Ink cartridge refilling device, ink cartridge refilling system and corresponding ink cartridge refilling method

The invention relates to an ink cartridge refilling device and an ink cartridge refilling system. The ink cartridge refilling device comprises an ink container, an ink injection channel, an air inlet channel, an aspirator and a cover component, wherein the cover component is provided with a first sealing section for sealing an ink cartridge to be refilled and a second sealing section for sealing the air inlet channel. During the ink refilling, air in a sealed ink cartridge can be sucked to enable ink in the ink container to flow into the sealed ink cartridge, so that negative pressure is formed in the ink container and the ink is conveyed from the ink container to the ink cartridge under the negative pressure, thus the refilling of the ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of air into the ink container may not be carried out at the same time.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the inkjet technical field, in particular to an ink cartridge refilling device for refilling an ink cartridge under negative pressure, an ink cartridge refilling system and a corresponding ink cartridge refilling method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Inkjet printhead is a necessary component of an inkjet printer, wherein the inkjet printhead is arranged on a carriage of the inkjet printer, which moves back and forth, and ejects ink to a recording medium along with the movement of the carriage, so as to form an image on the recording medium. Ink cartridge is used as an ink storage container and is responsible to supply ink to the printhead. As the ink level of the ink cartridge is limited, a user needs to replace the ink cartridge after the ink in the ink cartridge is out. However, most used ink cartridges are thrown away but cannot be degraded naturally as the ink cartridges contain plastic cements, chips and the like, which would obviously cause resource waste and environmental pollution and increase the printing cost of users. Therefore, the most economical and environment-friendly mode is for the used ink cartridges to be refilled with ink so that the ink cartridges can be subjected to secondary utilization. Therefore, in order to meet the requirement, there are various ink cartridge refilling devices on the market.

The Chinese patent CN200620061311.X discloses a negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device. The refilling device comprises an air suction mechanism and an ink injection mechanism, wherein the air suction mechanism consists of a cylinder and a piston; the cylinder consists of a sealed cavity and a connecting opening which connects the outside and the mentioned sealed cavity; the piston is pneumatically sealed inside the sealed cavity; the ink injection mechanism consists of an ink storage cavity and an ink injection opening which communicates the outside and the ink storage cavity; and the ink storage cavity is communicated with a section of the sealed cavity of the cylinder, which is positioned at the outside of the piston compared with the connecting opening, through a guide tube. The mode for utilizing the above mentioned negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device for ink refilling is as follows: sucking ink into the ink storage cavity of the ink cartridge refilling device in advance, and aligning the connecting opening and the ink injection opening to an air suction hole and an ink injection hole of an ink cartridge respectively, so that the synchronized operation of two steps can be realized, namely air in the ink cartridge is sucked and removed on one hand while ink is refilled into the ink cartridge simultaneously on the other hand.

Obviously, as for an ink cartridge for utilizing a one-way valve to control the ink flowing direction, the above refilling method is comparatively convenient. However, as for an ink cartridge for utilizing a sponge to control the negative pressure in the ink cartridge, the refilling method has the defect that: as a sponge of a cavernous cavity tends to be in a supersaturated state after the ink refilling, the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur if the ink cartridge after the ink refilling is directly taken off, thus the environment is polluted or hands, clothes, etc. of users are dirtied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an ink cartridge refilling device to solve the technical problem in the traditional ink cartridge refilling device that the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur after an ink cartridge is filled with ink.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention adopts the technical proposal that:

a negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device for refilling ink into an ink cartridge to be refilled, comprising:

an ink container used for storing ink for refilling;

an ink injection channel communicated with the ink container and used for conveying the ink in the ink container to the ink cartridge to be refilled;

an air inlet channel communicated with the ink container and used for replenishing air into the ink container;

an aspirator used for sucking air in the ink cartridge to be refilled; and

a cover component, wherein

the cover component is provided with a first sealing section for sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and a second sealing section for sealing the air inlet channel.

The ink cartridge refilling device also comprises an ink cartridge positioning mechanism for positioning the ink cartridge to be refilled on the ink cartridge refilling device; and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism is connected with the cover component through a rotating shaft.

The first sealing section is closer to the rotating shaft compared with the second sealing section.

The first sealing section is a first elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component, and the second sealing section is a second elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component.

The first sealing section consists of a convex section which is convex from the cover component and an elastic sleeve which is engaged with the convex section.

The second sealing section consists of an extended section which is extended from the cover component and a sealing element which is engaged with the extended section.

The ink cartridge refilling device is also provided with a delay action component to enable the first sealing section to be still in the state of sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled after the air inlet channel is opened by the second sealing section.

The delay action component is an elastic component which is engaged with the first sealing section.

The deformation of the first elastic pad is larger than that of the second elastic pad.

The deformation of the elastic sleeve is larger than that of the sealing element.

The cover component is also provided with extended clamp hooks, and the positioning mechanism is provided with clamping grooves which are engaged with the extended clamp hooks.

The invention also provides an ink cartridge refilling system to solve the problem: and a corresponding ink cartridge refilling method.

A negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling system comprises the ink cartridge to be refilled and the above ink cartridge refilling device.

The ink cartridge to be refilled comprises a cavity for storing ink, a sponge arranged inside the cavity for maintaining the negative pressure in the ink cartridge, an ink outlet for introducing ink in an ink storage cavity to the outside of the ink cartridge, an air inlet for replenishing air into the ink storage cavity and an ink injection opening for injecting ink into the ink storage cavity.

The cavity body consists of the ink storage cavity for receiving the ink and a negative-pressure cavity for receiving the sponge.

The first sealing section is arranged on the cover component, at a position corresponding to the air inlet of the ink cartridge to be refilled.

A through hole is reserved on the cover component, at a position corresponding to the ink injection opening of the ink cartridge to be refilled.

A movable mandrel is arranged at the through hole and used for removing the sealing element for sealing the ink injection opening.

The invention also provides an ink cartridge refilling method to solve the problem:

The refilling method for utilizing the ink cartridge refilling system for ink cartridge refilling comprises the following steps of:

A. sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and the air inlet channel to form a closed space between the ink cartridge to be refilled and the ink cartridge refilling device;

B. sucking air in the ink cartridge to be refilled by the aspirator; and

C. opening the air inlet channel and canceling the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled.

The refilling method also comprises the following step before the step A: opening the ink injection opening of the ink cartridge to be refilled, and assembling a rubber plug into the ink injection opening.

In the step C, the air inlet channel is opened first, and then the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled is canceled.

In the step C, the air inlet channel is opened and simultaneously the sealing of the ink cartridge to be refilled is canceled.

The refilling method also comprises the following step after the step C is over: taking off the ink cartridge to be refilled from the ink cartridge refilling device, and sealing the air inlet channel again.

By adoption of the technical proposal, as the cover component is provided with the first sealing section for sealing the ink cartridge to be refilled and the second sealing section for sealing the air inlet channel, air in a sealed ink cartridge can be sucked to enable ink in the ink container to flow into the sealed ink cartridge during the ink refilling, thus negative pressure is formed in the ink container and the ink is conveyed from the ink container to the ink cartridge under the negative pressure, consequently the refilling of the ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of the air into the ink container may not be carried out at the same time. Therefore, the inside of the ink cartridge refilling device is in the negative pressure state after the ink cartridge is fully refilled and redundant ink in a sponge can be removed when the refilling device is opened, which solves the technical problem in the traditional ink cartridge refilling device that the ink dropping phenomenon can occur after an ink cartridge is filled with ink.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Clear and comprehensive description is given to the technical proposal of the embodiments of the invention with the attached drawings of the embodiments of the invention for the purpose of clearer objects, technical proposal and advantages of the embodiments of the invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the invention and not all the embodiments. All the other embodiments achieved by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention on the premise of not making creative work are within the scope of protection of the invention.

The main technical proposal of the invention is as follows: as a cover component is provided with a first sealing section for sealing an ink cartridge and a second sealing section for sealing an air inlet channel, a closed space is formed between an ink cartridge refilling device and the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge refilling device is utilized to refill the ink cartridge and outside air cannot be replenished into an ink container, thus negative pressure is formed in the ink cartridge after the ink refilling and the outside air can be replenished into the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge refilling device is opened, consequently redundant ink in the ink cartridge can flow into the ink container. Therefore, the ink dropping phenomenon will not occur.

Further description is given to the technical proposal of the invention with the attached drawings and preferred embodiments.

An ink cartridge1for an inkjet printer is detachably installed on the inkjet printer and used for supplying ink to an inkjet printhead for the inkjet printer so as to form images or words on a recording medium.FIG. 1ais an external view of an ink cartridge to be refilled2in the embodiment, andFIG. 1bis a structure diagram of the ink cartridge to be refilled2.

As illustrated inFIG. 1a, the ink cartridge2comprises a cartridge body and a cartridge cover, both of which are made of plastics and fixedly connected with each other by welding to form a closed cavity. As illustrated inFIG. 1b, the closed cavity is divided into a negative-pressure cavity21and an ink storage cavity20by a separation plate29, wherein the negative-pressure cavity21and the ink storage cavity20are communicated with each other only through a communicating opening291under the separation plate29; ink for printing is stored in the ink storage cavity20; and a closed space is basically formed in the ink storage cavity21except for the communicating opening291. The negative-pressure cavity21is provided with an adsorbing member for holding the ink, and the adsorbing member is mostly made of porous materials and is preferably a sponge211in the embodiment, namely the sponge211can adsorb and hold the ink by utilization of the capillary force of the sponge211, thus the negative pressure in the ink cartridge2can be controlled. Moreover, an ink outlet22for introducing the ink in the ink cartridge2to the printhead for the printer is also arranged at the bottom of the negative-pressure cavity21, and an air inlet23for replenishing outside air into the ink cartridge2is also arranged at the top wall of the negative-pressure cavity21. Therefore, when the ink in the negative-pressure cavity21is used for printing on a recording medium, the ink in the ink storage cavity20enters into the negative-pressure cavity21through the communicating opening291and simultaneously air in the negative-pressure cavity21also enters into the ink storage cavity20through the communicating opening291, namely the ink in the ink storage cavity20and the air in the negative-pressure cavity21are subjected to gas-liquid exchange at the communicating opening291. In addition, along with the continuous gas-liquid exchange, the outside air can be replenished into the ink cartridge2through the air inlet23.

As illustrated inFIG. 1b, the ink outlet22is also provided with a cotton core221of which the density is higher than that of the sponge211in the negative-pressure cavity21, and the cotton core221is in contact with an ink supply end on the printer to introduce ink to flow to the ink outlet22and be supplied to the printhead through the ink supply end when the ink cartridge2is installed on the printer. Moreover, the ink cartridge2is also provided with an ink injection opening24which is used for injecting ink into the ink cartridge2. In the embodiment, the ink injection opening24is arranged on the ink storage cavity20and sealed by a steel ball after the ink refilling for the first time, so that the leakage phenomenon of the ink cartridge2when transported or used can be prevented. As illustrated inFIG. 1b, a prism27for detecting the ink-out state of the ink cartridge2is also arranged at the bottom wall of the ink storage cavity20. The process of detecting the ink level by adoption of the prism27belongs to the mature technology of the field and is not explained in detail here. Furthermore, as illustrated inFIGS. 1aand1b, a movable member25provided with a first engagement section251and a second engagement section26are also arranged on both sidewalls of the ink cartridge2, and a concave section28is also arranged at the bottom wall of the ink cartridge2, close to the movable member25. The concave section28can be engaged with a locking mechanism of the printer when the ink cartridge2is installed into the printer, so as to fix the ink cartridge2into the printer.

FIG. 2ais an external view of ink cartridge refilling device1of the embodiment, andFIG. 2bis a schematic diagram of the ink cartridge refilling device1, in the opened state, of the embodiment. As illustrated inFIGS. 2aand2b, the ink cartridge refilling device1comprises an ink container10, an ink injection channel11, an air inlet channel12, an aspirator13, an ink cartridge positioning mechanism15and a cover component14, wherein the ink container10is used for storing ink to be conveyed to the ink cartridge to be refilled2during the refilling; the ink injection channel11is arranged inside the ink container10and used for conveying the ink in the ink container to the ink cartridge2and comprises an outlet end111which is connected with an ink outlet22of the ink cartridge2and an inlet end112which introduces the ink to flow into the channel from the ink container10; the air inlet channel12is arranged on the ink container10and used for replenishing air into the ink container10from the outside and comprises an air inlet end121which is communicated with outside air and an air outlet end122which is communicated with the ink container10; and the aspirator13is connected with the ink injection opening24of the ink cartridge2, so as to suck air in the ink cartridge2. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the aspirator13consists of a cylinder body131, a piston132, a piston rod133, a cylinder cover134, a handle135and a suction nozzle136, wherein the suction nozzle136and the cylinder131are integrated into a whole; the cylinder body131and the cylinder cover134are connected with each other to form a closed space; and the piston132and the piston rod133are fixedly connected with each other and the handle135and the piston rod133are connected with each other, so that the piston132can be pulled by a user by holding the handle135to pull the piston rod133, and be driven to move up and down in the cylinder body131to suck or discharge air. The ink cartridge positioning mechanism15is used for positioning the ink cartridge2on the ink cartridge refilling device1. As illustrated inFIG. 2b, corresponding mechanisms which are engaged with the first engagement section251and the second engagement section26of the ink cartridge2are arranged on the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15, and a supporting section153which leans against the bottom wall of the ink cartridge2and a positioning column152which is engaged with the concave section28of the ink cartridge2are arranged at the bottom wall of the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15. Obviously, the ink cartridge2can be exactly positioned inside the ink cartridge refilling device1. In addition, the positioning mechanism15and the ink container10can be integrated into a whole by clamping connection or welding. In the embodiment, in order to reduce the manufacturing process, the positioning mechanism15and the ink container10are preferably integrated into a whole by injection molding. As illustrated inFIG. 2b, clamping grooves151aand151bare respectively arranged on both sidewalls of the positioning mechanism15. The cover component14is arranged on the ink container10and used for fixing the ink cartridge2into the ink cartridge refilling device1. In the embodiment, the cover component14is preferably connected with the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15through a rotating shaft. As illustrated inFIG. 2b, to be more specific, one end of the cover component14is a connecting end147which is connected with the positioning mechanism15through the rotating shaft, namely the cover component14can be rotated to a certain angle around the positioning mechanism15; and the other end of the cover component14is a free end148. Moreover, two extended clamp hooks145aand145bwhich are extended from the inside of the cover component14are also arranged near the free end148and can be clamped with the two clamping grooves151aand151bof the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15, so that the cover component14can fix the ink cartridge2on the ink cartridge refilling device1after the ink cartridge2is assembled into the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15.

As illustrated inFIGS. 2band4a, the cover component14is also provided with a first sealing section and a second sealing section which enable the ink cartridge2and the ink cartridge refilling device1to be in a sealed state during the refilling, wherein the first sealing section may be an elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component14, at a position corresponding to the air inlet23of the ink cartridge2, and the thickness of the elastic pad can be determined according to the distance between the inside of the cover component14and the top wall of the ink cartridge2. However, in the embodiment, in order to guarantee the sealability of the ink cartridge2, the first sealing section is preferably composed of a convex section141and an elastic sleeve142, wherein the convex section141is convex from the inside of the cover component14and arranged inside the cover component14, at a position corresponding to the air inlet23of the ink cartridge2; to be specific, the convex section141can cover the upper part of the air inlet23when the cover component14and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15are clamped with each other; and the elastic sleeve142is made of elastic materials such as silica gel and rubber, has the same dimension with the convex section141, and is used for enclosing the convex section141. The second sealing section may also be an elastic pad which is arranged on the cover component14, at a position corresponding to the air inlet channel12. However, in order to guarantee the sealability and the maneuverability of the air inlet channel12, the second sealing section in the embodiment is preferably composed of a sealing element144and an extended section143which is extended from the cover component14, wherein the extended section143is arranged inside the cover component14, at a position corresponding to the air inlet channel12; to be specific, the extended section143can cover or enclose the air inlet end121of the air inlet channel12when the cover component14and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15are clamped with each other; the sealing element144is also made of elastic materials as the same with the elastic sleeve142; and a concave section is arranged on the sealing element144. The diameter of the concave section is equivalent to the outside diameter of the air inlet end121of the air inlet channel12, and the outside diameter of the sealing element144is equivalent to the inside diameter of the extended section143. That is to say, the sealing element144is assembled inside the extended section133in general and can be used to directly seal the air inlet channel12when the cover component14and the positioning mechanism15are clamped with each other. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the sealing element144can also be a gasket of which the area is equivalent to that of the end face of the extended section143, and the gasket is welded on the end face of the extended section143, which is in contact with the air inlet channel12; and the sealing element144can also be a silica gel sleeve which is engaged with the extended section143.

Therefore, it can be seen from the structural description of the first sealing section and the second sealing section that: after the ink cartridge2is assembled into the refilling device1, when the cover component14is rotated around the positioning mechanism15to fix the ink cartridge2, the first sealing section can seal the air inlet23of the ink cartridge2and the second sealing section can seal the air inlet channel12of the refilling device1, so that the outside air cannot flow into the ink cartridge2and the ink container10, thus a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink container10which are isolated from the outside. In addition, the first sealing section and the second sealing section can limit the movement of the ink cartridge2on the refilling device1, namely the ink cartridge2cannot move upwards, thus the complete fixation of the ink cartridge2inside the ink cartridge refilling device2is guaranteed.

As illustrated inFIG. 2b, the extended section143is arranged between the two extended clamp hooks145aand145band is closer to the free end148compared with the two clamp hooks, and the convex section141is arranged to be more far away from the free end148compared with the extended section143. That is to say, the first sealing section is arranged to be closer to the connecting end147compared with the second sealing section. It can be seen from the position distribution of the extended section143and the convex section141that: as the cover component14performs angular rotary motion around a shaft, when the ink cartridge2is assembled on the refilling device1for ink refilling and the cover component14performs clockwise rotation to be clamped with the positioning mechanism15and seal the whole refilling device1, the ink cartridge2is sealed by the convex section141and the elastic sleeve142first, and then the air inlet channel12is sealed by the extended section143and the sealing element144; after the ink refilling of the ink cartridge2is completed, when the cover component14performs counterclockwise rotation to be not clamped with the positioning mechanism15and open the whole refilling device1, the extended section143and the sealing element144are detached from the air inlet channel12first, and then the convex section141and the elastic sleeve142are detached from the ink cartridge2. That is to say, the air inlet channel12is opened first, and then the sealing of the ink cartridge2is canceled. Therefore, after the ink refilling is completed and the refilling device1is opened, the air can be replenished into the ink container10first and then replenished into the ink cartridge2, so that redundant ink can be removed, thus the reflowing of redundant ink in the ink cartridge2into the ink container10can be prevented. The distance between the extended section143and the convex section141can be determined according to different ink cartridge structures.

Moreover, in order to guarantee the opening sequence of the first sealing section and the second sealing section, the deformation of the elastic sleeve142in the embodiment is preferably larger than that of the sealing element144, so that the ink cartridge2can be still maintained to be sealed by the first sealing section after the air inlet channel12is opened by the second sealing section. Similarly, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that when the first sealing section and the second sealing section are respectively the first elastic pad and the second elastic pad set on the cover, the deformation of the first sealing section is also larger than that of the second sealing section, so that the first elastic pad can be still maintained to be in the sealed state after the second elastic pad is opened, namely the thickness of the first sealing section is larger than that of the second sealing section.

As illustrated inFIG. 2a, a through hole146is reserved on the cover component14, at a position corresponding to the ink injection opening24of the ink cartridge2. The diameter of the through hole146is equivalent to that of the ink injection opening24, so that the suction nozzle136of the aspirator13is connected with the ink injection opening24through the through hole146during the refilling. Moreover, a gasket113is arranged at the outlet end111of the ink injection channel11and made of elastic materials such as silica gel and rubber, and can be a common seal ring which is taken off during the refilling and assembled after the refilling. In the embodiment, the gasket113is preferably a self-closing gasket, and a self-closing slot is reserved on the self-closing gasket. The self-closing gasket is in the closed state at normal times and can only be opened when the pressure difference at both sides of the ink cartridge2and the ink container10reaches the predetermined value. In addition, as illustrated inFIG. 2a, a friction section16is also arranged at the free end148of the cover component14and formed by a plurality of concave-convex groove parts. The object of the friction section16is to increase the friction force between a hand of a user and the cover component14and guarantee that the hand of the user cannot slide easily when the user handles the cover component14for opening or closing the refilling device1.

For the user to clearly observe the refilling condition of the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge refilling device1is preferably made of transparent materials in the embodiment.

The process of refilling ink into the ink cartridge2by adoption of the ink cartridge refilling device1is illustrated according toFIGS. 4ato4e.

(1) Placing the ink cartridge refilling device1on a plane, opening the ink injection opening24of the ink cartridge2by utilizing an available opening tool, and assembling a rubber plug18into the ink injection opening24.

(2) Assembling the ink cartridge2into the ink cartridge refilling device1as illustrated inFIG. 4a, wherein the first engagement section251, the second engagement section26, the concave section28and the bottom wall of the ink cartridge2are respectively engaged with corresponding members on the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15, and the ink outlet22is connected with the outlet end111of the ink injection channel11; and rotating the cover component14clockwise, so that the extended clamp hooks145aand145bon the cover component14are engaged with the clamping grooves151aand151bof the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15, thus the convex section141and the elastic sleeve142of the cover component14lean against a cartridge cover of the ink cartridge2to seal the air inlet23while the air inlet channel12is sealed by the extended section143and the sealing element144of the cover component14. Herein, a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink cartridge refilling device1which are combined into an ink cartridge refilling system.

(3) Inserting the prepared aspirator13into the ink injection opening24through the through hole146and enabling the aspirator13to pass through the rubber plug18as illustrated inFIG. 4b, so that the aspirator13and the ink cartridge2are communicated with each other; and holding the handle135of the aspirator13and pulling up the piston rod133along the direction A shown in the figure to drive the piston132to move upwards as illustrated inFIG. 4c, so that air in the ink cartridge2can flow into the aspirator13along the arrowhead direction shown inFIG. 4c. Herein, the pressure in the ink cartridge2becomes low and certain negative pressure is formed in the ink cartridge2, namely pressure difference is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink container10. The self-closing slot of the gasket113can be opened under the action of the pressure difference, and the ink in the ink container10can flow into the ink cartridge2along the arrowhead direction shown inFIG. 4cunder the action of the pressure difference. Herein, the air inlet channel12is maintained to be in the closed state while the ink cartridge2is still in the sealed state.

(4) Taking off the aspirator13when the ink cartridge2is filled with ink as illustrated inFIG. 4d, so that the extended clamp hooks145aand145bof the cover component14are detached from the clamping grooves151aand151bof the positioning mechanism15; rotating the cover component14counterclockwise, so that the ink cartridge refilling device1and the ink cartridge2are converted to an opened space from the closed space. As illustrated inFIG. 4e, the air inlet channel12is opened, and air is replenished into the ink container10through the air inlet end121and the air outlet end122; and the sealing of the ink cartridge2is canceled, and air is replenished into the ink cartridge2through the air inlet23. Herein, the ink cartridge2and the ink container10achieve the pressure balance, and the self-closing slot of the gasket113is closed.

(5) Taking off the ink cartridge2; rotating the cover component14to be engaged with the positioning mechanism15again; and sealing the air inlet channel12again, so that the ink cartridge refilling device1is hermetically placed.

The rubber plug18assembled into the ink injection opening24can be a common elastic seal ring. In the embodiment, the rubber plug18is preferably a self-closing seal ring which can be opened or closed according to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the ink cartridge. The self-closing seal ring is in the opened state when the aspirator13is inserted and is in the closed state when the aspirator13is not inserted.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the “matter balance principle” is followed during the ink refilling, namely the mass of matters flowing out of a container is equivalent to that of matters flowing into the container. For example, the volume of the ink flowing out of the ink storage cavity of the refilling tool mentioned in the background of the invention is equivalent to the volume of air replenished into the ink storage cavity. However, in the technical proposal, it can be seen from the refilling process that the ink container10is maintained to be in the closed state during the sucking and air is not replenished into the ink container10. That is to say, the ink refilling of the ink cartridge2enables the pressure in the ink container10to be unbalanced and is continued under the condition of unbalanced pressure in the ink container10, namely the refilling of ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of air into the ink container are not carried out at the same time. The reason for adopting the mode is as follows: in the prior art, the sponge211and the cotton core221in the ink cartridge2tend to be in the supersaturated state after the ink refilling, namely there is redundant ink in the negative-pressure cavity21, thus the ink dropping phenomenon tends to occur when the ink cartridge2is taken off at the time; but in the technical proposal, a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink container10during the refilling, so that large negative pressure can be formed in the ink container10when air in the ink cartridge2is sucked to enable ink in the ink container10to flow into the ink cartridge2and air is not replenished into the ink container10in time. As the ink container10is communicated with the ink cartridge2, there is also negative pressure in the ink cartridge2at the time. Therefore, outside air can be replenished into the ink container10under the action of the negative pressure when the cover component14is opened, and meanwhile the air can be also replenished into the ink cartridge2. To be specific, as illustrated inFIG. 4f, the air can be replenished into the negative-pressure cavity21through the air inlet23, and redundant ink in the sponge211and the cotton core221can flow into the ink container10at the time due to the matter balance principle, so that the sponge211and the cotton core221are in the unsaturated state, thus the ink dropping phenomenon cannot occur when the ink cartridge2is taken off.

For the purpose of reducing the cost of additional purchase of the opening tool and achieving simpler operation, the “opening” function is added in the embodiment on the basis of the embodiment 1.FIG. 5is a schematic diagram of the ink cartridge refilling device, in the opened state, of the embodiment. Same components in the embodiment have same symbols with those in the embodiment 1.

As illustrated inFIG. 5, a mandrel17used for removing a steel ball for sealing the ink injection opening24is arranged at the through hole146of the cover component14; a concave face which is engaged with the steel ball of the ink injection opening24is arranged at the top of the mandrel17; a plurality of linear grooves at different lengths are arranged on the side face of the mandrel17, so that the concave face and the side face of the mandrel17are combined to form an edge provided with a plurality of blade parts. In the embodiment, the mandrel17is arranged to be movable, and to be specific, arranged to be able to slide back and forth on the cover component14, namely the mandrel17can slide back and forth at the opening position and the non-opening position. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the mandrel17can also be arranged to be able to be removed from the cover component14. That is to say, firstly, the mandrel17is taken off after the opening action is completed; secondly, a refilling tool is utilized for ink refilling; and thirdly, the mandrel17is reset after the ink refilling.

Other structures of the ink cartridge refilling device in the embodiment are similar to those in the embodiment 1 and are not explained in detail here.

The process of refilling the ink cartridge by utilizing the ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment is described as follows:

(1) Placing the ink cartridge refilling device1on a plane; assembling the ink cartridge2into the ink cartridge refilling device1, wherein the first engagement section251, the second engagement section26, the concave section28, etc. of the ink cartridge2are all engaged with corresponding members on the positioning mechanism15, the ink outlet22is connected with the outlet end111of the ink injection channel11, and herein the mandrel is at the opening position; rotating the cover component14clockwise to enable the mandrel17to be engaged with the steel ball in the ink injection opening24; pressing down the cover component14forcibly from the free end148, so that the steel ball in the ink injection opening24can be extruded into the ink cartridge2by the mandrel17, thus the ink injection opening24is opened; enabling the mandrel17to slide to the non-opening position, namely a position deviated from a position corresponding to the ink injection opening24; and assembling a rubber plug18into the ink injection opening24.

(2) Enabling the cover component14and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism15to be clamped with each other, so that the convex section141and the elastic sleeve142of the cover component14lean against a cartridge cover of the ink cartridge2to seal the air inlet23while the air inlet channel12is sealed by the extended section143and the sealing element144of the cover component14. Herein, a closed space is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink cartridge refilling device1which are combined into an ink cartridge refilling system.

(3) Inserting the prepared aspirator13into the ink injection opening24; pulling up the piston132, so that air in the ink cartridge2can flow into the aspirator13. Herein, the pressure in the ink cartridge2becomes low and certain negative pressure is formed in the ink cartridge2, namely pressure difference is formed between the ink cartridge2and the ink container10. The self-closing slot of the gasket113is opened under the action of the pressure difference, and the ink in the ink container10flows into the ink cartridge2under the action of the pressure difference. Herein, the air inlet channel12is maintained to be in the closed state while the ink cartridge2is still in the sealed state.

(4) Taking off the aspirator13when the ink cartridge2is filled with ink, so that the cover component14is detached from the positioning mechanism15; rotating the cover component14counterclockwise, so that the ink cartridge refilling device1and the ink cartridge2are converted to an opened space from the closed space. Therefore, the air inlet channel12is opened, and air is replenished into the ink container10through the air inlet end121and the air outlet end122; and the sealing of the ink cartridge2is canceled, and air is replenished into the ink cartridge2through the air inlet23. Herein, the ink cartridge2and the ink container10achieve the pressure balance, and the self-closing slot of the gasket113is closed.

(5) Taking off the ink cartridge2; rotating the cover component14to be engaged with the positioning mechanism15again; and sealing the air inlet channel12again, so that the ink cartridge refilling device1is hermetically placed.

For the purpose of guaranteeing that the air inlet channel is opened first and then the sealing of the ink cartridge is canceled during the refilling, a delay action component is added in the embodiment on the basis of the embodiments 1 and 2 and used for guaranteeing that the air inlet channel is opened by the second sealing section while the ink cartridge to be refilled is still sealed by the first sealing section.

Preferably, the delay action component is an elastic component which is engaged with the first sealing section. As illustrated inFIG. 6, the elastic component in the embodiment is a spiral spring19. Obviously, by adoption of the ink cartridge refilling device with the above structure, during the ink refilling, namely when the cover component14performs clockwise rotation around a shaft, the spring19is compressed to produce a compressive force to drive the first sealing section to be closely engaged with the air inlet23. After the ink refilling, namely when the cover component14performs counterclockwise rotation around the shaft, the first sealing section is still in the state of sealing the air inlet23when the second sealing section is driven to open the air inlet channel12due to the application of the compressive force and can only be detached from the air inlet23when the compressive force is canceled after the cover component14is rotated to a certain angle and the spring19moves upwards along with the movement of the cover component14. By adoption of the structure, when the sealing of the ink cartridge is canceled, there is still certain negative pressure in the ink cartridge2but the negative pressure is not large, so that the sponge211and the cotton core221can have more ink and can be guaranteed to be not in the supersaturated state, thus the ink dropping phenomenon can be prevented. Moreover, the first sealing section illustrated in the above process can be the first elastic pad, can be the convex section and the elastic sleeve, and can also be other similar sealing components. The structure of the first sealing section is numerous and is not explained in detail here.

Other structures of the embodiment are similar to those of the embodiment 1 or 2 and are not explained in detail here.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the ink cartridge can also be an ink cartridge without an ink storage cavity and only with a sponge, namely the refilling device and the refilling method are also applicable to the ink cartridge for refilling.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the extended clamp hook(s) can be one or more than two and the position and the number of the clamping grooves correspond to those of the extended clamp hook(s).

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the cover component can also perform up-and-down parallel movement relative to the ink cartridge positioning mechanism, and herein the cover component and the ink cartridge positioning mechanism can also be connected with each other through the engagement of the extended clamp hooks and the clamping grooves.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the sealing and opening actions of the first sealing section and the second sealing section on the cover component can be performed at the same time, namely the opening of the air inlet channel and the canceling of the sealing of the ink cartridge after the ink refilling can be carried out at the same time. But in the case, more redundant ink in the sponge can flow back to the ink container compared with the embodiment 1 or 2, and the ink dropping phenomenon can also be prevented.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the ink cartridge refilling device can also be made of non-transparent materials. If so, it can be determined that the ink cartridge is filled with ink when there is ink in the aspirator during the ink refilling, and a user only needs to enable redundant ink in the aspirator to be refilled into the ink container again after the ink refilling.

In summary, by adoption of the technical proposal, the ink container and the ink cartridge are driven to be in the pressure unbalance state during the ink refilling and be in the pressure balance state after the ink refilling, namely the refilling of ink into the ink cartridge and the replenishing of air into the ink container are not performed at the same time, thus redundant ink in the sponge and the cotton core in the ink cartridge can be removed, consequently the ink dropping phenomenon can be prevented.

The embodiments are only used for describing the technical proposal of the invention. It should be noted that various deformations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art on the premise of not deviating from the concept of the invention and are all within the scope of protection of the invention.