Patent Publication Number: US-2022234348-A1

Title: Ink heating device, inkjet recording apparatus, ink supply apparatus, and image forming system

Description:
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-011109 filed on Jan. 27, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to an ink heating device, an inkjet recording apparatus, an ink supply apparatus, and an image forming system. 
     The inkjet recording apparatus includes a detachable ink container. The ink container includes an ink pack filled with ink and a case that houses the ink pack. The ink pack is formed in a bag shape using a film-like material, and includes a spout for supplying ink to the outside. The case includes a rectangular parallelepiped main body and an opening to which the spout is fixed. 
     SUMMARY 
     An ink heating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an ink container including an ink pack filled with ink and a case housing the ink pack and having a first opening and a second opening and a blower that sends warm air into the case through one of the first opening and the second opening, and discharges the warm air through the other of the first opening and the second opening. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram schematically illustrating an ink supply path according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an ink pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an ink container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along line I-I of the ink container shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along line II-II of the ink container shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a container mounting portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a container mounting portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the container mounting portion. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating a flow of warm air inside an ink heating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view illustrating a flow of warm air inside an ink container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 13  is an I-I sectional view of an ink container according to a first modification of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an ink heating device according to a second modification of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 15  is a diagram schematically illustrating an ink supply path of an image forming system  100  according to a third modification of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 16  is a plan view schematically illustrating an ink heating device according to the third modification of the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, a printer  1  (an inkjet recording apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 
     First, the overall configuration of the printer  1  will be described.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printer  1 .  FIG. 2  is a front view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of the printer  1 .  FIG. 3  is a diagram schematically illustrating an ink supply path. Hereinafter, the front side of the paper in  FIG. 2  will be referred to as the front side of the printer  1 , and the left and right directions will be described based on the direction in which the printer  1  is viewed from the front side. In each figure, U, Lo, L, R, Fr, Rr indicates up, down, left, right, front, and back, respectively. 
     The printer  1  is an inkjet type image forming apparatus that forms an image by discharging ink. The printer  1  includes a main body housing  3  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. In a lower interior portion of the main body housing  3 , there are provided a sheet feeding cassette  4  in which sheet shaped paper S such as plain paper or coated paper is accommodated, and a sheet feeding roller  5  that feeds the sheet S from the sheet feeding cassette  4 . A conveyance unit  7  that adsorbs and conveys the sheet S is provided above the sheet feeding cassette  4 . An image forming unit  6  of an inkjet system is provided above the conveyance unit  7 . A discharge roller pair  8  that discharges the sheet S on which an image has been formed and a discharge tray  9  on which the discharged sheet S is stacked are provided at an upper right portion of the main body housing  3 . 
     The conveyance unit  7  includes an endless conveyance belt  21  provided with a large number of ventilation holes (not illustrated in the drawings) and wound around a plurality of rollers  22   a  to  22   e , a conveyance plate  23  provided with a large number of ventilation holes and having an upper surface in contact with an inner surface of the conveyance belt  21 , and a suction unit  24  that adsorbs air through the ventilation holes of the conveyance plate  23  to attract the sheet S to the conveyance belt  21 . When the roller  22   a  is driven by a driving unit (not illustrated) such as a motor, the conveyance belt  21  rotates counterclockwise in  FIG. 2 , and the sheet S attracted to the conveyance belt  21  is conveyed in the Y direction. 
     The image forming unit  6  includes head units  11 Y,  11 Bk,  11 C,  11 M (collectively referred to as head units  11 ), and discharges yellow, black, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively. Ink containers  20 Y,  20 Bk,  20 C,  20 M (collectively referred to as ink containers  20 ) respectively filled with yellow, black, cyan, and magenta inks are connected to the head units  11 Y,  11 Bk,  11 C,  11 M. 
     The head unit  11  includes one or more inkjet heads, for example, a plurality of inkjet heads arranged in a staggered manner (not illustrated). The inkjet head includes a housing having a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction, and a nozzle plate provided on a bottom portion of the housing. The nozzle plate includes a large number of nozzles arranged in the front-rear direction (the width direction of the conveyance belt  21  intersecting the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt  21 ), and discharge ports of the nozzles are provided on a lower surface (nozzle surface) of the nozzle plate. Each nozzle is provided with a piezoelectric element, and a drive circuit for driving the piezoelectric element is provided inside the housing. 
     The printer  1  includes an ink supply path shown in  FIG. 3 . In the drawing, a supply path corresponding to one color of ink is shown, but in the present embodiment, since four colors of ink are used, four systems of similar supply paths are provided. The printer  1  includes a container mounting portion  51  on which the ink container  20  is mounted, a filter  52  that filters ink, a pump  53  that sucks ink from the ink container  20  via the filter  52 , a sub tank  54  that stores ink sent from the pump  53 , and a pump  55  that supplies ink stored in the sub tank  54  to the head unit  11 . The pump  55  is connected to a socket provided in the inkjet head. 
     A conveyance path  10  extending from the sheet feeding cassette  4  to the discharge tray  9  via the conveyance unit  7  is provided inside the main body housing  3 . A plurality of conveyance roller pairs  17  for conveying the sheet S are provided in the conveyance path  10 . A registration roller pair  18  is provided upstream of the image forming unit  6  in the conveying direction. 
     Each unit of the printer  1  is controlled by the controller  2 . The controller  2  includes a processor and a memory. The processor may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). 
     The memory includes a storage medium such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory) or EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The processor performs various processes by reading and executing the control program stored in the memory. The controller  2  may be realized by an integrated circuit that does not use software. 
     A basic image forming operation of the printer  1  is as follows. When an image forming job is input to the printer  1  from an external computer or the like, the sheet feeding roller  5  feeds the sheet S from the sheet feeding cassette  4  to the conveyance path  10 , and the registration roller pair  18  whose rotation is stopped corrects the skew of the sheet S. When the registration roller pair  18  feeds the sheet S to the conveyance unit  7  at a predetermined timing, the conveyance unit  7  adsorbs the sheet S onto the conveyance belt  21  and conveys the sheet S in the Y direction. When the controller  2  supplies gradation data corresponding to each nozzle of the inkjet head to the drive circuit in synchronization with the conveyance of the sheet S, the drive circuit supplies a drive signal corresponding to the gradation data to the piezoelectric element, whereby ink droplets are discharged from the nozzle and an image is formed on the sheet S. The discharge roller pair  8  discharges the sheet S on which an image is formed to a discharge tray  9 . 
     Next, the ink heating device  60  will be described.  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an ink pack  31 .  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the ink container  20 .  FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along line I-I of the ink container  20  shown in  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along line II-II of the ink container  20  shown in  FIG. 5 .  FIGS. 8 and 9  are perspective views of the container mounting portion  51 .  FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the container mounting portion  51 . 
     The printer  1  includes the ink heating device  60  that heats ink, and an image forming unit  6  that forms an image by discharging ink supplied from the ink heating device  60 . The ink heating device  60  includes an ink container  20  provided with an ink pack  31  filled with ink and a case  32  having a first opening  41  and a second opening  42  and housing the ink pack  31 , and a blower  63  for sending warm air into the case  32  through one of the first opening  41  and the second opening  42 , and the warm air is discharged through the other of the first opening  41  and the second opening  42 . Although the present embodiment is an example in which the present disclosure is applied to the ink heating device  60  including four sets of the ink containers  20  and the container mounting portions  51 , the present disclosure may be applied to the ink heating device  60  including one set, two sets, three sets, or five or more sets of the ink containers  20  and the container mounting portions  51 . 
     [Ink Container] 
     The ink container  20  is attached to the container mounting portion  51  by being pushed in from the front side, and is detached from the container mounting portion  51  by being pulled out to the front side. Hereinafter, the mounting direction of the ink container  20  is a direction from the front to the rear. 
     [Ink Pack] 
     The ink pack  31  (see  FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 ) is, for example, a container whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction, and is formed of a film in which resin and metal are laminated. Examples of the resin include polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, and the like. The metal is, for example, aluminum. The ink pack  31  is formed by joining edges of a pair of upper and lower films and a pair of left and right films, and is formed in a gusseted bag shape. The joining of the films is performed by welding, adhesion, or the like. A spout  33  that supplies ink to the outside is provided at a rear end portion of the ink pack  31  (an example of an end portion on the far side in the mounting direction of the ink container  20  to the container mounting portion  51 ). The spout  33  is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is provided with a valve  33 V that prevents outflow of ink when the ink container  20  is not attached to the container mounting portion  51 . 
     [Case] 
     The case  32  (see  FIGS. 5 to 7 ) is a box-shaped container whose dimensions in the up-down direction, the left-right direction, and the front-rear direction are larger than those of the ink pack  31 . The case  32  includes a case main body portion  32 B that occupies most of the case  32  in the front-rear direction, and a connecting portion  32 C provided at a rear end portion (an end portion on the far side in the mounting direction) of the case main body portion  32 B. The case main body portion  32 B is formed of corrugated cardboard. The connecting portion  32 C is made of resin. The rear end surface of the case main body portion  32 B is open and is covered by the connecting portion  32 C. That is, the connecting portion  32 C forms an end surface on the far side in the mounting direction of the case  32 . The ink pack  31  housed in the case  32  is in contact with the bottom portion of the case  32 , and spaces through which air can flow are formed above, to the left, to the right, to the front, and to the rear of the ink pack  31 . 
     The case  32  is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose longitudinal direction is the mounting direction, and includes a first opening  41 , a second opening  42 , and a third opening  43 . The upper surface and the lower surface of the case  32  are two surfaces having the largest area among six surfaces forming a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The first opening  41  is provided on a first side surface (rear end surface in this example) of the four side surfaces of the case  32 , the second opening  42  is provided on a second side surface (left side surface in this example) of the four side surfaces of the case  32 , and the second opening  42  is provided at a position deviated to an end portion (front end portion in this example) having a longer distance from the first opening  41  among both end portions of the second side surface when the case  32  is viewed from above. Note that the position deviated to one end is a position where the distance from one end is shorter than the distance from the other end when the distances from both ends are compared. 
     To be specific, the first opening  41  and the third opening  43  are provided in the connecting portion  32 C, that is, the rear end surface (an example of the end surface on the far side in the mounting direction) of the case  32 . The spout  33  is fixed to the third opening  43 . The second opening  42  is provided at a front end portion of the left side surface of the case  32  (an example of an end portion on the front side in the mounting direction of a side surface along the mounting direction). The first opening  41  is provided at a position deviated to the right side (an example of the side opposite to the side where the second opening  42  is provided) on the rear end surface of the case  32 . Note that the second opening  42  may be provided on the right side surface of the case  32 , and the first opening  41  may be provided on the left side of the rear end surface of the case  32 . 
     It is desirable that the distance between the first opening  41  and the second opening  42  be long. Virtual lines from the first opening  41  to each part of the inner surface of the case  32  are considered, and a virtual line having the longest length among the virtual lines is set as a longest virtual line. The case  32  is divided into two parts of a first part and a second part on a virtual plane which passes through the middle point of the longest virtual line and which is orthogonal to the longest virtual line. Assuming that the first opening  41  is disposed in the first part, the second opening  42  is disposed in the second part. In this case, the distance between the first opening  41  and the second opening  42  can be increased. 
     The spout  33  may close the third opening  43 . With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the warm air entering through the first opening  41  flows out of the case  32  through any portion other than the second opening  42 . 
     [Container Mounting Portion] 
     A container mounting portion  51 Y,  51 Bk,  51 C,  51 M (collectively referred to as container mounting portions  51 ) is provided at a lower left portion inside the main body housing  3  (see  FIG. 8 to 10 ). An openable and closable container door  3   a  is provided at a lower left portion of a front surface of the main body housing  3 . When the container door  3   a  is opened, the container mounting portion  51  is exposed, and the ink container  20  can be replaced. Ink containers  20 Y,  20 Bk,  20 C,  20 M are mounted on each of the container mounting portions  51 Y,  51 Bk,  51 C,  51 M. 
     “The container mounting portion  51  is formed in a box shape whose front side is open, and a connection port  59  to which the spout  33  of the ink container  20  is connected is provided in the rear portion thereof. 
     A needle  59 N is provided at the center of the connection port  59 . When the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51 , the valve  33 V of the spout  33  is pushed open by the needle  59 N.” 
     The container mounting portion  51  includes a first duct  61  connected to the blower  63 . When the ink container  20  is attached to the container mounting portion  51 , the first opening  41  faces the opening of the first duct  61 . The first duct  61  guides warm air from the blower  63  to the container mounting portion  51 . In addition, the container mounting portion  51  includes a second duct  62  connected to the blower  63 , and when the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51 , the second opening  42  faces an opening of the second duct  62 . The second duct  62  guides the warm air discharged from the second opening  42  to the blower  63 . The first duct  61  includes a branch pipe that guides warm air from the blower  63  to the plurality of ink containers  20 , and the second duct  62  includes a collecting pipe that guides warm air discharged from the plurality of ink containers  20  to the blower  63 . According to the above-described configuration, the warm air sent from the blower  63  passes through the first duct  61 , the first opening  41 , the inside of the case  32 , the second opening  42 , and the second duct  62  in this order, and returns to the blower  63 . That is, the warm air circulates. The circulation direction of the warm air may be reversed. 
     [Blower] 
     The blower  63  includes a second duct connecting portion  632  to which the second duct  62  is connected, a fan  63 F, a heater  63 H, and a first duct connecting portion  631  to which the first duct  61  is connected. The fan  63 F generates an airflow directed from the second duct connecting portion  632  to the first duct connecting portion  631 . The fan  63 F is an axial fan, a centrifugal fan, or the like. The heater  63 H is, for example, a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater, and heats the airflow generated by the fan  63 F. 
     Next, the operation of the ink heating device  60  will be described.  FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing the flow of warm air inside the ink heating device  60 .  FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a flow of warm air inside the ink container  20 . 
     The warm air generated by the blower  63  is supplied to each ink container  20  through the first duct  61 . Inside the ink container  20 , the warm air flowing in from the first opening  41  is discharged from the second opening  42  via spaces above, on the right side, on the left side, and on the front side of the ink pack  31  from the rear side of the ink pack  31 . The discharged warm air passes through the second duct  62  and is collected by the blower  63 . 
     According to the ink heating device  60  of the present embodiment described above, warm air is sent to the inside of the case  32  through the first opening  41 , and the warm air is discharged through the second opening  42 . According to this configuration, since heat is directly supplied to the ink pack  31  by warm air blowing against the ink pack  31 , it is possible to efficiently heat ink compared to a configuration in which warm air blows against the outside of the case  32 . 
     In addition, according to the ink heating device  60  according to the present embodiment, the second opening  42  is provided at a position deviated to the end portion side having a longer distance from the first opening  41  among both end portions of the second side surface when the case  32  is viewed from above. According to this configuration, since the deviation of the warm air inside the case  32  is reduced compared to a case in which the second opening  42  is provided at a position deviated to the end portion side having a shorter distance from the first opening  41 , it is possible to efficiently apply heat to the entire ink pack  31 . 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to the present embodiment, when the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51 , the first opening  41  and the opening of the first duct  61  face each other. According to this configuration, since the work of connecting the first duct  61  to the first opening  41  is not necessary, an increase in the amount of work can be avoided. When warm air is supplied from the first duct  61 , the warm air can be efficiently sent to the inside of the case  32 . When the warm air is collected from the first duct  61 , the heat of the warm air discharged from the first opening  41  is efficiently collected, so that power consumption can be suppressed. 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to the present embodiment, the first duct  61  guides warm air from the blower  63  to the container mounting portion  51 . According to this configuration, since a decrease in the temperature of the ink in the vicinity of the spout  33  is small, power consumption can be suppressed. 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to this embodiment, the second opening  42  is provided closer to the front side in the mounting direction of the case  32  than the first opening  41 . According to this configuration, since the warm air smoothly flows between the first opening  41  and the second opening  42 , a large amount of heat can be applied to the ink. 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to this embodiment, the second opening  42  is provided at the end portion on the front side in the mounting direction of the side surface along the mounting direction of the case  32 , and when the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51 , the second opening  42  and the opening of the second duct  62  face each other. According to this configuration, the second duct  62  does not interfere with the mounting of the ink container  20 . In addition, since the work of connecting the second duct  62  to the second opening  42  is unnecessary, an increase in the amount of work can be avoided. Further, when the warm air is collected from the second duct  62 , the heat of the warm air discharged from the second opening  42  is efficiently collected, so that power consumption can be suppressed. When warm air is supplied from the second duct  62 , the warm air can be efficiently sent to the inside of the case  32 . 
     In addition, according to the ink heating device  60  according to the present embodiment, the first opening  41  is provided at a position deviated to the opposite side of the side surface where the second opening  42  is provided on the end surface of the far side in the mounting direction of the case  32 . According to this configuration, the deviation of the warm air inside the case  32  is reduced compared to a case in which the first opening  41  is provided on the same side as the side surface on which the second opening  42  is provided, and thus heat can be efficiently applied to the entire ink pack  31 . 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to the present embodiment, the first duct  61  includes a branch pipe that guides warm air from the blower  63  to the plurality of ink containers  20 . According to this configuration, it is possible to heat the plurality of ink containers  20  with one blower  63 . 
     The above embodiment may be modified as follows. 
       FIG. 13  is an I-I sectional view of an ink container  120  according to a first modification. In this example, in addition to the configuration of the above embodiment, a plurality of reinforcing ribs  32 R whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction are provided on the upper surface of the bottom portion of the case  32 . According to this configuration, since the warm air flows not only to the spaces behind, above, to the right of, to the left of, and to the front of the ink pack  31  but also to the space below the ink pack  31 , the ink can be heated more efficiently than in the above-described embodiment. 
     In addition, instead of the reinforcing rib  32 R described above, a plurality of reinforcing ribs  32 R whose longitudinal direction is the direction of a straight line connecting the first opening  41  and the second opening  42  may be provided. According to this configuration, since warm air is guided from the first opening  41  to the second opening  42  by the reinforcing ribs  32 R, it is possible to heat ink more efficiently than in the above-described modification. 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an ink heating device  160  according to a second modification. In this example, as the distance from the blower  63  increases, the diameter of the pipe on the downstream side of the branch of the first duct  161  increases. That is, the pipe  1611  farthest from the blower  63  has the largest diameter, the pipe  1612  second farthest from the blower  63  has the second largest diameter, the pipe  1613  third farthest from the blower  63  has the third largest diameter, and the pipe  1614  closest to the blower  63  has the smallest diameter. As the distance from the blower  63  increases, the temperature of the warm air decreases. However, according to this configuration, since the air volume of the warm air increases as the distance from the blower  63  increases, it is possible to suppress the temperature difference of the warm air due to the distance from the blower  63 . 
       FIG. 15  is a diagram schematically illustrating an ink supply path of an image forming system  100  according to a third modification.  FIG. 16  is a plan view schematically showing an ink heating device  260  according to the third modification. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present disclosure is applied to the printer  1  including the ink heating device  60  and the image forming unit  6  that forms an image by discharging ink supplied from the ink heating device  60  has been described. On the other hand, a third modification shows an example in which the present disclosure is applied to an ink supply apparatus  70  that includes an ink heating device  260  and supplies ink heated by the ink heating device  260 . The third modification also shows an example in which the present disclosure is applied to an image forming system  100  including an ink supply apparatus  70  and a printer  1  that forms an image by discharging ink supplied from the ink supply apparatus  70 . 
     In the printer  1 , a main pipe  56  connects the ink container  20 , the filter  52 , the pump  53 , and the sub tank  54  (refer to  FIG. 15 ). A coupling  58  is provided on the back surface of the main body housing  3  of the printer  1 , and one end portion of a relay pipe  57  is connected to the coupling  58 . When the ink supply apparatus  70  is used, the upstream end portion of the main pipe  56  is replaced with the other end portion of the relay pipe  57  instead of the ink container  20 . The ink supply apparatus  70  includes a container mounting portion  74  on which an ink container  220  is mounted, and a heater unit  75  that heats ink sent out from the ink container  220 . 
     The ink container  220  has a larger capacity than the ink container  20  included in the printer  1 . In this example, the plurality of ink containers  220  are arranged side by side in the left-right direction (see  FIG. 16 ), but the plurality of ink containers  220  may be arranged in any manner. In this example, the ink container  220  is mounted to the container mounting portion  74  from above. 
     The ink container  220  includes an ink pack  231  filled with ink, and a case  232  that includes a first opening  241  and a second opening  242  and houses the ink pack  231 . The case  232  includes a case main body portion  232 B and a connecting portion  232 C provided at a front end portion of the case main body portion  232 B. The first opening  241  is provided at a left end portion of a rear surface of the case main body portion  232 B. The second opening  242  is provided at a right end portion of a front surface of the connecting portion  232 C. 
     The warm air generated by the blower  73  is supplied to each ink container  220  through the first duct  71 . Inside the ink container  220 , the warm air flowing in from the first opening  241  is discharged from the second opening  242  via spaces above, on the right side, on the left side, and on the rear side of the ink pack  231  from the front side of the ink pack  231 . The discharged warm air is collected by the blower  73  via the second duct  72 . In  FIG. 16 , the blower  73  is illustrated on the lateral side of the ink container  220  for convenience, but the blower  73  may be disposed below the ink container  220 . 
     In the ink heating device  60  according to the third modification, the second opening  242  is provided at a position deviated to the end portion side having a longer distance from the first opening  241  among both end portions of the second side surface when the case  232  is viewed from above. According to this configuration, the deviation of the warm air inside the case  232  is reduced compared to a case in which the second opening  242  is provided at a position deviated to the end portion side having a shorter distance from the first opening  241 , and thus it is possible to efficiently apply heat to the entire ink pack  231 . 
     In the embodiment described above, an example is shown in which the ink heating device  60  includes the second duct  62 . However, in a case in which warm air is sent from the first duct  61  to the ink container  20 , the ink heating device  60  does not have to include the second duct  62 . In this case, the position of the second opening  42  does not have to be the end portion on the front side in the mounting direction of the side surface along the mounting direction of the case  32 . For example, the second opening  42  may be provided on an end surface of the case  32  on the front side in the mounting direction. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the ink heating device  60  includes the first duct  61  has been described. However, in a case in which warm air is sent from the second duct  62  to the ink container  20 , the ink heating device  60  does not have to include the first duct  61 . 
     In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the second opening  42  faces the opening of the second duct  62  when the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51  has been described. However, in a case in which warm air is sent from the first duct  61  to the ink container  20 , the second opening  42  does not have to face the opening of the second duct  62 . In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the first opening  41  faces the opening of the first duct  61  when the ink container  20  is mounted on the container mounting portion  51  has been described. However, in a case in which warm air is sent from the second duct  62  to the ink container  20 , the first opening  41  does not have to face the opening of the first duct  61 .