Patent Description:
As a liquid discharge apparatus typically an ink jet recording apparatus, there is known a liquid discharge apparatus in which a cartridge-shaped liquid storage tank is set in an apparatus main body and liquid is supplied from the liquid storage tank to a liquid discharge head of the liquid discharge apparatus.

On the other hand, a liquid discharge apparatus as described in <CIT> has come to be used. In the liquid discharge apparatus, a liquid storage tank is fixed to the liquid discharge apparatus in advance, liquid is refilled from the outside to the liquid storage tank with the use of a bottle-shaped liquid refill container or the like, and the liquid storage tank is not replaced.

In the liquid discharge apparatus as described in <CIT>, liquid is refilled by opening the inlet of the liquid storage tank, removing a cap at the tip end of the liquid refill container, and inserting the tip end of the liquid refill container to the inlet. A liquid refill container entirely made of resin is generally used not only from the viewpoint that manufacturing through injection molding or the like is easy but also from the viewpoint of easiness of disposal after refilling of liquid is complete.

Resin liquid refill containers can be reused by separately collecting the liquid refill containers without simply disposing of the liquid refill containers and then, for example, melting the liquid refill containers. However, as a further direct reuse method, a method of filling a liquid refill container, which is empty as a result of pouring liquid, with liquid again without disposal is conceivable.

However, it is found that there is an inconvenience that, when liquid is repeatedly filled with the use of a liquid refill container entirely made of resin, the liquid refill container itself, particularly, a liquid storage portion directly containing liquid, degrades and, as a result, reuse becomes difficult.

<CIT> discloses a liquid refill container according to the preambles of claims <NUM> and <NUM>. Further liquid refill containers are known from <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present disclosure provides a liquid refill container suitable for reuse.

The present disclosure in its first aspect provides a liquid refill container as specified in claims <NUM> to <NUM>.

The present disclosure in its second aspect provides a reuse system as specified in claim <NUM>.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Like reference signs are assigned to portions having the same functions in the drawings, and the description thereof may be omitted. Liquid Discharge Apparatus.

A liquid discharge apparatus that is refilled with liquid from a liquid refill container will be described. <FIG> is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the liquid discharge apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG> is a so-called ink jet recording apparatus. The liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG> includes a casing <NUM>, and liquid storage tanks <NUM> disposed inside the casing <NUM>. Each of the liquid storage tanks <NUM> contains ink that is liquid to be discharged to a record medium (not shown).

<FIG> is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of a relevant part of the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG>. In <FIG>, the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> includes a conveying roller <NUM> for conveying a record medium (not shown), a carriage <NUM> provided with a recording head <NUM> that discharges liquid, and a carriage motor <NUM> for driving the carriage <NUM>. In other words, the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> of the present embodiment is a so-called serial ink jet recording apparatus. A record medium is a medium on which an image is formed by liquid discharged from the recording head <NUM>. Examples of the record medium include paper, cloth, optical disk label side, plastic sheet, and overhead projector (OHP) sheet.

The liquid container tanks <NUM> are fixedly mounted in the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM>. Each of the liquid storage tanks <NUM> is a tank that contains liquid. Liquid contained in each liquid storage tank <NUM> is supplied to the recording head <NUM> via a liquid channel <NUM> and is discharged from the recording head <NUM>. When the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> is an ink jet recording apparatus, the liquid is so-called ink. Here, four-color (for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) inks are used as liquid, and the four-color liquid storage tanks 12a to 12d that respectively contain color inks. In other words, black ink is contained in the liquid storage tank 12a, cyan ink is contained in the liquid storage tank 12b, magenta ink is contained in the liquid storage tank 12c, and yellow ink is contained in the liquid storage tank 12d. The liquid storage tanks 12a to 12d each are disposed at the front side portion of the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> inside the casing <NUM>.

<FIG> is an example of an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> where the liquid storage tanks 12b to 12d are stored. <FIG> is a plan view of the portion where the liquid storage tanks 12b to 12d shown in <FIG> are stored when viewed from above. Each of the liquid storage tanks <NUM> includes a liquid storage tank body <NUM> for containing liquid, and a communication channel <NUM> that communicates with a liquid chamber in the liquid storage tank body <NUM>. In addition, the liquid storage tank <NUM> includes an attachable tank cover (not shown) to, during times other than during refilling of liquid, cover the communication channel <NUM> and hermetically seal the liquid chamber inside the liquid storage tank body <NUM>. To refill the liquid storage tank <NUM> with liquid, the tank cover is opened, the outlet 22a of a liquid refill container <NUM> (described later) is inserted in the communication channel <NUM>, and liquid is poured. When the liquid chamber is hermetically sealed with the tank cover during times other than during refilling of liquid, it is possible to reduce evaporation of liquid inside the liquid storage tank <NUM>. The communication channel <NUM> includes two channels extending in parallel with each other in a vertical direction inside, and liquid in the liquid refill container <NUM> is configured to be poured into the liquid storage tank <NUM> by gas-liquid exchange. A socket <NUM> is provided at a portion of the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> where the outlet 22a of the liquid refill container <NUM> is inserted. The socket <NUM> has protruding portions <NUM> that protrude inward from an inner peripheral wall. The socket <NUM> is provided for each liquid storage tank <NUM> and the shape of the protruding portions <NUM> is varied among the sockets <NUM>. Only the liquid refill container <NUM> associated with the shape of the protruding portions <NUM> is able to be fitted to the socket <NUM>. Thus, it is possible to prevent a refill mistake of liquid (a mistake of color). The protruding portions <NUM> are provided symmetrically at <NUM>° with respect to the central axis of the communication channel <NUM>. When recessed portions to be engaged with the protruding portions <NUM> of the socket <NUM> of the liquid discharge apparatus <NUM> are provided at the pouring portion <NUM> of the liquid refill container <NUM>, it is possible to position the liquid refill container <NUM> with the socket <NUM>, and it is possible to pour predetermined liquid to the liquid storage tank <NUM>. Liquid Refill Container.

<FIG> is a side view showing the outer appearance of the liquid refill container <NUM> to refill the liquid storage tank <NUM> with liquid.

The liquid refill container <NUM> includes a liquid storage portion <NUM> that contains liquid, a pouring portion <NUM> connected to the liquid storage portion <NUM>, and a cap portion <NUM> attached to the pouring portion <NUM>. The liquid refill container <NUM> has a bottle shape as a whole.

The liquid storage portion <NUM> contains liquid, occupies a half or more length of the liquid refill container <NUM> in the longitudinal direction, and serves as a main body portion of the liquid refill container <NUM>. Since the liquid storage portion <NUM> is a portion that contains liquid, the liquid storage portion <NUM> can occupy two thirds or more of the length of the liquid refill container <NUM> in the longitudinal direction when the capacity is taken into consideration.

As will be described later, the liquid storage portion <NUM> is made of a metal. The pouring portion <NUM> has an outlet 22a that is an outlet at the time of pouring liquid contained in the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The pouring portion <NUM> is a portion having the function of pouring liquid. The cap portion <NUM> is attached to the pouring portion <NUM> and covers the outlet 22a. The cap portion <NUM> has a role in isolating the inside of the liquid storage portion <NUM> from outside air.

<FIG> show the parts of the liquid refill container <NUM> of <FIG>. <FIG> is an exploded side view of the parts of the liquid refill container <NUM>. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the liquid refill container <NUM> after the parts of the liquid refill container <NUM> shown in <FIG> are assembled. The liquid storage portion <NUM> of the liquid refill container <NUM> is made up of a bottle threaded portion 21a formed at the upper part, and a bottle storage portion 21b formed at the lower part. The bottle threaded portion 21a and the bottle storage portion 21b are integrated and are made of the same metal. The pouring portion <NUM> is made up of an outlet 22a for pouring liquid, a nozzle external threaded portion 22b on which an external thread structure is formed on the outer side, and a nozzle internal threaded portion 22c on which an internal thread structure is formed on the inner side. The pouring portion <NUM> is made of a resin. Examples of the material used to form the pouring portion <NUM> include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

The nozzle internal threaded portion 22c of the pouring portion <NUM> is screwed to the bottle threaded portion 21a of the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The pouring portion <NUM> is attached to the liquid storage portion <NUM> by means of screwing. Packing <NUM> is disposed at the connecting portion between the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The packing <NUM> seals the connecting portion. The packing <NUM> has flexibility. Examples of the material used to form the packing <NUM> include butyl rubber, fluororubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene dien monomer (EPDM), and silicone rubber.

<FIG> are perspective views each showing the packing <NUM>. The packing <NUM> having a structure shown in <FIG> has two annular projections 28a, 28b on the liquid storage portion side. The structure of the packing <NUM> is the same as that of the packing <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The area between the projections 28a, 28b is in contact with the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The side faces of projections 28a, 28b are also in contact with the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The projections 28a, 28b sandwich both sides of a contact surface to increase sealing property. The packing <NUM> shown in <FIG> has no projection, and a portion on the liquid storage portion side is a flat smooth surface 28c. By not providing a projection on the liquid storage portion side of the packing <NUM>, it is beneficial that the packing <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> are easily positioned. The packing <NUM> shown in <FIG> has an annular projection 28d on the liquid storage portion side. When the number of projections is one, it is possible to ensure positioning and sealing in a balanced manner. A projection of the packing <NUM> may be provided at a portion on the pouring portion side. A projection may be in contact with a member of the pouring portion and caused to be deformed.

The rubber hardness of the packing <NUM> is preferably a Shore D hardness of higher than or equal to <NUM> and more preferably a Shore D hardness of higher than or equal to <NUM>. When the Shore D hardness is too low, sealing decreases. On the other hand, when the Shore D hardness is too high as well, the packing <NUM> is hard to deform, and sealing also decreases. In terms of this point, the Shore D hardness is preferably lower than or equal to <NUM>, more preferably lower than or equal to <NUM>, and further preferably lower than or equal to <NUM>.

The structure around the cap portion <NUM> will be described. As shown in <FIG>, a cap threaded portion 23a having an internal thread structure is disposed on the inner side of the lower part of the cap portion <NUM>. The cap threaded portion 23a is screwed to the nozzle external threaded portion 22b of the pouring portion <NUM>. A cap seal portion 23b is provided at the upper side of the cap portion <NUM>. The cap seal portion 23b and part of the outlet 22a are fitted to each other by means of screwing, and the outlet 22a is hermetically sealed. As described above, the nozzle internal threaded portion 22c is screwed to the bottle threaded portion 21a, and the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> are joined by means of screwing.

The liquid storage portion <NUM> of the liquid refill container <NUM> is made of a metal. The metal used to form the liquid storage portion <NUM> can be, for example, any one of a stainless steel, a steel, a porcelain enamel, and aluminum. After liquid is poured from the liquid refill container <NUM> to the liquid storage tank <NUM>, the liquid refill container <NUM> is collected, and the metal liquid storage portion <NUM> is washed. Thus, it is possible to reuse the liquid storage portion <NUM>. Examples of a washing method for the liquid storage portion <NUM> include a washing method using water or hot water and a washing method using a predetermined detergent. After washing, when liquid is poured into the liquid storage portion <NUM> again and the liquid storage portion <NUM> is set in the liquid refill container <NUM> for use, the liquid refill container <NUM> is reusable, so it is environmentally beneficial. Although a scheme to reuse the liquid refill container <NUM> will be described later, it is easy to wash the liquid refill container <NUM> because the liquid refill container <NUM> is made of a metal. When the liquid refill container <NUM> is made of a resin, liquid adhering to the liquid refill container <NUM> may be difficult to be completely removed. When the liquid refill container <NUM> is made of a metal, the liquid refill container <NUM> is less prone to degradation even when washed and filled with liquid again, so it is more suitable to be reused as a liquid refill container. For the above reasons, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid refill container <NUM> is made of a metal usually not used for a liquid refill container for refilling a liquid discharge apparatus with liquid.

The internal capacity of the liquid storage portion <NUM> is not limited. On the assumption that liquid is poured into the liquid storage tank <NUM> and is discharged from a liquid discharge head of a liquid discharge apparatus, the internal capacity of the liquid storage portion <NUM> is preferably greater than or equal to <NUM> and less than or equal to <NUM>. Examples of the shape of a cross section perpendicular to the height direction (longitudinal direction) of the liquid storage portion <NUM> include circle, square, and rectangle. The liquid storage portion <NUM> can have a cylindrical shape or a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

A seal <NUM> is provided on the inner side of the pouring portion <NUM>. The seal <NUM> has an opening at its tip end. The communication channel <NUM> is to be inserted in the opening. When the cap portion <NUM> is opened and the communication channel <NUM> is not inserted, a valve <NUM> is urged by a spring <NUM> toward the opening to seal the opening. Examples of the material used to form the seal <NUM> include a rubber and an elastomer. Examples of the material used to form the valve <NUM> include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Examples of the material used to form the spring <NUM> include a stainless steel. An end portion of the spring <NUM> on the side opposite to the valve <NUM> side is fixed by a holder <NUM>. Examples of the material used to form the holder <NUM> include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The holder <NUM> is fixed to the pouring portion <NUM> by welding.

At the time of refilling (supplying) the liquid storage tank <NUM> with liquid from the liquid refill container <NUM>, initially, the cap portion <NUM> is removed. Then, the liquid refill container <NUM> is fitted to the liquid storage tank <NUM>. Thus, the liquid discharge apparatus-side communication channel <NUM> (<FIG>) is inserted into the pouring portion <NUM> through the opening of the seal <NUM> of the liquid refill container <NUM>. The valve <NUM> is opened as a result of the insertion. Liquid in the liquid refill container <NUM> is supplied to the liquid chamber of the liquid storage tank body <NUM> via the communication channel <NUM> due to the water head difference.

As shown in <FIG>, by providing the cap portion <NUM> with a protrusion, the valve <NUM> is opened by the protrusion at the time when the cap portion <NUM> is removed. Thus, when the air pressure in the liquid refill container <NUM> is higher than the outside air pressure as well, flooding of liquid from the liquid storage tank <NUM> as a result of rapid inflow of liquid into the liquid storage tank <NUM> is reduced at the time of supplying the liquid storage tank <NUM> with liquid.

As described above, when the nozzle internal threaded portion 22c is screwed to the bottle threaded portion 21a, the pouring portion <NUM> is attached to the liquid storage portion <NUM>. Here, a user removes the cap portion <NUM> from the pouring portion <NUM> by rotating the cap portion <NUM> and pours liquid. However, if a user erroneously rotates (rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of screwing) between the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> and separates the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> from each other, liquid may adhere to the hand. To reduce the possibility, the cap portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> can be in different color systems, and the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> can be in the same color system. Since the liquid storage portion <NUM> is made of a metal, when the liquid storage portion <NUM> is not colored, the liquid storage portion <NUM> mostly has a gray color with the L* value of L*a*b* color specification system in the CIE color specification system in a range of greater than or equal to <NUM> and less than or equal to <NUM>. For this reason, in this case, the pouring portion <NUM> can also have a gray color with the L* value of L*a*b* color specification system in the CIE color specification system in a range of greater than or equal to <NUM> and less than or equal to <NUM>. On the other hand, the cap portion <NUM> has a color of which the L* value does not fall within the range greater than or equal to <NUM> and less than or equal to <NUM>, that is, for example, a white color.

As another method that prevents a user from rotating the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> relative to each other to separate the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> from each other, there is a method of setting rotation directions. This is a method to set the rotation directions at the time of screwing the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> to each other to reverse directions (opposite directions) to the rotation directions at the time of screwing the cap portion <NUM> and the pouring portion <NUM> to each other. In this case, of course, the rotation directions for separation are respectively reverse directions, so a user is difficult to erroneously rotate the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> in a separating direction. More specifically, when the cap portion <NUM> is rotated in the clockwise direction with respect to the pouring portion <NUM> to screw the cap portion <NUM> and the pouring portion <NUM>, the rotation direction can be, on the contrary, set such that the pouring portion <NUM> is rotated in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the liquid storage portion <NUM> to screw the pouring portion <NUM> and the liquid storage portion <NUM> to each other.

An example of a reuse system for a liquid refill container will be described below. A user who newly purchases a liquid discharge apparatus or a user who already owns a liquid discharge apparatus makes a contract on a use of a liquid refill container with a maker that manufactures liquid refill containers. In accordance with the contract, a liquid refill container is delivered from the maker to the user. The user pours liquid in the liquid refill container into the liquid storage tank to refill liquid into the liquid storage tank. An empty liquid refill container is returned from the user to the maker. The maker removes the liquid storage portion from the returned liquid refill container and washes the liquid storage portion, and manufactures a liquid refill container by reusing the liquid storage portion and assembling the pouring portion and the cap portion to the liquid storage portion. On the other hand, the user orders a liquid refill container to the maker at the stage at which a predetermined amount of liquid in the liquid storage tank of the liquid discharge apparatus has been used. In accordance with a request from the user, the maker delivers a liquid refill container to the user again. The user supplies the liquid storage tank with liquid in the delivered liquid refill container and returns the empty liquid refill container to the maker again. When the liquid storage portion is circulated between the maker and the user in this way, the liquid refill container can be reused. In this way, a liquid refill container delivered from the maker can be the one washed and reused from a liquid refill container returned in the past from the user who has ordered the liquid refill container. However, a liquid refill container returned from another user may also be washed, reused, and delivered. An order for a liquid refill container may be automatically placed in accordance with the amount of usage of liquid in a liquid discharge apparatus or a usage period of the apparatus itself.

The above-described example is a scheme that assumes to wash and reuse only the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The pouring portion <NUM> and the cap portion <NUM> are difficult to be washed when made of a resin, and an assembly inside the pouring portion <NUM> is also difficult to be washed by removing the assembly, so, when only the liquid storage portion <NUM> is reused, reliability as a liquid refill container improves. However, parts other than the liquid storage portion <NUM> may be washed and reused. The packing <NUM> in the liquid refill container <NUM> is difficult to be reused due to concerns about creep; however, parts other than the packing <NUM> are relatively easily reused. A washing method for parts may be a washing method similar to that of the liquid storage portion <NUM> (described later).

The flow of a manufacturing method for the liquid refill container <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>. The packing <NUM> and the seal <NUM> are press-fitted and inserted to the pouring portion <NUM> by using a handpress or the like. The valve <NUM> and the spring <NUM> are inserted into the holder <NUM>. The assembled pouring portion <NUM> and holder <NUM> are welded to each other by using ultrasonic welding or the like to make a unit part of the pouring portion <NUM>.

On the other hand, outer appearance inspection, washing, and drying processes are performed on the liquid storage portion <NUM>. The reused liquid storage portion <NUM> may have adhering liquid inside. For this reason, the inside of the liquid storage portion <NUM> is washed. The description will be made with reference to a specific example. Initially, the liquid storage portion <NUM> is immersed in pure water for <NUM> minutes to clean adhering liquid. Subsequently, the liquid storage portion <NUM> is washed for <NUM> minutes by using <NUM> pure water (hot water), and dried for <NUM> minutes in a tank at <NUM>.

Processes after that will be described with reference to a specific example. After liquid is poured into the dried liquid storage portion <NUM>, the unit part of the pouring portion <NUM> is assembled. A torque during the assemblage is assumed as <NUM> N·m. Subsequently, the cap portion <NUM> is assembled to the pouring portion <NUM>. A torque during the assemblage is assumed as <NUM> N·m. The finished liquid refill container <NUM> undergoes a decompressed upside down test under an environment of <NUM> MPa for <NUM> minutes, and liquid leakage from the packing <NUM> and the cap portion <NUM> is inspected. After the inspection is passed, the liquid refill container <NUM> is packed and shipped to a user.

In this way, a liquid refill container is able to be reused.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

Claim 1:
A liquid refill container (<NUM>) for refilling a liquid discharge apparatus (<NUM>) with liquid, the liquid refill container comprising:
a liquid storage portion (<NUM>) made of a metal and configured to contain liquid;
a pouring portion (<NUM>) removeably connected to the liquid storage portion and having an outlet (22a) for pouring the liquid; and
a cap portion (<NUM>) removeably attached to the pouring portion and covering the outlet,
the liquid refill container being characterized in that
the pouring portion and the liquid storage portion are in the same color system in an CIE color specification system, and the cap portion is in a color system in the CIE color specification system that is different from the color system in which the liquid storage portion is in.