Patent Publication Number: US-9902161-B2

Title: Ink cartridge

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an ink cartridge attached to and detached from an ink jet printer that discharges ink to a printed medium to print an image. 
     BACKGROUND OF ART 
     Conventionally used for an inkjet printer that prints a desired image on paper serving as a printed medium has been an ink cartridge for an inkjet recorder (hereinafter simply referred to as an “ink cartridge”) that stores an ink container having an ink derivation section and an ink storage section for ink supply to an ink head. 
     There have been demands on such an ink cartridge for achieving easier performance of attachment to and detachment from the inkjet printer, having tolerance to, for example, fall during transport and handling processes and vibration upon transport, and achieving fabrication at low costs. Thus, to meet the demands described above, the applicants of the present invention have provided an ink cartridge as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 below. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6A , a conventional ink cartridge  200  is a long and thin casing of a rectangular parallelepiped shape attached to and detached from a printer in a horizontal direction (in a direction of attachment and detachment operation). The ink cartridge  200  includes: a liquid storage container  210  formed of a thermoplastic film material filled with ink; an engagement surface  220  of resin or metal which is provided at one longitudinal end of the liquid storage container and which is engaged with a cartridge attaching mechanism of the printer; and an outer package  230  of a paper (a cardboard) as an outer box in which the liquid storage container  210  is inserted. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6B , arranged at a substantial center of the engagement surface  220  is an ink supply port  240 , which functions as an attachment and detachment mechanism fitted in a holder part  310  of a cartridge attaching mechanism  300  on a printer side. The fitting of the ink supply port  240  in the holder part  310  connects the ink cartridge  200  and the printer to each other, so that the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge  200  to the printer. 
     The ink supply port  240  is provided with a joint part  241  that is fitted in the holder part  310 . The joint part  241  has a hollow-shaped inside, in which an inner plug  242  for sealing the ink supply port  240  is biased by a biasing force of a biasing unit in an ink outflow direction (a rightward direction in the figure and a direction equal to a direction in which the ink is loaded onto the printer). That is, it is structured such that an enlarged-diameter portion of a tip of the inner plug  242  is pushed towards an inside of an opening part of the supply port to thereby seal the ink supply port  240 . 
     An insertion shaft  311  which pushes the inner plug  242  into the inside of the joint part  241  upon the engagement of the joint part  241  is projected from the holder part  310  with which the ink supply port  240  is engaged. Then upon loading of the ink cartridge  200  to the printer, the insertion shaft  311  pushes in the inner plug  242  to open the ink supply port  240  and achieves communication with an ink route  320  provided at the cartridge attaching mechanism  300 , so that the ink in the container flows into the printer. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literatures 
     
         
         {Patent Literature 1} Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-82994 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     As described above, upon the loading of the ink cartridge  200  disclosed in Patent Literature 1 on the printer, a shaft part of the inner plug  242  moves against the biasing force of the biasing unit in a removing direction opposite to a loading direction. Upon removing of the ink cartridge  200  from the printer, the shaft part of the inner plug  242  is moved by the biasing force of the biasing unit in the loading direction. 
     However, in the ink cartridge of Patent Literature 1, the shaft part of the inner plug  242  is provided to be exposed in the liquid storage container, as illustrated in  FIG. 6B . The liquid storage container  210  is formed of a film and does not have stiffness as is possessed by a plastic case, and is thus formed to shrink by itself as a remaining amount of ink becomes smaller. 
     Thus, there has been a risk that, upon the shrinkage of the liquid storage container as a result of a decrease in the remaining amount of ink, the shaft part of the inner plug  242  makes contact with an inner surface of the container, causing cracking which leads to ink leakage. Particularly, upon operation of attaching and detaching the ink cartridge  200 , the inner plug  242  slides, which is therefore likely to cause cracking, further increasing the risk of ink leakage. 
     Thus, in view of the problem described above, the present invention has been made, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge in which an ink container is not damaged by an inner plug even upon operation of attachment to and detachment from a printer. 
     Solution to Problem 
     To address the object described above, a first aspect of the present invention refers to an ink cartridge including: an outer package of a box-like shape; an ink container stored inside the outer package; an engagement part arranged at one end of the outer package while inserted in the outer package in which the ink container is stored, the ink cartridge being attached to and detached from a printer; a supply opening communicating an inside and an outside of the ink container with each other and engaged with the engagement part; an inner plug having a plug part provided inside the ink container and opening and closing the supply opening and a shaft part extended from the plug part; a biasing unit provided inside the ink container and biasing the inner plug in a closing direction; and a covering member regulating a sliding direction of the inner plug and protecting the entire shaft part. 
     A second aspect of the present invention refers to the ink cartridge according to the first aspect wherein the covering member is provided in a manner such as to cover part of the shaft part so as not to make contact with the ink container. 
     A third aspect operation of the present invention refers to the ink cartridge according to the first or second aspect wherein, in the inner plug sliding upon attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge to and from the printer, a portion of the shaft part exposed from the supply opening is covered by the covering member. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     With the ink cartridge according to the first aspect, the ink supply section provided in the ink container is provided with the covering member in a state in which the shaft part of the inner plug is constantly covered regardless of presence or absence of sliding upon the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge. Therefore, for example, even upon shrinkage of the ink container as a result of a decrease in a remaining amount of ink, an end part of the shaft part and an inner surface of the ink container do not make contact with each other. 
     As a result, the covering member functions as a member protecting the ink container, and thus can prevent ink leakage caused by damage to the ink container that could occur in a conventional ink cartridge. 
     With the ink cartridge according to the second aspect, even upon gradual shrinkage of the ink container as a result of a decrease in the remaining amount of ink, the end part of the shaft part and the inner surface of the ink container do not make contact with each other, thus eliminating a risk of damage to the ink container by the inner plug. Therefore, the user can use the ink cartridge without taking any caution for handling thereof. 
     With the ink cartridge according to the third aspect, even upon the shrinkage of the ink container as a result of a decrease in an ink amount at time of attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge to and from the printer, the end part of the shaft part is covered with the covering member, thus eliminating a risk of damage to the ink container as a result of sliding of the inner plug. Therefore, the user can use the ink cartridge without taking any caution for handling thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a schematic plan view illustrating configuration of an inkjet printer on which an ink cartridge according to the present invention is loaded; 
         FIG. 1B  is a schematic elevation view of the same printer; 
         FIG. 1C  is a schematic side view of the same printer; 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic transparent view illustrating outer appearance and an inside of the same cartridge; 
         FIG. 2B  is a schematic perspective view of outer appearance of the same cartridge viewed from a rear; 
         FIG. 3A  is an elevation view of an engagement part of the same cartridge; 
         FIG. 3B  is a schematic side sectional view of vicinity of the same engagement part on a partially enlarged scale; 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic sectional view of the vicinity of the engagement part in a state before the same cartridge is loaded on the printer; 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic sectional view of the vicinity of the engagement part in a state in which the same cartridge is loaded on the printer; 
         FIG. 5A  is a schematic perspective view of an abutting surface serving as a surface of the engagement part viewed from a rear; 
         FIG. 5B  is a schematic plan view of the engagement part viewed from an abutting surface side; 
         FIG. 5C  is a schematic plan view of the engagement part viewed from a rear surface; 
         FIG. 6A  is a schematic transparent view of a conventional ink cartridge; and 
         FIG. 6B  is a schematic side sectional view of an engagement surface of the same cartridge on a partially enlarged scale. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited by the present embodiment, and any other possible embodiments, examples, technologies, etc. that can be carried out by those skilled in the art based on the present embodiment are all included in a scope of the present invention. 
     In the present specification, when terms top, bottom, right, and left are used to illustrate directions and positions in the following description provided with reference to the accompanying drawings, the aforementioned terms correspond to top, bottom, right, and left when the user views the drawings as illustrated. 
     A direction in which an ink cartridge  1  according to the present invention is horizontally attached to and detached from a printer  100  is defined as “attaching/detaching direction A”, a direction in which the ink cartridge  1  is inserted in and loaded onto the printer  100  is defined as “loading direction A 1 ”, and a direction in which the ink cartridge  1  is removed and detached from the printer  100  is defined as “removing direction A 2 ”. 
     Further, the loading direction A 1  is equal to a direction in which ink filled in the ink cartridge  1  flows out to the printer  100  (hereinafter referred to as “ink outflow direction B”), and a direction in which an ink container  10  is inserted when stored into an outer package  20  is equal to the removing direction A 2 . 
     {1. Overall Configuration of Printer} 
     As illustrated in any of  FIGS. 1A to 1C , the printer  100  loaded with the ink cartridge  1  according to the present invention will be given referring to, as an example, a line color printer of an inkjet type which includes a plurality of ink heads each having a large number of nozzles formed therein and which discharges ink of different colors from the respective ink heads to perform printing on an individual line basis and then forms a plurality of images in a manner such as to superpose the images on each other on a printed medium (paper) conveyed by a conveyance belt. 
     In the present embodiment, four line-type ink heads are provided. The ink heads respectively discharge the inks of four colors including black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (y) to perform image formation. No limitations are placed on a number of ink heads and colors and types of ink. 
     The printer  100  includes a control section  110  for performing overall control of various parts composing the aforementioned printer to execute printing processing in accordance with a print job. The control section  110  performs printing processing performed with the ink heads described above, driving control of a conveyance mechanism, and also control related to ink supply from the ink cartridge  1 . 
     Further, connected to the control section  110  is a setting operation section  120  including an input device composed of, for example, operation keys and a display-input panel, and through the setting operation section  120 , the user&#39;s instructions and setting operation can be received. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1C , at a top part of a device body  100   a  in the printer  100 , a plurality of (four in accordance with the number of ink heads in the figure) cartridge attaching mechanisms  130  to which the ink cartridge  1  is attached are provided for the respective ink heads. 
     A top device  140  is arranged in a manner such as to cover a top of the cartridge attaching mechanisms  130 . The ink cartridges  1  are inserted horizontally (in the loading direction A 1 ) between a bottom surface of the top device  140  and a top surface of a main body of the printer  100 . For example, an image reader (scanner) that optically reads a document set in an auto document feeder (ADF) upon conveyance of the document to convert the document into digital data, and the setting operation section  120  described above are arranged at the top device  140 . 
     Further, the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  is provided with a holder part  131  that is fitted in an engagement part  30 , to be described later on, upon the loading of the ink cartridges  1  to the printer  100 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the holder part  131  includes a holder side joint part  132 , to be described later on, that is fitted in a supply section side joint part  18 , to be described later on, provided at an ink supply section  13 , to be described later on, assembled to the engagement part  30  in a manner such as to cover the ink supply section  13 . Inside the holder side joint part  132 , an ink path  134  is formed that communicates with the ink supply section  13  while fitted in the supply section side joint part  18  to make ink flow into an ink tank (not illustrated) provided in the printer  100 . 
     In the holder part  131 , in the removing direction A 2 , a pushing part  133  is projected which is inserted into a supply opening  14  in an engaged state and inwardly pushes an inner plug  15 . The pushing part  133  abuts an engagement receiving section  15   c  of the inner plug  15  and pushes in the entire inner plug  15  against a biasing force of a biasing unit  16  whereby an inside and an outside of the ink supply section  13  communicate with each other to open an ink outflow path formed with the ink path  134 . As a result, the ink in the ink container  10  flows out in the ink outflow direction B. 
     {2. Overall Configuration of Ink Cartridge} 
     Next, configuration of the ink cartridge  1  according to the present invention will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the ink cartridge  1  is a long and thin casing of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is attached to and detached from the printer  100  in the attaching/detaching direction A as a direction horizontal to the printer  100 . The ink cartridge  1  includes: the ink container  10  formed of a thermoplastic film material filled with predetermined ink; the outer package  20  serving as an outer box into which the ink container  10  is inserted; and the engagement part  30  which is provided at a longitudinal one end of the ink container  10  and which engages with the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  of the printer  100 . 
     &lt;2-1. Ink Container&gt; 
     The ink container  10  is a bag body in which the ink is sealed. In the present embodiment, the ink container  10  is formed by superposing two thermoplastic films  11  of a rectangular shape on each other with the ink supply section  13 , to be described later on, placed therebetween at the longitudinal one end and then bonding together surroundings thereof through thermal welding. The ink container  10  is inserted through an opening part of the outer package  20  and the engagement part  30  assembled with the ink supply section  13  is fitted in the opening part to thereby fabricate the ink cartridge  1 . 
     A terminal end part  12  of the ink container  10  is formed into an acuate shape by mutually attaching a pair of surfaces parallel to a horizontal plane including the direction in which the ink container  10  is inserted into outer package  20  (the removing direction A 2 ), that is, a top surface and a bottom surface in a state in which the ink cartridge  1  is loaded on the printer  100 . 
     An attachment portion between the top and bottom surfaces at the terminal end part  12  is linearly formed through thermal welding, and the linear portion is located within a horizontal plane including an extension line of the ink outflow direction B and a line of the terminal end part  12  obtained by the attachment through the film thermal welding. 
     As described above, as a result of forming the terminal end part  12  of the ink container  10  into the acuate shape, when the remaining amount of ink in the ink container  10  has become small, the acuate shape of the terminal end part  12  can ensure inclination for outflow of the ink, which permits the ink outflow without leaving any amount of ink. Moreover, as a result of linearly forming the attachment portion at the terminal end part  12  through the thermal welding, the acuate shape of the terminal end part  12  can reliably be maintained. Further, as a result of forming the terminal end part  12  of the ink container  10  into the acuate shape and making the terminal end part  12  contact a partition member  22  set in the outer package  20  upon the insertion of the ink container  10  in the outer package  20 , the ink container  10  can firmly be located inside of the outer package  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the ink supply section  13  which supplies ink filled in the container upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100  is attached at an end part of the ink container  10  on a loading direction A 1  side. 
     The ink supply section  13  is attached through thermal welding while placed at a predetermined section formed between the films  11  upon the fabrication of the ink container  10 , and is so assembled as to be engaged with the engagement part  30  in the aforementioned state. 
     Moreover, as illustrated in  FIG. 3B  on an enlarged scale, the ink supply section  13  is composed of: the supply opening  14  that communicates an inside and an outside of the ink container  10  with each other; the inner plug  15  that opens or closes the communication of the supply opening  14 ; the biasing unit  16  that biases the inner plug  15  in the ink outflow direction B to close the supply opening  14 ; and a covering member  17  that guides sliding of the inner plug  15  along the attaching/detaching direction A following attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge  1 . 
     The supply opening  14  is located at a center of the engagement part  30  in a state in which the ink container  10  is inserted in the outer package  20 . The supply opening  14  engages with the engagement part  30  with an opening  14   a  thereof directed in the loading direction A 1 . 
     In the supply opening  14 , upon sliding of the inner plug  15  in an opening direction, the opening  14   a  opens, so that the inside and outside of the ink supply section  13  communicate with each other. This makes it possible for the ink in the ink container  10  to outflow in the ink outflow direction B. 
     At a tip of the supply opening  14 , a projected part  14   b  is provided for providing a slight gap between the opening  14   a  and the holder side joint part upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  to the printer  100  to thereby properly adjust an ink outflow amount at a fixed amount. In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , three projected parts  14   b  are provided around the opening  14   a  at substantially equal intervals. 
     The inner plug  15  is composed of: a plug part  15   a  that has a tip abutting the opening  14   a  of the supply opening  14  to close the communication between the inside and outside of the ink container  10 ; a shaft part  15   b  that is extended from a rear end side (an end part located on a side opposite to a side on which an end part abuts the supply opening  14  is located) of the plug part  15   a ; the engagement receiving part  15   c  which is provided at the tip of the plug part  15   a  and which engages with the pushing part  133  of the cartridge attaching mechanism  130 ; and an O ring  15   d  which is fitted in surroundings of the plug part  15   a  and which fills a gap formed between the plug part  15   a  and the supply opening  14  upon the closing of the opening  14   a.    
     The inner plug  15  closes the supply opening  14  with a surface on a tip side of the plug part  15   a  abutting the opening  14   a  of the supply opening  14  by the biasing force of the biasing unit  16 . Moreover, the O ring  15   d  fills the gap between the plug part  15   a  and the supply opening  14  together with the plug part  15   a . As a result, the communication between the inside and outside of the ink container  10  is blocked, so that the ink no longer outflows to the outside. 
     In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 4A , before the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100 , the plug part  15   a  pushes against the opening  14   a  by the biasing force of the biasing unit  16  to thereby close the opening  14   a  and also the O ring  15   d  fills the gap between the plug part  15   a  and the supply opening  14 , so that the supply opening  14  turns into a closed state. 
     As a result of the engagement between the pushing part  133  of the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  and the plug part  15   a  upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100  along the loading direction A 1 , the inner plug  15  slides in the removing direction A 2  against the biasing force of the biasing unit  16 , so that the plug part  15   a  separates from the opening  14   a . As a result, the communication between the inside and outside of the ink container  10  is opened, making it possible for the ink to outflow to the outside along the ink outflow direction B. 
     In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 4B , as a result of the engagement between the engagement receiving part  15   c  provided at the tip of the plug part  15   a  and the pushing part  133  of the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100 , the plug part  15   a  is pushed against the biasing force of the biasing unit  16  to open the supply opening  14 . 
     The biasing unit  16  is formed of an elastic body such as a spring or a rubber, and biases the opening  14   a  of the supply opening  14  in a direction closing the opening  14   a  (that is, the loading direction A 1 ) from a rear end side of the plug part  15   a . In the present embodiment, a spring is used as the biasing unit  16 . 
     The covering member  17  is composed of: a support part  17   a  that is provided at a tip of the covering member  17  to support the biasing unit  16 ; and a covering part  17   b  of a substantially cylindrical shape that is extended from the support part  17   a . The covering member  17  supports the biasing unit  16  with the support part  17   a  and is also firmly provided while entirely covering a portion of the shaft part  15   b  exposed from the supply opening  14  (that is, a rear end from a substantially central portion of the shaft part  15   b  in  FIG. 3B ) behind the plug part  15   a.    
     Since the covering part  17   b  is provided in a manner such as to entirely cover the portion of the shaft part  15   b  exposed from the supply opening  14  regardless of whether or not the inner plug  15  slides, so that, for example, even upon shrinkage of the ink container  10  as a result of a decrease in the remaining amount of ink, the end part of the shaft part  15   b  and the inner surface of the ink container  10  do not make contact with each other. As a result, there is no risk of damage to the ink container  10  by the inner plug  15 , which therefore permits the user to use the ink cartridge  1  without taking any caution for handling. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3B , to properly maintain sliding posture of the shaft part  15   b , the covering part  17   b  has an inner diameter (a guiding inner diameter) that is narrowed by a predetermined distance from a substantially central portion of the plug part  15   a  to such a degree that permits sliding in the gap of the plug part  15   a . As a result, the shaft part  15   b  slides in the proper posture along the attaching/detaching direction A upon the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge  1 . 
     Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , a portion of the covering part  17   b  from a substantially central portion thereof to a terminal end on a side opposite to the support part  17   a  is formed in a manner such as to be larger than the guiding inner diameter by a predetermined diameter. 
     To properly maintain the posture of the shaft part  15   b  upon the sliding thereof, a predetermined length of a portion of the guiding inner diameter needs to be formed. However, the guiding inner diameter needs to be formed in a manner such that the inner surface thereof does not make contact with the end part of the shaft part  15   b  and smoothly slides while guiding the shaft part  15   b , which therefore requires high accuracy and raises a problem of increased manufacturing costs. Therefore, in the present invention, a portion of the covering part  17   b  where the guiding inner diameter is not required is made larger by the predetermined diameter than the guiding inner diameter, and a portion serving as the guiding inner diameter is not unnecessarily formed to thereby reduce the manufacturing costs. 
     Further, provided around the supply opening  14  in the ink supply section  13  is the supply section side joint part  18  of a concave shape that is fitted in the holder side joint part  132 . The supply section side joint part  18  is fitted in a convex-shaped outer edge  132   a  of the holder side joint part  132  upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4B . 
     &lt;2-2. Outer Package&gt; 
     By bending a bending side set in a sheet member of paper (for example, a cardboard) and attaching together margins, the outer package  20  is formed into a bottomed box of a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape with one longitudinal end open and another end thereof closed. 
     In the present embodiment, the opening part of the outer package  20  is formed into a rectangular shape such that a ratio between a horizontal side parallel to the horizontal plane including the attaching/detaching direction A of the ink cartridge  1  and a vertical side perpendicular to the horizontal plane is approximately 2 to 1. In other words, as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , upon operation of attaching the ink cartridge  1  to the printer  100  in the loading direction A 1 , with the engagement part  30  on a printer  100  side being located at front, a ratio between a width w of the ink cartridge  1  and a height h thereof is approximately 2 to 1. 
     In the opening part (the opening part on the printer  100  side upon the cartridge loading) of the outer package  20 , the engagement part  30  to be engaged with the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  on the printer  100  side is fitted, forming a surface abutting the cartridge attaching mechanism  130  of the printer  100 . 
     Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 2B , formed on a bottom surface of the outer package  20  is a concave part  21  which is to be pulled and which penetrates through a surface of the outer package  20 . The concave part  21  is formed by providing a predetermined notch at a concave part forming section of the outer package  20  and bending the notched portion towards an inner surface side and a terminal end side on a member surface of the outer package  20 . 
     At an inner terminal end of the outer package  20 , the partition member  22  is arranged that ensures a form of an inner surface between the inner surface of the outer package  20  and the acuate outer surface of the terminal end part  12  of the ink container  10 . The space ensured by the partition member  22  has a triangle side cross section and is also located at a position corresponding to a rear surface of the concave part  21  inside of the outer package  20 . 
     In the present embodiment, part of the outer package  20  that is bent upon the formation of the concave part  21  is so notched as to be bent towards the terminal end side of the outer package  20  in a manner such that the aforementioned part is located in the inner space ensured by the partition member  22 . For the partition member  22 , for example, before closing the terminal end side, the partition member  22  may be inserted and assembled in a manner such as to be arranged at the terminal end of the outer package  20  to achieve the aforementioned closing. 
     As described above, providing the partition member  22  inside of the outer package  20  and the concave part  21  on the surface of the outer package  20  in the ink cartridge  1  permits the user to hold the concave part  21  at the terminal end of the outer package  20  and withdraw the ink cartridge upon operation of attaching and detaching the ink cartridge, which makes it easy to attach and detach the ink cartridge  1  and thus improves workability. Moreover, when the user holds the  21  to attach and detach the ink cartridge  1 , the user&#39;s hand does not make direct contact with the ink container  10 , which can prevent damage to the ink container  10  caused by contact by, for example, the user&#39;s finger or any accessory upon the cartridge attachment and detachment. 
     Further, the direction in which the ink container  10  is inserted into the outer package  20 , the attaching/detaching direction A, and also the ink outflow direction B upon ink supply are located on the same axis, so that unnecessary stress on the outer package  20  is not generated, which can reduce possibilities that the attaching and detaching mechanism including, for example, the ink supply section  13  and the holder part  131  and the main body of the outer package  20  are damaged. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , a notch  23  for label removal is formed at a top surface of the outer package  20  in a manner such as to be superposed on an end part of a label  31  to be described later on. The notch  23  is partially formed as a bending part and other parts thereof are broken, so that the notch  23  is formed on a surface side of the outer package  20  while connected to the outer package  20 . When the notch  23  is pushed towards an inside by the finger of the user, part of the outer package  20  is broken and bent while part of the label  31  is bonded. 
     Therefore, the user can push the notch  23  to the inside of the outer package  20  with his or her finger and drag the label  31  and the outer package  20  away from each other while holding the broken portion to thereby achieve removal together with part of the outer package  20  at which the label  31  has been broken, which permits simple performance of classification operation. 
     &lt;2-3. Engagement Part&gt; 
     The engagement part  30  is formed of a hard material such as resin or metal and the abutting surface  30   a  thereof abutting the holder part  131  is directed in the loading direction A, and functions as an attaching and detaching mechanism that is engaged with the holder part  131  upon the loading of the ink cartridge  1  on the printer  100 . Moreover, the engagement part  30  engages with the opening part of the outer package  20 , and is thus formed in a size almost equal to a dimension of the aforementioned opening part. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , after being fitted in the opening part of outer package  20 , the engagement part  30  is firmly attached with the seal-like label  31  having viscosity on a rear surface thereof (for example, a sheet object having an adhesive applied to a rear surface of synthetic paper primarily consisting of synthetic resin such as film technique synthetic paper). In a state in which the engagement section  30  is engaged with outer package  20 , the label  31  is wound around from a side surface of the opening part of outer package  20  across a side surface of the opening part on an opposite side through the abutting surface  30   a  of the engagement section  30  whereby the engagement section  30  is firmly assembled to outer package  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5C , a fit-in rib  32  is provided upright at a circumferential edge on a rear side of the abutting surface  30   a  in the engagement part  30  abutting the holder part  131 . The fit-in rib  32  is in charge of guiding upon the fit-in the opening part of the outer package  20  and preventing removal from the outer package  20  after the fit-in. 
     Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 5B , fit-in parts  33  that are fitted in a manner such as to be held by the holder (not illustrated) provided on the printer  100  side are formed at a top and bottom of a center part of the engagement part  30 . Convex parts of a triangle shape are arranged at the fit-in parts  33 , and they are fitted in the holder provided at the holder part  131  of the printer  100 . The holder has a mechanism of holding a pair of concave parts at the top and the bottom in a manner such as to sandwich them with an elastic force, and the convex parts of the fit-in parts  33  are pushed in between concaved parts of the holder whereby the fit-in parts  33  are fitted in with clicking feeling. 
     Also, a pair of blocking convex part  34  is projected from a top part of the engagement part  30 . The blocking convex part  34  are provided at only one of end edges for the purpose of avoiding erroneous recognition of the top and the bottom upon the cartridge attachment. Upon the fitting in the printer  100 , the blocking convex part  34  is detected by an attachment detection sensor, not illustrated, provided on the printer  100  side. More specifically, the attachment detection sensor is an optical sensor such as a flood light and receiving light sensor, and through blockage of light reception, detects presence of an object blocked. The blocking convex part  34  is approached by the attachment detection sensor upon the attachment, and blocks the light reception by the sensor whereby the attachment is detected. 
     Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 5C , a communication tag  35  that performs short-distance wireless communication with a non-contact communication part (not illustrated) provided on the printer  100  is attached to a bonding region D formed on the rear side of the engagement part  30 . 
     The communication tag  35  is formed of, for example, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, generates inner electric power by electric waves received from the non-contact communication part, and with the aforementioned electric power, performs data reading from and writing on the memory and also performs data transmission and reception through an antenna. In the present embodiment, the memory stores colors and types (water-based and oil-based) of ink of the cartridge, a number of times of attachment and detachment, etc. and upon detection of the loading on the cartridge attaching mechanism  130 , starts communication with the non-contact communication section and transmits the data stored therein. 
     The bonding region D is formed in accordance with a shape of the communication tag  35  bonded. Specifically, the bonding region D is formed into a shape of fish sausage having: a positioning side Da abutting a chord of the communication tag  35 , to be described later on, and serving to position the communication tag  35  upon the bonding thereof; and a circular arc part Db abutting a circular arc of the communication tag  35 . In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 5C , the positioning side Da is formed in a manner such as to be in contact with a base end of the fit-in rib  32  provided at a left side end part of the engagement part  30 . As a result, performing the bonding in a state in which the chord of the communication tag  35  is positioned with the positioning side Da permits bonding of the communication tag  35  at an appropriate position of the bonding region D. 
     Moreover, in the bonding region D, a tag-removing hole  36  is formed for partially removing and loading the attached communication tag  35  from a bonding surface side of the tag removal hole  36  by inserting a bar-like member from an abutting surface  30   a  side for the purpose of easily performing operation of discrimination between the engagement part  30  and the tag removal hole  36  upon disposal of the ink cartridge  1 . The user can insert the bar-like member such as a driver into the tag-removing hole  36  from the abutting surface  30   a  side of the engagement part  30  to thereby easily remove part of the communication tag  35  bonded to the bonding region D and easily hold the floated portion. 
     As described above, with the aforementioned ink cartridge  1 , the covering member  17  that protects the shaft part  15   b  of the inner plug  15  in the ink supply section  13  is so provided as to protect the shaft part  15   b  while constantly covering the shaft part  15   b  regardless of presence or absence of sliding upon the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge  1 . Thus, for example, even upon shrinkage of the ink container as a result of a decrease in the remaining amount of ink, the end part of the shaft part  15   b  and the inner surface of the ink container  10  do not make contact with each other. As a result, the covering member  17  functions as a member protecting the ink container  10 , and thus can prevent ink leakage caused by damage to the ink container  10  that can occur in a conventional ink cartridge. 
     For the inner diameter of the covering part  17   b  of the covering member  17 , the predetermined length of the guiding inner diameter portion required for maintaining the posture of the shaft part  15   b  upon the sliding thereof is provided and the other portions have an inner diameter larger than the guiding inner diameter, which therefore permits guiding in a state in which the posture of the shaft part  15   b  upon the sliding is properly maintained while reducing the manufacturing costs. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
           1  . . . ink cartridge 
           10  . . . ink container 
           11  . . . thermoplastic film 
           12  . . . terminal end part 
           13  . . . ink supply section 
           14  . . . supply opening ( 14   a  . . . opening,  14   b  . . . projected part) 
           15  . . . inner plug ( 15   a  . . . plug part,  15   b  . . . shaft part,  15   c  . . . engagement receiving part,  15   d  . . . O ring) 
           16  . . . biasing unit 
           17  . . . covering member ( 17   a  . . . support part,  17   b  . . . covering part) 
           18  . . . supply section side joint part 
           20  . . . outer package 
           21  . . . concave part 
           22  . . . partition member 
           23  . . . notch 
           30  . . . engagement part ( 30   a  . . . abutting surface) 
           31  . . . label 
           32  . . . fit-in rib 
           33  . . . fit-in part 
           34  . . . blocking convex part 
           35  . . . communication tag 
           36  . . . tag-removing hole 
           100  . . . printer ( 100   a  . . . device body) 
           110  . . . control section 
           120  . . . setting operation section 
           130  . . . cartridge attaching mechanism 
           131  . . . holder part 
           132  . . . holder side joint part ( 132   a  . . . outer edge) 
           133  . . . pushing part 
           134  . . . ink path 
           140  . . . top device 
         A . . . attaching/detaching direction (A 1  . . . loading direction, A 2  . . . removing direction) 
         B . . . ink outflow direction 
           200  . . . conventional ink cartridge 
           210  . . . liquid storage container 
           220  . . . engagement surface 
           230  . . . outer package 
           240  . . . ink supply port 
           241  . . . joint part 
           242  . . . inner plug 
           300  . . . cartridge attaching mechanism 
           310  . . . holder part 
           311  . . . insertion shaft 
           320  . . . ink route