ink filling pipe 170, and the joint opening 612 is sealed with the cap 660, completing the ink recovery using the ink recovery bottle 670.

In this embodiment, the negative pressure generated inside the ink container 640 is used to cause the second valve body 642 to completely close the second opening 653, thereby causing the ink in the main tank 132 to flow into the ink container 640. According to this embodiment, since the user does not need to block the second opening 653 with a finger F, the body 611 of the ink container 640 can be squeezed and released continuously. This makes it easy to recover the ink filled in the main tank 132.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to make the liquid in the main tank 132 close to empty. As a result, it is possible to reliably suppress leakage of liquid during secondary movement. In addition, no complicated operations are required, and there is an extremely low possibility of staining the user's fingers F, the main tank 132, and the area around the ink recovery bottle 670 with ink, making it possible to work safely and securely.

Example 3
Next, a liquid recovery and filling system according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 15( a ) is a cross-sectional view showing an ink filling system 560 in which a filling joint (filling joint portion) 800, a cap 530, and a plug 630 are attached to an ink container 540, and ink for filling is stored in the ink container 540, and FIG. 15( b ) is a cross-sectional view of a recovery joint (recovery joint portion) 900.
16(a) is a cross-sectional view of the ink recovery system 580 in a state in which the ink container 540 of the ink filling system 560 of FIG. 15(a) has been filled with ink and emptied of ink, the filling joint 800 has been removed, and the recovery joint 900 of FIG. 15(b) has been attached, and FIG. 16(b) is a cross-sectional view of the removed filling joint 800, cap 530, and plug 630.

In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 15(a), the refilling joint 800 of the ink filling system 560 connected to the main tank 132 is made detachable, and when ink recovery is required, the refilling joint 800 is removed from the ink filling system 560 and a separately prepared recovery joint 900 shown in Fig. 15(b) is attached to use the ink as the ink recovery system 580 shown in Fig. 16(a). In other words, this is an explanation of a form in which the ink container 540 is reused.
In this embodiment, after the ink has been collected, the collection joint 900 can be replaced with the filling joint 800 again, making it possible to fill the main tank 132 with the collected ink again.
The liquid recovery and filling system can be sold as a set consisting of the ink filling system 560 in Fig. 15(a) and the recovery joint 900 in Fig. 15(b). Of course, the recovery joint 900 in Fig. 15(b) can also be sold separately.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 16(a), it is also possible to make the recovery joint 900 of the ink recovery system 580 detachable. In this case, if ink recovery is necessary, the ink is recovered as is. Then, when filling ink, the recovery joint 900 is removed from the ink recovery system 580, and a separately prepared filling joint 800 shown in Fig. 16(b) is attached, so that the ink filling system 560 shown in Fig. 15(a) can be used.
In this configuration, after recovering the ink, the recovery joint 900 can be replaced with the refill joint 800 to obtain the configuration shown in Figure 15 (a), whereby the recovered ink can be refilled into the main tank 132 again.
The liquid recovery and filling system shown in Fig. 16(a) can be sold as a set consisting of the ink recovery system 580 in Fig. 16(a) and the filling joint 800 in Fig. 16(b). Of course, it is also possible to sell the filling joint 800 in Fig. 16(b) separately.

As described above, when the main tank 132 is refilled with ink that has been collected once, it is expected that the collected ink will be contaminated with dirt and dust, and therefore it is more preferable to provide a filter (not shown) in the collection joint 900 or the filling joint 800. It is more preferable that the filling joint 800 is provided with a filter, since this filters the ink that is finally filled.
The following description will be given with reference to the drawings.

Ink filling system 560 shown in Fig. 15(a) is configured independently of filling joint 800 shown in Fig. 16(b). This filling joint 800 is provided with an ink filling joint case 810 and a flange 811, which are detachably attached to an opening 550 of an ink container 540. Ink filling joint case 810 has joint rubber 520 with slit 521 provided on the end surface that is connected to ink filling pipe 170 of ink filling joint 800.
The filling joint 800 has dimensions that allow it to be press-fitted into the opening 550 of the ink container 540. A flange 811 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the filling joint 800 has a function of regulating the insertion position relative to the opening 550 of the ink container 540 (regulating member). The flange 811 abuts against a top surface 812 of a cylindrical wall (circumferential wall) 813 that rises from the upper surface portion 514 of the ink container 540, thereby positioning the filling joint 800 relative to the ink container 540.

15(b) is provided with an ink recovery joint case 910 and a flange 911 at a portion connected to the ink filling pipe 170 of the main tank 132. The ink recovery joint case 910 is provided with an O-ring 620, a fourth opening 651, and a first opening 652, and a first valve body 641 is provided between the fourth opening 651 and the first opening 652.
The recovery joint 900 is press-fitted into the opening 550 of the ink container 540 from which the cap 530 and the refill joint 800 have been removed, and the insertion position of the recovery joint 900 relative to the opening 550 of the container 540 is regulated by a flange 911. The flange 911 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the recovery joint 900 abuts against a top surface 812 of a cylindrical wall (circumferential wall) 813 that rises from an upper surface portion 514 of the ink container 540, thereby positioning the recovery joint 900 relative to the ink container 540.

According to this embodiment, there is no need to prepare two types of bottles, an ink filling bottle and an ink recovery bottle. In other words, by preparing a filling joint and a recovery joint that can be attached and detached to the bottle body, it becomes possible to use a single bottle body for both ink filling and ink recovery functions.

In addition, the ink recovery bottle described in the first and second embodiments does not assume that the recovered ink will be reused. However, in this embodiment, it is possible to reuse the recovered ink. That is, after recovering ink from the main tank 132 using the ink recovery system 580 shown in FIG. 16, the recovery joint 900 is removed, and the refill joint 800, the cap 530, and the plug 630 are attached to store the recovered ink. In addition, when reusing the stored ink, the recovery joint 900 is removed from the ink recovery system 580, and the refill joint 800 is attached, making it possible to refill the main tank 132 described in FIG. 6 with ink. This makes it possible to reduce waste associated with the disposal of ink by reusing the recovered ink. Another advantage is that the recovered ink can be reused after secondary movement.

As described above, according to the present invention, by using a dedicated recovery system to recover liquid from the main tank when secondary movement is required, it is possible to provide a liquid recovery device and a liquid recovery and filling system that can reliably recover liquid and more reliably prevent liquid leakage during recovery and transfer.
Furthermore, by configuring the joint of the recovery system to be replaceable with the joint of the filling system, it is possible to provide a liquid recovery and filling system that allows the ink container to be reused.

132 Main tank 170 Ink filling pipe 600 Ink recovery bottle 610 Ink container 615 Joint unit part 617 Throttle part 618 Space 641 First valve body 652 First opening 653 Second opening

Claims (9)

A liquid recovery device that is connected to a liquid container having a storage section that stores a liquid and a flow path member that can fill the storage section with liquid, and recovers liquid stored in the storage section,
A bottle body having an elastic restoring force and including a first and a second opening communicating with the outside;
a recovery joint part connected to the bottle body via the first opening and including a first connecting part connected to the flow path member, the recovery joint part including an internal flow path extending between the first opening and the first connecting part, the internal flow path including a constriction part and a space formed between the first opening and the constriction part;
a first valve body that is movably installed in the space in a flow direction of the liquid, the first valve body having an area larger than an opening area of the first opening and an opening area of the throttle portion. The liquid recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the flow path member has an air flow path through which air flows and a liquid flow path through which liquid flows, and further has a member that closes the air flow path and opens the liquid flow path when the flow path member is connected to the first connection part. The liquid recovery device according to claim 2, wherein the member is an O-ring that is inclined with respect to the central axis of the internal flow passage, and the opening of the air flow passage that opens into the internal flow passage and the opening of the liquid flow passage that opens into the internal flow passage are at the same position in the direction of the central axis. The liquid recovery device according to claim 2, wherein the air flow path extends from above the storage unit to the top of the storage unit, and the liquid flow path extends from above the storage unit to near the bottom of the storage unit. The liquid recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a second valve body that closes or opens the second opening, the second valve body opening the second opening when a pressing force is applied to the bottle body and closing the second opening when the pressing force is removed. The liquid recovery device according to claim 5, further comprising a valve body housing portion provided around the second opening of the bottle body and forming a space for housing the second valve body together with the bottle body, the valve body housing portion having a third opening communicating with the space, the second valve body being movably installed in a direction connecting the second opening and the third opening, and having an area larger than the opening area of the second opening and the opening area of the third opening. A liquid recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
a filling joint portion which is detachably connected to the bottle body in place of the recovery joint portion when filling the liquid container with liquid,
The recovery joint is detachable from the bottle body,
A liquid recovery and filling system, wherein the filling joint portion comprises a second connecting portion connected to the flow path member, and the second connecting portion comprises a seal member into which the flow path member can be inserted. The liquid recovery and filling system according to claim 7, further comprising a regulating member that determines the positions when the recovery joint part and the filling joint part are connected to the bottle body. The liquid recovery and filling system according to claim 8, wherein the regulating member has flanges provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the recovery joint section and the filling joint section, respectively, and a circumferential wall that rises from the upper surface of the bottle body and has a top surface that abuts against the flanges.

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