Abstract:
The present invention is directed to an ink supply device having an ink cartridge and a cartridge mount. The ink cartridge has an ink supply portion and an air intake portion. The cartridge mount has a first projection and a second projection. When the ink cartridge is inserted into the cartridge mount, the first projection opens the ink supply portion, and the second projection opens the air intake portion. The second projection has an operating piece, a guide path for receiving the operating piece, and a spring for exerting force on the operating piece. The second projection contacts the air supply portion prior to the first projection contacting the ink supply portion, and the guide path receives the operating piece after the second projection contacts the air supply portion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present invention claims priority from Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-2006-354697, which was filed on Dec. 28, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an ink supply device capable of removably mounting an ink cartridge and, more specifically, to an ink supply device capable of performing a reliable ink supply operation from the ink cartridge when the mounted ink cartridge is opened to the outside atmosphere. The present invention also pertains to an inkjet image recording device having the above-described ink supply device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In general, a known inkjet recording device records an image on a conveyed recording medium by ejecting ink drops from a recording head mounted on a carriage. The carriage is movable in a main scan direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance. Ink is stored in advance in a removable cartridge type ink tank, e.g., an ink cartridge, and supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head. Ink cartridges are generally divided broadly into on-carriage types and off-carriage types, depending on the installation position of the cartridge in the inkjet recording device. The on-carriage type has a case having a mounting portion for removably mounting an ink cartridge provided on a carriage which is movable, as described above. Ink is supplied from the ink cartridge, mounted, and held within the mounting portion of the case to a recording head. In contrast, the off-carriage type has a case having a mounting portion for removably mounting an ink cartridge provided in a housing of an inkjet recording device at a location other than the movable carriage. Ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to a recording head through an ink supply tube. 
     Typically, in the known ink cartridge, if gas is dissolved in the ink to be supplied to the ink reservoir, the gas in the ink forms bubbles in the recording head. These bubbles may cause the nozzles to clog during recording, which may deteriorate printing performance. In order to prevent this, ink is supplied to the ink reservoir in a deaerated state. To maintain this state, the inside of the ink reservoir is maintained in a negative, or reduced below atmospheric, pressure state. 
     In both the known on-carriage type and the known off-carriage type, when the ink cartridge is set within the mounting portion, if the ink supply valve is opened first, air and ink accumulated in the mounting portion flows back to the ink reservoir, because the inside of the ink reservoir is in a negative pressure state. This may cause meniscus formed at a nozzle of the recording head to break. Known inkjet printer systems include an ink cartridge and a mounting portion provided in a housing. In known inkjet printer systems, the ink cartridge includes an ink reservoir, an ink supply valve for supplying ink, and an air communication recess covered with a sealing film to be torn for communication of the ink reservoir with the atmospheric air. Known inkjet printer systems feature an air communication protrusion for tearing the sealing film, or a hollow air intake for pushing the air communication valve to open it to the atmospheric air, and an ink intake to be connected to the ink supply valve for drawing out ink from the ink reservoir. In known inkjet printer systems, these are installed on the base portion of the mounting portion, upright, parallel, and extending in a direction opposite to the insertion direction of the ink cartridge. In known inkjet printer systems, the air communication protrusion is larger than that of the ink intake, such that the ink cartridge is opened to the atmospheric air before ink starts to flow from the ink cartridge. 
     Nevertheless, in this known inkjet system, the difference in protrusion amount between the air communication protrusion or the air intake and the ink intake may be small, which may lead to complications in operation. If the operation speed for inserting the ink cartridge into the mounting portion is rapid, the time between the introduction of air into the air communication valve and the connection of the ink intake to the ink supply valve becomes substantially zero, because there is little time difference therebetween. Thereupon, although the ink reservoir is still in a negative pressure state, the ink supply valve is opened, and as described above, air or ink accumulated in the mounting portion flows back into the ink reservoir. This may cause a breakage of the meniscus in the nozzle of the recording head and degrade printing performance. 
     Further, in a known inkjet system, if the ink cartridge is inserted at an angle with respect to the mounting portion, the connection of the ink intake to the ink supply valve may be established before opening of the air communication portion, so that the ink reservoir is may be placed in a negative pressure state. Thereupon, under an affection of the negative pressure within the ink cartridge, ink in the recording head flows back into the ink cartridge via the ink supply valve, and the meniscus in the nozzle of the recording head may be broken. This may result in a large amount of air being accumulated within the recording head, which may cause a defective ink supply operation. 
     For the purpose of solving the above-described problems, if an air communication protrusion is lengthened to increase the protrusion amount thereof, the air communication protrusion may be deformed or broken when the ink cartridge is inserted with the posture inclined, or if the ink cartridge is accidentally dropped. Furthermore, if the air communication protrusion is lengthened, the ink cartridge is required to have a large space for accommodating the long air communication protrusion when the ink cartridge is mounted on the mounting portion. As a result, because the size of the ink cartridge itself may increase, the size of the ink supply also may increase, or the capacity to store ink in the ink cartridge may decrease. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink supply device and an inkjet image recording device including an ink supply device, in which a reliable ink supply operation is performed by bringing a pressure inside an ink cartridge close to the atmospheric pressure before the ink supply is started, regardless of the mounting speed of the ink cartridge. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, an ink supply device comprises an ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge comprises an ink supply portion configured to supply ink from an interior of an ink chamber to an exterior of the ink chamber via an ink supply opening formed therethrough, an air intake portion configured to draw air from the exterior of the ink chamber into the interior of the ink chamber via an air intake opening formed therethrough, and a main body comprising a cartridge mount configured to removably receive the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is inserted in an insertion direction. The cartridge mount comprises a first projecting member configured to open the ink supply opening, and a second projecting member configured to removably receive the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is inserted in an insertion direction. The second projecting member comprises an operating body, a guide member configured to receive the operating body therein, and an urging member configured to urge the operating body away from the guide member in a direction opposite the insertion direction, wherein the operating body is configured to open the air intake opening and to move in the insertion direction into the guide member after opening the air intake opening. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention, the needs satisfied thereby, and the features and technical advantages thereof, reference now is made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a multi-function device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a recording unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a cartridge mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional side view illustrating the positional relationship among an air communication valve, an operating piece, and an operating body when an ink cartridge is first inserted into a mounting case, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional side view illustrating the positional relationship among the air communication valve, the operating piece, and the operating body when the air communication valve is open to the outside atmosphere, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional side view showing the positional relationship among the air communication valve, the operating piece, the operating body, an ink supply valve, and an ink intake when ink is being supplied, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the image recording device may be a multi-function device (“MFD”). The multi-function device may include one or more of a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The multi-function device may be connected to a computer (not shown), and may record an image or text on a recording medium, e.g., a recording sheet. The image or text may be based mainly on image data or text data transmitted from the computer. The multi-function device also may be connected to external equipment, e.g., a digital camera or other image capturing devices, to thereby record image data outputted from the external equipment onto a recording medium. 
       FIG. 1  shows a printer, e.g., a recording unit  7 , which may be provided at a lower portion of a device casing  2 . Device casing  2  may be constructed from any suitable material, e.g., a synthetic resin. On the bottom of device casing  2 , a sheet cassette may be provided in a mounting space, e.g., a sheet cassette mount. The sheet cassette may be substantially horizontally oriented, and may be capable of being inserted into and removed from an insertion port, which may be opened at a front side of device casing  2 . An image reader (not shown) which may read documents in certain printer functions, e.g., the copy function or facsimile function, may be arranged on an upper portion of the device casing  2 . An operation panel (not shown), which may include various operation buttons and/or a liquid crystal display, may be positioned on the upper side of device casing  2 , in front of the image reader. 
     A cartridge mounting device  15 , described in more detail further herein, may be incorporated on the front right side of device casing  2 . At the front end of device casing  2 , the front of cartridge mounting device  15  may be covered by a lid member  2   b . Lid member  2   b  may be opened and closed by being turned upward and downward, respectively, via a hinge at its lower end. 
     Recording media, e.g., sheets, may be stacked in the sheet cassette, and may be separately conveyed one after another, by one or both of a feed roller (not shown) and an inclined separation plate (not shown). A separated sheet P may be fed to a recording unit  7 , provided behind and above the sheet cassette via a paper-feeding path extending upwardly and horizontally. The paper-feeding path may be U-turn shaped. Recording unit  7  also may include a movable carriage  5  equipped with an inkjet recording head  4  for implementing the printer function. Movable carriage  5  may move in a reciprocating motion. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , recording unit  7  may be supported by a pair of plates, right side plate  21   a , and left side plate  21   b , of a main frame  21 . Main frame  21  may have a box shape, with an opening at its upper face. A first guide member  22  and a second guide member  23  each may have a plate shape, with a width direction longer than a length direction, and may extend in the X-axis direction (main scanning direction). A carriage  5  may slidably move in a reciprocating motion over the guide members  22  and  23 . A timing belt  25 , which may be configured to loop around repeatedly, e.g., as an endless belt, may be wound around a pulley and may be located substantially at an upper surface of second guide member  23 , in parallel to the upper surface. A carriage (CR) motor  24  may drive timing belt  25 , which may cause carriage  5 , equipped with the recording head  4 , to reciprocate. Although in this embodiment, carriage motor  24  may be a DC motor, other motors, e.g., a stepping motor, may be used in other embodiments. A plate-shaped platen  26  may support sheet P while sheet P is conveyed at a lower face side of recording head  4 . A tape scale (not shown), which is a component of an optical linear encoder for detecting the position and movement speed of the carriage  5  in the X-axis direction (main scanning direction), may be arranged to extend along the main scanning direction. 
     An ink receiver  29  and a maintenance unit  30  may be positioned outside the width, e.g., the short side, of sheet P to be conveyed. Ink receiver  29  may be located at one end of sheet P, e.g., at a region close to left side plate  21   a  in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Maintenance unit  30  may be located at the other end of sheet P, e.g., at a region close to right side plate  21   b  in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Recording head  4  regularly may discharge ink at a flushing position provided at the ink receiver  29 , in order to prevent nozzle clogging during a recording operation. Ink receiver  29  may receive the discharged ink. When recording head  4  moves into a standby position, maintenance unit  30  may perform recovery processes for recording head  4 , by selectively drawing in ink of each color, and by removing bubbles in a buffer tank (not shown) on recording head  4 . Maintenance unit  30  also may include a wiper (not shown) provided to clean the nozzle face of recording head  4  when carriage  5  is moved from maintenance unit  30  to an image recording region. 
     Cartridge mounting device  15  may include a mounting case  60 , described in more detail further herein, capable of mounting one or more ink cartridges  40 . In an embodiment of the invention, ink cartridges  40  are mounted in a line, e.g., along the X-axis direction. Ink cartridges  40  may store a plurality of, e.g., four, colors of inks for full-color recording. Each of ink cartridges  40  may stores one of the inks of a plurality of, e.g., four, colors, e.g., black (BK), cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y). Each ink cartridge further may have an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and may have a small area in plan view plane, and a large height. Cartridge mounting device  15  may include doors  61  configured for opening and closing openings at the front of the mounting case  15 . Doors  61  may be opened to allow ink cartridges  60  to be removably inserted into mounting case  60 . 
     Ink cartridges  40  each may include a cartridge body  41 , which may comprise any appropriate material, e.g., a synthetic resin, and ink may be contained in the cartridge body  41 . In an embodiment, cartridge mounting device  15  may be configured to accommodate four ink cartridges  40 , e.g., inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors may be stored in respective ink cartridges  40 . However, regarding the structures of respective ink cartridges  40 , the ink cartridge for storing black ink may be slightly larger in the thickness direction, e.g., the right to left direction when viewing the ink cartridges as shown in  FIG. 3 , than the other ink cartridges. Ink cartridges  40  for storing color inks other than the black color ink all may have substantially the same structure. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , cartridge body  41  may have a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and an ink accommodating space may be defined therein. Cartridge body  41  may include a frame  41   a  having reinforcing ribs provided on its inner periphery, and also may include an ink chamber  42  serving as an ink reservoir. Ink chamber  42  may be enclosed by films (not shown) that are bonded to opposing wide faces of frame  41   a , in parallel to the wide faces. Frame  41   a  and ink chamber  42  may be enclosed by a pair of tray-shaped members, which may be joined with each other by an appropriate fixing method, e.g., welding. 
     An air communication valve  46  and an ink supply valve  45  may be arranged in the cartridge body  41 , and may be in fluid communication with ink chamber  42 . An air inlet  49  may be configured to be in fluid communication with the air communication valve, and an ink supply port  47  may be configured to be in fluid communication with the ink supply valve. Both air inlet  49  and ink supply port  47  may be conical holes that may be open in an end face of frame  41   a . That end face may be located on the downstream side in the insertion direction of ink cartridge  40  to mounting case  60 . Air inlet  49  may open in a direction which faces the deep rear face of mounting case  60 , at a position higher than the ink supply port  47 . This configuration may allow air to accumulate in ink chamber  42  at a position that is distant from and higher than ink supply valve  45 , when air communication valve  46  is opened. 
     A valve body  45   a , a valve holding frame  45   b , and a substantially conical-shaped elastic member  45   c  of the ink supply valve  45  may be arranged in a valve chamber configured to be in fluid communication with ink supply port  47 , and also may be arranged in a line, so as to be capable of moving forward and backward. Upon setting ink cartridge  40  into mounting case  60 , valve holding frame  45   b  may be pushed by ink intake  63  that protrudes from a connecting body  62 , which will be described in more detail further herein. Valve body  45   a  may be urged by an urging force of the elastic member  45   c . As a result of ink intake  63  pushing valve holding frame  45   b , valve body  45   a  may move against the urging force of elastic member  45   c , and may depart from a valve seat. Elastic member  45   c  may be made of any suitable material, e.g., rubber. The valve seat may be an inner end face of a member  47   b  defining the ink supply port  47 , and when member  47   b  is opened, ink in ink chamber  42  may be supplied to the recording head via ink intake  63 . A cylindrical cap  47   a  protrudes outward from ink supply port  47 . 
     A valve body  46   a , a valve holding frame  46   b , and a substantially conical-shaped elastic member  46   c  of air communication valve  46  are arranged in an air intake chamber  50  configured to be in fluid communication with air inlet  49 , and also may be arranged in a line, so as to be capable of moving forward and backward. A round shaft-shaped operating piece  51  may be formed integrally with the valve body  46   a , such that operating piece  51  may protrude outward from air inlet  49 . A valve seat for the valve body  46   a  may be provided on an inner end face of a member  49   b  defining the air inlet  49 . Operating piece  51  of air communication valve  46  may protrude sideways, e.g., substantially horizontally, in parallel to the insertion direction of ink cartridge  40 . 
     Arcuate guide ribs  64  may be formed in parallel to the insertion direction of the ink cartridge  40 , and may protrude outward from the surface of mounting case  60  towards ink cartridge  40 . Arcuate guide ribs may be provided at a lower side of the surface of a vertical plate  62   a  of connecting body  62  of mounting case  60 , at a position corresponding to the height of the cap  47   a  of the ink supply valve  45 . Arcuate ribs  64  may be fitted to the outer periphery of cap  47   a  and may guide the ink cartridge  40  during insertion. When ink cartridge  40  is set in an ink cartridge mount of mounting case  60 , a cylindrical ink intake  63  provided at the deep rear face of the mounting case  60  may be connected to ink supply valve  45   
     The ink in ink cartridge  40  may be supplied to recording head  4  via ink intake  63  and ink tube  20 . A detected portion  43   a  may be provided at the back face of the cartridge body  41 , and may be used for detecting the ink level in ink cartridge  40 . Detected member  43  moves in an upward or downward direction based on the amount of ink remaining in ink cartridge  40 . An ink level sensor, e.g., a photo interrupter, may be provided at connecting body  62  for constant monitoring of the ink liquid level. When ink cartridge  40  is set in the cartridge mount of the mounting case  60 , ink level sensor  65  may be aligned in close proximity to ink cartridge  60 , and may detect the presence or absence of detected portion  43   a  of detected body  43 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  6 , an operating member  66  for opening air communication valve  46  may be provided in connecting body  62 , and mounted to the rear end of mounting case  60 , at a position corresponding to the height of operating piece  51  of air communication valve  46  in a corresponding ink cartridge  40 . 
     When ink cartridge  40  is inserted into cartridge mount  40 , operating member  66  may be configured such that the air communication valve  46  is opened at a time earlier than the time at which ink supply valve  45  begins supplying ink toward the direction of ink intake  63 . Operating member  66  may include an operating body  67 , a guide path, e.g., a cylindrical guide chamber  68 , and a compression coil spring  69  disposed in the guide path  68 . Operating body  67  may function to abut against operating piece  51  of air communication valve  46  to open the air communication valve  46 . Guide path  68  may be configured to accommodate operating body  67  therein, and to allow operating body  67  to move forward and backward. Compression coil spring  69  may serve as an urging member for urging operating body  67  in the valve-opening direction. 
     In a state where ink cartridge  40  is not located in the mounting case  60 , an urging force of compressive coil spring  69  may urge operating body  67 , which may cause operating body  69  to protrude outward towards the open face of mounting case  60  by a distance L. When pushed, operating body  67  may be capable of moving distance L along the guide path  68  towards connecting body  62 . The urging force of compressive coil spring  69  may be configured to be larger than the elastic force of elastic member  46   c , e.g., i.e., the valve-closing force of valve body  46   a , of air communication valve  46 . Therefore, in an embodiment of the invention, air communication valve  46  may be opened before operating body  67  begins moving. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , when ink cartridge  40  is inserted into the mounting case  60 , and the rear end face of operating piece  51  abuts front end face  67   a  of operating body  67 , air communication valve  46  may be in an opening start position. In this state, ink intake  63  may not have been fitted into cap  47   a , and the tip of ink intake  63  may be located apart from valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45  by a distance L 1 . In an embodiment of the invention, distance L 1  may be greater than distance L. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 5 , when ink cartridge  40  may be further inserted into mounting case  60 , operating piece  51  may push against the elastic force of the elastic member  46   c , and may push valve body  46   a  into the valve-opening state. After the valve body  46   a  has been opened and elastic member  46  has been compressed by a distance L 2 , e.g., elastic member  46  is in a fully compressed state, the operating body  67  may start moving in a direction away from ink cartridge  40 , against the urging force of compressive coil spring  69 . When valve body  46   a  is opened, the tip of ink intake  63  has been inserted into the cap  47   a , but ink intake  63  may not have reached valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45 . When valve body  46   a  is opened within a short time after contact is made between operating piece  51  and operating body  67 , air from outside the ink chamber may be introduced into ink chamber  42  of ink cartridge  40 , and the pressure in ink chamber  42  may approach or become equal to the exterior atmospheric pressure. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when ink cartridge  40  is still further inserted into mounting case  60 , operating body  67  of operating member  66  moves still further in a direction away from ink cartridge  40 , and may contact the rear end of guide path  68 . When operating body  67  contacts the rear end of guide path  68 , operating body  67  cannot move any further. Additionally, in this state, operating body  67  keeps the valve body open. By the time operating member  67  has finished moving in a direction away from ink cartridge  40 , ink intake  63  has pushed valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45 , which may open ink supply valve  45 . Thereby, the ink in ink cartridge  40  may begin flowing to inkjet recording head  4  via ink tube  20 , which may be connected to a connection portion of ink intake  63 . 
     As described above, because distance L 1  may be set to be larger than distance L (L&lt;L 1 ), a sufficient time lag may be occur after valve body  46   a  of air communication valve  46  has been opened, and before valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45  is opened. In addition, even when operating piece  51  pushes operating body  67  and moves the operating body  67  by the entire distance L before valve body  46   a  of air communication valve  46  is opened, valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45  may not be opened, either. Furthermore, the distance L 1  may be configured to be smaller than the total of the distance L and the distance L 2  (L 1 &lt;L+L 2 ). Therefore, valve body  45   a  of ink supply valve  45  may be opened by the time elastic member  46   c  reaches a state of complete compression, and operating body  67  may move the complete distance after valve body  46   a  of air communication valve  46  has been opened. 
     Thus, ink flow from the ink chamber  42  to the ink intake  63  may begin with a sufficient time lapse after ink chamber  42  is placed in fluid communication with the air from outside the ink chamber. In an embodiment, as described above, the operating body  67  begins moving after the opening of valve body  45   a  and the complete compression of elastic member  46   c . Nevertheless, in other embodiments, operating body  67  may begin moving while opening valve body  45   a.    
     Air communication valve  46  may remain open in a state in which ink chamber  42  begins to supply ink from ink chamber  42  of ink cartridge  40  in the direction of ink intake  63 , via ink supply valve  45 . When such a construction of operating member  66  is used, operating body  67  may be pressed by compressive coil spring  69  serving as an urging member. In this embodiment, an operation for pushing in ink cartridge  40  against the pressing force may be required. Therefore, a user may not insert ink cartridge  40  into mounting case  60  at an excessive speed. This produces a significant effect of reliably reducing the likelihood that ink supply valve  45  is opened with ink chamber  42  in a negative pressure state. 
     If the user applies too much force when inserting ink cartridge  40  into the mounting case  60 , ink supply valve  45  may be opened with the ink chamber  42  being in a negative pressure state, or with the ink chamber  42  not yet sufficiently returned to the atmospheric pressure. In an embodiment, the pressure in ink chamber  42  may be maintained at the atmospheric pressure while preventing the evaporation of the ink in the ink chamber  42 . In ink cartridge  40 , ink that contains bubbles may exist in an air communication passage  48 , which may be a minute space allowing air communication valve  46  to be in fluid communication with ink chamber  42  of ink cartridge  40 . In such an embodiment, even if air communication valve  46  is opened, a negative pressure in the ink chamber  42  may approach the atmospheric pressure only in a gradual manner. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the mounting case  60  may include a bottom plate  80 , a pair of side plates  81 , installed upright on both right and left sides of bottom plate  80 , a top plate  82 , arranged so as to bridge the side plates  81 , and a rear plate  79  provided adjacent to the top plate  82 , to connect the right and left side plates  81 . Moreover, mounting case  60  may have a front opening, and may have walls therein which may define cartridge mounts, and each cartridge mount may be suitable for mounting and holding an ink cartridge  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , at the front opening of mounting case  60 , doors  61  may each correspond to one of the cartridge mounts, and ink cartridges  40  each may be inserted and removed from a respective cartridge mount, from the front side through the front opening. Door  61  may be made of any suitable material, e.g., a synthetic resin, and may be rotatable upward and downward, via a horizontal shaft formed at its lower end, on a front lower end of mounting case  60 . Door  61  may include a holding member  90 , a lock member  91 , and an unlock lever  92 , each of which may be constructed of any suitable material, e.g., a resin. As shown in  FIG. 3 , door  61  may be configured to change between a closed position for closing the front opening and an open position for opening the front opening. When door  61  is in the closed position, ink cartridge  40  may be reliably held in the cartridge mount. When door  61  takes the opening position, ink cartridge  40  may be easily inserted into and removed from the cartridge mount. During shipment and use, ink supply valve  45  and ink intake  63  may be hermetically sealed with each other. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the opening of mounting case  60  of cartridge mounting device  15  may be provided on the top of mounting case  60 , to open upward, and ink intake  63  may be provided on the bottom of mounting case  60 . In this case, ink cartridge  40 , with the above-described construction, may be inserted from above, and operating member  66  may be provided at the bottom of mounting case  60 . Further, the present invention may be applied to both off-carriage and on-carriage types of ink supply devices. While the invention has been described in connection with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications of the exemplary embodiments described above may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the specification or practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and the described examples are considered merely as exemplary of the invention, with the true scope of the invention being indicated by the following claims.